“Wildfire” (Maple Hills #2) by Hannah Grace (Review)

Grace, Hannah. Wildfire. New York: Atria Books, 2023. 

ISBN-13: 978-1668026274 | $18.99 USD | 386 pages | NA Contemporary Romance

Blurb

INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The latest in the TikTok sensation and deliciously “swoonworthy” (Elena Armas, New York Times bestselling author) Maple Hills series follows two summer camp counselors who reconnect after a sizzling one-night stand.

Maple Hills students Russ Callaghan and Aurora Roberts cross paths at a party celebrating the end of the academic year, where a drinking game results in them having a passionate one-night stand. Never one to overstay her welcome (or expect much from a man), Aurora slips away before Russ even has the chance to ask for her full name.

Imagine their surprise when they bump into each other on the first day of the summer camp where they are both counselors, hoping to escape their complicated home lives by spending the summer working. Russ hopes if he gets far enough away from Maple Hills, he can avoid dealing with the repercussions of his father’s gambling addiction, while Aurora is tired of craving attention from everyone around her, and wants to go back to the last place she truly felt at home.

Russ knows breaking the camp’s strict “no staff fraternizing” rule will have him heading back to Maple Hills before the summer is over, but unfortunately for him, Aurora has never been very good at caring about the rules. Will the two learn to peacefully coexist? Or did their one night together start a fire they can’t put out?

In the series

#1 Icebreaker

Review

4 stars

Wildfire is the second book in Hannah Grace’s Maple Hills series. It works well as a standalone, but they’re very similar vibes-wise, and the overlapping characters in the friend group are a major selling point of the book for me. I really liked getting to know all of them better and how they play off one another. And the way the hockey players integrated into the camp environment with the other counselors was quite sweet, making for a large, fun, and well-defined supporting cast. 

While Russ didn’t make a massive impression in the prior book, I liked him here. And he and Aurrora, sometimes called Rory, are a solid match. Both of them have issues with their parents they need to work through, and amidst all the tension between them, it was great to see them bond over that. And while the “one-night stand” setup is a hard sell for me, Hannah Grace made it work, with Russ and Aurora’s chemistry being palpable from the moment they met. The communication between the two was also fairly solid. 

There were some of the same pacing issues that plagued book one, with it being a “low-plot, more vibes” read, I didn’t mind it as much as the first book. And while I’m not sure how word count translated into page count, what with things like formatting, the book being a tad shorter, pages wise, likely helped. 

This was another enjoyable read, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a lighthearted steamy contemporary romance.  

Author Bio

Hannah Grace is an English author, writing adult contemporary romance between characters who all carry a tiny piece of her. When she’s not describing everyone’s eyes ten-thousand-times a chapter, accidentally giving multiple characters the same name, or googling American English spellings, you can find her oversharing online, or, occasionally, reading a book from her enormous TBR. Hannah is an instant #1 New York Times bestseller of Icebreaker and Wildfire and a proud parent to two dogs.

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

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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“The Hemlock Queen” (The Nightshade Crown #2) by Hannah Whitten (Review)

Whitten, Hannah. The Hemlock Queen. New York: Orbit, 2024. 

ISBN-13: 978-0316435291 | $30.00 USD | 480 pages | Fantasy Romance

Blurb

In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten’s lush romantic epic fantasy series, the glittering and dangerous world of the Sainted King’s royal court is upended when Prince Bastian seizes control and a mysterious dark force begins to take over.

The corrupt king August is dead. Prince Bastian has seized the throne and raised Lore—a necromancer and former smuggler—to his right-hand side. Together they plan to cut out the rot from the heart of the royal court and help the people of Dellaire. But not everyone is happy with the changes. The nobles are sowing dissent, the Kirythean Empire is beating down their door, and Lore’s old allies are pulling away. Even Prince Bastian has changed. No longer the hopeful, rakish, charismatic man Lore knows and loves, instead he’s become reckless, domineering, and cold.

And something has been whispering in her ear. A voice, dark and haunting, that’s telling her there’s more to the story than she knows and more to her power than she can even imagine. A truth buried deep that could change everything.

With Bastian’s coronation fast approaching and enemies whispering on all sides, Lore must figure out how to protect herself, her prince, and her country before they all come crumbling down and whatever dark power has been creeping through the catacombs is unleashed.

