The Court of Miracles is a young adult retelling of Les Misérables and is the first book in the A Court of Miracles series by debut author Kester Grant. I don't think I am able to conjure up the words necessary to convey how deeply I loved this book. It grabbed hold of my heart and did not let go. I am still thinking about, and I will continue to think about, obsess about, and fan-girl over this book for a long time to come. The Court of Miracles is heralded as being part Les Misérables retelling mixed in with part of Six of Crows, but honestly this book does not need to be compared to anything else. It is exceptionally brilliant all on it's own. This is a must read book of 2020!

The Court of Miracles t is told form the point of view of Eponine or Nina, who is a really fantastic main character. The story starts out with her as a  young girl around the age of 9, as her sister tries to save her by hiding her in the Court of thieves.  Nina is known as the cat burglar (hence the six of crows comparison, but again I really think this story stands fantastically well on it's own. No comparisons are needed, and I don't think it really felt a lot like Six of Crows.) because of her smarts and her ability to sneak into small spaces easily. Nina is resourceful! I loved her and her determination to try and help her sister and to try and do the right thing at the same time. Watching Nina grow up was incredible. She starts out in this novel at just 9 and over the course of the story turns into a young adult. Her grit and determination is awe-inspiring. There is also a really dynamic cast of secondary characters. Some I hated, some I loved and some I completely loved to hate, but they all fit into the plot of this story perfectly.  I will say that as far as historical facts go...there were a few inaccuracies and liberties taken with timelines and and such, but nothing that bothered me because this felt more like a retelling to me, and less like a historical fiction piece.

The world in The Court of Miracles is wonderfully crafted as well. Kester Grant made Paris and it's criminal underbelly come to life for me! The Revolution tore Paris apart, and this is the aftermath. In this version of Paris, there are several courts, but not courts of nobility...these courts are known of as the Miracle Court, which is comprised of different guilds made up of misfits, criminals and orphans. I loved seeing all the different guilds (there are 9 of them- The Gamblers Guild, The Beggars Guild, Mergenaries Guild, Assassins Guild, Smugglers Guild, Guild of Letters, Thieves Guild, Guild of the flesh, and the guild of dreamers.) Learning about the guilds, their masters and their history was such a fascinating aspect of the story in my opinion. I loved that the book starts out with the code or law of the miracle court. It helped me gain my bearings in this world very quickly, and honestly for such a richly detailed world, I was never confused about who the characters were or what was going on, which is a big feat in my opinion. This story grows into a plot that is so much bigger than I could have initially guessed. Once Nina is situated in the thieves guild, her main goal is always to save her sister who was sold into the Guild of the Flesh. The plot evolves and twists and turns so many times and in so many different directions that by the end of the book, I just sat there stunned at how big the whole thing had becomes. I'm obsessed with everything about this world and I am desperate for more. The Court of Miracles is one of my favorite books of the year. In fact, it is the best book I have read in a very long time. I need more right now!

What I like About Me  is a young adult contemporary by Jenna Guillaume. This book was super cute and a ton of fun! What I like About Me is a really heartwarming story of an Australian teenager, Maisie who has a summer of self discovery where she learns to love herself and becomes herself. Everything about this book made me feel good. I loved the topics of body positivity, self growth and self love, confidence and growth that were explored. I loved Maisie herself , and the writing was just so cute and fun. It is impossible not to have a good time while reading What I like About Me!

In What I like About Me, we meet our main character Maisie, who is looking forward to a fun summer vacation with her family and friends. But it is off to a bad start. Her dad isn't around, and her friend is all over the guy that Maisie has been crushing on for forever (how rude!). To top it all off, she has to write in a journal daily for a school project. I loved Maisie's journal entries. Not only were they completely hilarious, but they were also such an effective writing narration. They helped me gain instant traction with Maisie. I love Maisie. I felt like we were friends, and it made her seem super funny and relatable to me. Maisie finds herself in a  beauty pageant, and seeing her summer (or Christmas in Australia) of growth was endearing and heartwarming. I loved the cast of characters, but Maisie was the star (obviously). She made this book for me. I want to read another book about her. She is like a friend now, and I am not ready to say goodbye. Along we Maisie, we have her "perfect" older sister, her best friend Beamer, her overbearing mother, new friends like Leila and her long time crush Sebastian. The whole cast of characters worked so well! They all have their own distinct personalities, and honestly they all made me love Maisie even more in their own ways. Her summer of self discovery led her to try new things, meet new people and learn and love herself. It was a wonderful journey. Parts of this book were a bit predictable but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I think this book will be perfect for fans of Dumplin' by Julie Murphy, and anyone looking for a lighthearted fun story with wonderful characters and an awesome positive message . Maisie is like a breath of fresh air as far as young adult heroines go. She is fierce in her own way and watching her gain confidence, self-esteem and love herself made me feel so good. I think this is a fantastic book for readers young and old alike to pick up. I think you will fall in love with Maisie just like I did.

