Kiraz

Overall rating: 4.5 rounded down

This was such a fun and delightful cozy mystery! Plus if you like British humor, which I really do, it is quite funny as well! Recommended for lovers of cozy mysteries, especially if you appreciate the journey as much as the destination.

I will definitely be reading the future books in this series!

While this was a mystery first and foremost, I really loved all the protagonists. 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. They were flawed but loveable. I really enjoyed their found family/murder club. I loved how they pushed each other outside their comfort zones and empowered one another to take control of their lives.

I especially loved the main character Judith Potts. She was so independent, brilliant, and quite an introvert too. And just like the other members of the murder club I liked that she wasn't static, she changed throughout the book and started to let other people in.

Overall I appreciated the focus on women being brilliant, strong and empowered. I always worry about men writing women but this one I thought was done very well.

Now, onto the mystery, while I did figure out who dun it, too early on, I still enjoyed the journey very much, and the book still managed to give me a bunch of edge-of-my-seat moments. And I enjoyed the path our intrepid amateur sleuths took to solving it.

Possibly because the author is from the world of the TV, there were a lot of scenes that I could easily picture, especially the climax. I can imagine this being turned into a movie/TV series and I'd be more than happy to watch it.

Thank you so much to Poisoned Pen Press and NEtGalley for the eARC!

This was such a fun and juicy read. It felt like a combination of reality TV shows like Selling Sunset and mystery books like Big Little Lies.

The story is centered around Jenny, a successful salon owner, and 4 of her very rich clients. I liked that all of the characters brought something a little different to the table. Ruthless Olivia, lost Shannon, naïve Crystal, pragmatic Kate and peacekeeper Jenny. Not to say they're one dimensional characters. In fact, throughout the book we see different sides of each of them.

The main focus of the story is the relationship between these characters rather than the mystery. And the relationships, with years of secrets and resentments, is filled with cattiness, snark, and figurative backstabbing. A lot of times it really reminded me of watching reality TV.

For most of the book the only thing we know is that one of them is dead, but all the way to the reveal, the book had me guessing on who was gonna be murdered and by whom.

If you enjoy flawed characters, this books has plenty. I liked they all got their own POV, so we could see what their motivations were from their own perspective. Since not all of them are likeable, (there was one I especially loved to hate) seeing their side of things helped.

This book does a great job of keeping the drama intriguing and engaging. I honestly don't know if it was the drama or the mystery that kept me turning the pages more but I was HOOKED.

I loved the ending!

This was a great story that was hard to put down. It was cute and fun to read! The story was told with chapters on both the past and present, interleaved with blog posts and articles about or by our two main characters.

The romance in the book was a slow burn, but done right. It didn't feel unnecessarily stretched out. The story did a great job justifying the time and distance between the two main characters.
The second chance romance between them is really quite beautiful. I especially loved the way Gabe loved Chani. They both make mistakes in their long history together, but you can feel their connection throughout, their love always feels honest and real. The author also does a great job in building up the tension and chemistry between them, and showing how much they care for each other even when apart, even when they can't see it themselves.

I also really appreciated the issues that Chani faced being a woman journalist, people's assumptions around her success, and her own self doubt.

Some of the side characters really shined too! Especially Ollie immediately stole my heart. And of course the doggy, Teddy!

On the other hand, I'm not convinced that reading full chapters on the past was that necessary. Especially considering the fact that we first got a summary via characters talking about it, then a longer summary via the article talking about it, then actually reading it happen, I kind of would have preferred to just focus in the present.

Also, It did bother me a little how incompetent Chani seemed during her first interview of Gabe. Sure, it makes for a cute and funny story and maybe makes her more relatable, but I love reading about capable women doing amazing things.

This was a slow-burn, second-chance romance with lots of chemistry and many real moments.
Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you very much to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC for this great read!

What a beautiful book full of power, feminism, brilliance, humor, cooking and chemistry! A book that made me think and laugh. And at times it broke my heart. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

I'm convinced this'll be one of my favorite reads of the year already and there was so much I loved about this book. However, I recommend checking out the TWs before starting it.

I could gush about this book for hours, but here are some of my highlights:

I loved the main character, Elizabeth Zott! She was incredibly smart, independent, head strong, and socially clueless. She understands the world through science and applies that to all aspects of her life. I found her very relatable. This book is feminist first and foremost. Zott is ahead of her time in her views and her social cluelessness even helps her at times to be blind to some of the slights she receives. I loved how Zott used cooking, chemistry, and knowledge to empower women everywhere via her show. I loved that she didn't dumb anything down, didn't bite back words, she was always her authentic self.

Lessons in Chemistry does not sugarcoat being a woman in science in 50s and 60s. I found a lot of these scenes difficult to read and heartbreaking but also quite realistic.

There's also some discourse on religion and faith in the book. Zott is quite the rationalist, and I found this so refreshing as an agnostic. These discussions were always logical and never disrespectful against having faith which I also appreciated.

There are a lot of assholes in this book, but there are also some fantastic characters. I especially loved Elizabeth Zott's ever growing found family. The people that really love her and have her back But the dog Six Thirty really stole the show. The best book dog I've read in a long while. I loved that we got his POV at times as well, and how influential he was in their lives. Him and Zott's daughter Mad much cuteness!

Speaking of Six Thirty's POV, I liked how the book was written in general. It jumped around across many perspectives and timelines, bAut never got confusing. It actually made for a delightful literary experience as well.

Despite the heavier topics covered in the book, overall I found this to be an inspiring, encouraging, heartwarming and hopeful book.

Thank you so much to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the eARC of this wholly amazing read.

