Kiraz
Overall rating: 4.2 ⭐
This is the second book I've read by Mazey Eddings and I liked this a lot more than the other, her debut, A Brush with Love. This book has one of my favorite tropes, brother's best friend, and many others I really enjoy. I really enjoyed reading this book, I couldn't put it down!
Love or hate her books, Mazey Eddings is really good at handling mental health in her romances. In this book the MMC is dealing with PTSD and doesn't think he deserves love or can be in a relationship.
I liked that this was a low angst, cozy romance. The main focus was him learning to be emotionally available and vulnerable for a relationship. She was the rock he needed and I loved that! They both took such great care of one another. She was almost too amazing at times in her patience and understanding, but I appreciated that since it's usually the men who are given that role in romance books.
Their chemistry was so good from the beginning, from their banter to the pet names. Their connection felt like it built up in a healthy and solid way. I absolutely loved their love.
At times it felt a bit like one big ad for therapy, but that's not such a bad thing when you consider the stigma still against it.
I really and I mean REALLY didn't like the MC's brother. He was so selfish and annoying.
Thank you so much to St Martin's Griffin and NetGalley for the eARC!
I absolutely loved this warm hug of a book. It was super fun, cute, easy to read and hard to put down. It's not exactly cozy fantasy but definitely has many elements of it. I loved the romance, the world, the magic, the characters, the found family!! Just everything, but read on if you want more deets!
I had a love-hate relationship with this book. I really disliked the MMC. He seemed like a problematic manly dude, basically a peeping tom who called her “woman”. We didn't really see their connection build up, it was already there from the beginning, and it was hard to see why they liked each other so much. I also didn't love the writing style, felt quite over the top. Some of the aspects I had trouble with might be appreciated by dark romance readers (to be clear, there's no noncon). But I likely would have DNF'd this if it wasn't an ARC.
On the other hand I appreciated a lot of what it was doing. Bringing together two people who think they're broken, one with chronic pain, the other who has PTSD. The book gave them the space to figure out the strength within themselves and heal themselves, finding strength within one another.
Beyond the romance, there's also some mystery aspects going on, break ins, things moving around, a missing deed... I enjoyed this aspect though it was mostly in the background, and I kind of figured out what was going on
The setting is a bookstore, and there's plenty of love of books in this one. I liked how they cared about each other. I liked the small town setting and most of its occupants. I especially loved the elder lady couple.
The book is set in the kind of fictional Townsend Harbor in Washington. I say kind of because I'm 99% sure it's based on Port Townsend, WA which is a real place. I've been to it and I basically set the whole book there in my mind.
Overall rating: 2.5 ⭐
Thank you to Oliver Heber Books, Xpresso Book Tour and @netgalley for the eARC!
This was just such a fun read! It's like an undercover agent movie in book form and is so hard to put down! The mystery around the villain is quite predictable but you'll still be at the edge of your seat (especially during action scenes) wanting the two MCs to just be okay, and to just kiss already! I'm looking forward to the next book in the series.
3.8ish? Full review to come but for now, it read much more junior than middle grade, might be something for parents to read together with their elementary school kids (or out loud) and discuss.
Quite repetitive and kinda preachy fable. But there's a lot of great messages here, a clear dig at Trump and his politics. Also messages against xenophobia, discrimination, greed. It's all about giving, power of community, and especially love of books. I did connect with the characters and a few scenes got me worried and almost teary eyed.
I heard about this book when I was doing my research on 2023 releases, I saw it was about an immortal woman who is a descendent of a Chinese goddess and a French half-elf spy and I was already hooked.
It did not let me down! It was such a fun read with focus on romance and with a great backdrop of a well-fleshed out fantastical paranormal world.
I enjoyed this book so much! It's a sweet and fun romance filled with adventure but also great emotional explorations. I still haven't read Float Plan, but I really enjoyed The Suite Spot (book 2). Though this one is my favorite so far.
The story is so smooth and well paced that before you know it, you'll be reading the last few pages. This book is bound to give you the itch to go out and explore, embrace the great outdoors.
Off the Map is less about Carla and Eamon falling in love, and more about them getting to a place where they can welcome love and relationships in their lives. We start with two messy and flawed characters, both trying to figure out what is important in their lives, what their priorities should be. They jump into bed early on, but the feelings come in slowly, as they get to know each other.
