Witches, power abuse, and secrets. Amity Barrow is to be a saint, in her town they uphold traditions to keep the peace and to ward off the devil and that is by having saints... young girls who have not had their periods yet who are made to endure the abuses of the people as “saints” and keep the devil away by absolving the people of their sins and hearing their confessions. All Amity has ever wanted was to be a saint, a godly girl making her father proud... yet soon she discovers a secret group of witches with their own powers as her own powers begin to grow... and there is also the issue that more and more village men are dying and being murdered. Amity wants to save her village from the Devil and she thinks by learning the way of the witches she can save her home from the Devil... yet these women begin to open her eyes to reality of what is going on in her village, to the abuse of young girls, to the brain washing, the patriarchal abuses and the wrongs women here have suffered. Amity begins to question who she can trust and what she can believe in. Yet the more she begins to understand what is happening the more she wants to turn a blind eye and deny it, yet when events occur that push her to accept the truth and to commit her own sinful acts, Amity will find herself living with a new name, Rage. Amity will have to save her sister and her town, but in a way she never expected while overturning everything she has ever believed in. First off let me just say this book had everything I was suppose to like: horror, witches, sapphic romance.... but what I got was a book that deals with religious trauma, family abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and went on for about 200 pages too long. This story dragged, and I found myself getting more and more irritated by Amity and the overall flow of the story. For a 500 page book, it should have been about 300. I found myself getting bored and irritated and constantly not wanting to pick up the book again but doing so so I could just get it over with. If you’re looking for an actual good witchy story with girl power, overturning the power abuse, overturning beliefs and religious abuse as well and deals with the devil with a little bit of romance then I HIGHLY recommend Slewfoot by Brom. This one definitely missed the mark for me unfortunately.

Old ex best friends reunite over the holidays to create a fundraiser to save the businesses in their beloved small town... yet there might be a re-kindling of first crushes and romance this holiday season. Morgan Ross has been avoiding everything to do with Fern Falls and her memories of her ex best friend and the one girl she’s still in love with, Rachel Reed. Morgan has moved out to LA and become a successful event planner yet when one drunken mistake lands her with a huge tabloid blowup it’s time to get a quick exit... and she has received a request to come home to help plan an event in Fern Falls. Morgan can’t seem to resist and finds herself once again face to face with the one person who she can’t get out of her mind. Rachel’s family’s tree farm is struggling and corporate greed is threatening to take over the entire time, Morgan knows what she has to do, she’s got to go all out with this fundraiser and help Rachel. Along the way Rachel and Morgan both open up and clear up all their old hurts and pains as well as open themselves up to the romance that has always been there between them. Morgan is back home and now she’s awakened to all the beauty that she’s been avoiding including a very beautiful, talented, and sweet lumberjane. This was a really cute sapphic holiday read and I had such a fun time reading it. This is the perfect amount of heart, cuteness, and just amazing christmas vibes!

A new take on Little Red Riding Hood but with dark romance. After her grandmother passes away Marcella wants to take some time off to reconnect to the things that make her happy. Escaping from her dead end job, no friends or family, and being completely alone, Marcella decides to take a trip into the wilderness yet just as her trip is starting she soon finds herself the prey of an even more dangerous creature than she ever imagined. Now she is being hunted yet her hunter has other plans for her after capturing her.This one definitely didn’t have as strong a plot as the first book but the spice was definitely there.

Pirates, romance, betrayals, and more in the sequel to Defy the Night. Picking up where the last book left off Tessa is now part of the council and Corrick and Harriston are still trying to get more Moonflower to save their kingdom, however when a dashing captain of a ship appears and claims to be an old emmisary sent by the previous king Corrick is suspicious while Tessa seems to be falling for him. This new person is named Rain and he has come to make an offer to trade the moonflowers of the kingdom he has been spying on for them in exchange for steel as he is playing both sides. Tessa spends a vast majority of this book going back and forth ( and mostly believing that Corrick is awful, frightening or a monster) and listening to everyone else’s opinion about him while she wavers between her feelings for him and Rain the new spy pirate who taken an interest in her. This book went where I dreaded ( the annoying love triangle) and Tessa constantly going back and forth about Corrick, and honestly she’s the main reason I didn’t enjoy this book so much. I loved their relationship in the first book, I was looking forward to it growing in this one, but a majority of it is spent thinking Corrick is awful and that Rain is so great ( seriously I was pulling my hair out). If i’m being honest, Tessa was the weakest point of this entire book, her whole arc was just being in the middle of two guys and going back and forth which one she wants.... seriously... why? Corrick and Harriston on the other hand were amazing, we get to delve deeper into their characters and their growth. Corrick is struggling to protect his brother, his kingdom, and Tessa. He’s immediately suspicious of Rain ( AS HE RIGHTFULLY SHOULD BE) and is weary of everyone ( HE’S WITHIN HIS RIGHTS HIS PARENTS WERE LITERALLY KILLED IN FRONT OF HIM and this entire time he’s been trying to keep control of the kingdom) and seriously Tessa? No empathy, no understanding, for this dude’s trust issues? You expect him to be friendly and cordial with the one guy who nearly got him killed and had him beat nearly to death?? ( GIRL WHAT?). Lochlan was barely there and when he was it was to start a fight or pick at Tessa and Corrick. I am excited to see where the next book goes because this one for sure left on a gigantic cliffhanger ( but seriously I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO HOW THIS ALL WRAPS UP). Yes Tessa and Corrick spent a majority of this book at odds with one another but in the end of it they finally come to an understanding and finally talk and communicate... it only took them 300+ pages to do so. Also Harriston’s storyline with Quint? GIVE ME MORE. I can’t wait to see how Lochlan and Corrick fair in the next book and where Harriston and Quint’s storylines go, especially with the reveals and ending of this book.

