“Better Hate Than Never” (Wilmot Sisters #2) by Chloe Liese (Review)

Liese, Chloe. Better Hate Than Never. New York: Berkley Romance, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-0593441527 | $17.00 USD | 400 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

Childhood enemies discover the fine line between love and loathing in this heartfelt reimagining of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew.

Katerina Wilmot and Christopher Petruchio shared backyards as kids, but as adults they won’t even share the same hemisphere. That is, until Kate makes a rare visit home, and their fiery animosity rekindles into a raging inferno.

Despite their friends’ and families’ pleas for peace, Christopher is unconvinced Kate would willingly douse the flames of their enmity. But when a drunken Kate confesses she’s only been hostile because she thought he hated her, Christopher vows to make peace with Kate once and for all. Tempting as it is to be swept away by her nemesis-turned-gentleman, Kate isn’t sure she can trust his charming good-guy act.

When Christopher’s persistence and Kate’s curiosity lead to an impassioned kiss, they realize “peace” is the last thing that will ever be possible between them. As desire gives way to deeper feelings, Kate and Christopher must decide if it’s truly better to hate than to never risk their hearts—or if they already gave them away long ago.SEE LESS

In the series

#1 Two Wrongs Make a Right

Review

5 stars

Having loved the first in the Wilmot Sisters series, I was excited for what Chloe Liese would do next, and Better Hate Than Never absolutely delivered on that front. While I’m not too familiar with The Taming of the Shrew, I am familiar with the 90s romcom retelling, 10 Things I Hate About You, and I enjoyed seeing some parallels to that depiction of the story in this rendition, along with some of the broad strokes of what I was familiar with of the basic plot of TotS. 

Kate and Christopher are both such compelling characters in their own right, and ultimately also make great romantic partners. Kate herself spoke to me as a fellow neurodivergent person, and while I see more similarities with her sister Bea on that front, I also saw a lot of myself in her. Like Kate, I don’t necessarily always feel I fit in with my family either, although my coping mechanisms are slightly different. However, I also resonated with her desire to find her place in her family and community too, when life handed her the short end of the stick. 

Christopher also made me feel seen. I also deal with migraines, although unlike him, I have found a regimen that works, and he’s tried pretty much everything, and not much has helped. He’s an intriguing foil to Kate, in that the loss of his own parents at a young age made him cling to the Wilmots as a surrogate family, while she ran away from them (and him), believing there was enmity between them. 

Liese, in seeking to reimagine a classic (and paying homage to another brilliant rendering of said classic), honed her craft and avoided the pitfall many romance authors hoping to replicate the enemies-to-lovers trope, especially when the basis for the characters being enemies is misunderstanding, or the enmity is unbalanced, favoring one side more than the other. With a solid foundation of Kate and Christopher’s history at the beginning of the book, there’s an understanding of the issues between them, as well as enough that the characters can build from and work against it. Despite their initial perceptions and outward differences, they do essentially want the same things: to find a sense of belonging in some sort of family unit, whether it be through blood or found family. They truly nurture and care for each other, unraveling each other’s vulnerabilities, and they also learn to compromise for each other, with him learning to embrace her more adventurous side, and her appreciating the stability he offers in return. 

This was another winner for this series from Chloe Liese, and I can’t wait for what’s to come for Juliet (especially since I have a sneaking suspicion it’ll be inspired by a story I’m very familiar with!) I’d recommend this to lovers of contemporary romance, especially if you’re looking for solid ADHD and migraine 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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“Yours Celestially” by Al Hess (ARC Review)

Hess, Al. Yours Celestially. [Place of publication not identified]: The Kraken Collective, 2023. 

ASIN : ‎ B0C6R6RJMC | $4.99 USD | 280 pages | Sci-Fi Romance

Blurb

After divorce, death, and having his reformatted soul uploaded into a new body, Sasha expected resurrection to be a fresh start. His time spent in digital Limbo with the program’s cheeky AI guardian angel, Metatron, was cathartic, but what good is a second life when he only sees his daughter on the weekends, he has all the same problems he had before he died, and he can’t seem to shake the ache for the married life he lost?

If that weren’t frustrating enough, a glitch in the program has given Sasha the ability to sense Metatron even outside of Limbo. And Metatron is in love. The angel’s sickly-sweet yearning for one of the souls still in Limbo has turned Sasha’s stomach into caramelized lead. It’s hard enough to move on without someone else’s feelings making the emptiness in his own life even more acute. He didn’t have playing wingman to an actual winged being on his bingo card, but he’s determined to help Metatron make a move on their crush so he can get love off of his mind.

