a cute low stakes low fantasy romcom that could've had more romance IMO

this book follows aila, a zookeeper who works with the phoenixes and is pushing for a breeding program at her zoo. aila is a very relatable main character; her struggles with social anxiety and her love for her work is felt through the pages and i admire her for her devotion to the phoenixes. however, sometimes i found her irritating like girl you're 28 c'mon now please try and have a little confidence please please. i think she definitely could have treated tanya better btw.

also this book is marketed as a romcom but i'm gonna be real here now there is barely any romance with the character (luciana) marketed in the blurb. i was waiting for the romance while reading and it just didn't come for like half of the book which is underwhelming. there was some romance with a male character, but i was waiting for my rivals-to-lovers romcom and it barely showed up! the romance with luciana kicked in at around 70%...that's way too long for a book marketed as a romcom. 

at its core, this is a cozy romantasy story that i believe would have been better if it was more marketed on aila's personal growth and her workplace journey instead of a romance. if you like cozy stories or low-stakes fantasy, i would recommend this with you. 

unfortunately i did not enjoy this.

so this is marketed as in the vein of the seven husbands of evelyn hugo. now i'm not gonna lie that book was formative for young gay gracie. i actually cried when i read it, so i had my hopes high for this, and this book just did not meet them at all.

this book follows cate kay, a famous novelist who has never revealed her identity and decides to write a memoir detailing her entire life out. her chapters are interspersed with chapters written by people close to her. we see how cate's life has unfolded, from her growing up in a small town with her best friend, to her running away and becoming a writer.

let's start with what i liked: the multiple pov's were a good choice; they allowed us to understand more of cate's character and why people were so drawn to her. i also thought fagan's writing was good; for a debut novel, i was satisfied with the writing. i also thought cate and amanda's relationship was well-done. i was rooting for them in the beginning. 

my main issues are that:
a. the relationships in this, apart from cate and amanda's relationship, seemed very superficial and not fleshed out. i have a hard time believing that ry and cate fell in love in a month. same with sidney and cate. it's also hard for me to believe that cate retained sidney as her lawyer for all those years following their breakup?? very strange stuff.

b. the huge mystery of amanda being dead. one google search and cate probably would have found out the truth so i don't really understand why this is the titular mystery like it's not that big of an issue 

c. cate is not that interesting of a main character. if you're gonna be an enigmatic novelist and nobody knows anything about you, you better be the most interesting person alive and she was not to me. i feel like the cultivated air of mystery around her made her seem like a more interesting character than she actually was. 

d. the ending pissed me off so bad because the ending isn't very satisfactory! all the buildup between cate/annie and amanda and it ends there?? i'started hitting my pillow i was so annoyed. and also lowkey i feel like the timeline of the books becoming a film feels unrealistic af how does a book get published and get a movie adaptation 1 YEAR AFTER??? i'm sorry i'm not in show business but surely that's too quick of a turnaround?

this book was disappointing to me. i couldn't fully get into it and connect with the characters. however, i think fagan is a good writer, and this being her debut novel is a good sign, because the writing was satisfactory. i'll keep an eye out for fagan in the future; hopefully i'll be able to read more of her writing. i would recommend this to anyone who enjoys literary fiction and women's fiction. 

i actually did not expect where this story was going at all i'm going to be so honest

to the bone follows ellis, a young woman who's indentured to henry collins as a houseservant. we follow ellis throughout what seems like around a year. throughout the year she falls in love with a young colonist named jane and starts realizing how dangerous her owner is.

first of all this book is pretty short; on my phone it said it was around 158 pages, which is usually half the length of a full ya novel. i think this book could've benefited from some length as well; the romance between jane and ellis could've been expanded upon more. i came out of the book feeling disjointed; the writing is very succinct and short, and i think readers would probably benefit from some longer prose.

i thought this book was interesting; i requested it on a whim, which is why i was so surprised at where the book went; by the ending i was like wtf i don't remember seeing this in the blurb at all. i had never heard of the starving time before i read this, so it was cool that the author explored a side of history not many people might know about. i felt so bad for ellis btw she was going through like ten layers of hell every single day. henry collins needed to be killed so bad btw

ultimately this was a fast, short book that explored a very sad and interesting side of history. i would recommend it if you like horror or historical fiction, because the end starts leaning toward horror. 

tasha suri i'll give you my life just say the word

the burning kingdoms is one of my favorite series in fantasy ever; i loved the oleander sword and the jasmine throne, and i was so excited for the lotus empire. i smashed that request button as soon as i saw this book on netgalley, and i'm so happy to say that this book really smashes it out of the park and is a fantastic ending.

