4.5 stars

Thanks to Berkley and Let's Talk Books Promo for the copy of this ARC.

Stone Cold Fox is a spectactular debut from Rachel Koller Croft. I was immediately sucked in through the past and present timelines, straight up haughtiness of Bea, and all of her (honestly kind of terrible) internal thoughts. This is a book where you know the main character is gonna throw out some cutting words and do whatever it takes to get what she thinks she deserves, but you're also gonna root for her the whole time. There are some great twists, con artist schemes and drama galore. I had a lot of fun getting sucked into this one!

Read if you like:
- con artist stories
- drama with old money families
- rooting for devious and haughty characters
- ongoing cat fights
- the show Ginny and Georgia

DNF at 45%. I was intrigued by this story and the POV I knew it would bring, but unforunately it's just not the style for me. I don't love slow burn mystery or court room procedurals. I tried picking this up 8x, but both of those things in combination just makes for a story that's too slow-moving for me.

Thanks to Books Forward PR and University of Minnesota Press for the copy of this book.

The Stories Whiteness Tells Itself is an incredible learning tool, broken off into three sections: the present moment, how we narrate the past, and where do we go from here?. I found myself underlining SO many passages in this book. The way that David writes is so easy to understand and I absolutely flew through this text, which is sometimes difficult with nonfiction. The Brief Guide to Structural Racism in the Appendix is pure gold. But what I appreciated the most that really sets this book apart is David’s focus not just on history, present-day events, and facts, but on what can be done for the future and where we go next. Practicality is often missing from nonfiction texts and I’m often thinking “okay, now what?!”, so I loved being able to have some actionable items when I finished this read.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark for the copy of this ARC.

Sad romance is my JAM, especially when a grumpy/sunshine trope is involved. However, this one missed the mark for me.

I really disliked the main character. Normally, I relate pretty well to a grumpy female MC, but Jess was just awful and experienced no character development over the course of the book (okay, she did in the epilogue, but….). Characters sidestep her and are afraid of how she’ll react. The main MC was way too sweet and didn’t deserve her. I also didn’t feel their chemistry, so it was hard to cheer for them together.

Some story elements / side character stories felt out of place and unnecessary, taking away from the main focus of the book. Meanwhile, Jess never actually learns to deal with her mom’s or her Huntington’s. She just finds out and then freaks out and makes rash decisions. There was no exploration of this, which I would’ve really appreciated.

Thanks to Lake Union Publishing and Let's Talk Books Promo for the copy of this book!

A witch book in February? Yes please! The Witch of Tin Mountain is a witchy spin on Depression-era Arkansas with flashbacks to the generations of the past. In a superstitious town, Gracelynn uses natural cures from a family book to heal, but when a traveling evangelist, Josiah Bellflower, comes to town, he quickly gets the town on his side and the whispers of witchcraft begin again. The town has been through this before: blaming witchcraft for the evil present and natural disasters that occur, and I enjoyed watching the familiar storyline play out across the generations. The feminist storyline was well done mixed in with the historical fiction and witch vibes, and I think this is going to be on a lot of reading lists come October!

Read if you like:
- generational stories
- witches
- Depression Era books
- LGBTQ+ rep

3.5 stars

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for the copy of this ARC!

The Shadow of Perseus tells the story of Perseus through the eyes of three women: his mother, Danae, and two women whose lives he alters, Medusa and Andromeda. I'm not very familiar with Greek mythology so enjoyed learning this story... but I didn't expect Perseus's shadow to be so dark! This retelling from a feminist point of view displays Perseus as a man-child and all-around terrible guy instead of a hero. The story was an engaging and interesting retelling of Greek mythology.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Griffin for the copy of this book.

I laughed, I cried, I swooned, and I binged this book in a few hours because I couldn’t put it down. Indira and Jude are perfection together. The mental health representation in this book is PHENOMENAL and perfectly balanced with moments that made me literally laugh out loud. A superb romance that will leave your heart full.

Read if you like:
- peanut butter
- fake dating
- the brother’s best friend trope
- mental health rep

Thanks to Little, Brown and Company for the copy of this book!

Layla's boyfriend dumps her out of the blue. But when he gets in an accident, the hospital calls her as his next of kin... and he doesn't seem to remember that they broke up. Is this their second chance at love?

I'd categorize For Twice In My Life mostly as contemporary fiction with romance as a heavy subplot. Layla needs to figure out who she is, what she wants in life, and who she wants to spend that life with. She's incredibly insecure with her family and with her boyfriend - to the point of keeping some pretty major things from them. I enjoyed her character growth and seeing how the romance would play out, and really flew through this book!

Read if you like:
- Theater
- Characters with memory loss
- Messy, dramatic storylines