Kiraz

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.

Rating: 3.3⭐️

When I picked this book up I was really curious about the logistical aspects of how you put together a book like this.

This is a murder mystery but each chapter is from a different POV and written by a different author, also each chapter takes place sequentially in the story. And I was and still am, fascinated by how you put together a murder mystery where one character's actions from one chapter would affect all other chapters, with 20 different authors!!

One of the best parts of this book is all the fantastic authors in it. Each chapter I read I was so invested I never wanted to switch to the next POV, but then next chapter I would feel the same. Also the list of authors is incredibly diverse and so are the characters they've written. There are many LGBTQIA+ characters, people of color and characters with disabilities. I would have loved to read any of these chapters as a full length book.

I loved so many details of this book: All the different types of magic, the magical school, the characters, the writing... I was also quite invested in some of the pairings, crushes etc. And I loved how usually there is a “chosen one” in these types of books, but this subverts that by making everyone think that they have to solve the mystery that it's their destiny to do so, which honestly feels a lot more realistic in this kind of a setting.

The resolution to the mystery was a bit of a let down. I was quite invested throughout and there were fun little red herrings and clues sprinkled throughout. But paying close attention didn't end up mattering that much since only a few of the chapters played into the solution.

Also the person who died is so villainous that he's more of a caricature of a character, and you're just left feeling good riddance to bad trash, do we have to solve his murder?

General note: There are a lot of characters so a reference sheet of some kind might be helpful as you're reading.

Thank you to Delacorte Press and NetGalley for the eARC!!

This one is a very sweet queer holiday romance, and as the book mentions as well, we need a lot more queer holiday romances. I'd recommend this book for Hallmark style movie lovers. But just like those movies, you can either overlook the details and enjoy it for what it is, or you'll get caught in the details like I did. I know this is an unpopular opinion and most people loved it, but I just couldn't get into it.

At the beginning of the book, the main character has a lot of anger towards the most important people in her life. For things that happened 7 years ago. The issue is that, not only did she blow things out of proportion back then, she still feels exactly the same way. From the very beginning I couldn't get over how she has not grown at all from her high school days. Even by the end of the book, I'm not convinced that any of the characters changed or grew at all.

On the other side of things, the love interest, Rachel, and other people in Morgan's life magically forgive her almost immediately for practically ghosting them for 7 years, even though they would actually be right to be angry.

And when it comes to their romance, I didn't see it. It felt like their only connection was in the past. They had no real bonding or connection as adults other than their sexual tension. It felt like a relationship built on nostalgia.

Even the classic premise of saving local businesses, which I usually enjoy, lacked oomph, since issues were resolved almost as soon as they came up, the stakes didn't feel high, and I couldn't appreciate the solutions they came up with.

What I did like:

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.

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.

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

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: 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.

This was amazing! A beautiful, intriguing cute story, can't wait to see its continuation.

First of all, this is one of the prettiest graphic novels I have ever read. I just absolutely loved the art style.
But also, I loved the story overall. Elle is starting at a new school, making new friends, navigating the social and school life while dealing with the stressors that come with all that. Even putting the other subplots aside, that alone would have been interesting enough. But then other layers come in and it builds up into a good light mystery on top of everything else. It definitely ends abruptly with a cliffhanger, so watch out because you're going to want to read the rest!

Elle's new friends are all awesome, getting a beautiful found family feeling there.
I really liked the representation on dissociative identity disorder. To be clear, I have no personal experience with it and I don't know if the author does, so I can't comment on how well or accurately it was portrayed, but from my limited perspective, it was still respectfully and beautifully done.

This was a great first step to what seems like will be a great, interesting and beautiful story.

I will most definitely be reading the next one, and when/if the physical book comes out in English, I will be buying that one too, so I can have and share the beautiful art.

Thank you to Netgalley and Le Lombard/Europe Comics for the eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

The Marlow Murder Club members are back in this second book of the series! This is a fun and delightful cozy mystery that will keep you guessing. Perfect for Agatha Christie lovers, and the British cozy mystery shows. After all, the author is the creator of one of my favorite such shows: Death in Paradise.

You don't have to have read the first book to enjoy this one, though the first one is definitely worth reading as well, especially if you wanna get to know the characters better.

I wrote this in the review of the first book: “There's Judith Potts the 77 year old cryptic crossword creator, Suzie the blunt dog walker, Becks the too proper wife of a Vicar and Tanika the by-the-books detective.” What's cool is that even though all of that is still true, (except Potts is now 78) they've also all grown and changed in some ways.

Compared to the first one, I found this to be a bit more focused on the mystery. We get less of all the characters' lives and quirks outside of them solving the mystery, which makes sense, since the first book probably had to spend some time introducing the characters fully. This isn't necessarily a bad thing since the focus on mystery makes the pacing feel very smooth, though I do really like the characters as well so I wouldn't have minded either way.

