Two rivals, competing projects, and romance. This was pitched as a modern day Emma... but it unfortunately missed the mark, it was very very loose on the Emma aspect. I usually adore Jane Austen adaptations and inspired stories but this one missed for me. The story follows Vansh Raje ( Emma ) a rich, handsome, well meaning guy who upon discovering a friend’s secret decides he is going to help him and also help the homeless population. Knightlin or rather Naina (Knightly) has just gotten out of a ten year lobg fake relationship witih Vansh’s brother and has finally stuck it to her abusive father and is so excited to work on her passion project... only to have Vansh steal the funding from her and now she has to fight him for it. Throw in a weirdly magical romance story about two other people (literal magic), the romance between Vansh’s older brother and his gf, the tragic abusive relationship between Naina’s mother and abusve father, and this story is jam packed. For a story inspired by Emma I was expecting a bit more Emma influence.

*Thanks Netgalley and Avon and Harper Voyager, Avon for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

What happens when your childhood best friend (and crush) has come back into town after 4 years of not talking to keep a promise you made as children? Elena Soo is about to find out. Elena Soo and Robbie Choi have been childhood best friends but at 10 he had to move away to Seoul and begin his training to become a Kpop star... before he left he kissed her and they both promised to go to prom together. Years later, Robbie is now an international pop star,,, and he has just shown up in front of Elena’s front door and asked her to prom just like they promised all those years ago. But Elena is at a lost, her best friend stopped talking to her, he ghosted her and now all these years later he is a completely different person. She knows there is something else going on... there has to be a bigger reason for him coming back all these years later just to go to prom with her but Robbie is full of secrets and Elena is not sure she is ready to have her heart broken again by the one person she’s always loved. Robbie has worked his entire life to have his music heard, he has trained, given up any semblance of a social life, and everything about him is a carefully crafted image to make it into the kpop industry. What Robbie has always dreamed of is having his songs and music, his own work, be heard, but he knows he has to play the game to get the power he needs. But there has always been something besides his music that he’s loved, and that was his childhood best friend, the only girl who truly knows him before the fame. He just has to show her that he’s still the same guy and that despite everything, they still work. This was such a cute story! I loved that we got to read both characters POV and it felt like such a fun addition to have actual Kpop stars added into the book to give it a more realistic feel. As someone who listens to Kpop and catches up on some of the drama its really captures the pressure that Kpop stars go through in the industry, especially the no dating rule and companies having control over their stars and the fact that they could be terminated for ridiculous clauses in their contracts. It’s a hard industry, it’s rules are rigid, and scandal is always ripe for these idols. Being a KPOP idol isn’t easy and this book was such a sweet take on romance in the industry. Definitely give it a go! ( Seriously it’s too cute read it)
*Thanks Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A vigilante mindreader who murders men who abuse women and a shape shifting genius who is trying to find answers to his condition collide in this fun and romantic story filled with action, murder, romance, and the glitz and glam of 1928 Chicago. Ruby has a passion for justice and an extensive knowledge of poison, she dreams about being a lawyer... but in a town where men can easily escape with their sins and Ruby is determined to help the women get their own justice. When she meets a mysterious but brilliant boy at the morgue she discovers that he is actually hunting down her murders. It doesn’t help that he is so sweet and shy and just good. Ruby finds herself falling for the one person she shouldn’t be falling for, but when she uncovers his own secret she has to find a way to balance her feelings for him and getting him to not discover her secret identity while helping her take down the people who are trying to kill her family. This was such a fantastic read! I adored Ruby and Peter so much. Peter was an absolute sweetheart and Ruby was everything I could ever want in a protagonist. I loved the setting and the feel of the world, honestly READ THIS BOOK IT IS FANTASTIC! The romance is sweet and the mystery is fun.

*Thanks Netgalley and Holiday House for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A meteorologist with depression and her sports reporter colleague fall in love while trying to rekindle the romance between their bosses. I always adore a book with good depression rep, it is something deeply personal to me. This book has wonderful representation of that, of family dynamics, teen parenting, and plus sized bodies... however where it missed the mark for me was the romance. Ari Abrams is a meteorologist for a news program in Seattle and has always dreamed about taking the next stem in her career... but her boss isn’t making it easy. It doesn’t help that her boss and her boss’s ex husband work at the same place and make work a nightmare for their coworkers. Russell Barringer is a sports news reporter and one night Ari and Russell come up with a plan to get their bosses back together to help the tension in the office. I appreciated how they dealt with Ari’s depression and the dynamic she had with her family. In fact, alone Ari and Russell were good characters... however together there was really no chemistry and they kind of felt bland. Despite how my review of this book turned out, definitely give it a go, maybe it’ll work for you!

A competition: One game of Hide-and-seek, fourteen competitors, seven days, and the last one standing guest enough prize money to change their life. Set in an abandoned amusement park, something is amiss, as more competitors who get caught go missing and strange things are happening, soon the competitors realize that they aren’t alone in the park with each other and there is something else in there... hunting them down... and that this game just got deadly. Told from various POVs this story was an interesting concept. Each of the characters has their own motivation for wanting to win the money and their own stories, but our main character out of the them that we get to read the most from would be Mack. Mack is a survivor of a horrible family incident and just needs money to finally get out and change her life. If Mack and her friends want to get out of this alive they’ll have to team up and outsmart the monster and discover what is truly going on with this competition. What they find is a town filled with a dark secret, a monster that consumes everything, and the strength to make it out alive. The story was a bit all over the place, the pacing was off and the constant switching of character POVs without indication was difficult to follow ( hopefully the final format makes it easier to read but since this is an arc that is my experience). The overall payoff of the mystery kind of makes this feel like a teen supernatural thriller movie. Overall interesting concept, but poor execution. Sadly though this didn’t work out for me definitely give it a go, it is a pretty fast and easy read.