i really loved the expanded scope of this novel. this novel is about conflict; about priya and malini, and ahiranya and parijat as a whole, in conflict with each other, but also priya in conflict with the yaksa, as she doesn't fully agree with their decisions, and malini in conflict with the priesthood, as they pressure her to burn. the book also follows bhumika and rao as they travel through parijat to secure alliances and secure survival from the yaksa. i love bhumika btw that's my queen.

i loved the new dynamic of malini and priya and their evolving relationship. it was so interesting to see how their relationship changed from them being reluctant allies in the first book and them being lovers while fighting on the same side on the second side to them now being enemies. however, you could tell that they still loved each other; the dream scenes with them were so romantic. chapter 66 changed lives that's all i'm gonna say. in my delusions, malini and priya would've had a happily ever after, but i think we all know that would never be possible for them. however, i think the ending really gives the two of them justice, and is the best ending we could've gotten. 

this book really cements the burning kingdoms as one of my favorite series ever; i really think tasha suri is a phenomenal writer. i love how she wound all of the threads in this series together. her writing is so beautiful and tragic and romantic. she really hit the mark with this book; if you like reading fantasy, you need to read this series. 

i'm not joking when i say that chapter 66 (aka the love scene between priya and malini) ACTUALLY CHANGED LIVES i was shaking

beautiful comic, not only because of the stunning stunning art, but because of the excellent writing. ram v knows how to cook

a satisfactory ya book that explores multiple different topics with grace.

this book follows emma and caleb, two ex-best friends who compete for the affection of the new girl at school, juliet, but slowly falling for each other as the competition continues. this premise definitely is light-hearted and i could see this being a rom-com, but it also delved into some deeper subjects as well, such as the complex relationships around family.

i thought the characters were the strongest part of the book; they're all so different and real, like these could be real people! i really liked emma; she was fearless, confident, and a good friend, even though she's going through so much by herself. caleb was a good character as well; he's not as loud and out there, but i loved his quiet style of caring and how he was always there for emma.

the pacing started slow, i'm not going to lie, but progressed more smoothly as the book went on. the writing was okay; i wasn't like moved or anything but i thought it was decent!

3.5 stars rounded up! it was a light romcom with good chemistry and enjoyable characters!

thanks to netgalley and penguin group for the arc 

this was a great sequel!

i got an arc for the verifiers when it first came out, back in 2022, and i liked it! it was a very interesting concept, one that i definitely was not familiar with, but it hooked me. i reread it a couple days ago, and when i found out that a sequel was coming out this year, i requested it eagerly. i think overall that the rivals is better than the verifiers, and that i'm really eager to see where this series is going.

this book follows claudia lin, new partner at veracity, a dating detective agency. she and her partners, becks and squirrel, are working to uncover the secrets behind the synthetic accounts on dating profiles, and the stakes are upped from the last book. it also follows claudia's relationship with her family. i thought this book was written better than the first book; i found myself a bit confused while reading the first book, and i think this book was more clear and straightforward in its writing. i thought the plot was really inventive as well; all these loose threads were weaving together.

the protagonist, claudia, is someone who's quite easy to root for; her voice is so interesting and she is a compelling character, especially with her relationships to her siblings. i really like how her and becks' relationship was developed throughout the book; the scene at the concert??? i was rooting so hard for them.

i think this sequel is really quite good and a fitting sequel to the first book. i would definitely reccomend this to mystery and thriller fans, and i can't wait to see how the story concludes. four stars!

thanks to netgalley and knopf for the arc! 

  the people (me) demand a becks and claudia kiss and at least 1 (ONE) acknowledgement of them being closer than friends in book 3 or we riot

jesus christ. incredibly well-done, intriguing, and intricate; i think martin sets up the series well with this book. i'm not going to lie, i did get confused a decent amount of times in this book, but i really really enjoyed the stark family (arya you're my number 1 right now). i wanted to see more of daenerys tbh. i love the different storylines; it really feels epic

it's been a minute since i read the first one so i forgot half the stuff but i liked it! it was exciting and i thought it was a great sequel. i'm not gonna lie tho craesides vs foundryside is like me vs the undertaker kane john cena and roman reigns it seems impossible

was gooped and gagged at the plot twist like GOODNESS GRACIOUS...imagine the next people going into the woods and seeing the spike pits like i would be fearing for my life if i saw those