A GOOD CONCLUSION.

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This was a super short read so I won’t have a long winded review either. I enjoyed this conclusion! It wasn’t everything I was hoping for in some aspects though. I thought there would be a bit more exploration of the final relationship (but not naming names because spoilers). I did see that there’s a spinoff series that will focus on that a little bit so I might try to pick those up.

I’ve really enjoyed loving on these characters and allowing these stories to be nice breaks in between my bigger and denser reads. A fun paranormal series that have all my favorite aspects of cozy mysteries.

Overall audience notes:
- Paranormal Cozy Mystery
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low 

Thank you to RB Media and Netgalley for the Audio ARC.

WOW THIS WAS GOOD.

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Book hype for this one is real. I super enjoyed this.

Audio notes: I don’t have any! I LOVED the audio. Great narrators. Easy to listen. I flew through it. Highly recommend that avenue if you’re into audiobooks!

Another read where I felt remined why fantasy genre is the best genre. I loved the world building and shadow concept. The twists behind that was so cool and I felt added another unique layer to this story overall. Filled with a morally gray love interest that you can’t get enough of, I was hooked. I liked the steady pacing and that there’s a slow build to everything else happening.

Meren was a strong FMC and I liked her tenacity and loyalty to her sister. I love a great sister bond and I know that’s what is happening here and I hope we get to see more of it in the next book. Reven is the complex soul I love and I’m happy that I feel like I know him as well as Meren. Sometimes the love interest gets tossed aside and seems one dimensional and I liked the complexity his characterization received.

The ending was WILD. Still a bit in shock and everything expertly led to this conclusion. I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Overall audience notes:
- NA Fantasy Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: one open door + some innuendo
- Violence: moderate
- Trigger/Content Warnings: battle scenes, loss of life, kidnapping 

GOOD HEAVENS.

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I am a puddle after this one y’all!! Let me era of friends to lovers romances commence. This is one of the best renditions of this trope I’ve read.

Ben was such flirty hot mess and I loved it. I actually burst out in true laughter multiple times (aka the yacht scene IYKYK). There were many genuinely funny scenes that are the reason I love this romcom genre. Keisel did an amazing job at creating a book filled with serious subjects combined with the happiness I need when I read. I loved seeing Ben work through his parent issues. He definitely needed shaken a bit to get the point across, but when that aha moment hit you here the chorus shouting, FINALLY.

I adored Brooke!! She was a fantastic FMC that was filled with love and hope and I want to be her friend. The subplot with Trey actually worked out better than I could have hoped for. I was nervous that he’d get tossed aside, and I love how Keisel handled that. Not to mention, I am so here for the jealousy. I realized that I do love some jealous aspects (on both sides) to really push those feelings, when you know they are just IN LOVE.

Clearly I loved this. It’s my new favorite Keisel book and makes me excited for whatever she has in store next.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Trigger/Content Warnings: death of a parent mentioned, recounting of home life (with yelling and indifferent parents) 

Thank you to Shadow Mountain for the ARC.

SIMPLE.

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I wanted to love this more than I did, but there were a few things holding me back.

The romantic suspense and murder mystery aspects were a good addition to the plot. A dry story of a house party needed the umph that the mystery brought. I adore that Nathan was a detective because that’s one of my fav careers to come across, book wise, and he a hero to cheer for. Not to mention the fact that he’s been into Eva for ages? We love a man who falls first.

Within the romance I thought things felt very vanilla? There was this great start with a fake dating scheme that too quickly turned into–well–nothing. They went ahead and admitted feelings to each other and that was that! I didn’t get any angst or great build-up. But if you’re looking for what I would still call a sweet romance that has some little dates sprinkled throughout you’d enjoy this one.

It’s super fast paced and I did like the writing style. A few things ultimately didn’t click for me and that happens.

Overall audience notes:
- Historical Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: mild
- Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, attempted murder 

ENDED SWEET.

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This trope (one night stand) is one I normally don’t pick up, but I have enjoyed Rochon’s previous two books in this series and wanted to give it a chance. While I still didn’t love it initially and had to let it grow on me, it DID by the end. I really loved the progression of this relationship. The rivalish banter dynamics between London and Drew were fantastic. I loved that Drew has been smitten for a long time and took the time to show London just how loved she could be.

I also liked the setting. A pediatric surgeon was such an amazing career to read throughout. There was a nice balance of career and personal decisions alongside the clear fact that this was a romance read first. I loved the quiet moments London and Drew started having together, eating food, hanging out, and reconnecting while figuring out how they came to be where they are.

Just a solid read that I ate up in a day. I have loved all of the friendships between these three women and look forward to more books by this author!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: multiple open door; med-high explicit
- Trigger/Content Warnings: domestic abuse mentioned, alcoholism mentioned, death of a parent from cancer 

GREW ON ME.

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It’s no secret, vampire books and I don’t generally get along. But Elise Kova is one of the few authors who I would give a chance to and I truly did end up enjoying this one!

I really liked the exploration of vampire lore. This felt like a new discovery on the age old assumptions and it was interesting to see how Ruvan’s history and the curse played into the human’s perceptions of vampires as a whole. There’s a great dose a mystery that has to be unraveled and I liked the twists at the end as everything was revealed.

