Lisa

I flew through this entire book in one sitting on a plane! I wouldn't consider it traditional paranormal romance but it has a lot of paranormal content. That made it a fun, cryptid-filled, light read for Halloween season.

The romance was sweet. The pacing was good. It had some of my absolute favorite tropes in it.

I consumed a lot of buzzfeed content when it was getting really popular and this nailed that atmosphere so spot on that I genuinely wondered if this was genderbent, Buzzfeed Unsolved fanfiction with different names. That's not a bad thing.

I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking for something easy to read and enjoy that would fit into a spooky season themed TBR.

A beachy, cozy, romance that will make you want some ghosts and banana bread in your life.

This book gave me all the warm fuzzy feelings. The setting of Boneyard Key is full of ghosts, but in a fun non threatening way. There are some goosebump-inducing moments but nothing terrifying. I’d almost go as far to say it was heartwarming to read about how kindly the town treats the ghosts amongst them.

The romance is easy without being too insta-lovey. It has enough challenges to drive the plot but not so many that you worry they won’t work through them. I’m honestly surprised how much I loved reading this book and I can’t wait for more.

I’d absolutely recommend this any time of the year, but it would be an especially great option for readers looking for softer spooky options around Halloween. More Casper the Friendly Ghost vibes than Poltergeist.

(4.75) Adventure, romance, danger, and a bit of ancient magic

This book is marketed towards fans of The Mummy and I think it delivers on that. You get a strong-willed, intelligent female lead and her brash, resourceful, charming male counterpart. Their partnership is full of witty banter, respect, and keeping each other from dying.

There are dangerous rivals. Ancient booby traps. Conveniently ripped clothing. False identities. Deadly puzzles. Old friends and new friends. And yet always time for flirting. The story kept my attention in both pacing and plot.

Slow burn, annoyed-acquaintances-to-lovers with no overt spice but enough innuendo that I could see future books leaning that way.

There are a handful of glaring typos I caught (and probably some that I missed) but it's in no way unreadable. They were easy enough to immediately move past. The writing itself was good.

I'd recommend this specifically for anyone who loved The Mummy (1999) or the Amelia Peabody series, and more generally for anyone looking for a bit of romance, mystery, and adventure in a jungle setting.

Special shoutout to the person who borrowed this book before me and MARKED their reactions in a LIBRARY BOOK. In pen. You're a monster.

Unexpected, filled with dry humor and complex layers

This was good, but was an emotionally heavier book than I anticipated. From the description I thought it would be quicker paced and lighter, and more romance forward than it was. The humor is very dry (which I enjoyed). There's a lot of focus on racial identity and generational trauma, which honestly fits perfectly in a setting where people from the past are dumped into the future. The slow burn romance is quiet and reserved, but was overshadowed for me by the growing sense of impending doom you start to pick up about a quarter in.

Pacing skips along at a very even pace. Highs and lows, action and intrigue kind of landed on the same level for me. Things are clearly being driven to a point and there is increasing danger, but I didn't always feel it. But again, I went in expecting something different so that might be my own issue.

I still really enjoyed it. It captured my attention quickly and easily. Many of the characters are charming. I'd recommend it for people who would be interested in the morality and possible paradoxes that come with time travel, with a hint of romance. If you're looking for a more traditional romance this isn't it. Not a straightforward Happily Ever After, but it wouldn't have felt right for the story if it had.

The best parts of the forced proximity and fake marriage tropes

Nothing in this plot is truly groundbreaking, but I enjoyed it so much that it's going to stick with me for a while. The romance is well written. The fake marriage setup is reasonable. Liam and Anna are charming, confident, playful, and have great romantic tension.

The private island wedding setting is the perfect combination of extreme wealth and high stakes to really drive the plot forward. At no point was I bored. I often surprised myself by how fast I was flying through pages but never felt like I was missing any depth.

There was so much going on plot wise outside of the romance that it would have still been compelling without it. Family tension, corporate politics, wedding stress all blended together beautifully.

Highly recommend in general, but especially as a vacation read and/or for people who loved the drama and romance of Crazy Rich Asians.