This was such a quick read for me, and not only because of its length (204 pages). The mystery and the sister relationship kept me flipping the pages.

I thankfully hadn't looked this book up on GoodReads before requesting and reading this book. I was surprised to see the relatively lower average rating because I actually quite enjoyed this read. It is short and quite straightforward in its range of topics, but it is a solid mystery that kept me guessing!

The main character, Savannah, is no Poirot. She's driven by her love for her sister, and guilt. She takes wrong steps, unnecessarily puts herself in danger, accuses the wrong people, but this all feels true to her character and her motivations.

I really enjoyed how the story unfolded. I especially liked how the chapters with the sister's POV started to get included when we got closer and closer to solving the mystery. Adding to all the red herrings.

There are many twists in this story. I was convinced that I was right in my guess for most of the book to only realize I had been wrong the whole time.

I loved the relationship between the sisters, which was quite beautiful and real. I loved how they loved one another, despite quite a few missteps, and shitty parents that do their best to pit one against the other. I loved that they were still there for another despite all that.

Along the way to solving the mystery we also get to find out a lot about the interpersonal relationships between Savannah, Piper and their friend group. This does get into the YA drama between the characters. So if you are not a fan of YA, just be aware.

Thank you for the e-ARC @sourcebooksfire and @netgalley !

The Wedding Season is about Freya whose fiance breaks up with her hours before their wedding. Facing a whole summer of weddings that she now has to face as recently single. To get her mind off of the breakup and to help her put down her walls, her friends set up a challenge for her at each wedding.

This one read more like a women's fiction rather than romance. I do also love women's fiction so this wasn't a problem for me, but it would probably be good to know before you dive into the book.

One of the reasons I wish the book was more of a romance was because I absolutely loved the love interest, Jamie. I liked that they challenged each other, and I especially loved their banter. Which made me wish Jamie was featured a lot more in the book. We just needed more scenes with him in it.

Freya is surrounded by some great family. Both of regular and found kind. Her friends are so funny and supportive. Plus, I loved how the strained relationships in the family were handled. It felt very healing.

The overall premise was great too. The challenges that Freya's friends set on her are fun and they really work, both in terms of getting Freya more out of her shell, but also in terms of keeping the book interesting throughout. You never know how Freya is going to tackle one of the challenges, and it's really enjoyable to see her growth throughout.

I did appreciate that this book tackled the feelings of going through a breakup. While I did think that it was a little one note, I found the feelings Freya went through quite authentic. However, I do wish there was more variety in her feelings, breakup can feel like other kinds of grief. So I was hoping she would go through similar stages like anger. Especially considering she seems to have flashbacks to instances where her ex is being very unsupportive. Mainly I wanted her to slowly see that she might be better off, instead of all at once.

I also found the timing to be a little odd. There were many scenes I was really interested in, but the book actually glossed over them, giving us only a few details over bullet points or just a summary. Inversely, there scenes that seemed to not have any bearing on the overall story but they took up a lot of time.

Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐.8

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Overall rating: 4.3

Heartwarming, cozy read with a slow burn that had me smiling, despite some real trauma in both Rachel and Mason. This was my first book by Trish Doller, and now I wanna go back and read Float Plan, especially since we get a good amount of Anna and Keane in this book as well.

First of all, I love small town/island settings, since it generally comes with welcoming and supportive community and this is no exception. I loved the townsfolk, like the book club group, and especially Rachel's bestie! They all do their best to welcome Rachel to their midst, and help her out with her child, the hotel. They're definitely a group of people that we all need in our lives.

Plus, the setting of a brewery/hotel in nature just sounds fantastic. Can I stay there please? The author did a great job describing the essence of the place, and how it was decorated. I actually learned a lot of decoration lingo thanks to this book. I always love renos, I always have HGTV on, so I loved that for most of the book the two MCs are working on building out this new hotel. I almost wish we got more of it!

Mason's pining was just adorable. Very subtle but still impactful. And he was so sweet throughout the whole book, even while he was still going through his personal struggles.

I also loved the daughter, Maisie. I don't know if she was a realistic 3 year old but she was an adorable toddler! I also loved seeing her relationship grow with Maisie, and I loved that she was besties with an unmanageable cat.

I really enjoyed that both MCs had a parent that was an immigrant. It added a lot to the story, both in terms of how it affected the main characters and what the characters do to stay close to their heritage but I also loved hearing their stories of how they ended up in this country.

I thought the chapter beginnings were brilliant, an untranslatable word, each from a different language, lightly summarizing the feelings of the chapter. chefs kiss

There were only two small things that I didn't like and both have to do with the last bit of the book. I found the final conflict somewhat forced. I feel like the problem could have been resolved in many different ways without causing that conflict, and even other characters mention this within the book. And then after the conflict, the end felt a little rushed. I wanted to see more of them, but the focus felt almost more on the hotel than the MCs.

Overall though, this book was a great cozy read with great characters, sweet and slow love story, fantastic setting and good emotional depth.

Not the Witch You Wed is a paranormal romance with witches, shape shifters and even a supernatural council. Violet is a witch that has no magic, despite being the first born, and thus the next in line to be on the council. Lincoln is a wolf shifter and the alpha of the shapeshifters of North America. They are both told by the council they need to marry someone soon or the council will find someone for them. They decide to pretend to be in a relationship to gain some time.

This one reads more as a romance with paranormal aspects, rather than the opposite. It has fake dating, and second chance romance. I really enjoyed reading this book, I didn't want to put it down! FILLED with wolf puns, and other humor, it was fun and funny to read cover to cover. It wasn't the most unpredictable book to read, but I don't find predictability to be an issue for romance books.