Sasha takes a job with the resurrection company in order to covertly contact Metatron. Except Sasha’s new coworker, Mr. C, keeps showing up at the worst moments. The man is annoying, he’s pushy… and he’s incredibly hot. Sasha can’t decide whether Mr. C wants to blackmail him or be his new BFF, but he seems to know things about Metatron and the resurrection program that Sasha doesn’t. Getting close to him might be the key to solving Sasha’s problem, but if he isn’t careful, he’s going to end up catching feelings of his own.

​

Content warnings:

past drug addiction, divorce, mentions of car wreck, discussion of death, brief violence, profanity, brief mention of suicide and past self-harm, brief mentions of transphobia, mentions of Christianity and biblical iconography (seraphs, cherubs, etc.), mild sexual elements, depression and anxiety, vomiting

​

Rep: Gay, bisexual, queer, trans, non-binary, and asexual characters; M/M and NBi/M romance
ADHD main character; autistic love interest; love interest with anxiety and past trauma

Review

4 stars

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

In the handful of books I’ve read from Al Hess, he’s always been able to surprise me with fun, out-there, yet cozy and queer-centric takes on familiar concepts, and Yours Celestially is no different. Partly an homage to an earlier (now unpublished series), which admittedly I haven’t read, it was still a delight in its own way, as I knew it would be, from the moment I heard the book’s pitch involved the likes of “biblically accurate AI, completely bonkers visuals, and bionic penis jokes!” 

The world is a lot of fun, and simultaneously feels familiar (whether or not you know the prior series) and completely new, as well as like an incredibly trippy adventure with a squishy, reassuring  message at its core. I loved the blend of the futuristic tech with deeper, eternal themes, like how harmful certain sects of religion are in pushing bigoted legislation that harms queer people. 

The central characters are also delightful. I was immediately more drawn to Metatron, loving both the quirky, humorous side of them, as well as the deeper romantic side as they grapple with their feelings for someone and whether that someone returns their feelings. It’s so unexpected, given how most people think of AI, and I couldn’t help but root for them every step of the way. 

But the human lead, Sasha, is also compelling. He has his own complicated issues to work through, while simultaneously also feeling Metatron’s, via their connection, and having to serve as a rather unconventional wingman. The portrayal of ADHD is compellingly drawn, and I like how that relates to his drug addiction, thanks to the technological advancements of the future, with all medications being easy to acquire without thinking about it, including those used for illicit means. I also appreciated how issues like his situation being divorced and how it impacted his relationship with his daughter, who he doesn’t have primary custody of, as well as the deeper examination of his pathology, with him being rather closed-off, instead of confiding in people who care for him. 

I had some mixed feelings when I found out that this book would juggle two romances, as that can sometimes be very hit-or-miss. While I don’t know that either love interest felt as well-defined to me as either Sasha or Metatron were, given the story is from their perspectives, I did feel that they had chemistry with their respective love interests. 

With it being on the lighter side of sci-fi, there’s not a lot of action, but that’s not to say there’s nothing of interest that happens. While it’s cozier and more introspective, I found myself quickly drawn into these characters and their world, with it keeping my attention from beginning to end. 

This is a fun read, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a lighthearted, cozy queer take on  the sci-fi genre. 

Author Bio

Alaric (Al) Hess is author of World Running Down, Key Lime Sky, Yours Celestially, and the award-winning Hep Cats of Boise series.

When not hunched before a computer screen, Al can be found at his art desk. He does portraits in both pencil and oil paint, and loves drawing fellow authors’ characters nearly as much as his own. He writes cozy and uplifting stories with queer, trans, and neurodiverse representation.

Al is represented by agent Ren Balcombe at Janklow & Nesbit.

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Does “Vision White” (The Bride Quartet #1) Hold Up? (Reread Review)

Roberts, Nora. Vision in White. New York: Berkley, 2009. 

ISBN-13: 978-0425227510 | $17.00 USD | 343 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

#1 New York Times bestselling author Nora Roberts presents her first trade original—a novel of love, friendship, and family—in this beautiful french flap edition of Book One in the Bride Quartet.

Wedding photographer Mackensie “Mac” Elliot is most at home behind the camera, but her focus is shattered moments before an important wedding rehearsal when she bumps into the bride-to-be’s brother…an encounter that has them both seeing stars.

A stable, safe English teacher, Carter Maguire is definitely not Mac’s type. But a casual fling might be just what she needs to take her mind off bridezillas. Of course, casual flings can turn into something more when you least expect it. And Mac will have to turn to her three best friends—and business partners—to see her way to her own happy ending.

