bee

I have heard such wonderful things about this story and I was so excited to read it.

“I was thinking about how I thank my lucky stars every day that I ended up here... right here, with you.”

I loved that Archer's healing was his own and wasn't relying on Bree. I was worried about how the love story was developing and it didn't feel healthy when Archer was expressing how he didn't believe he could recover losing Bree. I appreciated that he took the time for himself to learn how to live for himself and not anyone else.

Archer is probably one of my favourite male protagonists. I loved reading him growing into himself and him learning that he is worth more than he originally believed.

My only issue is that some of the storyline was predictable for me and some felt quite rushed whereas I personally felt like it needed to be dragged out further for me to feel any connection to it.

However, I loved this and it was such a sweet read.

“I Archer you. God, I Archer you so much”

The Troop is the first book of Nick Cutter's that I have ever picked up and I can now happily say it won't be the last.

This gave me everything that I could possibly need for a great horror novel. It was tense, gory and had me squirming. When I say squirming, that is an understatement but it's the best way to explain how I felt without spoiling anything.

The characters were also fantastically written and they each brought something unique to the story. Some had me rooting for them, some had me hoping they would be the next victim... I had great fun and I was on the edge of my seat from the very first chapter.

And the ending?? THE ENDING??

I want to give a quick shoutout to Alli for inspiring me to pick this up. I always trust your judgement and this didn't steer me wrong.

I would recommend looking up the trigger and content warnings for this book if you're going to decide to pick it up.

I can't wait to check out more by this author!

I have heard so many good things about this book and it's been on my to read list for a very long time. I am so happy I finally decided to take the leap and read it.

This had me hooked from the very first page. I haven't read a book like this in a long time and it got me so excited about reading again.

The characters, the plot... everything was so enticing to me. This is a book that I could absolutely see being a successful movie or tv series.

I loved reading about the relationship between Hannah and Bailey. Seeing them grow closer together was such a highlight for me. I'm not afraid to say that I cried reading this. Everything about it was so real and raw. I really appreciated every aspect of this book.

This is a comfort read. It's a reread. I will definitely be coming back to read this again in the near future.

“You make me wish for all the things I shouldn't.”

I have been wanting to read this for so long and I am so happy I finally picked it up.

The idea of going your whole life without knowing who your father is only to find out that he is actually royalty and you're a princess who now has to learn to adjust to this new, extravagant life? I am obsessed.

This was such a fairytale romance and I loved every minute of it. I absolutely squealed and kicked my feet like a high school girl whose crush just asked me out. I am not afraid to admit that!

I have the biggest crush on both Izumi and Akio. I am sickeningly in love with him that it's not funny.

I loved being able to read how the relationship between Izumi and her father developed. It was so beautiful watching them learn how to love and accept one another as who they are.

Sometimes predictable and cliche rom-coms are a necessary read and this is one of them.

This has been in my tbr pile for a long time so I figured it was time to pick it up and give it a go.

This is definitely a cliche romantic comedy and I found myself smiling giddily at times.

I just wish there was more depth to it and I know it might sound silly asking for that when this probably isn't meant to be anything but a quick cute story but I just prefer my stories with some realness that leaves me being able to see myself in the characters.

Overall, this was super cute.

“She couldn't change anyone's mind, couldn't make someone love her who had no interest in doing so, and couldn't keep someone from leaving her if that's what they wanted to do.”

I am sad to say that it's been a while since I read an LGBT book and I am so happy that this was the one I picked up.

Small town, tattooed photographer and a single parent? This was magnificent. I ate this up. When I say that I annotated this from cover to back, I mean it.

The characters of this book are what drew me into loving it as much as I did. Delilah was a character I didn't expect to love and relate to so much. It felt like I was falling in love with her along with Claire. She had a feisty and take no prisoners attitude on the surface but underneath it all, she just wanted to feel like she belonged. Delilah had been hurt so many times in her life and had begun to believe it was because of her own doing. It was so refreshing to see her learn to accept herself and the love she deserves. Claire was such a beautiful character and I loved seeing her also realise she deserved good things too.