This is a vividly written story about the roots that tie us to places and people, the holes they can leave when you sever them, and the true costs of meddling with magic. There are secrets and mystery, gossip and rumors, all set under the foreboding shadow of mountains whose magic can just as easily break you as fix you.
The tension underneath the plot rises steadily throughout the book. The more answers you get about the past the more you can see where things are headed in the future. I honestly didn't expect to be surprised by the end of it but I was. I was so sure for most of the book where things were going but there was just enough ambiguity that it left me curious and I'm glad I followed it through to the end.
I enjoyed this enough to recommend this to other readers but not so much that I think I would read it again. Unraveling what happened in the past was the most interesting part for me. I appreciated the focus on the deep love that can exist between friends and family. The romance aspect sort of fell flat. Carrie falling in love is a pretty key component of the plot but I didn't really sense the chemistry there at all. Matthieu as a character needs to be somewhat mysterious, but I think it goes too far in that he feels like a plot point instead of a fully rounded character. That combined with the multiple perspectives and the time jumps left me wanting a lot more from their relationship.
If you're interested in subtle magic, family drama, non linear timelines, and a bit of mystery then this would probably appeal to you.

This book was provided by NetGalley and Avon Harper Voyager in exchange for honest feedback

The disappearances of two children from the same summer camp, fourteen years apart, highlight the divide between the “Haves” and the “Have-Nots” and the trouble that arises when they collide.

This book is a fascinating puzzle of secrets, lies, and mystery. Everyone is suspicious, everyone is hiding something, and as I pieced together what was happening in all the timelines I found myself genuinely surprised by some of the twists. The pacing was great. The camp setting really anchors the different chapters so it never feels choppy when you jump back and forth. Every detail feels intentional. Clues are subtle until the moment they click into place. I never got bored and I loved trying to figure everything out.

It absolutely nails the expectant, nervous, newly-independent feeling of excitement of a kid away at summer camp. The kind of feeling where you have infinite possibilities ahead of you.

There are a lot of really interesting parallels between the different characters and timelines. The newfound independence of a kid going to summer camp for the first time vs a new bride thrust into a higher social class. The responsibility of taking care of someone else and the sacrifices you make to do so. The family you choose vs the family that is chosen for you. And particularly, the deep instinct of self-preservation that exists in every person regardless of their wealth and circumstances.

I'd definitely recommend this to anyone looking for some summer camp nostalgia with a multi-layered mystery that plays out piece by piece. This book will appeal to a lot of different people, but I do think I had a different experience reading this as a mother than I would have before I had a child and it's the parts of the book around motherhood and the innocence of children that are going to stick with me long after.

This is a great addition to Tessa Bailey's sports romance series.

Tallulah is confident, courageous, and good at communicating her needs even when she doubts herself. Burgess is protective and possessive while still being conscious of Tallulah's independence. You get both an age gap and a boss/employee trope which can lead to some tricky power imbalances, but in this case Tallulah's emotional intelligence and her superior understanding of how to connect with a 12 year old girl helps even that out. It's not insta-love but there is an instant attraction between the two of them. I appreciated that we see Tallulah think about Burgess's protective actions critically and, with the context of her feelings, decide whether or not they cross her boundaries. It's something that mirrors my own thoughts when I'm reading and wonder if an overprotective character's actions cross the line from heartwarming to controlling.

I think it's pretty standard for a Tessa Bailey novel. It's steamy, funny, filled with charming side characters, and you get great character growth from both Tallulah and Burgess. There are phrases or lines of dialogue that toe the line of almost too cheesy or a little unhinged but, for me, that's part of why I'm a fan. It's fresh, fun, unexpected, and sometimes realistically awkward.

Although I enjoyed it overall, it felt a little incomplete to me. I expected more from the nanny plot. I was hoping to see the growth of Tallulah's relationship with Lissa and how she fits into the family. You get glimpses of that but they're sparse. It felt like Lissa as a character was only brought in when she was needed to move the plot forward or to deepen the relationship between Burgess and Tallulah, and when that wasn't happening she was just out of the picture. This gives space for the couple's relationship to progress quickly but it makes it seem like Lissa isn't not a priority to her dad and that made me like him less. I would have loved to see Tallulah and Lissa interact without Burgess. A large part of her moving in with him was to help nanny, and we see very very little of that.