In terms of the actual mystery, this one really got me! It has a locked room mystery, and it's done so well. All the classic pathways are covered from the very beginning, in a way that it really feels like an impossible murder. You might figure out the culprit(s) early on, but the mystery of how they did it will still have you scrambling.

With brilliant characters, an intriguing mystery and perfect cozy vibes, this is a must read for the fans of the genre.

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

The Charmed List takes place in a mildly fantastical world which sets up the background of the story. Ellie wants to no longer be a wallflower, so she makes a list of things to do before her senior year of high school. One of the items on the list gets her and her bestie, Lia in trouble, so instead of going on a road trip together, Ellie has to go with her old best friend, now enemy, Jack.

This is a cute YA romance that's actually for Young Adults. It is sure to put a smile on your face. Reading this book feels like watching those older Disney Channel movies in all the best ways, and I say this as someone who devoured them as a teenager.

This is the third book I've read by this author. I love Julie Abe's magical worlds. They're always cozy, whimsical and fun. This is no exception, even though the magic in this world is a lot smaller scale compared to her Eva Evergreen series, it is well thought out. There are no strong spells here, but little charms, like calming teas, joyful pastries, secret cottages...

The romance between Ellie and Jack is quite adorable. I loved the progression of their relationship, even though they're “enemies” it's always obvious how much they care about each other. The adventures they go on on their road trip and the way they start to trust each other was so cute to see. They had so many adorable scenes together. Also Jack was great as a love interest. He's really thoughtful and nice. He makes mistakes, but throughout the book, you can always tell how much he likes and cares for Ellie. I enjoyed all the flashbacks we got in the book of when Ellie and Jack were friends. The memories helped emphasize how great a friend Jack was and how Ellie must have felt after losing such a great friend.
I thought they were so cute together that I wish we had more of them as a couple in the book.

Aside from the romance, I also loved loved all the non-romantic relationships in the book. I especially appreciated the close relationship between Ellie and her sister Remy, Ellie and Lia, and Remy and her BFF Cam (Jack's brother). I loved Remy as a character, and as a sister. She was always there for Ellie, but also was ready to give it to her straight when Ellie was in the wrong.

I didn't like how repetitive the book got at times. For example, Ellie rightfully had misgivings about trusting Jack after how he treated her, but for most of the book, whenever she had any positive thoughts about him, she'd follow it up with but I can't trust him after the way he treated me.

Overall this was an adorable and age appropriate YA romance with some magical aspects. Highly recommended for YA readers.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this eARC.

Rating: 3.5
I had to read this as soon as I saw it was by Brandon Sanderson. He knows how to write a good fantasy, with great world building, intriguing characters, moral dilemmas and a story that hooks you in.

On a high level, this graphic novel is no different, most of those pieces are still there in this story. It asks interesting questions around hero vs villain, destiny, and goes in unexpected directions.
There were parts that I really enjoyed, especially Feotora and what she does, Nikka and her backstory, the court hearing... Really, most of what happens for most of the book, is pretty good.

On the other hand, I felt a little lost at times in the formal language that didn't flow naturally at all. Because of this, I'm still not sure that I grasped everything. I especially didn't understand what pushed Paul to drink for example. Initially he was so opposed to it, but then the story that convinced him... It felt like that should have convinced him to not drink it at all. I didn't get it. And that was just one of the things where I wasn't fully following the character motivation. But once that happened, the story kind of lost me. It got me back with the court hearing, and I was intrigued enough to want to read the next one, but not enough to think it was a great read overall.
It's also possible that one of the reasons I got lost at times was because the story was missing narrative context. The dense-ness of the story didn't seem to fit that well into a dialogue only format.

Overall, I'm intrigued enough that I'd want to read the next one, and hope that Volume 2 will explain some of the parts that confused me.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In Dust and Grim Molly discovers a brother, Dustin, she never knew she had when her dad passes away. Molly moves in with Dustin until they figure out inheritance details but she soon discovers there's a lot more to this funeral home than one would expect.

A great middle grade read for children and the young at heart, especially for the spooky season! It has lots of monsters, spookiness, silliness and humor while still being heartwarming and it teaches good lessons. I'd recommend it for people who like plot-driven books more than likeable characters.

The plot was fast paced and intriguing. The mystery was set up well and it made you wanna keep reading to figure out what was going on. I was hooked on the adventure they went on especially after the monsters were introduced.

I really enjoyed all the creatures that were in the book. They were cool, unique and fun to read. And I really enjoyed their characters, they truly were one of the biggest highlights for me. As you'll read below, I liked them a lot more than any human in the book

There are very clear lessons in here about family, responsibility, jealousy... I'd think that this part would be great for the younger reader but maybe a bit obvious for the older ones.

Overall, I enjoyed the plot a lot more than characters which is why I really struggled at the beginning of the book. I found the main characters highly unlikeable. Molly is very abrasive and hardened for her age, which, to be fair, makes sense with her background. But then Dustin and Vivacia who are old enough to know better, treat a 13 year old unnecessarily bad. At times it felt like those old movies/books where people would treat kids badly for no reason. Especially considering none of the conflict of the book would have happened if they were just slightly nicer to one another. I can't call it the miscommunication trope, since it was more like no commnunication.

