4.5/5

10 Things I Hate about Pinky is the third book in the young adult own voices series titled, Dimple and Rishi, by author Sandhya Menon. The Dimple and Rishi series is a young adult contemporary romance series, where each book is a standalone. As such, you do not need to read the books in order because each story will focus on a different set of characters and their story. However; they are all set in the same world, and so far, there is some character overlap. For example, There's Something About Sweetie is about Sweetie and Rishi’s brother, Ashish, and 10 Things I Hate About Pinky centers around Ashish's friends Pinky and Samir.

At this point, I have read several of Sandhya Menon's books, and I have a pretty good idea of her writing and characters, and I know that I am likely going to love them. This was exactly the case here. I loved each of the characters so much, and their romance is one full of heart and smiles. 10 Things I Hate about Pinky is told in dual narrative between Samir and Pinky, which is the perfect narration for this story. It helped me get to know both of the characters very quickly, and let me root for them almost immediately. Pinky is a self dubbed social justice warrior, and some of her causes made me chuckle and completely endeared her in my eyes. She is pretty much the complete opposite from straight laced Samir, who is very serious and has his traditional future all mapped out. Samir and Pinky put up with each other for the sake of their mutual friend Ashish, but no one would say they are each other's biggest fans. But when Pinky's parents refuse to see her as anything but a juvenile delinquent, she makes up a boyfriend she knows they would approve of. Samir has a prestigious internship set up at a law firm for his last summer before Harvard. But when that falls through, Pinky convinces him to he his fake boyfriend to impress her lawyer parents. And then the fun begins. I love a fake relationship story and when you couple that with the pure magic that is Sandhya Menon's characters and writing, you have a wonderful feel good romance. I loved the push and pull dynamic between Pinky and Samir. Watching their fake relationship progress into something real was fantastic.

All of Menon's books center on some theme of love, self-discovery and acceptance, which I completely adore. Whether you are a new fan to this series, or if you are fan girl to When Dimple Met Rishi, you will love 10 Things I Hate about Pinky. It will make your heart happy and it will bring a smile to your face. Maybe even a perma-smile. I dare you to read this book and not smile. Go ahead...I really dare you. I don't think it is possible. This is a fantastic companion novel, and I really hope that there are more books set in this world. I don't want to say goodbye to these characters yet. I am a huge fan of Sandhya Menon's writing. I can't wait to read many many more novels by her.

The Princess Will Save You is a young adult fantasy romance by Sarah Henning. The Princess Will Save You is based on a gender swapping re-imagining of The Princess Bride, which is an absolutely fantastic and classic movie. If you have not yet watched The Princess Bride, you need to watch it immediately. Knowing it was a re-imagining of one of my favorite movies growing up was all I needed to know to get instantly super pumped for The Princess Will Save you. And I knew I was right to be excited- I loved this book!

In The Princess Will Save You, we meet our main character Princess Amarande, who sets off to save her true love- Luca. I don’t even know how to adequately convey how much and how deeply I loved Amarande. She is everything I want in a main character, fierce loyal and has a mind of her own. She is awesome! She is not afraid to take charge. And while there is an epic rescue quest plotline, throughout the book there is plenty of scheming, secrets and new twists and turns that unfold. I can’t wait to see how some of them get resolved in the next book. I love that Sarah Henning was able to thoroughly surprise me with some of the events.

While you might think it is inconceivable that this book would live up to the movie, it totally does. It has all the elements that fans of the movie will love- great swords man ship and fighting scenes, a sweeping romantic love, and fiercely brave characters. However; the book still manages to be it’s own story. This is not just a regurgitation of The Princess Bride, and I loved that Sarah Henning made the tale her own. I can’t wait to see what is going to happen next in this duology. I do know one thing though, I am sure it will be over too soon. I loved this book, and while I am ready for more, I am not ready for this story to end. The Princess Will Save You will be a book that I re-read several times over. I loved this fantasy romance, and I think you will too (whether or not you have watched the movie.) This was an awesome story!

Beach Read is an adult contemporary romance novel by author Emily Henry. I loved everything about Beach Read. Honestly, this book was like a breath of fresh air, but at the same time was everything I love and find comforting about a great romance novel. It is perfect "beach read" book, but moreover it is the perfect read for any time of year. And don't let the fact that this book is a contemporary romance scare you away. This is a fantastic story about two people. People in all of their imperfectness, living their messy, sad, chaotic and sometimes happy lives. It is a really spectacular story that manages to be feel good, lighthearted fun as well as poignant and introspective. 

