“Finally Heard” (Finally Seen #2) by Kelly Yang (Review)

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Yang, Kelly. Finally Heard. New York: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1665947930 | $18.99 USD | 339 pages | MG Contemporary

Blurb

From the New York Times bestselling author of Front Desk comes the sequel to Finally Seen in which Lina gets a phone and tries to navigate social media, only to discover not everything online is what it seems.

When ten-year-old Lina Gao sees her mom’s video on social media take off, she’s captivated by the potential to be seen and heard! Maybe online she can finally find the confidence she craves. Whereas in real life she’s growing so fast, she feels like microwave popcorn, bursting out of her skin!

With the help of her two best friends, Carla and Finn, and her little sister, Millie, Lina sets off to go viral. Except there’s a lot more to social media than Lina ever imagined, like:

1. Seeing inside her classmates’ lives!Is she really the only person on the planet who doesn’t have a walk-in closet?
2. Group chats! Disappearing videos!What is everyone talking about in the secret chats? And how can she join?
3. A bazillion stories about what to eat, wear, and put on her face. Could they all be telling the truth? Everyone sounds so sure of what they’re saying!

As Lina descends deeper and deeper into social media, it will take all her strength to break free from the likes and find the courage to be her authentic self in this fast-paced world.

In the series

#1 Finally Seen

Review

4 stars

I wasn’t anticipating a sequel to last year’s Finally Seen from Kelly Yang, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear about Finally Heard nonetheless. It was great to see Lina and Co. again, and see more of Lina’s growth in particular, especially as far it relates to the overall arc of the book this time around. She’s still dealing with a lot of similar challenges related to growing up, but there’s a new focus on cyberbullying, and how there’s an impact on her to the point where she fights back in a consequential way.

While issues with social media drama are almost ubiquitous at this point for all ages, I love that Yang chose to tackle it for a young audience, especially since I can’t think of many books tackling it in a way that is very relevant for the tween reader. But I love how it is also written in a way that speaks not just to them, but to their parents and families, especially by providing research and resources related to tweens and teens and social media at the end.

But even with the central narrative slowly escalating toward an intense confrontation, I still liked that there were some “fun” bits. With book banning being such a prominent theme in the prior book, I loved that this theme lived on in a love-fest for other middle grade and YA books, many of which I recognized. Yang even references another of her titles in-text, in a fun, meta bit of “book-ception.”

This was a great follow-up, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for an approachable story highlighting the dangers of social media for younger readers.

Author Bio

Kelly Yang is the New York Times bestselling author of Front Desk (winner of the 2019 Asian Pacific American Award for Children’s Literature), Parachutes, Three Keys, Room to Dream, New from Here, Finally Seen, and Finally Heard. Front Desk also won the Parents’ Choice Gold Medal, was the 2019 Global Read Aloud, and has earned numerous other honors including being named a best book of the year byThe Washington Post, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and NPR. Learn more at KellyYang.com.

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“You Could Be So Lucky” by Cat Sebastian (ARC Review)

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Sebastian, Cat. You Should Be So Lucky. New York: Avon, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0063272804 | $18.99 USD | 400 pages | Historical Romance

Blurb

An emotional, slow-burn, grumpy/sunshine, queer mid-century romance for fans of Evvie Drake Starts Over, about grief and found family, between the new star shortstop stuck in a batting slump and the reporter assigned to (reluctantly) cover his first season—set in the same universe as We Could Be So Good.

The 1960 baseball season is shaping up to be the worst year of Eddie O’Leary’s life. He can’t manage to hit the ball, his new teammates hate him, he’s living out of a suitcase, and he’s homesick. When the team’s owner orders him to give a bunch of interviews to some snobby reporter, he’s ready to call it quits. He can barely manage to behave himself for the length of a game, let alone an entire season. But he’s already on thin ice, so he has no choice but to agree.

Mark Bailey is not a sports reporter. He writes for the arts page, and these days he’s barely even managing to do that much. He’s had a rough year and just wants to be left alone in his too-empty apartment, mourning a partner he’d never been able to be public about. The last thing he needs is to spend a season writing about New York’s obnoxious new shortstop in a stunt to get the struggling newspaper more readers.

Isolated together within the crush of an anonymous city, these two lonely souls orbit each other as they slowly give in to the inevitable gravity of their attraction. But Mark has vowed that he’ll never be someone’s secret ever again, and Eddie can’t be out as a professional athlete. It’s just them against the world, and they’ll both have to decide if that’s enough.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

You Should Be So Lucky is the latest offering from Cat Sebastian, and while not in an “official” series, it’s technically a companion novel to her prior release, We Could Be So Good. As such, while it’s a standalone, some of the major characters do overlap (Andy from WCBSG is a supporting character!), so, if you like one, you’ll inevitably like the other.

I love that Cat Sebastian is continuing to explore the mid-20th century, in spite of it not being a massively popular time period in historical romance. And while I’m not a baseball fan, or sports fan in general, I loved getting some nuggets of baseball history amid the fiction. And the narrative continues a thread explored in Sebastian’s previous mid-century works (including WCBSG), regarding the prevalence of homophobia in the 50s and 60s, and how much more complicated it is when you’re a professional baseball player.

The two leads are great, and the central romance is really sweet. Mark is rather closed-off and prickly, while Eddie is much sweeter (although they both have their dickish moments). They’re bonded by their mutual experiences with grief and loss, and provide a lot of support for each other. Their relationship is also full of great banter and humor, as well. Sebastian’s books of late have often been more slow-burn, and largely vibes-based, but this book, like its predecessor, worked really well in that regard thanks to the strong central romance.

This was another enjoyable read by Cat Sebastian, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a mid-century historical sports romance.

Author Bio

Cat Sebastian writes queer historical romances. Cat’s books include We Could Be So Good and the Turner series, and have received starred reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. Before writing, Cat was a lawyer and a teacher and did a variety of other jobs she liked much less than she enjoys writing happy endings for queer people. She was born in New Jersey and lived in New York and Arizona before settling down in a swampy part of the South. When she isn’t writing, she’s probably reading, having one-sided conversations with her dog, or doing the crossword puzzle.

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“The Notes” by Catherine Con Morse (ARC Review)

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Con Morse, Catherine. The Notes. New York: Crown Books for Young Readers, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593711385 | $19.99 USD | 320 pages | YA Contemporary

Blurb

A reserved Chinese American teen at a Southern performing arts boarding school comes into her own under the tutelage of a glamorous new piano teacher. A moving coming-of-age-novel from a debut novelist about first love, adolescent angst, and academic pressures.

“Compellingly readable. Make room in the boarding-school book canon for a new classic.” – Jeff Zentner, award-winning author of In the Wild Light and The Serpent King

“A moving, highly virtuosic, and heart-rending portrait of an aspiring teen pianist trying to find her way…it made me feel seen.” – Patricia Park, author of Imposter Syndrome and Other Confession of Alejandra Kim and What’s Eating Jackie Oh?

Claire Wu isn’t sure that she has what it takes to become a successful concert pianist.

It’s the fear of every student at Greenwood School for the Performing Arts: becoming a washed-out performer who couldn’t make it big. And Claire’s no Rocky Wong, the ace pianist at their boarding school.

Then Dr. Li shows up. She’s like no other teacher at Greenwood: mysterious, sophisticated, fascinating. Under Dr. Li’s tutelage, Claire works harder and dreams bigger than ever. And her crush Rocky finally seems interested. Maybe she’ll even be “Chinese enough” to join the elusive Asian Student Society.

Everything is falling into place until eerily personal notes about Claire’s bond with Dr. Li appear. Claire starts to feel the pressure. But she isn’t the only one. Everyone is feeling the strain. Especially Rocky, whose extreme perfectionism hides something more troubling.

As the Showcase tension crescendos, Claire must decide if she’s ready to sink or swim. Only then can she discover who she really is and learn if she’s ready to give her all for a shot at greatness.

The Notes is a powerful and poignant debut YA novel from award-winning writer Catherine Con Morse about dealing with academic pressures, falling in love for the first time, and finding yourself.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Catherine Con Morse is a new-to-me author, but I was drawn to the cover and premise of The Notes. I know next to nothing about the world of music, but I appreciated how the pressure of being a musician was depicted, along with dealing with academic pressure, first love, and other issues a young teen deals with.

Claire is a sympathetic protagonist, juggling all these concerns early on in the book. The cultural nuance is also woven through the book, interrogating the common archetype that Chinese Americans excel at everything. I really liked how she came into her own, developing self-confidence in her abilities.

The relationships in the book are pivotal to Claire’s growth. Dr. Li, the glamorous music teacher, is instrumental in Claire pushing herself to succeed and strive to achieve her dreams. And while it’s not a romance, I really liked her growing bond with fellow student Rocky, who she bonds with over the intense expectations placed upon them.

This was an enjoyable debut, and I’m interested to read more from Catherine Con Morse in the future. If you’re looking for a multicultural coming-of-age story, I’d recommend checking out this one!

Author Bio

Catherine Con Morse is the author of the coming-of-age boarding school novel THE NOTES, which was shortlisted for the CRAFT first chapters contest. A Kundiman fellow, she received her MFA from Boston University, where she taught undergraduate creative writing for several years. Her work appears in Joyland, Letters, HOOT, Bostonia, the Racist Sandwich podcast, and elsewhere. Catherine was one of the inaugural Writers in Residence at Porter Square Books.

In high school, Catherine attended the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, a public arts boarding school, where she was as intrigued with her teacher as Claire is with Dr. Li. Catherine continues to play and teach piano today. Most recently, she taught English at Choate Rosemary Hall, and lives in the Connecticut River Valley with her husband and daughter.

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“Because the Baron Broods” (Rogue Rules #2) by Darcy Burke (ARC Review)

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Burke, Darcy. Because the Baron Broods. [Place of publication not identified]: Zealous Quill Press, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1637261798 | $4.99 USD | 292 pages | Regency Romance

Blurb

Growing up in isolation in Cornwall, Tamsin Penrose looks forward to the one month each year that she spends in an idyllic seaside town with her best friends. She’s shocked to receive a letter from her reclusive father informing her of a potential groom—they’ve never even discussed marriage and she rather expected to be a spinster. But she’s met a charming, if serious, baron and now she’s dreaming of a romantic, wedded life.

During his annual trip to a friend’s seaside estate, broody Isaac Deverell, Baron Droxford finds himself in an objectionable situation: socializing with a group of ladies over several days. He is not prepared for the storm of cheerfulness that is Miss Penrose, nor can he deny that she makes him feel…good.

Because Isaac is an unheroic rogue with a devastatingly sinful secret, he should flee this delightful ray of sunshine. However, he can’t keep his distance, and when her overzealous suitor arrives and won’t take no for an answer, Isaac protects her in a scandalously public fashion. Now he can’t run from her. Can these attracted opposites find a happy ever after, or will the past destroy their chance?

In the series

#1 If the Duke Dares

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the author and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Because the Baron Broods is the second book in Darcy Burke’s latest series, Rogue Rules. It can be read as a standalone, but I do recommend checking out the first book as well, as it’s just as enjoyable as this one.

Both leads are fairly likable and sympathetic. Tamsin has grown up isolated in Cornwall, only permitted to visit with her friends for a month each year, not to mention her father is a recluse who did not have much of a role in her upbringing, and her mother died when she was young. Isaac, meanwhile, isn’t necessarily a rogue as you’d think of him, but he does have a scandal in his past. He did take longer to get to know and understand, given he’s very closed-off, but as I (and Tamsim) got to know him, I really understood him.

The romance is super sweet, and a slower burn than many of the books I’ve read from Darcy Burke in the past. The circumstances of how Isaac and Tamsin are thrown together means they spend a lot of time getting to know each other, and I appreciated that that took precedence, while building the anticipation and tension. While the first kiss occurs rather late in the book, things pick up from there, and their emotional connection translates into great physical chemistry.

This was an enjoyable second installment, and I’m excited for what the next book brings. I’d recommend this if you’re looking for a slower burn historical romance.

Author Bio

Darcy Burke is the USA Today Bestselling Author of sexy, emotional historical and contemporary romance. Darcy wrote her first book at age 11, a happily ever after about a swan addicted to magic and the female swan who loved him, with exceedingly poor illustrations. Click here to Join her Reader Club.

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“The Reappearance of Rachel Price” by Holly Jackson (Review)

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Jackson, Holly. The Reappearance of Rachel Price. New York: Delacorte Press, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593374207 | $20.99 USD | 430 pages | YA Thriller

Blurb

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of the multimillion-copy bestselling A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series and Five Survive comes a gripping mystery thriller following one teen’s search for the truth about her mother’s shocking disappearance—and even more shocking reappearance—during the filming of a true crime documentary.

Lights. Camera. Lies.

Eighteen-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dredged up from the past when the Price family agrees to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And—could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .

From world-renowned author Holly Jackson comes a mind-blowing masterpiece about one girl’s search for the truth, and the terror in finding out who your family really is.SEE LESS

Review

4.5 stars

While I didn’t love Holly Jackson’s first Good Girl’s Guide to Murder standalone, I had hope that she’d write another winner soon. And she definitely does this time around with The Reappearance of Rachel Price. It could merely be the similar “true-crime mystery” feel that I simply prefer from Jackson. And while this book was lighter on the presence of multimedia, I liked that there was some at the beginning to set up the eponymous documentary that the major characters are participating in.

Bel is a solid protagonist. She was immediately relatable for how she’s been dealing with having been raised without her mother, and is now dealing with the reopening of those old wounds in the wake of a documentary digging into her disappearance, especially since young Bel was the only witness at the time it happened. I loved the exploration of her complex feelings about the initial incident itself, and how those changed with her mother’s reappearance.

The plot was truly engaging, with so many twists and turns. I loved how it turned from (an admittedly shaky) case of kidnapping by a stranger to something much more sinister highlighting the cracks in the foundation of the Price family. Pretty much no one on that side of the family was immune from suspicion, except Bel and her cousin, Carter (although even Carter is something more than she appears). I admit that some of the choices made to resolve things, while making sense to avoid too much blood on the hands of the innocent characters, felt slightly implausible, but I was willing to suspend my disbelief for the most part.

I really enjoyed this book, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a fairly fast-paced YA thriller.

Author Bio

Holly Jackson is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling series A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, an international sensation with millions of copies sold worldwide as well as the #1 New York Times bestseller and instant classic, Five Survive, and her forthcoming novel, The Reappearance of Rachel Price. She graduated from the University of Nottingham, where she studied literary linguistics and creative writing, with a master’s degree in English. She enjoys playing video games and watching true-crime documentaries so she can pretend to be a detective. She lives in London.

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“What’s Eating Jackie Oh?” by Patricia Park (ARC Review)

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Park, Patricia. What’s Eating Jackie Oh? New York: Crown Books for Young Readers, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593563410 | $19.99 USD | 336 pages | YA Contemporary

Blurb

A Korean American teen tries to balance her dream to become a chef with the cultural expectations of her family when she enters the competitive world of a TV cooking show. A hilarious and heartfelt YA novel from the award-winning author of Imposter Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim and Re Jane.

“Park’s novel delivers authentic characters who will make you laugh…and cry. Not to be missed!” –Ellen Oh, author of The Colliding Worlds of Mina Lee

Jackie Oh is done being your model minority.

She’s tired of perfect GPAs, PSATs, SATs, all of it. Jackie longs to become a professional chef. But her Korean American parents are Ivy League corporate workaholics who would never understand her dream. Just ask her brother, Justin, who hasn’t heard from them since he was sent to Rikers Island.

Jackie works at her grandparents’ Midtown Manhattan deli after school and practices French cooking techniques at night—when she should be studying. But the kitchen’s the only place Jackie is free from all the stresses eating at her—school, family, and the increasing violence targeting the Asian community.

Then the most unexpected thing happens: Jackie becomes a teen contestant on her favorite cooking show, Burn Off! Soon Jackie is thrown headfirst into a cutthroat TV world filled with showboating child actors, snarky judges, and gimmicky “gotcha!” challenges.

All Jackie wants to do is cook her way. But what is her way? In a novel that will make you laugh and cry, Jackie proves who she is both on and off the plate.

Patricia Park’s hilarious and stunning What’s Eating Jackie Oh? explores the delicate balance of identity, ambition, and the cultural expectations to perform.

Review

3 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I mostly enjoyed the previous book I read from Patricia Park, and What’s Eating Jackie Oh? Sounded similarly promising. And while I liked the ideas presented, I found the execution a tad lacking.

Jackie Oh is a relatable protagonist, and I respect what the story was trying to do in interrogating the “model minority” archetype. I like how we see her grapple with parental pressure, especially as her parents already “lost” one child who failed them, and her true passion for cooking doesn’t fit into the mold they’ve set for her.

And the cooking competition was a lot of fun, and was a solid structure for the book itself, presenting realistic obstacles for her to battle against in her quest to prove her abilities, not to mention providing myriad food-related references.

But in the effort to create such a hard-hitting book, I feel like some of the issues got lost in the shuffle. I kept wondering if her brother being in prison would be developed more, and it wasn’t. Even the pressure and disapproval from her parents felt weirdly sidelined at times. I became very confused as to what exactly the message the reader was meant to take away from the book.

While I didn’t 100% love this, I do like the ideas presented here, even if I wish they had been more fleshed out or focused. If you’re looking for a book that interrogates the “model minority” and follows the journey of becoming oneself, I’d recommend giving this book a chance.

Author Bio

Patricia Park is the author of the award-winning novel, Re Jane (a Korean American retelling of Brontë’s Jane Eyre), and the YA novels Imposter Syndrome & Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim (an NPR Best Books of 2023 and a Gotham Book Prize finalist) and the forthcoming, What’s Eating Jackie Oh? She is a tenured professor of creative writing at American University, a Fulbright scholar, an Edith Wharton Writer-in-Residence, a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow, and other awards. She has written for The New York Times, New Yorker, Guardian, and others. Patricia was born & raised in Queens, NY. Her novels are all linked in the “Queens multiverse.”

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“Playing for Keeps” by Jennifer Dugan (ARC Review)

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Dugan, Jennifer. Playing for Keeps. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593696866 | $19.99 USD | 320 pages | YA Contemporary Romance

Blurb

From the author of Some Girls Do comes another heartfelt YA sapphic romance—starring a baseball pitcher and a student umpire who are definitely not supposed to fall for one another.

