BETTER THAN I THOUGHT.

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I picked this up on a whim from a friends recommendation. It was even better than I could have hoped! And a lot deeper too.

The deeper angle was actually a really nice touch. I liked the exploration behind the darker side of Hollywood and the way grief can keep its claws in us. I’m very grateful that Ethan got the help he needed in the end and I liked a lot of the conversations with characters and development he had.

Fake dating is totally my jam. And while I do think this got off to a quicker start than expected I did like the relationship. They were real sweet on one another. While I’m usually not a Hollywood actor set-up fan, this landed in the exception column and I’m so glad it did.

I loved the audiobook and definitely recommend that avenue. A solid read that I’m happy I picked up!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: strong
- Romance: multiple open door; med-high explicit
- Trigger/Content Warnings: child physical abuse mentioned, parental abandonment recounted, familial estrangement, divorce, dieting/weight discussed, alcohol abuse, drug abuse recounted, grief and loss depiction, death of a friend in a car accident, death of parent mentioned, stalking 

Reread August 2023: oh my gosh I think this book got even better.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

Yess. This was everything I wash hoping it would be!! I loved the way the story was written. I CAN NOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT BOOK.

We’ve got to talk about the romance first. Because it was glorious. I looooved Signa and Death’s push and pull. They had chemistry from the get go and perfectly placed banter. Every time he said little bird I MELTED. Give me all of them. I of course would have loved even more romance but I imagine that’s coming and I will impatiently wait for more.

The murder mystery was well crafted too. I tried not to make to many theories because I love being in the dark when I’m loving a read. It made it all the more fun when the answers started coming out and the darkness of others was brought to light. The plot had great pacing and I really couldn’t have asked for more.

It totally lived up to my expectations.

 

NO PLOT, ALL FUN.

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This is a book to go into with low expectations of a major plot or storyline or anything like that. It is a cathartic palate cleanser read that brought some joy to my life for a day.

I got many laughs out of this. Izzy and Blake are a hoot. All of the random games and get-to-know you activities were inventive. The meet-cute office romance was adorable and I loooved the dual POV. This book is pure fun in those regards. Painter somehow made me enjoy an insta-love romance and I am here for this change in pace to one of my lowest favorite tropes.

There’s some cringe with the spice and whatnot, it’s fine. I skipped a bit and cheered this wild couple on. If you’re looking for something to mix it up with, this would be a great read for the fall!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance Novella
- Language: high
- Romance: multiple open door 

WHOA.

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Well this was different. And I think I liked it?

First off though, I KNOW MZ writes slow books, and that has never been an issue before. This one though, draaaagged for the first 200 pages. There was very little dialogue and I was left wondering when something was truly going to happen. Get past this part and the book got infinitely better.

The sci-fi element didn’t bug me at all. Granted I’m a huge fantasy reader first and foremost so I didn’t really bat an eye towards the superhero storyline. I actually really loved it. It felt unique and fresh.

Alex and Gracie’s relationship grew on me. The deeper the connection the better things got. I loved all of the little things they did together. It was charming reading about them playing house and going to a carnival and meeting the whole big family. I love big family dynamics!! I could easily read more books about some of these siblings.

There were some dips in pacing yet I couldn’t help but be totally charmed. Alex was gruff but much softer than expected. And Gracie was the typical more sunshiney MZ heroine. It was a bunch of the hallmark things that make me pick of her books and some new stuff that was fun reading about too.

Overall audience notes:
- Sci-Fi Contemporary Romance
- Language: a lot & strong
- Romance: one very open scene
- Violence: medium
- Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, torture 

IT’S [MOSTLY] ALIVE.

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I have an up and down relationship with these books. In the previous set, I loved the first and then things started going downhill from there.

This felt like a turn back to the original My Lady Jane. HALLELUJAH.

What a fun book. It’s very quirkny and had interesting twists and turn of phrases that absolutely made me laugh more than once. I love the vibe of these reads and the unique take on historical and fantastical combinations.

Frankenstein turned automaton was cool!! I really liked this switch and it made the plot feel different with all of the hints of the original. Who knew I’d be into Frankenstein based books so much? I enjoyed the characters and nods to different figures and not to mention a lot of well placed pop culture references.

Towards the end things do start to feel a bit stretched and lengthy. Luckily I was able to kick my audio speed up a few notches. Otherwise, a good read that makes me hopeful to continue the other books (and go back to the first) in this series.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Historical Fantasy
- Language: a little
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: medium
- Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, physical altercations 

AHHHHH.

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This series has taken another step in the right direction. A sequel I can get behind.

I loved the continued dynamic between this found family group. I love them. I love them SO MUCH. Everyone. All of them. I can’t wait to get more points of view because I need them all and I need them all to be happy.

