This is a 2.5 star book for me. HOWEVER, don't let this deter you. I just think this book was not for me. I decided to break down this review into 5 qualities of the book and if you like these qualities you'd like this book! However, I am not a fan of all these qualities:

1) Character Driven --> This book is solely character driven. To me? There is no plot. I am not the biggest fan of solely character driven. Even if it's character driven first, plot second, I can deal. But this is not for me being solely character driven, following 5 folks in their journies with chronic illnesses in a hospital.
2) Content Warnings --> DEFINITELY read these. Lancali puts these in the beginning of the book, but there is a LOT of heavy material in this book, some illness related, some not, so it definitely depends on how you can handle the content if you'll like this book. For me, I am a person with not a lot of triggers, so I figured I would be okay. 
3) Sad book --> Along with the content warnings, this is a SAD book. If you are not a sad book reader, skip it. If you're looking for a sad book, this would be for you!
4) Omnipresent Narrator --> The narrator here is all knowing, yet talks in first person. To me, it was not a narration style I want to experience again. I was constantly confused on how the narrator fit in the story that I was distracted from the story. If you are not picky about narrators, you'd be fine with this book.
5) Time jumps --> Time does tighten up after the halfway point, but the first two hundred pages, we were all over the map and I was confused. It felt slow to me, but I am also not the biggest fan of inconsistent/unclear time jumps.

So overall, if you're not feeling some of the qualities of this book, it probably isn't for you, but I fully believe there are folks out there that will like this book!

Thank you to Rebecca and Wednesday Books for the opportunity to review Divine Rivals as an audiobook ARC.

Initially, I was intrigued due to a mutual on tik tok to try and pick up this arc. I'm SOOO happy I found that video because this re-invigorated my pace of reading. Am I a little upset it's a duology? Of course because I want that second book IN MY HANDS, but outside of that, this is a 5/5 book.

We are following Iris Winnow, who's mother is completely torn apart and who's brother is fighting in a godly war. Iris left school early to work for a local paper and of course, she has an academic rival, Roman Kitt. Iris is starting to fall apart at the seams, writing to her brother on her personal typewriter at home to relieve her stress after work. The letters disappear; however, they aren't going to her brother, they're going to Roman Kitt himself. Roman doesn't come clean as he and Iris are neck in neck for a promotion at work. However, war eventually calls Iris as she does learn her brother is not receiving her letters. She's not sure who's getting them, but staying in a place she no longer belongs does not serve her. Will Roman reveal himself? Will Iris find her brother? Will war take over their sleepy town? All questions that are answered, yet not answered, in this book.

It was fast-paced, the audiobook narrators were AMAZING. I loved the ebb and flow of the story, it was not too gory but you still felt the anticipation and anxiety surrounding the war, and the ENDING is a RUDE CLIFFHANGER (that i love). I cared about all of the characters, I wanted to know more about each one, and I cannot wait for more. In the meantime, I probably will pick up some more Rebecca Ross books :)

I'm giving this a 4.5/5 stars for me. Daisy is definitely better than Magnolia in my opinion and I cannot WAIT for the next book.

General Description: We are back to following Daisy, Christian and Julian. Daisy: she left the gang world for a bit, but finds herself back in it. Can any aspects of her normal life survive the gang world, or will everything fall apart? Christian: Can he get Daisy back, or will he sabotage himself as he tries to get over the only girl he's fully truly loved. Julian: were Daisy's mistakes from the 1st book too much, can he handle them, and how does he handle his own feelings once they come into play for the first time ever? Everyone gets hurt, but who runs and hides from the hurt, and who faces it straight on?

The good:
- I like these characters more than the Magnolia ones
- I felt like Daisy's character progression was genuine and she's may favorite
- Julian's POV was 100000% necessary. I loved seeing how he fought against his instincts while trying to save face, protecting his old and new loves.

The bad:
- The typos are still sometimes glaring, which is a bit annoying
- The timing at the beginning didn't flow very well, but after the first 10 chapters, we're back on track.