“Sapphic sports romance perfection. Swoony and romantic, but unafraid to tackle grief, family expectations, and fighting for your dreams, this is a home run of a book.” —Rachael Lippincott, coauthor of the #1 New York Times Bestsellers Five Feet Apart and She Gets the Girl

June is the star pitcher of her elite club baseball team—with an ego to match—and she’s a shoo-in to be recruited at the college level, like her parents have always envisioned. That is, if she can play through an overuse injury that has recently gone from bad to worse.

Ivy isn’t just reffing to pay off her athletic fees or make some extra cash on the side. She wants to someday officiate at the professional level, even if her parents would rather she go to college instead.

The first time they cross paths, Ivy throws June out of a game for grandstanding. Still, they quickly grow from enemies to begrudging friends . . . and then something more. But the rules state that players and umpires are prohibited from dating.

As June’s shoulder worsens, and a rival discovers the girls’ secret and threatens to expose them, everything the two have worked so hard for is at risk. Now both must choose: follow their dreams . . . or follow their hearts?

Review

3 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I often like Jennifer Dugan’s work, but I had mixed feelings about Playing for Keeps. I liked it for the most part, but it’s definitely not one of her better books.

I did enjoy the characters for the most part.. I liked the romantic dynamic between them, starting with a rivalry and developing into friends and more. Things escalated rather quickly, and the conflict was rather dramatic, but it makes sense from a teen’s perspective. And I really liked how they were ultimately able to connect over the common bond of reckoning with grief over losing a loved one to cancer. I am a little concerned at how increasingly common cancer subplots are, but here, it at least was a bonding point for the romance.

I did feel like their POVs and voices weren’t distinct enough, so I would often forget whose head I was meant to be in. The pacing also lagged at times, and I found my attention occasionally flagging throughout the book.

While this was a bit of a letdown, it has enjoyable moments. Provided the issues I mentioned aren’t issues for you (especially the cancer bit), I recommend giving this a chance.

Author Bio

Jennifer Dugan is a writer, a geek and a romantic, who loves writing stories about messy, complicated women and girls. Her debut novel, Hot Dog Girl, was called a “great fizzy rom-com” by Entertainment Weekly and “one of the best reads of the year, hands down” by Paste Magazine, although she is best known for Some Girls Do, her third young adult novel that took Tiktok by storm. She recently released her adult romance debut, Love at First Set about “the most hilarious disaster bisexuals you’ll ever meet” according to the queen of LGBTQ Reads, Dahlia Adler, for Buzzfeed. Jennifer has also written two graphic novels, Coven and the forthcoming Full Shift with artist Kit Seaton.

She is represented by Sara Crowe at Sara Crowe Literary, with film rights being handled by Mary Pender at United Talent Agency.

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Northshire Bookstore (signed copies)

“One of Us Knows” by Alyssa Cole (Review)

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Cole, Alyssa. One of Us Knows. New York: William Morrow, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0063114951 | $18.99 USD | 352 pages | Thriller

Blurb

From the critically acclaimed and New York Times bestselling author of When No One Is Watching comes a riveting thriller about the new caretaker of a historic estate who finds herself trapped on an island with a murderer—and the ghosts of her past.

Years after a breakdown and a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder derailed her historical preservationist career, Kenetria Nash and her alters have been given a second chance they can’t refuse: a position as resident caretaker of a historic home. Having been dormant for years, Ken has no idea what led them to this isolated Hudson River island, but she’s determined not to ruin their opportunity.

Then a surprise visit from the home’s conservation trust just as a Nor’easter bears down on the island disrupts her newfound life, leaving Ken trapped with a group of possibly dangerous strangers—including the man who brought her life tumbling down years earlier. When he turns up dead, Ken is the prime suspect.

Caught in a web of secrets and in a race against time, Ken and her alters must band together to prove their innocence and discover the truth of Kavanaugh Island—and their own past—or they risk losing not only their future, but their life.

Review

4 stars

I was so excited to hear Alyssa Cole was releasing a new thriller, I didn’t even care what it was about. But One of Us Knows is not what I was expecting…and that’s a good thing! It’s not the straightforward thriller I was expecting, given my experience with her previous one, and I may not be intelligent enough to grasp some of the nuances here, but I appreciate this book nonetheless.

While I don’t have DID, my interest was piqued when I saw Kenetria, or Ken, the protagonist of the book, was a system with alters who are fully-fleshed out characters within the narrative. So, while I can’t speak from personal experience, I do know what bad rep for DID is from people pointing it out, and I like that Ken and her alters felt much more nuanced. One aspect I loved that really brought Ken and each of these alters to life was the chapters written as a “Groupthnk: Collaborative Journal,” which includes a lot of the documentation from the various alters, although there are some “normal” chapters from some of their POVs as well. I also liked the interactions with one another, and the general concept of how these different headmates could all coexist together in regular day-to-day life.

The plot was where I found myself a little more of a slow-burner for me, and surprisingly, it was the less interesting aspect of it all. The mystery itself took time to pick up, and in the meantime, I was taken in by the interplay between Ken and the various alters. This aspect is relevant to the developing external plot with the murder mystery, and it all contributed to the general sense of “WTAF?” I had while reading. And given that a lot of the book is Ken and the alters trying to figure out what happened, Cole was successful in conveying that, and taking me for a ride.

This was a trippy read, and while I’m not sure this will work for everyone, I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a well-crafted psychological thriller, especially if you’re craving solid DID rep.

Author Bio

Alyssa Cole is an award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers and romance (historical, contemporary, and sci-fi). Her books have received critical acclaim from Library Journal, BuzzFeed, Kirkus, Booklist, Jezebel, Vulture, Book Riot, Entertainment Weekly, and various other outlets. When she’s not working, she can usually be found watching anime or wrangling her many pets.

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“Winnie Zeng Shatters the Universe” (Winnie Zeng #3) by Katie Zhao (ARC Review)

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Zhao, Katie. Winnie Zeng Shatters the Universe. New York: Random House Books for Young Readers, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593426654 | $17.99 USD | 288 pages | MG Fantasy

Blurb

In the third book of this epic fantasy series, kids from around the world are summoned to compete at the magical Shaman Youth Tournament! But with all the young shamans away, who will defend the human realm from evil spirits?

“A hilarious tussle between homework, family, and heroism.” —Kwame Mbalia, #1 New York Times bestselling author

If awards were given for multitasking, then Winnie Zeng would come in first place. Between juggling evil spirits and middle school—boy, does she have her hands full. Ordinarily, winter break would be her chance to catch up on anime, but this year marks the return of the Shaman Youth Tournament, where shamans around the world duel for the title of champion!

To prepare, Winnie and her archnemesis, David, train for their toughest battles yet. But when some of their competitors start acting a little stranger—and a lot stronger—than normal, they realize they might be in over their heads.

Soon, it becomes clear that the spirit attacks in Winnie’s hometown were only the beginning of something more sinister than any one shaman can tackle. Now, it’s up to all shamans to take on this task and protect the human world. It just may be the last mission they ever receive. . . .

In the series

#1 Winnie Zeng Unleashes a Legend

#2 Winnie Zeng Vanquishes a King

Review

4 stars

Winnie Zeng Shatters the Universe is the third (and I believe final book) in this delightful middle grade fantasy series, and I’ve enjoyed the ride. This final book does a great job on a personal front for Winnie and her friends, as well as being truly fun and engaging on a fantasy front. Plus, the foodie element remains present, from confidence cookies to spirit boba, and there’s recipes at the end once again.

Winnie’s coming-of-age has been a major thread throughout the series, and I love how she not only develops in terms of her shamanic powers, gaining new skills over time, but also on a personal level too, with her friendships and even rivalries continuing to develop in compelling ways this time around.

The tournament setup is very cool, and is a great way to present the mythological elements early on, as well as the inciting incident with the attack by the Four Evil Beings. The story was exciting and fast-paced, and a perfect epic conclusion for the series.

This was an enjoyable series, and I hope Katie Zhao writes more in this vein in the future. If you’re looking for a fun middle grade fantasy series with Chinese mythology.

Author Bio

Katie Zhao is a 2017 graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.A. in English and Political Science, and a 2018 Masters of Accounting at the same university. She is the author of THE DRAGON WARRIOR duology (Bloomsbury Kids), HOW WE FALL APART (Bloomsbury Kids), LAST GAMER STANDING (Scholastic), WINNIE ZENG series (Random House Children’s Books), THE LIES WE TELL (Bloomsbury Kids), and forthcoming THE DESCENDANTS duology (Random House Children’s Books). She is represented by Penny Moore of Aevitas Creative Management. She’s a passionate advocate for representation in literature and media.

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“The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge” by Matthew Hubbard (ARC Review)

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Hubbard, Matthew. The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge. New York: Delacorte Press, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593707173 | $19.99 USD | 368 pages | YA Contemporary

Blurb

A queer coming-of-age about three teenage boys in small town Alabama who set out to get revenge on their ex-boyfriends and end up starting a student rebellion. Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Jason June!

Ezra Hayes has always felt like a background character compared to BFFs Lucas and Finley. He would do anything to be seen as a romantic lead, even if it means keeping his boyfriend, Presley, a secret. But when he discovers that Presley is a lying cheater, and his best friends are having boy problems of their own, they want revenge.

Their plans to get even involve sabotaging the largest party of the year, entering a drag competition, and even having Ezra run against his ex for Winter Formal King. Then the school district starts to actively censor queer voices with their Watch What You Say initiative. Taking to TikTok to vent frustrations, Ezra begins “The Last Boyfriends Student Rebellion.”

Between ex-boyfriend drama and navigating viral TikTok fame, Ezra realizes this rebellion is about something more important than revenge. It’s a battle cry to fight back against outdated opinions and redefine what it means to be queer in small town Alabama.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

The Last Boyfriends Rules for Revenge piqued my interest thanks to the bright cover (Pride colors!) and the blurb. The story is also rooted in topics I’ve become increasingly passionate about, like combatting institutionalized homophobia, and the legislation promoting book bans and the stigmatizing of drag shows. But even beyond that, it’s not just a story of queer resistance, but also has time for queer joy too.

I love the central friendship between Ezra and his best friends, Lucas and Finley. I loved their bond, especially how commiserating over heartbreak brought them closer, coordinating plans for revenge, and how seamlessly that also tied into actively fighting against their school district for their homophobic policies.

I also really liked Ezra in his own right. He really comes into his own throughout the book,figuring out his place in the world. And having always been a bit of a romantic, I liked that he also found a guy who was actually a solid person, and their romantic moments were quite cute.

This is a delightful, timely, affirming read, and I’d recommend it to readers interested in a queer coming of age story with strong threads of activism and romance.

Author Bio

Matthew Hubbard writes the kind of stories he wished he’d had as a teen in rural Alabama. He grew up on a mountaintop farm and knows more than he is willing to admit about small towns. He studied English, marketing, and psychology in college. When he isn’t writing, Matthew can be found on a hike in search of breathtaking views, reading as many books as he can get his hands on, and cheering for his favorite hockey team. He lives in Chattanooga with his husband, their dogs Layla and Phillip, and Jay Gatsby the cat. Last Boyfriends is his first novel.4

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“Sound the Gong” (Kingdom of Three #2) by Joan He (ARC Review)

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He, Joan. Sound the Gong. New York: Roaring Brook Press, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1250855367 | $19.99 USD | 368 pages | YA Fantasy

Blurb

From New York Times and Indie bestselling author Joan He, comes Sound the Gong, the dazzling and sweeping conclusion to The Kingdom of Three duology.

All her life, Zephyr has tried to rise above her humble origins as a no-name orphan. Now she is a god in a warrior’s body, and never has she felt more powerless.

The warlordess Xin Ren holds the Westlands, but her position is tenuous. In the north, the empress remains a puppet under Miasma’s thumb. In the south, the alliance with Cicada is in pieces.

Fate has a winner in mind for the three kingdoms, but Zephyr has no intentions of respecting it. She will pay any price to see Ren succeed—and she will make her enemies pay, especially the enigmatic Crow. What she’ll do when she finds out the truth. . . Only the heavens know.

Featuring gorgeous map art by Anna Frohmann and black-and-white portraits by Tida Kietsungden, Sound the Gong is the second book in Joan He’s riveting Kindgom of Three duology.

In the series

#1 Strike the Zither

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Sound the Gong closes out Joan He’s Kingdom of the Three duology beautifully. He once again wears her influences on her sleeve, again pulling from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms for inspiration, with all its political intrigue and moral complexity.

Zephyr remains an intriguing character, even as she remains morally gray, even truly dark at times. But she is not without principles; it’s simply that she’ll do what she must to achieve her goals. Another character, Crow, also has a much more prominent role in this book, and I became as invested in his fate as I was Zephyr’s…even though I had a feeling it would not end well, even without extensive knowledge of the source material.

While not necessarily fast paced, there’s enough going on with the balance of politicking/scheming and action that I was invested throughout, and felt that He did justice to the narrative she was trying to tell.

This was an epic read, and I’d recommend both books to readers looking for an epic Chinese-inspired YA fantasy.

Author Bio

Joan He was born and raised in Philadelphia but still, on occasion, will lose her way. At a young age, she received classical instruction in oil painting before discovering that storytelling was her favorite form of expression. She studied Psychology and East Asian Languages and Civilizations at the University of Pennsylvania and currently splits her time between Philly and Chicago. She is the bestselling author of The Ones We’re Meant to Find, Descendant of the Crane, and the Kingdom of Three duology, which includes Strike the Zither and Sound the Gong.

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“The Kiss Countdown” by Etta Easton (Review)

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Easton, Etta. The Kiss Countdown. New York: Berkley Romance, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593640227 | $18.00 USD | 336 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

A struggling event planner and a sinfully hot astronaut must decide if their fake relationship is worth a shot at happily-ever-after, in this starry debut.

Risk-averse event planner Amerie Price is jobless, newly single, and about to lose her apartment. With no choice but to gamble on her shaky start-up, the last thing she needed was to run into her smug ex and his new, less complicated girlfriend at Amerie’s favorite coffee shop. Panicked, she pretends to be dating the annoyingly sexy man she met by spilling Americano all over his abs. He plays along—for a price.

Half the single men in Houston claim to be astronauts, but Vincent Rogers turns out to be the real deal. What started as a one-off lie morphs into a plan: for the three months leading up to his mission, Amerie will play Vincent’s doting partner in front of his loving but overly invested family. In exchange, she gets a rent-free room in his house and can put every penny toward her struggling business.

What Amerie doesn’t plan for is Vincent’s gravitational pull. While her mind tells her a future with this astronaut is too unpredictable, her heart says he’s exactly what she needs. As their time together counts down, Amerie must decide if she’ll settle for the safe life—or shoot for the stars.SEE LESS

Review

4 stars

The Kiss Countdown caught my attention due to the cover (I’m here for more Black romances!), and I didn’t know the specifics of what it was about until just before I started reading it. Going in with no expectations, I ended up really enjoying it. I liked that, while it was a fairly light romance, it also touched on tough topics, like grief, familial death, and the impact of chronic illness.

The characters are the strength of the book. Both Amerie, nicknamed Mimi, and Vincent are likable characters who each have family issues that motivate them throughout their personal arcs. While they didn’t have the best initial meeting, I liked how things developed once they got to know each other. They complement each other really well, with her being the slightly more prickly one and him being really sweet. And I really liked how their careers, especially his as an astronaut, played a role in the background. I did feel like some of the impetus for their fake dating got a little lost as things got a little too real, and I wondered why they were dragging things out. However, I enjoyed how things came together.

This was a solid debut romance, and I’m interested to read more from Etta Easton. If you’re interested in a Black contemporary romance with fake dating, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Etta Easton is a certified hopeless romantic who now writes contemporary romance. Her stories are full of humor, relatable heroines, swoon-worthy heroes, and Black joy. She lives in Central Texas with her husband and two young kids.

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“Fire & Ice” by Lily Seabrooke (ARC Review)

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Seabrooke, Lily. Fire & Ice. [Place of publication not identified]: Lily Seabrooke, 2024.

ASIN: B0CZVVKN3L | $5.99 USD | 358 pages | NA Contemporary Romance

Blurb

Breaking hearts is risky business. You never know when you might fall in love.
Primrose Carter is a professional heartbreaker. As a member of FIRE, the underground group on her college campus formed of the people who have nowhere to turn but each other and dedicated to getting a leg up against the privileged kids, Primrose is an expert at getting a target to fall in love with her, getting what she needs from them, and breaking their heart on the way out.

But she’s not expecting her target this time to be a woman.

Giselle Lawson, competitive figure skater and the daughter of a finance mogul, has racked up one too many transgressions against FIRE. But from her perspective, she’s just trying to get by, heal from her breakup, and survive the crushing weight of her parents’ expectations—and the gorgeous woman who runs into her on the ice is suddenly the only thing she can think about.

For Primrose, it should be an easy case. But Giselle might just be the one to break her.

Fire & Ice is a 90,000-word college romance with a secret identity and one-sided enemies-to-lovers, featuring a secret organization, a coldblooded heartbreaker turning soft, and some juicy toaster-oven dynamics. Content warnings for on-page sex, a character having to leave their parents offscreen for their own safety, someone stuck in an unwanted engagement because of financial dynamics, a passive-aggressive jerk of a friend, and Ava not liking chocolate but definitely liking to yell at people.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the author through BookSprout and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I don’t read a ton of college romance, but my interest was piqued when I saw that Lily Seabrooke was writing one. Fire & Ice sounded messy, yet charming, and that’s my assessment upon reading it, giving me a similar feeling to a messy teen drama/romcom show with a queer twist.

Both leads are compelling, and I like that the setup is based in the class divide in an intriguing way. Giselle is the rich, privileged figure skater, but she was also the one I immediately liked more, because of how she’s also reckoning with things like parental pressure, not to mention she’s recovering from a relatively recent breakup.

On paper, that would make Primrose’s actions, however well-intentioned, feel icky. And that was a mild concern. But Primrose is coming from a genuine place herself, wanting to right the injustices that have impacted her and her friends. And while the secret is withheld from Giselle for most of the book, she’s never painted as an exploited, blameless victim. Their romance and seeing them bond in spite of their differences was ultimately sweet, even if the road was paved with complications.

The supporting characters are also well-drawn, and I wouldn’t mind reading more about them. The other members of FIRE in particular are quite interesting, and I love how the group dynamics evolve over the course of the book.

I really enjoyed this, and I love that Lily Seabrooke tried something a little different from her previous books. I would recommend this to readers interested in a New Adult/college sapphic romance with a teen drama feel.