The book definitely does not waste time. Even though I don't like insta-love, the instant connection these two had, from the very first chapter, didn't feel out of place, especially since they start off as just a fling. It also helps that Eamon is easy to love, he's selfless, giving and goes all in on anything he does.
Carla has a badass dad who taught her most of what she knows about how to approach life, especially travel. She has a “here for a good time” philosophy, but doesn't see that her dad is surrounded by people he loves and has kept close. I found her misgivings about having a relationship very realistic and well explored.
Her dad was awesome, I loved hearing stories about him. He's almost as big a part of the story as the romance is. He also has Alzheimer's which is also a big part of the book as throughout the book Carla is mourning the loss of the father she knew, and who knew her.
Thank you to St Martin's Griffin, and NetGalley for the eARC!
Review with full ratings on Instagram
This book is about Simon, an 11-year-old boy, though only he knows that that's his name, and that he's a boy. Simon goes to his grandmother's house with his two sisters for a week and starts to suspect that the house is haunted.
This is a great book for kids to identify and get familiar with the trans perspective and experience from a kid's POV. The book is mainly a family drama at its core, and Simon faces many of the family issues most other kids his age would be facing.
It does get very slightly spooky at times but nothing too scary, even for younger readers.
This was a beautiful, at times difficult story of two teenagers' struggles with mental health, how they find each other, help each other and themselves. TIt's about healing, and all the winding messy roads that lead towards and away from it. Despite the heavier topics, it is also a cute and fun read at many turns. I couldn't put it down, read it in a day. I couldn't put it down, read it in a day.
While the romance is a big chunk of the story, the main focus of the book is both of them trying to find healthier ways of dealing with their brain chemistry imbalance. At the beginning of the book, Shelbi is further along in her journey to mental health. While Walter is still in denial about his problems, Shelbi is very aware hers, but is dealing with them by avoiding most things in life, even friends.
Immortality is a sequel to Anatomy: A Love Story. In this book, there's more romance and more fantastical aspects. Since Hazel's arc was pretty much resolved in the first book, this is more focused on events that happen to her as she's trying to practice medicine and ends up getting pulled into the London society scenes and a secret society filled with historical figures.
To me, this read almost more like a full-length epilogue to Anatomy, filled with adventure. It was a fun read that was hard to put down.
Delicious Monsters poignantly highlights how the real monsters in our lives are closer to us and more brutal than any supernatural ones we dream up. The story is about various forms of real-life trauma, the cycle of trauma and how differently we process and get through it, told in a setting of a haunted and paranormal house.
Did you know the name of the plant “Monstera Deliciosa” (Daisy's favorite plant) or swiss cheese plant, literally translates to Delicious Monsters? But that's not the only meaning behind the title of the book.
The main character Daisy's biggest problem according to her is that she sees dead people. But she doesn't see how she has much more real monsters in her life. She has a tendency to trust the wrong people, not trust those who deserve it, and be generally unaware of the trauma around her.
All the characters are nuanced, flawed, and impacted by the abuse they've lived through in different ways. It's difficult to love any of them as the reader but it's even harder to hate them.
The author did a great job of setting the scene with creepy tense vibes. This is a very atmospheric and haunting read. Once things start to happen, it is impossible to put the book down. The mystery and horror of the haunted mansion pulls you in, just like it does the characters in the book.
Daisy's story is interleaved with Brittney's who's looking into the case a decade later, this helps increase the tension of the story since it tells us from the get-go that things aren't going to end well. The parallels and differences between the two characters' situations also help highlight the nuances of their relationships with others.
I really struggled to get through a good chunk of this book. Barely anything seems to happen for the first 40-50%. It didn't help that the MC is insufferable that whole time as well, with the biggest chip on her shoulder. To be fair, she has every right to be that way, and it's absolutely valuable to let characters, especially POC, be angry.
It was difficult to rate this because of how much I struggled at the beginning vs how much I loved it as things started happening. I'm rating it an inexact 4⭐ ranging between 3 and 5.
Thank you to Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books and NetGalley for the eARC.
Lars is Susie's ex's best friend, and is renovating her home. He finds divorce papers inside her wall, with their names on it! From ten years in the future! Is it a prank, or is it something more? Lars would never break the bro code and get together with Susie anyways.
