She Reads With Tea

a cozy bookish corner Blog: @shereadswithtea wordpress

[shereadswithteablog]

Hey, fellow readers!

Welcome to my cozy space to rant about books

On this space you'll find

🌷 Honest and Spoiler free reviews

🌷 Book recommendations

🌷 Anything bookish

I also run a book blog where I share detailed spoiler free reviews:

Read full book reviews here 🌼

I mostly read mystery and thrillers but is always on a hunt for diversity 🍁

[shereadswithteablog]

The Hearth Witch's Guide to Magic and Murder

It's raining and you expect a cozy murder mystery set in fantasy world, then this is the book to be read!

It had equal measures of mystery and fantasy interwoven with a sapphic romantic couple. The murder investigation of a woman who was found to have herbs in place of her organs has led to the release of Avery Hemlock, a changeling. She then meets a mortal, Saga Trygg and together sets out to solve the case.

What I liked most of this book was how it approaches the mystery element. I would say that the ending was quite unpredictable and interesting to see how the author revealed each layer of mystery.

I never knew I needed a book like this in my life and now I do have it. So thrilled for future Avery-Saga books 🌷

This is my first time reading a @kiricallaghan book and it certainly won't be my last 🍁

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[bookishfreedom]

For anyone who loved The Raven Cycle, but thought, "that could've been scarier": This book is for you.

Don't Let the Forest In follows Andrew Perrault, returning to the elite Wickwood Academy for his senior year. And although high school has never been easy for Andrew, from the start, this year is different. His twin sister, Dove, is keeping him at arms length, and his best friend Thomas is acting strangely, disappearing into the forest behind the school at night. One night, Andrew follows him, to find Thomas fighting off horrifying creatures. But there's something familiar about these creatures: they look exactly like the ones from Thomas's drawings.

I absolutely devoured this book. It had me up way too late reading, and even though I finished at 3am, I wanted to turn to the beginning and start all over again. (And, at the cost of precious sleep, I did in fact reread the first chapter.)

I would recommend this book to anyone, and it's got me super excited to tackle CG Drews' backlist. The characters leap off the page and sink claws into your heart (in a good way). They're complex and messy and in need of a good hug. Andrew and Thomas are just two kids trying their best to figure out the world, and each other. My heart ached for them both, even when I wanted to shout at them. This story also has some of the best ace rep I've ever read. Andrew's identity is central to the story, and woven into all of his choices seamlessly, in a way that feels natural without distracting from the story.

I was on the edge of my seat the whole time and came away from the story thoroughly haunted. (It was maybe a mistake to read this in the middle of the night.... walking to the bathroom after was a terrifying experience.) Drews' prose is evocative, equal parts beautiful and macabre.

Thanks so much to Netgalley & Macmillan for the free review copy. Happy to say that I ordered my own copy before I even finished the ARC🖤

and thank goodness I did because do you SEE the barnes & noble special edition??? the DRAWINGS. and the @paperfury annotated chapter?? I’m obsessed

[kiricallaghan]

Fiore & Esteri, my dragon and fire fox—easily my favorites of the supporting cast of The Hearth Witch’s Guide to Magic & Murder, they are order and chaos.

I’m displaying them together because the two are never parted for long. Even thousands of years later, they are a package deal.

Fiore is a member of the Winter Council, and manages several businesses, including Esteri’s cafe, Hygge. They are VERY good with money, and if Dragons are prone to hoarding, this one has been hoarding properties—and managing them very well. Money will always be merely an object to them and it has never been an obstacle. In my head they’ve always had a very Haruka Tenou vibe if she’d been written by Oscar Wilde. Fiore is often clipped and matter-of-fact, but despite Avery’s jabs, they are not humorless.

Far more prone to theatrical displays of emotion and excitement, Esteri is a tulikettu and the proprietor of Hygge—though she personally hasn’t looked at a ledger in centuries. She prefers to be behind the bar and connecting with customers. She is patient, kind and often loyal to a fault—much to the frustration of her partner. Hee fond opinions of Avery are not the only thing she and Fiore disagree on, but it may be the most obvious and contentious.

[milk-and-wildflowers]

🪷 The Ache of Almost: What Girlhood Leaves Behind

It happens quietly.

You find a ribbon at the bottom of a drawer. A scuff on the wall in the shape of a memory. A letter you never sent. A song that still knows all your ache by heart.

And suddenly—there she is.

The girl you used to be.

She’s wearing your old hoodie. She’s chewing on her thumbnail. She’s asking, with wide eyes and too much hope— “Do I get to become something beautiful?”

You don’t know how to answer her.

Because she was almost everything.

Almost brave. Almost seen. Almost chosen. Almost enough.

She laughed too loud in places that wanted silence. She cried in bathrooms and blamed herself for the plumbing. She kissed wrong. Believed wrong. Held on when she should have let go. Let go when she should have stayed.

She wasn’t a tragedy. She wasn’t a storm.

She was almost.

And no one ever told her that was enough.

No one ever said, “You don’t have to arrive fully bloomed to be worthy.” No one ever said, “You’re allowed to be unfinished and still be holy.”

But I’ll say it now.

For her. For Rosalina. For Liliana. For Petunia. For Abilene. For you.

The ache of almost is not failure.

It’s a garden you haven’t named yet. It’s a drawer still full of ribbons. It’s a story that’s still being written in the shape of your becoming.

You are not behind.

You are not too late.

You are not too much or not enough.

You are simply still blooming.

And that— that is a miracle in itself.

[shereadswithteablog]

I completed half of my reading goal. So happy to have read 50 books this year.

The review of my 50th book, The Perfect Marriage.

The Perfect Marriage – Book Review

When Adam Morgan is arrested for the murder of his mistress, his wife Sarah, a famous defense attorney would have to step in to save him. Bu

[shereadswithteablog]

Book Review of Beneath the Ivory Tower.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Beneath the Ivory Tower – Book Review

Book Review of Beneath the Ivory Tower, written by Warren Adler, by an Indian book blogger.

[shereadswithteablog]

The Bookstore Sisters - Book Review

~Alice Hoffman ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Published: 2022Amazon Original Stories Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Writing Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This short-story narrates the story of two sisters, Isabel and Sophie. Their father had a bookstore where books were given for free. After his death, the sisters had a fall out about the store. Isabel wanted to sell the store, while Sophie wanted to continue her family’s legacy.…

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Evoked - Book Review

Instagram Goodreads Pinterest Published : 2023, Harper Collins Pages : 228Genre : Psychological Thriller Plot : ⭐⭐⭐⭐Writing Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ SOMETHING HAS BEEN EVOKED IN THE DARK CORNERS OF A MIND… Sevita and Sama are identical twins, but they couldn’t be more different. Sevita is popular and outgoing while Sama is a loner who never really fit in. As the two enter their first year of college,…

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Signal Moon - Book Review

~Kate Quinn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Published: Amazon Original Stories, 2022Pages: 57 Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Writing Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Summary: Lily Baines works in Station Y, 1943 as a listener. Her job involves listening to radio transcriptions send by the Germans, which then would be relayed to Bletchley Park to decode. The second world war was creating havoc and Lily prayed that it would end. The…

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Rumors of Her Death - Book Review

~J M Donellan ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Publishing Date: September 19, 2023 (Pre-Order)Genre:Psychological thriller Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Writing Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Summary: Archibald Leach hides behind several identities. Underneath his exterior charms, he works for the bad people, people like Saklas. He was a trusted employee to Saklas, until the accident occured. Archie came face to face with death and this…

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Queency the Quail - Book Review

~Karan Baghel, Viplove Pradhan ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Pages: 50Genre: Children’s Book Summary: This book is a collection of short stories, jokes, and poem about Queency the Quail. The youngest daughter of Mr and Mrs Quail, she is known as the bravest animal in the forest due to her wit. The book has several short stories dealing with the animals she meets and her experiences. Review I…

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Postern of Fate - Book Review

~Agatha Christie ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 2.5 out of 5. Published: 1973Pages: 400Genre: Mystery Summary: Tuppence and Tommy Beresford retires and moves to an old place called the Laurels. In the house, they found a wide collection of old books. Tuppence, who was delighted to see these books, found a secret message in one of them. Mary Jordan did not die naturally. It was one of us. I think I know…

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Off the Deep End - Book Review

~Lucinda Berry ⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3 out of 5. Published: 2023 Thomas & Mercer Pages: 271Genre: Thriller Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Writing style: ⭐⭐⭐ Summary: Two family’s lives changed after a car accident. Jules was driving the car with her son Gabe and his friend Isaac. When the car hit the water, Jules managed to save the boy. But it wasn’t her son, it was Isaac. The Greer family was relieved when they learnt…

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Neighbors ( The Real Thing Collection) - Book Review

~Elizabeth LaBan, Melissa DePino ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 5 out of 5. Published: 2018, Amazon Original StoriesPages: 32 Writing Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Summary: This book narrates the real life friendship between the co-authors of Pretty Little World – Elizabeth and Melissa. Elizabeth was a new mom when she meets her new neighbor, Melissa. From not liking each other to confiding secrets with each other, their…

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Mother of all Secrets - Book Review

~Kathleen M. Willett ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 3.5 out of 5. Published: 2022Pages: 272Genre: Thriller Plot: ⭐⭐⭐Writing Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Summary: Jenn, a new mother is struggling with her little baby girl, Clara. The death of her mother and an unfortunate event that she kept hidden from her husband, haunted her days as a mother. It was at that time that she decided to join a mom’s group for new mothers.…

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Liar - Book Review

~K. L. Slater ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4.5 out of 5. Published: 2019, Grand Central PublishingPages: 352Genre: Psychological Thriller Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐Writing Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Summary: The story revolves around two women who fight over a man, each hiding their own secrets. Ben, a widower was raising his two young boys, Noah and Josh with the help of his parents. That was when he meets Amber and falls in love with…

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