Author Bio

Lily Seabrooke is a lesbian, trans woman, and author of sapphic romance that stars food, because odds are, at any given time, she’s hungry.

Her interests include eating food, thinking about food, writing novels about food, and drinking coffee.

You can find her on Twitter to be in the know on everything she’s doing, or you can sign up for her mailing list and be the first to get book announcements and free copies of her books before they release in exchange for honest reviews.

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“The Familiar” by Leigh Bardugo (Review)

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Bardugo, Leigh. The Familiar. New York: Flatiron Books, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1250884251 | $29.99 USD | 400 pages | Historical Fantasy

Blurb

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Leigh Bardugo comes a spellbinding novel set in the Spanish Golden Age.

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2024 by The Washington Post, NPR, Goodreads, LitHub, The Nerd Daily, Paste Magazine, Today.com, and so much more!

“A must-read for those who are seeking a little magic in their lives.” —Deborah Harkness, #1 bestselling author of A Discovery of Witches

In a shabby house, on a shabby street, in the new capital of Madrid, Luzia Cotado uses scraps of magic to get through her days of endless toil as a scullion. But when her scheming mistress discovers the lump of a servant cowering in the kitchen is actually hiding a talent for little miracles, she demands Luzia use those gifts to improve the family’s social position.

What begins as simple amusement for the nobility takes a perilous turn when Luzia garners the notice of Antonio Pérez, the disgraced secretary to Spain’s king. Still reeling from the defeat of his armada, the king is desperate for any advantage in the war against England’s heretic queen—and Pérez will stop at nothing to regain the king’s favor.

Determined to seize this one chance to better her fortunes, Luzia plunges into a world of seers and alchemists, holy men and hucksters, where the lines between magic, science, and fraud are never certain. But as her notoriety grows, so does the danger that her Jewish blood will doom her to the Inquisition’s wrath. She will have to use every bit of her wit and will to survive—even if that means enlisting the help of Guillén Santángel, an embittered immortal familiar whose own secrets could prove deadly for them both.

Review

4 stars

I’ve somehow missed the whole hype train on Leigh Bardugo’s Grishaverse (they sound good, but I’ve heard that the original series in particular is a tad dated), and I didn’t even touch her Alex Stern books, due to the opinions I’ve heard being much more polarizing. However, when I heard about The Familiar, I knew I had to read it. I’m a sucker for anything vaguely Tudor-adjacent, and Spain and its history and culture was a related passion of mine when I took Spanish-language courses in high school and college.

While I know a bit less about this specific time period, beyond the basics of the Spanish Armada being in recent memory, Bardugo masterfully sets the scene, especially how King Philip’s favor has waned with Spain’s power following that crushing defeat. She also highlights how, politically and in terms of religious policy, not much had changed since the Spanish Inquisition for Jewish people, which is a major focus of the novel, with Bardugo pulling from her own heritage for inspiration. I also liked that the story was so rooted in the time period to a similar extent a “traditional” historical novel would be, with the speculative elements highlighting the way “witchcraft” was stigmatized, while some of these practices were also used in the upper-classes for personal gain.

The characters are all fairly intriguing. Luzia is a compelling protagonist, an orphan from a Jewish family working as a scullion in a noble household, who happens to have the capability to perform “milagritos,” or “little miracles,” like fixing a burnt loaf of bread or lightening the water buckets she carries every day. The skill is first discovered by her mistress, Valentina, who wants to exploit her gifts for her own gain, but Luzia takes the chance to secure her own future when powerful people like the king’s secretary take notice of her.

Pacing wise, this is a tad odd, especially as initially, there is an intent to really highlight the drudgery that Luzia lives in, even if Valentina and her husband aren’t necessarily abusive. But once it gets into the real “meat” of the story, and Luzia gains more agency for herself, it really picks up. And while I can’t say I was super blown away by the romance between her and Santángel, it had its charms, and he definitely won me over as the book progressed.

This was a surprising read, and I’d happily read more in this vein from Bardugo in the future. And while I can’t speak for how avid Bardugo fans of her other work will respond to this book, I think you’ll enjoy this if you’re interested in historical fantasy with a strong romantic subplot.

Author Bio

Leigh Bardugo is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and the creator of the Grishaverse (now a Netflix series) which spans the Shadow and Bone trilogy, the Six of Crows duology, The Language of Thorns, and the King of Scars duology—with more to come. Her other works include Wonder Woman: Warbringer and Ninth House (Goodreads Choice Winner for Best Fantasy 2019). She lives in Los Angeles and is an Associate Fellow of Pauli Murray College at Yale University.

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“Truly, Madly, Deeply” by Alexandria Bellefleur (ARC Review)

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Bellefleur, Alexandria. Truly, Madly, Deeply. New York: Avon, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0063258532 | $18.99 USD | 336 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

Sparks fly when a lovelorn romance novelist and a divorce lawyer who has sworn off relationships agree to cohost a podcast series offering dating advice to viewers, in Truly, Madly, Deeply, the next steamy queer rom-com from Lambda Literary Award winner and national bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur.

As a bestselling romance novelist, everyone thinks Truly Livingston is an expert on happily-ever-afters. She’s even signed on to record a podcast sharing relationship advice. Little do they know she feels like an imposter—her parents just announced they’re separating, she caught her fiancé cheating, and her entire view on love has been shaken to the core. Truly hopes the podcast will distract her… until she meets her cohost.

Her first impression of Colin McCory is…hot. But then he opens his extremely kissable mouth. Colin’s view on love just pisses Truly off, even if he does have an annoyingly attractive face. Bickering with a cynical divorce lawyer is the last thing she needs—so she walks out, with no plans to return.

A few days later, Truly is surprised when Colin tracks her down, asking for a fresh start. Truly can’t deny the little thrill she gets from Colin begging, so she reluctantly agrees. As they go from enemies to friends to something else entirely, Truly discovers they have more in common than she ever imagined, including their shared queerness. He’s a genuinely good guy—charming, sweet, and equally as unlucky in love as herself—and there’s something about Colin that drives Truly a little wild. When their attraction reaches a fever pitch, Truly is happy for the first time in years. Yet she can’t help but wonder… is Colin truly, madly, deeply in love with her? Or is it all too good to be true?

Review

5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Alexandria Bellefleur once again delivers another amazing queer romcom (both leads are bi) with Truly, Madly, Deeply, which just might be her best book to date. I loved pretty much every moment of it, from the humor full of Tayloe Swfit references and dirty jokes to the gradual, not-quite-slow-burn, but-also-not-instantaneous-either romance, not to mention the sensitive handling of complex, even dysfunctional family relationships.

My interest was initially piqued by the characters of Truly and Colin. They seem like such opposites, with Truly being a hopeful romance novelist, in spite of having been betrayed by an ex at the beginning of the book, while Colin is a cynical divorce lawyer. But the way the characters evolved and grew subverted my expectations of where this would go from the initial setup. Because of course, once they got over their initial animosity, they realized they had a solid connection. But seeing that gradual deepening beyond flirting/spending time together/hooking up to it looking like it could be something real was beautifully complicated by the other elements of the story and how it impacts them, especially Truly. Her being the one to lack confidence in herself and her value in a relationship felt believable, as did Colin being pretty much gone for her, if not from the moment he met her, at least from the time they started hanging out.

And these complicating factors with each others’ families are interwoven cleverly to complement the romance, and I love how we see both Truly and Colin support each other through these issues. I generally liked Truly’s parents and their quirky show-business ways, including the propensity to quote show-tunes and turn it into a game among themselves. I also felt like the arc around the parents considering separation, even divorce, and Truly’s poor reaction to it was fairly well handled. While I don’t think the parents always respond well to her trying to show her feelings about the situation and how it impacts her, it’s also clear Truly does have some things to work on in that regard too.

Colin’s family, on the other hand…talk about toxic. His brother got with Colin’s ex right after they broke up, and now they’re married and expecting a baby. It was infuriating how Colin did try to set boundaries, but he kept being pulled back into all the toxicity, where even his parents clearly side with his brother, and don’t understand why Colin can’t forgive him.

I loved this book so much, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a queer romcom with a lot of heat and heart.

Author Bio

Alexandria Bellefleur is a bestselling and award-winning author of swoony contemporary romance often featuring loveable grumps and the sunshine characters who bring them to their knees. Her debut novel, Written in the Stars, was a 2021 Lambda Literary Award winner and a 2020 winner of The Ripped Bodice Awards for Excellence in Romantic Fiction.

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“Blood Justice” (Blood Debts #2) by Terry J. Benton-Walker (ARC Review)

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Benton-Walker, Terry J. Blood Justice. New York: Tor Teen, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1250825957 | $20.99 USD | 480 pages | YA Fantasy

Blurb

Blood Justice is the hotly anticipated sequel to Terry J. Benton-Walker’s Most Anticipated debut Blood Debts.

Praise for Blood Debts:“A conjuring of magnificence.” —NIC STONE • “A force.” —ROSEANNE A. BROWN • “An extravaganza.” —CHLOE GONG • “Powerful.” —AYANA GRAY • “Sings with hope and rage.” —TJ KLUNE • “An unforgettable thrill ride.” —J. ELLE • “Steeped in magic.” —ALEXIS HENDERSON • “Crackles with mystery and ferocity.” —MARK OSHIRO

Cristina and Clement Trudeau have conjured the impossible: justice.

They took back their family’s stolen throne to lead New Orleans’ magical community into the brighter future they all deserve.

But when Cris and Clem restored their family power, Valentina Savant lost everything. Her beloved grandparents are gone and her sovereignty has been revoked—she will never be Queen. Unless, of course, someone dethrones the Trudeaus again. And lucky for her, she’s not the only one trying to take them down.

Cris and Clem have enemies coming at them from all directions: Hateful anti-magic protesters sabotage their reign at every turn. A ruthless detective with a personal vendetta against magical crime is hot on their tail just as Cris has discovered her thirst for revenge. And a brutal god, hunting from the shadows, is summoned by the very power Clem needs to protect the boy he loves.

Cris’s hunger for vengeance and Clem’s desire for love could prove to be their family’s downfall, all while new murders, shocking disappearances, and impossible alliances are changing the game forever.

Welcome back to New Orleans, where gods walk among us and justice isn’t served, it’s taken.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Blood Justice picks up where its predecessor left off, delivering more of the seamless mix of drama, action, and social commentary that made the first work so well. With the first book already highlighting social issues that impact Black and queer teens, I especially liked the focus this time around on the injustices of the prison system.

The Dupart siblings are once again central to the narrative, although there are some other characters thar are also thoughtfully incorporated. Cris’ arc is one of anger and seeking justice following what happened in the last book. Clem, meanwhile, is on a much more tender journey, as he is reckoning with having lost the boy he’s in love with, Yves. and tries to bring him back to life, resulting in some complications. Between the two of them, it’s a solid balance of softness and darkness, high-action and more interpersonal.

Another prominent POV character is the antagonist, Valentina, and she’s a well-rounded, compelling villain, with a lot of nuance. While I don’t necessarily root for her, I understand where she’s coming from, having lost everything, and find her scheming interesting to watch. She also makes an intriguing foil for Cris in particular, as in some ways, they are very similar.

This installment was also fairly well-paced and engaging. I enjoyed the balance of character building and high action, meaning that there wasn’t much space wasted on anything that didn’t advance the narrative in some way.

Also, as the author has disclosed on socials, this is far from the end of the series, although who knows if his vision for the full scope of it will see the light of day. I do hope this publisher (or any suitable publisher) will continue to given Terry J. Benton-Walker the opportunity to continue growing this series and world.

This was a solid sequel, and I’m excited to see where the story goes next, if it happens. If you’re interested in a contemporary/urban fantasy starring Black and queer characters, I’d recommend checking out this series!

Author Bio

TERRY J. BENTON-WALKER grew up in rural GA and now lives in Atlanta with his husband and son, where he writes fantasy and horror for adults, young adults, and children. He has an Industrial Engineering degree from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Georgia State. When he’s not writing, he can be found gaming, eating ice cream, or both. Blood Debts is his first novel. Terry is also the author of Alex Wise vs the End of the World and editor and contributor of The White Guy Dies First anthology.

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“Song of the Six Realms” by Judy I. Lin (ARC Review)

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Lin, Judy I. Song of the Six Realms. New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1250871619 | $20.99 USD | 400 pages | YA Fantasy

Blurb

Judy I. Lin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Magic Steeped in Poison, weaves a dreamy gothic romance worthy of the heavens in Song of the Six Realms.

Xue, a talented young musician, has no past and probably no future. Orphaned at a young age, her kindly poet uncle took her in and arranged for an apprenticeship at one of the most esteemed entertainment houses in the kingdom. She doesn’t remember much from before entering the House of Flowing Water, and when her uncle is suddenly killed in a bandit attack, she is devastated to lose her last connection to a life outside of her indenture contract.

With no family and no patron, Xue is facing the possibility of a lifetime of servitude playing the qin for nobles that praise her talent with one breath and sneer at her lowly social status with the next. Then one night she is unexpectedly called to the garden to put on a private performance for the enigmatic Duke Meng. For a young man of nobility, he is strangely kind and awkward, and surprises Xue further with an irresistible offer: serve as a musician in residence at his manor for one year, and he’ll set her free of her indenture.

But the Duke’s motives become increasingly more suspect when he and Xue barely survive an attack by a nightmarish monster, and when he whisks her away to his estate, she discovers he’s not just some country noble: He’s the Duke of Dreams, one of the divine rulers of the Celestial Realm. There she learns the Six Realms are on the brink of disaster, and incursions by demonic beasts are growing more frequent.

The Duke needs Xue’s help to unlock memories from her past that could hold the answers to how to stop the impending war… but first Xue will need to survive being the target of every monster and deity in the Six Realms.

Review

3 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I really enjoyed Judy I. Lin’s debut duology, so I was excited to read more from her. Song of the Six Realms is a promising follow-up effort, showing her talent, but I also found it slightly lacking in places. Other reviewers have said this is the epitome of a book that leans more toward “vibes” than anything else, and I have to agree.

The world building is the best part, and given it’s also something I liked in The Book of Tea duology, that’s a plus. I enjoyed the history and lore conveyed throughout the book, even if at times it overwhelmed the rest of the story, sometimes to its own detriment. And the author’s note providing more insight into the explicit Tang Dynasty influences was great, given it’s the first period of Chinese history that I fell in love with through fiction.

The characters were ok, but not super spectacular. Xue was fine as YA protagonist, but I didn’t feel she had the “it” factor that a lot of truly great fantasy protagonists have that endear me to them. And considering the blurb calls this a romance (at least in a loose sense) and Judy I. Lin was one of the authors who was vocal about her concern about the confusing marketing of “romantasy” on Threads not too long ago, it’s not shocking that while the love interest isn’t offensive or anything, he’s also kind of just there, and the romance isn’t super impactful.

The plot is also fairly simple and predictable, and I found myself finishing the book feeling rather conflicted as to whether I wanted more of this story or not, given how underbaked and underwhelming it was.

While I didn’t care for this book, I also acknowledge I’m not exactly the audience for it. But I would recommend it to readers interested in Chinese-inspired YA fantasy with a heavy emphasis on aesthetics and “vibes.”

Author Bio

Judy I. Lin is the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of the Book of Tea duology. She writes stories inspired by the legends and myths she grew up with in Taiwan and currently lives on the Canadian prairies.

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“The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties” by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Review)

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Sutanto, Jesse Q. The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties. New York: Berkley, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593546222 | $18.00 USD | 304 pages | Contemporary

Blurb

What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe, Meddy Chan and her husband Nathan have landed in Jakarta to spend Chinese New Year with her entire extended family. Chinese New Year, already the biggest celebration of the Lunar calendar, gets even more festive when a former beau of Second Aunt’s shows up at the Chan residence bearing extravagant gifts—he’s determined to rekindle his romance with Second Aunt and the gifts are his way of announcing his courtship.

His grand gesture goes awry however, when it’s discovered that not all the gifts were meant for Second Aunt and the Chans—one particular gift was intended for a business rival to cement their alliance and included by accident. Of course the Aunties agree that it’s only right to return the gift—after all, anyone would forgive an honest mistake, right? But what should have been a simple retrieval turns disastrous and suddenly Meddy and the Aunties are helpless pawns in a decades-long war between Jakarta’s most powerful business factions. The fighting turns personal, however, when Nathan and the Aunties are endangered and it’s up to Meddy to come up with a plan to save them all. Determined to rescue her loved ones, Meddy embarks on an impossible mission—but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is truly impossible…SEE LESS

Review

3.5 stars

The Good, the Bad, and the Aunties brings Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Aunties series to a bonkers finish, and while I can’t say this book was the best thing I’ve ever read (was it even necessary in the grand scheme of things?) it was still a lot of the fun I love about the Aunties, and ended on a fairly solid note, before things got a bit too old (something I cannot say for another series which I previously loved but shall remain nameless, due to the SMP boycott, among other factors).

And the Aunties are definitely the stars of the show, even if they aren’t the POV characters. I loved seeing them in a new/old environment, with the whole family going back to Indonesia for Chinese New Year. This presents an opportunity for fun family dynamics and general chaos, as you’d expect.

The plot took a weird turn this time around, with mislaid gifts getting them mixed up in the business dealings of rival factions in Jakarta. It was odd at times, but sometimes a bit convoluted, but as strange as it all was, I enjoyed seeing all the characters working together and being brought closer.

Meddy as a “protagonist” is perhaps the one weak spot. She kind of always was, but she at least had something to do in the first two books, for the most part, and book one had the most growth for her. She definitely feels a bit less prominent than the Aunties here, although I did somewhat still like her bond with Nathan and her role as a part of the larger family. And while this is the last book of the series, and I can’t imagine the need for more books, I do like that the story ends on a positive note with hope for the future.

This was a charming closer for the series, and while it has its flaws, it’s definitely bittersweet to know it’s over. And while I know there are some others who’ve loved book one who’ve expressed complaints with book two who might find similar flaws with book three, I think will more or less satisfy ride-or-die fans of the series.

Author Bio

Jesse Q Sutanto grew up shuttling back and forth between Indonesia, Singapore, and Oxford, and considers all three places her home. She has a Masters from Oxford University, but she has yet to figure out how to say that without sounding obnoxious. Jesse has forty-two first cousins and thirty aunties and uncles, many of whom live just down the road. She used to game but with two little ones and a husband, she no longer has time for hobbies. She aspires to one day find one (1) hobby.

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“The Spirit Bares Its Teeth” by Andrew Joseph White (Review)

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White, Andrew Joseph. The Spirit Bares Its Teeth. New York: Peachtree Teen, 2023.