Review

4 stars

I read Vision in White originally back in 2019, much earlier in my contemporary romance reading journey, and before I realized that Nora Roberts is an author I don’t tend to vibe with much. But I love her advocacy for the book community, most recently speaking out against book banning when a number of her books were banned in a Florida school district, with the Bride Quartet being among the eight books banned. I was also intrigued to revisit this book (with tentative intent to continue the series) when a fellow reader on social media was asking about our favorite Nora books, and I reminisced about this book, and how I never continued, and she praised the series. 

And while I can’t say if these books are appropriate, or even appealing to high schoolers, I do think Roberts’ case for the tame-ness of the content in her books is also why this book doesn’t work for me as a reader anymore, like it once did. While I love the principle of books with “monogamous, consensual, and healthy” relationships, the emphasis on them ending in a marriage does feel rather antiquated, even taking into account the theme of the series itself. Not to mention some of the references, which were guaranteed to be dated in a contemporary published in the mid-2000s, but given how the narrative has changed so radically for Johnny Depp in particular, even since 2019, this particular reference aged like milk. 

The leads and romance itself are cute, but no longer blow me away. Carter is still a likable nerdy professor, apparently common for Roberts, but I feel the needle has shifted somewhat where the variety of heroes has grown somewhat, at least in terms of their professions, if not their looks. Mac is also still pretty solid, and I appreciated both her relationships with her friends (we still need more girl friend relationships in romance!) and the way her personal issues were addressed. But I can’t say I was massively blown away here either. 

I’ve come to the conclusion, based on the rabid devotion many have toward Nora Roberts’ books, that it’s very much about having gotten into them younger when these books were much more relevant. That’s not to say they don’t have a place today, as there’s always value in learning about titans of any genre’s canon, especially when they’re not only as prolific, but as charitable and full of integrity despite her status  as Nora Roberts is. But if I ever liked her books personally, it seems I’ve mostly outgrown them, and the time to form such a bond to her as an author in addition to a personality within the community has passed for me. All that to say, more power to Nora Roberts and all she does, and all love to her devoted readers, even though I’m not meant to be one of them. 

Author Bio

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels. She is also the author of the bestselling In Death series written under the pen name J. D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

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“Sinner’s Isle” by Angela Montoya (ARC Review)

Montoya, Angela. Sinner’s Isle. New York: Joy Revolution, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-0593643334 | $18.99 USD | 384 pages | YA Fantasy Romance

Blurb

A spellbinding romantic fantasy about a powerful witch who will do anything to escape the remote island she’s being held captive on, including blackmail a notorious, charming pirate who washes up on shore, from debut author Angela Montoya.

Rosalinda is trapped on Sinner’s Isle, an island filled with young women like her—Majestics, beautiful witches loathed by society for their dangerous magic yet revered by powerful men who want to use them. 

For years, she has been kept under the watchful, calculating eye of Doña Lucia. Now eighteen, Rosa will be the prized commodity at this year’s Offering, a fiesta for the wealthy to engage in drink, damsels, and debauchery. That is why she must flee—before someone forces the vicious phantoms within her to destroy everything she touches. 

Handsome, swashbuckling Mariano has long sailed the high seas as the Prince of Pirates. Then the king’s fleet attacks his father’s infamous ship, leaving him marooned on Sinner’s Isle with only an enchanted chain meant to lead him to his heart’s desire. Instead, he falls into the hands of a brazen (although) bewitching headache—Rosa.

Together they must outwit each other and their enemies before the Offering ends and it’s too late to escape the perils of Sinner’s Isle.

Review

4 stars

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

I’ve loved all the books released under the Joy Revolution imprint so far, and Sinner’s Isle, their first fantasy romance offering, is no different. I was immediately drawn to the interesting world, with the story revolving largely around a yearly “Offering” fiesta, and how it centers around the Majestic witches “binding themselves to wealthy men. It’s an openly icky concept, and I like how it creates a great sense of stakes for the leads to work against. That, juxtaposed with the pirates who end up on Sinner’s Isle, make up great elements for this adventure. 

Rosalinda and Mariano are very solid main characters. I admired Rosalinda’s determination to try to escape her fate in particular. Mariano is also interesting, and I love how he also has a form of magical intervention as he searches for his heart’s desire, but of course, he gets more than what he  expected in Rosalinda. The witch/pirate dynamic between them is pretty much as fun as you’d expect. The romance isn’t exactly the most substantial, and it is very instalovey, but it’s fairly sweet and inoffensive otherwise, considering overall “romantasy” standards. 