In short: If you've read the first 3 books of the Magnolia Parks universe, don't skip this one! 

**Check content warnings before reading, the beginning of this book is extremely heavy**

I feel like the pacing of this book was too awkward in the middle part of the book. I got confused around time during the 3rd quarter of the book, but the first half and last quarter were very clear.

General Description: Magnolia is back for her dad's wedding. This was supposed to be temporary. She'd handled her heartbreak over seeing BJ for three weeks and leave back to NYC. Plans change, an opportunity presents itself to Magnolia and she can't refuse. Now she has to handle BJ who is public with his second girlfriend ever. Can Magnolia and BJ have the stars align for them, or will they crash and burn again with someone running from the scene of the heartbreak?

The good
- The revelations BJ specifically were insightful and handled with grace.
- There's a bit more plot in this book which I enjoyed.
- The side characters again are great.
- Magnolia's development with a certain side character was extremely interesting to me and I really enjoyed how the story developed

The bad
- confusing jumps in time on top of switching perspectives made some parts of the book hard to muddle through
- some of the typos are a bit glaring

In short: If you can handle pop culture references, the heavy content of the beginning, and enjoy character-driven books, you'll enjoy this book! Definitely don't read this until you finish the first two books :)

I think this is personally the most interesting opening to a book Scott Westerfeld has ever written, and I'm not sure how I felt about it. Otherwise, I feel it follows the typical Scott Westerfeld formula we all know and love.

General Description: Frey is going back home, but not forever. She's on a rescue mission that requires her to change her face. She truly gets to see how the other side lives by having to infiltrate her old city by having to pass as a normal citizen. Can they get far enough to rescue Boss X, or will Frey face the shame of a failed mission?

The good:
- The action. The pacing. The external conflicts! I gobbled up the entire story line after the beginning.
- Seeing all the side characters come to life
- The internal conflict Frey has: I feel terrible for her, but I can't help enjoying how Scott has Frey handles her emotions, especially with the cameo surg.
- The opening to the fourth book at the end of this one was amazing.

The bad:
- The beginning felt like you were placed too much in the middle of a storyline. I feel like this is the first time Scott jumped back in time, and not in a long-term memory jump, but a minor jump in time. It was odd and shocking too start that left me confused like I missed something from the second book. 

In short: Read the series if you like dystopian, fast paced, action books. Just re-read the end of book 2 then immediately pick this up so you don't miss anything? Maybe that would make it make more sense :)

**Check the content warnings for the book before diving in**

This is a 4.5/5 star read for me. I will say, I like Daisy was more likeable to me than Magnolia was. 

General description: You follow a love story and a gang storyline that will have you engrossed. You've heard of the Haites from the 1st Mangolia Parks book, but now we get to know them intimately. Daisy and Julian Haites have two different desires (Julian wants to keep his world safe, while Daisy wants everything to be normal). One person brings those desires to the forefront: Christian Hemmes. That's right, from the 1st book, we also hear Christian's entire perspective. Can Daisy and Christian find love, escaping the gang world, or will Julian do whatever he can to keep Daisy safe within his world?

The good:
- I felt this book actually had an underlying plot with Julian's perspective. I liked having that additional aspect that was lacking in the 1st Magnolia Parks book.
- Daisy as a whole is my favorite character. I admire her so much.
- I liked having a new love story, instead of the repetition of BJ/Magnolia's story.

The bad:
- I think with three perspectives, it takes a while to get into the book even though we know the universe, so the beginning was a tough bit to get through.

Overall: If you liked the first Magnolia Parks book, can get through the slow-ish beginning, and want a little more action? You'll enjoy this book. If you don't like pop culture references, this book won't be for you.

YOU WON'T LIKE THIS BOOK IF:
- You don't like Disney
- You don't like Beauty and the Beast
- You don't like Pop Culture references
- You need a ton of spice in romance books

If you don't mind (or love) any of those qualities above, I'd HIGHLY recommend picking up By The Book by Jasmine Guillory.

