Music, magic, and secrets.This story is set in a world where magic and music are two separate things and there are only a few musicians (five) who are licensed t compose and perform original songs. In this kingdom, there is endless winter and magic is accessible to all except there is one rule that forbids magic from being part of music. Sofi’s father is one of the five muscians in the country who is a Musik, and she has trained all her life, given up everything, suffered, just to be the next Musik. Except all that goes down the drawn when during the audition a stranger appears suddenly, a beautiful girl named Lara who doesn’t even know how to plate a lute or what she is doing suddenly performs for the audition and enchants everyone. Sofi senses something is off, there is zero possibility Lara did it without magic. Lara has stolen everything from Sofi, and that very night her father dies leaving Sofi a single letter apologizing but never telling her for what. The next day Lara shows up at Sofi’s door to be her father’s apprentice but Sofi strikes up a deal since Lara has no clue what she is doing and she can’t even compose a song. In order to secure her position Lara has to go on a tour and compose and sing her own original music, Sofi offers to write her the songs and let her take the credit in exchange Lara will make her her own apprentice and let Sofi become a music all the while Sofi will be watching Lara to discover if she is a witch and what magic she did. But the more time they spend on the journey the more Sofi begins to question her own family and the way her father raised her, the way he stripped her of being and forced her to normalize suffering for her art. Sofi and Lara begin to see each other for who they truly are and what music means to both of them. But the more Sofi uncovers about her father’s secrets, who her mother truly was, and what Sofi is, and what potential she has and the power locked away in her she will begin to question everything she has ever been taught and what her future means to her. This was part sapphic romance, part music journey, part magic and dark family secrets. While I wasn’t as invested in the romance between Sofi and Lara, I just couldn’t believe the chemistry or believe that they would actually work as a couple, I did enjoy seeing Sofi grow as a person. I particularly enjoyed Sofi seeing the abuse her father put her through for what it was, it wasn’t training to make her a better musician, it wasn’t out of love, it was out of fear, it was out of cowardice, and what he did to her as a child, and continued to do to her and force her to normalize was unacceptable and I am proud of her for being able to see it and understanding that there is more , that there is something else for her and a different way to live. Its a story about someone who loves music and the sacrifices she is willing to make, and about survival and strength and reclaiming something for yourself.

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Margaret K. McElderry Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A new take on Pride & Prejudice- throw in debate, classism, misunderstandings, and so much more. The story follows Leela Bose (Elizabeth) a speech competitor who loves a good laugh and goes to public school. When she meets Firoze Darcy (Darcy), a debater from an elite private school, they both get off on the wrong foot and thus begins our story. When Darcy makes a comment about Leela not doing debate she takes it upon herself to switch out and join the debate team and she is in for more than she bargained for. Throw in two flirty teammates, a gay best friend who has a crush on Darcy’s friend Bingley, an annoying Collin and her best friend Tomi and soon Leela and Darcy will be facing off against each other constantly butting heads. And of course we can’t forget a lot of other classic characters that get a modern spin. This was a fun new take on a classic story. I love Pride and Prejudice and I am always looking for new adaptations to read and this was a pleasant one to read. I would recommend it for fans of Pride and Prejudice! Leela is a bit more juvenile and a bit more prejudice but Darcy comes off as more awkward and misunderstood. They both are highschoolers so a lot can be forgiven in their attitudes. The story is pretty short but it covers a lot of the main parts of the original so props to the author for managing to get so much of it down. Truly a fun take on a classic!

