Thank you Forever Publishing and Netgalley for an early copy of this book.

The good:
- Something about Nisha's storytelling in this fictionalized setting felt extremely real and I enjoyed reading her words on the page. I definitely want to pick up more by her.
- I felt the spicier scenes made sense in the story and did not take away from the plot at all
- I loved Tris's personal journey throughout this book way more than the romantic plot line. Her character development on an individual level was something I thoroughly enjoyed

The loss of 1.5 stars:
- The romance was just not hitting for me. It felt a bit too much like instant love (even though it was not technically that) and it just did not hit for me, which is not ideal since this is a romance book. HOWEVER, I know there is someone out there that will love the love story in this book.
- I think the pacing was a bit slow/repetitive between about 50% - 75% of the book. Otherwise, I had no pacing issues.

Overall, I will be reading more Nisha Tuli in the future; however, this particular book for me as a romance was not it. 

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book!

Note: This is a sequel and there surprisingly aren't as many spoilers throughout the book as I thought there would be. You should read the first one to avoid some confusion, but I don't think it takes away from the story if you read this one first.

Second note: I personally would not recommend this on Audiobook. There are a ton of characters and only having one audiobook narrator will add to the confusion of the book (this was my exact experience with book 1, and it would have been the same for book 2.) I am grateful I was able to read this as an ebook.

The good:
- I love the quirky voice and breaking the 4th wall our FMC does. I don't think this is a plus for everyone, but I feel like this is almost a "sarcastic" mystery vibe. Not so much cozy, but not a scary mystery either.
- Every twist landed for me personally, I enjoyed seeing the clues that were planted beforehand and seeing how everything wrapped up.
- I liked the concept of how this book 2 came about after reading book 1. I was not sure how the concept would land but I feel like it worked in the sequel world.
- Each character does have a distinct voice and you can typically know who's talking without it explicitly being said, but...

The loss of a star:
- ...because of the number of characters and subplot of romance, I think the story's pacing gets clunky as you read the book. Some parts feel like you're at stoplight and others you are flying 80 mph down the interstate, which can be a bit jarring.

Overall, if you're looking for a new type of mystery book, this is a great one to try! (Well, start with book 1 then decide if you want to read book 2 if you want the full effect.)

Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for an advanced copy of one of my most anticipated reads this year. It did not miss. PLEASE NOTE: This is the third in a romance series. Again, we all know how books categorized as romances add, but I'd highly recommend reading all books in the series in order so you fully get Hendrix by the time this book starts (and so you know if you're like the book series at this point).

ALL the good:
- I was curious to see how Hendrix's romance was going to go, but I feel like the way Maverick was introduced makes complete sense for Hendrix, which made the love story feel extremely full.
- The scenes with Hendrix's mom made me tear up. They felt extremely real, especially as someone who watched her grandmother live with Alzheimer's.
- I love how Hendrix stays true to who she was in the past 2 books while in this book.
- Maverick is also a character I feel stayed very consistent between all of his different complications, which was nice to see two grown characters who stayed consistent in who they weren't and weren't just stuck in a mid-life crisis.
- I appreciate the subplots centered on both Hendrix and Maverick. It made the story so smooth to read and everything was wrapped up nicely at the end.

overall, if you've like the other 2 books in the Skyland Universe, this one does not disappoint.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced read of this book.

The good:
- The twists were top tier. I really could predict absolutely nothing.
- Jodi is such a unique perspective for a main character, where she is so self aware yet just continuously ignores her gut instinct? She is just a character I thought was so interesting.
- The cast of The Thrashers all had their own individual voices that kept me on my toes.
- The prologue was one of the best I've read in a while that kept me guessing, but makes so much sense once you finish reading the book.

The loss of a half star:
- I feel like there was just one plot point that didn't fully wrap up and it's been bugging me a bit, but maybe that means there's going to be more in this world going forward? I'd definitely read it.

Overall, for a YA thriller debut, exceeded my general expectations and I'd highly recommend it if you like YA Thrillers.

Thank you Netgalley for an advanced copy of this book. I have not actually read an Alex Finlay book before on an ebook/physical format, I've only listened, so this was definitely great to have enjoyed the read!

The good:
- I've enjoyed Alex's works because of how twisty they are and I felt this was his most ambitious yet, and it WORKS. I personally loved the multitude of perspectives you get and felt each voice was unique.
- There are multiple mysteries that you explore and everything gets wrapped up nicely with a bow.
- Sarah Keller is a staple in Alex's books, and I absolutely love seeing her again and again.
- This was a book I definitely wanted to keep reading to figure out the mysteries, but...

