30something_reads's Reviews (820)

 3.5 ⭐

Sadie is a talented chef who, after hitting a snag in her career, is offered a spot as a contestant on one of her favorite cooking shows. Wanting to reinvigorate her career, Sadie hops on the plane to NYC to join this competition. On the flight there, she meets Luke, and the chemistry is instant! Sadie wasn't expecting to run into him the next day on set of Chef Supreme! Can they keep their connection a secret for the good of her career and the show?

Sadie is a very relatable character who is passionate about putting a new twist on traditional Jewish cuisine. There is a really fun cast of side characters as well! Nia, Kel, Kaitlyn, and the Joes make for a really fun dynamic when personalities collide.

Although this is a romcom, I would not say it was very romance-centric. This story definitely centered more around Sadie and her journey to finding her courage to put herself back out there while competing on this cooking show. The romance between her and Luke does feel more like a subplot. (I would have liked more Luke time) This would be a great story for anyone who might be looking to try out the romance genre. And if you love competition cooking shows - this is a fantastic representation of the chaos that goes down behind the scenes!

Thank you to Berkley for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

I was so ready for this book because we've been teased with Svera's and Krisxox's story since the beginning- and it did. It disappoint!

Svera is an intelligent, kind diplomat. Krisxox is a brutal, battle-hardened warrior. They should NOT work, especially with Krisxox's own prejudice towards anyone not Drakesh. But they are delightful! So much animosity and bickering. So much frustration. Worth it ❤️

And who can be mad at a man who took it upon himself to study, practice, and master kissing (a completely human custom) for the sole purpose of being good at it when he finally worked up the courage to kiss HER?  🤌🏻😍

Loved the introduction to these new characters as well! Deena and Ashimara sound like thwye going to be fantastic leading ladies!

About 50% through, I mentioned that I felt like there was no reason for this book to be 800+ pages. After finishing it, I still stand by that- especially for the first half of the story. I think some additional editing could have condensed some of it down and still got us to where we needed to be. 

Despite the massive amount of info dumping, there were A LOT of moments that felt very repetitive. And there were some moments that just felt like SJM was trying too hard to make it an "adult" book and it was cringy at times. 

*I ended up switching to the audio book about 60% through and that really helped. I think Maas's writing style actually lends itself better to audio. And the narrator did a wonderful job.*

All of that being said, that last 200 pages carried this book! I loved everything about Part IV: The Ravine. 5 ⭐ for this quarter of the book 😆.  I'm absolutely committed to the second book because of it. 

The overall themes of loss and grief are my favorite parts of this whole story. Yes, the world building is wild. Yes, the murder/ mystery is good. But the raw pain and suffering that these characters experience and how they process their grief is SO excellent. 🤌🏻

******* 

Let's talk about characters- because I think the character are  some of the best parts of SJM's story telling. 

I'm sure it's going to get me some hate but Bryce…. Uhhh. I don't know. For a character that has SO much going on, so much that SHOULD have made her interesting, the only compelling part about her was her grief and how she handled it. Don't get me wrong, she's sarcastic and funny and talented but otherwise, her powers become the only interesting thing left as she learns to let go of her grief…. So we'll see where that leave her in book 2 🤷🏻‍♀️

There are a lot of very interesting side characters- Danika, Ruhn, Jesiba, Hypaxia, Aribas- all of these characters were more compelling than Bryce. 🙈 I

And then there is Hunt. He is perfectly imperfect. He is wonderfully damaged. Bryce's "emotional mirror". He deserves all of the hugs. I will riot if this poor man is not endgame. YOU CANNOT HAVE THEM GO THROUGH ALL OF THAT AND NOT BE TOGETHER 😭💔

Not me MELTING over this fricken adorable novella! 😭

Mara is a feisty environmental engineer who has just inherited half a house from her late mentor. She packs it all up and moves to DC to begin her new job just a short walk from her new home. 

Liam is a grumpy corporate lawyer and secondary owner of this lovely house in DC. 

