She's a liar. A cheater. A murderer. And it's only her first semester.

From the author of The Obsession, this story takes place at the same school and features a few cameos of characters from that book... however as mentioned in the previous book there was a major drug scandal... and this story is that. This story is sort of a prequel to The Obsession. The story follows Lia Setjawan, who has just won a scholarship to Draycott Academy on a track scholarship. She’s not like the other kids, she’s poor and they make it a point to bully her about this. Lia has to maintain her scholarship in order to continue going her and further advancing her track career.... too bad almost everyone at school is out to get her, there’s a corrupt english teacher bent on failing her, and a blackmailer who is determined to get her kicked out of the school. Lia won’t take this laying down, she is determined to fix it... fix it all.... no matter what. When she uncovers more secrets at Draycott Academy she soon finds herself in over her head with lies spreading, drug use, murder, secrets, and nobody is who they seem. Will she be able to make it out alive? This was definitely a unique change of pace from the previous book. Despite being a sort of prequel, the story does work as a standalone. The story is only told from Lia’s POV and she definitely isn’t a good person, however, you can empathize and understand her position. She is backed into a corner, with everyone coming at her and the emotional abuse is horrifying considering how alone she is. You feel for her, and her situation. The overall story was interesting and well paced, The conclusion was a quick resolution and I definitely do think this is a great read to go with the first book. I do have to say I liked the first book better but this by no means makes this book any less fun to read!

*Thanks Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire, Sourcebooks Fire for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Is it true? Is it false? Are fairies real? Or is everything in Cassandra Tipp’s head? This story follows Cassandra Tipp, a famous author with a family history and past steeped in murder, madness, and fairies. Cassandra Tipp is a famous romance author who has mysteriously disappeared. Exactly one year after her disappearance, her heirs (Her niece and nephew) are to come to her estate, read her manuscript to find the password, and relay that password to her solicitor in order for them to gain their inheritance from her. The manuscript recounts Cassie’s life, particularly her relationship with a fairy man she calls Pepper-Man and the bloody incidents that surrounded her, from the gruesome death of her husband to the death of her brother and father....In the manuscript Cassie lays out the events from her perspective, how she met the mysterious fairy creature who drinks her blood... and grows from friend to lover. This was a haunting and beautiful story. I absolutely fell in love with it. It’s leaves you questioning whether or not things were real or if Cassie made it up, it makes you think back on the Cassie’s life and her love life. It is a must read. If you love gothic stories, fairytales, or dark stories with a hint of magic and a little bit of love, this is for you. The relationship between Cassie and Pepper-Man is by no means a good one, he literally feeds off her blood. She feeds him, she gives life to him, and in return he promises to be her servant, loyal only to her, and that she is all he will ever need and he will always be there for her. It’s messed up, it’s romantic, its just so interesting to read about. Plus the mystery aspect of the story is so interesting, from the murder case of Cassie’s husband to the death of her father and brother. So yes, please go read this.

Finding love on a cooking competition? Yes please. Recently divorced and on the verge of bankruptcy, Dahlia Woodson wants to change her life and finds herself on a popular reality cooking competition show called Chef’s Special. Too bad her first impression is falling face first and sending her fish tacos flying on the first episode, and the first person she bumps into is a super attractive person who might be the first person she actually might have a crush on ever since her divorce. Dahlia wants to win the prize money to help pay off her debts and possibly just be able to afford a living space in the future... but this competition might give her something she never even expected... or rather someone. London Parker has officially come out on national television and has laid out their pronouns, now all they have to worry about is winning the competition, the super cute klutzy girl who has stolen their attention, and getting their dad to accept their pronouns. Neither London or Dahlia expected to fall in love, but soon both of them can’t help but fall for the other... but what will their future hold as the competition draws closer and closer to the end. Do both of them have the right ingredients to make this relationship last or will they lose their happily ever after. This was a super great read! It’s sweet, romantic, relatable, and just an overall fun read! The chemistry between Dahlia and London was gorgeous and both of them had relatable struggles and I just adored them. The story is told from alternating POVs between Dahlia and London and it just works so well.

*Thanks Netgalley and Forever (Grand Central Publishing), Forever for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A DNA-based matchmaking chance... is it actually accurate? Jess Davis is a single mom and a data wizard. She spends most of her time free lancing to make ends meet, hanging out with her best friend, and looking after her very adorable daughter. Jess is tired of dating and just wants to focus on being happy as she is now. When she finally talks to the attractive but grumpy regular (dubbed Americano since thats all he orders) she finds out that he is the founder of GeneticAlly, a new DNA-based matchmaking company that will find you a soulmate by matching your DNA. When her best friend (who is amazing and a romance writer) hears, both her and Jess are now on their way to try out the DNA-matchmaking. To Jess surprise she gets a 98% match... with the grumpy Dr. River Pena aka Americano, aka the guy who was a jackass to her and told her she was average looking. River’s company thinks this is an amazing opportunity because no other couple has ever had this high of a match and want both of them to just give it a chance. They offer to pay Jess $10,000 a month for the next 3 months to just do interviews, and give River a chance because this could be an eye changing discover for his company and their research. Soon River and Jess find themselves falling for one another, but what is real and what is just the idea that having a 98% match and needing it to help the company? River and Jess begin to open up to one another and find that they might be more well versed with one another than they had initially thought. Filled with cute moments, sweet romance, and just all the feels, this was a adorable read. The chemistry between Jess and River was so great and sweet. River is a caring, though a bit of a socially awkward dude, but he cares. Jess is selfless, caring, and just an overall wonderful person. Even her grandparents, and her best friend and her daughter were amazing characters. Seriously this is such a great romance read!

