Note: I do recommend reading Set On You before this book, but there won't be spoilers in the description, only if you read the book in full will there be spoilers for Set On You

General Description: Tara has had her heart broken 10 times. However, Tara still believes in love. She decides to explore the second chance romance trope in real life. With the help of her roommate Trevor, she starts to find the men who broke her heart. Trevor isn't one for a relationship, but seeing all the men Tara is considering affects him in a way he wasn't expecting. Will Tara find love and will Trevor be able to enter into a relationship like he never has before.

The good:
- I liked Trevor as a MMC. He felt honest in his support of Tara
- The romance plot is sweet. Their interactions in their shared apartment were enjoyable.
- Tara isn't the worst? The relationship between her and her grandmother is my favorite part of Tara if I'm honest.

The loss of 2 stars:
- This felt like a worse version of The Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa. The second chance romance hunt didn't feel as genuine.
- Then, the second chance interactions were so outlandish, it felt like too much for a contemporary story and took me out of the book. The book felt very disjounted with this weird journey while also trying to balance the relationship Tara is forming with Trevor.

Overall, I don't fully know who this is for out there. It's just a mid book in my opinion. I think if you liked Set on You you may like this book?

4.5/5 Stars

General Description: Mallory lost all interest in chess once her father left. However, Mallory's best friend needs another player for a charity event. How could Mallory say no? Well, when she ends up playing against the world chess champion and wiping the floor with him, she wishes she never said yes. Now, Mallory is in the chess world spotlight. She'll come face to face with Nolan Sawyer, that chess champion she meet, more than she was expecting. Can she face the world of chess again? Will she end of meaning more to Nolan than she ever expected, or becoming his biggest enemy?

The goods:
- The details that went into the chess world in this book engrossed me in the entire book. I even google the chess world championship while reading it because I was so curious.
- I don't know what Ali puts into her words, but they instantly pull me in every time without fail.
- The side characters in the chess world, especially the villain, keep the story going even when Mallory and Nolan aren't in the same room.
- This was an extremely quick read that I enjoyed.

The loss of a half star:
- There is a conversation between Mallory and her mom that I absolutely hated. It felt so gaslight-y to me and harsh.

Overall, I think this is a stunning YA (realistically a new adult in my opinion) romance that will sweep you off your feet, and teach you more about chess than you ever thought you'd learn if you're not a chess player.

Note: This is the 3rd book in the series. There will inherently be spoilers if you are reading this! 

General Description: Bobby Pendragon is swept away to First Earth after a devastating loss on Cloral (not of the territory, but of something important to him). It's 1937 and Bobby has to find the turning point with the help of Spade from Cloral and Gunny, the older travel of First Earth. Bobby is instantly thrown into the world of two rivaling gangs, but what will be the turning point and can he bring himself to stop it? Will one of the gangs prevail? Should Bobby even choose a side of a criminal?

The loss of 1 star (starting backwards, but you'll see why):
- This is the least action packed book thus far in the series and I was a bit distracted by the monologues this book held, but...

All the goods:
- ...This is the book where you start to see bobby's conflicted character development shine and you would not get that without the longer monologue scenes. 
- SPADE AND GUNNY were fantastic in this book. I love seeing the other travelers.
- Once again, the conflict is not straight forward in this book, and I love how complicated DJ makes saving the world.
- You learn a bit more about Mark and Courtney, which I always love to see from our 2nd earth perspective.

Overall, read the series :) thanks!

Note: There is discussion of School Shooting and Death in this novel. Check for all content warnings before reading.

General Description: Whitney can see a dark cloud over people when death is coming nearer to them. She used this power to save someone, but that someone ended up shooting multiple people at a school football game. Whitney has lived with the guilt of this alone, but now, someone knows her secret and is threatening to expose her to the world. Who is targeting her and can Whitney find out before her entire world crumbles?