I liked that the book charted the days relative to the timeline of “the Offering,” giving it a sense of how time was passing, even if Rosalinda is determined to avoid the fiesta itself. I do think it also helped with the pacing, although the overall adventurous tone also helped. 

This was a solid debut, and I look forward to more books from Angela Montoya in the future. If you enjoy fantasy romance and love witches and/or pirates, I’d recommend checking this out! 

Author Bio

Angela Montoya lives in Northern California with her family. She is the granddaughter of the celebrated activist and poet laureate Jose Montoya. When she isn’t with her partner, two children, goats, chickens, and dogs, you can find Angela co-hosting the podcast, Of the Publishing Persuasion. Sinner’s Isle was her debut novel.

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“A Holly Jolly Ever After” (Christmas Notch #2) by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone (Review)

Murphy, Julie, & Sierra Simone. A Holly Jolly Ever After. New York: Avon, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-0063222649 | $24.99 USD | 432 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

From the authors of A Merry Little Meet Cute comes a steamy holiday rom-com cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone—about an actress and a perpetually single former boy-band member reunited as costars on a steamy holiday film!

Kallum Lieberman is the funny one™. As the arguably lesser of the three former members of the boy band INK, he enjoyed his fifteen minutes of fame and then moved home where he opened a regional pizza chain called Slice, Slice, Baby! He’s living his best dad bod life, hooking up with bridesmaids at all his friends’ weddings. But after an old one-off sex tape is leaked and quickly goes viral, Kallum decides he’s ready to step into the spotlight again, starring in a sexy Santa biopic for the Hope Channel. 

Winnie Baker did everything right. She married her childhood sweetheart, avoided the downfalls of adolescent stardom, and transitioned into a stable adult acting career. Hell, she even waited until marriage to have sex. But after her perfect life falls apart, Winnie is ready to redefine herself—and what better way than a steamier-than-a-steaming-hot-mug-of-cider Christmas movie?

With decade old Hollywood history between them, Winnie and Kallum are both feeling hesitant about their new situation as costars…especially Winnie who can’t seem to fake on screen pleasure she’s never experienced in real life. She’s willing to do the pleasure research—for science and artistic authenticity, of course. And there’s no better research partner than her bridesmaid sex tape hall of fame costar, Kallum. But suddenly, Kallum’s teenage crush on Winnie is bubbling to the surface and Winnie might be catching feelings herself. 

They say opposites attract, but is this holly jolly ever after really ready for its close-up?

In the series

#1 A Merry Little Meet Cute 

Review

4.5 stars

After loving my first venture into Christmas Notch, I was more than happy to pick up another book in the series, no questions asked. However, I admit my resolve was tested just a tad with some elements of book two, A Holly Jolly Ever After. However, this book is also proof that there are almost no absolute “nopes” when it comes to tropes, as there’s always a way to do it right (although I’m not going to lie, I’d liked to have been given the option to know ahead of time instead of being sent into a tailspin of conflict mid-book). 

But this book continues with the theme of battling purity culture, and I love that the specific way it approached it really hit home with the recent discourse around Britney’s new book (which I also happen to be reading in between my fiction reads). I saw a few stark parallels in Winnie’s story with Britney’s, like her Christian family and the way her family and society at large are reckoning with her reputation being ruined thanks to the demise of her marriage, never mind that her lack of experience in sex played a role in that. And even her career pivot, brought on by all the controversy, only inspires more controversy, but I respect how she comes into her own over the course of the book, asserting herself in a way she never did before. 

And while Kallum is an ex-boyband member, that’s where similarities with a certain former significant other of Britney’s ends. I love how he’s equally mired in controversy, making him a great partner for Winnie as she discovers her sexuality. I also love that he wears his heart on his sleeve, while Winnie is more reticent. 

The structure of the book is quite odd, because I initially expected the book to be about their sex lessons in the midst of them filming, and that’s what it is during part one. But the beginning of part two introduces a plot twist in the form of an accidental pregnancy, thus inspiring my aforementioned bout of conflict. But there was still enough “meat” in the book to allow them to work out where they stood in their relationship, and it didn’t do the thing I hated, where the baby puts a band-aid on a fledgling or dysfunctional relationship. In fact, I respect that, regardless of the stigma, Winnie was willing to take on being a mom on her own with no expectations from Kallum, although once he found out, he both wanted to continue to pursue a relationship with Winnie due to his already established feelings and because he wanted to do the right thing. 

