Thorn by Intisar Khanani is a book I just happened to cross paths with and I’m glad I did! I really enjoyed the story and admittedly I have never read the original fairytale but I think that added to the story for me because I wasn’t really sure what to expect.

I enjoyed the story and thought Khanani did a wonderful job developing the world. There were some things in this story that I found odd and I do wish that the backstory between Alyrra and her maid were revealed a bit sooner so I would have known what the issue really was between these two but I really did find myself unable to put the book down as I wanted to see what was going to happen.

Alyrra is an interesting character. As she becomes betrothed to a Prince, Alyrra begins her trek to his kingdom only to be betrayed by her maid and ultimately trapped in the body of her maid. When she ends up in a role she has never been in before, that of a Goose Girl and even more importantly, not a princess, she has to figure out what the right thing to do is. Either she walks away and leaves the Prince to face an evil that could destroy him and his court, or she faces everything and does whatever she can to get back to who she is.

I liked that Alyrra faced the challenges and her situation head on. She wasn’t perfect and she wasn’t fearless but she always used her head and thought about what was going on. While Kestrin played a major role, I found that the romance wasn’t really romancy (I don’t think that’s a word…). I did like the interactions he had with Alyrra and the way he tried to figure out the puzzle but I didn’t get anything that made me swoon for him.

As I said, this was a nice surprise and a quick read. If you enjoy fairy tale retellings, consider checking this one out. I will be adding Khanani to my watch list as I thought this one was well done and I look forward to more from her.

Thank you to Netgalley for the review copy!

Ok – I may be in the minority on this one but this story was only so/so for me and I have to admit…that makes me sad! I was so excited to dive into this book because really, crime families and black markets for organ transplants…I’m in!

Overall I thought the story was good, most of my issues lie in some of the actions Penny takes. Schmidt did a great job developing this story around the crime families and the family business. I also liked the way Schmidt built the story around Penny’s disorder. As a reader, I could feel her frustration around not being allowed to do anything due to the fear of what could potentially happen.

With that said, I found some of Penny’s actions unbelievable. Mostly because when she finds herself out in the world, on her own, she avoids calling the one person I would have expected her to lean on for just about anything. Not only that, she expects him to find her when he actually has no reason to believe she’s still alive. In addition to that, once she is on her own, she has a run in with Char and the friendship and feelings move quickly. Considering the trauma she recently went through, I found it odd that she would be willing to trust and ultimately fall in love with someone she doesn’t even know. Perhaps it is the realist in me but I don’t know that it was all that believable for me.

Anyway, as the story progresses and Penny really finds out what happened to her family / what is continuing to go on with the family business, I found myself drawn back into the story. I thought the ending was solid and am curious to see what might happen next in this series.

Thank you to Bloomsbury for the review copy!

I will start out by saying…this book will not be for everyone. Regardless, I found myself immediately diving into this story and I thought overall, it was well done. Yes, there are very sensitive issues and fantasies brought up but I thought Pace did a good job of making it about more than just these people that get off on certain things.

When I started this one I admit, I wasn’t really sure what to expect but I was immediately drawn into Vivienne’s story and subsequently, Jonah’s. As the story progresses, we find out that both of these characters have wounds and the way things are revealed make the story that much better.

Trust me when I say that Pace wrote a story that had me anxiously turning pages to find out what was going to happen for these two and I sincerely can’t wait to read the next book to find out how their story ends. There isn’t much more I want to say because I don’t want to give anything away. Just know that if you can handle sensitive subjects, you might consider checking this one out!

Thank you to Netgalley and the Berkley for the review copy!

Get Dirty is the second book of the Don’t Get Mad series and I couldn’t completely remember how book one ended but that didn’t prevent me from diving right back into this story.

This book picks right up where the last one left off…or shortly after. The things I loved about the first book definitely continue through this one. The friendship that the girls (Kitty, Bree, Olivia, and Margot) have developed only gets stronger through this book and I loved how they all worked together despite their challenges to try to find the killer.

I also thought the mystery that McNeil developed here was great. I was guessing and second guessing myself on who it might be and then when I finally found out I admit, it wasn’t what I expected. And that was EXCELLENT!

All of these characters have their own things to deal with and on top of that, they are trying to figure out who is trying to frame them for something they didn’t do. With Bree in juvie and Margot in the hospital, Kitty and Olivia end up relying on some new DGM members for help. As they all combine their efforts to find the killer, the threats to the members of DGM continue and things get even riskier.

If you like a good mystery with enough twists to keep you guessing, definitely check out this book/series. I admit, I enjoyed this one a bit more than book one but overall enjoyed the series as a whole.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer + Bray for the review copy!

This book is definitely not for everyone. With that said, I thought Knight did a great job in creating an actual story around the erotica and I'm going to keep this short and sweet.

Eva is thrown into this situation where the man she is supposed to marry throws her away. He (obviously) is involved in some pretty shady stuff and has a few enemies. At the top of that list are Gabriel and Syn Rivera.

I would not categorize these guys as heroes and although they "saved" Eva from one horrible situation, they only gave her a less horrible (I think??) option. Yes, they had reasons for doing the things they did but I can't say that I was fully on board with that reasoning.

As Eva realizes she is stuck in a no win situation, she begins to realize she is developing feelings for the brothers. Yes...both of them. As the brothers work to bring down her ex-fiance, they also begin to care about Eva and things change for all of them.

If you are looking for something dark, consider this book but definitely be aware of the author note as this is not a swoony romance if that is what you are looking for as this story includes some sensitive subjects.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.

2.5-3 stars.
I picked up Days Like This by Danielle Ellison because I loved the cover and I was interested in the story based on what I read in the summary. Admittedly, I finished this one up and had some mixed feelings about it and I have a feeling it has a lot to do with the characters.

Cassie is the main character and as her story unfolds, we learn her mother is bipolar and this has translated into a rough childhood for Cassie. The one person in her life that she could always count on was Graham, the boy next door who then became her boyfriend. At nineteen, Cassie was not prepared to force a life like the one she has lived on Graham so she sneaks away to college without telling him and this creates the basis of the rest of their relationship.

I have to say, Cassie didn’t win me over. I get that she was trying to make it easy for Graham to move on and not worry about whether she might turn out like her mother or not but what she did was pretty selfish. Most people can’t just turn off their feelings and if Graham really did love her and was ready to spend the rest of his life with her, I can only imagine how heartbroken he would have been when she dumped him. And then when she came back to town and thought their friends would be ok with her and the way she had treated him, I was glad they had his back.

Graham’s mistake was that he centered his life around Cassie and until she left, he wasn’t really thinking about anything other than their life together. I thought it was a good wake up call for him and got him on a path that allowed him to think about what he wanted in life. No matter what though, living next door to Cassie’s mom always gave him moments where he would go back to thinking about Cassie and what they could have been. It was clear that despite the fact that he moved on and had another girlfriend, he hadn’t really moved on and cared about Cassie.

Overall this one was okay for me and it might just be an it’s not you, it’s me type of situation here. Ellison creates a solid story about mental health, love, and second chances, if that intrigues you consider checking it out.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the review copy.

You guys...if you haven't read anything by Huntley Fitzpatrick you need to remedy that immediately. She writes about family, love, issues, friendship, and a million other things that you will appreciate when you read her stories.

A full review will post closer to release but trust me when I say you need to read this book.

Review to come.