ISBN-13: 978-1682636114 | $19.99 USD | 400 pages | YA Historical Fantasy/Horror

Blurb

A blood-soaked and nauseating triumph that cuts like a scalpel and reads like your darkest nightmare.

New York Times bestselling author Andrew Joseph White returns with the transgressive gothic horror of our time!

Mors vincit omnia. Death conquers all.

London, 1883. The Veil between the living and dead has thinned. Violet-eyed mediums commune with spirits under the watchful eye of the Royal Speaker Society, and sixteen-year-old trans, autistic Silas Bell would rather rip out his violet eyes than become an obedient Speaker wife.

After a failed attempt to escape an arranged marriage, Silas is diagnosed with Veil sickness—a mysterious disease sending violet-eyed women into madness—and shipped away to Braxton’s Finishing School and Sanitorium. When the ghosts of missing students start begging Silas for help, he decides to reach into Braxton’s innards and expose its guts to the world—so long as the school doesn’t break him first.

Featuring an autistic trans protagonist in a historical setting, Andrew Joseph White’s much-anticipated sophomore novel does not back down from exposing the violence of the patriarchy and the harm inflicted on trans youth who are forced into conformity.

Review

5 stars

I really enjoyed Andrew Joseph White’s debut, but The Spirit Bears Its Teeth has blown that out of the water. While this book also covers similar ground, in highlighting how trans (and neurodivergent) people are targeted, my interest immediately grew when I saw that the book was a historical fantasy-horror, and that it was inspired by the real-life medical experimentation on those deemed “unseemly” to society, from people of color to LGBTQ+ people to disabled people. As a disabled queer Asian woman who loves history, this is an aspect of the past that has always fascinated, yet terrified me, and I appreciate how White explored this dark side of history, and unpacking the intersections of the systemic bigotries at play, while also finding hope amidst all the horror and darkness. And as truly well-crafted horror with a focus on social commentary does, I love the balance between the more explicit gore and the more subtle horror of reality and how it quietly oppresses.

Silas is an immensely relatable protagonist, and I truly felt for him as he bristled with the ways society demanded he conform, from not acknowledging his true gender and being overwhelmed by the neurotypical world they inhabit, yet being made to feel like he’s the problem, simply because who he is doesn’t “fit” with what society expects.

I really enjoyed the stylistic choices here, with some parts of the book being small portions of text against a black box, isolated from the rest of the text. It contributed to the darker feel of the book, and these sections, along with the overall intensity of the book itself, made for an engrossing read that kept me turning pages. Like with White’s prior book, it is rather heavy on the gore (and in this case, medical gore), and as such, I would recommend proceeding with caution if you’re sensitive to that, or at least consult content warnings available on the author’s website, and also summarized briefly in the introductory note from White at the beginning of the book.

This was another engaging, thought-provoking read from Andrew Joseph White, and provided you’re informed about the sensitive content in the book, I’d recommend checking out this book, if you’re interested in historical fantasy/horror.

Author Bio

Andrew Joseph White is a queer, trans author from Virginia, where he grew up falling in love with monsters and wishing he could be one too. He received his MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University in 2022 and has a habit of cuddling random street cats. Andrew writes about trans kids with claws and fangs, and what happens when they bite back.

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“The Stranger I Wed” (The Doves of New York #1) by Harper St. George (ARC Review)

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St. George, Harper. The Stranger I Wed. New York: Berkley Romance, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593441008 | $18.00 USD | 368 pages | Victorian/Gilded Age Romance

Blurb

New to wealth and to London high society, American heiress Cora Dove discovers that with the right man, marriage might not be such an inconvenience after all. . . .

Cora Dove and her sisters’ questionable legitimacy has been the lifelong subject of New York’s gossipmongers and a continual stain on their father’s reputation. So when the girls each receive a generous, guilt-induced dowry from their dying grandmother, the sly Mr. Hathaway vows to release their funds only if Cora and her sisters can procure suitable husbands—far from New York. For Cora, England is a fresh start. She has no delusions of love, but a husband who will respect her independence? That’s an earl worth fighting for.

Enter: Leopold Brendon, Earl of Devonworth, a no-nonsense member of Parliament whose plan to pass a Public Health bill that would provide clean water to the working class requires the backing of a wealthy wife. He just never expected to crave Cora’s touch or yearn to hear her thoughts on his campaign—or to discover that his seemingly perfect bride protects so many secrets…

But secrets have a way of bubbling to the surface, and Devonworth has a few of his own. With their pasts laid bare and Cora’s budding passion for women’s rights taking a dangerous turn, they’ll learn the true cost of losing their heart to a stranger—and that love is worth any price.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Harper St. George expands her Victorian/Gilded Age world in a wonderful way with The Stranger I Wed, the first in the Doves of New York series. While there are references to the prior series, mainly to previous characters, this series stands on its own, although the other books are absolutely worth checking out if you’re looking for books in a similar vein to this one.

I love how St. George pays homage to and tackles the issues of the time period, like women’s suffrage and providing for the working class (in this case providing access to running water). While these elements are somewhat fictionalized, I like that this exposes that marginalized people’s access to fundamental rights are also not things that just happened in a vacuum, and that not everyone in the past followed the status quo.

Both leads are solid people, and in addition to their causes, rather likable and relatable. I enjoyed how the story slowly revealed how good a match they are, with both Cora and Leo feeling responsible for their younger siblings when they were young. For Leo, it was more of a foregone conclusion, due to the hierarchy of society (even if psychologically it’s still a burden he won’t fully acknowledge he wasn’t fully prepared for), but Cora still has a mother who is ill-equipped for the task and she also had to grow up faster because of it.

While marriage-of-convenience can be very hit-or-miss for me, I really liked that they established a mutual respect early on. That and the pining and emotional connection were very pronounced, and it felt very much like a slow burn to when they actually consummated their relationship. That could be a turnoff for other readers, but as a grayace reader (and I saw someone say Leo read as demi to them, which does make sense in hindsight), one of my turnoffs in many MOC books is the focus on the physical side, while being like “we will not fall in love!,” so it’s nice to have a book that does something different.

This is a promising start to a new series, and based on what’s been teased, I’m excited for what’s to come. If you’re interested in a slow-burn historical romance with a slightly subverted marriage-of-convenience plot, I’d recommend checking this one out!

Author Bio

Harper St. George was raised in the rural backwoods of Alabama and along the tranquil coast of northwest Florida. It was a setting filled with stories of the old days that instilled in her a love of history, romance, and adventure. By high school, she had discovered the historical romance novel which combined all of those elements into one perfect package. She has been hooked ever since.

She lives in Atlanta area with her husband and two children. When not writing, she can be found devouring her husband’s amazing cooking and reading.

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“Fake It Till You Make It” by Siera London (ARC Review)

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London, Siera. Fake It Till You Make It. New York: Forever, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1538739389 | $9.99 USD | 352 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

Debbie Mason meets Lizzie Shane in this small-town romance where a burned-by-love veterinarian arranges a fake partnership with a down-on-her-luck city girl in order to save his family business.

When Amarie Walker goes for something, she goes big—including starting over. Leaving her cheating ex and entire D.C. life in the rearview, she crash lands in a small town with no plan, no money, and no job. An opening at the animal clinic is the only gig for miles, no surprise considering the vet is a certified grump. If Eli Calvary ever cracked a smile, Amarie might faint on sight from shock. At least his adorable golden retriever appreciates her fabulousness…and shares her love of daily treats!

When Eli took over his late father’s practice, he quickly discovered the clinic was facing foreclosure. So there’s no time for social niceties, especially not flirting, even with someone as gorgeous, bubbly, and business-savvy as Amarie. Yet when Eli needs to invent an investor on the fly, it’s her name that comes to his lips. Now, for the sake of their furry clients, Eli and Amarie hustle to save the clinic, trying to ignore the nonstop sparks between them. Because while their partnership may be fake, their connection already feels way too real.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I’m always looking for new BIPOC authors to try, especially in romance, and I’ve seen Siera London’s name on social media. Plus, Fake It Till You Make It sounded right up my alley, with a fun premise, plus the cute dog. And while this book didn’t necessarily rock my world or anything, it was a lot of fun.

The characters as individuals are definitely a strong point here. Both Amarie and Eli have been hurt in past relationships, and I appreciate how these hurts were depicted, while seeing them make room for new love with each other. The romance, while cringey in places (the dialogue in particular), was rather sweet, if a tad predictable in places, but with fun twists on familiar elements, like the fake dating trope with a grumpy/sunshine character dynamic.

While I was slightly jarred by some of the hyper-modern references (in conjunction with the dialogue choices), it was mostly a smooth reading experience with a fairly engaging story throughout. There was less buildup than I would have wanted between the stages of their relationship from being at odds to being friends to becoming romantically involved, but it does make sense in the narrative context and not being a slow-burn.

This was a solid read, and I’m not opposed to continuing with this series or reading more from Siera London in the future. If you’re interested in a small town romance with an interracial couple, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Siera London is the USA Today Bestselling & Award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance, romantic suspense, and crime fiction. She crafts stories of diverse characters navigating the challenges and triumphs to find lasting love. Intelligence, wit, emotion, drama, and romance are between the covers of every Siera London novel. Siera lives in Virginia with her husband, and a color patch tabby named Frie. Also, Siera is a Director-At-Large for Romance Writers of America.

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“Hell Followed with Us” by Andrew Joseph White (Review)

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White, Andrew Joseph. Hell Followed with Us. Atlanta: Peachtree Teen, 2022.

ISBN-13: 978-1682635636 | $12.99 USD | 448 pages | YA Horror

Blurb

A furious, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors.

“A long, sustained scream to the various strains of anti-transgender legislation multiplying around the world like, well, a virus.” —The New York Times

Sixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him—the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him, or more importantly, on the bioweapon they infected him with.

But when cornered by monsters born from the destruction, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader, Nick, is gorgeous, autistic, and a deadly shot, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all.

Still, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda, and more than a few secrets of his own. Perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Annihilation.

Review

4 stars

Andrew Joseph White’s books initially caught my interest when I saw them at my library, but my interest was further piqued upon watching Reads with Rachel’s reviewof his debut, Hell Followed With Us. Unlike Rachel and (presumably) White, I don’t have an overlapping experience with religious trauma, but the topic is of interest to me nonetheless, thanks to what I’ve learned from Rachel, and this book is even more relevant in the wake of current events, with Christofascism worming its way into the US government in various states and in some sectors at the federal level, with trans people among the vulnerable populations being targeted. And even with the intense speculative, fantastical, and horrific elements, it’s not hard to see parallels to what’s happening to trans and queer youth right now, with the ideals at the root of some of the practices in the book being very real.

In the midst of it all, the book also centers very flawed, very real, and sympathetic characters. Benjamin, or Benji, is the primary focal point, a trans boy on the run from the fundamentalist cult which raised him. I could not help but root for him, and wanted him to find a safe haven. And even with the realization he was essentially bred to be a weapon for the cultists, he ends up subverting that and turning it against them in such a poignant way.

The story also dips briefly into the perspectives of two other characters. Nick is a member of the LGBTQ+ support group the ALC that Benjy bonds with, who is autistic, and I enjoyed seeing how he was able to be a leader within the ALC, while also having challenges related to his autism, like vocal delays. Plus, his developing relationship with Benji is a nice bright spot in an otherwise intense book.

Theo is only a POV character for a single chapter, but he’s also a strong presence, being Benji’s ex from within the cult, and I appreciate the way the nuances of their toxic relationship were depicted, and their impact on Benji.

The story is much more character-focused than plot-focused, making it more introspective than action-packed. However, in my experience, the characters themselves and the situation somewhat made up for the plot being a little scattered in places.

This book is rather heavy on the gore and body horror, as well as on the religious messaging, so if either are issues for you, this may not be the book for you. I would also encourage you to peruse the list of content warnings (available online as well as in the introductory note of the book itself) to further help you make an informed decision.

This is a solid debut, and I’m eager to continue to read more from Andrew Joseph White in the future. Taking into account my previous caveats, I’d recommend this book if you’re interested in an intense YA horror that centers religious trauma and trans/queer identity.

Author Bio

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“Out of Office” by A.H. Cunningham (ARC Review)

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Cunningham, A.H. Out of Office. Toronto, Ontario: Afterglow Books, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1335041623 | $12.99 USD | 288 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

A.H. Cunningham dazzles in this sensual vacation romance exploring what happens when you step out of the office, take a chance on yourself—and discover your deepest desires.

Genevieve Raymond was born an overachiever. After opening a hot new hotel chain location in Panama, she’s on track for a major promotion. But first, she desperately needs a break, even if her overbearing mother doesn’t approve. For two glorious weeks, Gen’s giving herself permission to explore the beautiful beaches of Colón—and the stimulating attraction she shares with her sexy-as-hell driver, Adrián Nicolas.

After a family tragedy, Adrián’s recently shifted his own focus to prioritizing the life part of a healthy work-life balance. To workaholic Gen, Adrián’s laid-back devotion to his family’s hometown hostel couldn’t be more appealing. Their long-term goals might not align, but two weeks in paradise only calls for seductive physical chemistry, and Gen and Adrián have got that, without a doubt.

But when their intimate connection flourishes beyond sunsets and spice, Gen finds herself questioning whether the career path she’s been on is even where she wants to be. With continents between them, a real relationship doesn’t feel possible. Until fate reveals their futures might be more closely woven than they thought, leaving them wondering whether a two-week fling might have what it takes to last forever.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I hadn’t read anything from A.H. Cunningham before, but I follow her on Twitter, and I was intrigued to hear she was one of the new authors picked up for the Afterglow Books imprint, and while these books have been very hit-or-miss so far, fortunately Cunningham’s offering, Out of Office, was a delight.

I love how well both leads complemented each other. Genevieve has been an overachiever her entire life, always striving for the next great thing, and she’s never really taken time for herself to have “me” time. Meanwhile, Adrian once had a similar life, until tragedy led him to change his priorities. This leads them to meeting when Adrian is serving as Gen’s driver on her vacation.

This setup made for a beautiful romance. They have great physical chemistry, of course, but I also love how they help each other grow and figure out what would make them happy in life. Ultimately, a truly fulfilling life is not purely all work or all play, and I really enjoyed how he helped open her up to fun, and she helped reconnect him with the passion he left behind due to the pain of his past.

I really enjoyed this book, and I’m interested in reading more from Cunningham in the future. If you’re interested in a steamy Black romance that takes place partly on vacation, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

A.H. Cunningham is an introvert who weaves lovey-dovey romantic erotica. She writes diverse erotic romance centered on Black and multicultural grown folks. When she’s not writing, you can find her reading, snacking at odd hours, dancing to some Panamanian song, and playing the metaphorical tamborine as her family navigates a new move.

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“The Diamond Eye” by Kate Quinn (Review)

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Quinn, Kate. The Diamond Eye. New York: William Morrow, 2022.

ISBN-13: 978-0063144705 | $19.99 USD | 448 pages | Historical Fiction

Blurb

The bestselling author of The Rose Code returns with an unforgettable World War II tale of a quiet bookworm who becomes history’s deadliest female sniper. Based on a true story.

In 1937 in the snowbound city of Kyiv, wry and bookish history student Mila Pavlichenko organizes her life around her library job and her young son—but Hitler’s invasion of Ukraine and Russia sends her on a different path. Given a rifle and sent to join the fight, Mila must forge herself from studious girl to deadly sniper—a lethal hunter of Nazis known as Lady Death. When news of her three hundredth kill makes her a national heroine, Mila finds herself torn from the bloody battlefields of the eastern front and sent to America on a goodwill tour.

Still reeling from war wounds and devastated by loss, Mila finds herself isolated and lonely in the glittering world of Washington, DC—until an unexpected friendship with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and an even more unexpected connection with a silent fellow sniper offer the possibility of happiness.

But when an old enemy from Mila’s past joins forces with a deadly new foe lurking in the shadows, Lady Death finds herself battling her own demons and enemy bullets in the deadliest duel of her life.

Based on a true story, The Diamond Eye is a haunting novel of heroism born of desperation, of a mother who became a soldier, of a woman who found her place in the world and changed the course of history forever.

Review

3.5-ish stars

The Diamond Eye is another solid work of historical fiction from Kate Quinn, and I’m once again blown away by how she brings to light topics that exist in the margins of otherwise well-known historical events. I was particularly intrigued because this was yet another story focused on Russia during World War II, an aspect of The Huntress I really enjoyed. And while mechanics wise, there was much more overlap with The Rose Code, which I wasn’t as fond of, it was still an improvement over the latter, even if it didn’t quite hit the spot quite like the former.

Lyudmila “Mila” Pavlichenko” is a truly fascinating woman, and she truly lives up to her “Lady Death” moniker. It’s also fascinating how much of the book is true, from her early war exploits to meeting and becoming friends with Eleanor Roosevelt. She is perhaps not the most emotionally fleshed out Quinn heroine, but as she’s an actual, real person, not just a fictional analogue for a real person, I’m willing to be somewhat more forgiving.

I also feel like the split-timeline for part of the book had a similar effect to The Rose Code, bogging the story down. There’s slightly more intrigue this time around, but compared to her war exploits, the mundane bits about her friendship with Eleanor, while interesting, weren’t as fun to read about. The book also felt overly technical when it came to sharpshooting itself, and while I like that Quinn did her research, it also wasn’t particularly interesting to me.

While not my favorite of Kate Quinn’s books, it still has a lot to offer. I’d recommend it if you’re interested in World War II historical fiction, especially one largely set outside the more common settings of Germany and France.

Author Bio

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of Southern California, she attended Boston University, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in classical voice. A lifelong history buff, she has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga and two books set in the Italian Renaissance before turning to the 20th century with The Alice Network, The Huntress, The Rose Code, and The Diamond Eye. All have been translated into multiple languages. She and her husband now live in California with three black rescue dogs.

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“Dear Wendy” by Ann Zhao (ARC Review)

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Zhao, Ann. Dear Wendy. New York: Feiwel & Friends, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1250885005 | $19.99 USD | 368 pages | YA Contemporary

Blurb

Dear Wendy’s Sophie and Jo, two aromantic and asexual college students, engage in an online feud while unknowingly becoming friends in real life, in this dual POV Young Adult contemporary debut from Ann Zhao

Sophie Chi is in her first year of college (though her parents wish she’d attend a “real” university rather than a liberal arts school) and has long accepted her aroace (aromantic and asexual) identity. She knows she’ll never fall in love, but she enjoys running an Instagram account that offers relationship advice to students at her school. No one except her roommate can know that she’s behind the incredibly popular “Dear Wendy” account.