A lot of times in second chance romances from teenage years, I find the reason for why one character still is angry at the other one to be exaggerated. But in this one I was actually fully on board. I understood why she was hesitant to trust him again, and I liked that the event from the past wasn't dragged out throughout the whole book. It does come up again, but in ways that seem to make sense rather than just to generate drama.

Violet is a great main character, she's funny and strong, she speaks her mind and stands up for herself. I really liked that this was a dual POV. I always appreciate seeing both perspectives in romances, and Lincoln was another great main character. He's quite an idealist, but it works well, especially in this book. He stood for what's right. And despite being a literal alpha, there was no alphahole-ness here!

I also really liked their romance. I loved their banter, their chemistry, how much they clearly cared for one another despite the time and circumstances. I just love an us against the world love story, and this was pretty close as so many were questioning the real-ness of their relationship.

Other than the main characters, Violet's family and friends were (almost) all such great characters. Her two sisters were always there for her, doing their best to help her out. Her grandmother always the source of such wisdom. Her two best friends, one a total fan of Violet's romance the other hesitant and guarded.

I was at times confused by the world building, or what exactly was going on but this only impacted my enjoyment a little. Possibly helped by the fact that I was listening to an audiobook, I didn't have much time to dwell on the parts I was confused by.

I'm glad this will be a series, I'll be reading the next book, especially since I loved all the side characters!

I read this as an audiobook, narrated by Zura Johnson, and I thought it was very well narrated.

I received the ALC for this book from Dreamscape Media and NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinions.

Josie Silver has such a way with words, I felt the lyrical prose down to my core. This was my first book by her and I'm already a massive fan. I will be sure to read all her other books!

One Night on the Island is about two people who visit a remote Irish island and end up having to share a cabin, which happens to be the only accommodation available. Both Cleo and Mack are at a crossroads, trying to figure out how to move forward in their lives.

This book reads like a millennial's escapism fantasy. Getting away from the hubbub of work and the hamster wheel life, to a remote and peaceful location with lovely people, and a love that won't smother you or try to change you. If someone asked me to change places with Cleo tomorrow, I'd say yes.

I loved the focus on self love. It was definitely more prominent than the romantic love. That both of our main characters put their own needs above the romantic interest was empowering, So much so that I would have loved this book regardless of how the romance was resolved, because their individual stories were so strong.

That's not to say the romance wasn't amazing. Everything from their first kiss, where it seemed like I felt the emotions together with them, to how they were there for each other, but still gave the space to the other to do their own thing, was amazing. It felt like a fundamentally good, real, adult relationship.

But what makes the book so great is that it's not about just Cleo and Mack, it's also about the island, and the people on the island. The island felt like another character in the book after all. And all of them, including the island, are such welcoming and warm characters, even though on the outside they're inhospitable, they become true friends to Cleo and Mac, and as you're reading, it feels like they're your friends too. I loved them so much, I can't even name a favorite, they're all unique and amazing people.

I know Josie Silver doesn't usually do sequels, but I'm really hoping for one about a relationship between two islanders that seemed to be alluded to at the end of the book.

Is the book perfect? Possibly not, at the beginning I had some trouble buying into the premise of marrying yourself or that these two characters really had no other option but to stay together, but once I got over that, I loved this so much.

This book took me on a journey to Salvation Island, gave me a hug, told me I'd be okay, and gave me an adorable romance to read along the way. HIGHLY recommended.

With Love From London is a women's fiction with dual timeline and I loved it so much! It was a beautiful, inspirational, emotional, heartwarming story of a woman and her mom and about following your heart. Filled with charm, cozy feels, a ton of love of books, and a little bit of mystery, this is a book I won't soon forget.

This was ultimately a story of family, loss, love and change. I found it inspirational, especially how it focused on second chances in life, that it's not always too late to go after what you want, but to also listen to your heart when you find someone or something meaningful.

Be aware that the story is not all happy. There's actually some pretty heartbreaking things that happen to the characters, some missed opportunities, unfortunate decisions, bad timings. But the overall note is still hopeful, I didn't come out of the book with a broken heart, if anything by the end, I felt my heart was mended, and I was filled with warm feelings.

There was so much book love in this book, it was impossible not to appreciate it as a book lover. Such great messages about how books can be healing and how they can bring people together. And the MC is a bookstagrammer! I especially loved that the main character and her mom use books to find their way to one another. And almost every relationship in the book has some literary tie.

I liked so many of the characters in this book. The two main characters are great, flawed and three dimensional, but so are all the side characters in Primrose Hill. Their best friends, their love interests, all a little quirky, but all unique and people I'd love to be friends with!

My only nitpick of this book was the tiny plotline towards to beginning of the book, where a woman sells her husband's rare books, behind his back! The fact that we don't see her get her comeuppance is truly a travesty! I really hope he divorced her.

Meet Me In the Margins is about Savannah who is an editor at a publishing house that prides itself in its highbrow titles. But Savannah likes to write romances! One day she leaves her manuscript behind a room she thought only she knew about, but comes back to a bunch of notes. She soon comes to rely on those notes to improve her writing.

Steam level: 1/3 (only kissing)

I really enjoyed reading the book, it was a fast and easy read. I thought it was very sweet. I liked the main couple, thought that their romance was cute.

Very much a You've Got Mail style story. It's quite predictable, but I personally don't think that's a bad thing. Similar to the movie, this is a very slow burn, and the focus is more on the book world than the actual romance. The two characters don't interact that much throughout.

A bookish setting definitely helped me enjoy the book even more as a book lover. It was fun to see behind the scenes a bit about what happens at a publishing house. Especially the ARC room! I enjoyed reading Savannah's journey to getting her book published as well as the authors who are signed to their publishing house.