The good:
- The concept was SO unique to me. I loved the idea of the skill of seeing these clouds, even thought that is a ton of responsibility. Quintessential speculative fiction in my opinion.
- I was actually okay with the lack of full explanation for why Whitney has this particular power. We stay in Whitney's true perspective and the point of the book is not to figure out the power, so I feel pretty content with the progression of the book, even if not all my questions were answered.
- I think the mystery and plot twists were fantastic. I was convinced I knew what would happen but I was wrong.
- Whitney character development was on point and I think she's a fantastic character.

The loss of 1 star:
- I don't know why I'm so picky on pacing lately, but it felt too slow, then too fast, and there was never a good rhythm that I could get into when reading it and kept me pretty disengaged at important parts of the book.

Overall, if you read the content warnings and can handle them, and are looking for a darker YA speculative novel, this is a great next pick

General Description: Stella's main love in life has been math, but she's being pressured to explore love outside of math. Stella has Asperbergers* and navigating social situations doesn't come as easily to her as spreadsheets do. In order to gain experience, Stella decides to hire an escort. Michael, he escort, realizes that he wants to help Stella beyond just the standard escort contract. But with business involved, both of them are confused. Will they develop real feelings for each other, or will they get lost in the negotiations of their contract.

*With the DSM-5, Asperbergers has been put onto the Autism spectrum. It was officially retired in 2013, but the author's description specifically mentions Asperbergers which is why it's in my description.

The good:
- The spicier scenes did not feel random and fit into the book seamlessly, which as not the biggest spicy reader, is nice to see.
- Stella's journey of self discover was inspiring to see.
- Based on my brief research, I believe the representation was good (if it was not, please let me know and I would honestly change my star rating if this was harmful for the ASD community).

The loss of 2 stars:
- THEY SAY MILK IN THIS BOOK. Instant half star off. Not sorry.
- The book does a sharp right turn that left me a bit jarred, especially when it comes to how their relationship evolves.
- This also had the worst third act break up I've ever read.

Overall, I don't think I'd actively recommend it unless the ASD representation is positive. It just felt like a mid book.

Note: If you are not a corporate America girlie, I wouldn't recommend this :)

General Description: Sheryl Sandberg has worked at the top level of Google and Facebook. In her novel, she details tips and thoughts on how women should lean in more to corporate America, despite what women have been taught for years. She teaches you how to sit at the table, lean into opportunities, and overall advocate for yourself in your job.

The good:
- Maybe I'm just a sucker, but I did feel inspired by this book to speak up more in meeting and grow into myself as a corporate worker.
- All the talk around pregnancy still felt very relevant today and I feel like I'll take those tips into my life going forward as I one day hope to become a mom.
- The idea of taking initiative is not one that is intuitive to me, but this book made taking initiative feel more accessible.
- I've actually been able to apply tips from this book into my work life and I do think it's improved my work life. 

The loss of a star:
- Reading this in a post covid world made some of the information seem very outdated, even though the book isn't that old. It made me glance over some statistics or paragraphs if I inherently knew that fact changed due to a post covid world. I would read an updated version book that included new information from the post covid world.

Overall, if you aren't sure where you want to go in corporate America, this book could be very enlightening. 

General Description: The year is 2002. Shirin is a high school sophomore who wears a hijab. She's not truly known peace with other people, so she shuts everyone out. That is, until she meets Ocean James. Ocean will to anything to honestly know Shirin, but can she trust him? Will Shirin even be in town long enough for Ocean to get to know her, or will she move again to avoid the relentless bullying?

The goods:
- I ain't ashamed to say it, I liked the breakdancing subplot.
- Shirin was consistent in herself and her character development was pleasing to see.
- I liked Ocean's honesty, he seemed like the cream of the crop at that school. Other side characters were not bad, but I did have a soft spot for Ocean.
- I felt a lot of serious conversation occurred in this book, which led to reflection within myself which I love seeing in books, but...

The loss of a star:
-...after serious conversations, we'd go to surface level issues and it was a bit jarring. I wish we either stayed in the serious conversations until their conclusions, or stayed surface level. Switching back and forth took me out of the story.

Overall, if you're looking for a commentary on how the world is post 9/11, this is a great book to start delving into that complex commentary and it's accessible for younger readers.

