âThe Bodyguardâ synopsis drew me in with its refreshing premise but I soon came to realize it was too good to be true (like everything else in my life). The read felt juvenile, the storyline/plot was a snoozefest, the characters were awkward AF, and based on their behaviorâI kept forgetting they were adults. I had to re-read the synopsis to make sure I didnât pick up a YA/NA romance novel.
Additionallyâthe characters were very one-dimensional and I struggled to connect with either Hannah or Jack. As a bodyguard, Hannah did a whole lot of standing around and being walked all over by her boss, ex-boyfriend, ex-best friend, and hellâeven Jack. Where was the âtough guyâ exterior that is supposed to come with being a bodyguard? Poor girl wasnât born with a backbone. Honestly, I was far more intrigued by the corgi stalker than anything else.
And I canât fail to mention that the âromanceâ left much to be desired. This bland Wattpad wannabe Hallmark movie was altogether a waste of time but if youâre a masochist like myselfâ10/10 would highly recommend it!
If you want to read more as to why you shouldn't read this horrendous novel, give Matilda's review a whirl.
"The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond" follows the story of seventeen-year-old twins who, just like their belated mother, are powerful mediums. The gifts that have been passed down from their mother, split into twoâViolet can open the veil between life and death, and Edie can cross into the spirit worldâunfortunately couldnât save them when their mother died in the veil and their father threatened to commit them to a notorious asylum one year prior.
The night of their motherâs passing, the twins became runaways and now are part of a traveling Spiritualist show, a tight-knit group of young women who demonstrate their real talents under the guise of communing with spirits. Each night, actresses, poets, musicians, and orators all make contact with spirits who happen to have something to say. But when Violetâs act goes terribly wrong one night, Edie learns that the dark spirit (what I would deem as the "Shadow Man") responsible for their motherâs death has crossed into the land of the living. As Edie investigates the identity of her mysterious final client, N.D, she quickly realizes that someone⊠or something is hunting mediums and they may be next. Not wanting to cause Violet fear, Edie keeps the secrets of not only the dark presence that has surface but the reason cause of death of their love one is causing a wavering bond among the twinsâEdie soon realizes she canât only trust herself to uncover a killer who will stop at nothing to cheat death.
If that synopsis doesnât push you to pick this book up this holiday season, I donât know what would. I canât begin to describe how much I thoroughly enjoyed this YA paranormal murder mystery book. I came in with low, low expectations and was blown away by the author's research (asylums, womenâs rights during the era, society in the late 1800s, spirituality, etc.), writing style, great assemblage of characters (Laws has my heart!), themes, perfect mix of genres that I am living for, pacing, storyline and surprisingly enough, the mild romance that typically tends to fail time and time again in other YA paranormal books. Another thing I was highly impressed by was the fact that each of the sisters had their own identity. They had their unique personalities, quirks, abilities, strengths, and opinionsâdespite that, there was a strong sense of understanding between them.
Despite the raving review, I do want to point out the one thing that I highly dislike was the lack of Violet. Her skills and gifts were only showcased during the later book of the novel but all throughout, the story primarily focused on Edie. Maybe itâs just me but I really wanted Violet to more heavily involved in the murder mystery investigation.
Altogether, "The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond" downright unputdownable and has become the first YA I have come across in a long time that lives up to the hype. Across the boardâa phenomenal read I know I will pick up time and time again this spooky season.
"Wild Is The Witch" wasnât the greatest witchy romance I have ever read but considering this novel is marketed towards a younger audience, I will give it a pass.
What I loved: magical system, decent world-building, writing style, and character background. The premise was there and the introduction of the novel drew me in but that faded with the repetitiveness within the storyline.
What I hated: the forced romance between the main charactersâthe novel wouldâve been better if the author focused on the development of magic, character depth and better structure of the storyline.
Nonetheless, I would highly recommended to young readers if theyâre looking for a little magic, romance, and adventure.
Third time is not the charm. I have previously read 'Judgment Road' and 'Vengeance Road' of the Torpedo Ink Series, and very much like themâI am unable to find anything worth mentioning. Itâs a very repetitive, drawn out story with uninteresting characters whose chemistry was non-existent and a boring plot that had me yawning more than once. It fell flat to me and because of that I was unable to connect with this novel. The only mildly interesting bit was the psychic abilities that each MC member has. Besides that, there is nothing that truly stands out and it wasnât worth more of my time and energy to complete this.