I would love a book about Iris. I found her hilarious and would just devour anything with her present in it.

I loved that underneath, this was more than just about the romance between Delilah and Claire. It was about friendship and family and forgiveness. The important lesson I got from this was that people aren't always what they seem, sometimes they are fighting their own battles.

I am so excited to read Astrid's story and hopefully see her get the happiness she deserves.

”You can destroy wood and brick, but you can't destroy a movement.”

This book has been on my tbr for the longest time and I decided to make it my first read for 2023. I am so glad I did.

I don't think any words I can say can express what I truly felt about this book because it was so beautifully written and covers such important topics that need to be spoken about.

As a white person, I will never understand how terrifying it is to just simply exist because there are people who believe it's okay to judge and make assumptions based on the colour of your skin.

This book might be a work of fiction but the the injustice and racism that it contains is very real. Khalil's story might just be fiction but what happened to him happens to real people. There are countless victims who just like Khalil, lost their lives because of the people who are sworn to protect them. That isn't fiction.

It's always innocent until proven guilty until it's a black person. Then it's ”oh, but did they resist?” or ”they must've done something wrong. Bigotry and prejudice should have no place in the justice system. It should have no place at all.

I can't articulate properly how this made me feel. This is a very important read that I think everyone should pick up. I wish I could give it more than 5 stars.

I can't explain what it is about Fredrik Backman's writing that never fails to make me feel something.

This was heartbreaking and so real. It covered grief and loss in a way that I haven't read in a long time. I wasn't expecting something so profound from a story so short.

This will be a story that I will think about for a very long time.

“We lived an extraordinarily ordinary life.”“An ordinarily extraordinary life.”

“You can say that you're sorry. You can say that you're going to stop. You can say that you're going to get help. That's what the hell you can say.”

I read this book a few months ago and I'm only just getting around to writing a review now but I first of all just wanted to say how special this book truly is.

One of the worsts things in this world is having to witness someone you love struggling with addiction or alcoholism.

Maeve was a character that I really saw myself in. I understood her anxiety. I understood her anger.

Her brothers and their silly antics made me giggle out loud multiple times. I truly just loved every single one of these characters and the story that came with them.

The fact that this book was also wlw on top of everything just made it just that much better. This book truly holds a special place in my heart.

I've been meaning to get around to reading this for a long time now and I am so happy I finally got to it. I am an absolute sucker for fake relationship tropes (call it an unhealthy obsession) so you can already guess how excited and entertained I was reading this.

I can't enjoy a book unless I have laughed out loud and caused someone to look in my direction like I'm strange, thankfully and unthankfully, it happened with this book.

“Of course,” he said with his brows still furrowed. “I always have time for you.”

If someone said this to me I would kiss them on the spot. That's a promise.

Aaron is so special and he was probably my favourite character and what made this book for me. Lina believes she has a lot of baggage, she believes she's broken and he never failed to be reassuring and make her feel wanted and safe.

Also, Aaron loving Disney and Pixar movies gave me an absurd amount of serotonin that I wasn't expecting.

“And I know that even if something did break you—because that's life and no one is invincible—you'd still put the pieces back together and remain the brightest thing I'd ever seen.”

I'm not even going to sit here and pretend that this didn't make me get choked up. This is so beautiful and so special to me. This is by far my favourite quote from the entire book.

This has definitely become a comfort read for me.

This was such a fun read and I was instantly hooked. I am such a sucker for these type of mysteries. It's hard not to when they leave you wondering what's going to happen next.

I was quite shocked at how much I enjoyed this because I usually enjoy more action and scariness in my thrillers but this had me captivated and left me second guessing everything and everyone.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I actually gasped at a few plot twists that happened in this.

This book surprised me with the way it also addressed grief and the struggle of moving on and letting go. I really do think that this is going to become a comfort read for me.

