I Do Not Trust You  is a young adult adventure mystery by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz. I was immediately drawn in to this book by the title and the summary. A member of an ancient cult shows up to tell you that the father you thought was dead, isn't? And then sweeps you up in an adventure to find him that takes you all around the world...yes please! And while I did enjoy up enjoying I Do Not Trust You, it didn't blow me away like I was expecting it to. A found a lot of the book to be very slow and kind of hard to get into. The story's pacing did pick up in the second half of the book, but even so this was only an ok read for me. 

In I Do Not Trust You we meet our main character, Memphis or M for short. I loved M. She is sassy and independent, and really really smart! I couldn't believe how much M seemed to know...about everything. It was a little odd how well versed she seemed in so many different cultures and their histories. I am a history major and I don't know as much as M seems to about different cultures histories. But I digress. What I loved most about M is her skeptical nature.  So when Ashwin, or Ash for short shows up, M does not trust him. Which I kind of expected from the title of the book, and yes there are a lot of trust issues and skepticism present with M and Ash as they go on their round the world journey to try and track down her dad. I loved the descriptions of the places they visited and the intrigue present in the story surrounding M's father and the ancient society were also interesting, but at times it just didn't feel like enough was going on to capture my attention. The overall story was good, but too slow for my taste. If you are a character driven reader that doesn't mind some slow pacing then I think you will enjoy this story. 

I think this book will appeal to readers who enjoy an adventure style mystery that felt like a mix of sleuth story and Indiana Jones mixed with Tomb Raider. There is also a wonderful cast of diverse characters, which I loved! So even though this book was a bit too slow for my liking, I did end up enjoying the overall story. 

Dear Santa is a holiday romance by Nancy Naigle. I really enjoyed this book. It was just the holiday pick me up I needed this year. It reminded me of You've Got Mail, which is a classic! I loved this holiday romantic comedy romp. It put a smile on my face, and if you are looking for a light hearted holiday read, I think Dear Santa is a great pick. 

In Dear Santa we meet our main character, Angela who is trying to keep her family run holiday shop afloat. It has been a town staple for over three generations, but now when a mega chain store called Christmas Galore comes into town, it is threatening to take down the little family run shop around the corner...I mean Heart of Christmas. (total You've Got Mail vibes, right?) When Angela's niece tells her to write to Santa for help keeping the family store afloat, Angela turns to letters to Santa app. Unbeknowst to her, the app is actually manned by the son of owner of Christmas Galore. Geoff and Angela start off as enemies but through a little Christmas Spirit and magic, their attitude towards each other starts to change. I loved every second of this fun christmas love story. 

Angela had a place in my heart right from the very beginning of the story, but I do have to admit that Geoff didn't really give me the warm and fuzzies. Let's just say, I completely understood why Angela was not the biggest fan of him. He did end up winning me over by the end, but it took a lot of work on his part to worm his way into my heart.  If you are a fan of You've Got Mail, then you need to check out Dear Santa. I think it will put a holiday smile on your face and give you total Christmas hallmark movie vibes! 

They Call Me Alexandra Gastone is the first book in the young adult spy & mystery series by T.A. Maclagan. The series is aptly titled the Alexandra Gastone series. I think I will need to read the second book in the series to be able to fully develop my thoughts because one of my main issues with They Call Me Alexandra Gastone is that I thought it was going to be more of a spy book, and the series very well might be, but this first installment felt more foundational to me, setting up the stage and allowing the readers to really get to know Alexandra and her inner dialogue and conflicts. While I did enjoy those aspects of the book, I felt like they might have taken up a bit too much over the overall storyline, leaving not very much time for the typical spy and espionage aspects of the story I was expecting. Again, this might be a short term issue with the following books in the series being able to focus more on the spy/espionage aspect now that we know the players, the world and the set up. Time will tell. I am interested in continuing one with the series, but I am not sure when exactly I will be picking up the second book.