A Agatha Christie mystery aways as two girls who could not be more opposite come together to solve a mystery. Last summer Alice Oglive’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her and in turn she disappeared for five days... her disappearance became the biggest mystery in Castle Cove because when she comes back she doesn’t talk about it and now everyone wants to know why, where, what , and so forth. But the real kicker is that Alice’s boyfriend dumped her for her best friend... and on the night of Halloween at a party Alice and her ex get into a fight and the next day her ex best friend is missing and soon found dead. (This is as if it was straight out of Death on the Nile, and I love it) Steve is arrested and now Alice is determined to find out who killed her ex best friend and to even save her ex from jail. Enter Iris Adams, Alice’s tutor. Iris needs money fast, she needs enough to save her and her mother from the abuse they suffer at home and when the missing girl’s grandmother offers up reward money it’s the perfect opportunity. Alice and Iris soon find themselves bonding over this mystery and over their interest in detective work and in Agatha Christie. Alice and Iris couldn’t be more different, Alice is from money, she’s rich but her parents are never home and all she has to look after her is a housekeeper while Iris is poor and just trying to get out of a bad family situation but her mother loves her. They find that they both do enjoy trying to solve mysterious and soon the game is afoot and the evidence is gathered as they go through their list of suspects and try and narrow down who truly killed Alice’s ex best friend. In the town of Castle Cove there are secrets, liars, and cover ups... and these two will have to work together to get to the bottom of it before its too late. This was an absolute fun read! I adore Agatha Christie and this was right up my alley!!!

*I received an arc in exchange for an honest review: thank you Delacorte Press*

Murder, Moonlight, and Magic. A fantasy mystery thriller with a dash of romance. The story follows an orphan girl who discovers her unusual skills are more than what she thought and a genius inspector who has a peculiar way of knowing what the killer is thinking as these two work together to find a killer who is killing woman and soon focusing on them. In the city of Collis there is a holy Sanctum and a orphan girl named Catrin lives and works there. She spends her days and nights checking building structure to make sure that there are no flaws in the construction before it hurts anyone. One night she witnesses a murderer escaping from his crime and she suddenly finds herself pulled into a dangerous chain of events. Cue Simon, a mysterious and genius inspector of sorts who has an uncanny ability to know what the killer is thinking and a calm in the face of dead bodies that is startling. Simon is put in charge of catching the murderer and needs Cat’s help to figure it out. both of them find themselves hunting for clues as more dead bodies begin to show up and as the killer begins to specifically target people in Cat’s life and leave notes for Simon... soon Cat will find herself questioning everyone in her life and who could possibly be the killer. It doesn’t help that Simon and Cat are beginning to fall for one another but can you truly fall in love with someone if you keep secrets from them and Simon and Cat are full of their own secrets. This was a fantastic read!!! A perfect mixture of magic, romance, detective work, and a jack the ripper-esque mystery. I loved this book so much and honestly I NEED AN EXTRA CHAPTER OF WHAT HAPPENS NEXT FOR MY TWO DARLINGS. Simon and Cat’s relationship is quite sweet, both of them have baggage, and they both care and love the other. They are willing to understand and give each other what the other needs and it just *chef’s kiss*. Seriously if you love murder mystery with fantasy and romance, this is for you!

*Thanks Netgalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

I Know What You Did Last Summer meets The Haunting of Hill House in this story about friendship, betrayal, secrets, murder, and the one house that is at the center of it all. The story follows a group of friends:

Emily- twin sister of Ryan, best friend, hopelessly in love with Chase and a vindictive streak like no other, hates Mila for dating Chase

Ryan- twin brother of Emily, outcast of the group, best friend of Chase, hopelessly in love with Chelsea, hates Kennedy for stealing Chelsea

Chelsea- on and off girlfriend of Kennedy, broken, has been in a hospital and getting rehab since the incident, lies constantly, naive, had a short fling with Ryan

Kennedy- rich, has seen dead people and spirits since she was a child, on and off girlfriend of Chelsea, protective of her and jealous of the thing between Chelsea and Ryan, best friend of Chase

Chase- golden rich boy, good at everything, manipulative, best friend of Kennedy, loves Mila, has lots of flings, willing to do anything to get away with his secrets

Mila- shy but has claws, girlfriend of Chase, dislikes the friend group except for Chase (she is not their friend, she was just the guest/girlfriend Chase brought to the house)

