"There is an old tale woven through the mountain town of Woodsmoke about a stranger who appears as the first snow falls in winter, who will disappear without a trace as the frost thaws in spring, leaving a broken heart behind."

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

TW: abandonment, blood, death, death of a loved one, grief, infertility, injury/injury detail, medical content, pregnancy.

Perfect for fans of Rachel Griffin and Practical Magic, The Woodsmoke Women's Book of Spells was one of the most heartwarming books I've read in awhile.

This book delivered everything I wanted it to. Cozy, small-town, magical vibes with the kind of witchy atmosphere that feels like a Pinterest aesthetic board - complete with dried herbs and old, worn books. From the very first chapter, I was immediately captured by the setting and the characters - a feeling that didn't let go for the entirety of the novel.

Along with all of the cozy, higher budget Hallmark vibes there was also an undercurrent of heavier themes which is something I really appreciate. Amidst the little book clubs and tall trees, there are also discussions of grief and sacrifice and identity and beginnings/endings and what it means to call a place home. It was the kind of book that finds beauty even in tragic circumstances.

The only... criticism (if you could even call it that) I would give is that this book is very simple. I really enjoyed this and it's what I was looking for, but I could see some readers expecting more from this book. If you love Rachel Griffin's short, cozy take on witchy fantasy, I really think you'll enjoy this. But if you're wanting them to do a deeper look at the other townspeople and their lives and the implications of the magic, you won't get much more than a topical but still meaningful read.

Overall, I really enjoyed this and I will in fact be recommending it to everyone - especially those looking for a cozy read for the colder months (or any time of the year, really.) 

Read about 15% and it's already really interesting, but this reading slump is kicking my ass.

I have no doubt that I'll enjoy this when the time is right, but I want to make sure I do this book the justice of not forcing myself to read it when I can't even bring myself to focus.

“Sometimes the best way to show love or be kind to someone is to meet them where they are.”

To put it very briefly, I disliked this in every single way one can dislike a book. If I wasn't so disappointed, it would be impressive how much I hated this.

Before I go on, I want to say: I went into this book with reasonable expectations. I'm not the biggest romance reader, but I've found some I really enjoy and this one sounded like it would be up my alley (especially with the focus on family issues and mental health, because I prefer my romcoms with some real-world issues.)

That being said, even my reasonable expectations were absolutely destroyed.

This book read as if someone had put every cheesy 2014 internet reference/pinterest quote/relationship tweet into a generator along with an ad for every brand you can think of - especially those under boycott right now. It felt like the most obvious brand placement in a TV show. You know the part in New Moon where the Burger King bag keeps changing directions so the label is always in view? That was more subtle.

That's not even mentioning the amount of times excrement/vomit/literally every other gross thing you can think of are mentioned.

And you would think, oh, well, the FMC is a nurse so this makes sense. Wrong! We never see her do any nurse activities (aside from checking a little girl's ears.) She could have been a professional flamenco dancer and the plot wouldn't have changed at all - we still wouldn't have been involved in her work. All of the excrement/vomit jokes happen outside of a nurse setting and are meant to be endearing? But if I had to hear about the stupid poop billboard one more time... I was going to put the book in the toilet it seemed to love so much. (This is a joke, especially since I read this through Libby.)

This might not bother everyone but I'm super grossed out by stuff like that. I understand that it's part of life, but when I'm reading a book (particularly a romcom) I don't want to read about poop every. five. seconds.

Now for the absolute delight that was the two main characters.

Every review I've seen has talked about how perfect Justin is and I must ask... were we reading the same book? These are the most unhealthy, creepy, boring people I have ever had the misfortune of reading about. How on Earth were people saying that he's the 'ultimate green flag'? I admit that there were moments that he seemed kind and maybe if someone else had been doing some of these actions, I would have been fine with them.

However, he just read extremely off-putting, possessive, and performative. The immediate way he was acting entitled to Emma's life (but it's fine because he also goes 'no, you don't owe me anything' whilst acting like he is owed the world.), the creepy questions as soon as he met her, and more!

Also... I understand his life was rough and I know that it was not an easy situation, but the way he handled nearly everything pissed me off.
(view spoiler)

That's not even starting on Emma. She had... so many problems and toxic positivity wasn't even the worst of them, yet it was present on every page.

Her relationship with her mother was incredibly draining to read about (which I believe was the point and I applaud the author for succeeding on that front.) However, so much of the book revolves around her mother-related trauma and then when things finally come to a head, they are brushed over and sped past - leaving the reader wondering why we had to sit through it, if there wasn't really going to be a satisfying resolution.*

*I understand that in real life, things don't get satisfying conclusions. However! This book never once attempted realism and created an entire plot at the end as resolution that should have gotten more focus than just a few chapters.

I could keep going. I could complain about the insta-lust being passed off as a soulmate connection. I could complain about Neil and whatever the fuck that was. I could complain about how nothing makes any sense by any stretch of imagination. I could complain that Emma caring so much about breaking her curse, when she never intends to love anyone, makes no sense. I could complain that the actual synopsis of the plot is basically pointless and discarded. I could complain about the pacing. About the way the children were written. About any sentence that uses the word "small".

But this review is already long and cranky enough.


Overall, every single review I have seen for this book is glowing. Which means that this clearly works for a lot of people and I don't want to invalidate that, but I also don't want to be dishonest. I have seen so many people say this is already their favorite book of the year and I'm happy for them.

I wanted to love it, even a quarter as much as everyone else seems to. But unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I probably won't read anything else by this author in the future, but I am so glad that so many readers have felt touched by this book. 

Setting this down temporarily. There's nothing wrong with it, I'm just not connecting with it and I fear it could put me back in a reading slump if I keep trying to force it.

May pick this one back up this fall. 

“Hope can be limitless. Inspiration can always be found. Ideas are endless. But time, that is the one resource that none of us can afford to waste.”

An accessible, inspiring, sometimes painful memoir with a (minor) focus on the politics involved in fighting for trans equality.

This does read like a love letter to Biden at times - which is understandable given the author's history and her affiliations - but it does deify some political figures, ignoring the active harm they continue to cause.

Overall though, I am glad I read this. It's clear Sarah McBride is a caring individual and I appreciated the chance to hear even a portion of her story. 

"You don't respect Toranic Law, Aranel. You fear it. You live your life in fear of how it will judge your soul and let that fear control your every action."

In this house we love books with overtones of religious deconstruction, moral ambiguity, and unique world-building.

I've been really struggling to read lately so the fact this book held my attention (especially with the sometimes wordy descriptions and training sequences) is a feat all on its own. It's been awhile since I've read a YA book with a world this unique or a magic system that's so developed. You could really feel the author's care and the time she put into this book on every page, which was definitely special.

I will say: if you're someone that struggles to read YA due to predictability and immature characters, this is probably not for you. I didn't mind the predictability much because I find a lot of books predictable, but even as someone that reads a lot of YA and doesn't mind the characters reading younger... I was struggling.

Some of this comes from the attempts to show their divided loyalties and how feelings can change with new information, but it often just left the characters feeling extremely gullible, dramatic, and fickle. Which is fair, as one of them is fifteen throughout most of the book. That still might be a struggle for some readers, which is why I'm mentioning it. It got to the point where I got irritated at every decision the characters made, instead of empathizing with them. (I do think this will improve as the series progresses!)

Other than that, I really did have a great time with this. I love the discussions of morality and the implications of trying to reshape a system that's so intrinsically flawed, as well as the consequences of dismantling it. I loved the creatures and I hope to see them more as the series continues. I enjoyed the discussions on nurture vs. nature, evil as a concept, and what it means to be 'good'.

I also really look forward to seeing where the story goes after that ending.

Overall, even with its flaws (which were honestly minimal, especially for a debut) I would recommend this. Especially to people looking for something familiar and entirely unique at once, but maybe not to people that expect YA books to read like adult fantasy lol. 

“This is the story of the witch who refused to burn. Some people said that there was power in her blood, a gift from her ancestors that she could endure.”

An ambitious, meaningful novel that lacks a certain depth or subtly that would have made it more impactful.

Despite the short page count, there are so many layers/levels to this book that I'm unsure how to review it properly. On the one hand, there was a lot I liked about this. I love witchy books, anyway; and I particularly appreciate when witchcraft is intertwined with intersectional feminism and humanity's relationship with nature.

I enjoyed the simplicity of the writing style, as it made me feel the main character is speaking directly to the reader without feeling cheesy. I liked a lot of the discussions on the intriciies of freedom and if one can truly feel a certain way if they were never given the choice to be anything else. I appreciated the discussion of mental health.

I did - however - struggle with the execution of some of the ideas. For example, despite this being a 'dystopian' it takes place in our modern world? (as evidenced by the modern pop-culture references, which really pulled me out of the story.) The world-building was a bit on the convenient side, alternating between being super detailed and then leaving the reader confused on how we got there.

As I mentioned higher in this review, this book lacked any subtlety - which is fine, but may be a deterrent to some readers. All of the discussions or societal issues are repeated blatantly again and again throughout the length of the novel. There's some moments of meaningful imagery, but they're a minor part of the story. I don't mind this, but I did feel like the meaning was dumbed down and kind of felt like I was being talked down to as a reader.

Overall, even though it wasn't perfect, I'd say this is definitely still worth the read.

TW: abandonment, alcoholism, cancer, death, death of a loved one, fatphobia, grief.

Such a sweet story! I don't always connect well with graphic novels, but I think the length of this one really helped as well as the incorporations of complex topics (such as grief and generational curses) amidst the romance/humor. I also really loved how the magical realism was handled.

On top of that, the art itself was stunning.

Absolutely hated her friend though, holy crap. I get it. I do. But damn.

Overall, I recommend this if you're looking for a quick and cute, but still meaningful read.

"It’s hard to remember sometimes all that goes into a life, all the different versions of a person, throughout the years, all the ways in which people are capable of changing."

A well-intentioned book that I didn't feel accomplished what it wanted to.

There's a clear message and hope for this story and I appreciate that, however; the message was rushed and lost to the convoluted, dull character plotlines. There were so many long paragraphs about mundane things and instead of connecting me with the characters or showing their humanity, it just made the entire book a bit tedious.

As for the plot itself, I couldn't bring myself to care for any of the characters beyond the barest hint of sympathy. Even the attempts at redeeming a specific character felt rushed, performative, and too sudden to have any meaning.

The narration - in an attempt to be accessible - felt extremely stilted and cringy. There are parts where the characters discuss having the entire mall put on a flash mob in hopes it will go viral, thus ensuring a character gets into college. There's another entire paragraph about the mucus of a dog. It's... a mess.

Overall, I see what the author wanted to do and I think - based off of the reviews - a lot of other people really connected with that. Unfortunately, I didn't feel anything aside from boredom and irritation.

While I don't necessarily recommend it, it's worked for so many other people that I know I'm in the minority. If it sounds interesting to you and the subject matter doesn't seem triggering, then I'd suggest checking it out.

"There are no happy endings in your story. The god and the gumiho ends with tragedy."

ARC provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

A fun and creative read that's sure to delight romantasy fans!

It's a testament to Sophie Kim's writing abilities that I enjoyed this story as much as I did. I started with anticipations high - due to the author's Talons series being one of my favorite trilogies - but quickly realized there were a lot of things about this story that clashed with my personal tastes. Particularly the fact the LI read like a Snape and Loki crossover, which is not my cup of tea.

However! Even with these personal issues and some technical ones, this was still a fun time. I had to look past certain things (such as how icky the fmc is. why was she consistently sticky and chewing weirdly?) but I was invested in the plot and ultimately, did care about their relationship.

This is sure to be a win with trope-driven readers, as this book is filled with many beloved tropes (sunshine x grumpy, forced proximity, etc.) without them feeling out of place. Due to the nature of the story and the fact it never took itself too seriously, these things felt like fun inclusions rather than eye-roll inducing fan-service.

I don't know if contemporary fantasy is one of my favorite things, but I will say that I appreciated how the author incorporated real world elements with her fantastical beings. It was reminiscent of how mystical creatures exist in the Shadowhunters world, while very much remaining its own story.

Overall, while this was not to my personal taste and it was a bit flawed, I still emphatically recommend this. If you're someone that wants a quick romantasy where the plot isn't lost to the romance and the characters have their own driving forces beyond their hormones, I do think you will love this.

Beyond anything else, looking past the stickiness, it is a fun time.