In the series

#1 The Foxglove King

Review

4 stars

I really enjoyed The Foxglove King and the themes it had to offer, and The Hemlock Queen offers more in a similar vein. While it does suffer in some areas from “middle book syndrome,” there was enough to keep my attention. 

One aspect I had forgotten about between books was the amount of deep lore (haha!) conveyed through epigraphs, and sometimes even footnotes to add further context to those epigraphs. It’s not as heavy on that side of things as similar books that dive deeper into the fictional lore and literature of the world, but it was an aspect I enjoyed nonetheless. 

The characters continue to be fairly intriguing, and their complex relationships with one another evolve in interesting ways, especially with them all in positions of power. I wasn’t sure how to feel about Bastian’s turn from charming to cold and controlling, feeling like a very familiar heel-turn for those of us who’ve read other romantasy *coughSJMcough*. But there’s still nuance there so that both he and Gabe are viable love interests, albeit with a lot of trauma and baggage. As for Lore, she remains compelling, as she too is trying to adjust to her new position as well. 

Like the first book, the pacing is a bit all over the place. I was somewhat invested in the beginning, but I wasn’t truly grabbed until halfway through. I can’t put my finger on what I would want to streamline, although perhaps having more of a “hook” at the beginning would help. 

While it’s not perfect, I enjoyed this book for the most part, and would recommend the series thus far to readers looking for “romantasy” series. 

Author Bio

Hannah Whitten has been writing to amuse herself since she could hold a pen, and sometime in high school, figured out that what amused her might also amuse others. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, making music, or attempting to bake. She lives in an old farmhouse in Tennessee with her husband, children, two cats, a dog, and probably some ghosts.

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“An Ember in the Ashes” (An Ember in the Ashes #1) by Sabaa Tahir (Review)

Tahir, Sabaa. An Ember in the Ashes. New York: Razorbill, 2015. 

ISBN-13: 978-1595148049 | $12.99 USD | 480 pages | YA Fantasy

Blurb

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
 
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
 
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
 
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
 
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself. SEE LESS

Review

4 stars

Back in 2022, I read All My Rage and loved it, and I swore back then, I’d get to Sabaa Tahir’s other books, especially since The Ember Quartet had gotten a lot of positive buzz. But as expected, I didn’t. But between Sabaa Tahir announcing another book in this world coming out soon, and one of my favorite BookTubers, Reads with Rachel, hyping up this series continuously (and All My Rage now being targeted by book banners), all signs were suggesting it was time to finally give this series a read. And upon cracking open An Ember in the Ashes, I absolutely get the hype. It’s YA from a time before publishing was so heavily catering toward an older audience, but it also has that crossover appeal of being both epic and  complex, while also being approachable and  without  alienating its primary market. 

The world building is compelling and richly imagined, pulling from Ancient Roman influences. There’s a well-constructed lore woven into the world, with different factions with their own histories and complex relationships with each other causing political tension. 

The characters are also well-drawn, and present different perspectives of the world from different sides. Laia, who is from a Scholar family, tried to keep her head down along with them, until her brother was arrested, and despite her intense fear at the situation, she also loves her family and would do anything, so she works to overcome this fear and persevere. Elias, meanwhile, is a soldier in the Blackcliff Military Academy who is being forcibly trained to try to enforce the Empire’s tyranny. 

The two of them have an intriguing dynamic, with their connection and realization that their fates are aligned being part of the book, but they also each have another love interest. However, it’s written in a way that the direction of their relationship is somewhat easy to parse, so I didn’t mind the semi-”love square” situation. 

This book is on the longer side, but it’s also action-packed with barely a dull moment. I flipped pages, reading with bated breath, wondering constantly what would happen next. 

This was a solid first-in-series, and I’m excited to read further in the series. And on the off chance you also haven’t read it yet (surely I’m not the last one in the world to check out this series?) I’d recommend you do so, if you’re interested in an action-packed crossover YA fantasy. 

Author Bio

Sabaa Tahir is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Ember in the Ashes series, which has been translated into over thirty-five languages. She grew up in California’s Mojave Desert at her family’s eighteen-room motel. There, she spent her time devouring fantasy novels, raiding her brother’s comic book stash, and playing guitar badly. She began writing books while working nights as a newspaper editor. She likes thunderous indie rock, garish socks, and all things nerd. Visit Sabaa online at SabaaTahir.com and follow her on Instagram @SabaaTahir.