I continue to love the friend group with INK. Nolan and Bee are adorable together, and provide moral support for Kallum and Winnie, individually and collectively, when they need it. I’m also excited at the prospect of a future book with Isaac, and what his HEA might look like. 

While this book took some turns I did not expect, I ended up really appreciating it for how it got its messages across. If you’re looking for a steamy holiday romcom that will also make you think, I’d recommend checking this out! 

Author Bio

Julie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband, who loves her, and her cats, who tolerate her. When Julie isn’t writing, she can be found planning her next great travel adventure. She is the author of middle grade novels Dear Sweet Pea and Camp Sylvania as well as the young adult novels Ramona Blue, Side Effects May Vary, the Faith series, Pumpkin, Puddin’, and Dumplin’ (now a Netflix original film). You can visit Julie at imjuliemurphy.com.

Sierra Simone is a USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling former librarian. Her notable works include Priest, American Queen, and Misadventures of a Curvy Girl, and her books have been featured in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, and Buzzfeed. She lives with her spouse and family in Kansas City.

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“The Rosewood Hunt” by Mackenzie Reed (ARC Review)

Reed, Mackenzie. The Rosewood Hunt. New York: HarperTeen, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-0063287600 | $19.99 USD | 368 pages | YA Thriller

Blurb

Irresistible intrigue, captivating suspense, a swoony friends-to-rivals-to-lovers romance, and heartbreaking betrayal drive this thrilling debut novel that is perfect for fans of The Inheritance Games and Knives Out.

Lily Rosewood has lived with her grandmother since her dad’s death a year ago. She and Gram have always been close—Gram’s role as chair of their family’s luxury coat business has inspired Lily’s love of fashion, and Lily hopes to follow in Gram’s footsteps one day.

Then Gram dies suddenly, and Lily’s world is upended. Gram’s quarter of a billion dollar fortune is missing, and Lily has been banned from the manor she and Gram shared.

But Gram has always loved games, and even in death, she still has a few tricks up her couture sleeve. When Lily and three other seemingly random teens get letters from Gram sending them on a treasure hunt around Rosetown, they hope the fortune will be the reward. But they’re not the only ones hunting for Gram’s treasure, and soon the hunt becomes more dangerous than they ever could have imagined.

Review

4 stars

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

The Rosewood Hunt drew my attention due to its interesting premise, promising a fun treasure hunt thriller. And while it was a bit weirder than I expected, I still mostly enjoyed it. 

I love that the relationship between Lily and her grandmother remained at the heart of the story. Puzzles and scavenger hunts were something that always bonded them throughout their time together, so while the story took some odd turns, I like how the book ultimately tried to reinforce that. And there’s a great juxtaposition between their relationship and the other familial relationships, especially the toxic relationship between Lily’s late father and her uncle. This is also reflected in Lily’s relationship with her cousin, Daisy, which is very tense at the beginning of the book, for reasons related to family tensions, as well as rivalry over a guy, Leo. 

But I love how her grandmother’s imposed treasure hunt challenges Lily to work out her issues with both Daisy and Leo, taking on a leading role to recover the family fortune and following Gram’s clues. The team is very much a ragtag one in ways, but I loved the bonds they formed with one another in the process of learning to work together. 

The romance was sweet, and Leo’s a pretty solid love interest, past transgressions aside. I did feel like the romance was a bit overshadowed by the rest of the story, but as far as romantic subplots go, it’s not terrible. 

The plot and pacing were fairly even and kept my attention for the most part. The treasure-hunt aspects kept things interesting, keeping me guessing, while the more introspective moments provided character growth. 

Author Bio

Mackenzie Reed is the author of young adult fiction, including her debut thriller THE ROSEWOOD HUNT. She cultivated her love of storytelling at Nazareth College, where she graduated with a BA in Communication and Media. A native and resident of Rochester, New York, she loves going for brainstorming walks when the weather’s behaving and spending time with her family. In the sparse moments she’s not writing or daydreaming about her next book, she’s usually winging her eyeliner and hunting for the best slice of pizza in town.

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“The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch” by Melinda Taub (Review)

Taub, Melinda. The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch. New York: Grand Central Publishing, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-1538739204 | $30.00 USD | 400 pages | Historical Fantasy

Blurb

A “witty, magical, romantic and altogether brilliant” (Lev Grossman) reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, told from the perspective of the troublesome and—according to her—much-maligned youngest Bennet sister, Lydia.

In this exuberant retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Lydia Bennet puts pen to paper to relate the real events and aftermath of the classic story. Some facts are well known: Mrs. Bennet suffers from her nerves, Mr. Bennet suffers from Mrs. Bennet, and all five daughters suffer from an estate that is entailed only to male heirs.