The Marriage Game is an adult contemporary romance by Sara Desai. I loved this book so much! This is everything I want in a romance and then some! It made me smile, it made me feel all the emotions and it made me fall in love just like the two main characters did. If you are a fan of contemporary romance, then The Marriage Game is a must read book of 2020! The Marriage Game is an enemies to lovers romance that has so much heart that it is impossible not to fall in love with the characters. I need more books written by Sara Desai immediately because I can just tell from her writing style that she will make me fall in love with all of her books, stories and characters.

In The Marriage Game we meet Layla, who after a failed job and a failed relationship comes back home to live with her parents and start her own job placement company. We also meet Sam. Sam is co-owner in a successful downsizing company (they get to go into corporations and help them “trim the fat”. i.e. saving money and firing people.) Everything about Sam and Layla is complete opposites, right down to what they do for work. Layla is looking to find people jobs and Sam is a professional fire-er. They are both strong willed and stubborn in their own ways, and I loved watching them clash right from the very start. These two have such huge sparks that they lept off the page at their every interaction.

Sam rents an office space above Layla’s parents restaurant, and when Layla comes home her dad promises the office space to her so she can start her new business venture, but before he can tell Sam his lease is canceled, her dad has a heart attack and is in the hospital. So Sam and Layla share an office space, which turns into a bet between them. I loved how the plot continued to unfold in charming, bicker inducing and downright funny ways. What starts out as shared office space turns into Layla and Sam joining up to interview arranged marriage prospects for Layla. Let me back up…

Layla’s dad is the cutest. In fact, I loved Layla’s whole zany family, but her dad in particular won my heart. He hates seeing his daughter sad, so when he hears about her latest break up, he set up a profile on an Indian dating website used to help people with modern arranged marriages, and he vetted hundreds of guys for her. He sets up interviews with 10 guys he thinks his daughter would like, and when the first candidate comes to the office and completely surprises Layla she sets out to meet the others to honor all the hard work her dad put into the project. Sam wants Layla to find a guy and move out of the office and forget about her business so he joins in as an old school chaperone. What comes next is pure romantic comedy gold. This book made me forget about the world for a while. All that existed was Sam and Layla, and with everything going on right now that is no small feat. This was a fantastic read. I loved every page and every second of The Marriage Game. Sam and Layla have such combustible chemistry that it was a joy to read their enemies to lovers romance. I would love to see this book made into a movie. I think it would be perfect! I think this is a must read book of 2020. It is one of my favorites for sure.

Royal Decoy is the first book in the young adult fantasy series, Fate of Eyrinthia by author Heather Frost. Man, I loved this book! It made me so excited and antsy for the next book in this series. It honestly had everything I look for in a fantasy novel...great characters, an interesting complex plot, fantastic world building and plenty of awesome political intrigue/court politics and secrets to keep readers guessing and riveted to the story. 

Royal Decoy is told in multiple perspectives and follows two separate plotlines in two different kingdoms. Not only did I love the different stories, but I was dying to figure out how they would intersect with each other because we really have no idea at the start of the book. Our main character Clare (in her plotline) is a kitchen maid that finds herself as a more than bystander on an assassination attempt on the princess. After that, she is basically forced to become the Princess' decoy. Through this timeline we meet the royal family of Devendra. Devendra has two major enemies- Mortise and Ryden. 

The other plotline is told from the point of view of Prince Grayson of Ryden. I enjoyed seeing how different the kingdoms were. Ryden is very bloody and violent. They rule with an iron fist and would very much like to inspire fear in their people. Grayson seemed to be cut from a different cloth than his brothers and father and I very much liked seeing his point of view, and seeing Mia the girl he was infatuted with. I will admit that I wasn't really ever sure about Mia, and I think because of that I preferred to read Clare's timeline because it was easier for me to connect with her and the guards she was training with. (plus, I loved Bennick) 

Royal Decoy is an immensely readable story. Once I picked it up, I was done for. I couldn't put it down for anything. I completely fell in love with Clare and the story. Heather Frost did a fantastic job with this world. I felt the complex pull and tug of the different kingdoms. I felt Ryden not wanting MOrtise and Devendra to allign, I felt all of their desperation to avoid attack, all the while the whole world sits poised at the edge of war. It was all very powerful, even when it was simmering in the background. And in the foreground were fantastically developed characters, wonderful simmering romantic tension that I could not get enough of. I need the next book in this series right now! 