In Beach Read, we meet our main character January as she goes to her late father's secret beach house to clean it out for sale, and to write her next romance novel. Beach Read picks up at a pretty awful time in January's life. Not only has her father passed away suddenly, but at his funeral she learns about his mistress and a secret house he owned, and on top of that she has serious writing block going on. How can she write about romance when she is disillusioned about life. When she gets to the beach house, she discovers her next door neighbor is a total grump. But not just any grump- Augustus Everett, or Gus as she knows him was her college classmate and is a total elitist who thinks literary fiction is the only writing that has any value. (or so she thinks) 

Watching Gus and January interact was pure gold for me. I want to see their story played out on the big or little screen so badly. They scream movie romance in my opinion! Their banter was just as enjoyable for me, as it was to watch them get to know one another, and peel back layer after layer of their preconceived notions. Yes, Beach Read is a romance, and a great one at that. But it also delves deeper into a lot of character issues that I think brought the story to a whole new level. This book honestly felt like the mash up between a literary fiction story and a romance (heavier on the romance side, which is exactly my preference.) I loved the bet January and Gus struck up, and I really loved seeing the byproduct of their bets. Each of their stories screams them, which I loved! 

Bottom line: If you are looking for a great summer read, Beach Read should be your number one pick! I loved the romance and witty dialogue in this story just as much as I loved the characters and everything they had going on in their lives. This book was pretty darn near perfect in my opinion and I had a blast reading it! 

My Blood Runs Blue was a love triangle at its finest. I really enjoyed the struggle of choosing between the two guys. Plus it didn't hurt that I totally loved her choice in the end! She chose the right one :)

The thing that I love about vampire books, is even though there are tons of them out there, there are always some different nuances in each of their descriptions of the creatures. I love reading about all the various descriptions of vampires.

I liked how Stacey depicted them. I thought the half-breed and mate elements were really interesting. I can't wait to read the next book so I can find out some more about their history. I am interested to see what is going to happen next in the series because this book wrapped everything up pretty nicely I thought. So it will be interesting to see what the next hurdle is going to be.

I liked everyone, especially Kristen. I always tend to like the girl in the love triangle if they are two good guys fighting over her. It must have been so confusing for her and at times she was a bit wishy washy but she was strong overall. I respect that kind of strength in my main characters. One thing I didn't like was how easily she accepted everything. I mean if someone came up to me and told me all this stuff about half breeds and vampires, I would have reacted a bit more than Kristen did. I mean she was shocked at first but after that intital disbelief she seemed to take everything in stride and accepted it all. I would have liked to see a little more resistance to what had to have been a big shock to her. But other than that, I really liked her.

This book kept me on my toes for sure, I didn't know who she was going to choose at all. she kept going back and forth. I loved her final choice but im sure we will see more of the guy she did not choose in the next book. I can't wait to see what is going to happen next!

Last Chance Reform is the second book in the new adult fantasy series, called Immortals of Talonswood by Alex Lidell. I love Alex Lidell’s books. Her series, Power of Five is one of my all time favorites, and I already know that this series will soon be joining my favorite shelf as well. Alex writes addictive fantasies that I never want to put down. I finished this book in one sitting, and I know that it is going to be too long of a wait until I can get my hands on the next book because I need it right now. If you are a fan of new adult fantasies, and of reverse harems, this is a must read. Plus, it's on Kindle Unlimited so no reason to not check it out!

Last Chance Reform picks up a few days after the events of the first book, so you do need to read this series in order. Sam is all alone and confused. Because at the end of the last book, she thought she had made a connection with Ellis, but he is currently icing her out completely. He reasons that it is for her own good, but does he tell Sam any of that? Nope. He just lets her suffer in his silence. I thought he could have handled the whole thing a little better, but it does help with the setup for this series, which seems to be each one of the guys taking center stage in a different novel. Last Chance Reform is Reese's time to shine. I had Reese pinned as a favorite of mine right from his stony silence in the first book, and I love him even more now that I have gotten to know him better.

In Last Chance Reform, we get to see the world expand and grow and we learn more about the power dichotomy between the Vampires and Fae. It is all very interesting, and perhaps the most interesting component of all is the bond between Sam and the guys. I have read fated mates stories in the past, and I love them, but this is something different. Here we have a very strong suspicion that the bond is something magical- as in a spell cast by the last witch the guys encountered hundreds of years ago. I can't wait to see how it is all going to unfold. I am loving this series so much. I am ready for the next book to heavily feature Asher. I just know I am going to love him, even though we hardly hear from him. I can't wait to take a peek inside his head.

The Immortals of Talonswood series is going to have plenty of secrets, action and of course lots and lots of romance. I am so ready for book 3! And I am extra excited by that little Ruby egg was that Sam was tasked to steal popped up again at the end of this book, and oh boy! I can't wait for more on that front! Alex Lidell has done it again. I just love her series!

The Invention of Sophie Carter is a young adult victorian era romance by Samantha Hastings. This novel was utterly adorable and completely lovable. It felt like a Victorian era parent trap, which was a ton of fun. Swoon Reads somehow manages to always pick the perfect books and perfect authors to release feel good romances that are sure to put a big smile on your face. And The Invention of Sophie Carter is no different. I loved this book and I had a blast reading it. 

