General Description: Mother and daughter relationships can be difficult, especially if you're both keeping secrets. Mother Jules has not been happy in her marriage, so she turns to an anonymous app for attention that her husband is not giving her. Daughter Leah wants to have sex for the first time, and does with an older man, who turns out to be her teacher. both women struggle with the relationships they are in, but which will turn deadly?

The goods:
- I was surprised by the twists and turns in the later half of the book.
- The resolution of this book I thoroughly enjoyed (and to be honest, there is an opening for some type of extended story, and I'd probably read it)
- The latter half of this book had me hooked. It was fast paced and I could not put it down. I just wish the entire book was like this.

the loss of 2 stars:
- This was a book I trudged through in the beginning and was really confused. I would say the first half of this book was a 1 star and if I was someone that DNFed book, I probably would have. There was such heavy worldbuilding in the world we live in, it felt just like too much.
- I feel like the selling points of the book descriptions do NOT match what the book was about and is misleading.

Overall, if you like a lot of world building in your thrillers, or a lot of character driven storylines in your thrillers, you'd enjoy this, but if you need action right away, this is not the book for you.

General Description: Yasmin Karam's father runs the largest diamond business in the world. However, with her father's failing health, she is being encouraged (forced) to find a partner to take over the business. Julian, her father's right hand man, decides he will be the one to marry her in order to completely take over the diamond business. Yasmin and Julian are not fans of each other, but must fake it for Yasmin's father. Yasmin is in love with Aiden, but when Julian manipulates Aiden, how will Yasmin ever come to fully trust Julian? How will their relationship shape out while trying to run a deadly business?

The goods:
- The spicier scenes made sense with the plot and I really appreciated the extended epilogue, which indicated to me it was going to just be an extra spicy scene.
- I did appreciate the twists and turns in this. I think it's been my favorite in the series for the surprises.
- I feel like it was pretty fast paced and enjoyable to listen to, the audiobook narrators did a great job.

The loss of a star and a half:
- There was almost too much insta-love/obsession for me? I feel like people love that trope, but it is not a trope for me.
- I also do not get the quick forgiven Yasmin after she's so hard with her boundaries overall. It annoyed me so much how inconsistent she was. 

Overall, if you've read the other books int he Never After series, I think this is one of the better ones. If you're looking for a very introductory level into dark romance, I feel like this is a great book for that.

General Description: When new bookseller Laura arrives at Roach's bookstore, Roach believes they will have a special connection. However, when Laura is not as receptive to Roach, Roach convinces herself that she can win over Laura by learning more about Laura's traumatic pass. Once Roach learns the truth and tries to connect with Laura over it, how will Laura react? Will they create an everlasting friendship, or will one of them not make it out alive?

The only part that made me rate it a 1.5 star:
- Listen, I was shocked at the end. I didn't see it coming. Got to respect the twist in my opinion.

The loss of the rest of the stars
- This was extremely slow. The title catches your eye but then nothing happens until the last maybe 20% of the book.
- The word "normie" was overused. I was annoyed.
- there was absolutely no one I was rooting for. We could have had the death of all the booksellers and I think I'd feel sad the bookstore had to close. 

Overall, I truly cannot think of one good person this book would be for. I am very confused about this entire book and having read some of the 5 star reviews, it's definitely a book for some folks, but I am truly not sure who for.

General Description: After seeing the one that got away, Matt decides to post on Craigslist about seeing his green-eyed lovebird. After that, you get thrown back to see just why Matt and Grace fell in love, and why they fell apart. Can Matt and Grace reconnect 15 years later and fix their relationship that seems tainted by the past?

All the goods:
- This was extremely twisty for a romance book which I surprisingly loved! I was shocked with my jaw open multiple times.
- I liked how we saw the love story play out, then the hate, and the love again. Exactly what the cover promises!
- A certain side character in this book is my absolute favorite human being EVER. Such a top tier character.
- Everything felt authentic in this book and I think that's why I could not put it down, finishing it in two days.

The loss of. half star:
- Matt is just SUCH a loser to me for 

Overall, if you're looking for a deeper romance story, with the second chance trope, you should definitely add this to your TBR.

Note: This is the 2nd book in a duology. The 2nd book picks up right where the 1st book ends. There will be inherent spoilers in the review. Please proceed with caution!

General Description: The apocalypse has officially started and Teo, Niya, and Aurelio are the three children tasked with fixing it. Great. Also, they must rescue the golds that were trapped specifically by Xio. They also much complete this task in 2 weeks. That's a lot to put on anyone, let alone, teens that just went through grueling trials to determine who would be the sunbearer. Will the trio be able to save the world?

All the goodies:
- I loved the multiple perspectives you get. I feel like it just added so much to the book.
- I really like how much more we learn about Aurelio in this book. I think his growth as a hero was my favorite arc of the book.
- the traveling throughout the world was magical and I loved continuing to explore this world.
- The resolution of this book almost made it cry, i feel like it was a great ending.

The loss of a half star:
- This might be silly, but i felt there was just a LOT of swearing in this book. Like, more swearing than I've seen in most adult books. It just felt like there were swears thrown in for no real reason? It was just a bit jarring and took me out of the book.