While I wish we found out more about him, I did like the stoic love interest, Will. From the get go he seems fascinated with her. It was fun to see him be interested while Savannah still seemed pretty clueless. I also really liked the designer at her work, and her best friend Layla. She actually seemed like the most interesting character in the book. I loved how proud she was of her work, and how she was always ready to defend it.

I did miss some depth from the book. Nothing major, but if we could have seen more chemistry, or interactions between the two love interests, or if the best friend was more involved in the mystery of who was leaving notes on the manuscript, or even some more information on the love interest. Just something a little bit more.

Also, the depths of Savannah's family's disregard for her emotions and her general wellbeing is astonishing for a family who's supposedly always there for each other, and for Savannah who's always ready to do anything for her family. I just really did not like them at all.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of my honest opinions.

Rating: 3.5, mildly spicy (2 out of 3)
A Brush With Love is a contemporary romance about two dental students, one in his first year, and the other waiting for her residency placement.

I listened to this as an audiobook. I think the narrators, especially Emily Lawrence did an amazing job!

Overall the book has great trauma rep, a cute slow-burn relationship, authentic characters and a unique setting (dental students). I couldn't root for the main relationship, but I'm still glad I read this for its representation of anxiety and grief. Would recommend for romance lovers who can root for cute but imbalanced relationships and won't be overly triggered by the overwhelming anxiety the MC goes through.

First off, what I loved about this book:
- I really liked that especially the female MC (Harper) was such a successful, and driven character. She knows what she wants, and she goes after it. And I really liked that the male MC (Dan) gave her the space to do so. He loved her more because of how good she is at what she does, and he was proud of her for being so kickass.

- If I ignored all the red flags of their relationship, they were quite cute together. The way they just couldn't help but fall in love, had to fight against it but still ended up

- I thought both of the characters had strong and unique back stories that explained how they became who they are. Especially Harper's driving factor was so realistically built up, it's almost tragic, seeing how everything that happened to her pushed her to be such a perfectionist, especially as you see her drive herself to the ground trying to achieve her goals. This is where I thought this book would have made a pretty good women's fiction. If the focus was more on these two characters and their struggles and their healing, rather than the romance, this would have been a very strong read for me, especially because of the next point.

- I really appreciated the incredible anxiety rep. The book covers grief, panic attacks, therapy, with great authenticity. While I do have general anxiety, it is nowhere near the levels Harper struggles with, so I will leave it to others to say if it was realistic or not.

- I especially liked the focus on therapy, and differing stages of being ready for therapy. And that it's not something that just fixes you outright, but that it helps.

- I really liked Harper's friend group. I thought they also had some missteps, and I found it unrealistic that they didn't already know what Harper was going through, but overall they were there for her, they loved her, and they helped her come out of the hole she dug herself into. They also added a good amount of the comic relief, which was needed!

Note:
- It was plain difficult, at times excruciating, to read through the anxiety attacks Harper was having. This was emphasized even more because of how good the narration was. I felt the walls squeezing her in, even though they didn't need to. I wanted to shake Harper to make her listen to those around her. To her professors, friends, Dan, anyone. I don't have anxiety to her level, so I can't personally say if it was realistic, but regardless, reading through those areas felt like a heavy weight on me. This did impact my enjoyment of the book, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. Though it might be quite triggering for some.

Now onto what I liked less:
- My biggest problem, was the relationship. Dan is such a pushover throughout, and worse, Harper treats him so incredibly badly, that I just did not want them to end up together. I wanted Dan to find someone who could actually be good to him. And for Harper to have someone in her life who would stand up to her bullshit more so that she could see when she's being an unreasonable partner. Someone who gives you no pushback and just goes along with whatever you want is not a good partner, and they don't make good relationships. (minor spoiler: Harper viciously mocking Dan's trauma is just not acceptable in my book, and him still bringing up being together after that is a great example of how he is throughout)

- Dan is also not a great partner to be clear. At the beginning he had a bunch of red flags for me, like showing up where Harper is going, forcefully paying for her groceries (what?!), overly protective as far as getting physical with someone (WTF) that would be not okay if Harper wasn't interested in him. But then Harper was so terrible to him later on that most of these got eclipsed.

- I also found the main premise for the conflict in their relationship unrealistic. Harper is not a loner before Dan comes in, she has friends, she (albeit rarely) goes out, she has responsibilities like her cat. And she's able to balance all of these with school. But somehow, when Dan comes into her life, she completely loses herself in the relationship, even forgetting what week it is. I just did not like this implication that you have to lose yourself in a relationship. It would be one thing if she thought it was going to happen, but then once the relationship started, she realized that she can balance things. That would have been a way better and more realistic message then what ends up happening. And like I said above, how she treats Dan when she thinks he's impacting her success is absolutely unacceptable.

- Smaller issues: insta-love, the characters who are 26 acting like they're 20, the way the Dan's narrator did Harper's voice

In Bad Luck Bridesmaid Zoey has been a bridesmaid three times, but they all ended with no wedding happening. That combined with her general hesitance about forever love, she can't get herself to say yes when the boyfriend she loves asks her to marry him. When her best friend chooses her to be her maid of honor for her wedding, Zoey decides that making sure that wedding happens will prove to Rylan and herself that she's ready for getting married.

I found this to be a very funny book that I had a hard time putting down. You should make sure to approach this as a women's fiction rather than a romance, though it definitely has romance in it. With lots of wit, sass and shenanigans, this was a delightful read.