In They Call Me Alexandra Gastone, we meet our main character Alexandra or Milena. Milena is a sleeper agent, trained by her homeland of Olissa and planted in the life of the CIA analyst Albert Gastone. The main focus of They Call Me Alexandra Gastone is not how she infiltrates the CIA and her being an active agent, but is more so about Alexandra/ Milena herself. This book is very inner dialogue heavy, so be [prepared to jump into her thoughts very frequently. I really enjoyed the inner conflict that our heroine was facing. Her loyalty to Olissa goes head to head with the love she is having over her new life with Albert, her boyfriend and the US in general. It was a really fascinating conflict and it was my favorite aspect of the story. When I pick up book two it will be because I want to see more of how Milena sorts out her desires and determines what she wants to do, and less for the spy plot. I will be interested to see if there is more spy action in the second book, but I think this is much more of a character driven mental aspect of spying novel than it is about some of the more physical and confrontational aspects of being a spy. 

They Call Me Alexandra Gastone was a really interesting read, and one that I really enjoyed. I liked Milena. At times I found her inner dialogue to be a bit much, but I really appreciated the direction it led the story in. It got me thinking in a way I was not expecting to when I first picked up this book. 

Bright Wicked is the first book in the new adult fantasy romance Bright Wicked series by Everly Frost. This is my first book that I have had the pleasure of reading from Everly Frost, but it will not be my last. I fell in love with her characters, her world building and her writing style so much, I now want to binge read all of her series. I am so excited to have found Bright Wicked and Everly Frost because not only did I find a new series that I am in love with, but I think I might have found a new favorite author! If you are a fan of fantasy romances that feature Fae, Bright Wicked is a book that you will love! I know I did!

In Bright Wicked, we meet out main character Aura, who is the Queen’s champion- the highest ranked fighter in the land! She is higher than the heads of the Queen’s day guard and night guard. The world in Bright Wicked is such a cool set up. I have read a lot of fae stories (they are my favorite) so I have seen a lot of fantasy worlds with the different courts, but I haven’t seen any quite like Bright Wicked. Here the fae either have day powers of the seasons, or nighttime based powers, but they all live under one court, which was a unique concept. All fae live in the Bright. Their enemies are divided by the deadly glitter fields, and they are called the Fell. Our story starts with Aura patrolling the woods on the fae/fell border when she runs into a fell warrior, who turns out to be the Fell King’s champion, and the law of champions is invoked. I was so fascinated by the law of champions the more I learned about it. Everly Frost does such a fantastic job with her descriptions, the land of Bright came to life before my eyes. The law of champions gives Aura and Nathaniel 3 days to defeat one another on behalf of their sovereign ruler.

I am so intrigued by the mysterious Nathaniel. I cannot wait to get to know him and discover more of his secrets in the next book. Bright Wicked takes place over the course of Day 1 of the Champion curse. Book 2 over day 2 and book 3 over the final day. I love this set up but only because it is so well done. Nothing about Bright Wicked felt rushed at all. Honestly I am so surprised that Everly Frost managed to cram in as much action and detail as she in the span of this book and in the span of one day without sacrificing any of the details of the events, world or characters. This book was fantastically done. I am so in love with Aura, Nathaniel and their Thunderbird companions. I hope we get to see more of Treble and the other thunderbirds in the next book!

The plot of Bright Wicked was so intriguing to me. I loved unwinding everything right along side of Aura. Aura is such a powerful and special fae. I love the brightness of her heart and of her powers. She is one of the most rare type of fae- she wields starlight, and it can be super powerful and deadly. I can’t wait to learn more about her and her glow in the next installment. Heck I am just super anxious to continue on reading this series. I am in love with the book, the world and the characters! This is one of my favorite fantasy romances of 2020, and I think it is a great series to check out if you are a fan of fantasy romances that feature Fae. It is an excellent story!