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

Villains on the loose, a mystery at hand, and one girl who will have to embrace her inner legacy. The story picks up where the first one left off with Mary’s friends and boyfriend all becoming their true villain selves and disappearing, leaving her trying to find them again. It doesn’t help that there’s a voice inside her head now telling her to chop people’s heads off... (aka the Red Queen). Now she’ll have to team up with Belle and Jasmine to uncover the conspiracy and try and find her friends and boyfriend again. She’ll have to face magic and dig deep deep into the dark underbelly of Monarch City to discover what is really going on. Can she save her friends or will she succumb to her inner villain? The story definitely felt like I was reading a Descendant’s novel. It definitely is a middle grade story. The story ends off on a cliffhanger and I am curious to see where the next book goes.

*Thanks Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

One robotics team, a girl who can’t decide her future, and a boy who knows exactly what his future is finally clash and sparks fly. Bel is terrified of the future, she’s been avoiding her college apps, zero extracurriculars, and just wants to get by but when a missing assignment lands her on the robotics team her life is about to get turned upside down. Cue, Mateo Luna, the captain of the robotics club, handsome, talented, rich, and a genius with his life planned out. Teo and Bel couldn’t be more different from each other but surprisingly Bel has a knack for design and Teo is set on winning the competition. Soon they find themselves arguing and slowly getting to know more about each other and surprising the other. Bel couldn’t care less while Teo cares too much, and maybe they’ll both even each other and teach each other something that the other needs. This was a super cute enemies- to- lovers romance with a great focus on girls of color in STEM, the idea of finding a place for yourself at your own pace and knowing your limits, and about first love and finding a balance in your life. This was seriously such a great read and I couldn’t recommend it enough. Bel is a great protagonist and as a girl of color myself who did join a robotics club in high school and had a giant fear of college apps and thinking about my future, her struggles were relatable and she didn’t take things standing. Bel was a wonderful protagonist to read from. Teo was a cute love interest, yes he can be a bit rude but he acknowledges his mistakes and he does try and do better, he’s dealing with a lot of pressure and feeling like he needs to live up to everyone’s expectations and when he finally meets someone who doesn’t want anything from him he’s confused and a little thrown by how blunt and weird Bel is. Together they make a sweet pair, they’re partners in building a robot and friends who support one another, and two people who just want to follow their passions.

*Thanks Netgalley and Holiday House for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Estranged childhood best friends reunited for a cross-country family road trip filled with secrets, romance, and friendship. Norah hasn’t seen her childhood best friend Skyler in years and after their friendship fizzled out she doesn’t know what to expect when seeing him again. One thing she did not expect was to be treated with the cold shoulder and treating her like he’d be anywhere but there with her. Hurt and confused Norah decides to do the same, expect the more time their families spend together and the more they are forced to interact with one another the more Norah will discover out why their friendship died out and what secret her mom has been hiding. It doesn’t help that her brother is acting strangely and her other best friend is in love with a secret person. I generally really do love Kasie West books and while this one nailed the childhood friends turned lovers theme, it also felt a bit anti-climatic at times and honestly having Skyler treat her like the plague for about 50% of was not helping and then he suddenly was nice again? Really? At one point I had just hoped they would only be friends because honestly it just didn’t feel like there were any sparks between them. Norah is also trying to get into her dream school and part of the road trip is for her to go do an interview for them. Throw in some fun sight seeing, a nice and cute boy who she keeps running into, and a journal from her childhood and you get one heck of a roadtrip. Overall it was an okay book, not my one of my favorites but it definitely was a sweet read for the most part.

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

A modern take on Beauty and the Beast, with an overwork and underpaid editorial assistant and a recluse writer who refuses to turn in his manuscript. Isabelle “Izzy” adores books, she thought she had the dream job when she first started working at her publishing house but years later she hasn’t moved up anywhere and she’s desperately wants to. When she overhears her boss complaining about a beastly high-profile author who hasn’t turned in his manuscript Isabelle sees the opportunity to finally get the promotion she deserves. All she has to do is go to the author’s Santa Barbara mansion and give him a pep talk or two into turning in his work... except it’s not going to be that easy. The moment she meets Beauregard “Beau” Towers they get off on the wrong foot. Beau is jaded and withdrawn, mostly staying inside his mansion and the only person he talks to is his housekeeper. He’s grumpy, a bit rude, and standoffish... except the more they talk and argue the more Izzy and Beau realize that they have more in common than they thought and that maybe their new friendship could be something more. As the deadline to turn in his memoir approaches they both realize that they are running out of time. Soon Izzy and Beau have to ask each other if they are willing to risk it all for love or if somethings do have a deadline. This was such a sweet and cute read. I adore beauty and the beast retellings and this one definitely hit the mark for me!

What if you got the chance to say good bye to someone... after they’ve died? Julie has her entire future planned out, from getting accepted into her dream college, to writing a book, to moving into a place with her boyfriend Sam... but it all comes crumbling down when Sam dies in an accident... an accident that Julie blames herself for. Now she can’t seem to function. She struggles between trying to forget him to trying to just function when everything reminds her of him. But one day she calls Sam’s phone.... and he picks up. Even after he’s died, he is somehow now able to talk to her through the phone. Sam tells her that he will talk to her until she is ready to say goodbye. This is their second chance at goodbye. This was a gorgeous story about lost love, grieving, and moving on. It was a sweet and sad story and you could feel the pain that Julie goes through as she struggles to accept her new reality without the person she thought would be her future. It shows how grieving is different for everyone and how everything takes time and that you are not as alone as you think. Filled with friendship, warmth, and a bit of magic this was a wonderful read for me! I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a bittersweet yet amazing read filled with love, friendship, acceptance, and how life moves on.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*