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“Morbidly Yours” (Love in Galway #1) by Ivy Fairbanks (Review)

Fairbanks, Ivy. Morbidly Yours. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2023. 

ISBN-13:978-0593851876 | $9.99 USD ($19.00 Paperback Preorder) | 336 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

TikTok sensation Morbidly Yours, an opposites-attract romantic dramedy about a shy, demisexual Irish mortician who must marry by his 35th birthday to keep his beloved family business, and the Texan widow escaping her past who moves in next door.

Falling for the wrong person? Bury your feelings.

Callum Flannelly would rather dive into an open grave than take a stranger to dinner. But he can only inherit the family undertaking business under one condition: He must marry before his 35th birthday. So it’s out of the mortuary and into the dating scene. Lark Thompson came to Galway, Ireland to embrace life, not be reminded of losing her husband by moving in next to a funeral home. 

     Then the vivacious Texan animator learns of painfully shy Callum’s dilemma and makes it her mission to help him find The One.  Although sworn off love herself, she’s certain Callum will find his match. But as the dating project progresses and their friendship grows, their attraction is undeniable. Spending time with serious, sarcastic Callum starts to crack the ice around Lark’s heart, and the more color Lark brings to Callum’s monochrome existence, the less he can imagine life without her.

     If they think they can ignore their connection, they’re dead wrong.SEE LESS

Review

4 stars

Morbidly Yours was yet another random Libby find that turned out to be a “Tik Tok sensation,” and the premise piqued my interest, especially the promise of demisexual rep. I ended up really liking it, and I love how it paid homage to and subverted some common tropes like the marriage of convenience, inheritance (with strings attached), second chance romance, and more. 

Both leads are so compellingly drawn, as is their relationship with each other. Callum was the one who initially stuck out to me…he is socially awkward and has a stutter, and just incredibly soft and sweet, but with a subtle strength that can come out when needed (like punching out a bully). In addition to being a generally swoony love interest, I really liked how the backstory of him growing up with a stutter was explored, including going to speech therapy. Plus, he’s a mortician…that’s probably pne of the most creative jobs I’ve seen for a protagonist in a contemporary romance. 

Lark, meanwhile, also really resonated in her own way. Her husband died two years ago, and she’s pursuing a fresh start in Ireland. But I can’t recall many stories of widows where they genuinely loved their spouses. They’re definitely out there (Francesca Bridgerton’s book, for one), but it’s a real unfortunate trend to have to villainize a fictional former spouse to justify moving on, and I appreciate that Ivy Fairbanks didn’t do that here. 

I loved the dynamic between the two, and how they really supported each other as friends first. While the evolution to “friends with benefits” did somewhat concern me, given how the trope has burned me in the past, Fairbanks actually invested me in the dynamic, with the solid slow-burn foundation of the story, not to mention the solid chemistry between the leads, it was just a matter of when they’d work through their issues and get together. 

This was such a sweet, somewhat quirky read, and I’d recommend it to readers looking for a slow-burn contemporary romance. 

Author Bio

Ivy Fairbanks is a shameless consumer of rom-com books, hazelnut coffee, and Hozier music. Not necessarily in that order. Living with chronic pain has made her a believer in the power of fictional escapism and happy endings. She lives in the Tampa Bay Area with her husband and son. At any given moment, she is probably trapped under a sleeping tabby cat. Morbidly Yours is her debut novel.

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“Lore of the Wilds” by Analeigh Sbrana (Review)

Sbrana, Analeigh. Lore of the Wilds. New York: Harper Voyager, 2024. 

ISBN-13: 978-0063380592 | $28.00 USD | 352 pages | Fantasy Romance

Blurb

A stunning Romantasy debut about an enchanted library, two handsome Fae, and one human who brings them all together. 

A library with a deadly enchantment. 

A Fae lord who wants in.

A human woman willing to risk it all for a taste of power.

In a land ruled by ruthless Fae, twenty-one-year-old Lore Alemeyu’s village is trapped in a forested prison. Lore knows that any escape attempt is futile—her scars are a testament to her past failures. But when her village is threatened, Lore makes a desperate deal with a Fae lord. She will leave her home to catalog/organize an enchanted library that hasn’t been touched in a thousand years. No Fae may enter the library, but there is a chance a human might be able to breach the cursed doors.

She convinces him that she will risk her life for wealth, but really she’s after the one thing the Fae covet above all: magic of her own.