After reading a synopsis like that, I was more than ready for an enemies turn lovers romance filled with a brooding heroine (for once), funny banters, steamy moments and more, but once again I am met with another upsetting read.
In regards to the charactersâAva was a major hypocrite. I wonât indulge too much on it but those scenes where she showed face were very prominent and changed my view on the heroine. There wasnât much to like about her and as the story progressed, my dislike for her only grew especially when she mistreated Jack. The hero was a little more bearable and more so present as comedic relief. Did I laugh? No, but he was the only character that didnât annoy me. He was the complete opposite of Ava, so that was a major plus.
Plot/Storyline wiseâit was an extremely uneventful read until the 70% mark and by then, I was no longer invested in this release. It was terribly boring, long, drawn out and the fact that Ava was already in a relationship while growing feelings for the former pilot left a bad taste in my mouth. Jack deserved so much better. I didnât buy their relationship and in the long term, I know it would have never worked out. There wasnât anything that stood out besides the behind the scenes of what flight attendants experience that interested me though some of the unprofessional behavior displayed multiple times by the characters didn't sit well with me. More so, this is no way shape or form a romantic comedy. There were 2-3 moments that were funny and everything else fell flat.
Would I recommend this? No. Would I read from this author again? Double no. Did I regret picking this up? Yes, one thousand times. Yes!
An upsetting read that seems to be the norm with fae/YA books I have picked up lately.
Letâs start off with the positives, shall we? I thought the author handled the triggering content with care and sensitivity, I found the royal politics fascinating, and this YA thriller had great LGBTQ representation. Thatâs it.
Now obviously by the rating I had given this book, the bad outweighs the good in every single way. First things first, it was tough to keep track of the characters with the multiple POVs (I believe 4-5). 2-3 POVs would have suffice and the inner monologues were too dreadful and unnecessary. I wasnât able to connect to the characters and the events that surround them due to that and because I also struggled with the pacing. It was overly drawn out and boring, preventing me from being invested in them and their story. Little to nothing of the magic system was properly explained (perhaps it will be in upcoming books?). Long drawn out introductions, info dumps, confusing plot lines/holes, lack of structure and messy world-building essentially ruined this all together for me.
Would I recommend this? No. Yet regardless of that, fans are going to gravitate towards this series due to the breathtaking cover, synopsis and this novel being the perfect mashup (apparently) of The Cruel Prince and City of Bones. My fingers are crossed that their reading experience was a lot better than me.
âThe Conductorsâ is a truly compelling debut that did at first have a rough start but page by page, I become engrossed in Hetty and Benjy, infamous duo that now solves crimes in post-Civil War Philadelphia, journey in discovering who were committing the horrific murders while they dealt with the bubbling feelings and well guarded secrets neither one expected during the course of their marriage of convenience.
It was a perfect blend of an historical novel with fantasy and mystery elements all in one that made this a riveting read that was just too hard to put down. This is ideal for readers looking for a well paced cozy whodunit mystery filled with a fascinating premise, subplots, magic, fantasy, and characters that standout.
If I had paid more attention to the blurb, I would have not picked this up. I just donât do love triangles. At all. 10/10, itâs a complete turn off for me when I pick up any book and it doesnât matter what genre but nonetheless here weâre back here again with a review for another book that has been inspired by the overhyped, âA Court of Thorns and Rosesâ. When will this madness stop?
Never.
Anywho⊠Was I able to surpass that dreadful bermuda triangle (thatâs almost in every human/fae fantasy romance book)? No. Was the writing style, plot, and characters able to savage this read for me? Minus the writing style, again no.
Abriella acted and wanted to be considered a badass but she obviously failed, the heroine was waaaay too indecisive for my taste, and oblivious to the manipulation surrounding her. The âepicâ love triangle and the constant back and forth between Finn and Sebastian had me rolling my eyes. I couldnât deal.
The only positives were the fairly decent world-building, writing and the stunning cover. Everything elseâflat characters, boring and overused plot I have seen time and time again, and closely ACOTAR (along with TFOTA and The Selection per book friend) resemblance that was appalling to read will prevent me from picking this series up again in the future.
