Beattz

I'm enjoying these books immensely. Besides the fact that I hate Diem. I hate her so much.
The plot moved forward at a great pace, keeping me engaged throughout. Several new characters were introduced and I look forward to learning more of their backstories as the series continues. The chemistry between Diem and Luther is spot on. And we got just enough answers at the end to feel satisfied, but raised even more questions that are going to keep us chomping at the bit for the next installment. Heat of the Everflame, here I come.

I have no excuses. I unabashedly love cowboy romances. It's part of my personality now. Maybe I like all romances, come to think of it. Or maybe I just know myself well enough to be able to pick the ones I know I'll like, then am shocked and floored when I giggle and kick my feet the whole way through.
Regardless. I had a blast. Lyla Sage has written another couple where the people are real and deal with real things that a lot of us struggle with. Depression, anxiety, the desire to bolt, even when things are good. It's a good reminder that even with HEAs, there's still a lot of communication, and growing, and understanding involved. Just bc the chemistry is there, doesn't mean it will be an easy road.
I've got 2 more books left in this series and I'm already sad that my time at Rebel Blue Ranch will be coming to a close.

This is my favorite Murderbot to date. I had a fantastic time. Being with ART again was such a treat, and now I'm looking forward to the next one even more!
I read this out of order based on a recommendation, bc book 6 happens chronologically before book 5. However, I think that was a mistake. The this book may have come after that in time, but not in character progression. Book 6 was hard for me bc it felt like there were leaps in Murderbot's personality that I was completely unprepared to take. But if I had read this first, those wouldn't have been leaps, just lil hops.

I had such high hopes and expectations after loving book one so much. Unfortunately, Fevered Star fell a bit flat for me. Nothing really happened until the last 75 pages. Even though our 3 main characters, Nara, Serapio and Xiala were still our three main characters, it absolutely felt more like Iktan, Okoa, and Ochi's stories and that wasn't a good thing.
I honestly have no idea what endgame is for the series at this point. I don't even know what kind of conclusion I would desire to bring this story to a close, because I feel like I've lost the thread. Here's hoping Mirrored Heavens brings this back around.

When I was getting ready to move out for college, my mother and I sat on the couch one evening and organized all of my bits of paper that had been collected over the years into a scrapbook. You know, old report cards and honor roll certificates and art projects and play programs.
One of the things we found that night was a story I'd written off of a prompt in the first grade. “The best Christmas gift ever”. I had written this story, front and back of the page all about how this kid and her dad had a tradition and all these details around it etc. Then you get to the end. Crammed in at the very bottom, and the last line reads “And the best Christmas present ever was a chainsaw.”
This book had the exact same structure. Enjoy.

This book had a good premise, a neat story. The characters were pretty well done. My issues again lie with editing, I think. The novel is set in Scotland, obvs. But as far as dialect goes, only one word was ever really used -auld, instead of old. And it was used a lot. And sometimes by the American character. And other similar type things. I just want more better, even if it’s Cryptid smut. And make no mistake by the cartoony cover- this is not your vanilla, random Tuesday romance novel. Here there be monsters.

This was interesting. I've never read a book within a book about a book before.

The format of the layers was really intriguing and kept me hooked. That and each chapter was 10 mins or less (according to that little line on the bottom of my kindle).

Within the book, the story was referred to as a “reverse locked door mystery” and that’s as good of a description as I can give it. The plot worked well, but would have benefited from at least one more character to widen the pool of suspects a bit more.

This was so very disappointing. I was promised unicorn smut and I got Brave, but with a horse instead of a bear. It was 300 pages of internal monologue and only 30 pages of action. There wasn't even a bad guy to speak of. Sure, there was a plot to take the throne, but that character was off screen the entire book. A romance? Hardly. There was one instance of banter in ch 6, and that was the end of that. The vector of their relationship was a daily conversation of “I'm not strong, you're strong.” “ No u.”
I will say that the writing itself was good. That's why I didn't DNF. I kept going thinking that something was going to happen. Any minute now... any minute.
If a book where the protagonists leave town for a week just to turn around and come back home again is your thing, enjoy!

This was a blast. I had a great time. Steven Pacey's narration was impeccable. It was funny, it had action, there were real consequences. Each character was unique, had deep backstories and growth throughout. It was neat how Abercrombie would shuffle the party around at different times to see how each would interact with and learn from the others. For a longer book, this never felt stale to me, which is important. No wasted words/time. Based on the ending, I'm not really sure what to expect from the sequel, but I know it's going to be great.