As Lore navigates the hostile world outside, she’s forced to rely on two Fae males to survive. Two very different, very dangerous, very attractive Fae males. When undeniable chemistry ignites, she’s not just in danger of losing her life, but her heart to the very creatures she can never trust.

Review

3 stars 

I stumbled on Lore of the Wilds on the Libby catalog’s “New Books,” and found myself drawn to the cover. However, I was a bit perplexed that I hadn’t heard much about it. While it was unlikely to get the same attention as Fourth Wing or ACOTAR, but other BIPOC romantasy, like The Hurricane Wars, was at least buzzed about to a certain degree. However, upon reading it, and consulting Goodreads and noting reviews from some trusted reviewers who all found it lackluster, I now understand. 

That’s not to say there aren’t some pluses here. I really like the basic premise, with stolen history, and trying to recover it. And the central role of libraries is always a plus in any genre, but especially fantasy, and whatever else this book was, I enjoyed this aspect. 

And Lore is ok. She’s not the most compelling heroine ever, but I did mostly find her likable. She’s a tad naive, but she’s also compassionate and curious. 

The love interests were a bit more bland, and when it’s also a love triangle, it made it even more forgettable. And like others, I questioned the inclusion of the sex scenes; they weren’t well executed. While I disagree with other reviewers saying it’s “basically YA,” given there’s no hint as to Sbrana’s intent, even without the sex scenes, I’d say the age of the protagonist, even if she sometimes acts younger, puts it in the tentatively Adult category, and is just another example as to why New Adult should be a viable category for books that occupy this gray area. 

Plot and pacing wise, I have mixed feelings. Initially, I was all in, despite some confusing aspects, as it felt like a nice “brain candy” type read. But the confusion remained, and the pacing began to lag, and along with the lackluster romantic arc, I found my interest waning. 

While I found myself rather underwhelmed by this book, there are promising elements here, and I’m open to reading something else from Analeigh Sbrana in the future. If you’re a fan of romantasy, especially in a similar vein to SJM, I recommend giving it a try to see if it works for you. 

Author Bio

Analeigh Sbrana is a writer and visual artist. She lives in Delaware with her husband, daughter, and a chonky kitty named Rey. Her favorite things to do include wandering through forests looking for the fae, trying new cafés, and scouring used bookstores for hidden gems.

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“A Sweet Sting of Salt” by Rose Sutherland (ARC Review)

Sutherland, Rose. A Sweet Sting of Salt. New York: Dell, 2024. 

ISBN-13: 978-0593594599 | $18.00 USD | 352 pages | Historical Fiction

Blurb

Once a young woman uncovers a dark secret about her neighbor and his mysterious new wife, she’ll have to fight to keep herself—and the woman she loves—safe in this stunning queer reimagining of the classic folktale “The Selkie Wife.”

“Laced with a slow-building sense of Gothic dread, Sutherland’s captivating debut is an intensely beautiful experience you won’t soon forget.”—Paulette Kennedy, author of The Witch of Tin Mountain

When a sharp cry wakes Jean in the middle of the night during a terrible tempest, she’s convinced it must have been a dream. But when the cry comes again, Jean ventures outside and is shocked by what she discovers—a young woman in labor, drenched to the bone in the bitter cold and able to speak barely a word of English.

Although Jean is the only midwife for miles around, she’s at a loss for who this woman is or where she’s from; Jean can only assume that she must be the new wife of the neighbor up the road, Tobias. And when Tobias does indeed arrive at her cabin in search of his wife, Muirin, Jean’s questions continue to multiply. Why has he kept his wife’s pregnancy a secret? And why does Muirin’s open demeanor change completely the moment she’s in his presence?

Though Jean learned long ago that she should stay out of other people’s business, her growing concern—and growing feelings—for Muirin mean that she can’t simply set her worries aside. But when the answers she finds are more harrowing than she ever could have imagined, she fears she may have endangered herself, Muirin, and the baby. Will she be able to put things right and save the woman she loves before it’s too late, or will someone have to pay for Jean’s actions with their life?

Review

4 stars

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

I was drawn to the premise of A Sweet Sting of Salt, because, while I’m not familiar with its source material, the folktale, “The Selkie Wife,” I love the idea of retelling a folktale from a more feminist and even queer lens, not to mention being steeped in selkie lore. It also has a Gothic feel that immersed me in the story from the first pages. 