I think fans of Fangirl Down will enjoy this one. It feels rewarding to watch them learn to trust each other and trust themselves, you get a look into how Wells and Josephine are progressing, and (like every other character who asked about it) I'm dying to find out what the deal is with Chloe and Sig.

Thank you to Avon and Harper Voyager for providing this ARC through NetGalley in exchance for my honest feedback

(3.5 Stars)

I didn't know cozy suspense was something I was missing in my life, but I found it in Close Knit. It wasn't the story I was expecting but I'm happy I stuck with it.

The book is broken up into two parts. Part one feels like a cozy slice of life view of a tiny seaside town in Scotland and it's quirky inhabitants. Part two is a lot more action driven, with quickly mounting suspense. This makes for a very slow start with a dramatic finish, but you really have to push past the initial set up to get the full effect.

I loved how vivid the descriptions of the land and town were. It makes the setting itself feel alive, and I could easily understand what was drawing the characters to stay there. It feels isolated, but not lonely.

There's sort of an omniscient perspective. You bounce between the inner thoughts of each character multiple times per scene in a way that was a little jarring. I never quite got used to it, but that might just be my personal taste.

The last thing I'll note is that the blurb is a little misleading. I expected a straight forward romance when in reality the romance is more of a sub plot. The suspense was a pleasant surprise. This is my first Jenny Colgan book, so maybe this is standard, but as a first time reader I would have enjoyed it more if I had different expectations going into it.

This ARC was provided through NetGalley by Avon and Harper Voyager in exchange for honest feedback. All opinions are my own.

This is currently a free Amazon First read pick for prime members!

Very cute. Marriage of convenience with easy to like characters. It's a novella that's spread out over a year so time jumps a lot, but I felt like we still got complete character arcs.

I'm a sucker for a sports romance so I wish this had been full length but the important bits are there. (Unless you're reading specifically for brother's best teammate tropes, in which case you might be disappointed)

Starts on New Year's Even but doesn't feel particularly holiday-y so I wouldn't worry about waiting until the end of December to read it.

A cute, fast-paced romcom set in a wildly successful book tour.

The premise of a female author hiring an actor to represent her male pseudonym is a fun one. The pairing of Daphne and Chris felt fresh to me. I feel like it's rare for the guy to be the one playing dumb for attention, and that role reversal continues with his city-boy-meets-wilderness, sunshine-y, baker persona. I could easily see this book working as a hallmark movie. It's dual perspective, with POV switches through the chapter. POV's are labeled by name which felt a little jarring to me but might be helpful for people who struggle with third person perspectives.

The plot relies heavily on the miscommunication trope, so if that's something that bothers you I'd skip this one. A lot of the conflict later in the book could have been avoided if the two characters had sat and discussed things. In general there's a real lack of show-don't-tell. The pacing moves quick because a lot of conversations are summarized as one character explaining (insert topic) to another. It can feel a little montage-y at times and I found myself wishing the reader was let in on those moments, especially the ones that emotionally progress the relationship. Because of this I didn't really feel the chemistry between the two.

Overall, Chris felt like the main character to me. We get the most background on him early on and we spend more time with him processing events and emotions than we do with Daphne. Daphne really feels boiled down to her career as a writer, her former role as her mother's caretaker, and her past relationship trauma. You don't find out that she's also an architect until 30% into the book, which feels very late for basic info on the character I expected to relate to at most.

The book is amusing, with clearly defined stakes and low stress. It would make a good easy-to-read vacation book that you can pick up and put down as needed without feeling like you're losing your momentum.

Enemies to lovers, with some suspense thrown here and there.

This one wasn't for me. I've enjoyed previous books in the series but didn't really find a connection with this one. It's written fine and it does have a plot, albeit a weak one. It just felt a little formulatic in ways that I didn't notice with the others. In some part that's probably a consequence of being the seventh book set in the same universe.