But Lydia also suffers from entirely different concerns: her best-loved sister Kitty is really a barn cat; Wickham is every bit as wicked as the world believes him to be, but what else would one expect from a demon? And if Mr. Darcy is uptight about etiquette, that’s nothing compared to his feelings about magic. Most of all, Lydia has yet to learn that for a witch, promises have power . . .

Full of enchantment, intrigue, and boundless magic, The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, has all the irreverent wit, strength, and romance of Pride and Prejudice—while offering a highly unexpected redemption for the wildest Bennet sister.

Review

4 stars

I’ve been a bit of a Lydia Bennet apologist for years, since watching the incredible modern portrayal by Mary Kate Wiles in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries. I mean, yes, she’s a bit dim, but that doesn’t mean she deserves to be stuck with Wickham for the rest of her life, right? Melinda Taub clearly had the same idea when she chose to write The Scandalous Confessions of Lydia Bennet, Witch, reimagining Lydia in a way that both fits realistically within the canon of the original Austen novel, while also injecting her own spin on the story through region-appropriate depictions of folklore and magic, and a surprising (for this particular story and characters, anyway) amount of social awareness regarding racism and colonialism. 

Lydia as a character is such a delight. She’s an oddball, but in the best way, and her being a witch perfectly fits into that. While there are some tweaks to the Bennet family dynamics to play into the lore of magic correlating to her quirky nature, such as her now being the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter (although some of her elder siblings died), I liked how there was a lot of depth to her, and you really see a new side to her and the events of P&P, especially her elopement with Wickham, thanks to the context of the presence of magic. And while she’s often considered the “dumb” or “flighty” one, I love how this story subverts the themes of the original, with Lydia being more perceptive of people and their intentions, making her an interesting foil for the stereotypically intelligent Elizabeth, for example, who we know was easily taken in by false “first impressions.” 

I also love that Kitty is  actually a cat, cementing my belief that Taub either is a fellow fan of LBD or it’s a massive coincidence (I mean, she’s also a TV writer, who worked with Shonda Rhimes, so who knows). Lydia and Kitty’s relationship is one of my favorites from the book, and I love Kitty’s human-ness evolves over the course of the story. 

The story structure is rather odd, being told in a somewhat diaristic/epistolary format, with Lydia alternating being recounting her past, i.e. the story of the events of P&P from her point of view, and the present when she’s “married” to Wickham. At first, I was a little taken aback, afraid it would be hard to follow. But Lydia’s narrative voice is compelling, and it becomes rather obvious when she’s talking about the past, vs. the present. The choice to tell the story this way does mean the story starts off rather slowly, but it really ramps up in the second half, and that, plus Lydia’s humorous narration throughout, make the story work. 

This is a fun read, reimagining a much-maligned character in a beautiful way. If you’re a fan of Jane Austen/Pride and Prejudice, witches, and/or stories that redeem “unlikable” characters from the literary canon, I’d recommend checking this out! 

Author Bio

Melinda Taub is an Emmy- and Writers’ Guild Award-winning writer. The former head writer and executive producer of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, she is also the author of Still Star-Crossed, a young adult novel which was adapted for television by Shondaland. (She also wrote that thing about the Baroness in The Sound of Music that your aunt likes.) She lives in Brooklyn.

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“The Lotus Flower Champion” by Pintip and Love Dunn (ARC Review)

Dunn, Pintip, & Love Dunn. The Lotus Flower Champion. Shrewsbury, PA: Entangled Teen, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-1649374332 | $18.99 USD | 400 pages | YA Fantasy

Blurb

No escape. Follow the rules. And don’t count on reality—in this uniquely vibrant romantasy from NYT bestselling author Pintip Dunn and daughter Love Dunn…

It looks like paradise…only it’s not.

This was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime family trip to Thailand. One last wish for my dying mama. Instead, we’re stranded on a lush, stunning island with ten strangers—held captive as Thai mythology unfolds around us…and within us.

Now we’re being tested. We’re expected to face our greatest fears—and possible deaths—in hopes of awakening some kind of dormant gift…or curse. One by one, we’re transforming, echoing the strange and sometimes wondrous abilities found in Thai folktales.

But my mama has only days to live, my papa is missing, and I’m forced to trust a group of strangers…including our evasive, dark-eyed tour guide, who resembles a minor god. Toss me in the ocean and feed me to the naga now.

Only I’m no hero. My days are managed by numbers and the compulsions that used to keep me safe.

I have to prove how far I can go. To survive. To protect my family.