Two unforgettable summers, the first is a summer fueled to catch on fire that ends in tragedy and in death. A death that impacts everyone that was there and now one year later the group receives an invitation to the house again and they all come... but this time someone is out to find out who really was responsible for the incident last summer and which one of these friends was the actual killer. Secrets come to light and the events unfold from three perspectives- Emily, Chelsea, and Kennedy, but only one of them is true. Who is the killer? What dark complicated secrets and sins have these friends done to each other? Truly a fun a twisty read, it definitely lives up to the I Know What You Did Last Summer meets The Haunting of Hill House vibes and it is the perfect mystery thriller with a splash of ghost and hauntings!

*Thanks Netgalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A LGBTQ rom com inspired by Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest? SIGN ME UP. The story follows two best friends, prom, crushes, and finding family. Jane Worthing is famous, and she is a viral sensation known as the #BAGBABY- for being discovered as a one year old in an oversized Gucci Bag by her adopted father in a train station. Years later she is now in her senior year of highschool and her best friend secretly steals her spit and submits a family dna search... and has found her a match. Now Jane has to question if she is ready to meet her potential family. Along for the ride is Jane’s cousin Cecil who is absolutely in love with Jane’s best friend Algie, and Algie’s beautiful cousin who Jane has had an all consuming crush on since forever, Gwen Fairfax. Now Jane has to navigate meeting her birth family, protecting Cecil from potential heartbreak from her best friend Algie, and maybe just maybe getting a date from Gwen. Throw in cute movie dates, mischievous best friends, a wonderful support system, and this was just an overall super sweet and cute story. I loved the friend group and the romance between Gwen and Jane was really cute. Just a short and sweet read!

*Thanks Netgalley and Clarion Books (formerly HMH Children's Books), Clarion Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A secret identity, a new romance, and finding the strength to be yourself. The story follows an alien princess who is disguised as a human boy to not only test her powers but to keep herself hidden. Taylor Barzelay has the perfect life, he’s good looking, has great grades, and is a starting position on the basketball family. He’s got a loving family and a cute corgi.... but this is all just a cover. In reality Taylor is actually the Galaxy Crowned, an alience princess from the planet Cyandii who is in hiding as a survivor of an intergalatic war. For six years Taylor has been doing her duty and hiding as a boy on earth but all of that changes when she meets Metropolis girl Katherine aka Kat Silverberg. Kat is confident, beautiful, and fun and Taylor finds herself falling for her. Now she’ll have to find out if she is willing to risk it all to finally be herself and reveal herself to the one girl she is falling in love with. But revealing herself means opening up to new enemies and danger... but maybe it will be worth it all. This was such a charming and sweet story about gender identity and the romance was just so cute. I absolutely adored the artwork! IT WAS STUNNING! Definitely give this one a read!

*Thanks Netgalley and DC Entertainment, DC Comics for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A story within a story, a murderer, a writer... and a relationship that will change their lives. This story is told in two ways- through the manuscript written by author Hannah and her email correspondence with “Leo.” The manuscript follows the story of four people in a library who hear a scream only to discover it is a murdered woman... and soon more bodies start dropping and the secret past of one of the individuals might put them all in harms way. The story follows Freddie ( main protagonist of the manuscript, an author looking to write her next book), White ( a failing law student), Cain ( a handsome author with a dark past), and Marigold ( tattooed psych student with a tendency to stalk people out of concern). These four strangers bond over an afternoon at the Boston library and slowly become friends, but more bodies start dropping and the four begin to question who is doing the killing and when one of them is attacked and they find connections between the victims and one of the members of the friend group suddenly they don’t know who could be next and who is the killer. Now onto the other portion of this book, it follows the email correspondence between famous Australian author Hannah Tigone and a “friend” named Leo, which each email Hannah sends Leo a new chapter of her book and he sends her feedback, but soon his feedback gets more sinister and dark and Hannah will have to figure out who he is and what is truly going on. This book was two mysteries in one and absolutely a fun read! I loved the formatting style and the way the mystery unfolded. Its a great read for fans of mystery novels!