In The Invention of Sophie Carter we meet identical twins Sophie and Mariah Carter. The twins couldn't be more different, but when their aunt tells them she only has space for one of them to live with her, they hatch an ingenious plan to both go and act as if they were one person. Nothing can possible go wrong there, right? This book was a delightful comedy of errors and happenstance that leads the twins to court different gentleman suitors, who each think they are courting Sophie Carter, and to each try and get the most out of their London experience. Sophie and Mariah are each delightful in their own right, and I love seeing their bond as sisters. It is clear that they love and look out for one another. Sophie is outspoken and loud and Mariah is much more reserved, and watching their personalities differences come through in the romance aspect of the story was excellent. 

Which leads me to my next point. I loved the romances so much! Ethan and Charles were great, and watching some of the scenes play out between all of the characters actually had me genuinely laughing out loud. Art history enthusiasts will enjoy seeing references and visits to many famous pieces of artwork, as the Sophie's visit London's various art collections. That was a nice touch to the world building of the story that made the reading experience come alive even more for me. 

Bottom line: If you are a fan of the Parent Trap, you will love The Invention of Sophie Carter. If you have never seen the Parent Trap, then The Invention of Sophie Carter will be perfect for fans of romantic comedies set in a historical setting. This book was adorable and completely hilarious, which is always a winning combination in my opinion. I can't wait to read more by author Samantha Hastings. She has a real talent for writing a very satisfying story. The Invention of Sophie Carter was exactly what I was in the mood to read! I loved this book. 

The Merciful Crow is the first book in the young adult fantasy series by the same name from author Margaret Owen. I have no idea why it has taken me so long to jump on the Merciful Crow train, but with the second book releasing next month, I finally pulled out my ecopy of this book that was waiting patiently on my kindle and dove right in. (if you are interested, Fierce Reads is currently doing a readalong with all kinds of cool checks in and events in anticipation of book two's release next month. I have a whole blog post with more information on that readalong HERE. There is still a week left if you want to join in! At first, I was keeping pace with the weekly chapters, but then I got so invested in the book that I just had to keep reading when I hit the end of the chapter allotment, and before I knew it I was done with the book too soon! I can't wait to dive into book 2- The Faithless Hawk! 

In the Merciful Crow, we meet our main character Fie. Fie is a crow, which is the caste that is responsible for bringing  mercy to those individuals inflicted with the deadly plague, by killing them and honoring their bodies with a burial pyre. The crows are the treated like dirt though, with all of the other castes in the world looking down on them. Each of the castes is a different type of bird, Crows, Phoenixes, swans, hawks, etc, which reminded me a little of Kaitlyn Davis' fantasy (the Raven and the Dove) When Fie, her father and their band of fellow crows are called to bring Mercy to the dying Prince, they are in for the surprise of their life when they leave town with a not so dead prince, and his body guard double, set on getting revenge on his evil step-mother. And so they all set off on a quest to deliver the prince to some allies. But things get complicated when basically everyone is trying to kill them. 

I enjoyed the characters in this book, though some of the secondary characters like the band of crows really faded into the background without me learning much (or anything) about them. Our main characters were Fie, Prince Jas and his bodyguard/double, Tavin. I loved Tavin! He was easily my favorite character. I liked Fie as well and I admired her sense of morality and ability to power through tough times. I was hoping for a little bit more depth from Jas though. I don't feel like I got to know him all that well in this book, and I am very much looking forward to getting to know him better in the next novel. I believe that will really be his time to shine (or to disappoint me...but I hope not!) In this world, each caste has witches and non-witch individuals, each with their own abilities. Crow witches can use teeth from different individuals to call upon their owners powers. The whole teeth aspect of the story was pretty cool, and kind of reminded me of All the Stars and Teeth. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this fantasy. It is great for lovers of quest style worlds with political issues coloring a lot of life. It is easy to see that this is part one of a bigger story, and I can't wait to see what direction the plot will turn in next. There was a nice romance in this book, but of course I am hoping for a lot more in that department in the future. I know one thing for sure...I am super read for The Faithless Hawk right now! 

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**The Best Lies is a young adult psychological thriller by authro Sarah Lyu. In fact, it is Sarah Lyu's debut novel. I have been on a big true crime kick for about a year now, with youtube, and podcasts and documentaries on netflix, but I have not read too many crime thrillers. After reading The Best Lies by Sarah Lyu, I am thinking that is something I will need to rectify soon. I really enjoyed The Best Lies.