Pacing wise it lost me a bit in the middle. A standalone fantasy at 500+ pages means there’s plenty of substance, but some if it was lost on me. I thought the romance was moving alright, the wider plot was okay too. It really took the later half to bring me back in and I realized how much I did enjoyed Ruvan and Floriane together.

I loved the Floriane was a smithy. I always like different dynamics that aren’t commonly seen and this was one of them. She was tenacious and hard working. Filled with determination to get back to her brother and end the curse once for all.

Another good read for this series. Ultimately there really wasn’t any discourse for the previous books (only vague mentions), but I did see hints for what looks like TWO more books and I’m excited to continue!!

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy Romance
- Language: light
- Romance: vague open door
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of life, murder, loss of loved ones, creature attacks, physical and magical attacks, small battle scenes 

EPIC CONCLUSION.

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This series owned me for a month and I am not upset one bit. I devoured all of these audiobooks and they were absolutely amazing.

EVERYONE GO READ THEM NOW PLEASE.

For a book with low romance to wrap me up this much, you know it’s gotta be good. I LOVE these characters!!! Talyn and Cuinn are both wonderful in their own right, and add them together, and the world is in good hands. I love how bada** Talyn is. She takes on thing after thing and I want to be her when I grow up. This is the kind of fierce heroines I want to read about when I pick up a fantasy book. Cuinn goes through the biggest character arc here and I adored him for it. Coming off a wild ending in the previous book he handled a crappy situation beautifully and found a new place for his focus.

Alongside the amazingness of the main characters, the found family is still here and still the best. I love this group of wolves and all they mean to the plot. Everyone is well created and truly adds to the story.

The plot is intense and it’s hard to take a breath. But within those breathes are the perfect little tender moments that help me love this book even more.

Basically I want to beg everyone to get this book in their hands and give it a chance.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: a little mild
- Romance: fade to black
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, battle scenes 

WORTH THE WAIT.

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Y’all know I’m a fantasy ROMANCE lover, and I was told I would have to really wait out the slow burn on this series. AND IT WAS WORTH IT. Ohhhhmygosh I love these two!!! They are my absolute favorite and I can’t get enough of every moment they have together. Lets also acknowledge there’s no third act nonsense here. Together forever.

The plot is still just as intense and wild. I love that this is fast paced and filled with great politicking and action. There’s twists and turns around every corner and a few times where I was completely flipping out needing answers.

I love all of these characters and this book left me in PAIN. PAIN I TELL YOU. Not pulling any punches are we Lisa Cassidy?! It just really makes for a fantastic series whenever I feel this connected to not only the two main leads but to multiple side characters.

I’ll be shouting from the rooftops for everyone else to READ THIS SERIES PLEASE.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: very little
- Romance: brief fade to black
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: near death experiences, physical and weapons altercations, battle scenes, kidnapping, torture, loss of loved ones 

Thank you Angry Robot and Netgalley for the eARC.

MIXED.

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This book may have been too hyped for me, but I just didn’t love this like I hoped for.

The writing style took me a bit to get into, once there though, I was fine. I really liked the initial plot set-up and the winter vibes. It was unique with the chasm concept and the clear secrets being withheld from this group of humans stuck being terrorized by the Glacians. A winged folk group is always a good decision and I liked those aspects too.

What got me is the lack of intimacy between the love interests Ryon and Dawsyn (also love that name). I think the burn was a little too fast and with the writing style I didn’t feel fully invested in them. There was much more emphasis on their physical dynamics rather than any other facet that I also like seeing in a budding relationship.

With the focus turned so much inward the larger plot lost some steam. I liked many of the reveals and even seeing them coming didn’t take away from my enjoyment. There’s some good plot twist tropes I like (won’t mention specifics because of spoilers). BUT a particular scene towards the end felt too easy because there wasn’t enough time dedicated to this rebellion that was occurring.

Ending was totally shocking. I’m still sitting here contemplating how that’s supposed to work itself out. Am I intrigued enough to try book two? I *think* so.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: multiple brief open door; low-med explicitness
- Violence: high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of rape and sexual assault, near death experiences, kidnapping, murder, physical and weapons altercations, battle scenes, loss of loved ones

 

Thank you Wednesday Books for the eARC!

LOVED, AS ALWAYS.

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Emma Lord books just hit different. They are everything I wish I could have read at the young adult age. Filled with promising outlooks, taking on new challenges and letting go of things holding you back, Begin Again was yet another beautifully crafted read.

I adored Andie. Yes, she definitely was making some poor decisions, but character arcs are my jam and I LOVED her self revelations and discoveries about how she had been handling many facets of her life. I found myself teary every time these books come to a close because they’re just so GOOD. I love the parent discussions, the formation of life length friendships, and falling in love (with the right guy).

College plots need more books. I thought it was a lot of fun with the broadcasting segments, finding ribbons, work/study jobs and more. There were all of these little aspects of the setting that I know contributed to my love of this book.

And the romance was so sweet!! It was a slowwww burn. But the development from friendship to relationship was wonderful. Filled with the tender moments and then (when the time was right) realizing that those feelings had become more. Milo was an absolute gruff sweetheart and I LOVED IT.

I’ll just be sitting here waiting for the next book from one of my favorite auto-read authors.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: a little strong
- Romance: kisses
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a mother from cancer (off page, mentioned), cheating, loss of a - father from a car wreck (off page, mentioned)