When Joanna “Jo” Ephron (also a first-year aroace college student) created their “Sincerely Wanda” account, it wasn’t at all meant to take off or be taken seriously—not like Wendy’s. But now they might have a rivalry of sorts with Wendy’s account? Oops. As if Jo’s not busy enough having existential crises over gender identity, whether she’ll ever truly be loved, and the possibility of her few friends finding The One then forgetting her!

While tensions are rising online, Sophie and Jo grow closer in real life, especially once they realize their shared aroace identity and start a campus organization for other a-spec students. Will their friendship survive if they learn just who’s behind the Wendy and Wanda accounts?

Exploring a-spec identities, college life, and more, while perfect for fans of Alice Oseman’s Loveless, this is ultimately a love story about two people who are not—and will not—be in love!

Review

5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Dear Wendy has been one of my most anticipated reads for the first half of 2024, and I’m happy to say it blew me away. In a similar vein to Alice Oseman’s Loveless (which is also referenced in-text), it explores the nuances of aroace rep in a beautiful way, and while it doesn’t claim to be the definitive representation for a spectrum of experiences, it provides a window into what it can look like for some people in the community.

Zhao not only pulls from her own experiences as an Asian aroace person, but also infuses the experience of being a Wellesley College student into the narrative as well. While the topics will still likely be recognizable for young people who are in or have been to college, I loved the little nuances of Wellesley College life, including the prominence of the advice columns and their influence on student life.

And speaking of the advice columns, I love the way these are conveyed. With both Sophie and Jo being the columnists in question, there is some inclusion of these columns and their online interactions in the body of the chapters themselves, and their respective reactions to each other, but I also liked seeing the little interstitial bits showing the slightly different styles two the Wendy and Wanda pages in their own right, along with mock-ups of Instagram Stories highlighting some of their back-and-forths beyond the banter in the comments sections.

As for the characters and their relationship, I loved them. Sophie and Jo are simultaneously very similar, being aroace and having several queer friends, meaning they quickly bond in real life, but they also have some differing opinions when it comes to romance and providing advice for others, as shown in their online interactions. It makes for a fun juxtaposition, and a heartfelt aroace subversion of a common romcom trope. Their secret identities provide a bump in the road for their friendship with each other, as does an attempt to invalidate their advice on-campus due to their aroace identities being revealed. But despite their initial frustration and hurt feelings, I loved seeing how they came together at the end and resolved things, both on a “professional” level and for the sake of their blossoming queerplatonic bond.

I absolutely adored this book, and it gave me all the feels. While it’s not a romance in the “traditional” sense, I’d absolutely recommend it if you’re open to something somewhat adjacent to the genre that pays homage to those tropes through an aroace queerplatonic lens.

Author Bio

Ann Zhao (she/her) is a graduate of Wellesley College, where she studied linguistics with a minor in women’s and gender studies. She enjoys cooking, baking, and knitting, but she does not enjoy cleaning up after herself when she’s done with these activities. Dear Wendy is her debut novel.

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“The Fall of Whit Rivera” by Crystal Maldonado (Review)

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Maldonado, Crystal. The Fall of Whit Rivera. New York: Holiday House, 2023.

ISBN-13: 978-0823452361 | $19.99 USD | 352 pages | YA Contemporary

Blurb

Could you plan the Fall Formal with your (hot) nemesis? Whit Rivera is about to find out.

Frenemies Whit and Zay have been at odds for years (ever since he broke up with her in, like, the most embarrassing way imaginable), so when they’re forced to organize the fall formal together, it’s a literal disaster. Sparks fly as Whitney—type-A, passionate, a perfectionist, and a certified sweater-weather fanatic—butts heads with Zay, a dry, relaxed skater boy who takes everything in stride. But not all of those sparks are bad. . . .

Has their feud been a big misunderstanding all along?

Blisteringly funny and profoundly well-observed, The Fall of Whit Rivera is a snug and cozy autumn romcom that also tackles weightier topics like PCOS, chronic illness, sexuality, fatphobia, Latine identity, and class. Funny, honest, insightful, romantic, and poignant, it is classic Crystal Maldonado—and it will have her legion of fans absolutely swooning.

Review

4 stars

I had previously tried an earlier Crystal Maldonado book a while back, and something about the writing style didn’t click. However, I didn’t write her off completely, as I’m always interested in books that highlight fat rep, especially with an intersection of other identities. And The Fall of Whit Rivera interested me in particular when I was in search of a book from a BIPOC author with chronic illness rep, one of the prompts for this month in a yearlong reading challenge I’m participating in. I ended up really liking this, both for the rep itself and it just being a really solid story that I picked up at a good time.

While I don’t have PCOS, I have some overlapping symptoms with that condition, so I found Whit easy to relate to. I appreciate how sensitively her journey of reckoning with her symptoms and the various doctors’ appointments are depicted, while also showing her going through the regular things a normal teen would. She’s very much a perfectionist, and I love her passion for the forthcoming Fall Formal and the other fall festivities. I also liked how unapologetically girly she is, loving a good pumpkin spice latte and makeup and whatnot…while it’s not completely unheard of, I feel like it’s far too common for female leads, especially in YA, to feel “not like other girls.”

The rest of the cast is also diverse and nuanced, and really felt like real people. Whit’s autistic sister was a particularly touching inclusion, as this was a part of her character without her being infantilized or being seen as a burden.

The romance is also quite cute. She and Zay have a history as friends, but are also opposites, so butt heads. But they also have solid romantic chemistry and I really rooted for them to reconnect while working together.

I really enjoyed this, and I’m interested in trying more from Crystal Maldonado in the future. I recommend it if you’re looking for a YA contemporary with chronic illness rep.

Author Bio

Crystal Maldonado is a young adult author with a lot of feelings. She is the author of romcoms for fat, brown girls, including The Fall of Whit Rivera, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection; Fat Chance, Charlie Vega, which was a New England Book Award winner, a Cosmopolitan Best New Book, and a Kirkus Best YA Fiction of 2021; and No Filter and Other Lies, which was named a POPSUGAR and Seventeen Best New YA.

By day, Crystal works in higher ed marketing, and by night, she’s a writer who loves Beyoncé, glitter, shopping, and spending too much time on her phone. Her work has been published in Latina, BuzzFeed, and the Hartford Courant. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband, daughter, and dog.

Follow her everywhere @crystalwrote.

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“You Know What You Did” by K.T. Nguyen (ARC Review)

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Nguyen, K.T. You Know What You Did. New York: Dutton, 2024.

ISBN-13: 9780593473856 | $28.00 USD | 384 pages | Thriller

Blurb

In this heart-pounding debut thriller for fans of Lisa Jewell and Celeste Ng, a first-generation Vietnamese American artist must confront nightmares past and present…

Annie “Anh Le” Shaw grew up poor but seems to have it all now: a dream career, a stunning home, and a devoted husband and daughter. When Annie’s mother, a Vietnam War refugee, dies suddenly one night, Annie’s carefully curated life begins to unravel. Her obsessive-compulsive disorder, which she thought she’d vanquished years ago, comes roaring back—but this time, the disturbing fixations swirling around in Annie’s brain might actually be coming true.

A prominent art patron disappears, and the investigation zeroes in on Annie. Spiraling with self-doubt, she distances herself from her family and friends, only to wake up in a hotel room—naked, next to a lifeless body. The police have more questions, but with her mind increasingly fractured, Annie doesn’t have answers. All she knows is this: She will do anything to protect her daughter—even if it means losing herself.

With dizzying twists, You Know What You Did is both a harrowing thriller and a heartfelt exploration of the refugee experience, the legacies we leave for our children, and the unbreakable bonds between mothers and daughters.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

You Know What You Did is my first book by K.T. Nguyen, but it won’t be my last. I’m a sucker for an engaging, well-written psychological thriller, and this fits the bill perfectly.

One aspect that I was drawn to immediately was the solid character work. Anh Le, who goes by Annie, deals with OCD, and I love the way her symptoms were depicted, with her spiraling contributing beautifully to the suspense, in a way that has you questioning everything along with her. This, along with the issue of the immigrant experience and how this was reflected in her complex relationship with her now deceased mother was also a highlight.

As you might expect, this was a somewhat discombobulating reading experience. I had no idea where the story was going for at least the first half, with it really taking its time to build suspense. But along with the suspense, came anticipation and a desire for answers, and the story came together wonderfully in the second half.

This was a thrilling read, and I’d recommend it to readers interested in a thriller that also highlights social issues like mental health care and the immigrant experience.

Author Bio

K. T. Nguyen is a former magazine editor. Her features have appeared in Glamour, Shape, and Fitness. She grew up in small town in Ohio and currently resides in a small town in Maryland with her family and their rescue terrier Alice. K.T. is a big fan of native plant gardening, jigsaw puzzles, and the Mets.

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“One Last Word” by Suzanne Park (ARC Review)

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Park, Suzanne. One Last Word. New York: Avon, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0063216099 | $18.99 USD | 288 pages | Contemporary

Blurb

Acclaimed author Suzanne Park returns with a charming and compelling novel about an aspiring tech entrepreneur who goes on a rollercoaster journey of self-discovery after her app, which sends messages to loved ones after you pass, accidentally sends her final words to all the important people in her life—including the venture capital mentor she’s crushing on.

Sara Chae is the founder of the app One Last Word, which allows you to send a message to whomever you want after you pass. Safeguards are in place so the app will only send out when you’re definitely, absolutely, 100% dead, but when another Sara Chae dies and the obituary triggers the prototype to auto-send messages that Sara uploads on one drunken night—to her emotionally charged mother, to a former best friend who ghosted her, and to her unrequited high school crush Harry—she has to deal with all the havoc that ensues and reopen old wounds from the past.

She applies for a venture capital mentorship and is accepted to the program, only to find out that the mentor she’s assigned is none other than her former crush and VC superstar Harry Shim, and her life goes from uncertain to chaotic overnight.

Empowering and laugh-out-loud funny, One Last Word is a remarkably relatable story about a woman in tech who learns to speak up and fight for what she wants in life and love.

Review

3.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

My hit-or-miss journey with Suzanne Park continues with her latest adult “romcom” One Last Word. As always, this is a promising book, but the promise gets a little lost in the weeds of trying to tackle too many concepts.

Sara is perhaps the best part of the book. She’s very sympathetic, dealing with the expectations of her rather demanding Korean parents, the sexism she deals with in the tech industry, and not to mention her shambles of a love life. And I really liked how initially the book set all that up with the letters, with each of them addressing her issues. And while I don’t feel the book fleshed out each of these subjects to the best degree, her character remained likable and easy to root for as she continued to navigate challenges throughout the book.

But I felt like both the tech stuff and even the family angle overwhelmed the book, to the point that it’s not necessarily a genre romance. There’s romantic elements in it, but I can’t say they’re particularly memorable. Harry is fine, but rather meh. There’s a fake dating subplot with her best friend which I actually thought seemed a lot more fun, and like a bit of a missed opportunity.

However, as disappointed as I am, I also can’t be too let down, as Suzanne Park’s books have been consistently WF-leaning…although I will say some of her romantic subplots are better than others. I’ll probably keep reading them, as I consistently enjoy her protagonists’ journeys, but just as with most of her work, definitely don’t go in expecting a more prominent romantic arc. But with that caveat in mind, I do recommend it to readers interested in contemporaries about Asian women in STEM and their professional and personal struggles.

Author Bio

Suzanne Park is a Korean American writer who was born and raised in Tennessee.

In her former life as a stand-up comedian, Suzanne appeared on BET, was the winner of the Seattle Sierra Mist Comedy Competition, and was a semi-finalist in NBC’s “Stand Up For Diversity” showcase.

Suzanne graduated from Columbia University and received an MBA Degree from UCLA. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her husband, female offspring, and a sneaky rat that creeps around on her back patio. In her spare time, she procrastinates. Her comedic novels have been featured in “best of” lists in NPR, Elle, Popsugar, Real Simple, Country Living, Bustle, Buzzfeed, Marie Claire, Parade, Shondaland and The Today Show.

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“An Education in Malice” by S.T. Gibson (Review)

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Gibson, S.T. An Education in Malice. New York: Redhook, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0316501453 | $29.00 USD | 368 pages | Fantasy

Blurb

Sumptuous and addictive, An Education in Malice is a dark academia tale of blood, secrets and insatiable hungers from S.T. Gibson, author of the cult hit A Dowry of Blood.

Deep in the forgotten hills of Massachusetts stands Saint Perpetua’s College. Isolated and ancient, it is not a place for timid girls. Here, secrets are currency, ambition is lifeblood, and strange ceremonies welcome students into the fold.

On her first day of class, Laura Sheridan is thrust into an intense academic rivalry with the beautiful and enigmatic Carmilla. Together, they are drawn into the confidence of their demanding poetry professor, De Lafontaine, who holds her own dark obsession with Carmilla.

But as their rivalry blossoms into something far more delicious, Laura must confront her own strange hungers. Tangled in a sinister game of politics, bloodthirsty professors and magic, Laura and Carmilla must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in their ruthless pursuit of knowledge.

Review

4 stars

I’ve had A Dowry of Blood on my TBR for a while, but even though I have yet to pick it up (and I really want to soon!), I was intrigued to hear that there would be two new S.T. Gibson books this year as well. The first of these is An Education in Malice, a Carmilla reimagining in a dark academia setting. I had high expectations, and they absolutely delivered. Gibson conveyed the atmosphere beautifully, with her poetic writing engrossing me in the environs of Saint Perpetua’s College.

The characters and the dynamics between them are fairly well drawn. I especially appreciate how it explores and unpacks the complex teacher/student dynamics between Dr. De Lafontaine and both Carmilla and Laura, and how the girls’ fascination with their professor in return lures them into De Lafontaine’s dangerous world.

And while it’s not a genre romance in the strictest sense, I did mostly like the romantic dynamic between Laura and Carmilla. Not a ton of time is devoted to the development of their enemies to lovers dynamic, but given what they go through together, and that both girls are generally likable, I rooted for them.

This was an enjoyable read, and I’d recommend it to readers interested in dark academia and vampires.

Author Bio

S.T. Gibson is the author of A Dowry of Blood. She holds a bachelor’s in creative writing from the University of North Carolina Asheville and a master’s in theological studies from Princeton Theological Seminary. She currently lives in New England with her partner.

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“The One That Got Away with Murder” by Trish Lundy (ARC Review)

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Lundy, Trish. The One That Got Away with Murder. New York: Henry Holt and Co. Books for Young Readers, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1250292162 | $19.99 USD | 384 pages | YA Thriller

Blurb

Be careful who you fall for…

Robbie and Trevor Cresmont have a body count—the killer kind. Handsome and privileged, the Crestmont brothers have enough wealth to ensure they’ll never be found guilty of any wrongdoing, even if all of Happy Valley believes they’re behind the deaths of their ex-girlfriends. First there was soccer star Victoria Moreno, Robbie’s ex, who mysteriously drowned at the family lake house. Then, a year later, Trevor’s girlfriend died of a suspicious overdose.

But the Crestmonts aren’t the only ones with secrets. Lauren O’Brian might be the new girl at school, but she’s never been a good girl. With a dark past of her own, she’s desperate for a fresh start. Except when she starts a no-strings-attached relationship with Robbie, her chance is put in jeopardy. During what’s meant to be their last weekend together, Lauren stumbles across shocking evidence that just might implicate Robbie.

With danger closing in, Lauren doesn’t know who to trust. And after a third death rocks the town, she must decide whether to end things with Robbie or risk becoming another cautionary tale.

This is an edge-of-your-seat debut YA thriller about a teen who is forced to confront her past in order to catch a murderer before she ends up the next victim. Perfect for fans of Karen McManus and Holly Jackson.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

When I read the premise for The One That Got Away with Murder, I went in expecting one thing, and getting something completely different. The blurb absolutely set me up for some kind of revenge thriller in a sense, or at least a potential “escaping a toxic relationship before you die” kind of dynamic. This book is not that, and while I was a bit disappointed, I’ve read books like that before, so I’m also kind of glad this book went in a different direction (and there was still a covert murderer in the guise of a loving romantic partner, even if it wasn’t who I thought). It was deeply compelling, and I savored each twist and turn.

Lauren is an interesting character with a bit of a dark past, and I appreciated how that came into play, even being exploited to threaten her through the course of the story. She’s also rather jaded and hard-edged, a nice contrast to a common trope of thriller heroines being rather naive and innocent. And while there are some toxic family dynamics, including a complex relationship with her mother and stepfamily.

This was an engrossing read, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for more YA thrillers in the vein of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder.

Author Bio

Trish Lundy grew up in Rochester, New York and now calls California home. Her debut YA thriller, THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY WITH MURDER, publishes April 16, 2024 from Henry Holt Books for Young Readers. She is represented by Kristin van Ogtrop and Stephen Barbara of Inkwell Management. Trish also writes for film and TV. She received her BA in English from UCLA, where she fell in love with the craft of writing. She’s worked in the film industry, in marketing, and is also a former hospice & palliative care volunteer.

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Thorne, Rebecca. Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea. 2022. New York: Bramble, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1250333308 | $9.99 USD (19.99 USD paperback preorder) | 336 pages | Fantasy Romance

Blurb

In the tradition of Legends & Lattes, comes a cozy fantasy steeped in sapphic romance about one of the Queen’s private guards and a powerful mage who want to open a bookshop and live happily ever after…if only the world would let them.

All Reyna and Kianthe want is to open a bookshop that serves tea. Worn wooden floors, plants on every table, firelight drifting between the rafters… all complemented by love and good company. Thing is, Reyna works as one of the Queen’s private guards, and Kianthe is the most powerful mage in existence. Leaving their lives isn’t so easy.

But after an assassin takes Reyna hostage, she decides she’s thoroughly done risking her life for a self-centered queen. Meanwhile, Kianthe has been waiting for a chance to flee responsibility–all the better that her girlfriend is on board. Together, they settle in Tawney, a town nestled in the icy tundra near dragon country, and open the shop of their dreams.

What follows is a cozy tale of mishaps, mysteries, and a murderous queen throwing the realm’s biggest temper tantrum. In a story brimming with hurt/comfort and quiet fireside conversations, these two women will discover just what they mean to each other… and the world.

