Magic, a con artist, a vigilante, deceptions, a little flirting, revenge and so much adventure in this book! This is the first book in the Rook & Rose trilogy and introduces us to our protagonists: Ren, a con artist trying to make a place for herself and her family while running from her past, Grey, a Hawk Captain (guard) who is trying to find his brother’s murderer and hiding a secret, Vargo, a manipulative and extremely charming crime lord who is willing to do anything to get what he wants and is also hiding a very dark secret, and of course, Rook, the legendary vigilante who keeps running into Ren and going on capers with her, but who is he really? Ren has taken a new identity to try and con her way into a wealthy home all the while magic runs loose and children go missing and she finds herself in constant danger of being discovered or manipulated for someone else’s game. I really had so much fun reading this book and can’t wait to see where the story goes. The book is very visual and creates such a mood, theres music, magic, culture, and the entire book just emulates courtly Venice. This was such an experience and I really loved Ren as a protagonist. She has to be constantly on her feet and use her wit to get out of tricky situations while donning various disguises and identities. And I swoon for vigilante + con artist capers and flirting, they just work for me. I can’t wait to see where Rook and Ren go and how they both deal with all their secrets and plots. This book has so much, seriously, GO READ IT!

*Thank you Netgalley and Orbit Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Picking up right where we left off with Guinevere and Arthur ruling Camelot and while Mordred has been banished. Let me start off by saying I liked this book and I have to give the protagonist more leeway as she is a 16 turned 17year old girl who’s interactions consist of a distant wizard and being surrounded by nuns and an entire childhood of memories wiped out. So yes, did I dislike a lot of her decisions and the way she acted? But I can understand them as she is still essentially a socially awkward teen experiencing things for the first time. This book just didn’t hit as well as the first book and the shinning moments in this book were any moment with Mordred (because he’s my favorite) and the amazing love story between Isolade and Brangiens. Here is my issue: the gods damn love triangle and the constant pushing of Arthur being the oh so perfect good husband who is just the very best and she has to do everything to please him. I’m not going to lie.... Guinevere had more chemistry with Mordred, Lancelot, with Dinadrane, with Brangiens, or even just her when she gets these tiny moments of “yeah I can trust myself” ..... than she does with Arthur. Arthur is more prominent in this book than the previous and yet he still felt like a bland extra that I just wanted to skip reading. I wrote 3 whole pages of notes on why Mordred and Guinevere worked so much better, hell Guinevere is constantly thinking of him, constantly dreaming about him, the dude is a whole ass dream boat and yet she constantly flops between him and Arthur. Arthur has zero chemistry and it just got irritating by the end of this book. The dude only ever turns to her as a convenience, he gives the bare minimum and yet for some reason Guinevere is all for this blandness. I can’t. I can keep going on about how much I did not enjoy this love triangle thing that was happening but we have to move on. So, besides the love triangle plot, Guinevere’s supposed sister returns, Guinevere does a lot of things with heavy consequences, and thats about it. Wait, did I forget to mention, oh yeah she realizes that her entire childhood has been wiped and she has a potential mother and oh the person who wiped her memory was Merlin ( her father figure) and yet she doesn’t even pursue this. GIRL YOUR ENTIRE CHILDHOOD WAS WIPED. GO GET ANSWERS. This book lacked the more magical touch the first book had and by the end of it I was just reading for moments of Mordred or Morgana cuz Arthur and Guinevere were not doing it for me. I am definitely going to read the final book in the trilogy to see what happens but yeah, despite my entire rant, I did enjoy this book!

*Thank you Netgalley and Random House Children's for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Arthurian legend retelling... sign me up! So what we have is a story in which our protagonist Guinevere, or rather a girl posing as Guinevere, is sent to Arthur to be his new wife. The catch? She’s Merlin’s student and assigned to protect Arthur from any magical harm. She has to navigate court and maintain her identity all the while a dark magical force seems to be lurking. There is a mysterious knight who is undefeatable in battle known as the “Patchwork Knight” and Mordred, Arthur’s nephew and knight just seems to be seeing right through her. Let me start by saying Mordred was my favorite character from this story, and if I’m being honest I ship him with Guinevere so much more than Arthur. Arthur just came off..... bland and kinda like stale bread. Guinevere’s entire thought process with him is “ oh he’s nice to me and is pretty cute, guess I’ll chose him over everything else now” and he just doesn’t really have any chemistry with her as opposed to Mordred who she literally feel sparks around and what *gasp* he actually has a personality and story. So yes, I did enjoy this book but honestly that ending.... I am invested in the next book to see where this goes because I am definitely team Mordred. (Honestly reading this was like watching Cursed (Netflix) and instead of shipping Arthur x Nimue (the protagonists) I was shipping Nimue x Lancelot)

Book Summary:

THEIR BATTLES ENDED IN VICTORY

Lydia returns to Mudaire to enter training at the healing temple. But instead of fighting to save lives, she’s convinced she is doing more harm than good. She delves into the history of the gods only to discover a truth that will change her life forever.

His birthright as commander of the Royal Army is finally in his grasp, but Killian feels anything but victorious. Burdened by his past, he embraces the darker side of his mark—and in doing so, risks starting a war.

BUT THE WAR HAS ONLY JUST BEGUN

Having defeated the tyrant Urcon, Marcus struggles to form a lasting alliance with the Arinoquians. But he is plagued by the knowledge that there is a traitor among his friends, and it could cost him everything that he’s fought for.