This was a great romance, a perfect valentine's day read. First off, it was really funny, I laughed out loud so many times. It had many likable characters, I especially liked the bestie and the brother. Plus the romance was so very sweet AND steamy. It was such a breeze to read, I couldn't put it down, and basically finished it in one reading.
I found the premise very cool. It added an interesting twist to their relationship; before they were even a thing, they were discussing what they would want from a marriage to figure out why it would even fail. Also, if they did get together, would their relationship be doomed? Overall it caused them to be very communicative from the get go. No miscommunications in this book!
Susie has been burned by a few too many bad relationships, trying to mold herself to be what the other person wants. By the beginning of the book, she's sworn off relationships and especially marriages. As someone who was also against marriages, but is now married, I really liked her character growth in this area, and how her perspective on things changed throughout the book, her journey seemed very similar to mine.
I loved the two of them together, and their friends to friends-with-benefits to lovers romance. They were so cute together from always sharing their food, to their late night chats. It was definitely one of those cases of everyone else can see they're actually a thing but them.
Plus, I loved the HGTV vibes in the first half of the book.
One part I enjoyed less in the book was after they actually start their relationship, and start to commit more to one another. At this point, a lot of other people start to get involved like family and exes and Lars goes through some grumpy asshole phases (his words, not mine). I thought Lars could have done more here to show Susie mattered to her, especially when it came to introducing her to family. He kinda threw her to the wolves.
Something else weird was how the author only referred to men and women as male and female instead. I've only seen this done in fantasies before where the characters are not human.
Thank you to Valentine PR, Graydon House, Harlequin Trade Publishing and NetGalley for the eARC!
Rating: 4.5⭐️ rounded up
This is the second book I read by this author, and I am once again amazed by how she weaves folklore and trauma together to create deeply meaningful stories. If you get into this book as a fantasy romance, you might be disappointed, because it isn't really that. This is a story about racism, colorism, ecotourism, colonialism, trauma and healing with fantastical elements that were inspired by Jamaican folklore and a sprinkle of romance that is mostly there as a vehicle for the MC.
Most of the negative reviews I've seen of this book couldn't look past the weak romance, because it's insta love, and a little cheesy/unbelievable at times. However, IMO, romance is not the point of this at all. Thorn's love helps support her when she really needs it, helps her find her strength, and helps her heal, but it is not supposed to be the greatest deepest love of her life, that is the jungle. Though what I did really appreciate about Thorn was how fully he trusted her and gave her space to be the powerful badass Wildblood she is.
The jungle was probably my favorite part of this world, with its ghosts, deadly animals and a siren-like river spirit. I loved the bond between the jungle, its inhabitants and Victoria. I could read a whole separate cozy fantasy book set in this jungle.
Victoria is a great MC, she is strong willed, loving, selfless and powerful. She's trying to survive in a brutal world. Her abusive boss, and ex best friend force her on an excursion that goes against everything she knows is right, but she also believes this is the only way to get those she loves a better life. Throughout this excursion, there are times you just want her to destroy every human, but her vengeance is more nuanced, as she's trying to figure out where her moral lines lie. Her character development is beautiful to see from beginning to end, seeing her be able to assert herself, fully embrace her badassery, and heal at least some of her trauma in the process.
The other Wildbloods were very nuanced characters as well. All having gone through similar trauma, it's difficult to put them in a box of good guy or bad guy, really making you feel the dilemma that Victoria is put in at times that she holds their fate in her hands.
That ending!! The ending completely makes this book. Everything I was unsure about while reading was wrapped up meaningfully at the end. It was beautiful and a little sad. But it was the best ending this book could have had, the one I would want for Victoria.
I found this book impossible to put down, with so many emotional, meaningful and gripping moments, I read it in one sitting. However it's also not an easy read, it tackles a lot of deep and heavy issues, (you might want to check the CWs before reading).
Thank you to St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books and NetGalley for the eARC.
Overall rating: 3.5⭐️ (rounded down)
This is book 2 in the Supernatural Singles series. Even though I read the first book I got confused while reading this because I didn't remember it well enough, so I do recommend reading #1 first. Though there's a handy glossary at the back that I only found when I was done, it's quite funny too!
Just like the other book in the series, this is a good intro to paranormal romance. It's a cute, cheesy, fluffy, funny romance, great for Valentine's day vibes.
