3.5/5 stars.

Description: Harriet was engaged to Wyn. They broke up but told no one. Now it's time for the annual friend's trip to Maine and Harriet and Wyn agreed Harriet would go solo. So when Harriet is expecting to see Sabrina, Parth, Cleo, and Kimmy, she's very surprised when Wyn is also there. They agree to fake their engagement to not ruin the friends trip. However, their limits are constantly pushed as they try to continue an act that is starting to not feel like an act. Will they get back together or finally tell their friends the truth?

The good:
- I feel like this is the book with the most depth Henry has attempted in terms of multiple relationships and friendships being addressed. I liked that!
- The summer vibes of the book were immaculate.
- This was a very fast paced read.

The loss of a star and a half: This may be controversial, but I did NOT like Wyn. He was inconsistent, not clear with Harriet, and I felt his explanations of his behavior were cheap. I feel like his behavior on the trip and constantly pushing and pulling Harriet with his words was not fair. He really brought down the book.

Overall: If you are an Emily Henry fan, I feel like you'll still like this book, but if you haven't read Emily Henry books, I wouldn't recommend this as your first one.

Description: Aldo and Regan meet at the art institute of Chicago by chance. They agree to 6 conversations. After that, they were meant to not talk. However, they continue to speak and their relationship grows and expands to places neither of them expected. Will they remain in love, or will their old lives and personality break them?

The good: This is the first book all year I've debated DNFing. However, I got to part 2 of this book (conversations) and I enjoyed it. I finished the entire book.

The loss of 3 stars:
- The language is very high level prose. I am not a fan of this type of writing.
- I was confused by the random narrators thrown in, changing tense, etc. I feel like descriptions were dragged out and parts I was interested in were very short.
- Outside of Part 2, every other part of the book felt like a chore.

Overall: If you are not in for high-level prose or you don't like interpreting every sentence in a book to understand the deeper meaning, this would not be the book for you. If you do like high level prose, you'd probably like this book!

This is a 2.5/5 stars. If you are not a fan of Shakespeare, this is definitely not the book for you.

Description: 7 seniors are working on their final protection at a unique arts college. They are the actors. They are close-knit, but unfortunately one of the students ends up dead. There are now 6 suspects. Who did it? 

The good:
- The prologues of each acts were good. I appreciated the modern day mystery.
- I did appreciate the complexity/twits of the book.

The loss of stars:
- There was a lot of Shakespeare is common language with this trope. I am someone who needs to visually see Shakespeare so I struggled with this.
- This was generally slower paced.
- My biggest gripe with the book is when the characters feel suspicious over the death of a 'friend' no one really cares about finding out the truth? Like there is no desire to get justice for their friend. I get the friend was not portrayed in the best light near the end of their life, but I truly feel like the 6 folks alive did care truly care about the truth. It was constantly irritating to me.

Overall: I found the characters lacking, but if you like Shakespeare, I'm sure you'd like this better than I did!

Thank you for an advanced reader copy of this sequel!

4/5 stars.

Description: We're back in Castle Cove with Alice and Iris. This time, a dance turns deadly. Alice is trying to investigate the great mystery of Mona Moody's death. During her short investigation, she walks in to see two of her forms friends in a terrible situation: Rebecca Kennedy is bleeding and Helen Park is standing over her with a letter opener. Who hurt Kennedy? Why did Helen run? What's the truth and does it connect to Mona Moody? If you liked the first book, you'll definitely enjoy this sequel.

The goods:
- I liked the mystery (even if I figured it out a little earlier this time) ; it wasn't as plucked out of thin air as the last book.
- I appreciated 2 mysteries being explored at the same time (and hinted at a third book/mystery too?)
- I like how it wasn't the same formula from book 1
- The side characters continue to still my heart.

The loss of a star:
- I found Alice and Iris more unlikeable in this book and their redemption arcs were not as redeeming? I miss how much they actually worked with a lawyer/within the law in book 1.

Overall: If you liked book 1, book 2 will be a great addition to your shelf!

Thank you to Netgalley and Grand Central Publisher for the advanced reader copy.

4/5 stars.

General Description: Molly and Jude grew up across the street from each other. Their rivalry continued for years, until they went to college. But now, both in their early twenties, Molly and Jude are assigned to the task of finding a venue for their parents joint anniversary party. The older siblings on both side are depending on them. Molly and Jude go back to their own pranking ways, but when truce is called, other feelings are allowed to come through. Will Molly and Jude be able to build a relationship, or will the pranks of their past pull them apart?

The goods:
- I really like the dichotomy between Jude and Molly. I can see how people wouldn't like the stark dynamic as if it seems immature, but still, I enjoyed it.
-  There are ups and downs that to me felt realistic and weren't necessarily drawn out.
- I liked all the side character and the depth of story we specifically get from Molly's job subplot.
- I appreciated the anniversary party not being the end of the book. You get so much more in this cute rom-com!

the loss of a star: The spice was not very in depth./well fleshed out. I felt the scenes were quick and honestly took away from the relationship Molly and Jude were building. Definitely not the spiciest book.

Overall: If you're looking for a cute rom com and can look past the spice, you'll enjoy this!

4.5/5 stars (I did listen to the audiobook so if anything is spelled incorrectly, I apologize in advance).