If you're into thrillers or amateur sleuths, this is definitely the read for you.

A mystery thriller that has links to Shakespeare and acting? This immediately had me hooked.

This is actually the first dark academia that I've read and it's sold me on it. The characters are all so intriguing. They each brought something so unique to the story and I found myself struggling to put this book down for even a short period of time.

What I loved most is the feeling of not knowing who to trust, including the characters I grew to love and enjoy whilst reading. It follows Oliver's point of view throughout the story and I couldn't help but not be able to find him a reliable narrator.

It was filled with twists that I never saw coming and constantly left me waiting for the next show to drop. I absolutely love this book.

I don't think I'm going to be able to stop thinking about this book. It's so beautifully tragic. This is definitely a comfort read and I will probably reread again very soon.

WOW.

I feel like this is going to be the new way for me to start reviews on books that are absolute five stars for me.

I knew that The Witch's Heart was going to be fantastic because the minute I hear any book that contains any type of mythology? I am going to read it and make it my entire personality. This did NOT disappoint.

This book had me hooked from the very first page and the writing style is so different to anything that I've read and I can happily say that I am obsessed.

Loki and Thor have always had a special place in my heart when it came to the Marvel Universe so to read a retelling based on the Norse mythology surrounding them was such a high for me. I got angry at myself for not reading this sooner.

If you looked up the fierce, independent female protagonist I guarantee that Angrboda will be the prime example because that's exactly what she is. She was such a force to read about and I loved every single minute of it. Her character was so fantastic that I don't think there are words to articulately formulate my true thoughts and feelings surrounding her and her story in The Witch's Heart.

The characters, the pacing, the imagery and plot.... everything about this was superb.

If you love fantasy, this is the book for you. I can't recommend it enough. This book ruined my life. It's right up there with The Poppy War Trilogy for me and THAT says something.

Whatever this author writes from now on, I will consume without hesitation.

“It can be exhausting, giving that much when the other person is barely giving anything”

I'm not afraid to admit that I absolutely loved this. Fake relationship? Check. Enemies to lovers? Check. This was so much fun for me.

This had me giggling and laughing out loud to the point that I was getting odd looks. I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I did.

I absolutely loved Shay and Dominic's banter and just their overall characters in general. I tend to feel like some chemistry is forced in some books but that certainly was not the case for The Ex Talk, this had chemistry dripping from the pages from chapter two.

I wish I could give this five stars but I just felt like something was missing that I can't quite put my finger on.

Overall, I have to admit that this is definitely going to become a comfort read.

“I showed you my fucking Beanie Babies.”

This isn't a book that I would usually pick up and enjoy but since I said that I would challenge myself this year by reading outside the norm for me, I figured, why not?

Let Me Tell You What I Mean is a collection of essays written over the years varying on different topics. I found Didion's way with words refreshing and I enjoyed reading her thoughts and feelings on certain subjects.

I do think I would've enjoyed this more if I had read her work previous to reading this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf for providing me with this ARC. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

“You never said good-bye...”“That's because I never thought I had to...”

I knew going into this book that it would hurt me. What I didn't realise was how profoundly it would touch me, even from the very first chapter.

This story explained grief in a way that I don't see too often in books, especially within the genre of Young Adult. People say that grief is handled differently by everyone but not too often is the truly ugly side of grief that is survivors guilt (even guilt in general) and the anger that comes with losing someone you love is spoken about in such a immeasurable way.

“Letting go isn't about forgetting. It's balancing moving forward with life, and looking back from time to time, remembering the people in it”

I've struggled with grief a lot in my life and I truly believe that this quote and the lesson that it teaches is something that we all need to hear. Making yourself feel numb and not allowing yourself to actually feel what's happening is so much easier than opening yourself up to the pain of what occurred. It's taken me years to understand that the pain is just a reminder that what we lost existed in the first place.