When I say I related to the main character, I mean I RELATED to the main character. I also had a lot of fears around getting married, and it took me A LOT of looking internally to be able to even talk about the possibility of getting married. But I possibly related too much. Because I wanted her to resolve issues the same way as I did. It grated me that she wouldn't just talk openly with her boyfriend about her worries, or try to find any compromises. I also didn't like that the boyfriend was not willing to bend at all. For people who loved each other so much, it was frustrating to see that they weren't willing to work together. I was worried in the middle, but I think the story by the end wraps up very well, it feels authentic and strong. Until we get there, she does stumble a lot and makes a lot of bad decisions.

I loved the tone and language of the book. The storytelling, the humor, it was great. I got immediately sucked into the story. Even just the way the story was told felt unique and engaging. The main character, Zoey, is one of the main reasons for such great delivery. She's strong, smart, successful, sassy. She's also flawed. She feels a unique and real character, a Jewish woman, who doesn't want to get married, but loves romcoms, a fierce friend and a badass at business too.

I really liked the emphasis on friendships. Zoey has a lot of strong women in her life who are there for her, and I love her relationships with them.

Onto parts I didn't like,
I didn't like the way the main character kept referring to herself as a “complicated woman”, just like “not like other women” sets this idea that there are these generic, basic women, instead of celebrating everyone's complexity. Like “generic women” is something positive/negative that you gotta separate from.

I alluded to this, but in the middle Zoey gets a little selfish, unreasonable, and obsessed. I do wish the book had avoided that. This is the point where I really slowed down reading because I was so worried about which direction it was gonna go in. I can easily say it does go in the right direction and I found the ending very satisfying, but I had a lot of doubts.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book for its voice, storytelling and its main character. I loved that the main character was someone that I could so easily relate to with her fears around getting married. I found the book to be very funny, and I highlighted SO MUCH! Would recommend to any fans of the women's fiction.

Thank you to St Martins Griffin and Netgalley for the opportunity to give my honest review for this eARC.

Might be the most adorable wholesome graphic novel I've ever read!

In Murder Most Actual Liza and Hanna get snowed in at their hotel/castle in the Scottish Highlands. And soon guests start getting killed off one by one. Solving the mystery falls on none other than Liza, a true crime podcaster.

A very enjoyable read that'll give you a few laughs, a few head scratchers and a couple to root for. It weaves together humor, suspense and relationship drama for a solid read for mystery lovers. It feels like both a parody of and a love letter to classic mysteries. So if you're a fan of Agatha Christie, Clue, or any mystery that ends in a grand reveal, hop on!

I loved all the references to classic mysteries. From the Poirot like character, to people being killed off one by one, a la And Then There Were None, and the Clue like chapter headings... It was clear the book was written by a lover of mysteries. On the other hand, this was also written with a critical eye of the classic mystery genre. This makes it feel fresh, since the book doesn't just take the tropes but looks more closely and subverts them. At the same time, this does feel less satisfying at times, when the criticism of the genre gets in the way of actual murder solving itself.

Aside from the mystery, this is also a story of a strained relationship. Liza and Hana's bickering, arguments, slow growth and eventually healing, was probably my favorite part of the book. How they used the crazy situation they were in, to communicate more and understand each other more was done very well. Their relationship feels real and faceted

As I mentioned, at times, the book doesn't feel as satisfying as other cozy mystery books. For example, the grand reveal here, does not compare to the others in the genre. Even the revealer herself goes on for paragraphs about how she's not qualified to do this grand reveal. And as the reader I agree, partly because she was following a completely different track up until the reveal. And especially because the one connection she fails to make is probably one of the most obvious ones.

Overall, I think that this a book that fans of the genre will enjoy, as long as you're not expecting another neatly tied cozy mystery. And not only will you get to read a head scratcher of a mystery, but you'll also get to read about a relationship heal and grow.

Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead is the second book in the series. The fans of the first book, are sure to enjoy this one as well. If you haven't read the first book yet, you should start there.

The Finlay Donovan books are full of humor, hijinks, mystery, comedy of errors, and intrigue. The second book continues where the first one left off, and continues in the same vein. I personally liked this book slightly less than the first one, but it was still a fun book to read and I'd recommend this series to fun mystery lovers.

Finlay Donovan is chaotic as always. I don't know why I thought (and maybe hoped) she would be a bit more together after the first book. that she would have learned a few lessons from what happened, but I was wrong. She still puts herself into impossible situations that she then needs to figure out how to get out of together with Vero. And she's still incredibly lucky in getting out of them.

Speaking of Vero, she is still a boss that I would love to have with me in any crazy situation. She's cool, she's caring, she's smart. We get to delve a bit more into her family life and her background in this book which I really enjoyed.

The romance feels like it gets a bit more settled in this one. I usually don't like love triangles, but I was rooting for both men in the first book, I couldn't make up my mind. In this one however, there isn't really a triangle, there is a clear winner. Who knows though, knowing Finlay, things might change again in the third book.

The mystery in this one seemed a bit less intriguing. There isn't really a murder to solve per se, which might be a reason why. I didn't feel the urgency and stakes as much as the first one. Not to say, it wasn't intriguing at all. There were still some twists and turns that I wasn't expecting, and edge of seat moments at the height of action.

All in all, this was a fun book to read. Especially if you like over the top mysteries with flawed characters, some romance, and heart.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read the eARC and share my honest review.

Overall rating: 3.5

This was a very fast and fun read, perfect for when you're looking for something lighter. Come for the very cozy mystery, but stay for the people.

I really liked reading about the characters. Leda and Grady make great main characters. Leda's best friend Niki, their friend group and Grady's daughter were also great additions. I really enjoyed reading all these characters and am looking forward to finding out more about them in the future books.