When Mara shows up on his doorstep, sparks fly (and not necessarily ina good way 😆) Now they have to learn to live together without driving the other person to homicide. 

I could not stop smiling the entire damn time I was listening to this! The forced proximity and petty annoyances turn into really sweet bonding over Chinese leftovers and trashy reality TV. And the spice at the end? LOVED!

I cannot wait for the other stories in this series. ❤️

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

I was so pleasantly surprised with this one! Because this book centers on a whole new cast of characters, I just wasn't sure I was going to be as invested as I was in the first two (and really figured I'd just need to get through this one so I could get to the 4th).

I was WRONG!

This may have actually been my favorite so far. 

Not only did I love Mian and Neheyuu, but the entire cast of side characters were just as lovable ☺️❤️

Mian is sweet and no-nonsense. She isn't a warrior bit she is so strong and resilient. You can't help but find her loveable and root for her success.

Neheyuu is a big grumpy alpha male, the youngest chief of his tribe, and not used to being questioned/challenged- especially not by a human. 😏 The phrase "foolish male" gets thrown around a lot at him and God help him, he is 😂.

I loved their dynamics. I loved the drama. And the ending was perfect ❤️

Firstly, I need to request that we, as a collective, stop comparing any book with a hint of a m/m relationship as "Red, White & Royal Blue meets X". Just stop it. 

This book seems to be very heavily marketed as a Sci Fi Romance. What it actually is: a Sci Fi/ Fantasy fraught with intergalactic politics, court drama, murder plots and espionage with a minor romantic subplot. There is a lot of mutual pining. 

So I went into this book expecting one thing and struggled to get through but not because it's a bad book. My expectations just severely overshadowed the actual story. 

All of that aside, I think there are some really great things about this book.

The author did some really incredible world building. It was a very compelling system of planets and  the politics that dictate these separate societies operating under the Empire. 

Super fascinated by the treatment of gender expression and gender identity and the common knowledge that one does not necessarily correlate with the other. 

Kiem and Jainan, as characters, are also very nuanced and thoughtfully constructed. (I could go into heavy detail but I don't have it in me currently 😅)

Overall, I am not sure how to rate this book just yet. Need some time to think on it and let go of my irritation of how this book was marketed.  

 Another STELLAR addition to this series!

Kiki is such a strong character, not only because she is literally a warrior, but because all of the trauma she has endured and conquers throughout this book. Badass in all ways.

And Okkari?! Ugh. He does the protective alpha-male thing, of course. BUT he also trusts Kiki to fight her own battles. The support and understanding that he has for her is perfection and the fact that he treats her like a warrior is amazing. (And the banter they have during their training... glorious!)

And... Excuse me, but the DRAMA of Svera and Krisxox is killing me and I LOVE every little moment that we're getting of it. (How am I suppose to read a whole separate book before getting to their story?!) 

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Did I intentionally start an 8 book series in order to avoid other responsibilities? 🙈

Yes. Yes I did.

LOVED this. I can already tell this will be a Top 3 Alien Romance series for me. You know, the only insignificant complaint I have is the use of the word "cream" and, honestly, I'm already over it because I just love everything else so much. ❤️

Fated Mates ✔️
Teaching hunky aliens about kissing ✔️
Language barriers ✔️
Tearing the universe apart just to keep her safe ✔️
Breeding/pregnancy trope ✔️
CONSENT ✔️✔️✔️

I will caution with TWs for this first book (there are a lot of dark themes tucked behind the fluffy fated mates trope)- mentions of past sexual assault and rape of other characters, violence, character deaths, mothers and children dying during childbirth, abortion, abduction, slave trade.... (I'll update the list if I think of any more.) 

On to book two!

Oooh I think I may have liked Killian and Mailin's story even more than Declan and Evangeline(???) 🤔❤️

I just LOVE how these two meet and getting insight into their individual backstories was really interesting. 

There is so much tragedy surrounding their pasts and it's nice to see how they've overcome and gotten to where they are when we met them in the first book. 

I would also like to supply that Jason Momoa is the perfect fancast for Killian.