And to find a way off this perilous island where everything is a lie…including reality.

Review

3 stars

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

I’ve always wanted to read more from Pintip Dunn, and I was drawn to the blurb for The Lotus Flower Champion. I was also touched by the idea of her collaborating with her daughter, although the concept did mean the book was more likely to be hit-or-miss. Sadly, this book was more in the “miss” category, but there are still some things I enjoyed about it. 

I loved the Thai folktale influences. I don’t know a ton about Thai culture, but I feel like I got a good feel for the folklore and even some of the customs. And having them distilled in a somewhat familiar tournament style setup was quite cool, creating a fast-paced read, and high-action environment for the characters to navigate.

I also really liked the insights into how Alaia navigated the world with OCD. I was particularly struck by one particular passage: “It’s strange: most kids crave independence from their parents, but to me, they’re safety. When I’m with them, it feels like things can’t go wrong. And that’s all I ever crave, really. For things to feel right.” That and a few other sentiments spoke to me, as while I don’t have OCD, I am neurodivergent, and I definitely feel that it has impacted how I navigate the world in a similar way. So, despite any other issues I had with this book, her character and how she was pushed from her comfort zone to take on new challenges absolutely made me feel seen. 

But I couldn’t help but feel underwhelmed otherwise. I did find myself excited by the action, but it felt mostly superficial, as the story otherwise didn’t have much impact. And for a book billed as a “romantasy,” any romance that was present felt very shallow and underdeveloped. 

But this could also be chalked up to it being “too young” for me, and it’s doubly the case with one of the authors themselves being a high schooler. I am happy there are younger authors like Love Dunn coming on the scene and helping to curate YA to their taste, especially since it feels like publishers have gone out of their way to push teens out in order to appeal to older readers.

So, while I wasn’t super-won over by this book, I am still a Pintip Dunn fan and will continue to read books from her, and follow Love’s potential career prospects going forward. And if you’re a  teen reader or shopping for a teen reader in your life, and looking for a fun romantic fantasy-adventure that takes influence from Thai folklore, I’d recommend checking this out! 

Author Bio

Pintip Dunn is a first-generation Thai American who grew up in a tiny town in Kansas, She went on to graduate from Harvard University, magna cum laude, with an A.B. and to receive her J.D. at Yale Law School.

Pintip is a two-time RITA Award winner and New York Times bestselling author of young adult fiction. Her books have been translated into four languages, and they have been nominated for numerous awards, including the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year.

Pintip’s Website

Love Dunn is a high school junior. She has a deep passion for storytelling and has written over fourteen manuscripts to date. Her other interests include dance, volleyball, piano, violin, and public speaking. Her favorite activity, however, is cuddling her dog, Strawberry. She frequently engages in writing sprints with her mom–and easily beats Pintip’s word count every time.

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“The Space Between Here & Now” by Sarah Suk (ARC Review)

Suk, Sarah. The Space Between Here & Now. New York: Quill Tree Books, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-0063255135 | $19.99 USD | 320 pages | YA Science Fiction

Blurb

Perfect for fans of They Both Die at the End and You’ve Reached Sam, this gripping, atmospheric YA novel follows a teen with a mysterious condition that transports her to the past when she smells certain scents linked to specific memories.

Seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, a rare condition that causes her to time travel to a moment in her life when she smells something linked to that memory. Her dad is convinced she’ll simply grow out of it if she tries hard enough, but Aimee’s fear of vanishing at random has kept her from living a normal life.

When Aimee disappears for nine hours into a memory of her estranged mom—a moment Aimee has never remembered before—she becomes distraught. Not only was this her longest disappearance yet, but the memory doesn’t match up with the story of how her mom left—at least, not the version she’s always heard from her dad.

Desperate for answers, Aimee travels to Korea, where she unravels the mystery of her memories, the truth about her mother, and the reason she keeps returning to certain moments in her life. Along the way, she realizes she’ll need to reconcile her past in order to save her present.

From acclaimed author Sarah Suk comes an aching, powerful exploration of memory, grief, and the painful silences we must overcome to discover our truest selves. 

Review

4 stars

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

I read a previous book by Sarah Suk, and while I had mixed feelings about it, I was impressed enough to try again. The Space Between Here & Now stood out from a lot of what I was seeing being published, as while time travel and time-warp stories aren’t new, the approach seemed unique. And that’s the aspect that really impressed me with this book. I like how the book doesn’t feel overly scientific, but it has layperson characters dealing with what is a diagnosable condition, Sensory Time Warp Syndrome (STWS) with some semblance of actual scholarship in-universe, and I liked how the way it was explored felt very similar to the documentation of any other symptoms of an illness, especially a neurological or psychological condition, and those with it are encouraged to document the phenomena in a journal. 