I also really liked the premise. I think it sets up a great premise, of a cop and a psychic partnering up (a la The Mentalist) to solve crimes. This of course comes with all the fun bits about coming up with ways for Leda to get close to the persons of interest.

In terms of mystery however, this was somewhat lackluster. The culprit was somewhat obvious early on, and it was frustrating that a detective wouldn't see it. It also seemed like Leda was so successful at klairvoyant karaoke that it didn't make sense that she got such little or unhelpful visions during the investigation in a way that made it difficult for me to keep my suspension of disbelief.

I found the scenes outside them detecting very fun as well. Characters and premise come together very well so the book was very entertaining to read throughout even though I didn't find the mystery that intriguing or interesting.

Overall I think this was a fun first book in a fun new series filled with murder and psychics. Especially loved that it was set in Seattle, and it featured my favorite bookstore!

Within These Wicked Walls is a fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre involving a debtera, Andromeda, trying to rid a house of The Evil Eye.

I read this in one sitting, it was impossible to put down. I adored the first 70%, and was sure it was gonna be a 5⭐ review, thewre were a few things I disliked about the rest. Still though, would heartily recommend it to lovers of Jane Eyre, or gothic, creepy, paranormal reads. I wouldn't classify it as scary though.

I loved how the book was adapted. It felt very fresh, not just a retelling in a new setting, but a unique story based on Jane Eyre. I will say I disliked Jane Eyre, but really liked this story. So goes to show that it's different, while keeping some main story beats and a bunch of references to the original.

Even though the romance is insta-love, I did buy into it. It might be because I have read Jane Eyre, and knew it was coming. But their banter, the build up, their chemistry, they were all well done, and I was rooting for them pretty early on.

I loved the fantastical elements. My culture (Turkish) has Evil Eye too, but it's completely different for us. After I read the book I also looked up how much of the fantastical elements were made up vs actually a part of the culture. And it seemed, based on my surface level research that the book stays true to the folklore. I loved that I got to learn more about this folk religion from Eritrea and Ethiopia via reading the book. The Evil Eye with physical manifestations, debtera, and the talisman, it was all completely new to me and so fascinating.

I did love how the author weaved the world of the house together with the Evil Eye manifestations. I loved finding out about what creepyness each room held. And loved seeing Andromeda fight them one by one. And speaking of Andromeda, I loved her as a character. She felt very fleshed out, with her flaws, and inner conflicts. She was very relatable.

As I mentioned, the last 30% is where my enthusiasm about the book changed a little. This is where I was expecting everything to come to head. The big bad vs our hero, one last battle. Instead the book slowed way down, it got repetitive and the emotional beats started feeling forced. At this point, two characters reunite. And all of a sudden, the main conflict changes. The battle with the Evil Eye feels overshadowed by these two characters trying to hash out their lifelong relationship, And every conversation between them from this point on is some deep discussion about their past. And at times, right in the middle of action too!

I'm not generally opposed to emotional resolutions. That's why I love romances, and dramas. But in this book, with how things were developing, it just didn't feel genuine. It felt forced and honestly quite out of the blue.

The end of the book is still tied neatly together. And it does feel like you get what you wanted out of the book by the time you're done. But the forced feeling of the resolution between those two characters take away a bit from my enjoyment of the book, that's why I gave it 4 stars.

Despite that though, this will definitely be a book I recommend to many. I loved the world and fantasy of it, the characters, and the romance so much. It's a great fantastical creepy read.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and Netgalley for the eARC.

In this book, Callie gets pulled into a cult's plot to start the apocalypse and has to team up with Luke, son of Lucifer to help foil their plot.

Overall rating: 3.8

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book, it was such a fun time and I will read the next one when it comes out.

This was a fun, irreverent, fast and funny read. It might give you Lucifer (TV show) vibes. It's light, a little nonsensical, and unbalanced at times, but if you go with the flow, you'll enjoy the ride.

It gets pretty biblical, for better or worse. And has a lot of action, I'd say to an extent that romance is more in the background. The romance is quite insta-love. Also, if you were hoping that the son of Lucifer would be the perfect morally gray character, then you might be disappointed. He is more of the But the romance was cute how they cared for each other.

I loved that escape rooms were such a big part of the book and that it worked perfectly with the adventures they went on.

The side characters were pretty good as well. Porsoth and Bosch were adorable. Would not say no to a lot more of them. I wish I liked the best friend and the brother more but they were a little random and I didn't love the storylines involving them. Though the best friend was nonbinary so yay for that!

The resolution was a bit lacking. The stakes were continuously raised, but then at some point we get towards the end of the book and we got a series of solutions that didn't match the stakes. They were simply resolved too easily in a way that made you think, why didn't they just do this to begin with.

Overall though, it was a fun book with a cool setting. Especially appropriate for October.

The Ex Hex is about Vivi who accidentally puts a hex on her freshly ex boyfriend, Rhys. Years later, when Rhys comes back in town, and the hex wreaks havoc, they have to work together to put things right.

Overall rating: 4.5

A perfect October/fall read. Witchy, fun, light and entertaining with tons of cozy vibes and set during Halloween! I really enjoyed reading it. I'd recommend it for people who enjoy some light fantasy with their romance.

I really enjoyed the romantic aspects of this book. Vivi and Rhys had great chemistry. They were so cute together, and sexy too! I was rooting for them the whole way, I'd love to read more about them in the future. I liked how their families were involved in the story. It felt like there might be more books coming either about Rhys' brothers or Vivi's cousin, and I'd be super interested in reading about any of those. I especially loved Vivi's cousin, who's the best friend we all need in life. She's fun, supportive and smart.