Note: Read We Free the Stars and We Hunt The Flame before reading A Tempest of Tea. There's no spoilers in this description, but spoilers in the book.

3.5/5 Stars

General Description: Arthie and Jin run a tea shop by day, but a blood house at night. The leader of their society, the Ram, would prefer Arthie and Jin's blood business stop, but Arthie and Jin are too sneaky to be caught. Instead, they want to take the Ram down. When a mysterious person tells Arthie a ledger from the Ram has been stolen, Arthie instantly knows this is her time to gain an upper hand on the Ram. The ledger is locked away in where the vampires gather in a place called the Athereum. Arthie pulls together her resources to plan the heist of a lifetime. Will she be successful? And what is on that ledger that the Ram so desperately wants back?

The good:
- The world was so unique, and that's after reading We Hunt The Flame/We Free The Stars. Hafsah's imagination is masterful.
- The mystery was interesting read about, especially with how many viewpoints we get around the heist.
- I think the characters themselves are why I will return for the second book. I do need to know what happens to all of them, they all sucked me in.

The loss of a star and a half:
- The build up to the final scene made me this we'd get a longer final scene. We don't. It's like 3 pages. Which just frustrates me in books. I want to sit in the final scenes longer.
- Maybe duologies are just tough for me, but the pacing felt weird again. We spend so much time building a world and building up the heist for very little action overall? I am curious how the second book will shape up, because it isn't as clear of a path as compared to Hafsah's first duology.

Overall, I think if you like a heist book, this one may be slightly disappointing, but if you're looking for a unique fantasy world with characters you'll want to follow, this is the next book for you.

Note: This is the second book in a duology. There will inherently be spoilers. :) I would also recommend reading this duology before reading A Tempest of Tea.

General Description: Zafira and Nasir must continue to restore the hearts to Arawiya to bring back magic, even if they run into trouble at every turn. Nasir has to fight the magic in his blood and Zafira has to figure out her new relationship with a magically book called the Jawarat. On top of that, these two realize there are feelings developing quickly between them. Will they be able to restore magic, gain control of themselves, and find love? What loss will they face along the way?

The good:
- You get to delve even farther into the world that Hafsah beautifully built and I loved that.
- You do get resolution, which I appreciated.
- The battle scenes were action packed, but this just leads into my next critique.

ALSO: The romance as okay? I just wasn't truly sold on it. Neither a plus or minus in my opinion.

The loss of 2 stars:
- This was an 18 hour long audiobook. The pacing felt all over the place based on how long it was. I was either fully into the story or completely disengaged, with no real in between place to just enjoy it.
- The points of the book I felt were supposed to be climaxes felt extremely short. We'd build up to a scene that would last five minutes. There was too much tension building and not enough action for me.

Overall, if you read the first book, you should finish the duology, but I didn't think this was as good as the 1st book.

3.5/5 Stars

General Description: The Hunter has been feeding their people for year. Everyone assumes The Hunter is a man; however, The Hunter is a woman named Zafira. She is able to enter the magical forest of the Arz and come back out, something no one else is able to do successfully. Zafira is tipped off about a magical artifact that can bring magic back to the land, and she wants to get it. However, she's not the only one. Nasir, also known as the prince of death, also is headed to the magical artifact. When the two meet, neither of the know what to expect, but they're thrown together to restore magic. Will they be able to do it?

The good:
- The world described was magnificent. It was fantastical, dark, and well thought out.
- Once you get to the action, it's well done, fast paced, and engrossing.
- The magic system was unique and I was glad we have 2 books to explore it.

The loss of 1.5 stars:
- I did listen to it via audiobook and did not know the map and glossary was online until after reading it, which did affect my rating. Definitely preview the website before reading: https://www.wehunttheflame.com/
- The audiobook narrators were not the best at distinguishing the voices of different characters, which made it a bit hard to follow along.
- The first 5 hours of this audiobook were extremely slow. The pacing of the duology in general felt clunky to me personally.

Overall, if you like fantasy books with heavy world building, you'd probably enjoy the duology. But if world building is tough for you, this book may be harder to get through.