This was unexpected. Which might be on me, but also might not, based on some other reviews I've seen. I've intentionally started going into more books blind because as of late, the book blurb has gone the way of the 2.5 minute movie trailer, and has a habit of leaving little to the imagination. So I've been approaching more and more books based on vibes, and for the most part, it's been working out really well for me.
Cue Serial Killer Games. Looking at it and how it's tagged/shelved, I'm thinking maybe its Butcher & Blackbird lite or maybe a toned down version of Lights Out- intro to dark/killer romances, with some extra com to the rom to dull the knife's edge, if you will.
And that's what I got... for the first 30%. Then it jukes pretty hard into “oh - these are people, with real people things, not actually just a psychopath and a sociopath one upping each other at every turn a la (one of my favorite films of all time) Les Jeux des Enfants. It was a shock of cold water for sure. But I persisted, even though I tend to read books intentionally to get away from real people experiencing real people things. And I'm glad I did. Because this book was good. Really good. All the different bits came together in the end giving you an imaginative story, with lots of great twists and reveals all along the way to keep you hooked, culminating in such a way that you're so pleased that when you get to the final pages that these two lil weirdos are gonna get their HEA.
TLDR: Don't read if you want accidental cannibalism. Do read if you want a well written story about what it takes to survive a world where accidental cannibalism exists.

This was exactly what I wanted in the moment, I'm so thankful my Libby hold came through when it did! All the vibes you get from the cover of this book are exactly what you find in it's pages. It's cozy, it's picturesque, it has fantastical creatures and hidden magics. The relationship that buds between the FMC and her neighbor is just the sweetest thing in the whole world, transparent with all the initial fumblings and struggles to be who you are unapologetically, but also learning to be accommodating and make room for someone else in your life, especially when it's wholly unexpected. Complete with sentient plant sidekick, this fantasy is a delight from start to finish.

I picked this up bc it was Colbert's first (and last, I'm assuming) sci-fi/fantasy book club pick.
This book being the 2024 Booker Prize winner felt exactly like when a super arty and daring movie wins the Oscar for best picture. Is it objectively good? Yes. Did anyone enjoy it? Eh.
Most of the writing rolled right off me. You get to know precisely one thing about each of the characters, and anytime you interact with them, it's just more about that thing. There's no plot to speak of, and certainly no climax or resolution. I'm not even sure what the timeframe of the book is. Sixteen orbits, which they made clear is not the same as days, so even that left me feeling at a loss.
I understand that's all probably a big part of the point. We get a slice of life in a space station, where, truly, nothing happens. Their days are the same over and over. The people sharing the space aren't friends, and don't know anything about one another. Time is meaningless because the sun rises multiple times in the awake period.
So I'm left with this work of fiction in my hands, and I don't know what to do with it. Or say about it. Or even feel about it. It's like I'm in zero gravity and all the parts just floated past me, having zero impact on my trajectory.

I joined a certain Discord server back in April, just 2 weeks too late to have participated in the buddy read and consequential 3 hour long voice chat to discuss the intricacies involved in Morning Glory Milking Farm. It will go down in history as one of my biggest regrets.
It's hard to sit here and try to write a serious review about a book that is so serious in regards to minotaur “milking”. It's all very clinical - when you ignore the fact that the FMC Violet's very first solo mission results in her falling in love first, with an appendage, and then, eventually, the bull to which it is attached. There's scrubs, and sterilization (not that kind, obvs) procedures, and barcode labels and industrial strength lubricant.
But it wouldn't be a romance book if there wasn't also the compulsory sweet moments when they meet outside of the farm for the first time, or she learns that he always eats dessert first, and he comforts her when there's a death in the family, etc. There's personal growth and shared intimacies and hallmark jokes.
All in all it's not nearly appalling as one would assume. The writing is decent, although, once again, it would benefit from a stronger editor as there were several typos in my copy, and that just gets under my skin. I don't know that I'll read the entire series, but being a Mothman fan, you know I picked up Sweet Berries, so I'll report back in after I read that one.

This book is awesome. I honestly forgot how much I enjoyed it the first time I read it. It's just really good storytelling. The stakes are high, the characters are layered and flawed and intriguing. There's magic and a mystery to be solved. There's sacrifice for the greater good versus being emptied over and over again for a system that does nothing but take, giving nothing in return.
I cannot wait to read Fevered Star.

This installment in the SoS series was a bit of a miss for me. I still very much enjoyed my time in this world, but less so the characters it focused on, and the hero's flaw that needed to be "worked out". It may very much have been the case because I was doing audio this time, and so I wasn't as locked in to the story, but I don't think that's all of it. But there were also no gnoles in this book, and that was completely unfair.

Tbh, this book just really made me want a book for Wren.