But the speculative elements are also a clever vehicle to explore the real issues Aimee deals with. She’s navigating feeling this sense of loss, with her mother’s absence in her life, and wanting to find out what happened to her, while also reckoning with the fractured connection to her Korean heritage. While her journey to figure things out doesn’t take her exactly where she expects, I love how she came into her own and found a sense of herself, reconnecting to her roots. 

I also love the strong familial relationships depicted in the story. Her relationship with her father, in particular, isn’t always the easiest, but I loved that they came together in a beautiful way as Aimee began to dig up the secrets of her past, especially learning about not just her past with her mother, but a bit about her parents’ relationship to one another. 

One of my complaints about Suk’s prior book was that the romance was a bit too understated, however, that was relative to how that book was marketed. This one was marketed more for the self-discovery journey, making Aimee’s budding romance with Junho a nice surprise. It was sweet how, in the midst of the uncertainty, she found an ally outside her family who she could depend on. 

This was a refreshingly original read, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for fun takes on time travel/warp narratives. 

Author Bio

Sarah Suk (pronounced like soup with a K) lives in Vancouver, Canada, where she writes stories and admires mountains. She is the author of young adult novels Made in Korea and The Space between Here & Now, as well as the co-writer of John Cho’s middle grade novel Troublemaker. When she’s not writing, you can find her hanging out by the water, taking film photos, or eating a bowl of bingsu. You can visit Sarah online at sarahsuk.com and on Twitter and Instagram @_sarahsuk.

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“Bad Mother” by Mia Sheridan (Review)

Sheridan, Mia. Bad Mother. Seattle: Montlake, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-1662509766 | $16.99 USD | 338 pages | Romantic Suspense

Blurb

From New York Times bestselling author Mia Sheridan comes the twisted story of one detective’s pursuit of a serial killer who’s taunting her…and the familiar connection between them that’s haunting her.

When Sienna Walker is nearly fired from the NYPD, the last thing she expects is a second chance in the one place she vowed never to return to. But she can’t afford to turn down the job offer, even if a painful familial past and a broken engagement hardly make Reno, Nevada, home sweet home.

It’s made even less sweet by Sienna’s first case—a serial killer with a curious fixation on her. Along with his victims, the killer leaves perplexing clues and chilling journal entries addressed to Sienna detailing the murders he claims his mother committed. The case continues to get personal when her ex-fiancé is called out by the killer as well. Whoever’s behind the diabolical murders, Sienna can only be sure of one thing…it’s someone close to home.

As the twisted truth forces Sienna to face her complicated feelings, she learns that no matter how far you run from your past, it always catches up to you in the end.

Review

4 stars

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley. Review based on final copy. All opinions are my own. 

Mia Sheridan is an author that I read one excellent book from a while ago, and while I always wanted to read more from her, I never really had the opportunity to do so. But when I read the premise of Bad Mother, I found myself intrigued as to what a foray into romantic suspense or thriller from her would look like. While it’s a genre I tend to find very hit-or-miss, due to it needing just the right balance of the suspense and romance elements, I ended up mostly enjoying the results. 

The main “hook” for the story for me was the way it balanced the investigation side with delving into the mind of the serial killer himself. While there is obviously nothing that can justify his actions, I loved how the little snippets of his perspective delved into  his pathology, with an Oedipus complex in a similar vein to Norman Bates. The one flashback scene, combined with the journal entries, poignantly capture the trauma he went through, as seen through his eyes, providing context and motive to his crimes. 

I also enjoyed following Sienna, Kat, and Gavin as they conducted their investigation. There are some great twists and turns, and it was interesting trying to figure out why both Sienna and Gavin were considered persons of interest to the killer to interact with. 

While  the romance does sometimes take a back seat to the case, I did feel like there was enough “meat” to the romance too. Sienna and Gavin have a history together, and proximity to each other while working the case absolutely makes things complicated. While I did think the ending for them was a little too abrupt and neat-and-tidy, I did like them together, and it’s a nice optimistic note to end on for all involved after all the trauma everyone has been through. 

This was a great read, and I hope Mia Sheridan writes more books in this vein. If you’re looking for a well-crafted romantic suspense, I’d recommend checking this out!

Author Bio

Mia Sheridan is a New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author. Her passion is weaving true love stories about people destined to be together. Mia lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband. They have four children here on earth and one in heaven.

Website

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