The loss of a half star:
- I think I just figured out what was going on a bit took early and it took me out of the story. I wish there was a bit more shock to the final mystery, whoops (but I think that's a me problem more than anything)

Overall, if you're looking for a twisty, multiple-perspective mystery, you should definitely pick this up.

Thank you Netgalley and Forever Publishing for an early listen to this book. PLEASE NOTE: This is the 2nd book in a series. I did not read book 1 (but want to) but I don't really feel like I missed too much by starting with book 2 over book 1. I think I got book 1 spoiled for me, but since it's a romance and those already have happy endings, I'm not mad about it.

The good:
- I really liked the exploration of sexuality not just for the main character, but the side characters as well.
- I feel while Angela can be frustrating, she's a character you definitely root for and want to see be accepted and happy in every aspect of life.
- I appreciated the subplots of the book, which made me keep reading to see all of those subplots wrapped up nicely.

The loss of 2 stars:
- The narrator was just not for me, I feel like it made it tough to distinguish who was talking the majority of the time, which made the story harder to follow.
- The scavenger hunt (which is the center of the plot) just seemed like an afterthought for half the book and I feel like detracted from the enjoyablity of the story.

Overall, I'd recommend this as a queer romance via physical book or ebook, but it was not an ideal audiobook in my opinion. 

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book. PLEASE NOTE: This is a sequel. You don't necessarily get book.1 spoiled in this book, but you will see details from book 1 in book 2 that are important to the story.

The good:
- Everything still gets wrapped up neatly even though it's a sequel, simply because the mystery is not one really even mentioned that much in book 1 and a character just pops out of the nowhere to start this journey
- I enjoyed going back into Frances's journals and the way they are re-introduced makes sense to why we did not see these journals in book 1.
- This is a fast paced book, which I like
- I really enjoyed the multitude of mysteries in the book, but...

The loss of a star:
- Just like the first book, there is a lot going on and a lot of characters that you know from book 1 but that are also introduced in book 2 and I think some of the plot twists are simply because some plot points are hard to follow.

Overall, if you enjoyed book 1, you should definitely pick up book 2 to continue to story!

NOTE: This is the second book in a series. The Infinity Alchemist comes first. If you choose not to read The Infinity Alchemist before this, I feel like you will be extremely confused. So beware before reading any reviews!

The good:
- I enjoyed being able to see more of the alchemist world since we did not see too much of that in book one, Kacen is an extremely creative writer and it's brilliant.
- EXTREMELY twisty, which kept me on my toes and also almost made me cry.
- I feel like the pace of the story was done well overall.

The loss of 1.5 stars:
- Typically I enjoy politics in books, but this was extremely heavy on a new political system that was not explored in book one at all and I felt quite lost at points when it comes to the politics.
- The ending left me so confused. I'm really not sure if anything else is going to happen or what, but it was not so satisfying of an ending. 

Overall, if you liked the Infinity Alchemist for aspects outside of the romance, you'll like Chaos King. 

The good:
- Harper's backstory and her struggles with wanting to stay in her town while also wanting to be herself I think is one that a lot of people can relate to and was done very well.
- Ollie's backstory with her mother and wanting to choose a path outside of college I found a refreshing conversation that should be more and more common now-a-days.
- Harper and Ollie coming together after years' apart was extremely cute and I like the progression of their relationship.
- The D&D group was absolutely fantastic and added an additional element to the story that I really enjoyed (please note I don't play D&D so I don't know how accurate the game play is, but it was really fun!)

The loss of a star:
- My only issue was with the D&D, since we don't see all the sessions, I felt like it was a big disjointed and I was confused at points, being pulled out of the story. HOWEVER, I still loved how infused D&D was, it was like a fun bonus story!

Overall, if you're looking for a cute D&D infused WLW YA Romance, this is definitely your next read (very niche, but very enjoyable).

Thank you Netgalley for a copy of this book. 

The goods:
- I saw none of the twists coming. I feel like I was kept on my toes for the majority of the book.
- I thought Poppy was an interesting main character and that the cast of people surrounding her definitely made me question everyone around her.
- The premise is extremely interesting, especially when you see what happens right after the messages are deleted. I was not expecting it and it felt like a fresh read.

The loss of a star and a half:
- While I love everything being wrapped up with a bow, I feel like it was explained a bit too long and dragged after the final twist. It dragged the last 15% of the book in my opinion, which took down the rating for me.

Overall: If you're looking for a twisty mystery, this should be your next read.