I haven't cried as hard as I have reading this book for a very long time. This was everything to me. I can't express how much I love this.

I haven't written a review quite this long in a while but I couldn't help myself. I needed to write down the intense feelings that this book made me feel. I was genuinely so surprised to learn that this was Dustin Thao's debut. I am so excited to read what comes next from this author.

”I miss you infinity.”

“Sometimes things that appear very different on the surface are actually exactly the same at their core.”

I have heard nothing but great things about this book and more specifically, this series.

This was such a fun read. It was chaotic and had me laughing at the most silliest things. I can see myself in a lot of these characters, (minus the great wealth, of course). The idea that someone like Avery and Libby, who struggle with money, horrible men and only surviving by pay check to pay check, becoming billionaires overnight was such a cool idea to me. It felt like I was reading the Underdogs finally succeeding.

It was so much fun trying to figure out the puzzles and clues along with the characters. It made me feel apart of the story.

I think it's always good to go back to your roots with Young Adult because there's something so nostalgic and comforting about the genre. It's easy to get swept up in the daunting realism of other genres so it was nice for me to feel some escapism in a world that would never include me whilst still having real feelings brought into it.

The ending? I actually gasped

I am super excited to read the other books in this series and see what comes next.

I went into this book nervous because of all the praise that I had heard about it. Usually, I find that when books have been talked highly often they do not deserve the praise so I was very pleased to see that with Beach Read, this was not the case.

There's something about rivals to lovers that I can't help but enjoy. This book showed the perfect example of that trope that had me almost bouncing at the walls.

“Sometimes—sometimes good, or at least decent, people do bad things.”

I wanted to include this quote because I think it's really important to highlight and I want the chance to come back whenever I can to look at it.

“I was always looking for the secret code, the rules I could follow so he wouldn't freak out. That's how you keep yourself safe, you know? You pay attention to how the world works. But there was no secret code for him. It was like our actions were entirely detached from his reactions to us. ”

I wanted to include this because as I read it, I actually audibly went “oh”. I was in an abusive relationship for five years and I understand all too well the desperate need to learn the patterns and rules that came with the abuse so it could be avoided. As soon as I read this quote, I felt like I had grown so much closer to Gus and that I could understand him as a character completely.

This book is exactly what you love and expect from a romantic comedy. You could feel absolutely everything that occurred during the book. I could feel the pain, the pining, the heartbreak, the angst... everything. It was so easy to become invested.

I couldn't help but giggle at January and Gus' banter and their interactions. They were both so sarcastic and refreshing to read. They felt so real and were definitely characters that people can easily see themselves in.

“You're so fucking beautiful, you're like the sun.”

This line.... If someone said this to me? Yeah.

“When I watch you sleep,” he said shakily, “I feel overwhelmed that you exist.”

This book both broke and healed my heart. It quickly became special to me and was mentally put away as a comfort read.

“The truest type of story is the kind you tell all alone, to yourself.”

This book has been sitting on my shelf for a while now and I am so happy that I can finally say that i've read it.

The Girl from Widow Hills is the type of story that is best to go into knowing nothing. It's the perfect thriller to drive into if you're looking to get into this genre. It had mysteries and suspense surrounding two different time frames and characters that you couldn't help but feel suspicious of.

The Girl from Widow Hills was the first book of this author's that I've read and I can't wait to pick up more of their books!

Super short review from me because I am still reeling from the second book of The Poppy War trilogy.

“I just want it to be quiet.”

This was nothing like I was expecting it to be.

I think before I even begin talking about my thoughts and feelings about this book, I need to make it known that this could be very triggering for some people as it covers topics such as self-harm and suicidal ideation. I wasn't aware of this before I had begun reading so I figured it's best to give a trigger warning to others. I've been struggling a lot lately so maybe reading a book that is triggering such as this wasn't the best idea of mine.

This was heartbreakingly relatable as someone who has struggled for a very long time with mental health and trauma.