Between Ink and Shadows is the first book in the young adult fantasy series called, Between Ink and Shadows by Melissa Wright. I loved this book! It had a dark and gritty vibe with a creepy secret society in a fantasy world. I am super pumped for the second book. I need it in my life right now! I also want to point out that this is a super beautiful book! I have the hardcover edition and not only is the cover crazy beautiful, but there is gorgeous art on the naked hardcover edition that is just stunning! Melissa Wright did such a fantastic job creating a book that looks as beautiful on the outside as it reads on the inside! I really loved between Ink and Shadows and I can’t wait to read the second book in this series.

In Between Ink and Shadows, we meet our main character Nim. We learn early on that Nim is indebted to a super scary secret society called The Trust. We also learn that she is not indebted to them by her own choosing or doing…but rather she inherited her father’s debt. This made me instantly feel for Nim. She is just trying to get by because of someone else’s choices thrust her into a life that she can’t get out of. I loved Nim. I loved her skeptical nature, and how resourceful she is. For Nim’s next task, which really doesn’t earn her any closer to freedom, it just buys her another month’s time, is to steal a personal item from the king’s seneschal, Warrick Spenser. This sets Nim off on her real adventure.

I loved Warrick and Nim from their very first meeting. I knew that Warrick was someone that has demons and secrets of his own, and I was dying to uncover them all. Melissa Wright does a fantastic job of gripping the readers attention and not letting go. Between Ink and Shadows is a fast paced read that once I picked up, I couldn’t put down! Another element of Between Ink and Shadows that fascinated me is the magic system. Here people barter and contract away for pieces of magic. It might be magic for good luck, or magic to look beautiful, but all magic comes with a price. It was an interesting concept to see something ordinary- a contract, paired up with something magical. I loved it! And of course, it illustrates all the ways that contracts and debts can go very wrong. The seedy underbelly and the violence of the Trust was truly terrifying. They do not mess around!

Everything about this story drew me in- The characters and their great banter, the bargain struck between Nim and Warrick, the dark gritty atmosphere of the world and creepy villainous nature of the Trust. It is all fantastic, and if you are a fan of dark fantasies with an alluring romance, great characters and a fast paced plot, then Between Ink and Shadows is going to be a smash hit for you! It was for me. I am desperate to get my hands on book 2 ASAP!

Escaping Eleven is a young adult dystopian romance by author Jerri Chisholm. Escaping Eleven is Jerri’s debut novel, and I really enjoyed it. I was excited to learn that it is going to be the first book in a series. Book two is called Unraveling Eleven and it is currently slated to be released in September of 2021! Escaping Eleven had a unique world set up. In this dystopian novel the climate of earth has made the world uninhabitable, and the remaining survivors of this area of the world are forced underground to live. Underground their new society is divided into a caste like system, where the floor that you live on determines your job, and your status within the compound. The higher to the top floor you are, the more upper class you are considered- quite literally.

Our main character, Eve lives on the lower floors of Compound Eleven, which puts her more in the laborer/have not category of this society. But Eve is scrappy, and may seem a little closed off an prickly to most outsiders looking in, but I appreciated her skeptical prickly nature. I loved Eve! I think she felt real and fleshed. She brought the story to life in my opinion. She is not living in an easy world by any means, and her outward personality likely helps her with her fights. In the lower floors there is something that felt like a fight club to me, and Eve is one of the best fighters! That is until a mysterious boy shows up and whoops her butt.

I loved that the lover interest, Wren, started off by fighting her. Because though Wren is a great fighter, he is a real sweetheart. His compassionate soul helped to counterbalance out Eve’s harsh exterior I thought. I really enjoyed the two of them. And I liked the story of Escaping Eleven. I thought this novel has a really strong premise, and a great start and a awesome ending. I can’t wait for the next book. That being said, the story did drag a bit in the middle for me. But with the ending of escaping Eleven and I am really hopeful that the next book will have more action and movement in it. I would also like to learn a bit more about the world in the next installment. Overall, this was a solid start to a series. I am interested in continuing on and seeing what happens with Eve, Wren and with this world overall. I think this was a really good debut from author Jerri Chisholm. I can’t wait to read more from her!