I usually appreciate a callback to previous characters but there's so many couples at this point that a decent chunk of scenes is exposition and backstory for previous entries in the series. I could see it being helpful for someone reading as a standalone but it was distracting to me.

Another reason I didn't connect as much is due to Aria's deep insecurities. I understand it as a character choice, but as a reader it was painful to read over and over. The biggest conflict in the first half of the book is mostly between people's feelings and it just fell flat to me.

A lot of this is personal preference so I'd still recommend it for fans of the series. The premise of the next one is intriguing so I'll probably continue.

Note: This is a personal rating. I'm sure this will be a five star book for someone else.

There's an author disclaimer at the start that this one is different in tone from her previous books and that is accurate. It still feels like an Ali Hazelwood book to me, but one aimed at a different audience than her earlier books. Reviews are going to be split. People who loved TLH and LT are probably going to be disappointed. People who read those but wanted something different will probably be pleased. If you really loved the STEM and slow burn aspects in previous books then you might need to adjust your expectations.

It deals with more serious subject matters and is less romcom/STEM focused. I wanted a bit more plot. I was more invested in the Harkness group and their take over than I was in Rue and Eli's relationship which is unfortunate because them hooking up feels like a solid 50% of the book. The chemistry between them just didn't click for me. I also had everything figured out fairly early on, so it was frustrating to have to wade through the different phases of Rue coming to terms with things.

There are a lot of things I really like about it. Overall it has a really great attitude about consent and boundaries. They're discussed often, without shame, and checked in with along the way. Rue specifically has some trauma that affects her day to day life and it's met with respect and understanding from all the characters that matter. There's a big theme of being loved exactly for who you are which is always nice. Rue and Eli are both charming in their own ways. Their banter is fun and I feel like we got to know them both decently.

I liked reading it and would still recommend it to others, I just don't think hookup-to-lovers is my genre. I won't be rereading this but will read more Ali Hazelwood in the future.

Two writers work together to make a terrible rom-com better and find themselves living a rom-com of their own.

This had some very likeable moments but didn't quite hit for me. It felt kind of like the rough draft of the script they were working on. Everyone seems like they could deeply benefit from some therapy. People say some absolutely terrible things to each other, some of which never really get addressed or apologized for.

The timeline jumps ahead in spots which isn't always an issue, but one jump covers multiple weeks of them living together and getting to know each other. I think I needed to see that to truly feel like I was rooting for this relationship.

I won't personally read this again but I would recommend it to a friend. There are some heartfelt depictions of grief and the reality of being a caretaker. There are cute moments where the caretaker gets to be taken care of for once. But there's also a lot of ugly words being exchanged between characters that pull this a little bit too far past bittersweet for me.

(3.5 stars)

I mean this in the best way when I say this book is 90% banter. It's funny, easy-to-read, and I had an absolute blast. Foul-mouthed, octogenarian roommates. Cute non-date dates. Quick and witty conversations.

The blurb is a little misleading. Midway through the book it turns more towards a fake dating trope than a friends-with-benefits trope (which I still love, don't get me wrong). The climax at the end is a little weak but I wasn't bored.

It doesn't have a whole lot of depth but it is a very very fun, and not at all mentally taxing. A great option for a nice palate cleanser romcom between more involved books.

Hypothetically you can read this as a standalone, but you would be missing out on all the context that really puts this book at five stars for me.

This is the best book in the series, and that's saying a lot because I really liked the first two. Justin and Emma have chemistry that pops off the page, cute banter, and charming personalities. It was satisfying to watch Justin break down Emma's trust issues and to watch her come to terms with her deeper feelings.

The external forces get a little heavy. The family issues on both sides get equal page time with the romcom parts, but I found it interesting. I think it's written with nuance and feel realistic for the situations. Both main characters have their own trauma to deal with (at various levels) and it bleeds into everything, but the overall feeling is always one of love and understanding. The plot is dynamic and at no point was I bored. It's funny, it's heartfelt, it's a gut punch sometimes, but the characters stay likeable.