General Description: Bee Konigswasser has a PhD in Neuroscience and works for the NIH. NIH and NASA are collaborating in a neurostimulation helment. However, Bee is only a co-lead and of course, her co-lead is Levi Ward: her nemesis from graduate school who apparently disliked her enough that everyone knew around them. Now on this new team, seemingly nothing has changed and Bee feels like her part of the helmet will never get off the ground and it's all because of Levi. But is it? Will Bee and Levi be able to work together? Will the helmet be completed, or will everything Bee had planned for the future fail when the project fails?

The greats:
- I thought there as a lot more depth in terms of plot: academic politics, the helmet trials overall, the side characters. I felt more invested in this book than love hypothesis.
- I liked Bee, but I can see how others may find her a bit immature in her dialogue, but I still liked her.
- I thought the progression of the relationship between Bee and Levi felt more realistic than The Love Hypothesis.
- Honestly, I was rooting for the helmet. I cared about every plot in this book.

The loss of a half star: The ending, I felt like, came out of no where. Again, a type of plot twist that is not my favorite. But that's it.

Overall: If you liked the Love Hypothesis, you'll like this. However, if you did not like the Love Hypothesis, you will not like this.

4.5/5 stars. (I listened to this book ahead of the 2nd book that I have an ARC for, and I'm so glad I did!)

General Description: Alice Ogilvie went away for 5 days over the summer to deal with her faltering relationship with her boyfriend, and it turns out, her now ex-boyfriend Steve is dating Brooke Donovan, Alice's old best friend. When Alice returns, it all goes south for her. So south she needs a tutor. Iris Adams steps in to tutor the Agatha Christie obsessed Alice. They don't get much studying done because Brooke Donovan ends up dead, and Iris is one of the last people to see her. So who did it? Can the girls solve this murder, Agatha Christie style?

The greats:
- I thought this was fast paced and I enjoyed the constant flow of the book with different side plots. 
- I loved Alice and Iris (I can see how people don't like Alice but I like her).
- I appreciated that the girls in this book don't keep everything to themselves and rely on others! It's so refreshing to not have just one person solving everything the entire time.
- The little clues planted along the way were marvelous and I loved seeing how the story wrapped (at least with the clues)

The half star loss: While the story did wrap up nicely, I did feel like the ending kind of came out of left field and felt like a different tone from the rest of the book. Not my favorite type of twist. 

Overall: If you're looking for a YA mystery with unique characters, I'd pick this up!

4.5/5 stars (note: I did listen to the audiobook, so if anything is spelled wrong, I apologize!)

General Description: Viv is tired of life of pillaging, destroying, and getting paid to do jobs with too much violence. After discovering coffee in a gnomish village, Viv hunts for a stone that will bring her luck as she opens this new business. She settles down in a town and everything seems to be going her way. She meets folks typically undervalued in the town society and brings them on as a carpenter, baker, and assistant. However, the Madrigals run the street and Viv doesn't want to pay them. Will Viv discover the true villain and be able to outsmart the, on top of keeping her shop up and running?

The greats:
- I love the low stakes of this fantasy book. There's still a great plot but you don't feel your heart beat out of your chest in a large, bloody battle scene.
- The side characters (specifically Thimble) make my heart swell and I love them.
- The relationship between Viv and Tandry is a sub-plot, but still someone sweet that will make you blush.
- I enjoyed the twists and turns the story took.

The loss of a half star: I wish there was actually more worldbuilding! I felt a little thrown into the world and a bit off balance until chapter 3, so I am excited for the prequel in this series!

Overall: if you're looking for a cozy, baking/coffee centered, low stakes fantasy book, I'd definitely recommend this one! 

Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and Dan Clay for the opportunity to listen to this book as an advanced listener copy.

General Description: Mark likes to wear dresses. But he can't admit that to the world yet. After a break up, Mark tries to find who he is in high school without being in a relationship. His brother is a huge supporter of anything Mark does. However, when tragedy strikes Mark family, he must discover who he is after experiencing traumatic loss, and if drag can be an acceptable form of solace in his small town.

This is a 5/5 star read for me, and let me explain why:
- for a character driven book, this is fast paced and I love it. I was engaged the entire time while listening.
- If you're not used to audiobooks, you should definitely try this one because Dan Clay narrating it himself was FANTASTIC. You could feel the emotion in every word he read and it enhanced the experience.
- You have complex characters that grow in a beautiful way.
- The book definitely takes a turn from lighthearted to serious and heavy in a minute, and you're along for the ride every minute, while the book handles grief extremely well.
- The side characters are fantastic and i want more about them.

Overall: please read this especially if you're experiencing grief. I recently lost my grandfather and listened to his book while planning this funeral and it really helped me process my grief.

4.5/5 stars

General Description: Ander has been working at their family taqueria while taking a gap year before moving to Chicago. Ander's family fires them to allow them to focus on their artwork (specificaly murals around the city). Of course, they had to hire help, and they hired Santi. Santi has a secret that Ander's family is protecting, but that secret causes tension as Ander and Santi begin to explore their relationship. Can their relationship survive the internal and external pressures, or will they crumble under it?

The good:
- Shout out to Avi Roque for a beautiful narration that nearly brought me to tears.
- This book explored the complexities of living near the border in the US today while also giving the characters not a detrimental ending.
- Character driven stories are not my favorite, but this character driven story was captivating and had me caring about every main character.
- I like how it was modern without being overwhelming full of pop culture references, it seems to take on a timeless voice.

The loss of a half star:
- The pacing at the beginning vs the end was stark and I just wish it was more consistent. Otherwise, I loved it.

Overall: READ THIS when it comes out. Especially if you're looking for an emotional book, you will be in for a treat.