*Thanks Netgalley and Poisoned Pen Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

“Life. A woman’s life is the path of thorns,’ I say. ‘We walk through it, our feet will always hurt” (p. 270)
Revenge, witchcraft, and dark family secrets all come together in this lush dark fairytale. The story follows Asher Todd, a new governess to the mysterious Morwood family. She is to take the place of the previous governess who had mysteriously disappeared shortly after being hired. Asher has her own dark secrets though, secrets that brought her to this particular family to enact her deeds. The Morwood family is twisted, a cruel father who beats his wife and children and sleeps around, a delicate and docile wife, three children, and the matriarch who has gone blind.... and a banished sister who was kicked out of her family and is not spoken of in this home. Asher has come for revenge and to do so she will unearth all their dark secrets and unleash a ghost upon them. Asher is more than she looks, she can see ghost, and work with magic... but the more she knows this family the more she finds herself questioning just how far she will go and just how much she will destroy. Throw in a groundskeeper who is also a werewolf and a town with its own secrets and what you get is a beautiful story about how far one will go for the love of a parent, just what it means to finally cut off the toxic people in your life, and finding yourself amongst the way your family has created you. I genuinely liked Asher, she was complicated, and for all her bad she was understandable, being raised and treated the way she was you can understand how she got to be how she was. The ending of the book was beautiful because it was a bit more open ended for possibility and for growth just as Asher herself has finally opened up herself and freed herself to finally make her own choices and path in life. (Though I’ll be honest I would love an extra epilogue with Asher and her wolfy groundsman). I adored the author’s previous work and was so excited to be given the arc of her second book which I loved just as much! Seriously I can’t wait to see what dark fairytale she spins next! If you love gothic stories with a dash of morally grey characters, light romance, dark family secrets and a touch of magic, this is for you!

*Thanks Netgalley and Titan Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A therapist with a bad dating history who is looking for true love and a tatted hacker with a dark family past who is completely off social media and doesn’t believe in marriage or serious relationships. Eliza Catalano has planned her life out to a tee, in fact everything seems to be going just as planned.. except her love life. When melancholy strikes on Christmas eve she strikes up a conversation with her office neighbor, a recluse hacker who is younger than her and absolutely handsome and soon find themselves out to adopt pets. Beck Carter is a hacker, and trying to design his own video game, he’s worked hard to get off the grid and wants to keep it that way, being the son of a cult leader that completely ruined his life has left him disillusioned about romance, relationships, and a lot of other things. When the cute sunshiny therapist knocks on his door on Christmas just trying to find a friend, he offers to help, and soon he finds himself adopting a cat and befriending the gorgeous therapist. When a particularly horrible date for Eliza goes viral she has to shut off her own social media and Beck offers to help her find a way to date people the old fashion way, and they make a bet: if she can stay off social media for 6 months and just date people the old fashion way he’ll give her a vacation house to relax in for a week and if she fails she has to delete her Youtube Channel and all her social media. But the more Beck and Eli bond and spend together they start to realize they might be falling for one another, throw in Star-Wars movie nights, fun parties, mischievous pets and late night snacks and soon these too will be well on their way to falling in love... except for the fact that Eli isn’t looking for casual or friends with benefits and thats all Beck is looking for. Will Beck’s past hurts block any chance they have of a future or will he finally let someone in? This was a pretty sweet and cute story about two people who want different things but just might be perfect for each other. Beck is seriously hurt, and considering his childhood and the way he was raised I completely get why he is the way he is. Eli is sweet and understanding but willing to try and is so courageous and just a great character. For all their differences, they truly fit each other. They support and understand one another and thats just what its all about and did I mention how cute their pets were? This story was a 10/10 for me!!

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