Songs of Autumn is the first book in the young adult fantasy series called, Songs by author Lauren Sevier. The premise of this book was super unique and interesting and I really enjoyed both the plot and the characters. I can’t wait to continue on with this series. Songs of Autumn is set in the realm of Aegis, where there is magic but it is not what it once was. The magic in the realm is dying out, and with it nature and the seasons are starting to get a little whacky. I loved how magic was tied to the seasons and nature of the land. I think that is a really interesting and harmonious way to incorporate the magic system and I loved learning about it. As the seasons start to slow down, the realm turns to an ancient prophecy where they think in order to restore magic to the kingdom and set right the course of nature, they need to make a sacrifice.

This is where our main character, Princess Lisabetta, or Liz to her friends, comes in. Liz is the person that is prophesized to save the kingdom. Only problem is, that means she needs to die in order to do it. Or does it? Liz, not ready to be a willing sacrifice decides to go on a quest to try and learn more about the prophecy to see if there is any way around her having to die to fulfill it, and to see if that is even what the prophecy actually says. The prophecy aspect of the story kind of gave me Order of the Phoenix vibes, which I was digging. Along the way, Liz creates a great cast of friends to tag along with her. I adored Liz and Tia’s friendship. I am always so happy to see a strong friendship represented in a story, and Tia is an absolute delight! She was my favorite character in the whole book!

I will give one warning- the romance present in Songs of Autumn did feel a bit insta-lovey. Not something that bothers me too much, but just be aware if that is not your cup of tea. It might deepen in the future books, but here it was a solid case of Insta-love, with Liz being the unique special girl that finally turned Mat’s eye. I like the romance in Songs of Autumn, but I found myself enjoying the overall main plotline more than the romance aspect of the story, but I am equally interested in both continuing in the next book in the Song series. I can’t wait to see what Lauren Sevier has in store for us next!

3.5/5

A Curse of Ash and Embers is the first book in the Tales of the Blackbone Witches series by Jo Spurrier. I would classify the Tales of Blackbone Witches series as an upper young adult fantasy series with new adult and adult crossover appeal. I think this novel was a really good start to what seems like it will be a very interesting series. I enjoyed the plot of A Curse of Ash and Embers and I became very invested in the characters. I can’t wait to see what is going to happen with them in the next installment.

In A Curse of Ash and Embers, we meet our main characters Elodie and Aleida, who find themselves as an unlikely pair on a journey to try and help Aleida from a predicament that she finds herself in. I liked the mysterious air surrounding the story, from the initial letter that Elodie receives which led her to her current job at Blackbone Cottage to the warring witches and warlocks that might be pulling some strings throughout, there is enough unanswered questions to keep my interest level high throughout the story. I appreciated that mysterious element because the pacing of this story felt a bit slow at times. There are certainly action packed moments and scenes, which were some of my favorite, but a majority of the story takes place surrounding the cottage, which sometimes made me feel like not a whole lot was happening. It didn’t bother me much because it allowed me to get to know Elodie and Aleida rather well. Character driven readers will enjoy that aspect of A Curse of Ash and Embers.

I loved how different Elodie and Aleida are at first glance. Elodie has suffered a few forms of abuse at home and she is not well connected within her community. Aleida by outward appearances is much more self assured and confident, but she too has suffered from someone else controlling her, though it is a different type of manipulation in her case. Either way, watching them come together, learn from each other and help each other was my favorite aspect of this story. I can’t wait to see it developed further in the next book. This was a great fantasy story that is full of magic and gives off fairytale vibes. I think readers of fairytale inspired fantasy will really enjoy A Curse of Ash and Embers. I can’t wait for the next book.