Review

4 stars

Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea caught my eye due to all the buzz it was receiving recently, not to mention being picked up as part of the up-and-coming “Bramble” imprint from Tor. Taking direct inspiration from Legends & Lattes, whether this book will work for you will depend on your feelings on L&L, and on fanfiction/derivative works. However, as someone who enjoyed L&L, I enjoyed how this book captured a similar cozy atmosphere and tone, as well as paying homage to tea and books in a fun way.

Reyna and Kianthe are a sweet pair, and while they begin the book in an established relationship, that doesn’t mean they don’t lack challenges, as the story follows them as they’re trying to run away from all the pressures of their lives as a guard and mage, respectively.

The world is well-drawn, and while it lingers more in the background, it colors some of the external action in intriguing ways. There’s not a ton going on, but there are some political elements that come into play, especially at the beginning and end. While it is a tad long to maintain the overly cozy, low-stakes concept, but the charm and charisma of the characters mostly compensates for it.

I really enjoyed this book, and am excited for more in this series. I’m also intrigued to read more from this emerging “Bramble” imprint, whether it’s previously published or a new work. And I’d recommend it to readers looking for a cozy sapphic fantasy romance.

Author Bio

Rebecca Thorne is an author of all things fantasy, sci-fi, and romantic, such as the Tomes & Tea series. She thrives on deadlines, averages 2,700 words a day, and tries to write at least 3 books a year. (She also might be a little hyper-focused ADHD.)

After years in the traditional publishing space, Rebecca pivoted into self-publishing. Now, she’s found a happy medium as a hybrid author, and leans into her love of teaching by helping other authors find their perfect publication path.

When she’s not writing (or avoiding writing), Rebecca can be found traveling the country as a flight attendant, or doing her best impression of a granola-girl hermit with her two dogs. She’s always scheming to move to a mountain town and open a bookshop that serves tea.

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“This Is Me Trying” by Racquel Marie (ARC Review)

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Marie, Racquel. This Is Me Trying. New York: Feiwel & Friends, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1250891389 | $19.99 USD | 368 pages | YA Contemporary Romance

Blurb

Perfect for fans of Nina LaCour, This is Me Trying is a profound and tender YA contemporary novel exploring grief, love, and guilt from author Racquel Marie.

Growing up, Bryce, Beatriz, and Santiago were inseparable. But when Santiago moved away before high school, their friendship crumbled. Three years later, Bryce is gone, Beatriz is known as the dead boy’s girlfriend, and Santiago is back.

The last thing Beatriz wants is to reunite with Santiago, who left all her messages unanswered while she drowned alone in grief over Bryce’s death by suicide. Even if she wasn’t angry, Santiago’s attempts to make amends are jeopardizing her plan to keep the world at arm’s length—equal parts protection and punishment—and she swore to never let anyone try that again.

Santiago is surprised to find the once happy-go-lucky Bea is now the gothic town loner, though he’s unsurprised she wants nothing to do with him. But he can’t fix what he broke between them while still hiding what led him to cut her off in the first place, and it’s harder to run from his past when he isn’t states away anymore.

Inevitably drawn back together by circumstance and history, Beatriz and Santiago navigate grief, love, mental illness, forgiveness, and what it means to try to build a future after unfathomable loss.

Review

4.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I’ve quickly become a Racquel Marie fan due to her prior two books, so I requested her next book without thinking about it. The Taylor Swift reference made it all the more exciting. But once I really processed the premise of This Is Me Trying, I knew I was in for a truly emotional experience, similar to the one the song of the same name explores.

I’ve read a number of books that deal with grief of all kinds, but this book stands out in really going hard in exploring the topics. The loss happens prior to the book’s events, but I love how you see the impact on both the leads, Beatriz and Satiago, who lost their best friend, Bryce (Beatriz and Bryce were also dating). Each has a unique connection with Bryce, and their own reaction to what happened, with Beatriz in particular withdrawing from Santiago and the world and taking on a gothic aesthetic as an outward expression of her feelings of grief and isolation.

Even with the bleakness of their situation, I loved observing Beatriz and Santiago slowly coming back together and opening up to each other again about the things they’ve held back from the other, and helping each other heal. Through it all, I also appreciated that they were allowed to be their messy, flawed selves, fully reckoning with the demons they carried, even in their interactions with each other.

And in a roundabout way, this book helped me to respect the Taylor Swift song even more. It’s always been a song I’ve respected, but it, along with “Illicit Affairs,” were kind of the skips from Folklore for me. I had respect for the themes explored on “This Is Me Trying,” but something about the track itself always had a rather sleepy quality, even more so than some other songs on the album. But this book somehow feels tonally like the song, much slower, yet packing that emotional punch in how it takes its time to explore the complex themes poignantly and sensitively. So, I want to thank Racquel Marie for perfectly understanding the assignment, making me think, and helping me grow as a reader, a Taylor Swift fan, and a person.

I really enjoyed this book, and with the caveat that you check the content warnings before diving in, I recommend checking out this book if you’re interested in a hard-hitting exploration of grief in a romantic contemporary.

Author Bio

Racquel Marie grew up in Southern California where her passion for storytelling of all kinds was encouraged by her friends and big family. She received a BA in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a minor in gender and sexuality studies from the University of California, Irvine. There is, unexpectedly, a C in her first name. She is the author of Ophelia After All, You Don’t Have a Shot, and This Is Me Trying.

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“I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me” by Jamison Shea (Review)

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Shea, Jamison. I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2023.

ISBN-13: 978-1250909565 | $19.99 USD | 342 pages | YA Horror

Blurb

There will be blood.

Ace of Spades meets House of Hollow in this villain origin story.

Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the playing field, Laure ventures deep into the depths of the Catacombs and strikes a deal with a pulsating river of blood.

The primordial power Laure gains promises influence and adoration, everything she’s dreamed of and worked toward. With retribution on her mind, she surpasses her bitter and privileged peers, leaving broken bodies behind her on her climb to stardom.

But even as undeniable as she is, Laure is not the only monster around. And her vicious desires make her a perfect target for slaughter. As she descends into madness and the mystifying underworld beneath her, she is faced with the ultimate choice: continue to break herself for scraps of validation or succumb to the darkness that wants her exactly as she is—monstrous heart and all. That is, if the god-killer doesn’t catch her first.

From debut author Jamison Shea comes I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me, a twisted dark fantasy that lifts a veil on the institutions that profit on exclusion and the toll of giving everything to a world that will never love you back.

Review

4 stars

I saw I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me being pitched as “Ace of Spades meets Black Swan,” and knew I had to read it. While not all comp titles deliver, this one does, with this book conveying a similar exploration of the toxic competitive environment, this time among the Paris Ballet, with the intense backstabbing, and the way one’s connections often outweigh any talent/skill one has or the work one puts in to improve. I also don’t know if this was intentional, but both the setting and the origins of the protagonist gave me light Phantom of the Opera vibes, if Christine was a morally gray queer Black girl, and the Phantom was more than a creepy trickster living in the basement.

Laure truly is a sympathetic protagonist…at first. She’s grown up in the Parisian ballet world, and she’s in a relentless pursuit of perfection, leaving her bloody and bruised more often than not. Yet, in spite of all her effort, she’s constantly overlooked. I did not blame her for giving in when she discovered a secret, mysterious being in the Paris Catacombs who could grant her power and success. Of course, such power comes with consequences, and her corruption arc was fascinating, even if I could not condone her actions in most cases.

The story was fairly evenly paced overall, and I remained on the edge of my seat throughout to see how it would all come together,

I really enjoyed this book, and I’m so excited that there will be more to come in this series! If you’re interested in a YA horror novel centering on feminine rage with commentary on the injustices of the ballet community, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Jamison Shea was once a flautist, violist, anthropologist, linguist, choreographer, dancer, professional fire alarm puller, digital producer, and account executive—but they’ve always been a writer. Born in Buffalo, NY and now surrounded by darkness and gloom in Finland, when Jamison isn’t writing horror, they’re drinking milk tea and searching for long-forgotten gods in eerie places. I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me is their debut novel.

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“Wake Me Most Wickedly” by Felicia Grossman (ARC Review)

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Grossman, Felicia. Wake Me Most Wickedly. New York: Forever, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1538722565 | $9.99 USD | 368 pages | Regency Romance

Blurb

BookPage Most Anticipated Romances of 2024

“No one writes love stories with more heart, more swoons, and more sizzle” (Joanna Shupe, USA Today bestselling author) in this clever reimaging of Snow White, where a handsome businessman will do anything to win the heart of the only woman he cannot have.

Solomon Weiss has little interest in power, but to repay the half-brother who raised him, he pursues money, influence, and now—a respectable wife. That is, until outcast Hannah Moses saves his life, and Sol finds himself helplessly drawn to the beautiful pawnshop owner.

Forever tainted by her parents’ crimes, Hannah sees only a villain when she looks in the mirror—no one a prince would choose. To survive, she must care for herself, even if that means illegally hunting down whatever her clients wish. So, no matter how fair or charming she finds Sol, he belongs to a world far too distant from her own.

Only neither can resist their desires, and each meeting weakens Hannah’s resolve to stay away. But when Hannah discovers a shocking betrayal in Sol’s inner circle, can she convince him to trust her? Or will fear and doubt poison their love for good?

In the series

#1 Marry Me by Midnight

Review

5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Wake Me Most Wickedly is the second installment in Felicia Grossman’s fairytale inspired series, Once Upon the East End. It can be read as a standalone, but it’s one of those cases where if you enjoy one, you’ll absolutely enjoy the other, as both books reimagine classic fairytales through a creative lens with a lot of nuance. While the Snow White aspects are not as pronounced, they are still present in rather creative ways. Grossman further unpacks the common stereotypes of Jewish people, this time tackling the caricature of the villainous, con-artist type, as depicted through characters like Fagin in Oliver Twist and (more relevant for historical romance readers) the pawnbroker from The Grand Sophy.

She digs into the roots of this archetype, and subverts it poignantly with Hannah. Her parents were accused of a crime by antisemitic people, and ran away, Hannah is left with no clue of her parents’ whereabouts, trying to pick up the pieces and protect her sister from the stigma of what occurred, and the general seedy environment of the East End, even as they’re shunned from the Jewish community. I truly felt for her and how all this impacted her, with the shame manifesting in self-loathing, and being forced to take on her parents’ pawnshop and being asked to hunt down all manner of things puts her in danger.

Sol is also Jewish, albeit from very different circumstances than Hannah. He was raised by his half-brother, who has distanced himself from the Jewish community, and wants Sol to aspire to success as he has done. Sol, feeling he owes his brother, is determined to follow his brother’s example, but soon finds himself tested when Hannah saves him.

In some ways, this is very similar to a lot of other cross-class romances, but the politics of the Jewish community (Ashkenazi/Sephardic Jewish relations, for example) and how antisemitism and the struggle to survive in a gentiles’ world adds a lot of flavor to the narrative. Their clashing problems feel so rich and nuanced, and I couldn’t help but wonder how it would all work out, especially as the love between them grew.

This was another delightful read, and I’d recommend it to readers interested in historical romance with Jewish leads.

Author Bio

Felicia Grossman is the author of historical romance, usually featuring Jewish protagonists and lots of food references. Originally from Delaware, she now lives in the Rustbelt with her family and Scottish Terrier. When not writing romance, she enjoys eclairs, cannolis, and Sondheim musicals.

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“Beasts of War” (Beasts of Prey #3) by Ayana Gray (Review)

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Gray, Ayana. Beasts of War. New York: New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593405741 | $19.99 USD | 442 pages | YA Fantasy

Blurb

In this epic conclusion to her New York Times bestselling series, Ayana Gray delivers a heart-pounding fantasy adventure filled with mythos, monsters, and mortal heroes who are astoundingly human.

Once a prisoner to Fedu, the vengeful god of death, Koffi has regained her freedom, but she is far from safe. Fedu will stop at nothing to hunt her down and use her power to decimate the mortal world. Koffi knows when Fedu will strike: during the next Bonding, a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. To survive, Koffi will have to find powerful new allies quickly, and convince them to help her in the terrible battle to come.

Once a warrior-turned-runaway, Ekon has carved out a new life for himself outside Lkossa, but the shadows of his past still haunt him. Now, alongside unexpected friends, Ekon tries to focus on getting Koffi to the Kusonga Plains before the next Bonding. If he fails, Koffi will be consumed, either by her own dangerous power, or the terrible fate Ekon is doing everything he can to prevent. Ekon devotes himself to protecting Koffi, but the lingering threats from his own past are more urgent than he knows.

As Koffi and Ekon race to the Kusonga Plains—and try to garner the help of Eshōza’s ancient gods along the way—they must face a slew of dangerous beasts old and new. In the end, destiny may unite Koffi and Ekon for the last time—or tear them apart for good.SEE LESS

In the series

#1 Beasts of Prey

#2 Beasts Ruin

Review

4 stars

Ayana Gray’s Beasts of Prey trilogy comes to a great finish with Beasts of War. Gray’s writing skills have grown throughout the series, and this is her strongest offering yet.

The world building and mythology remain compelling, and I love the way the African influences come through in the text, such as the ship being named the Nzingha after the famous African Queen.

Koffi and Ekon remain compelling characters, and I love seeing their growth over the course of the series.

The quest plot to defeat Fedu forms a central part of the story, and the stakes are high. Compared to the prior books, the pacing was much more even, and I felt pretty consistently engaged throughout.

This was a great conclusion for a great series, and I’m excited for what Ayana Gray does next. If you’re looking for a culturally rich YA fantasy series, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Ayana Gray is the New York Times bestselling author of the critically-acclaimed Beasts of Prey trilogy. Her works have been translated in ten languages across five continents. Originally from Atlanta, she now lives among the rolling hills and tangling rivers of Arkansas.

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“The Rose Code” by Kate Quinn (Review)

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Quinn, Kate. The Rose Code. New York: William Morrow, 2021.

ISBN-13: 978-0062943477 | $19.99 USD | 656 pages | Historical Fiction

Blurb

“The reigning queen of historical fiction” — Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue

The New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Huntress and The Alice Network returns with another heart-stopping World War II story of three female code breakers at Bletchley Park and the spy they must root out after the war is over.

1940. As England prepares to fight the Nazis, three very different women answer the call to mysterious country estate Bletchley Park, where the best minds in Britain train to break German military codes. Vivacious debutante Osla is the girl who has everything—beauty, wealth, and the dashing Prince Philip of Greece sending her roses—but she burns to prove herself as more than a society girl, and puts her fluent German to use as a translator of decoded enemy secrets. Imperious self-made Mab, product of east-end London poverty, works the legendary codebreaking machines as she conceals old wounds and looks for a socially advantageous husband. Both Osla and Mab are quick to see the potential in local village spinster Beth, whose shyness conceals a brilliant facility with puzzles, and soon Beth spreads her wings as one of the Park’s few female cryptanalysts. But war, loss, and the impossible pressure of secrecy will tear the three apart.

1947. As the royal wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip whips post-war Britain into a fever, three friends-turned-enemies are reunited by a mysterious encrypted letter–the key to which lies buried in the long-ago betrayal that destroyed their friendship and left one of them confined to an asylum. A mysterious traitor has emerged from the shadows of their Bletchley Park past, and now Osla, Mab, and Beth must resurrect their old alliance and crack one last code together. But each petal they remove from the rose code brings danger–and their true enemy–closer…

Review

3.5 stars

The Rose Code is the Kate Quinn book I was most interested in, as I’ve read a few other books about lady codebreakers in World War II, although I can’t recall if any focused on Bletchley Park specifically. And while I had issues with this book, I liked how it handled the historical material. I particularly was interested in the myriad royal connections between the real-life Bletchley Park codebreakers (fictionalized in the book). While the Prince Philip storyline is the one that is advertised, my jaw dropped when a supporting character and real historical figure was revealed as the paternal grandmother to Catherine, Princess of Wales (then referred to as Duchess of Cambridge, due to the timeframe of the book).

As for the Philip storyline itself, it is a little awkward, given there is the juxtaposition between his impending wedding to Princess Elizabeth in 1947 and his active disinterest in Elizabeth and romantic interest in the protagonist, Osla. But it felt plausible, given the age gap of five or so years between Philip and Elizabeth, and like many male royals, I figured he must have had a girlfriend or two in his youth prior to settling down, as is common for male royals.

And I was intrigued to find out that the fictional Osla was inspired by the real-life Osla Benning, proving this to be the case. I found her easy to root for, being a debutante desperate to prove herself as more than just a society girl, in a similar way to how Philip is determined to prove his loyalty to his British connections, even as his sisters married Nazis. Osla is a strong character, and even knowing her romance with Philip wasn’t meant to last, I admired how she, along with her close friends at Bletchley Park, came into their own. The bonds between her, Mab, and Beth are also well-rendered, and their experiences truly brought them closer.

But this book really let me down in terms of the actual cryptography. If The Huntress was a somewhat predictable historical suspense novel, this was a historical drama that happened to have some cryptography, particularly at the end. All the intrigue happens towards the end, after all the setup and the backstory, and while the context was helpful, I don’t know if it was truly worth being such a massive book. I can imagine it being restructured with a lot cut, particularly with less flashing forward initially to the 1947 bit, which didn’t feel effective, and packing a much bigger punch.

While I have mixed feelings about this book overall, I respect what it was trying to do, even if some aspects got lost in the execution. If you’re interested in a slow-burn, World War II-set historical fiction, I’d recommend checking this out to see what you think of it.

Author Bio

Kate Quinn is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of historical fiction. A native of southern California, she attended Boston University where she earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Classical Voice. She has written four novels in the Empress of Rome Saga, and two books in the Italian Renaissance, before turning to the 20th century with “The Alice Network”, “The Huntress,” “The Rose Code,” and “The Diamond Eye.” All have been translated into multiple languages. Kate and her husband now live in San Diego with three rescue dogs.

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“Otherworldly” by F.T. Lukens (ARC Review)

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Lukens, F.T. Otherworldly. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2024.

ISBN-13:978-1665916257 | $19.99 USD | 352 pages | YA Fantasy

Blurb

A skeptic and a supernatural being make a crossroads deal to achieve their own ends only to get more than they bargained for in this lively young adult romantic adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of Spell Bound and So This Is Ever After.

Seventeen-year-old Ellery is a non-believer in a region where people swear the supernatural is real. Sure, they’ve been stuck in a five-year winter, but there’s got to be a scientific explanation. If goddesses were real, they wouldn’t abandon their charges like this, leaving farmers like Ellery’s family to scrape by.