General Description: Isabella (Izzy) works at the publishing company titled 'Tale As Old As Time'. Izzy wants to move up the ranks and impress her boss, do to so, Izzy suggest she visits their most elusive and troubled author: Beau Towers. Well, author-to-be hopefully. TAOAT hasn't heard a peep from Beau in terms of a manuscript but Izzy is determined to change that. Can this sunshine of a girl change the recluse of Beau to pour his heart out on the pages of his book, or will Izzy be frozen in time at her job forever?

The good:
- The epilogue is beautiful
- The constant Disney references/really engross you in the retelling
- Beau's entire story made my heart swell
- Izzy is a ray of sunshine that I want to bottle up and take with me every day.
- All the meant to be likeable side characters are so sweet, and the villains are written without being completely vindictive, keeping the cozy vibe of the book throughout.
- The entire process of falling in love in this book is completely sweet and makes you feel giddy while reading it.


The bad:
- For me? Nothing.

Overall: if you want a cute, cozy Beauty and the Beast retelling, this is for you. If you do not like pop culture references or Disney, this is not for you.

This book definitely made me so excited for Cherish, but if this was the last book, I would not have been satisfied.

General description: We're in between Crave and Crush, that 4 month period Grace was frozen is now explored in this book. Who could Grace be trapped with? None other than THE Hudson Vega. After the initial shock of being trapped together, Grace realizes she wants to get back to her world and Hudson begrudgingly goes along to help her explore the realm they are now in, while trying to find a way back.

The Good:
- Watching Grace and Hudson fall in love again.
- SMOKEY <3
- The amazing cast of side characters I grew to love.

The Bad:
- Who cares about time consistency across the series? Who needs time fully explained? I DO. I feel like I finally got a grasp of time from Court, and Charm threw it out the window. I could not focus during the book once they were in the shadow realm for over 4 months because I kept thinking "Wait, how long has it actually been? How is time moving?" That may just be a nit picky deal, but that's my deal.
- Maybe the cliffhanger is intentional but we really have NO idea what happened at the end? After a large battle scene, I am someone that likes some resolution and we received none.
- This was WAY too long. Longer than Crave? This felt like it could have been much more successful as a novella. We spent so long in Hudson's liar, I wish it was cut in half if not more.

In short: As always, if you don't like puns/cringy humor, this isn't for you. I personally think it's too long, but ABSOLUTELY necessary to read if you want to enjoy Cherish.

Thank you Jennifer for allowing me to review this ARC of Burying Eva Flores.

I have very mixed feelings around this book, so I am giving it a 3.5/5 stars.

General description: Sofia and Eva are constantly at odds. Sofia is an off the beaten path type of girl, while Eva is Tik Tok famous. They seemingly come from two separate worlds, intent on destroying each other. When Sofia receives a gift that allows her to control Eva's life, she doesn't say no. But does Sofia go too far? Who will make it out unscathed and OF COURSE: who buried Eva Flores?

The good:
- Once you understand what's going on (mainly near the end) the book is really hard to put down!
- The side characters are interesting
- The vibes of the story are perfect for a spooky read if you're looking for one.
- The VILLIANS?! I love a good villain and there are many of those.

The unsure:
- The first half of the book I was very confused in term of timeline, who the major players truly were.
- We'd get these half nuggets of information about characters that were not fully fleshed out, even up until the end. I had questions about Ethan's dad for most of the book, Eva's dad, and Eva's mother.
- Sofia in general is meant to be an unlikeable character I think, but I feel like it was too much for me.
- Sofia explores a relationship that personally I felt very uncomfortable reading, mainly because of how Sofia was processing the relationship. I think if I was more aligned with her thought process, I would have been less uncomfortable.

In short: If you're looking for a good spooky read and can push through the confusion of the beginning, this is a great book for you! There are of course pop culture references, so be aware.