If you are a fan of fantasies featuring great characters and romance, an interesting complex plot told in multiple perspectives, fantastic world building and plenty of awesome political intrigue Royal Decoy is a book you will love! It releases next week, and I think this is a book that should be on your radar! It is one of my favorite fantasy reads of the year!

4.5/5 gavels

This was really good. On to the sequel!

Man, I love a good heist! This book was even better than Once & Future!!

The Nashville Bet is an adult contemporary romance standalone and is the third book in the Girls Weekend Away by Shana Gray. When I picked this book up, I was really looking for a fun romantic romp, so I was super excited to find a book that features so many things that I love…girls trips, romance and country music. In fact, The Nashville Bet is a romance between our main character and a country music star. How fun is that? I know there re probably a bunch of books out there centering around the same trope, but I have not read too many of them. And unfortunately, this book was just ok for me. I didn’t hate it…but I certainly didn’t love it. I will say, you do not need to read the books in this series in order. They really do act as standalones, so if any of the summaries really grab your attention, read them in any order that you want. This was the first book I have read in this series, and I am not too keen on picking up another one.

In The Nashville Bet we meet Ava who is looking to get away with some of her girlfriends to Nashville to enjoy the CMA fest. Almost immediately upon arriving, she meets Chase Hudson, up and coming country music star. There are immediate fireworks and the rest of the book seems to be about Chase dropping everything to woo Ava. I like the concept, but the whole thing felt too rushed for my liking. Honestly, when I was done and I saw that this book clocks in at 306 pages, I was floored. Because that is enough time to really flesh out the characters and make me feel something for the romance, and I just…didn’t. I liked the characters ok and the romance was nice, but I never felt invested in any of it. I think because the whole book felt like I was rushing from one thing to another on a giant tourist trip to Nashville.

if you like whirlwind romances with a fast pace throughout, this might be a book that you enjoyed more than I did. It was an ok read for me, but unfortunately it didn’t knock my socks off. This one was just ok, but I do hope if this is your trope that you check it out. It might be just what you are looking for this summer.

2.5/5

The Kinder Poison is the first book in the Kinder Poison series by Natalie Mae. I loved The Kinder Poison fiercely! It is one of my favorite books of 2020 for sure! The Kinder Poison is a young adult fantasy with a slow burn romance…my favorite kind! It really has it all- great characters, a really interesting world, competition, a unique magic structure, fantastic writing and world building and have a mentioned the romance? Yes! I totally loved it all and I am desperate for the sequel! Fingers crossed this is going to be a long and epic series because I can already tell I am going to love the whole thing!

In the Kinder Poison we meet our main character Zahru. Zahru has grown up in the kingdom of Orkena, and in Orkena everyone either has magic of some kind or they are banished from the kingdom. Zahru is pretty low on the totem pole because her magical abilities is not very highly regarded, but I thought it was super cool. She has the ability to talk to animals, which is known as a whisperer. One day, Zahru sneaks into the palace and inadvertently finds herself thrust in as a competitor in the fierce (and freaky) competition for the royals heirs. They have to race across the dessert, and the first one to cross the finish line and execute a human sacrifice will become the next ruler. Zahru gets forced into the competition as the sacrifice. Nuts, right? I got some Hunger Games vibes and some Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott vibes, but overall the Kinder Poison really stands on it’s own. It has a unique world and magic system that I loved. I enjoyed how varied the magical abilities are. Not only that, but the characters in The Kinder Poison are all so well fleshed out and detailed. This is no small feat for the size of the cast. There were a ton of different characters in the book and so many of them felt like they were really critical to the advancement of the plot, which I loved. The secondary characters didn’t blend into the background. They were not an afterthought, just added in for some flourishment. They all mattered. This story and world came to life before my eyes. I felt like I was watching a movie. That’s how I know I will love the rest of the series. Natalie Mae is a really talented writer. She brought this book to life for me, and I completely loved it.