Overall rating: 3.3⭐️
While this is labeled as a romance, the main focus seemed to be the main character's growth. She starts off the book very closed off from everyone. She feels like she's failing at life and keeps people at an arm's length. It was really great to see her grow and realize that people will be there for you no matter what, but also that she's not a failure to begin with.
I loved that the book was set in Seattle and its surrounding cities. I especially enjoyed that it was set in the theater world and that they put on a play. Also, Layla's mom and her journey was fantastic too. Family was really important in this book in general, both Leyla's and Ian's. I loved seeing the family dynamics, the differences between the two families, and how they impact the characters' lives and their actions. Most of what Leyla does, from her job, to her love life and even Instagram profile is mostly to fit in and find her place within her big family.
I also really liked the premise, I don't think it was as cut and dry as some of the other characters in the book made it out to be. I didn't think she was horrible for keeping up the pretense of never having broken up, but clearly different people will have different takes on it, and I love that the book will polarize the readers a bit in that sense.
I did have trouble with the pacing of this book. The first part felt slow; the third person in the love triangle doesn't even show up until about halfway through. This also leaves very little time for that relationship to develop enough for us to be fully invested in the ending.
There were a few other things that felt off to me. Like the fact that she clearly had a shopping problem, but it was never really addressed. And I thought the breakup happened too easily, after everything they go through together.
Thank you to Little, Brown and Company and NetGalley for the eARC!
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In Just My Type, LP and her high school ex boyfriend, Seth have to go head to head for a job. They're tasked with challenges for the serial monogamist LP to become OK with being single and for Seth to find a long term relationship.
The book was quite enjoyable, especially if I put aside the little things that bugged me about it. I enjoyed reading the main character's personal growth, and I especially liked where the author took the concept of learning to be by yourself, that you don't have to be single to stand on your own two feet.
I was very vested in the workplace drama. LP's boss is... a piece of work. I was really impressed with how that whole arc was handled as well.
The romance was super cute. I love second chance romance, and I could truly feel their connection throughout the book, how much they mattered to each other. How they clearly still loved one another even if they're in denial about it. It all wrapped up quite adorably by the end too.
There were many other great small details like the strong friendships, complicated mother-daughter relationship, and in depth therapy sessions. Like not just saying she went to therapy and have everything magically fixed but having the sessions on page, throughout the book.
Everything that bugged me:
- I couldn't stand the main character for most of the book, she comes across very immature, and thinks the whole world revolves around her.
- The emotional resolution of a lot of the problems are very surface. She attends a single event, and is cured of her anger towards her ex, she attends another and is cured of her resentment towards her mom and so on.These are complex and real feelings that deserve more space to heal.
- I didn't get the resolution of LP and Seth's differences on what happened with them in the past. She seemed to have such strong feelings about how he messed up last time they saw each other. Then when they actually talk about it, she takes all the blame?
- There are a lot of unexplained and unresolved details. Like what happened with #LongTermPotential, why Seth seemingly keeps going hot and cold, why he made the blind date act that way etc.
- Initially I thought it was cool that the MC was using Norse Gods in place of saying God, like “Oh my Loki” but then I realized, no, she means the Marvel characters, and it immediately became cringey.
- Other cringey parts too, especially one possibly problematic one where the MC thinks she'll just make a gay guy kiss her since it won't mean anything to him?! WAT?!...
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I feel like each Finlay book gets more unhinged than the previous one. This book definitely requires a healthy dose of suspension of disbelief, but what can I say, I REALLY enjoyed it. It was probably my favorite of the series, with higher stakes, and a mystery that kept me flipping the pages.
I would actually recommend reading the other books in the series before starting this one, I even felt like I missed a few things because it had been a year since I read the previous book.
Begin Again is about Andie, who transfers to a new school to be closer to her boyfriend and her mom's legacy. She has a clear vision of what her semester at this school will look like, but from the moment she arrives, things don't exactly go according to plan.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It was a heartwarming, light and cute read that also handled complicated emotions with authenticity.
Even though this is a romance, I don't think that that's the main focus of this book. It is a lot more focused on growth, friendship, family and grief.
✨ grumpy/sunshine
✨ slow burn
✨ college setting
Overall rating: 3.5⭐️ (rounded up)
Stevie is pulled into another cold case. She has to attend a summer camp with her friends to solve the mystery. This one is a standalone case within the Truly Devious series, and takes place after the events of the first 3 books, aka the Ellingham mystery.