Awaken is the first book in the new adult/adult fantasy series called The Goddess Incarnate, by B.L. Callaghan. The Goddess Incarnate series is a fantasy series that pulls heavily on mythology influences, which if a big favorite of mine. I was super excited to read Awaken and I can’t wait to continue on with this series. I thought this was a good first book, and it has built a solid foundation for a series that I think I will really enjoy. Awaken at times felt a little bit information heavy (info-dumping) because there was so much going on, but that can sometimes come with the first book in a series because they are setting up a new fantasy world and laying all the groundwork for the characters and how they fit into that world. This is not something that bothers me in book one of a series, but I did just want to point that out.

in Awaken, we meet our main character Sapphira. Sapphira believes she is just a normal 19 year old, when she gets a huge bombshell dropped on her that she is no ordinary human. She is actually one of the most powerful beings in the world called the Goddess Incarnate. I don’t know about you, but if I was told that I was a goddess, I would probably be just a little bit skeptical. And I have to say, Sapphira was my favorite part of this story. She questions things instead of just accepting them at face value. She is strong, brave and more than a little feisty. I love her as our main character. She elevated the story to another level in my opinion.

Because we see this book through Sapphira’s point of view, we are often as in the dark as she is. I found this to really effective at allowing the reader to form a strong connection with Sapphira, which I loved. But I also found it to be frustrating at times, when I wanted to learn more about certain aspects of the story. I felt like I had a very clear picture of the world because of all the rich detail and information provided, but I didn’t always know what was going on because Sapphira didn’t know. I think this will become less of an issue in future books as we learn more alongside Sapphira.

The plot of the book was great and I can’t wait to see where it is going to go next. There were plenty of surprises thrown in throughout to keep my attention, and some of them really came out of nowhere! I was legitimately very surprised a few times, which I enjoyed! There is a lot happening in this book plot-wise, and I can’t wait to see what the next book in the series is going to bring. This was a good first book. It is something fans of mythology based fantasy stories should check out!

2.5/5

Sway is a young adult contemporary romance by Kat Spears. I have had this book on my review book TBR for forever! It was one of my 2020 goals to try and get my netgalley percentage up, and a goal to try and read older books of mine, so I kind of ping ponged back and forth between reading newer books on my netgalley TBR and some of my oldest books. This was the oldest unread book I had on my TBR, and it came out in 2014!! (I know! You can totally shun me in the comments below!)

Sway was an interesting read with really interesting characters. But it didn't blow me away. My lukewarm feelings about this book primarily had to do with one of the main characters- Jesse. I just didn't like him. And I struggled with that because I know he is supposed to be this kind of morally grey, prickly unfeeling cold guy. I know he was that way for a purpose and that purpose was supposed to make his romantic journey all the more satisfying. But he still mostly just bugged me the whole time I was reading. Which bummed me out because I was absolutely in love with Kat Spears writing and story telling abilities.

Jesse is a rough character that felt super realistic to me. He is also a drug dealer so there are drug references and strong language throughout the story in case that is a trigger for anyone. I appreciated Jesse falling for a girl and going through what that meant for him- whether he wanted to change any aspects of himself or not. It was all really interesting to me because Kat Spears does a great job not only not shying away from the grittier, tough issues that young adults face (not everything is sparkly and pristine in their lives). She really made the characters come to life for me. My favorite characters were Jesse's friends, Joey and Carter. They even redeemed Jesse in my eyes a little bit. I really appreciated that he had friends like them in his life.

Overall, I appreciated the story and the writing, but I couldn't connect with Jesse as a reader, and that really hindered my ability to get fully invested in his story. Simply put, he rubbed me the wrong way. I think this will be a hate it or love type of book for many readers, so if you are a fan of gritty young adult realistic fiction and morally grey characters, then you might fall in love with Sway. This was an ok read for me, but not my favorite.