The Best Lies starts out at a crime scene. Right off the bat, we know Jack is killed and that Elise and Remy were with him that night. But the best Lies really explores the why of the killing. This story is told in two timelines- present day and the year leading up to the present day. I really appreciated that even though we were alternating between present and past, that the past timeline was not too far back in the past. We saw the last year of Remy and Elise's life, leading up to the aftermath of Jack's death.

Some parts of The Best Lies were a bit predictable, but I still really enjoyed the ride. I loved the psychological aspect of the story. Remy, Elise and Jack all came from broken homes, in some way or another. Remy and Jack were dating and Remy and Elise were best friends. The Best Lies explores the dark side of those relationships, and some of the more unhealthy aspects. I thought it was a refreshing change of pace to see the dark side coming from the friendship and not the romantic relationship. In fact, Jack was my favorite character in the whole book. (yes, I know that is a kind of a bummer...) Remy and Elise are both complex characters, but I kind of wish we got to see a different facet of who Elise was.

If you are a fan of psychological thrillers and crime novels, I think you will really enjoy Sarah Lyu's debut novel. The best lies is a character driven story that is fast paced and gripping. I sped through this in a short few hours and I loved the whole thing. I can't wait to see what is next from author Sarah Lyu.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Invictus is a young adult time travel adventure story from author Ryan Graudin. This is the first novel I have read of Ryan's and I absolutely loved it. It was such a fun fun read. I loved all the historical figures and time periods we got to visit. This book will be perfect for fans of the Passenger series, Dark Matter and Firefly. I love a book with a crew. It lends itself to awesome characters with lots of different personalities. And Invictus did not disappoint. I finished this book in record time and I am left pining for more.

Far is the main character of Invictus and he was actually born outside of time. He was born on a time travel vehicle while it was on a mission, so he is a bit of an anomaly. This book just gripped me right at the start. I don't want to get into too much of the details because watching everything unfold was half the fun for me. But Far finds a ship of his own, builds his own crew and starts going on missions to acquire certain items of intrinsic and monetary value through history. What I found to be really cool about that was they were not traveling through time to take gold all the time, people will travel to get foods that are not available in the future. Ryan Graudin did some super interesting commentary on consequences of time travel. It was all really well done. I dug it. I really dug it.

One of my favorite things about Invictus was the crew of characters. Imogen, Gram, Far, Pria, Elliot. They were all great in their own way. I loved watching all of them together. They didn't always get along, they didn't always trust each other, but it all worked for me. They were a great crew. And in my opinion, this kind of book can only work with a great crew of characters.  What I liked best was that none of the characters felt like an afterthought to me. They didn't feel secondary. They each had a pivotal roll on the Invictus. 

Bottom line: Invictus is a must read book for fans of time travel and for skeptics of time travel alike. I loved this book. It was one of my favorite reads of the year. I am dying for more from this world, though I am not sure if we are going to get a companion book or not. But I am hoping and rooting or one!

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Blinding Night is the first in a new adult mythology romance series by the same name from author Chantal Gadoury. I fell in love with this novel. I started reading it casually here and there for a few minutes at a time while I was waiting for some appointments. This casual reading quickly became longer and longer periods of me being completely glued to my kindle. Eventually it turned into me totally ignoring the people I was with because I was so engrossed in the story. I am hoping that book two comes out soon because I am full on addicted to the characters and the story now. Blinding Night is a fantastic novel and I can't wait for more from this series.

Summer "Sunny" is spending her summer in Greece with her mom and dad, while the work on an archaeology dig. Blinding Night tells the story that is totally made up of little girl daydreams. A mysterious stranger appears and tells you that you are a long lost princess...I mean long lost Greek goddess. (which is even better than princess!) Sunny is great. She has a healthy dose of skepticism, which I really appreciate. She is a reincarnation of Persephone. I love that Blinding Night is a mythology based story, but with a twist. I loved the whole reincarnation element that Chantal Gadoury incorporates. But my true love here is the mythology. I am so obsessed with stories featuring Hades and the underworld. I really can't get enough of them. With so many versions of the underworld out there in books and movies, it is always my favorite part of the story to see how the author is going to depict everything. And Chantal Gadoury's underworld and players does not disappoint. I love Darce (Hades) and Morpheus the most, but I am also super excited to see more from Thantos and some of the others as well. I really, really loved Morpheus. He was my favorite character in Blinding Night. I felt like he truly saw Summer for Summer, and not just for a vessel for Persephone. 

I loved seeing the past reincarnations of Persephone as well. I feel like there are still many more secrets for us to uncover in the next (hopefully several) novels, but there were some twists and turns that took me by surprise in Blinding Night. 

Blinding Night is a book that really had it all for me- great characters, awesome and engaging plot, a fantastic romance and overall a story that left me wanting the next novel ASAP. Like right now, in fact. Fans of greek mythology cannot miss this series. It is a must read. It is one of my favorite books of 2018. When does book two come out again? Because I need it in my life. 



This review was originally posted on Book Briefs