The romance in this book is a slow burn and fantastic. Be warned, Zahru does develop feelings for more than one of the heirs, but I loved every second of the romance woven into the overall plotline. I want more more MORE of it! Zahru was an easy character for me to root for and to connect with. I loved her inner dialogue and thought process. Aside from the great cast of characters and the fantastic romance, the plot of The Kinder Poison will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing up until the very end. This was one exciting ride for me. There is so much action and adventure going on almost constantly that the pacing of this book just floats right along at a good paced clip. There was not one moment or scene where I was bored, and because of that The Kinder Poison has a place on my favorite shelf. This book rocked, plain and simple. I cannot wait for the sequel! If you are a fan of young adult fantasy, you do not want to miss out on The Kinder Poison!

Not that Kind of Guy is a romantic comedy standalone by author Andie J. Christopher. I thought this book was super cute and a ton of fun. I read it in an easy afternoon and I have to say I had a great time while reading it. I love books written by attorneys or about attorney main characters. Not that Kind of Guy features the second kind. Our main character, Bridget is a state attorney and her eventual love interest starts out as her summer intern. I loved that it was a male intern to a hotshot, bad A** prosecutor. I loved all of the characters, and the plot line was pure fun. 

Bridget is a boss at work, and she works hard to maintain her hard exterior, and strict no nonsense attitude, but in her home life she is a lot softer. I loved seeing both sides to her personality, and I loved that Matt did as well. Matt is smitten with Bridget from the first moment he meets her at his summer internship. Matt is a rich trust fund kid, who everyone thought would go the private big law summer associate route. But Matt wanted to break free of his families mold, and he does so wonderfully. I loved that neither Matt nor Bridget are just what they seem at first glance. Andie J. Christopher did a great job developing their characters and personality nuances as the romance also progressed. But the romance was not the only fun element of this book. I loved the role that families played in Not That Kind of Guy. 

Bridget starts out this book still reeling from a big break up from a complete jerk. He ex- was the most one dimensional character in the book (likely on purpose) but I would have liked to see his role expanded on just a bit so he was more than 100% jerk. When Matt and Bridget find themselves going to Vegas together for a wedding (Jack and Hannah from Not the Girl You Marry) we get to see the whole Nolan crew...along with Bridget's jerk of a ex. What comes next is plenty of hilarious scenes, and yes a really cute romance. I loved seeing how complimentary Matt and Bridget were, especially since they seemed to be complete opposites upon first introductions. Or should I say, not suited for each other. But as I got to know them, I loved the idea of them as a couple more and more. If you are a looking for a fun romantic comedy featuring fake dating, light boss/employee tropes, jerky exs getting what is coming to them, and plenty of family involvement, then Not That Kind of Guy is a great book for you to pick up. It was a fun read. 

Faker is a contemporary romance standalone by author Sarah Smith. I really enjoyed Faker. This was an interesting book for me, because there were some things that really did annoy me, but then as I kept reading, I just loved the romance so darn much that by the time I was done I was conflicted on how I wanted to rate this book. On one hand, the overall romance was like a 5 for me. It was swoony, steamy and the characters had fantastic chemistry and there was awesome character growth throughout. On the other hand, I did have some annoyances with the characters and how the multicultural romance was handled that would have made for a much lower rating of the book. So I sat on my review for a while, and I ended up re-reading this book, and I enjoyed overall growth and romantic aspect of the romance just as much the second time. So I decided that my enjoyment outweighed my annoyances and the book should get a higher enjoyment rating in my book.

Let's start with what I did like. I loved the main character, Emmie. Emmie is one of the only female employees at Nuts & Bolts, and as such she has to put up with a lot. Including her real piece of work co-worker, Tate. We will circle back to Tate later on because he started out as one of my major annoyances in the story, but don't worry he really did grow on me. Emmie and Tate do have an enemies to lovers trope going on, but the overall plotline had so much more going on than mere enemies to lovers. Tate and Emmie are forced to work together on a project and things start to blossom from there. The more I saw these two interact, the more I fell in love. And trust me, I was a hard sell. Which leads me to what I didn't love so much about Faker.

Tate was a huge jerk to Emmie. A jerk every single day. To the point where I had no idea how a romance could blossom. At all. And then once he revealed what type of person he really was, I enjoyed the softie romantic side of him so much that he completely won me over. And then we got to the "reason" why he was a jerk in the first place and, it just didn't sit right with me. It irked me, and seemed to go against the multicultural romance aspect that this book was touting. I just thought there were so many different ways this conflcit could have gone about, and I think the author could have presented the romance and the multicultural aspect in some more interesting way than just describing the color of Tate's skin. But again, those annoyances of mine fell into the background because I genuinely enjoyed these characters and their romance so darn much!