Mental health, especially depression is not one-dimensional and I feel like this book showed that perfectly. I felt a rollercoaster of emotions reading this book. The feeling of guilt, shame and pity that Charlie experienced throughout the book are feelings that I know all too well myself. It's been a while since I read a book that captured these feelings so well.

This was about healing and recovery and the difficult journey it is when the battle you're fighting is against yourself.

Charlie deserves all the happiness in the world.

This book is going to hold a very special place in my heart.

I want to end this review with me saying, to all the Charlies in the world, if you're reading this, I'm proud of you and you're worth it.

“Imagine truly believing that God loves all of His Children, except when they love each other the wrong way.”

This book has been on my tbr list for so long and I am so glad I took the time to pick it up and give it a try.

I appreciated the way that Christina Lauren portrayed the topics surrounding religion and sexuality. As someone who once was religious and now has a very negative relationship with religion due to how it affected my acceptance of my sexuality, this book hit me like a tonne of bricks.

I spend years trying to justify and fix who I was after being made to feel that something was wrong with me for feeling the way that I do. It was so comforting reading Sebastian's story of self discovery and acceptance.

It's not very often that books have bisexual representation so I loved that we got to see that with Tanner.

I would've loved to have seen the confrontation between Sebastian and his family at the end, rather than hear it from Sebastian's summary of what happened in the Epilogue. I feel like the whole story was building up to that moment and it was a conflict that needed to be addressed first-hand on page.

This is definitely a comfort book for me.

“He falls in love under a sky full of stars.”

This definitely wasn't my favourite work from Jennifer Niven but just like most of her works, it was relatable and real.

As someone who has always struggled with their weight and has had their fair share of bullying because of that, I was able to relate to Libby in the way. Libby was such a strong and independent character and I really loved that.

It was really interesting to read about Jack's character and his prosopagnosia. It's not something that I have seen portrayed in a book before.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book in the way that I felt its main element is that you're not alone and you don't need to change to make others like you. There were just a few moments that had me feeling confused on my feelings towards this book.

I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this so I think I'm going to stick with a three star rating until I decide otherwise.

If you're struggling with a book slump or are wanting to get further in your reading challenge then this is a good read for you

As someone who is apart of the transgender community I can't begin to express how important this representation is in media like this. There needs to be more stories like this.

Felix's character and the struggles that he went through this book made me quickly become attached to him. It's so refreshing to see trans issues being represented in correct and non harmful ways.

It's so refreshing to see characters that are so diverse and real. There was a character that every reader could see themselves in.

“You don't get to use my pain to make your point.”

I think this is something that needs to be highlighted and more importantly be said.

The MCU and stucky being mentioned in this somehow just made this ten times better for me.

This made me feel so hopeful for the future. This is an absolute comfort read.

“The ocean needs all kinds of fish. Just like the world needs all kinds of minds. Just one would be really dull, wouldn't it?”

It's Autism Awareness week so I figured it was the best time to finally pick up this book.

I wasn't expecting this to touch me so profoundly in the way that it did. I was diagnosed when I was four years old and it took me a while to understand that I was viewing and experiencing the world differently from others. I went through school being ridiculed by teachers and fellow students for the way I handled things or acted in some moments and it wasn't until I was much older that I understood it was because I was different.

A Kind of Spark felt like a warm hug. I think that's the best possible way for me to articulate how this made me feel. It felt like it was healing my inner child to see someone, like Addie, like me, in a book like this. If I could go back in time and hand this book to my younger self, I would.

Reading Addie's experiences throughout this book were raw, and revealing and felt like reading my own experiences as an autistic person through a magnifying glass. The masking, overstimulation, meltdowns, hyper fixations and special interests... are just some of the things that are portrayed fantastically. Honestly, reading this book made me just want to give Mcnicoll a huge hug to say thank you.

I believe A Kind of Spark is an important read for other autistic people to feel seen and for neurotypical people to attempt to understand what life is like through our eyes.

Automatic comfort read.