Be that as it may, I can see Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black fans being drawn to this. Hopefully their reading experience is much more than delightful than mines.
âSweet & Bitterâ is about Tamsin, the most powerful witch of her generation and Wren, a magical source proposes a bargain: if Tamsin will help her catch the dark witch responsible for creating the plague, then Wren will give Tamsin her love for her father.
All things consideredâthis was a fairly decent debut. The polar opposites queer duo, character development, the non overly romanticize plot, and how the author touched based on death and mental illness were my favorite portions of the read. Otherwiseâbland/mediocre the writing style wasnât up to par with what I envision for the novel, the romance between Tamsin and Wren wasnât believable and there was a lack of chemistry, agonizing info dumps, and dragful scenes that had me skim here and there.
Ultimately, this novel has the capability to hold your attention till the last page and it wasnât completely terrible so 8/10, I will give this author another go.
Firstly, letâs talk about the cover. Itâs absolutely stunning and perfectly presents what the novel is aboutâtwo witches Iraya and Jazmyne, despite being divided by their castes, enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat.
The Jamaican-inspired fantasy debut novel was one of my most anticipated books of 2021. The authorâs writing style brought this story to life with its incredible details, magical and strong female characters and most importantly brilliant worldbuilding.
In spite of this, I was not able to connect and immerse myself in this read. I found it overly detailed (ugh, info dumps are the worst!), confusing and hard to keep track of who was who. There were a large number of characters who had strong connections to Ira and Jazmyne, and background stories of their own. Also, if youâre a reader looking for something fast paced, this is not the one for you. It was terribly slow moving and oftentimes, I did skim a little to find more engaging scenes that peak my interest but overall, it didnât help improve my reading experience.
âWitches Steeped in Goldâ can be categorized as a hit or miss for readers due to itâs info dumps, large quantity of characters, very very slow pacing along with rich world-building.
Rochelle, Natashaâs older sister, is missing and when her vehicle is found abandoned on the edge of a local nature preserve, Natashaâs loss turns to burning anger (that is just about borderline psychotic) when the case goes cold. She takes it upon herself to play detective (cue the eyeroll people) and appears at the door of Della, a witch whose family has channeled magic from the Bend for generations, providing spells for the desperate and vengeful. Unbeknownst to Natasha, the witch thinks she knows the beast whoâs responsible for the disappearanceâmommy dearest, who was turned into a terrible monster by magic gone wrong that also led to the gruesome murder of her Aunt Sage.
Now with a synopsis such as that, you would think I would love this instantaneous, right?
Eh'nt! You're wrong.
Natasha ruined this for me.
She was aggressive, confrontational, entitled and fixated on her missing sister's boyfriend who she believed was responsible for Rochelle's disappearance. Characters like her usually lures me away and destroy most to all books for me. She didn't have any redeemable qualities and she was a down right bitch. I just couldn't find anything remotely likable about her which is a shame because when I read the blurb I was more than excited to read about queer witches, magic, and monsters with a mystery thriller twist. And spoiler alert: can we talk about how when dumb dumb went to Della to ask if she can teach her how to become a witch so she could force Jake to admit he killed her sister and was a serial killer (far-fetched idea she claimed was true), why did Natasha 'magical powers' come out of the woodwork at that very moment when we reached the halfway point? There was no hint at all she could wield magic nor did Della pick up on it. That whole scenario had me scratching my head and at that very moment, I came to realize I just didn't have the willpower to read this anymore.
Della, Miles and Ruby (mother) even her father (not mentioned as far as I recall) were the only standouts of this YA novel and I really like their dysfunctional family dynamic and background story as to what led Della's mother to be locked away. Unfortunately as the story progressed and the more Natasha appeared, I found it difficult to immerse myself in this novel because she is everything I hate in a character and since she is one of the main two, the enjoyment I once had for this started to slowly shimmer.
All in all, if Natasha wasn't there I would have been all over this book. Plus I know for a fact that if I had reached the romance portion of this, I would have surely been gagging. Della and Natasha were total opposites and there was a huge huge lack of chemistry and a strong connection. Their relationship would've been unbelievable and lackluster at best.