Torn between her growing allegiance to the Thirty-Seventh legion and her need to liberate her people, Teriana finds herself mired in a web of secrets. She embarks upon a path that will either save everyone she loves—or put them all in their graves.


Here we go!!!! Combining both the first and second book together, we finally have a book where all the stories are taking place at the same time. The story is told in 4 POVS and boy was this a hefty one. There is a LOT of ANGST and Romance, but mostly angst. So much angst. Marcus and Teriana are a new couple trying to build a relationship with trust yet they have to hide their relationship and deal with the fact that, oh yeah, they’re both enemies and the circumstances for them are NOT GREAT. Lydia and Killian were separated at the end of book two with Lydia being taken to be a healer while Killian was sent off to fight. Lydia is tasked with identifying “the dead” to be exterminated but she is desperate to find a cure, but when the cure comes, it will come at a cost. Killian is still regretting having Lydia taken from him and can barely think straight. However they do end up together again and from there they are on a quest, one that will challenge them and change their relationship forever. Marcus and Teriana are attacked and finally reveal their feelings only for that rug to be snatched from under them and more trouble ensues. Literally this entire book was a series of unfortunate events for each person and their relationships. IT WAS PAINFUL. It ends painfully and I am already begging for the next book because I need to know what happens to them all, I JUST WANT THEM TO BE HAPPY. But the consequences of all their actions, their decisions, and the lies and secrets... who knows if anyone is going to get a happy ending by the time this series wraps up. So yeah, please read this book series as it is really great! Its got forbidden romance, assassinations, morally grey characters, and everything inbetween.

*Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for sending me an arc in exchange for a honest review*

A adorable and charming story about finding your own voice. This was such a beautifully illustrated story and the artwork was just delightful. I loved the story and the message of finding your own voice and speaking up. It was just a charming and adorable book that I would recommend for everyone, especially kids, as its an easy read, filled with so many eye catching images, and a sweet lesson.

*Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House Canada for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A delightful and hilarious book! Each page is so funny and I had a lot of fun reading this book! A great book for someone who wants a laugh! Seriously go read this funny book!

Sadly this Christmas Romance was just not for me. It had all the things I adore in a cute Christmas romance: a girl who loves Christmas, working at a cute store (in this case a bookstore), a very adorable British boy who just swoops in and saves her, a jock classmate that seems to be more than what his stereotype appear, and Christmas baking. Now to explain why this just didn’t work for me, Bailey is.... juvenile... let me say this, maybe I’m getting old, but reading from her voice made me feel as if I was reading from a 8th or 9th grader’s POV when she clearly is well into highschool. Here’s the thing that really irked me, that always irks me, unnecessary love triangles and when she decides “hey why not go out with both dudes at the same time without telling them because I want both”. In the wise words of Nick Miller from New Girl: “You HAVE TO choose!! You can't have both women!! What, you think you have a bunch of wives!!! YOU GET ONE WIFE!! THIS IS THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS!!!” Bailey is quick to judge and she really does seem to be more judgmental than I would have liked. Suffice to say, I did not feel the holiday romance in this holiday romance. However, don’t let me dissuade you from giving this book a try though! Also that ending plot twist came out of nowhere, literally just outta left field. So.... yeah... maybe this romance is for you or maybe its not, give a try and see if you feel the holiday romance.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A hatmaker in training, magic, a lost father, a mad king, a secret friendship, and chaos all come together in this delightful and fun adventure of a story! It follows Cordelia Hatmaker, a young girl who’s father doesn’t return home from an expedition leaving Cordelia scrambling to find any clue of his survival. She is adament that he is alive and has survived the shipwreck, all the while her family is still continuing their work of creating magical hats. In particular, a hat for the King whom everyone believes has gone mad and without a magical hat to cure him, who knows what will happen next. Cordelia goes on a fantastical journey of navigating a looming war and trying to find her father, she must find out who she can trust and follow her wits to survive.

An enchanting fantasy adventure about the importance of bravery, resourcefulness, and following your heart from a debut author.

Funny, boisterous, and wise, Tamzin Merchant’s spellbinding debut draws readers into a vibrant and captivating new world and introduces a heroine who keeps wildness in her wits and magic in her fingertips.

*Thank you netgalley and W. W. Norton & Company for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A sweet romance about a librarian and the mysterious man who secretly donates books to her weekly. The story follows Starla Moore, recently going through a divorce from her cheating husband and juggling working at the library and raising her kids and going through a divorce and Sawyer Deveraux, the charming, attractive, and witty weekly library visitor who’s accent has her swooning. The story is told from both Starla and Sawyer’s POVs and their budding romance was really quite sweet. Sawyer is dealing with life long health problems and has kept his distance from most people but he just cant seem to keep away from Starla. They are both extremely caring and sweet characters and I was definitely rooting for them the entire time! The story is part of a series but can be read as a standalone. I had a lot of fun reading this book and definitely think its such a good read!

I really enjoyed this book! Its got magic, character growth, romance, culture, and GHOSTS!! It was such an interesting story and the premise was absolutely magical. Yadriel’s journey to claiming not only his gender identity but making his family understand was absolutely touching. Julian’s story about looking after his found family was touching. Both boys were complex and in depth characters with lots of inner strength. I loved the backdrop of a murder mystery along with magic! I would highly recommend this book! (Plus it made a great spooky October read with a splash of romance!)