Knox is a familiar from the Other World, a magical assistant sent to help humans who have made crossroads bargains. But it’s been years since he heard from his queen, and Knox is getting nervous about what he might find once he returns home. When the crossroads demons come to collect Knox, he panics and runs. A chance encounter down an alley finds Ellery coming to Knox’s rescue, successfully fending off his would-be abductors.

Ellery can’t quite believe what they’ve seen. And they definitely don’t believe the nonsense this unnervingly attractive guy spews about his paranormal origins. But Knox needs to make a deal with a human who can tether him to this realm, and Ellery needs to figure out how to stop this winter to help their family. Once their bargain is struck, there’s no backing out, and the growing connection between the two might just change everything.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I didn’t really gel with F.T. Lukens’ prior release, so while I was hopeful for their next book, I was also unsure, as this one was again different, and in leaning toward the more modern fantasy vein, as opposed to the secondary-world, fairytale feel of the first two books I read from them. However, with Otherworldly, while it was different, it had the cozy charm I had come to expect from Lukens, which was more than enough for me to give it a chance, and I ended up really enjoying it, especially as it wasn’t just another “Earth with magic,” but it instead a modern, Earth-like world with a blend of realistic and fantastical qualities. And while the afterlife as a concept isn’t untapped in fantasy, I really liked how this was explored, especially in terms of growth in belief in it.

Both Ellery and Knox are delightful. Ellery is perhaps the more immediately relatable, being a normal human with fairly normal human struggles, including having to grow up quickly due to their circumstances, even if said circumstances are a tad heightened. Knox, as a contrast, is a familiar whose mission is to help humans, but has a desire to remain in the human realm and live like a human. Their romantic dynamic is quite cute, and so wholesome, and I love that the supporting cast is also very supportive and form a solid family unit.

With it being rather cozy, it’s not overly high in terms of stakes, and the story unfolds at a leisurely, if steady pace. But the characters and their bonds kept me engaged throughout.

This was an enjoyable read, and I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a fun, cozy queer YA fantasy.

Author Bio

F.T. Lukens is a New York Times bestselling author of YA speculative fiction including the novels Spell Bound, So This Is Ever After (2023 ALA Rainbow Booklist; 2022 Goodreads Choice Awards nominee), In Deeper Waters (2022 ALA Rainbow Booklist; Junior Library Guild Selection), and the forthcoming Otherworldly as well as other science-fiction and fantasy works. F.T. resides in North Carolina with their spouse, three kids, three dogs, and three cats.

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“Forget Me Not” by Julie Soto (Review)

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Soto, Julie. Forget Me Not. New York: Forever, 2023.

ISBN-13: 978-1538740880 | $16.99 USD | 341 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

A wedding planner and her grumpy ex must work together to plan a celebrity event in this deliciously spicy and funny novel from Ali Hazelwood’s “favorite writer.”

Ama Torres is an optimistic wedding planner who doesn’t believe in marriage. But weddings? They’re amazing. Elliot Bloom is a brooding florist who hates owning a flower shop…until a certain bright-eyed, donut-loving workaholic shows up at his door.

Once upon a time, they collaborated on events by day, and by night, Ama traced the intricate flower tattoos etched along his body. Then Ama shattered his heart and never spoke to Elliot again.

Now they’re working on an event that could make or break both of their careers—except neither of them has gotten over what happened two years ago. Things are not helped by the two brides, who see the obvious chemistry between Ama and Elliot and are determined to set them up, not knowing their complicated history. But as the wedding takes on a life of its own, Ama and Elliot are about to discover that some things can survive a complete catastrophe . . .

Smart and hilarious, Forget Me Not is about two people giving themselves—and love!—a second chance.

Review

4.5 stars

Forget Me Not is the latest on my Reylo published fic journey, and like many of them, was recommended strongly by BookTubers, this time Izzy from Happy for Now and withcindy. It’s also my personal favorite of the bunch, particularly in how it executes POV in a romance. One of my persistent complaints with the recent crop of second chance romances in particular is how, when they choose to use flashbacks to explore what went wrong, they don’t do enough to distinguish the two timelines. But while I still don’t get the use of present tense for something that clearly happened in the past, I liked getting the past events from Elliot’s perspective in linear fashion, while there would be allusions to what happened from Ama’s perspective in the present, with further subversion of this towards the end when the timelines began to converge.

Ama’s life is certainly interesting, with her mother having gotten married sixteen times, and divorced just as many (fourteen at the time of the flashbacks), making her very jaded about marriage and relationships. While this makes her work as a wedding planner somewhat ironic, she sees it as just a fancy party. Elliot as a contrast, is much more traditionally minded and more romantic. While he does initially bristle at taking on the family business, due to his distaste for flowers, he comes to embrace it.

The main conflict centers on their opposing views on love, relationships, and marriage, and I appreciate how this plays out. The “past” timeline really highlights how much Elliot compromised for Ama, as she was so commitment-phobic, due to her fear of a relationship ending, she couldn’t let one begin. The result, as you’d expect, is things falling apart, and the “present” timeline from Ama’s perspective is her reconnecting with Elliot due to them both working this wedding. I really liked how, once all the pieces were in place, and she realized she really couldn’t live without him, the roles reversed. While I did worry that this would result in the commitment-phobic Ama having to give up her scruples entirely, I like how the ending was a fun way to have them meet in the middle and compromise, while also having fun with each other and continuing to subtly subvert the gender roles a bit.

I really enjoyed this book, and I would recommend it if you’re looking for a well-executed take on second chance romance.

Author Bio

Originally from Sacramento, Julie spent many years bouncing between New York and California before eventually settling in coastal Fort Bragg, CA. A theatre and fandom nerd, Julie can tell you the name of any Buffy episode if you pick a number 1-7, and another 1-22.

With her Bichon-Poodle brother, Charlie, she spends her days writing Rom-Coms and YA Thrillers, and at night, she falls asleep to Pride and Prejudice 2005 in the background.

As a playwright, Julie’s musical Generation Me won the 2017 New York Musical Festival’s Best Musical award, as well as Best Book for Julie’s work on the script.

Forget Me Not is Julie’s debut novel.

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“Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend” (Mischief & Matchmaking #1) by Emma R. Alban (ARC Review)

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Alban, Emma R. Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend. New York: Avon, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0063312005 | $18.99 USD | 384 pages | Victorian Romance

Blurb

A swoon-worthy debut queer Victorian romance in which two debutantes distract themselves from having to seek husbands by setting up their widowed parents, and instead find their perfect match in each other—the lesbian Bridgerton/Parent Trap you never knew you needed!

Gwen has a brilliant beyond brilliant idea.

It’s 1857, and anxious debutante Beth has just one season to snag a wealthy husband, or she and her mother will be out on the street. But playing the blushing ingenue makes Beth’s skin crawl and she’d rather be anywhere but here.

Gwen, on the other hand, is on her fourth season and counting, with absolutely no intention of finding a husband, possibly ever. She figures she has plenty of security as the only daughter of a rakish earl, from whom she’s gotten all her flair, fun, and less-than-proper party games.

“Let’s get them together,” she says.

It doesn’t take long for Gwen to hatch her latest scheme: rather than surrender Beth to courtship, they should set up Gwen’s father and Beth’s newly widowed mother. Let them get married instead.

“It’ll be easy” she says.

There’s just…one, teeny, tiny problem. Their parents kind of seem to hate each other.

But no worries. Beth and Gwen are more than up to the challenge of a little twenty-year-old heartbreak. How hard can parent-trapping widowed ex-lovers be?

Of course, just as their plan begins to unfold, a handsome, wealthy viscount starts calling on Beth, offering up the perfect, secure marriage.

Beth’s not mature enough for this…

Now Gwen must face the prospect of sharing Beth with someone else, forever. And Beth must reckon with the fact that she’s caught feelings, hard, and they’re definitely not for her potential fiancé.

That’s the trouble with matchmaking: sometimes you accidentally fall in love with your best friend in the process.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

As a massive Swiftie and lover of queer (especially sapphic) romance, Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend seemed to call my name from the moment I saw it. It also has a fun premise that mixed some fun tropes, and while it could easily have gone wrong in some places, it thankfully went mostly right.

I love both Beth and Gwen, especially how well-drawn their respective relationships with their parents are. Gwen and her dad are delightfully unconventional, while Beth and her mother are on the edge of poverty, with the Season being the one chance she has to secure a good match to prevent this. As a result, Beth navigates the struggle of picking a suitor, even though she’s not fully invested in it, while her bond with Gwen grows into something more than friendship. Emma R. Alban does a fairly good job of grappling with the period-accurate homophobia in the background, while providing the leads with a believable way to their HEA…with more to come foreshadowed at the end, bleeding over into how they’ll meddle again in the next book, this time as supporting players.

While subplots can be hard to pull off, sometimes being undercooked, and sometimes overwhelming the main romance arc, I did like the way the romantic subplot between the parents was handled. The meddling between Beth and Gwen was still a major driving force, so it fed into their own romance, and given how much the parental relationships are emphasized in tandem with the romantic ones, I truly cared whether the two parents got together, not just for the girls’ sake, but so these two lonely people could find their second chance at love.

The story is a little slow-paced, and some of the story felt a little repetitive, what with there not being a ton going on. But the book overall is mostly fun, sweet vibes with characters I enjoyed following, and that’s what kept my interest, even in the somewhat laggy moments.

This book is absolutely adorable, and I can’t wait for the next book, with an equally Swift-inspired punny title. If you love sapphic historical romance, Taylor Swift, and/or The Parent Trap, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Emma R. Alban is an author and screenwriter. Raised in the Hudson Valley, she now lives in Los Angeles, enjoying the eternal sunshine, ocean, and mountains. When she isn’t writing books or screenplays, she can usually be found stress baking with the AC on full blast, skiing late into the spring, singing showtunes at the top of her lungs on the freeway, and reading anywhere there’s somewhere to lean. She is the author of Don’t Want You Like a Best Friend and You’re the Problem, It’s You.

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“What Lies in the Woods” by Kate Alice Marshall (Review)

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Marshall, Kate Alice. What Lies in the Woods. New York: Flatiron Books, 2023.

ISBN-13: 978-1250859884 | $28.99 USD | 336 pages | Thriller

Blurb

They were eleven when they sent a killer to prison. They were heroes . . . but they were liars.

Kate Alice Marshall’s What Lies in the Woods is a thrilling novel about friendship, secrets, betrayal, and lies – and having the courage to face the past.

“Clever and deliciously dark.” —Alice Feeney, bestselling author of Rock Paper Scissors
“Unexpected plot twists, deep psychological perspicacity, and an endlessly interesting dance between past and present…evokes the dread and intensity of Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects.” —New York Times Book Review

Naomi Shaw used to believe in magic. Twenty-two years ago, she and her two best friends, Cassidy and Olivia, spent the summer roaming the woods, imagining a world of ceremony and wonder. They called it the Goddess Game. The summer ended suddenly when Naomi was attacked. Miraculously, she survived her seventeen stab wounds and lived to identify the man who had hurt her. The girls’ testimony put away a serial killer, wanted for murdering six women. They were heroes.

And they were liars.

For decades, the friends have kept a secret worth killing for. But now Olivia wants to tell, and Naomi sets out to find out what really happened in the woods—no matter how dangerous the truth turns out to be.

Review

5 stars

Kate Alice Marshall is a new-to-me author, and I picked up What Lies in the Woods as a result of this book being a finalist in the Goodreads Awards and on the recommendation of Beautifully Bookish Bethany in her livestreams covering the awards. The premise was immediately enticing and the concept was twisty, and I was immediately captivated once I started the book.

Naomi and her situation is so deeply tragic, and I felt for her and all she’d been through. She’s been through a lot of trauma, and I appreciate how the story shows her grappling with it all, including her guilt and the complex bonds she has with her friends as a result of what she went through and the secrets they keep.

The structure of the novel itself also feels very scattered, being separated into loose, brief sections, but no formal chapters. This, and the way it flows seamlessly back and forth between past and present capture the uneasiness of Naomi’s state of mind and helps propel the story forward as she searches for answers.

The mystery itself was compelling, and I truly did not know who to trust. There’s a very obvious red-herring suspect who tries to ingratiate themselves with Naomi for reasons that catch her off guard once they come to light. And there’s also questions around the intent of her childhood friends, especially the sudden urgency on Olivia’s part to tell the truth now.. It all culminated in a truly shocking and heartbreaking reveal that brought it all together in a poigant way.

I really enjoyed this book, and I’m open to reading more from Kate Alice Marshall in the future. If you enjoy psychological thrillers, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Kate Alice Marshall is the author of the young adult novels I Am Still Alive, Rules for Vanishing, and Our Last Echoes, as well as the Secrets of Eden Eld middle grade series. She lives outside of Seattle, where she spends her time playing board games, tending a chaotic vegetable garden, and wrangling dogs and children. No One Can Know is her second adult novel.

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“Cupid’s Revenge” by Wibke Brueggeman (ARC Review)

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Brueggeman, Wibke. Cupid’s Revenge. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0374314026 | $20.99 USD | 400 pages | YA Contemporary Romance

Blurb

For fans of Casey McQuiston and Alice Oseman, a girl falls for her best friend’s crush in Cupid’s Revenge, a queer young adult rom-com from Wibke Brueggemann that’s equal parts hilarious and swoon-worthy.

It was never Tilly’s intention to fall in love, but Cupid will get you when you least expect it. That’s exactly what happens when Tilly’s best friend, Teddy, ropes Tilly into a plan to woo his dream girl, aspiring actress Katherine Cooper-Bunting. It turns out Teddy’s not the only one who finds her dreamy.

But Katherine is off-limits. The only thing more important than Tilly’s feelings for someone she just met is not hurting Teddy, whose heart has been broken in the past.

Avoiding temptation is easier said than done, as Teddy convinces Tilly to help him audition for a local play as a way to get to know Katherine better—a complete horror for someone who grew up in an artsy family but doesn’t have a creative bone in her body. On top of dealing with her growing feelings for the girl she shouldn’t like (but who may like her back), Tillie is still grieving a loss while navigating her grandfather’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis. So yeah, that’s a lot for any sixteen-year-old to handle without Cupid’s vengeful arrows getting involved.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

Cupid’s Revenge drew me in for a number of reasons, especially the theater theme. And I immediately liked how the theme bled through the book, from the dramatic structure of the book in acts and scenes instead of the traditional chapters with a dialogue-heavy focus (although it’s still told in standard prose) to the highly dramatic premise, complete with a love triangle.

And while love triangles aren’t my favorite, I did like the choice to highlight the drama without making the characters be petty about it. Tilly does care for her best friend, Teddy, and tries to put his needs first, but Cupid gets in the way. And ultimately, Katherine doesn’t like Teddy back, but likes Tilly. At the end of the day, I’m glad things were resolved fairly maturely, with everyone able to move on without much hurt between them.

And the romance itself was really sweet. Their actual romantic development did suffer a tad with all the will-they, won’t-they, not to mention the play stuff, but the stuff that was present was fun.

The plot itself was a little slow in places, being sometimes bogged down due to the aforementioned play stuff, which while interesting, definitely took over the plot a lot. But there’s also time spent on a meaningful side plot with Tilly’s grandfather who has dementia, and it was great to see how Tilly and her family reckoned with that.

This was a pretty fun book, and I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy YA queer contemporary romances.

Author Bio

Wibke Brueggemann grew up in northern Germany and the southern United States, but calls London her home. She originally studied acting at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts but ended up becoming a writer. She has a Master’s in Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University, where she was the recipient of the Bath Spa University Writing Award. Wibke enjoys traveling, and is a clandestine lover of romantic poetry and Rennaissance art. She is the author of Love is for Losers and Cupid’s Revenge.

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“Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White” (Song of the Last Kingdom #2) by Amelie Wen Zhao (ARC Review)

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Zhao, Amélie Wen. Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White. New York: Delacorte Press, 2023.

ISBN-13: 978-0593487549 | $19.99 USD | 368 pages | YA Fantasy

Blurb

The epic sequel to the book Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, is a fast-paced, riveting YA fantasy inspired by the mythology and folklore of ancient China.

The Demon Gods have risen. Skies’ End has fallen to the colonizers. And Lan and Zen have chosen sides.

But they will not fight together.

Though Lan inherited the power of the Silver Dragon, she understands the path she must take. She believes the Demon Gods to be the cause of war, conflict, and turmoil, and that the future of the Last Kingdom depends on their being eliminated forever. Worse, she knows that if the Elantians manage to bind one of the legendary beings, their army will be unstoppable. To save her kingdom and her people, Lan will need to find the only mythical weapon capable of destroying the Demon Gods: the Godslayer.

Zen is sure that the only way to free the Last Kingdom is to use the power of the Demon Gods. When he bound the Black Tortoise, he paid the ultimate price: to inherit its strength, he will forfeit his body, his mind, and his soul. Yet one Demon God is not enough against the might of the colonizers. In the ruins of the northern Mansorian lands slumbers a magical army of demonic practitioners capable of facing off against the Elantians—but Zen must find the Seal to awaken them to fight by his side.

At the center of both Lan’s and Zen’s journeys is one city: Shaklahira, a former stronghold of the Imperial Court that vanished without a trace when the Elantians invaded. Its location is a mystery, and both are sure that it holds the answers they need, but the past it hides might be more dangerous than anything they’ve faced yet.

The battle for the Last Kingdom rages on. But to win the war, Lan will have to decide: Can she face the boy she loves again? And when she does, can she kill him to free her people?

In the series

#1 Song of Silver, Flame Like Night

Review

3.5 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

I really liked the first book in this duology, and was anxiously waiting for the sequel. However, said sequel, Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White left me with somewhat mixed feelings, especially upon realizing the conclusion to a duology, which compounded a lot of the issues.

The world is still quite interesting, and I enjoyed the Chinese historical and mythological influences. The history and lore was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed getting to explore the world more. The characters were pretty good, and I did get the sense that Lan and Zen grew a lot over the course of this installment, as well as over the course of the duology overall.

However, I found the plot and pacing underwhelming. The early part of the book moved at snail’s-pace, only picking up towards the end. But on the flip side, it’s also one hundred pages shorter, and with so much of the truly interesting stuff happening at the end, it ended up feeling too slow and too rushed at the same time.