I did enjoy reading this and was very interested in the mystery, but this was my least favorite of the series. The main reason for this is because the solving of the mystery relied on just a single piece of evidence turning up. There was no way for you to follow along and try to reason towards a solution. And that's personally the main thing I enjoy in mysteries. There are a few other aspects of the ending that don't feel as satisfying as they could. Also, I just didn't find this one as snarky/funny as the other ones.
Despite that, until we got to the ending, I quite enjoyed reading this. It got me hooked from the very beginning, and had me guessing. It's a very different setting than the rest of the series, but has most of the main crew of characters. It was great to see all the characters together again. I especially enjoyed seeing a lot more of Nate.
Overall this one felt less like a mystery and more like a YA adventure. There's more of a looming danger and tricky situations the characters get stuck in. Which depending on what you're looking for could be more fun than the previous books.
As far as the mystery goes, while it's more straightforward compared to the other three books,it's still a head scratcher. I was actually really interested in the characters from the past from the very first chapter which made me very invested in the resolution of the mystery as well.
The Marlow Murder Club members are back in this second book of the series! This is a fun and delightful cozy mystery that will keep you guessing. Perfect for Agatha Christie lovers, and the British cozy mystery shows. After all, the author is the creator of one of my favorite such shows: Death in Paradise.
You don't have to have read the first book to enjoy this one, though the first one is definitely worth reading as well, especially if you wanna get to know the characters better.
I wrote this in the review of the first book: “There's Judith Potts the 77 year old cryptic crossword creator, Suzie the blunt dog walker, Becks the too proper wife of a Vicar and Tanika the by-the-books detective.” What's cool is that even though all of that is still true, (except Potts is now 78) they've also all grown and changed in some ways.
Compared to the first one, I found this to be a bit more focused on the mystery. We get less of all the characters' lives and quirks outside of them solving the mystery, which makes sense, since the first book probably had to spend some time introducing the characters fully. This isn't necessarily a bad thing since the focus on mystery makes the pacing feel very smooth, though I do really like the characters as well so I wouldn't have minded either way.
In terms of the actual mystery, this one really got me! It has a locked room mystery, and it's done so well. All the classic pathways are covered from the very beginning, in a way that it really feels like an impossible murder. You might figure out the culprit(s) early on, but the mystery of how they did it will still have you scrambling.
With brilliant characters, an intriguing mystery and perfect cozy vibes, this is a must read for the fans of the genre.
Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the eARC!
The Villa is about two friends who go on vacation to a villa in Italy and get sucked into the story of what happened there 50 years ago that resulted in murder, and two very successful works of art. The story weaves the past and the present to slowly reveal what happened and its impact on present day.
This is the second Rachel Hawkins suspense book I've read, the other one being Reckless Girls. I found this book to be less atmospheric than Reckless Girls. I had some issues with that book, but it really did the sense of suspense and impending doom right. In this one, I didn't get that much suspense, darkness or creepiness, and definitely not gothic suspense. It read more like a mystery to me, I don't think this is a bad thing, but I think it helps to set your expectations from the get-go. I think it helped me that I went into the story without knowing anything about it, I didn't read the blurb at all, I just knew it took place in a villa in Italy.
As far as the mystery, I thought it was very good. It keeps you guessing, and even the things you think you know, are not how they seem. You start suspecting each character, even the MCs, and keep trying to figure it all out.
I especially liked the mystery within a mystery aspect of things. There is the present story of two friends at a “murder villa”, there is the past, which covers what happened at the villa almost 50 years ago, then there are various books within the books. This dual timeline is done incredibly well. What I really appreciated was how the analysis of these mysteries by the characters within the story made you think about if any of it is actually a foreshadowing for the main mystery.
I really like how Rachel Hawkins always serves people their just desserts and highlights women empowerment. At the end you feel vindicated, like justice has prevailed somehow. I think those who didn't like Reckless Girls because of how it ended will appreciate this one a lot more. I quite liked the resolution to the story, and how there were a lot of gray areas, and twists, of course.
I also appreciate that her characters are flawed, even the ones you root for are not always nice people. I loved the symmetry between the beginning and ending of the book and how the tables turned, though saying anything more would be spoilery.
It takes a bit at the beginning of the book for things to really get going, but I think reading this as an audiobook really helped with that as well.
Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC!