Hello! My name is Sydney and pretty much all I do with my free time is read. Currently reading: Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel and Queen of Faces by Petra Lord
When Ella was a baby she had the great fortune to be blessed by a fairy. She also had the misfortune that the fairy that blessed her was Lucinda, who is infamous for her gifts being a little cursed. Lucinda gives Ella the wonderful gift of obedience. Now she has to follow every order without question.
Thoughts:
Ella Enchanted has been one of my favorite movies since I was young. I was very surprised at how different the plots of the book and the movie are. It was a bit daunting to keep reading as I realized that because I love the movie so much. I didn't want the differences to make me not like the book. I actually really loved the book. There's so much more world building, and I enjoyed getting to her Ella's inner monologue about trying to resist commands, and especially her inner monolouge at the climx of the book about Char.
There was also a lot of Ella subverting the commands given to her, which was so much fun to read about.
If you are a fan of middle grades fairytale fantasy, or a fan of the Ella Enchanted movie, I would highly recommend reading this book.
How to Become the Dark Lord, and Die Trying - review
By Django Wexler
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 3/19/26-3/20/26
Synopsis:
Davi is from earth, but she hardly remembers it because she's been stuck in a time loop in a fantasy world for what feels like centuries. She a part of some "great prophesy," but honestly she's exhausted of leading armies against the dark lord, just to die and be sent back to the beginning. This time she's determined to do something different. Instead of defeating the dark lord, Davi will become the dark lord. First things first, she needs to win some minions over to her side. Should be easy right?
Thoughts:
I adore quirky fantasy books, and this one might have topped them all. I loved every part of this. The way the Davi handles the time loop resets, really sells how many times she's been through this. The tone throughout the whole book really sells it.
Towards the beginning of the book Davi mentions her hot bimbo boyfriend she typically gets during the time loop, and my immediate though was that this book would be so much better if Davi was gay. Turns out I just needed to wait another chapter or two. She's bi, and I was right that the book was better queer.
This book would not let me put it down. I devoured it in just two days, and immediately wanted to start the sequel. (I didn't, but I will soon cause I need to know what happens next.)
I feel like there are so many more things I could say about this book, but it really just boils down to this: How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying is possibly my favorite book so far this year.
If anyone has any other quirky fantasy book recs, please send them my way.
If I had a nickel for every book I read today that mentioned turtle soup, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.
Annabelle Gage is trapped inside a body that isn't hers, and it's rotting from the inside out. If Ana was part of the magical elite, she would be able to just buy herself a new body, but she can barely afford to feed herself. After failing the entrance exam to the prestigious Paragon Academy yet again, she is forced to take matters into her own hands and use her illusion magic to steal a body that won't kill her.
Ana is caught by the headmaster of the Academy, and given an ultimatum: face execution for her crimes, or become his hired mercenary.
Thoughts:
The idea of body swapping and spells that are unique to each person was super interesting, but as I started reading this book, it really just didn't pull me in. It took me five weeks to read half of the book, so I decided to call it quits. There were a lot of side plots that weren't really being progressed. It's possible I gave up right before it picked up, but I wasn't looking forward to it, or a sequel.
I have successfully removed my hand from the cat. I’m going to turn off my reading light, and I guess we’re going to see if this is how we’re sleeping tonight.
Florence is a ghost writer for one of her favorite romance authors or all time. Unfortunately for Florence, she no longer believes in love and has not been able to finish the next book. She was hoping that her new editor will be willing to let her branch into a different genre, or at least give her an extension on her deadline, but she does not make the best first impression because she has a hard time focusing on anything other that his good looks.
Then when her father unexpectedly dies, she has to quickly return to the town that she swore she would never return to.
Oh, and did I mention that she can see ghosts? She has been able to all her life, and occasionally helps them complete unfinished business. Amidst arranging her father's funeral, not only does she have to deal with some judge-y townspeople and sibling drama, but she also is being haunted by her handsome new editor.
Thoughts:
I love magical realism- that was the reason that I first picked up Ashley Poston's romances. I started with seven year split last year, and that one is still my favorite, but I really enjoyed this one. If I did half stars I probably would have given it a 4.5, but I think that's only because I read so much romances this month. There was just too much to compare it to.
I know that seeing ghosts is normal for Florence's family, but I love how accepting they were that she just had a ghost following around, and called him her ghost boyfriend. The card scene was my favorite.
(Spoilers) If i'm being totally honest, the whole time I was reading this, I just kept thinking, "How are they going to get past the ghost thing?" At different points I thought he might just come back to life, and they would live in her hometown where no one knew he had died, or I thought that he was going to move on and she would have to accept that. Never did it cross my mind that he might just be in a coma.
Then ending of this book was really well done. He thought that it was all just a dream, so he needed her to make the firs move, but she thought that he didn't remember, so she wanted him to make the first move. That's the kind of plot where I'm fervently flipping pages hoping that he remembers, and just internally yelling at someone to say something (in a good way).
Has anyone read Most Eligible by Isabelle Engel? I'm about 100 pages in, and I'm struggling to get into it? Is it worth it to keep going or should I DNF?
How is it already March? I know February is the shortest month, but it went by in a whirlwind.
Books read: 13
Average Star Rating: 4.77
Most read genre: Romance (6)
Repeat authors: This month I had a lot of authors that I read more than one book from.
KL Walther- teen romance
Ashley Poston- magical realism romance
Kika Hatzopoulou- YA fantasy
Emily Henry- adult romance
TBR update: I started the month at 101 and went down to 97. It would have been better, but I went to the bookstore too many times. Mostly Half Priced Books though.
February Superlatives
Most Nostalgic: City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
Longest: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
Most Devastating: Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Most Frustrating: Happy Place by Emily Henry (I just needed to know why they broke up because it was so obvious that they both still loved each other. They just wouldn't talk about it.)
Daphne's fiancé, Peter had always assured her that there was nothing ever going on between him and his childhood best friend Petra, but then he calls of their engagement, to pursue a relationship with Petra. Daphne is now stranded in Waning Bay, Michigan without any friends, or a place to live because she had followed Peter to Michigan. Their friends were really his friends, and their house was really his house.
Luckily for Daphne, Petra had a boyfriend, and he is now in need of a roommate. Daphne moves in to Miles's apartment and tries to focus on the only thing she has left, her job as a children's librarian. She is counting the days until she can leave. (She is not gong to leave the library before the read-a-thon she has planned for the kids is over.)
But then Miles begins trying to convince Daphne to stay, and there's definitely no selfish reasons behind that. He just want Daphne to be able to give Peter the biggest middle finger by not uprooting her life for him again. Miles has made it his mission to she her that by the end of the summer, Waning Bay doesn't just have to belong to Peter, it can be her's too.
Thoughts:
I loved this soooooo much. I knew what this book was about when I bought it in December, but I had forgotten by the time I got around to reading it this month. So as I started reading, and realized that this was about to be a fake dating trope, I was sat. Maybe this is the little fanfic reader in me, but I LOVE a fake dating situation. This books wasn't really a full fake dating thing, but I still enjoyed it a lot.
I've been on a bit of a romance kick this month, and Daphne and Miles are my favorite story so far. It's just such a... Funny Story. (I'm so funny.)
I really enjoyed Daphne and Ashleigh getting to discover their friendship. It was just as fun to read about as the romance plot. Friendships are just as important as (if not more than) romance.
I also liked how Miles had a secondary story going on. His whole existence wasn't just for Daphne. He had things going on with Petra, and his sister Jules.
I devoured this book in one day and will definitely be rereading it at some point in the future.
I am obsessed with your books. I love all your characters and the stories you have made for them. You make them so easy to fall in love with. I feel what they feel, and get frustrated when they do silly things.
I love your love interests. I don't know what it is about them, but I always love them with my whole heart. They are part of what makes your books so hard to put down.
What really seals the deal though is that I don't just love the main characters or their love interests- It's that I also fall in love with the side characters. Libby. Ashleigh, Julia, and Starfyre. Sabrina, Parth, Cleo, and Kimmy. They are what makes your books stand out to me. Being able to create a world where I can fall in love with every single piece of it (except the stupid exes).
From the first book of your's that I read (Beach Read) I knew that I was going to have to read them all, and that I was going to love them. In the middle of my third one (Funny Story), I knew that these would be books that I will be rereading probably for the rest of my life.
So thanks for the laughs, the tears, and the heart felt moments. I will patiently be waiting for the next one.
Im about two thirds of the way through Happy Place, and the whole time I’ve just been asking the characters “What the fuck?”
I need to know why Wyn broke up with Harriet asap. I know that it’s coming, but I’m legit annoyed at these two right now. It’s so obvious that they both still love each other, so what’s the issue?
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