This one took me a few months to finish. I had a hard time getting into it, even though it had so much potential. I really appreciated the mental health representation, which was one of the book’s strongest aspects. Jo, who is a public figure in the fitness world, seems to have it all together, but struggles with crippling anxiety. The conversations around therapy, depression, and coping mechanisms were handled really well.

Where I struggled most was with the romance. Jo and Silas had such a unique romance setup. She’s this wellness celebrity, and he’s a skeptical journalist assigned to cover her. It felt like a fresh dynamic, but unfortunately, the execution didn’t quite work for me. Silas was sneaky in a way that made it hard for me to root for him, and I never truly felt the romantic chemistry between them. Their connection read more like friendship for most of this book.

Silas, in particular, was a big part of the problem. He felt flat and underdeveloped as a character. We learn a lot about Jo the whole time! We learn her backstory, her struggles, but we hardly get the same depth from Silas. He remained one-note. The tension created with his secret went on for far too long. I was frustrated with how long it was drawn out.

I wish I had loved this more. It tackled such important topics, but the lack of a compelling romance and the imbalance in character development, made it hard for me to connect. There is so much potential and this is a debut novel! There is a lot that could be improved on, and I would still pick up what she writes in the future.

Thank you, Forever and Netgalley, for the e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own! 

 

I want to start by saying that I don’t think this is a romantasy. This is a fantasy with romance, and there’s a big difference! I’ve been a long-time fantasy reader, and this fits more with a typical fantasy. The romance plays a smaller role in the story, rather than the main focus. There’s nothing wrong with that, I often prefer it with fantasy. But I’ve seen this book advertised everywhere as a romantasy, and that feels a bit misleading. This definitely leans more into darker fantasy themes too.

Now, onto the book. This was a highly anticipated release for me, and for many others. It’s been all over the place! I even got to attend Rachel Gillig’s meet-and-greet a couple of weeks ago. It was awesome getting to meet her, and learning more about her process with this book. Fun fact: the character she’s most like is the gargoyle! Speaking of the gargoyle… It’s hard not to fall in love with this grumpy little creature, with his funny comebacks. He calls everyone Bartholomew, and you just know there’s more going on beneath the surface. Gillig does a fantastic job creating characters with depth and complexity.

Sybil’s whole world is turned upside down when the King visits. Everything she’s ever known and believed is thrown into question. As she starts to uncover the truth, her world begins to unravel. Her journey is tough! She’s trying to hold on to her faith while everything around her crumbles. Then there’s Rory, who is confusing and rude. Honestly, the more I learned about each character, the more I just wanted to give them all a hug. This is not a happy story, and it gets pretty dark at times.

The romance? Fantastic. It grows naturally throughout the story and is full of angst! The banter between them was one of my favorite parts! You know I love a good enemies-to-lovers trope. The pacing was perfect. I had a hard time putting it down. I couldn’t stop thinking about it and needed to know what happened next. Of course, we’re left with a big cliffhanger. Now I really can’t wait for book two!

I know there’s a lot of hype surrounding this book right now, but I say, give it a chance. Just don’t go in expecting a romantasy, because that’s not what this is. It’s a great fantasy with romance, set in a unique world with some truly amazing characters. It was a bit predictable in places, which is why I knocked off half a star. But overall, this was a solid and fantastic read!

Thank you, Orbit, for the e-arc. All thoughts and opinions are my own! 

 

One of my favorite things about this book is its cover, it's absolutely stunning! Unfortunately, I’m sad to say that I didn’t enjoy the story as much as I had hoped. I struggled with several aspects of Tonight, I Burn. I was looking for more in-depth world-building and stronger character development, but sadly, that wasn’t the case.

There were moments when I felt drawn into the story, only to be quickly pulled out again. Adams has so many intriguing ideas, but much of it felt underdeveloped. Often, a person or concept would be introduced abruptly, leaving me confused. This disrupted the pacing and made it difficult to stay engaged. At times, characters we barely know suddenly had major roles to play, which made things feel confusing and inconsistent. I think the overall world Adams created is interesting, and there’s a strong foundation with a lot of potential. However, I feel the plot could use more polish.

I also had trouble connecting with the romance(s), just as I did in the first book. I couldn’t feel the chemistry, and some aspects came off as a bit toxic. On the bright side, I really enjoyed the main character’s relationships with her sisters, which is a big positive throughout both books.

Overall, I’m disappointed with this book. I had hoped the issues I had with book one would be resolved in book two, but instead, I found myself even more confused. The book felt too long, and I’m not sure I’ll continue with the series.

Thank you, Orbit, for the finished copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

 

 

I had a lot of fun with this book! I did have an e-arc via Netgalley for a while. The audio also became available, and I read it that way. The audio is fantastic. The narration is by Soneela Nankani. She did such a fabulous job. I am sure I enjoyed this more because I listened to it. Nankani captured so many emotions. She caught the frustration, anger, and so many nuances. I highly recommend the audiobook if you are interested in this story.

There are so many tropes in this romance that I lost count. We have a workplace romance, forced proximity, and my favorite- enemies-to-lovers. I did find this entirely predictable, but I had a lot of fun with the journey. Rafe and Tris have a lot of misconceptions about each other. While they are on this work trip, it was interesting to see all of their ideas of each other unravel. There are times that I found Rafe a little flat regarding his character and character development. I wish we had gotten a little more depth from him.

Nisha did not hold back about putting corporate patriarchy on blast. It is still so frustrating that in 2025, this is still such a big problem in the workforce. STEM is such a male-dominated area, and I loved how she showed how unfair it is. Not only was Katie female, but also brown! Yes, for a POC rep.

I am glad to say I have finally read a Nisha Tuli book! While it wasn’t the perfect read for me, it was a great time. She did a fabulous job with the enemies-to-lovers trope. It was going to rate high for that reason alone, haha. If you enjoy a tropical setting, with a workplace romance and some spicy scenes, you’ll enjoy Not Safe for Work.

Thank you, Hachette, Forever, and Netgalley for the e-arc/audio. All thoughts and opinions are my own!

 

I had seen this book around for a while but didn’t think it was for me. Oh, I was wrong! I ended up using my Audible credit on the audiobook just to give it a chance, and I’m so glad I did. It was amazing! The audio is actual perfection. I highly recommend it. There are some extra tidbits in the physical copy that you won’t want to miss, so I recommend doing both formats. I even convinced my husband to listen to it, and he just finished book one last night. He loved it too!

This was the craziest, funniest, most completely out-there story I’ve read in a long time. I had so much fun and laughed out loud more times than I can count. The apocalyptic world it’s set in is so unserious (at least for now), and it’s incredibly entertaining. There are so many amazing characters *cough Princess Donut cough* along for the ride. Just a heads up, there are some very dark and gory moments throughout. It’s not a completely light read, even with all the humor. When your reward for a new achievement is that you're still alive, you know it's intense. The banter between Princess Donut and Carl is top-notch!

I’m not a gamer, which is why I was hesitant to start this. I’ve seen so many people compare it to D&D, saying if you like that, you’ll love this. I don’t know anything about D&D, and I still loved it! Also, can someone please explain the Cincinnati connection? There are a few shout-outs to the city, and I need to know why! The author isn’t from here, but it was a fun little surprise since we live in the area.

Is this book out there? Yes! Will you have the best time? Absolutely. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook while reading along. That’s how I’ll be enjoying the rest of the series. If you're looking for something entertaining and funny, give this a shot. It’s not my typical read, but I’m 100% in now!

Thank you, Ace and Netgalley, for the e-arc! All thoughts and opinions are my own!