While I found this book somewhat underwhelming, there’s still a lot to like here, and I’m hopeful for Amélie Wen Zhao’s future work. If you enjoy Asian-inspired YA fantasy, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Amélie Wen Zhao was born in Paris and grew up in Beijing, where she spent her days reenacting tales of legendary heroes, ancient kingdoms, and lost magic at her grandmother’s courtyard house. She attended college in the United States and now resides in New York City, working as a finance professional by day and fantasy author by night. In her spare time, she loves to travel and spend time with her family in China, where she’s determined to walk the rivers and lakes of old just like the practitioners in her novels do. Amélie is the author of the Blood Heir trilogy—Blood Heir, Red Tigress, and Crimson Reign—as well as Song of Silver, Flame Like Night and its sequel, Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White.

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“The Bandit Queens” by Parini Shroff (Review)

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Shroff, Parini. The Bandit Queens. New York: Ballantine Books, 2023.

ISBN-13: 978-0593498972 | $18.00 USD | 384 pages | Contemporary/Thriller

Blurb

GOOD MORNING AMERICA BUZZ PICK • A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful—until other women in the village start asking for her help getting rid of their own husbands—in this razor-sharp debut.

“A radically feel-good story about the murder of no-good husbands by a cast of unsinkable women.”—The New York Times Book Review

Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal • A She Reads Best Book of the Year

Five years ago, Geeta lost her no-good husband. As in, she actually lost him—he walked out on her and she has no idea where he is. But in her remote village in India, rumor has it that Geeta killed him. And it’s a rumor that just won’t die.

It turns out that being known as a “self-made” widow comes with some perks. No one messes with her, harasses her, or tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It’s even been good for business; no one dares to not buy her jewelry.

Freedom must look good on Geeta, because now other women are asking for her “expertise,” making her an unwitting consultant for husband disposal.

And not all of them are asking nicely.

With Geeta’s dangerous reputation becoming a double-edged sword, she has to find a way to protect the life she’s built—but even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry. What happens next sets in motion a chain of events that will change everything, not just for Geeta, but for all the women in their village.

Filled with clever criminals, second chances, and wry and witty women, Parini Shroff’s The Bandit Queens is a razor-sharp debut of humor and heart that readers won’t soon forget.SEE LESS

Review

5 stars

With the announcement of the winners of the Goodreads Choice Awards and BookTubers having done review roundups of the nominees in various genres, I’ve somewhat recommitted to reading a number of books I was already interested in, plus some of their strongest recommendations. The Bandit Queens was one that stood out to me due to its off-the-wall premise. As expected, I ended up loving it. I especially appreciated how it balanced having a somewhat comedic, darkly humorous tone at times with the deeper issues at play. Yes, it’s bizarre to have people mistakenly believe a woman who was abandoned by her husband actually killed him in any context, and of course she’d gain a reputation, but considering she exists within India’s deeply patriarchal society, and there’s also a pretty rigid caste system, that impacts not just her but the other women in society who seek her help. And when informed by the author’s inspiration, the real-life Bandit Queen Phoolan Devi and her amazing life, rising from poverty and a loveless marriage to a life of banditry against the wealthy that led to her being sent to prison, and then a career as a politician, culminating in her assassination at 37, this story is all the richer.

Geeta herself is a firecracker of a heroine. While at the beginning, she’s in kind of an odd position she doesn’t know what to do with, due to people’s misconceptions, I love how she embraces the “bandit queen” identity, taking inspiration from Phoolan Devi and mentioning her directly several times. Her confidence grows in a beautiful way throughout the book, and I love the bonds she forged with some of the other women through bonding over their common struggles in Indian society and finally taking the solution into their own hands.

The plot itself was fun and fairly fast-paced. While a lot of it was focused on Geeta and the other women’s escapades, I’m glad that the story did come back around with an answer about what happened to her husband, even if said answer filled me with dread. Their path was not without obstacles prior, but saving that reveal and resolution for the final act made for a satisfying “final boss,” so to speak, for Geeta after all of her character growth.

This was a fabulous book, and I’d recommend this to readers who enjoy books that are a good balance of hard-hitting contemporary, dark comedy, and thriller.

Author Bio

Parini Shroff received her MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied under Elizabeth McCracken, Alexander Chee, and Cristina García. She is a practicing attorney and currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bandit Queens is her debut novel.

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“Eight Kinky Nights” by Xan West (Review)

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West, Xan. Eight Kinky Nights. [Place of publication not identified]: Xan West, 2019.

ISBN-13: 978-1393329626 | $3.99 USD | 380 pages | Contemporary/Erotic Romance

Blurb

Sometimes the perfect Chanukah gift can change everything.

Newly divorced stone butch Jordan moves into her friend Leah’s spare room, ready, at 49, to take on a new job and finally explore kink and polyamory. But moving to NYC during the holidays sends grief crashing through her, and Jordan realizes that when she isn’t solely focused on caring for others, her own feelings are unavoidable. Including her feelings for Leah.

51 year old queer femme Leah, an experienced submissive kink educator who owns a sex shop, has recently come to terms with being gray ace and is trying to rework her life and relationships to honor that.

Leah has a brainstorm to help them both: she offers Jordan eight kink lessons, one for each night of Chanukah, to help Jordan find her feet as a novice dominant, and to create a structured space where Leah can work on more deeply honoring her own consent, now that she knows she’s gray ace.

She’d planned to keep it casual, but instead the experience opens cracks in the armor Leah’s been using to keep people at a distance and keep herself safe. Now she needs to grapple with the trauma that’s been impacting her life for years.

Can these two autistic queers find ways to cope with the changes they are making in their lives and support each other, as they build something new they hadn’t thought was possible?

This kinky polyamorous Chanukah f/f romance includes a friends to lovers, roommates to lovers, kink lessons, seasoned romance and getting your groove back tropes, and polyamorous, gray ace, pansexual, Jewish, fat, autistic, disabled, arthritis, PTSD and depression representation.

Review

5 stars

I’ve wanted to read Xan West’s Eight Kinky Nights for a long time, having taken the plunge to buy it and their other works not long after their passing in 2020. Unfortunately, while I read several of their shorter books, I could never get around to reading this one at what felt like the opportune time, although I had a feeling I’d love it. But this year, I resolved to make it happen in tandem with Chanukah. And as I suspected, it’s the best thing Xan West has ever written.

I love both leads and how real they are. Jordan and Leah are 49 and 51 respectively, and that in itself is not super common in romance, but I love how they’re also both Jewish, autistic, fat, and queer, with Leah having recently realized she’s also gray-ace. With the two of them being longtime friends, it was beautiful to see the two of them exploring sexuality and kink within the context of their identities and their established friendship, with Chanukah as the perfect backdrop for their lessons in kink. There’s a nice tenderness between the two, even if it’s tempered by their respective personal demons.

While I’ve read polyamorous romance before, I loved the way polyamory was included here, with the supporting cast feeling important to the journey that the protagonists were on as a couple, not to mention being varied and represented of various shades of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum, including queerplatonic partnerships.

My one minor complaint is that the book had a somewhat slow build at first. However, it does pay off, as it helps to set up the dynamics between the leads and the terms of relationship. Once the story got into the titular “eight kinky nights,” I was hooked.

This is a wonderful book from an author gone too soon, combining some of my favorite tropes, like friends to lovers and sex (or in this case kink) lessons with compassionate portrayals of various marginalizations from an ownvoices perspective. If that sounds appealing to you, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Xan West is the nom de plume of Corey Alexander, an autistic queer fat Jewish genderqueer writer and community activist with multiple disabilities who spends a lot of time on Twitter.

Xan’s erotica has been published widely, including in the Best S/M Erotica series, the Best Gay Erotica series, and the Best Lesbian Erotica series. Their work has been described by reviewers as “offering the erotica equivalent of happy ever after”, and “some of the best transgressive erotic fiction to come along in recent years”.

Xan’s story “First Time Since”, won honorable mention for the 2008 National Leather Association John Preston Short Fiction Award. Their recent collection of queer kink erotica, Show Yourself To Me, is out from Go Deeper Press, and has been described by M. Christian as “a book that changes what erotica can and should be.”

Xan blogs about trans representation in literature, kink, queerness, disability, and writing at https://xanwest.wordpress.com/.

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“Protecting Her Heart” (Matchmakers #3) by Nancy Campbell Allen (ARC Review)

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Allen, Nancy Campbell. Protecting Her Heart. Salt Lake City: Shadow Mountain, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-1639931699 | $16.99 USD | 288 pages | Victorian Romance

Blurb

London, 1887

When newly graduated medical doctor Charlotte Duvall receives word that her father has died, she immediately leaves America and returns home to see to her family’s estate. Among her father’s possessions is a box of her late mother’s letters, which feels like a balm to Charlotte’s grief-stricken heart. But the letters contain some inconsistencies that suggest there was more to her mother’s death than Charlotte had been told. She turns to the one man she trusts more than anyone—her treasured friend and director of London’s police force, John Ellis.

John Ellis has harbored feelings for Charlotte ever since he first met her. Tucked into his heart are thoughts of her sharp mind, quick wit, and remarkable beauty. Though he has not yet found the courage to share his feelings with the young doctor, he is eager to help her in her hour of need.

Investigating the details of a death was not how Charlotte imagined she would find love, but as she and John work to unravel a dark web of secrets and lies, she finds herself relying on him more and more—and opening her heart to him in the process.

As the danger draws ever closer, John vows to do everything in his power to protect Charlotte from harm. But he fears protecting her heart might come at the cost of breaking his own.

In the series

#1 The Matchmaker’s Lonely Heart

#2 To Capture His Heart

Review

3 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NerGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.

It seems Nancy Campbell Allen’s first book about the Hampton cousins truly was a fluke, as I find myself once again somewhat disappointed with the last installment. For the most part, it’s better than the second book, with everything overall being more engaging.

The mystery plot is another murder, and while it definitely still felt like a subplot compared to the romantic development, there was a decent amount of intrigue, even if it was a little bit sluggishly paced at times.

The characters and romance were fairly solid too. Of all the cousins, I find Charlotte the most intriguing, given she’s a doctor who went to America to get her medical education. And John is super sweet, having long had feelings for Charlotte, although he has not acted on them. Seeing their friendship and mutual feelings grow into more was truly sweet.

So, why did I not rate this higher? I was teetering on rating it a 3.5, due to my issues with the pacing, and I might even have rounded it up to 4 due to most everything else being solid. But then I got to the discussion questions, and I saw this: “Romances almost [emphasis mine] always have a happy ending. Do you find value in this? Do you agree or disagree with the idea that it is often unrealistic?”

Um, no. A capital-R romance novel needs an HEA or HFN full-stop. And while there absolutely are ways to render believable happy endings and doing so is at the discretion of each individual author, realism is not a requirement in a genre this vast and varied, which many turn to in times of crisis for escapism and hope.

That and the related question about the “value of consuming fiction” led me to majorly side eye the author/publisher, because it almost seemed like a massive act of self-loathing to include these types of questions in a work of romance fiction, as if expecting people to have to actively defend reading something they love instead doing it without shame. Even considering this is published by a conservative LDS publisher, it still feels off-putting.

In short, a solid book, but let down by an injection of disappointing anti-romance rhetoric. While I’m sure there are some readers who will be able to overlook this, but unfortunately I’m not one of them.

Author Bio

NANCY CAMPBELL ALLEN is the award-winning author of eighteen published novels and several novellas, which encompass a variety of genres, ranging from contemporary romantic suspense to historical fiction. Her most recent books, which include Regency, Victorian, and steampunk romance, are published under Shadow Mountain’s Proper Romance brand, and the What Happens in Venice novella series is part of the Timeless Romance Anthology collection published by Mirror Press. She has presented at numerous conferences and events since her initial publication in 1999.

Nancy loves to read, write, travel, and research, and enjoys spending time with family and friends. She nurtures a current obsession for true crime podcasts and is a news junkie. She and her husband have three children, and she lives in Ogden, Utah, with her family, one very large Siberian Husky named Thor, and an obnoxious but endearing YorkiePoo named Freya.

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“Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date” by Ashley Herring Blake (Review)

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Blake, Ashley Herring. Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date. New York: Berkley Romance, 2023.

ISBN-13: 978-0593550571 | $18.00 USD | 416 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

A fake relationship after a horrible one-night stand is anything but an act in this witty and heartfelt new romantic comedy by Ashley Herring Blake.

Everyone around Iris Kelly is in love. Her best friends are all coupled up, her siblings have partners that are perfect for them, and her parents are still blissfully married. And she’s happy for all of them, truly. Iris doesn’t want any of that—dating, love, romance. She’ll stick to her commitment-free hookups, thanks very much, except no one in her life will just let her be. Everyone wants to see her settled down, but she holds firmly to her no dating rule. There’s only one problem—Iris is a romance author facing an imminent deadline for her second book, and she’s completely out of ideas.

Perfectly happy to ignore her problems as per usual, Iris goes to a bar in Portland and meets a sexy stranger, Stefania, and a night of dancing and making out turns into the worst one-night stand Iris has had in her life. To get her mind off everything, Iris tries out for the lead role in a local play, a queer retelling of Much Ado About Nothing, but comes face-to-face with Stefania, whose real name turns out to be Stevie. Desperate to save face in front of her friends, Stevie asks Iris to play along as her girlfriend. Iris is shocked, but when she realizes the arrangement might provide her with some much-needed romantic content for her book, she agrees. As the two women play the part of a happy couple, lines start to blur, and they’re left wondering who will make the real first move….SEE LESS

In the series

#1 Delilah Green Doesn’t Care

#2 Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail

Review

4 stars

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date concludes Ashley Herring Blake’s fun sapphic Bright Falls series. While it can be read as a standalone, I do recommend the other two, especially the second book, which remains my favorite and the standout of the three for me.

I really liked both leads. Iris in particular is fun, as I love romance writer heroines. I love how she plays against type, presenting a confident, devil-may-care attitude, and but it’s more that she’s closed-off as a defense mechanism to hide how vulnerable she is, which given some aspects of her past, especially how she grew up within conservative Catholicism, feel believable. Stevie, meanwhile, was a woman after my own heart. She’s an actor who deals with anxiety disorder, and as someone who once did theatre in school, I saw a lot of myself in her, and how it could be an escape.

I did find the reasoning behind them fake dating a bit hokey, as while it makes sense on Stevie’s end, with her needing a ruse to prove to her friends she’s doing ok after the fallout from her prior bad relationship, it didn’t make much sense to me what Iris would get out of “fake” dating that she wouldn’t get out of a truly, but casually dating anyone else. But it all comes down to technicalities anyway, as the two do end up falling for each other, and the initial physical chemistry translates well into real feelings, and in spite of some misunderstandings, I did root for them.

I enjoyed this book a lot, and I’d recommend it to readers of sapphic contemporary romance.

Author Bio

Ashley Herring Blake is an award-winning author and teacher. She loves coffee, cats, melancholy songs, and happy books. She is the author of the young adult novels Suffer Love, How to Make a Wish, and Girl Made of Stars (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and the middle grade novels Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World and The Mighty Heart of Sunny St. James. Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World was a Stonewall Honor Book, as well as a Kirkus, School Library Journal, NYPL, and NPR Best Book of 2018. Her YA novel Girl Made of Stars was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. She’s also the author of the adult romance novel Delilah Green Doesn’t Care, and a co-editor on the young adult romance anthology Fools in Love. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram at @ashleyhblake and on the web at www.ashleyherringblake.com. She lives on a very tiny island off the coast of Georgia with her family.

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“Only and Forever” (Bergman Brothers #7) by Chloe Liese (Review)

April 20, 2024 ~ courtneytonokawa ~ Leave a comment

Liese, Chloe. Only and Forever. New York: Berkeley, 2024.

ISBN-13: 978-0593642474 | $18.00 USD | 368 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

It’s a room-mance for the books in this tender, steamy story about unexpectedly finding love and being brave enough to let it revise life’s narrative in the final book in the beloved Bergman Brothers series.

Viggo Bergman, hopeless romantic, is thoroughly weary of waiting for his happily ever after. But between opening a romance bookstore, running a romance book club, coaching kids’ soccer, and adopting a household of pets—just maybe, he’s overcommitted himself?—Viggo’s chaotic life has made finding his forever love seem downright improbable.

Enter Tallulah Clarke, chilly cynic with a massive case of writer’s block. Tallulah needs help with her thriller’s romantic subplot. Viggo needs another pair of hands to keep his store afloat. So they agree to swap skills and cohabitate for convenience—his romance expertise to revive her book, her organizational prowess to salvage his store. They hardly get along, and they couldn’t be more different, but who says roommate-coworkers need to be friends?

As they share a home and life, Tallulah and Viggo discover a connection that challenges everything they believe about love, and reveals the plot twist they never saw coming: happily ever after is here already, right under their roof.SEE LESS

In the series

#1 Only When It’s Us

#2 Always Only You

#3 Ever After Always

#4 With You Forever

#5 Everything for You

#6 If Only You

Review

4 stars

Only and Forever is the seventh and final book in the Bergman Brothers series, and while I only read them all recently, I still can’t help but feel a bittersweet feeling as this series comes to a close. I will note that while you can read this book as a standalone, it will likely be more enjoyable if you’ve read the entire series, as the family dynamics are a key part of what makes the story so beautiful.

I loved the meta nature of the story, with both main characters being bookish. Viggo and his romance reading are familiar to those who’ve followed the series, and I loved seeing how this led him to open a romance bookstore, not to mention him just generally being a sweetheart and ray of sunshine. Tallulah, meanwhile, is more prickly and cynical, and a thriller writer. And as always with a Liese book, neurodivergence and chronic illness form a major part of the characters’ identities, and how they navigate life day to day, with Viggo having ADHD and Talullah having type 1 diabetes. One aspect I particularly enjoyed is that they discuss their health, especially medication (including minor side effects like appetite suppression) and managing blood sugar levels.

The romance itself was really sweet. They had mutual friends before, but their personality differences meant that they didn’t spend much time together. But their present roles as writer and reader bring them back together, with Tallulah wanting Viggo’s help with a romantic subplot for her book. While it did seem a bit extreme for them to move in together, the forced proximity, even if somewhat farfetched, presented solid circumstances for them to truly get to know each other. I loved how they communicated with each other in a mature way, and the way the initial spark of chemistry developed into a deep romantic bond.

This was a brilliant closer to a wonderful series, and I’d recommend it (and the entire series!) to readers interested in heartfelt contemporary with great disability/neurodivergence/chronic illness rep.

Author Bio

Chloe Liese writes romances reflecting her belief that everyone deserves a love story. Her stories pack a punch of heat, heart, and humor, and often feature characters who are neurodivergent like herself. When not dreaming up her next book, Chloe spends her time wandering in nature, playing soccer, and most happily at home with her family and mischievous cats.

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