Two rival book store employees and the prank war between them that just might spark something close to romance. Madeline Moore works at Books & More, an independent bookstore that is close to going out of business, but it won’t if she has anything to do with it. Jasper Hamada works at the chain store across the street from Madeline called Prologue. Jasper has been in love with Madeline ever since he first saw her too bad he has extremely poor communication skills and courting Madeline via prank war is definitely not doing him any favors. Madeline and Jasper take things too far and soon things escalate, particularly when Jasper gets hit by a car. However, this leads to them calling a truce, and just maybe falling in love. Madeline is also dealing with her mother who had abandoned her coming back in town, stressing about keeping the store open when her aunt seems like she’s given up, and dealing with her complicated emotions about her rival and sort of crush Jasper, as well as the fact that she’s going to college next year. Filled with romance drama, family drama, and all sorts of other drama, this is an enemies to lovers with a splash of “You Got Mail”.

A violinist struggling with burnout and speaking her feelings and a designer recovering from testicular cancer and surgery dealing with his body insecurities. Anna Sun is a violinist but is struggling with living up to her fame after a video of her goes viral on youtube. Now she is struggling to even play a full song. She is suffering under the pressure to please people but she can’t speak up, she won’t voice her emotions, she won’t say no, she won’t speak up for herself. The thing that finally motivates her do so is when her boyfriend tells her that they should take a break and be in an open relationship until he is sure he is ready to settle down with her (seriously? and she doesn’t even fight him or anything on this?? girl do better.) . This motivates her to try and go on a date and the first person she goes on one with is tattooed, motorcycle riding Quan Diep. Quan is not looking for anything serious, he just wants to feel back to normal after getting surgery and now he worries about his scars and the fact that he won’t be as good as he used to. Soon these two are having movie dates, comforting each other, and learning to love the other. However things get complicated when Anna’s father gets a stroke and soon she finds herself crumbling under her family’s expectations and the fact that her ex is back and wants to marry her and once again she doesn’t want to displease anyone. She’ll have to choose what she wants to do and if she has the courage to finally speak up for herself. Let me first start off by saying this was a good story yes, but it was beyond frustrating and sad. I felt anger for Anna, she was so unhappy but just kept trying to please everyone even at the risk of her own sanity and feelings, it got to the point where she contemplated suicide. The story is definitely more tragedy than romance, Anna SUFFERS. This book has romance yes, but mostly in the first and last part, but the vast majority is Anna suffering through everything. On one hand you feel for her and her struggles are relatable, on the other hand you just want her to speak up and say NO. As for Quan, he was put on the back burner as supportive boyfriend and I wished there was more focus on him. Overall this was a good book and a great read but PLEASE beware this was an emotionally draining one and it just kinda leaves you feeling a bit traumatized its not a heavy romance book but rather a character journey and definitely a frustrating one at that.

The first book in a new series that follows a a girl on the run who ends up in an abandoned groundskeeper’s cottage on the edge of a cemetery. The story follows Keira who can commune with ghosts. Soon she finds herself in a new small community making a few friends with the townspeople and trying to figure out who this ghost who is haunting her is. She finds herself tangled deep in a history of deception, ill-fated love, and murder and with the clock ticking she’ll have to find a way to free the spirit before its too late. Unfortunately this wasn’t as “scary” or “horror”-esque as I was hoping it would be. Its got ghosts and stuff but it just couldn’t hook me as much as I had hoped. Initially I went into this not knowing it was the first book the series but now that I do know, the plot holes make a lot more sense.

A newly divorced librarian inherits a bookshop from her estranged mother and soon finds herself not only discovering her mother’s life but discovering what the future holds for her. The story follows librarian Valentina Barker who is newly divorced and discovers that she has inherited a bookshop from her deceased mother Eloise. Val has always had a difficult relationship with her mother since her mother left her when she was 12 and hasn’t heard from her since. Upon arrival in London, Val soon discovers a whole new side to her mother’s life, including the reason why she left. Eloise gives Val a scavenger hunt to discover her secrets and soon Val is meeting all of Eloise’s old friends and discovering the beauty of Primrose Hill. The story is told from two perspectives, the current timeline with Val and the past with Eloise. We get to see both Eloise and Val fall in and out of love and how their romantic relationships impact them. Eloise is stuck between the adoring American investor Frank and the man who makes her heart beat, a rich Englishman named Edward. Val is stuck between her ex Nick who left her (literally), Daniel a man in the film industry who supposedly owns the book that Val has fallen in love with, and Eric the cute columnist who’s writing is lovely. The story definitely gives you Love, Rosie vibes, especially with Eloise, her constant missed timing and missteps in her relationships and how it all works out in the end. The story is a bit sad but overall a lovely romance read. It definitely is a great one to read with a nice hot cup of tea on a cold winter day.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Ballantine Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace Price from his own funeral, Wallace suspects he really might be dead.

Instead of leading him directly to the afterlife, the reaper takes him to a small village. On the outskirts, off the path through the woods, tucked between mountains, is a particular tea shop, run by a man named Hugo. Hugo is the tea shop's owner to locals and the ferryman to souls who need to cross over.

But Wallace isn't ready to abandon the life he barely lived. With Hugo's help he finally starts to learn about all the things he missed in life.

When the Manager, a curious and powerful being, arrives at the tea shop and gives Wallace one week to cross over, Wallace sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Under the Whispering Door is a contemporary fantasy about a ghost who refuses to cross over and the ferryman he falls in love with.