Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC.

ABSOLUTELY CHARMING.

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I love that this book combined the best of both world’s from the previous books!! (You don’t HAVE to read them first, but highly recommend because it brought about even more feels). I loved seeing the previous couples and how things are fairing now.

But onto the main couple here, Charles and Kate!! I LOVED THEM. I love that Kate was the initial pursuer. I didn’t know how I’d feel about this switch up and I thought the execution was great. It was riveting to see her take those initial steps to show Charles she’s interested and also allowing him to do the same for her. There was a sweet balance and give and take between them. Not to mention all of those little moments that really start to add up and having me chanting KISS HER as the slow burn takes hold. And I’m sorry, SWEETHEART? Melt my soul. Oh my gosh, I love well placed endearments. Flawless.

I enjoyed the larger plot too. I like that Mimi Matthew’s books often have a dash of suspense to them that adds a great edge to the third act. It’s written so well that it feels natural to the story and has you flipping pages even faster to get to the conclusion.

No lie, I have turned completely into a Mimi Matthews fan girl and I am loving this journey for me. READ HER BOOKS.

Overall audience notes:
- Regency Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: small dog bite, gun violence 

I LIKED IT.

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I’ve been seeing this around a bit and decided to give it a go and, what do you know, it’s a solid YA fantasy. It’s got all of the hallmarks that I like in young adult books and still felt fresh enough to be a good story.

I liked this magic system and world building a lot. There’s a feminist vibe to it that I was here for and I enjoyed watching the four women come together to solve problems happening in their world. There’s definitely plenty of expansion for the next book and I’m curious how things will continue to unfurl. There’s a good complexity between religion, magic, society and more. And I SUPER loved the prohibition era take for the background of the plot.

On the romantic sides I wish there would have been more development. For a long book (nearly 500 pages) and with PLENTY of hints, tension, and flirtation, things never came to any kind of fruition. Hopefully this is a long game scenario that I’ll be happy to see in the next book.

I really liked the audiobook. I think it would have been amazing if there was a different narrator for each of the points of view, but I didn’t find it too confusing when views changed.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy
- Language: very little
- Romance: kiss
- Violence: moderate
- Trigger/Content Warnings: physical and magical altercations, loss of life, near death experiences, recounts of torture, poisoning 

WHAT A SNOOZE.

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It took everything in me to continue this book y’all. Luckily I was warned beforehand that some of these middle books are slowww and I am VERY grateful for audiobooks that crank up to 3x speed.

I hate Mat and most of this book is about him. If you’re someone who does enjoy his character, I bet you’ll like this a lot more than me. I struggle to find one endearing quality about him and while I’m admittedly curious where he ends up in the end, right now I just want to skip to that ending. And what is it with Rand sleeping with any woman who walks into his bedroom? It’s laughable and makes me want to shake everyone too.

Once again, high meh feelings about how Jordan writes women. The amount of times I quirk my head and question what’s being said is non quantifiable because of how often it occurs.

It feels like nothing happened, though I’m sure some of it is important to future books. Glad to be moving on from this one.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: low
- Romance: closed door
- Violence: moderate-high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: battle themes, loss of loved ones, near death experiences, rape 

THAT’S A NO FOR ME.

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This book has a pretty solid rating and I am convinced I must have read a different book because many things didn’t work for me in this one.

The whole the first guy isn’t the true love interest trope can be great, I’ve read ACOTAR, I know the drill. This was executed poorly. Filled with insta-love and unnecessary smut scenes that did nothing for the plot other than to call it “spicy”. That was my biggest turn-off.

I also didn’t love the FMC. And I’m easy to please in that regard. There was this hot/cold nature that did not make sense and I felt like I kept looking at a different character depending on the scene. Could have used some consistency.

The big “twist” with the end could be seen from the beginning of the book. It resembles another few books I’ve read, of which, the secret was hidden much better and felt like a true surprise. While cool, at this point I don’t think I’ll pick up book two.

The idea of the trials was fine, There’s small things here and there I didn’t mind. And it still gets three stars because I think others could enjoy this.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: 1-2 open; moderate explicit, some innuendo
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: brief mentions of past rape/sexual assault, near death experiences, loss of loved ones

 

Thank you to Shadow Mountain for an ARC.

LOVED.

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There is something incredibly soothing about Arlem Hawks writing style. It is slow paced in all the best ways. I kept continually wanting to pick this up to know what happens next + taking my time with it to savor all of the goodness.

I adored this grumpy x sunshine duo of Maxence and Armelle. I can’t even begin to pick a favorite moment because I feel attached to them all. From the disasterous meeting to being chased by soldiers and learning new things about each other (and themselves), it’s all there. All of the beautiful character growth and hard things that make this book sing.