VAGUE SPOILERS BELOW
I absolutely loved how interconnected this book was to the first two. My jaw literally dropped at a few reveals. Epilogues are hit or miss for me but this one was truly satisfying. Happy endings for everyone.I can't speak for the mental health representation but it seems real to me. Sometimes it was hard to watch Emma interact with her mother the way she did, in the same way I imagine it would be hard to watch your friend make decisions you know will hurt them.

Highly recommend for anyone looking for a romcom with depth, but I really think you need to read the first two.

A sci-fi story that thrives in the gray areas of morality, friendship, and the reality of ever changing history.

I really enjoyed this read. The different cultures and worlds felt established and unique. The pacing was great, the stakes are appropriately high, and there's a real emotional depth lying underneath all the action. Big themes of the self vs. the whole, historical blind spots, and whether there are ever truly good guys and bad guys.

A charismatic con-woman, a gruff but tender-hearted goat farmer, and a sassy ghost with a TV obsession come together because of a decades long curse.

The story is cute, the farm setting is charming, and the characters are mostly likeable but I found myself wanting just a little bit more.

I think part of that is just the nature of how the plot moves forward. Gretchen is simultaneously building a romantic relationship with Charlie and a friendship with Everett (the ghost), and I think that meant potential romantic development gave way to ghost bonding.

I'd still recommend reading it if the plot interests you. I enjoyed it enough to shed a tear or two towards the end but it's not something I'm going to revisit or think much about now that I'm done with it.

A sweet romance that shows you can pull magic from a seemingly ordinary life if you find the right people.

This hits all the marks I want out of an Emily Henry book. The romance is charming, the banter is quick and funny, and the side characters surrounding them are equally as lovable. It's easy-to-read while still having emotional depth, and the humor is there to pull the heavier moments into something that comes off as tender and bittersweet. There's love and acceptance amidst very real, very challenging flaws.

The fake dating/forced proximity premise is funny and believable (for the genre) and sets things up nicely for them to get comfortable with each other fast. You get to experience the satisfaction of Daphne telling off her ex, but also having the space with Miles to be vulnerable and uniquely understood.

In addition to the romance, the book explores making and keeping friends, the importance of community, and complex family dynamics in a way that feels real but not too heavy. Watching Daphne and Miles fall in love is great but I would have been equally enthralled by just watching Daphne fall in love with the place she lives and the people who make it home.

I loved Book Lovers and Beach Read, and this goes right up there with them. Typical Emily Henry humor: sarcastic, often deadpan, and full of absolute commitment to a bit. If you liked those, you'll like this. Reminded me a lot of Just for the Summer which I also loved.

(3.5 stars) A cozy, modern twist on a Victorian era romance with a bit of mystery, some science, and plenty of defied expectations.

This book will appeal to readers who enjoy historical romance but wish it included a more modern representation of present day values. A lot of the conflict that comes up directly parallels current day debates, particularly around women's bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. Lucy and her sister are both working to claim their place in previously male dominated professions. There's a small amount of queer representation included in side characters presented in a normal and accepted way.

Based off the summary, I expected the mystery to be a lot more prominent than it was. It's probably an 80/20 split of Romance/Mystery. You gets bits and pieces here and there but it's primarily focused on the relationship between Thorne and Lucy. Its more cozy romance than detective. There is a lot of info dumping. Backstories for characters are told in large chunks of text, all at once. This is particularly heavy at the beginning as this series seems to have spun off from a previous one but does still occur occasionally throughout the series.

In general this book was a really interesting mix of feminism, science, and faith. There's a strong Christian element that I was not expecting. It's so present throughout the book that I'd borderline consider it Christian fiction if it weren't for the explicit sex scenes and pro-choice plot. It's not really preachy, mostly just quoting of bible verses and their applications on the topic of being a good person. I do think this will narrow the book's appeal down to a very niche audience. It's going to be a little too progressive for a lot of Christian readers, and a little too religious for some of the people looking for those progressive ideals.

I'd recommend it for readers looking for a Victorian era, grumpy/sunshine, single parent romance with a modern twist. The side characters are charming (Sadie in particular is a delightful little weirdo), the mystery is compelling (if light), and there's something fun about watching two people who have sworn off love find themselves right in the middle of it.