The choice to focus on a more peripheral character to the action, midwife Jean, serves the purpose well. She senses something is wrong when she encounters Muirin, and later meets Tobias when he comes looking for Muirin. And while Jean is hardly the typical Gothic heroine, preferring to stay out of other people’s business rather than poke into it, she’s also rather perceptive about something not being right between the couple. 

And things get even more complicated as she and  Muirin begin to bond. I loved the expression of yearning between the two, and how they were both caught in this intense situation, with Muirin’s husband literally holding her captive and keeping her from the sea, never mind keeping her and Jean apart. I deeply rooted for them to find a way to be together, and/or for them to help Muirin to her freedom. 

This was a deeply moving book, and I’m excited to read more from Rose Sutherland in the future. If you’re interested in a sapphic folklore retelling, especially if you enjoy selkies, I’d  recommend checking this out. 

Author Bio

Born and raised a voracious reader of anything she could get her hands on in rural Nova Scotia, Rose has an overactive imagination and once fell off the roof of her house trying to re-enact Anne of Green Gables. She’s continued to be entertainingly foolhardy since, graduating theatre school in NYC, apprenticing at a patisserie in France, and most recently, moonlighting as an usher and bartender in Toronto. She loves big cities, but often wishes she could live by the sea all the time. Her hobbies include yoga, dance, signing, searching out amazing coffee and croissants, and making very niche jokes about Victor Hugo on the internet. She is mildly obsessed with the idea of one day owning a large dog, several chickens, and maybe a goat.

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

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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“Can’t We Be Friends” by Denny S. Bryce and Eliza Knight (Review)

Bryce, Denny S., and Eliza Knight. Can’t We Be Friends. New York: William Morrow, 2024. 

ISBN-13: 978-0063282902 | $18.99 USD | 374 pages | Historical Fiction 

Blurb

Award-winning author Denny S. Bryce and USA Today bestselling author Eliza Knight collaborate on a brilliant novel that uncovers the boundary-breaking, genuine friendship between Ella Fitzgerald, the Queen of Jazz, and iconic movie star Marilyn Monroe. 

One woman was recognized as the premiere singer of her era with perfect pitch and tireless ambition.

One woman was the most glamorous star in Hollywood, a sex symbol who took the world by storm.

And their friendship was fast and firm…

1952: Ella Fitzgerald is a renowned jazz singer whose only roadblock to longevity is society’s attitude toward women and race. Marilyn Monroe’s star is rising despite ongoing battles with movie studio bigwigs and boyfriends. When she needs help with her singing, she wants only the best—and the best is the brilliant Ella Fitzgerald. But Ella isn’t a singing teacher and declines—then the two women meet, and to everyone’s surprise but their own, they become fast friends.

On the surface, what could they have in common? Yet each was underestimated by the men in their lives—husbands, managers, hangers-on. And both were determined to gain. Each fought for professional independence and personal agency in a time when women were expected to surrender control to those same men.

This novel reveals and celebrates their surprising bond over a decade and serves as a poignant reminder of how true friendship can cross differences to bolster and sustain us through haunting heartbreak and wild success.

Review

5 stars

As  much as I was excited for Can’t We Be Friends due to its subject matter, I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. I knew next to nothing about Ella Fitzgerald prior to picking up this book, apart from her being an African American singer from the mid-20th century. Marilyn Monroe, by contrast, has been a minor special interest of mine, who I’ve read a bit about, and been drawn to her tragic story and how she was continuously exploited in her life, and continues to be exploited to this day. While I didn’t know a ton about the friendship between Ella and Marilyn, I wasn’t surprised to learn about it, given they were huge stars in their day. While the personal details of the relationship between the two, not to mention some aspects of their other personal relationships, are fictionalized, and the authors had to make certain choices for poetic license (ie this book makes the choice that Marilyn’s death was the result of an accidental overdose), the story is well-researched and brings these two extraordinary women to vivid life. 

And beyond that, I love how Eliza Knight and Denny S. Bryce explores the parallels between Ella and Marilyn’s lives, and how they have to choose between their careers, with people who  want to take advantage of them, and their personal lives, which also involve people, especially men, who want to use and abuse them. It’s very telling that, throughout the book, with all the betrayals and setbacks each face, the other is often one of the few constants they have. 