Nonetheless the build up and the author's writing style was up my alley so I will definitely read more from her again as long as there aren't any more Natashas or characters similar to her in any of her future works.
'Last Chance Books' was not much of a stand out. After reading the synopsis I was more than game for epic book store rivalry enemies turned lovers book war, it felt flat.
The charactersâMadeline and Jasper lacked the chemistry and depth to pull me in and their childish pranks were just that, childish. More so, the unrealistic dialogue was a turn off and the love hate plot was too abrupt and quick for me. One moment the bitter rivals are trying to one-up another and in the next, wham-bam! Theyâre coupling up.
So all in all, it wasn't completely terrible read but there are a few things that could be tweaked and adjusted to make this a somewhat more salvageable read.
Maybell Parish, a dreamer and a hopeless romantic, inherits a charming house in the Smokies from her Great-Aunt Violet. Seizing the opportunity to make a fresh start, she moves out of her shared apartment and quits her job before discovering it seems her troubles have only just begun. When she arrives at her newly inherited home that is in the brink of collapsing, she is informed that she isn't the only inheritor. She has to share everything with Wesley Koehler, the groundskeeper who's as grouchy and as it turns out he has a very different vision for the property's future.
Convincing the taciturn Wesley to stop avoiding her and compromise is a task more formidable than the other dying wishes Great-Aunt Violet left behind. As renovations begin to restore the home, Maybell uncovers something unexpectedly sweet beneath Wesley's scowls and cold-shouldersâleading readers in a heartwarming tale about two strangers that find love where they least expected. Love that had me wanting more, more, and more of this sweet romance!
Shortly after putting this highly anticipated release down (with a show of hands, who else has been waiting for this since 2020?) and devouring it in one sitting (not the first and surely not the last with this author), I had to take a moment to gather myself⊠because this was absolutely phenomenal. Sarah Hogle is hands down the new queen of romance! She has me 2 for 2, 5 star ratings!
Oh my goodness!
âTwice Shyâ was perfect.
Itâs the only word to describe how she was able to bring these characters to life with the romance, storyline, humor, and real life issues (death, anxiety, etc). This slow burn romance hit me right in the feels! And the characters were incredibleâso whatâs not to love?
One hand we have Maybellâepic one-liners, hopeless romantic that more often than not daydream of being swept off her feet by âJackâ in her AU where she owns a cute retro coffee shop. Then the other, Wesleyâbrooding, grumpy, grouchy loner who has an unexpected soft side to him. Heâs so book boyfriend material. Wesley was adorable and I couldnât help but want to hold him when he got shy, flustered, and struggled with his social anxiety. Seriously as the story progressed, I fell more in love with the main characters. Theyâre so charming, real, raw and I simply couldnât get enough.
Honestly I never have much success with authors follow up novels. There is always a major flaw that makes them fall flat and I didnât think it was possible for the author to top âYou Deserve Each Otherâ but âTwice Shyâ pars for sure.
âTwice Shyâ is perfect for fans of âThe Hating Gameâ, âYou Deserve Each Otherâ and âShortcakeâ, especially for readers who are looking for opposites attract romance, laugh out moments, amazing characters with a decent plot that glues everything together.
I am all for the lies, betrayals, angst, secrets, misunderstandings, crazy rich family dynamics, second chance in re-discovering love but I do not condone cheating from the main characters whatsoever.
Meg slept with LeoâTom's best friend from college and best man at the weddingânot once, but twice and had the audacity to throw it at Tomâs face.
Obviously this âfunny, romantic, and big-hearted debut novelâ missed the mark and there is a high, high chance I will not read from this author again.
This is 384 pages?! I devoured this in less than 1.5 hours. Either someone miscounted or I was that engrossed with this read. Surprisingly this romance novel was a decent follow-up to âThe Hating Gameâ because after reading an excerpt of â99 Percent Mineâ, weâre just going to pretend that never happened.
Considering everything, I thought this was pretty cute. Predictable, yet cute and surely not the best follow-up Iâve read but I have read the worst. I loved the funny dynamic between Ruthie, Teddy and Melanie. Though the romance aspect to her and Teddy relationship was lacklusterâplatonically? They rocked it. I am all for the opposites attract trope but I couldnât imagine her and Teddy as a couple at all. Sure they had a few cute scenes but nah. I didnât care much for the lovey dovey stuff and was more focused on the humor bits because the Parlonis sisters stole the show for me! They were an ultimate duo and the breakout characters of this novel. How they put Teddy through the ringer was comical and my fingers are crossed in seeing more of them in the future.