The setting was also perfect for the season. I loved the town, the fantastical elements, Vivi's family store. It's all perfectly cozy, great vibes.

I also really enjoyed the humor of the book. It was full or sarcasm and sass.

I do wish that as the romance picked up that the fantasy aspect wasn't fully dropped. It felt like our two MCs fully focused on their relationship for a long time, while the two was on the brink of coming apart. It kind of took away from the urgency of the problem they're trying to fix. When the issue first happens, so many things go wrong, that it didn't feel realistic that they could completely put all those aside for multiple days while they fully invested in rebuilding their relationship.

Overall it was a book I really enjoyed and one that I'll be recommending to any who likes some light and cozy reads with Halloween vibes.

There is one part about this book that gave me pause, so I wasn't sure if it should be 4 stars, but I'll get to that.

In The Shaadi Set-Up, Rita is trying to find the balance between family obligations and living her own life. Especially in terms of relationships she wants to pursue. She has a boyfriend, and she's determined to make everyone believe that they're meant to be. Especially since her ex-boyfriend Milan, the one that broke her heart, the one that her family fully supports is back in her life.

Tropes: second-chance romance, forced proximity, slow-burn

This was a charming, easy to read and funny second chance romance with a big heart. Would recommend to romance lovers but especially to fans of the trope, and HGTV.

The book has the perfect ingredients: charming setting, adorable dogs, strong-willed and witty main character, cute love interest with heart, well-meaning parents, lots and lots of food and flipping houses with many upcycled furniture. It could not be more quaint.

I loved how much the Indian culture was woven into the story from the food to the family expectations, and love. I especially appreciated how the author showed the dichotomy in Rita. She wants her family to be happy with her decisions, but she also wants to be independent and live her life her own way. I think this was portrayed very well especially for cultures where family plays such a big part even in your adult life.

Milan and Rita have a beautiful slow burn romance. I especially liked Milan a lot in this book, he was such a sweet LI. Total book boyfriend material!! Rita is also an amazing main character, driven, strong, independent and knows what she wants.

I also found the book really funny as well, I was laughing at many spots. I loved the wit, and laughed at many

Even though the book was a closed-door romance there was a lot of sex positivity which I always appreciate!

Ok, so the reason for my pause is this: There was a genderfluid character. Their pronouns are he/she/they, but then they are only referred to as she for the rest of the book. I really hope I'm wrong but it almost felt like that was included as an after-thought. Why have a genderfluid character and not respect their fluidity.

One other small issue for me in the book is actually one of my pet peeves in romance books, and it happens a lot. When by the resolution, the actual problem in the relationship raised in the conflict is not addressed. I felt that during the main conflict Rita raised some very valid concerns, but these are overlooked when the couple gets back together, making me feel like Rita didn't fully get heard.

Overall though, this was a very cute and cozy read that was easy to read and funny. It had great characters, great representation of culture, and a whole lot of DIY.

Thank you to Putnam Books and NetGalley for the eARC.

In When Sparks Fly, we meet Avery and Declan, friends since college, and housemates now. When tragedy strikes, they will find a new balance in their lives and their relationship.
Overall rating: 3.5

If you enjoy friends-to-lovers, forced proximity and caretaker tropes, strong female MCs, and you don't mind flawed love interests, then this is the book for you.

I love Helena Hunting's books. Meet Cute, and Kiss My Cupcake were two of my favorite romances of last year. But sadly this one didn't meet the same mark for me.

First of all, it's not easy for me to buy into a friends-to-lovers. Either, the attraction has to be there from the get go with a solid reason why they stayed friends instead, or we need to see the relationship grow on the page as they realize they could be more. I don't think When Sparks Fly delivered on either. We can see that they're mildly attracted to each other and are in denial about it. But when they take that step into a sexual relationship, it still came out of nowhere for me.

The main issue for me was that when the big conflict hit Declan was so out of order and I was so offended on Avery's behalf that I just wanted her to move on. To make matters worse, the author clearly didn't feel the same because Avery actually finds a lot of fault in herself instead of calling out Declan's bs for what it is. Which offended me even further. The resolution to the conflict felt awkward to me as well. How they tackled their reconciliation while cute, just did not make sense to me, it felt forced.

Putting those two issues aside, there was also a lot that I enjoyed. I really liked Avery as a character. She was smart, strong-willed, knew what she wanted and was a badass at her job. Such a great MC.

Also, while one of the sisters really grated me, I loved the relationship Avery and her two sisters had and how supportive they were of each other. This is the kind of sisters I always wanna see in books (and in real life).

Most of Declan and Avery's scenes were quite cute, I loved their tradition of doing crosswords together. Also, Declan is just AMAZING at taking care of Avery. He might not be a good significant other, but he's an incredibly loyal and giving friend. If you like the caretaker trope, you're in for a massive treat! I can easily say that despite the fact that I thought their relationship didn't have a good evolution, they gave me smiles all the way. Until the main conflict this book was 4 stars or more for me.

If This Gets Out is about 4 members of a boy band, 2 of which fall in love, but it's also about all 4 struggling to be themselves while constantly being under control.
I absolutely loved this book! It was one of my favorites of the year so far, and I don't see it being dethroned anytime soon. I was up reading it all night until 7am, just because of how difficult it was to put down, and how much I enjoyed reading it.

When I started reading, I thought it would be mainly about the romance, so I'll comment on that first. Zach and Ruben are so incredibly cute together! From the moment you start hearing from their perspectives and how they react to each others' presence, there's such a bond between the two, and a beautiful and accurate depiction of having a crush. I had flashbacks to high school and crushes and how every small thing meant so much when it came from that certain someone. All of that is done so well in the book. And that's just the beginning, Throughout the book, I truly felt the bond between the two, and everything from their growing love, to the chemistry between them, from their arguments to how they support each other was so beautiful.

