*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

The latest installments of the Before the Coffee Gets Cold series by Tosikazu Kawaguchi, this story continues the tradition of gentle, purposeful stories meant to inspire reflection in the reader. As with the previous books, the writing style (or perhaps the intention behind the writing style) is stalted and perhaps overly repative-- which is probably a result of it being a translated work.

This book is perfect for anyone looking for a quick, but emotionally moving, read.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Mix together some insta-love, a dagger cursed by a demon, time travel powered by an ancient family, and some spice, and you'll have A PROMISE FOR ALL TIME. I picked up this book hoping it would be an Outlander-esque romance, but this latest book by Paula Quinn was decidedly not that. It's definitely a fantasy-romance, with Christian themes and some confusing plot lines. While I admire Quinn's ambition with this story, I spent the majority of the book pretty lost and wishing some extra time had been spent to develop the fantasy portion of this novel. I actually spent the majority of the book just wishing there was more-- more character development, more dedication to creating a realistic romance between the two MC's, just... more.

Julia Quinn seems to be a well liked romance author, and I'm hopeful that this book will find its audience-- unfortunately I'm just not sure it was me this time around.

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

Trigger Warnings for this novel and review:

Physical/emotional/financial abuse, diet culture, disordered eating habits, infant death, alcoholism, depression, anxiety, near-death experience, drowning, death (of beloved family member and patients), and

Spoiler

suicide attempt

.

Nora November has been gifted a second chance. After drowning on the coast of Texas, Nora was miraculously brought back to life and, after her Near Death Experience (NDE), she has decided to create a reverse bucket list to try and experience her life to the fullest. This includes the expected: take a cooking class, rediscover her love of basketball, and grow a garden in her grandfather's community plot; and some unexpected: find the man she'd had a connection with during a bodega robbery.

This book had some really powerful aspects; the depiction of taking the incredibly difficult leap to create a new life and the journey of a woman finding her passion for life again (albeit a bit awkwardly at times) were beautifully done. Nora was a compelling character, and I loved the romantic plot line!

I think the majority of my concerns would be addressed by giving the readers an opportunity to get to know Nora in the Before-- one of the biggest components of Nora's transformation is her focus on her relationships with her younger sister and cousin. However, she's continually shot down and brushed aside because of her previous habit of not following through (mostly due to her clinical depression, which of course doesn't mean they should forget their past hurts but also has anyone heard of support and forgiveness in that family???). The only Nora the readers know is the After Nora-- full of optimistic hope and good intentions, so I found myself getting tired of the continual refusals and bashings.

Overall, NICE WORK, NORA NOVEMBER was a good read and a fun concept!

*I received a copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this opportunity*

THE TEMPLE OF PERSEPHONE is a charming, light historical romance that combines some of the best elements of Classic Mythology and Regency-era Romances. It's passionate (read: spicy) while never delving too deeply into larger issues, meaning it was a quick little audiobook listen that didn't require too much thought.

Like other reviewers here, I was certainly confused about the character's reactions to Aidon's secret

Spoiler

and I would have probably enjoyed it more if instead of "rebranding" his funeral services for illegitimate children, Persephone and Aidon had created their own little Elysium for the cast aside children

, and felt like Kamal leaned too heavily on it to cause some final act strife.

Overall, PERSEPHONE was a solid, and enthusiastic, start as Kamal's historical debut.

Look, was the book good? I thought so. It's a break from Hazelwood's normal (frankly overused) storyline, and she did a fabulous job worldbuilding. (That said, we didn't escape the "she's so itty bitty" and "he's so big and strong" characters this time. Maybe next time.)

However, after a decade of studiously avoiding anything omegaverse-- imagine my horror when I realize 3/4 of the way through the book that this story is, in fact, SET IN AN OMEGAVERSE. (And yes, it does include all the weird sex things that subgenre is known for but little ole me didn't realize until it was too late).

So, do you want a steamy vampire/werewolf with a little bit of mystery thrown in, but at the cost of it being set in an omegaverse? That's only a call you can make.