Of the two women, Marilyn truly comes to life in all her colorful, intense, and damaged glory. She goes through a lot over the course of the book, from two intense, tumultuous marriages to being institutionalized to falling deeper into addiction. Through it all, she remains a bright light, even in the portrayal of her ominous last days. 

Ella, as a contrast, goes through her own struggles, like a man who deceives her, and this allows her to relate to Marilyn. While Marilyn is given a more distant, 3rd person perspective, Ella’s perspective is conveyed in first throughout. While there is an element of suspension of disbelief required, it does work with the framing device surrounding her being asked to do an interview about her friendship with Marilyn in honor of the tenth anniversary of Marilyn’s death. 

I really loved this book, and would recommend this to readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially if, but not only if, you’re a fan of the work of the work of Ella Fitzgerald and/or Marilyn Monroe. 

Author Bio‘

Denny S. Bryce is an award-winning and bestselling author of historical fiction, including Wild Women and the Blues. She is also an adjunct professor in the MFA program at Drexel University, a book critic for NPR, and a member of the Historical Novel Society, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, and Tall Poppy Writers. Currently, she resides in Savannah, Georgia.

Denny’s Website

Eliza Knight is an award-winning and USA Today and international bestselling author of historical women’s fiction. Her love of history began as a young girl when she traipsed the halls of Versailles. As an avid history buff, she’s written dozens of novels including The Mayfair Bookshop, Starring Adele Astaire, Ribbons of Scarlet, A Day of Fire, and Can’t We Be Friends, which have been translated into multiple languages. She is the creator of the popular historical blog, History Undressed, and host of the History, Books and Wine podcast. Knight lives in Maryland and Florida with her husband, three daughters, two dogs, and a turtle.

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“The Prospects” by K.T. Hoffman (ARC Review)

Hoffman, K.T. The Prospects. New York: The Dial Press, 2024. 

ISBN-13: 978-0593596869 | $18.00 USD | 384 pages | Contemporary Romance

Blurb

“A queer sports romance and a triumphant debut . . . a heartstring-pulling tale of two minor-league baseball rivals who realize they play much better together.”—Elle, The Best (and Most Anticipated) Romance Books of 2024, So Far

“I completely adored it.” —Casey McQuiston, author of Red, White & Royal Blue

Minor leagues. Major chemistry.

Hope is familiar territory for Gene Ionescu. He has always loved baseball, a sport made for underdogs and optimists like him. He also loves his team, the minor league Beaverton Beavers, and, for the most part, he loves the career he’s built. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life.

Gene and Luis can’t manage a civil conversation off the field or a competent play on it, but in the close confines of dugout benches and roadie buses, they begrudgingly rediscover a comfortable rhythm. As the two grow closer, the tension between them turns electric, and their chemistry spills past the confines of the stadium. For every tight double play they execute, there’s also a glance at summer-tan shoulders or a secret shared, each one a breathless moment of possibility that ignites in Gene the visceral, terrifying kind of desire he’s never allowed himself. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis inspires.

This triumphant debut romance reveals what’s possible when we allow ourselves to want something enough to swing for the fences.

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 loving that the small corner of trans romance is growing, and many of them have been so great, with The Prospects being no exception. I can’t recall that I’ve read any baseball romance, but I love that this is one of two queer baseball books coming out in the first half of 2024. And as unlikely as the concept is, by K.T. Hoffman’s own admission, given the current political climate particularly related to trans people and sports, this is a wonderful escape and symbol of hope. 

Gene is the first openly trans minor-league player, and I appreciate how this is handled, exploring how he deals with transphobia, while also largely being affirming of him and his dreams. 

And then, there’s Luis.  He and Gene have a bit of a rivalry in their past, with the game having got between them when Luis first got drafted. Initially, there’s a bit of rivalry, as they’re competing for the same position on the team. But beneath this history and their personality clashes, they begin to bond in a beautiful way, and Luis is just as soft and sweet, if not more so. 

This book was a soft, warm hug, and I’d recommend it to readers interested in a queer sports romance. 

Author Bio

KT Hoffman is an author of queer romance. His debut rom-com, The Prospects, will be published by Dial Press (US) and Sphere (UK).

KT is originally from Beaverton, Oregon and currently lives in Brooklyn. If he isn’t writing about trans hope and gay kissing, he’s probably white-knuckling his way through the ninth inning of a Seattle Mariners game. He is represented by Allison Hunter at Trellis Literary Management.

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