The setting is unique. Being apart of the French Revolution I learned a lot!! Especially with the notes at the end to further explain details and facts from this time period.

Alongside the main characters (and it’s dual POV y’all!!) the side characters were great too. I loved the roles the others played and was very anxious to get to the happy ending. Another fantastic historical romance read by an auto-read author.

Overall audience notes:
- Historical Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: battle themes, near executions (and mentions of executions), near death experiences, gun violence, surgery, loss of loved ones, imprisonment 

4 stars for the book.
4.5 stars for the absolute hold this had on me.

THIS HAD A HOLD ON ME.

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I kept going back and forth on my star rating because I do have some thoughts about this.

4.5 stars for the absolutely grasp this had on me for two days. I didn’t want to do anything else but pick this up and read. The writing style was fantastic and I was very much into this grump and sunshine duo from the first chapter. Not to mention, I laughed many times at the banter and snark between Knox and Naomi. I was very much here for all of the broodiness and protectiveness & bad boyness that Knox brought to the table. And that Naomi learned a lot about herself and to allow others to help her too.

4 stars because I tried so hard to understand and get behind the third act breakup and I just couldn’t reach it. It definitely added drama, but I think the suspense element could have still been there without the break up too. And I did notice it start to feel a bit long winded as well.

OTHERWISE THOUGH. I will without a doubt be picking the new book up. I loved this whole town. The close friendships and rekindling of familial bonds squeezed my heart. I also adored Waylay. She was the best little addition to the book and I want nothing more than to give her the biggest hug.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: very strong (too much in my opinion)
- Romance: Multiple open; high explicit
- Violence: moderate
- Overall audience notes: gun violence, physical altercations, loss of loved ones, substance abuse, parental abandonment, child abuse and neglect, kidnapping, domestic abuse recounted 

SWEET.

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Another gentle and sweet book from this series. I love how easy they are (and that’s a big compliment). Sometimes what you want is a tender romance that brings some good feels but doesn’t overwhelm you. This is that sunshine of a book.

I can’t remember the last time I read brother’s best friend in regency. I love the play on that here and how much forced proximity we got between Andrew and Josephine. They had snappy chemistry from the get-go (I’d say a dash of enemies to lovers) and I loved watching them slowly realize how much care actually lied between them.

Plot wise I think I was hoping for a little bit more. The reasons they were in the country made sense, but they didn’t seem to be that big of a deal too? I don’t know if that makes any sense, it was just the vibe I had reading.

I’m really enjoying this series and reading Sally Britton books. I’m turning into a big fan!

Overall audience notes:
- Regency Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low 

Full review to come!

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for an eARC.

I AM FEELING LET DOWN.

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I LOVED the first book, Echoes and Empires. Clearly that meant I went in hoping for a great conclusion and instead I feel like I got this meandering story that had lost its charm and ended too simply.

Where did the romance go?! I loved that Jericho and Joss worked together and there weren’t any undue separations. Yet, the snark and banter and tenderness that I saw in the first book was hardly here. I lost that connection with them.

I also don’t think much happened? There were a lot of little plot lines that did come together (and were wrapped up way too neatly in a bow) yet the progress to fixing the problems in the world and figuring out the magic system hardly occurred.

And the big secret that Joss took the whole book to figure out??? That was a joke. And the ease of which the ending happened had me wanting more rather than feeling satisfied.

The book is written well and I do love the main characters. The world is an interesting mix of fantasy & urban which I liked too. I’m not UPSET I read this, I was just hoping for a more comprehensive conclusion.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy
- Language: a little mild
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: moderate
- Trigger/Content Warnings: weapons violence, physical altercations, kidnapping, near death experiences, loss of loved ones 

EVERYONE WAS RIGHT.

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This book made me STRESSED. And I don’t know why I sat on it for so long because it was worth all of the hype I remember seeing for it when it released. This took my avoidance towards time travel romances fly out the door because I loved the way this was written. It was easy to follow and easy to get wrapped up in the entire story.

I loved how there was just the right amount of twists and turns. There was intense moments and times I wanted to throw the book in rage (that good of kind of rage because the writing brings out all the feels). I could not stop listening and had to know what happened next. The romance with Henry was swoony and passionate. Libby was a formidable FMC and I loved her strength with things out of her control and relying on her faith and inner depths to get to the next day.

The ending was beautiful. I was begging the ending to work out as it did the whole book and I loved how it all came together!!

If you couldn’t tell, this is a, READ IT book from me. I can’t wait to read the next one!!

Overall audience notes:
- Christian Historical Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low-moderate
- Trigger/Content Warnings: spousal abuse/rape (not graphically on page, but mentioned), pregnancy and childbirth, mentions of wars (Revolutionary/WW1), loss of life