The plot does a great balance of giving answers while maintaining some general mystery about the large scale story (since this is a seven book series). But don’t worry, this book takes you through ALL OF THE FEELINGS. I got misty eyed a few times towards the end, because how could you not?! The revelations and betrayals will make you hold your breath and push to finish as quickly as you can.

There’s a lot more I’d love to say, but in the effort to keep spoilers out, I shall not. JUST KNOW IT’S SO GOOD AND THIS SLOWBURN ROMANCE WILL BE THE END OF ME.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: brief mentions of sexual assault and rape (recounted), loss of loved ones, avalanches, torture, whipping, kidnapping, battle scenes, grave injuries, major loss of life 

I’LL READ THE NEXT ONE.

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I have sat on this one in my kindle unlimited library for a long time, and upon finding an audio version I flew through this!! I’m so glad I gave it a chance.

The romance set-up was everything I love about arranged marriage/enemies to lovers. There’s great banter, knife to the throat moments and all the swoon from Thane. I loved his persistent nature to show Layala exactly the kind of elf he is. It was also nice to see Layala show the ability to change her mind as new facts were laid before her. Too stubborn of a nature always bugs me and I love that this wasn’t the case here. I really liked her strength and resilience amidst a whole heap of drama.

What brought this to a four star for me was the third act conflict. I just couldn’t believe that Layala believed that about herself. It didn’t track well and made for unnecessary drama that rolled my eyes a bit.

I did like the surrounding plot and story. It keeps the pace moving well and there’s a heavy dose of action to keep you on your toes. I look forward to seeing where this book will go to next!

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy Romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: a vague to fade to black
- Violence: med-high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: torture, murder, kidnapping, battle scenes 

A FUN HOLIDAY READ.

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This one was a quick, light, good holiday time. I love finding great holiday books for the season and I’d easily add this to my recommendations list. The audio was a good listen and gave the edge to British humor that I got a laugh out of.

I wasn’t sure initially how I felt about the romance. The hero isn’t exactly charming or endearing, BUT he really grew on me. I ended up thinking he was sweet and I thought the chemistry between Dani and him was endearing.

The plot is exactly what you expect of a Christmastime read. A cobbled together holiday party set in a small town. I have no qualms over this because I feel like it’s the spirit of the season for these reads.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Holiday Romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: closed door 

Thank you to Berkley Romance for the eARC.

ABSOLUTELY LOVED.

You know what got me off on the perfect foot with this book? That Graham and Eliza weren’t two bitter, mean characters where you didn’t even want to cheer them on to fix their marriage. These two LOVE each other and WANT deeply to make things work and that made me love them immediately and want the best for them.

I thought it was a fun idea to kind of “role play” to get out of their own way. It led to some good banter and to some moments that truths could be revealed. For a book set at only a resort I thought there were ample opportunities for activities that didn’t feel forced and allowed major character development.

Side note to David? CAN HE HAVE HIS OWN BOOK PLEASE? I loved him so much and how good of a friend he was! He was the perfect side character touch that brought some lightness and helped Graham by being someone he could talk too.

Eliza took the most time to really break down some barriers. What I loved though is that Graham talked and approached things with such love. There was no condemning and call outs. He voiced his thoughts and Eliza started to truly reflect on how she handles conflict and tough situations. Same went for Graham’s growth. Once Eliza was aware of what was happening for him, she went out of her way to make obvious remarks to build his confidence. I LOVE THAT SO MUCH.

There’s a beautiful focus on the fact marriages aren’t perfect, but two people who want badly enough to try and work together and stay open to communicating can make it perfect. I loved many of the dialogue surrounding communication and asking questions and finding new ways to keep loving the person that changes over time with you.

This is there best adult book yet.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: two brief open; low explicit
- Trigger/Content Warnings: strained familial relations 

CHALLENGED.

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I am trying to read through MZ’s backlist, and unfortunately realizing those aren’t hitting as well for me as her newer stuff. BUT, this book got progressively better and I didn’t mind reading it in the end.

I was turned off by the high level of crass and off-color jokes between the band. I’m sure it was trying to set the stage for how the group interacts and messes around with each other. Yet the found family vibes fell a bit flat with some of the commentary. They did take care of each other when it really counted though and I did appreciate that.

The romance hero was super different from previous books too (nothing bad, just a comment on it). Sacha is a CINNAMON ROLL. I adored how soft he was and how he and Gabby formed a friendship that blossomed into something more.

While the plot held a good forced proximity notion I think it also fell a bit flat. It was simply a band on tour. And then filler pages of random crap they did to continue the story. I do struggle to get on board with actor/musician based books and I think that became apparent here again too.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: very strong and often
- Romance: open door
- Violence: low
- Trigger/Content Warnings: transmisia, sexism, slut-shaming