Romance is not what this book is all about, in fact, I'd say that other plot lines are more important and poignant. Since the band is so big across the world, the 4 members live their lives under the thumb of the record company. As the book goes on, the pressures increase and they're under constant scrutiny. These kids have to deal with so much, from toxic parents, to substance abuse, being forced to stay in the closet, and other emotionally manipulative and abusive behavior from people who are supposed to be looking after them. I loved how the psychological pressure was handled. Even if you don't relate to being a mega world star, their struggles and how they react to it feel incredibly relatable, and more importantly very genuine. It's impossible to not feel for these 4, and not to find something from yourself or from your life in them.

The four characters are also written so well. Even only based on what is being said, you can guess who's speaking, because they truly feel like completely distinct characters that are well fleshed out. I know I would love to have these 4 as friends and getting to read about their world, and feeling like I was there was just delightful.

Aside from the plot though, I also found this very beautifully written. This might be one of the books that I highlighted the most. There were so many instances of lyrical prose, I was in awe most of the time.

Overall, as you can probably tell from my gushing review, I adored this book, and I don't even have a single nitpick. This will stay with me for a while. The only thing that makes me sad is that it won't be out for another 6 months, so the rest of my friends won't get the experience this book until December.

Jay's Gay Agenda was my favorite read of May. This is a book about Jay who struggles between following his hormones vs his heart when he moves from a small town where he's the only gay kid to Seattle.

A laugh out loud, genuine, fun, wholesome and sex-positive book that focuses on figuring out balancing sex, romance, and friendship.

There was so much I liked about this book. First of all, it was really funny. I laughed out loud so many times. So many highlights of all the bits that made me laugh. Jay's voice is so honest and humorous, it made for a delightful read! Jay feels like a real person, a real teenager. He's not perfect. He's selfish, messy, he makes mistakes, and he's very much driven by his hormones. It made it so much easier to relate and connect to him that he felt so real. You might wanna shake him to make better choices, but you might also admit that most other teenagers would do the same in his shoes.

This is easily the most sex-positive YA book I've read. I really appreciated all the conversations around sex, being ready, and especially consent. There was so much to take away in here. I loved how worried Jay was about his virginity thinking he's the only one, even though there were others around him. Also, the other topic that was handled very well was stereotypes and how damaging they can be.

I've been talking about how great Jay is, but all the side characters were great too. I loved that Jay's parents were so in love. It was great to read a YA where the parents aren't a major part of the problem. The friend group was amazing too. Max the Gay Guide, Lu the BFF, Albert the VSB (Very Sexy Boy) and many others. Even the smaller side characters had some great punchy lines, and played an important part in the book.

Speaking of the friend group, I loved how friendship was such a big part of this book. It wasn't only about the romance. Jay's relationships with his friends were just as important as his relationships with boys, if not more. And they play equal part in the book.

Overall, this was a great read on finding yourself, figuring out who you are in a new location, with newfound popularity. And in the end, it's all about being true to yourself, owning up to your mistakes and staying close to your friends.

Where It All Lands gripped me so much, I was up all night reading, past 5AM, and finished the rest the same day.
I'd rate it somewhere between a 4 and 4.5 and I have a lot to say about it! This might be the longest review I've ever written.

This book is about Stevie, who starts at a new school, and captures the attention of two best friends, Drew and Shane. Not wanting to lose their friendship over her, they decide to flip a coin to decide who gets to ask her out. Two possible outcomes, two possible timelines, and we get to read about them both.

There was so much in this book that I loved, but also a lot that I got mad at, as you'll see I have some mini-rants below. But in the end, none of those points took away from how good and poignant the book was. And the fact that I felt so much and had such strong feelings while reading the book is also a testament to how good it is.

On a high level this book was about appreciating what you have, especially knowing that nothing is guaranteed, including tomorrow. This theme was woven in throughout the book, and you saw how the different characters embraced or ignored this reality.

My heart broke a lot while reading this book, I came close to tears various times. And believe me when I say it's heartbreaking! The story was told beautifully with nuanced characters (even the bullies). Even with alternating character chapters as well as the dual storyline, I never felt lost, the voices were distinct and strong enough that you could tell whose perspective it was, even if you ignored the chapter title.

Also, dual storyline/alternative timelines can be very difficult to do well. But in this book they were done VERY well, You got enough time with each storyline to be fully invested. There was no repetition between the two even though you're reading the same timeline, The small differences of the butterfly effect were easy to see. I think the format of splitting the book in half and only leaving last bunch of chapters to interleave was a brilliant way of delivering this story.

I can easily say, there wasn't a second that I was bored while reading this book, I felt invested in the characters, the storyline. I felt their struggle, and all the feelings felt very real.

Now onto the parts that I disagreed with:

I felt like the author had a clear winner in their head. And the main issue was that I disagreed with it. One man, challenges her, makes her feel alive, makes her do things she would never usually do. While the other is more comfortable, she can talk to him about anything, they have similar tastes and interests. To me, the first one was clearly better for Stevie. While everyone deserves love, not every story has to be about the always-friend-zoned (a term I despise btw) kid finally finding love.

The biggest issue I had with the book was how important the coin toss became in terms of the drama between the three characters. I didn't think what the two boys did was wrong, but it was exaggerated so much and it generated so much unnecessary drama, for something that I wasn't sure why I should care at all.


All in all, this is truly a beautiful story, and it will stay with me for a while.

Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review