SPOILR BELOW: ( This is just to help me remember when I read the third book haha)!!!!!!!

Spoiler

Corrick has fallen off the ship and has been captured with Lochlan and has to pretend to be Wes again, Rain turned out to be the King the entire time and was going to ransom Corrick off while also holding Oren Crane’s daughter as prisoner in his ship and poisoning her, Harriston has been pretending to be FOX a masked stranger who has been giving money and food to the people but while Corrick and co were away the counsel has ousted him as king and now he is injured and on the run with Quint, Tessa has to now cope with the idea that everyone but her and one guard are alive on the ship and states that she wants to learn to fight at the end of this book, Tessa and Corrick make up and finally admit to loving each other. Rain reveals that someone has been poisoning the people of the kingdom ( Corrick and Harriston’s and he thought they were doing it but if not them someone else is)

*Thanks Netgalley and Bloomsbury USA Children's Books, Bloomsbury YA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Curses, witches, sapphic romance, and a mystery all come together in this amazing graphic novel! This is seriously the perfect read for the spooky season. The story follows a witch named Abby who’s best friend Noreen has suddenly disappeared. Abby will do anything to find her friend but the more she digs into the mystery the more other secrets begin to unravel, it doesn’t help that her roommate and enemy is trying to get in her way. Noreen’s disappearance begins to appear to be connected to another witch who had mysteriously disappeared years ago... but as Abby tries to find answers she’ll uncover darker secrets about the witches in her school and if she truly wants to save her friend she’ll have to find a way to undo what was done in the past. This was a fantastic read and I honestly would love to see more books featured in this world. The artwork was absolutely beautiful and the story was fantastic!

Summer is here and Hannah Cho is about to have her entire world upside down. When her boyfriend dumps her because he claims they have nothing in common and when she begins to realize that he and her friends are newly obsessed with K-pop and K-drama while Hannah is not... Hannah comes up with a plan to win him back by getting into it.... yet her mom surprises her with news: her best friend and her family are going to be staying with them for the summer... aka: Hannah’s childhood best friend who ghosted her to become a famous K-drama star is coming back into town after 3 years of silence. Jacob Kim was Hannah’s best friend but after a big fight he left and never spoke to her again and now he’s coming back into her life, into her house... and all the old pain is coming back.

Jacob Kim is one of the most popular upcoming K-drama stars. He’s miserable. He misses his best friend, he misses having freedom, and he misses just being able to take a second for himself. His entire life is monitored, from what he eats, how he acts, and even who he pretend dates. So when he injures his ankle and a long lost uncle is claiming to have a scandalous story to sell out about him, his company decides that he should lay low and when his mom says they get an offer to stay at her best friends house it means Jacob gets to reunite with the one person he knows will be complicated. Jacob has a bucket list for what he wants to do while back in San Diego... and he blackmails Hannah into helping him but as they begin to spend more time together the spark and friendship that was there begins to spark again and soon both of them start to realize that they’re perfect for each other.

But what’s life if not complicated, especially for a famous actor? Soon Jacob will have to face a difficult choice: to keep his career despite how miserable it makes him or to finally pursue his own happiness? Filled with misunderstandings ( worthy of any K-drama), romance, cute bucket list trips, rekindled friendship, and so much more, this was a fantastic and adorable read, I loved that we got to read from both Hannah and Jacob’s POVS and that we can see how they both have different pains and struggles and how they both love and cherish the other. This was an adorable friends to lovers romance, and this is perfect for fans of K-dramas ( seriously make it happen yall I want to see this as a movie or a series).

*Thank you Inkyard for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A charming and delightful story about experiencing memory loss. This one was just so sweet and honestly really heartfelt. It explores memory loss and how we forget things. the artwork was cute and I would definitely recommend it for younger readers.

A super cute autumnal read for young readers! This one follows a hedgehog who dreams about flying and other friends along with Percy the Park Keeper. The artwork was beautiful and the setting was the perfect mood for reading in autumn. The story was charming and sweet, especially since it is about kindness and friendship.

A gothic vampire story along the lines of Dracula/Camilla filled with magical talismons, horror, and a very interesting take on a vampire story.The story follows Sir Ashleigh Carruthers, a English gentlemen and war veteran who is also very jaded about love, He finds himself going to visit an old friend but when he goes to a church service he finds that he is sitting next to the beautiful and mysterious woman in black. The Church services goes oddly and then Cuarruthers has questions and begins to investigate the Woman in black, And so begins this cozy read, it definitely is a cozy victorian gothic read that I would recommend for the spooky season!