Five warriorsâone broken, one gone soft, one pursuing a simple life, one stuck in the past, and one who should be dead. Their story should have been finished. But evil doesnât stop just because someone once said, âthe end.â
The low-key premise reminded me of Roshani Chokshi's Gilded Wolvesâobviously I was intrigued by this fantasy novel because of that alone and overall, this novel wasn't as impressive as I thought it would be.
Generally speaking, it was not terrible. Nor great. In layman's termsâmeh...?
âYouâve all heard the legends. There were five of us, tasked by the guild master to eliminate the threat posed by the rogue bone maker Eklor.â She held up one finger. âKreya, our bone maker, a rising star in the guild, chosen for possessing a power that could rival Eklorâsâ if she lived long enough to hone it.â A second finger. âZera . . . thatâs me, my loves.â Her audience cooed appreciatively, and Kreya rolled her eyes. âBone wizard. Unknown until then, but soon to be unrivaled.â Third. âMarso, a bone reader, with a unique gift of seeing the truth of the past, present, and future that far exceeded the skills of other bone readers.â Four. âStran, a warrior with experience in using bone talismans to enhance his already prodigious strength.â And five. âJentt, a reformed thief, who specialized in using talismans of speed and stealth to win his battles.â âThe legend says that the guild master tasked five, but he did not. He tasked only one. Kreya. She chose the rest of us. All that befell us is her fault. All the glory, and all the pain.â
That sounded good on paper, right? But the author, in my opinion, didnât deliver. I felt like I was just going through the motions when reading this and truthfully, I was a bit bored by the halfway point despite finally meeting the rest of the original crew besides Kreya, Zera, and recently resurrected Jentt, who are each dealing with their own struggles/new lives after their disbandment and war.
More so, what made this a somewhat taxing read was the main character, Kreya. I honestly didn't care for her. And more times than not, my primary focus was on Zera, Marso, Stran and less frequently Jentt. I understand her husband died but for her to just abandon her crew/âbest friendsâ after his sudden death (that she caused btw) and to thenâafter 25 yearsâgo out to seek them for help/guidance in bringing back her dead husband and to save the world (again). Yeah no. I wasnât feeling that. I would have gladly told her to fuck off.
Altogether, what I dislikedâKreya, slow-going storyline, lack of perspective of the other characters minus MC, did I mention Kreya?, lack of world-building, the abrupt ending (WTF was that?!) that couldâve been more fleshed out, and despite it being an adult fantasy (40âs + 50âs aged team), the strong YA vibes I got was not my cup of tea.
One of the few positives of this book that I really enjoyed was the concept of bone making, bone reading, magic, special use of talisman, etc. The magic system really intrigued me and it was something I havenât seen in other adult -cough-YA with older characters-cough- fantasy books I have read thus far. I hope to see more of this in the future.
Elodie receives a letter from a mysterious sender offering her work as a housemaid and when she was hired at Black Oak Cottage, she had no idea she'd find herself working for a witchâAleidaâwho was not expecting a housemaid to turn up on her doorstep. Amidst her employment, no matter what the old witch throws at her, to Elodie it's still better than going back to her abusive home even if it means dealing with the consequences of a dead witchâGyssha Blackbone, who made monstersâ, a bitter curse and a battle of magic. Somehow, someway it's Elodie's job to clean up the mess the old dead witch made which lead readers on a otherworldly journey filled with magic, monsters, witches and more.
⊠and based on the reviews, âA Curse of Ash and Embersâ was not as terrible as I thought it would be. I actually quite enjoyed myself. From the relationship between Elodie and Aleida, the cause the death of Gyssha and her resurrection, Deeâs upbringing, outstanding world-building, and the characters themselves had me hooked from the get-go.
The likable characters, refreshing and unique premise, and lack of romance really brought this story together. Though this could really end as a standalone, I am really excited to continue the âTales of the Blackbone Witchesâ series to see how Dee and Aleida grow and evolve.