Overall, if you read book 1, DEFINITELY don't stop.

General Description: Eleanor Dash is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of her first book with a tour of the place that inspired it all: Italy. She is plotting her next book and wants to kill off the character Connor. However, there is also a real life Connor who apparently someone is trying to kill! Eleanor needs to book character Connor's death on hold to make sure real life Connor stays alive. Will Eleanor be able to crack the case?

The goods:
- It was definitely twisty.
- It felt like a cozy mystery, which I appreciated (even though you get a bit of physical violence, it doesn't feel as jarring).
- You do get a resolution by the end of the book. I really thought this was a standalone.

The loss of 1.5 stars:
- I listened to this on audiobook and there are 8 suspects you focus on. And the audiobook narrator does not do the best job of distinguishing everyone. 
- The writing style and breaking of the fourth wall was a bit jarring/cringy for me. Maybe part of that was also the narrator, so physically maybe it doesn't come off that way, but in the audiobook, it's pretty distinct. 

Overall, if you're picking this up, pick up the physical book. I feel like you should also trust a review of the physical book more than my own!

General Description: Isobel is a master at her craft of creating portraits. The Fae folk cannot create any type of craft, only consume it. The Autumn Prince (Rook) graces Isobel's studio one day and they develop a relationship while she's creating his portrait. However, when his portrait is unveiled to his court, this causes an uproar among his people. Rook must take Isobel back to his court for prosecution. However, there seems to be trouble in the Fae world that becomes clear as they travel. Can Rook and Isobel fix what is wrong in the Fae world?

The goods:
- I think this idea of Craft was extremely unique. I have not read a ton of Fae books, but the humans having something unique that the Fae literally cannot do was extremely interesting
- I felt the relationship between Rook and Isobel was appropriate for the genre.
- I love the goat twins.
- I did feel very resolved at the end of the book, which I feel is extremely important in a standalone.

The loss of a star:
- I think the pacing was a bit off. for example, I could have done with a little less detail in the beginning and a bit more detail at the end to make the reading experience smooth.

Overall, if you're looking for a fantasy standalone, I'd recommend this one. I feel like not everyone can read fantasy standalone, so hopefully that alone helps. 

General Description: Jenny is the owner of the salon Glow in the town of Buckhead. At the center of the wealthy housewives, Jenny finds herself as the peace keeper. However, as tensions between to rise between the divorcee, the queen bee, the 'reasonable' one, and the latest housewife added to the mix, Jenny finds herself more nervous than ever. Who of these five will end up dead?

The goods:
- THE TWISTS?! I was flabbergasted by the end of the book and loved every second of it.
- Olivia is such a well written villain. I don't think I've hated a character that much in a while, and we get her perspective!
- Every voice/perspective you get is so unique.
- The reality TV vibes were absolutely immaculate. 

The loss of a star:
- The pacing due to the multiple perspectives I think was not my favorite. I would always have to make sure I ended on a chapter and some chapters were longer than others.

Overall, if you love reality TV shows, you'd probably enjoy this thriller book.

Note: This is the 2nd book in a trilogy. There will inherently be spoilers in the description. Proceed with caution!

General Description: 6 months ago, Deka freed the goddesses and now they must look forward to freeing the kingdom from war. Deka and her friends must work together to break out their other friends from capture. However, their mission gets a bit derailed as Deka's power continues to grow and with more secrets coming to light than Deka could imagine. Will Deka be able to save all of her friends? What will her new powers do to her? Who's secrets will change the fate of the world?

The goodies:
- Deka's character arc was extremely interesting to follow along with.
- I love seeing the relationships Deka has with all the side characters in the novel.
- The actions scenes definitely had my heart pounding.

The loss of 1.5 stars:
- They changed the audiobook narrator and it really through my off. This narrator was still good, but not as good as the first narrator in my opinion.
- There is a lot more worldbuilding done in order to take us to the 3rd book and it felt a lot more clunky than book 1.

Overall, if you read the first book an enjoyed it, I'd still recommend this second book. I have some high high hopes for the 3rd book.

General Description: Follow Jenna, Donnie and Nico: three adults who all spent time in the same group home and who's lives were never the same after. However, as adults, they are targeted for their connection to the home. But why? Why after 25 years is their past coming to haunt them and how can they stop it? Will the stay at home mom, the has-been rock star, and the TV producer be able to keep themselves alive against the killers that are going after them?

The goods:
- The ending was extremely twisty and exciting, so I loved that.
- Each perspective is unique and the audiobook has 3 different narrators which was greatly appreciated.
- I think the overall mystery kept me reading the book even with the loss of the stars mentioned below.

The loss of 1.5 stars:
- I'm definitely a multiple perspective book, but these perspectives took way too long to come together, which slowed down the pacing of the book. Since there were 3 perspectives, a half star off for each that took way too long to come together.

Overall, if you like slower-paced thrillers with multiple perspectives, I bet you'll enjoy this! But if you need a faster paced thriller or a singular perspective, this won't be the book for you.