This ARC was provided through NetGalley from Berkley Publishing Group. All the above is my own, honest opinion.

(3.75, rounded up) Romantasy filled with gods and magic, slow burn forbidden romance, prophecy and fate.

I mean it in the best way possible when I say this was a very readable fantasy romance. The Nordic setting feels fresh, the magic system was interesting, the tropes were hitting their marks for me. It was a good time. I'd say a 70/30 split of romance to fantasy.

That being said, it feels a bit shallow. Like we're just skimming the surface of everything. The world building was just enough to help me picture what was going on but overall feels a bit light. Pieces of Freya's backstory get dropped when it's convenient and are easily forgotten. The romance leans heavily on Bjorn's role as Freya's protector in a way that is satisfying to read, but also gets a bit repetitive. None of the twists surprised me, but that could just be that I read too much of this sort of thing.

I'm a sucker for fantasy involving a world where gods interfere with the lives of mortals and love a good slow burn/bodyguard/extra trope-y romance, so non of the flaws were deal breakers for me. With all the heavy 700+ page books coming out lately I really appreciated how quick of a read it was. I like it enough to reread it someday, would recommend it to others, and will probably pick up the next one.

Espionage, mystery, and high stakes situations under a carefully curated lie.

This exceeded all my expectations. I didn't anticipate I'd enjoy this as much as I did as it's not a genre I often reach for, but it hooked me early on. Once it did, I couldn't put it down.

The Plot: Non linear timeline. The characters' actions, both past and present, are truly what drive the narrative forward so you're not really getting details that don't directly serve the plot. Sometimes this makes it feel like things are happening in a giant sandbox, despite being set in multiple times and locations. It's meticulously plotted out and comes together in a satisfying end.

The Characters: Due to the fact that the main character is living under a false identity and trying to remain detached emotionally from the people within it, you really don't get a sense of who she is. Other characters feel equally flat as they really get boiled down to the information Evie has gathered about them. If the plot hadn't grabbed me the characters would not have been developed enough to get me to finish it. It does get better as you get further into the story but I didn't really feel attached to any of them until close to the end.

The Pacing: It's a quick read. You get important information often enough that it keeps the momentum going. The flashbacks are usually big moments that tie into the present day chapters around it so it flows nicely and doesn't feel like you're being held back from the main plot.

The Writing: The writing was pretty average for me. Nothing stuck out (good or bad).

I don't think I'd reread it, just because a lot of the interest comes from not knowing what's coming next, but I would definitely recommend it for someone looking for an easy to read, fast paced spy novel.

Reads very quick, not a super dynamic plot.

This one is mostly character driven and a little insta-lovey once things get going. I expected a little bit more suspense based off of previous books.

The epilogue wraps up the series nicely though!

Four stars is purely a personal rating because I really enjoyed this one and would reread in the future. Objectively it's more like a 3 to 3.5.

This book is such a fun premise. I loved the Halloween setting and the contrast between a serious witchy murder investigation and a cafe/occult shop in Salem.

I had a harder time enjoying the characters and the writing. Foreshadowing was a little heavy-handed for my taste. Sentences were very long and very wordy. I had to reread sentences multiple times to understand them.The characters are witty and the banter is fun, but overall they fell a little flat to me. By the end I wasn't even sure I liked them, and I had a hard time rooting for them to stay together at the end.

I'd still recommend giving it a shot. It's a fun fall read. Other people might find they love the writing style and the characters. This book sets up the next one too.

This sits somewhere around a 4.5 for me but I'm rounding up.

It's a lot darker than the other books and really focuses on creature politics, but you also get glimpses into what the more mundane parts of Diana and Matthew's life could be like. There are big themes of accepting who and what you are, regardless if you like those parts of yourself.

Overall I still enjoyed it, even after multiple rereads. But there's a lot going on. A lot of info dumping and things wrap up very fast and out of nowhere towards the end. You get a lot of answers to big questions from throughout the series but because it's so quick that they don't quite make an impact.

A satisfying end to the core trilogy but with room for more.