Overall though, I'd think that this would make a great read for the younger audience. The author really created a fun and unique world in this book with some great messages and lessons.

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.

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!

Funnily enough, this is not the first queer holiday book I read this year with an entitled main character going to a small town where their family lives after a snafu, and decides to help the town hold an event to help the local businesses in order to restore their reputation but finds growth and romance in someone with a penchant for woodcutting.

I liked this one more.

This wasn't an easy read for me. It took me weeks to get through. But overall, I appreciated it for all the representation. I thought that the author did an especially great job with the mental health related storylines in the book. Read if you're looking for very lust-forward spicy books that also cover heavier topics.

Rating: 4.5
I received an ARC from the author/publisher for free. I am voluntarily posting an honest review.

This was a surprisingly great read for me. I loved it so much! It was a slow burn romance with the perfect romance pace, that was also deliciously steamy! I loved all the characters, they felt nuanced. I really related to Brooks since most of my life I went around claiming I would never marry anyone because I was around bad relationships.

The only issues I had with it was regarding overall pacing. At times it seemed to be moving too fast. Especially the end, after the first ball, I would have wanted more insight to both of the characters' inner thoughts into what was happening, but the resolution to that problem seemed to come too fast.

Also, I don't know if the author is planning this at all, but I would LOVE another book on Rosamund and Robert.

Read this if you're looking for a fluffy historical romance, that might be a little trope-y and historically inaccurate, but definitely very fun, lovely and cute.

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.

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.

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.

Quick thoughts:
3.5 ⭐
Kind of slow in pacing. Found the main character annoying. The twist(?) was mostly obvious. Loved the mythology and the gender representation. Enjoyed the romance. It would be exciting to see it really develop in book 2. Might read the next one in the series. Didn't really like the audiobook narrator either, in trying to not be monotonous everything came off as it was super exciting.

To Sir, with Love is a modern take on “You've Got Mail” the movie. Gracie is living her late father's dream and running the family business of a champagne shop. She has a very clear picture of the man of her dreams. Could the “Sir” she's been messaging on a dating app be him? Sebastian, a very real man, on the other hand, is trying to take her father's dream away. But she can't deny the immediate attraction she feels towards him. Will she fall in love in with the same men twice over?

Even knowing exactly how this book would go, I still enjoyed it so very much! Could it possibly have been better to not know that this was modeled after You've Got Mail (as some other reviewers mentioned) so you wouldn't know Seb and Sir were the same person? I'm actually not sure. I think knowing it helps with setting the right expectations. You know what you'll be getting when starting the book. But the journey is still incredibly sweet.

The best way to describe this book is: incredibly cute and quite funny. I highlighted so many parts for making me laugh out loud. And was grinning at the cuteness while reading.

I loved how the messages with Sir were interleaved with the chapters. This gave us a good look into their repartee, and at times Sebastian's thoughts as well.

If I had to nitpick, I'd say that I loved Sebbie & Gracie so much, I wish we got more of them together. I would totally be okay with a book that's longer if it meant we'd see more of their adventures.

This short and sweet version stays pretty true to the movie in terms of the flow of plot, while keeping it different enough to make it unique.

In terms of steam the book stays at a 1 out of 3.

To Sir, with Love was a joy to read from beginning to end, I read it in one sitting and it kept me until 4am until I finished it.

Heartbreak Incorporated is a supernatural romance with mystery and occult elements. In the book, Evie starts a new job working for Misha, a mysterious and sexy man whose job it is to break up couples by seducing one of the parties. Soon Evie realizes there might be more to Misha and what he does, while also falling for him.

This was such a great read! It was sexy, fun and hard to put down. This is a book that I would recommend to any paranormal romance reader.

First of all I really liked Misha. I thought he was a very well thought out character that was also enjoyable to read. There's especially something very spoilery about him that I liked, which I thought made him a very unique and cool character. Overall, yes he is a sexy mysterious male lead, but he feels different than other sexy mysterious male leads you read in most other supernatural romances.

I liked how the mystery unfolded. I was generally a few steps ahead of Evie, but actually this time that's a good thing. I liked that there are hints sprinkled along the way, so that the revelations that Evie has about halfway through the book don't come as a surprise to the reader. I enjoyed that I knew Misha's deal before Evie and enjoyed watching her get there.

I also really liked the overall pacing of this book. I read it all in two sittings, No part of it felt too slow or too fast, and considering how many subgenres this book is juggling that is extra impressive.

If I had any nitpicks, it would be that Misha and Evie don't get that much time to be together as a couple. tThey were really delightful (and spicy) to read.

This book ends open ended enough in a way that there could be more books coming afterwards, and if there are, sign me up! I want to read more about Evie and Misha's adventures, and them as a couple.

Thank you to Rebellion Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC.