3.5 stars
I hadn't even heard of this book before it came in the September OwlCrate box. Honestly, some of my favorite subscription-box books end up being books that have flown under the radar.

Anyway, after a slow start, I really ended up enjoying this debut novel more than I expected.

What I liked:

1. The culture. This story is sci-fi and takes place in a fictional solar system. That being said, the culture of the people in this world takes inspiration heavily from Arabic culture. From fashion to body art to poetry, this culture felt very rich to me.

2. The politics. The conflicts between the different groups in this story was intriguing to me, especially the structure of the monarchy and the fact that the rightful heir of the throne belongs to both groups, which pretty much makes her hated by everyone.

3. Maram's arc. I liked her complexity. After really disliking her in the beginning, I found myself rooting for her by the end of the book. Her relationship with Amani was probably my favorite thing about the book.

4. The romance. A small disclaimer: I like romance in my books. I thought this one was really well done. Sweet but also angsty. I liked the scenes of them getting to know each other.

5. The writing/prose. I know this kind of thing is super subjective, but I thought this was very well-written, especially considering the fact that it was a debut. There were times I stopped myself and went back to read passages aloud. This author has a very lyrical style without being overly descriptive, which I really appreciate. My enjoyment of the writing is what brought this book from a 3 to a 4 star rating.

All that being said, this book wasn't perfect.

What I didn't like:

1. The end. I didn't hate the ending, but it felt a little lackluster to me. I guess I was expecting some sort of twist or cliffhanger and I didn't really get that. That's not to say that everything was all neatly wrapped up, because it wasn't. Our characters' hearts and lives are left in very precarious places. But it also wasn't so exhilarating that I will curse the fact that I have to wait a year for the second book. It just kind of ended and I'm okay. Maybe it's completely sadistic, but I want to be devastated. I want to gnash my teeth and pull out my hair (figuratively speaking) at the thought of having to wait for the next installment.

2. As much as I liked Maram and Amani's relationship, I do wish there had been a little more of it. To be honest, the first hundred pages or so felt rushed. I wanted to see more of a transformation of Amani. I wanted to be on the inside of her lessons, learning about Maram and her world in the process. But much of this section felt glossed over. We hear more about the lessons after the fact than we actually witness.

3. I could also say a similar thing about the romance, although I enjoyed these characters and their relationship as a whole. I wish there were a couple more scenes of them at odds with each other before the romantic element of their relationship starts.

Other odds and ends:

1. This book is technically sci-fi, but the technological elements aren't overdone. People who haven't read a lot of sci-fi or haven't enjoyed sci-fi in the past shouldn't let the fact that it takes place in another galaxy deter them from giving it a shot. It honestly reads more like a fantasy than a sci-fi.

2. This novel gave me Diabolic vibes quite often. If you enjoyed that book I would think you would enjoy this as well. I also get slight Remnant Chronicles vibes from this, probably from some of the historical lore.

I guess at the end of the day, I wanted more. This book is just over 300 pages, and I would've easily been down for another hundred pages in the development of the world, the characters, and the political system. That being said, I feel like this is a really solid debut and could see many people enjoying this.

NOTE: When I average out the ratings for all of the stories I actually completed, it comes to a 3.16, so I almost gave this book three stars. However, that would've been completely ignoring the 5 stories I didn't read because they didn't stand on their own outside their series. I feel like that should reflect on this anthology.

Short story collections should not require the reader to read a bunch of other books just to understand what is going on, unless they are written by the same person and specifically marketed as stories taking place in one world i.e. Stars Above, by Marissa Meyer, which is a collection of short stories taking place in the Lunar Chronicles Universe.

I purchased this anthology because there was something about the cover that was intriguing to me. I also liked the title. I assumed that this would be a collection of romance stories, mostly in the fantasy genre. I was also excited when I saw some of the names contributing to this anthology: Marissa Meyer, Leigh Bardugo, Ann Agguire, etc.

Unfortunately, I was very disappointed by this collection. First of all, almost none of the stories are original at all. They're all connected to the author's previous works. This works in a couple of cases (I liked Leigh's story about the too-clever fox, which I'm assuming made its way into Language of Thorns) and the stories by Jennifer Mathieu and Lish McBride worked as stand-alone stories, even though they were loosely connected to other series that I hadn't yet read.

It honestly ends up feeling like a money grab by the publishing company, as most if not all of these stories already existed before the anthology was compiled.

I'm going to give a rating for each story, beginning with my favorite of the bunch and working my way down to my least favorite.

First of all, there were 5 stories that I skipped over. I haven't read the series that these stories came from, and many of them took place in the middle of the series and followed important characters in the series. A couple of the series were familiar to me, but I'd never had the desire to read them, so why would I want to read a short story that jumps into the middle of the series?
Anyway...

1. Fixer by Courtney Alameda - I haven't heard of this series before. Apparently this author leans toward the horror genre, which is not something I tend to reach for, so I doubt this will ever be something I will come back around to.

2. Unstolen by Jessica Brody - Now, this one actually sounds intriguing to me. A girl is on a plane when it crashes and she is the only one who survives. Apparently it ends up being a mystery/suspense type series, so I'm interested in maybe checking out the series, but this snippet takes place during the other books and I want a little more foundation before jumping in.

3. Deleted Scenes by Katie Finn - I don't know if the series this comes from is for me. It seems like it's geared toward very young teens, which I am most definitely not. Also, as the title suggests, this story is literally a deleted scene from a book that I haven't read. I don't know how well it will hold up on it's own, and I don't feel the need to read it for that reason. Perhaps if I go back and check the series out. We'll see.

4. Tortured by Caragh O'Brien - I actually own the Birthmarked trilogy, which this story is connected to, but I haven't been able to get through it. I tried listening to it on audiobook once but it couldn't hold my interest. I am going to try one more time and make a decision about it once and for all. If I do read it and enjoy it, I'll come back and read this story. If not, I won't.

5.The Cypress Project by Gennifer Albin - This takes place in the world of the Crewel trilogy. It appears to be a prequel to that series that shows the point where our world diverged and went toward the world in that series. I know that this is a prequel, but I haven't heard great things about the foundational series, so I don't think I will be reading this.

Okay, now on to the stories I actually read. Again, from my fave to least fave:

5/5 The Too-Clever Fox by Leigh Bardugo - I love her writing and I love this story. I haven't read Language of Thorns yet, but I would assume that this story makes it in there and I kind of want to buy Language of Thorns just so I can read it with illustrations. This had the perfect blend of whimsy and moral that you get from traditional fairy tales.

4/5 Glitches by Marissa Meyer - This is a prequel to Cinder, the first book in the Lunar Chronicles. I really enjoy this series and this little glimpse into Cinder's first weeks with the Lihn's was great. I feel like even someone who hasn't read the Lunar Chronicles would enjoy this. It stands on its own, which cannot be said of all of these stories.

4/5 Death and Waffles by Lish McBride - I haven't read the books that this story comes from, but this story stands on its own as well. I never felt like I'd just been dropped into the middle of a story with no context. Even though you don't know exactly what is going on at first, it becomes clear very quickly and there is some backstory given. I liked the whimsical, yet serious nature of the story, and I thought the author did a wonderful job balancing something that could be on the macabre side. I want to read more by this author.

3.75/5 Dynamite Junior by Jennifer Mathieu - I haven't read the book this story is inspired by. It does take place in the middle of the novel The Truth About Alice. I've heard of this book before but I was wary of picking it up because of what I perceived as slut-shaming. However, after I read the author's note, I realized that her book is absolutely not promoting that kind of behavior at all and now I kind of want to pick it up. The one thing I will say is that the writing seems a bit on the simplistic side. But I would read a book about Carmen and her struggles. I would read it right now.

3.75/5 Bridge of Snow by Marie Rutkowski - I have read the Winner's Curse trilogy and wasn't really a fan. And I have to say, I feel like maybe I might want to give the series one more shot. This was actually pretty good. I liked the folklore that is woven into this. It was similar to the Leigh Bardugo story in that way even though it wasn't a straight-up fairy tale. And the last couple of paragraphs actually hurt my heart. It was the only time throughout this anthology that I got emotional at all.

3.5/5 Krisis by Lindsay Smith - I have seen the book Sekret here and there but never picked it up. This short story takes place a year before the book and follows different characters, which I appreciated. I actually thought this was pretty interesting. I haven't read many books taking place during the cold war, and even though this particular series contains paranormal elements, I'm still interested in checking it out after reading this short story.

2.5/5 Blue Moon by Nikki Kelly - I honestly don't remember what happened in this story and I just read it a couple hours ago. It just did not stick with me at all.

2/5 Secret Heart by Ann Agguire - I've read Agguire's Razorland trilogy. Twice. I know there is a fourth book, but I was not interested in the slightest by the synopsis. This short story isn't even a story. It's retelling a scene from the perspective of Fade, the male protagonist. It's boring and it's unnecessary.

0/5 Monster Crush by Anna Banks and Emmy Laybourne - WTF. The most shocking thing about this awful story isn't the fact that it was actually published by a legit publishing company. It isn't even the fact that it is a sasquatch romance (Yes, you read that correctly. No, I'm not kidding. Yes, I wish I was.). To me, the most shocking part of this utter drivel of a story is that it took TWO authors to spew it out. I'm just floored that anyone thought this was a good idea. First of all, Sasquatch. Romance. Now, I would've been fine if they wanted to do some sort of Beauty and the Beast thing with a Bigfoot as the Beast. That could actually make sense, especially if they were going to set the story in the Pacific Northwest. I could get that. But this was a take on Sasquatches that was just a big mess. Um...spoilers ahead...

In this dumpster fire, sasquatches supposedly used to be human, and they turn other humans by kissing them on the mouth. Just the mouth. Apparently they can kiss them anywhere else on their bodies and everything is hunky-dory, but one peck on the lips immediately turns the other person into a sasquatch--but only during the day. At night they get to be in their human form--but only for a little while. Over time they lose 'human hours' until they are fully sasquatch.

It's so freaking stupid. I just...can't.

Aside from that, there is also the fact that this is insta-love at it's most cringey. There is a reference to Disney Princesses and how she understands how the could fall in love in one night. At one point, they even reference the term 'insta-love' saying how much they hate it but oh well!

The final nail in the coffin for me is the structure. It is literally just the two authors, texting lines of the story back and forth to each other. I don't know if this is legitimately how they wrote this story, but the gimmick didn't work at all. It made the entire thing seem very lazy to me. Actually, that is the perfect word for this. Lazy. And like I stated previously, I was astounded that this was a selection for publication in ANY book, newspaper, magazine, ezine...whatever. It's bad. I do not feel any urge to pick up anything from either of these authors.

Honestly, this anthology annoys me more and more as I think about it. It isn't marketed as 'short stories set in the world of your favorite series!' If it was, I probably wouldn't have purchased it in the first place, but I definitely would've paid more attention to the authors included to see whether or not I'd read a majority of their books.

Anyway, rant over. I don't recommend this anthology unless you've read a majority of the books by these authors.

TW: domestic violence, childhood illness, attempted assault.

I have a lot of feelings about this book. I grew up in Alaska and have driven on the Alcan a couple of times in the past. Not as far as the characters in this book, but it was neat to read about places I've visited. Was it perfect? No. I felt like there were some pacing issues, character inconsistencies, and the synopsis on the back of the book doesn't actually represent what the book is actually about, in my opinion. It is presented as this epic road trip story, when the actual road trip only constitutes about the last quarter of the book.

At its heart, this is a coming of age story. It's about first love. It's about figuring out what your place in the world is. It's about family, both the family you're born into and also the people who become your family throughout your life. It's about loss, and how we cope with it.

That isn't to say that Alaska isn't an important part of this story. It is. But it isn't the act of road tripping to Alaska that is important. It's about what Alaska represents to Donna and Will; Freedom, choice, possibilities.

I don't cry often while reading, but this book was definitely emotional for me. That being said, the ending did feel rushed. I wish there was more description in the portion that took place in Alaska. But like I said, this is a character-driven narrative. People who need strong, well-paced plot may not find this to be the book for them. But if you gravitate toward a more contemplative, quiet narrative, this book had some truly beautiful moments.

3.75 stars
I read another book by this author last year and didn't really like it. I was very hesitant going into this book, and my expectations were low. I am happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book.

I really enjoyed the characters of Bex and Jack and their relationship. Bex's intended career path is something I don't think I ever would've considered, but it was so interesting to read about. I enjoy the fact that both Bex and Jack are artists but that their process and ultimate goal is entirely different.

I do wish that the author had delved a little deeper in certain instances. Conflict would arise and then almost immediately be resolved. Heath has issues that are hinted at near the beginning of the book, but it felt as though they were swept under the rug and at the end of the book everything is A-OK. I also really disliked Bex's mother, although she somewhat redeemed herself at the end. But seriously, she was mostly awful.

She admits that Bex and Heath were the only things that he wanted and by withholding them from him, she could 'make him suffer'. That's some petty shit right there. She was a total hypocrite, and I felt like she was forgiven way too quickly. It sounds like her dad was a dirtbag as well, but their mother acted like she was above it all.

It was really interesting to read a story that didn't shy away from its characters being intimate. These characters have sex with one another. They talk about it not only in terms of feeling attraction to one another, but also in terms of being safe and accommodating to one another. It was definitely one of the healthier romantic relationships I've read about in YA. Also, the male protagonist was a virgin while the female protagonist was not, and she wasn't made to feel like a slut because of it. That was refreshing.

All in all, I enjoyed this far more than I expected I would, and I will seek out more books by this author in the future.

This isn't quite as strong as the first installment in this series, but I still found myself enjoying the book. It's a quick, fluffy read, and I am at a point where that is exactly what I need.

2.5 stars
I really don't know how to feel about this one. There were things about it that I really enjoyed, and I found it to be a unique story, but at the same time there were things about it that I wish had been done differently.

What I liked:

1. The way the author describes Abby's love of the water and swimming was very compelling. It made Abby very real for me and I was able to empathize with her as a character when she was diagnosed.

2. I thought the relationship that Abby has with her parents felt realistic, especially with one parent being more invested in her swimming success. As a mom, I really connected with her mother's character. I cannot imagine what I would do in her shoes, but I have a feeling it would be a more intense version of what was in this book.

3. I liked Jen as a side character/best friend. She didn't feel like just a prop for Abby's story, although this changes a little for me with the end of the book. I want to know more about her story.

4. I could see this as a movie. It really felt cinematic to me.

5. This was a quick read. Just over 300 pages and I read it in one sitting.

6. It was obvious that the author did a decent amount of research on HCM before writing this book. Even before I read the author's note, where she talks about her process in writing it.

What I didn't like:

1. I'm not sure exactly how to explain this, but I felt very uneasy as this story went on and Abby sunk more and more into her lies to the people around her. The worst part is that she started to believe them at points as well. Then, when she decided

to go off her meds and try to compete, fully knowing that it could kill her

I felt so much anxiety, even though I figured that everything would turn out fine. After all, we are reading this story in first person. But it still made me uneasy how she talked about her death as if it didn't mean anything because she couldn't swim anymore.
I wish the story would've been less about her loss and her refusal to accept it and more about her accepting it and moving past it, realizing that just because one dream is taken away doesn't mean you can never dream again. I wish we'd seen her explore other interests and find something else that made her happy. Something other than a boy.

2. The ending was rushed. There are so many threads that are introduced throughout the book that are never unpacked. Was Conner really taking something to help him recover from pneumonia? What was Jen's real problem with J.D.? Why was that character even introduced if he wasn't going to do anything at all in the story? Was there someone Jen had feelings for? If so, why was she so uncomfortable mentioning it? What was the story with her and the boy who broke her heart in middle school? Things are referenced and then never explained. It leaves the ending feeling unfinished. I would've also liked some sort of reference to her getting some counseling. Her mother is a counselor, so I think it would be the first step after any kind of diagnosis like that.

3. There is a moment between Abby and one of the love interests where she specifically says, "Don't." and the love interest kisses her anyway. She ends up kissing him back, but that still doesn't make it okay.

I'm not sure I could fully recommend this book, even to people who have been diagnosed with HCM. Sure, it all ends up okay, but she spends the majority of the book being reckless with her condition, up to the point of acting like death would be better than HCM, and I just don't think that sends the right message.

4.5 stars This is the third Taylor Jenkins Reid book I've read, and I have to say that it's my favorite, by far. I had no idea what it was about when I started listening to the audiobook at the beginning of a long drive. And to be honest, when I realized it was about a couple on the brink of divorce, I wasn't exactly excited about it. But as I kept listening, I was surprised by the thoughtful nature of the book and its characters.

What I liked:

1. The writing. This book is written primarily in first person present tense. Now, I don't usually tend to like stories told in present tense. For some reason, it seemed to really fit this book. I also didn't find the dialogue as inauthentic as Maybe in Another Life. There were far fewer moments where I found myself thinking, 'people don't actually speak that way in real life.' The dialogue wasn't as expositional as it was in MIAL.

2. The use of letters to occasionally get Ryan's POV was important, I thought. It was what really helped me root for them as a couple. I like when books use letters, emails, journals, etc. to further a narrative, and this was done really well.

3. Side characters. I loved Lauren's family. I loved her relationship with her sister and also enjoyed her brother's arc.

4. Discussions about marriage, commitment, communication, growth, etc. There were so many moments in this book that were familiar to me. I've been married for 17 years as of the writing of this review, and that has not come without arguments and disagreements and resentments building up before they overflow. I feel like all of that is a part of the growing pains of marriage. Learning how to communicate clearly and kindly, standing up for yourself and what you want, picking your battles when something really isn't that important. It doesn't just come naturally. It takes hard work and patience. It takes a willingness to admit when you're wrong. It takes a willingness to want to stay together. I also loved the idea that no one way is more right than another. Some people know each other for five years before they get married, some just a matter of months. Some have kids before marriage, other's are perfectly happy never adding children to the mix. Some choose to live together without being married.

5. Even though Ryan and Lauren didn't spend much of the book actually together, the beginning of their relationship and the emails they wrote had me rooting for them to get their collective shit together and work it out. I loved their banter and the fact that Ryan was beloved by her entire family.

6. I loved that this book was just as much a book of self-discovery as it was a romance. They couldn't come back together until they were able to accept themselves and really be honest about the things that were important to them.

What I didn't like:

1. The ending felt rushed.

I wish we'd seen Ryan and Lauren's reuniting a little more developed. I was definitely happy they were able to work it out, but I wish we'd had a few more scenes with them working things out, maybe deciding to go to a therapist or something.

I am so happy I can finally make a spot for myself on the TJR bandwagon after being underwhelmed by the first two books I read by her. I'm hoping the next book is just as compelling!

I'm having such a difficult time rating this book. For now, I'm going to just mark it as read while I sort out my thoughts about it.

Trigger Warning for rape, depression, terminal illness.

I say this as a woman who is fat. If you are looking for a body-positive book, this ain't it, sis. True, there is growth in the main character from the beginning of the book to the end as far as becoming comfortable in her own skin, but it took way too long to get there.

Natalie is fat. That is her defining characteristic, along with the fact that she loves paleontology. We are never allowed to forget the fact that she is fat. It is referenced on virtually every page, usually in reference to how much she hates her 'real' self and how uncomfortable she is in her attempts to hide the aforementioned fat. It gets utterly ridiculous. She is in a summer program where she is going to be working outside, crawling around in the dirt and mud, but dresses in a dress and heels. Oh, and her body shaper, because god forbid if she doesn't have an hourglass figure. After the first day, she chooses to wear vintage suede flats because the heels were unsuitable...as if vintage suede shoes are a better choice to wear out in the mud and dirt. She wears a body shaper for most of the book, even though it restricts her ability to breathe. All of this because she can't bear the thought of someone seeing a roll of fat. It's absolutely absurd. I wish that the author had gone a different way with this story. She could've made Natalie a kick-ass fat girl who was into fashion and makeup without making all of that a crutch that she could hide behind. Now, I'm not saying that some big girls wouldn't act like this, but it definitely isn't fat-positive. There is a lot of shaming and self-loathing throughout the pages of this book, and there were parts that were incredibly aggravating to read because of it.

Did I mention that Natalie isn't exactly the brightest bulb in the chandelier, despite the fact that we're supposed to believe that she is super special and brilliant? That was another annoying aspect to this book. Natalie is inherently gifted, even more so than a girl who literally grew up in dig sites. She just somehow knows what to do, and everyone is blown away by her. It reeked of the she's-not-like-other-girls trope. All that said, she has terrible judgement and does things she is specifically told not to do more than once. Then, when she gets in trouble, instead of laying low and keeping her nose clean she goes off and does whatever she wants just because she feels like it.

The romance in this book was okay, but I wish I knew more about the love interest. Their story didn't come out of nowhere, but it wasn't given a very solid foundation either. There is another potential love interest in this book as well that I liked for most of the book until the author decided to flip on a dime and make him a creep. My problem with this was that there didn't seem to be any set up to this. He was decent and then he was a douchebag, with very little foreshadowing. And then their relationship is left mostly unresolved.

I felt like this could've been a good book. I love the idea of a nerdy plus-size girl who loves designing her own clothes and studying prehistoric animals. It's quirky and interesting. Unfortunately, the execution left something to be desired for me, especially with regard to the representation of plus-sized women.

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I ended up liking this book. I enjoy fairy tale and literary re-tellings, but I wasn't sure what to expect from this. I'd read Midnight at the Electric by this author earlier this year and loved it, but this one was so different.

I really enjoyed this take on Peter Pan focusing on Tiger Lily. I love that Tinkerbell is the narrator.

There are some intense things going on in this book. Trigger warnings for sexual assault, transphobia, and suicide.

The writing of this book felt more like a magical realism story than a straight-up fantasy. It was like a fairy tale, no pun intended. The writing was lyrical and whimsical, two of my favorite things.

All in all I really enjoyed this and can't wait to read more from this author in the future.