I FELT ALL THE FEELS.

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Not mad one bit I finally decided to pick this one up. Oh my goodness, I absolutely ADORED IT Y’ALL.

I LOVED Alex. I liked his personality, the way he was boisterous and caring and all of that protectiveness over Lauren had me downright swooning. The banter was cheeky and well timed with sizzling chemistry from the get-go. I loooove forced proximity and this is present in spades.

There’s plenty of dynamics to love, grump x sunshine (where she’s the grump!), celebrities and great representation. This story had me hooked from the beginning and I flew through the audio in a day with a continual drive to see where the story would go. I took a 1/2 star off because the conflict leaned more towards miscommunication and I got a bit disgruntled.

Otherwise, this is a fantastic contemporary romance. It had too much spice for me (which doesn’t affect my rating, but wanted to note). The entire plot was stellar and I’m happy to have picked this up.

**I have not read Spoiler Alert. There were a few brief times when I was a little confused, but I don’t think it hindered my reading experience overall.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: strong
- Romance: multiple open; high explicit
- Trigger/Content Warnings: fatmisia, domestic abuse 

I loooooooved these bonus chapters!!

SECOND HALF SAVE.

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Oh blessed be that the second half was better. The initial start was good, but then it fell of steeply in pacing (and going around and around and around in the woods) that I almost lost faith in all of the good reviews I’ve seen.

I liked the development of Raina’s character. A bit jaded and bent on revenge at first she slowly comes around to listening and seeing how things are more different than she would have thought. Character growth is one of the biggest things I look for in a read and I appreciated seeing that here.

The romance grew on me. I liked the banter and enemies to lovers vibes. I think it took off quicker than expected (I thought it would be more slow burn to the second book), BUT there’s lots of options on how book two, plot wise, plays out. I do like Raina and Alexus together and all of the reveals about Alexus’s path have me waiting more!

There’s a pretty good plot here that I do think for the magic and world building was developed well. My issues lied in the pacing. I thought for a first book in a series I got enough information (without info dumping) to want to continue this series.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: open door
- Violence: medium
- Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, loss of life, loss of loved ones, near death experiences 

SLOW START.

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I feel like I don’t have a lot to say about this one? It was a good audio read, but left a lot to be desired in the YA fantasy genre.

Things got off to a very slow start and it took until about halfway before they really picked up. I could have used a little less school time and more development in multiple other places. For instance, the romance. Super underdeveloped. Also didn’t love the teacher/student angle (even though they’re in the same age range)? Something wasn’t clicking for me. It was better when they were completely out of that setting at least.

I really wish the main character, Brienna had more power. When I found out what her role was for the book I was a bit let down. I thought it was going in different direction (and maybe book two does this?).

It’s a pretty typical YA fantasy, which isn’t a bad thing. I think reading it would have been tougher than being able to speed up the audio. I love Ross’s newer books and wanted to try out one of her backlist.

Overall audience notes:
- Young Adult Fantasy
- Language: None
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: medium
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved ones, war themes, teacher/student relationship 

SWEET SUMMERTIME.

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An enjoyable backlist summer time read with allllll those camp vibes. I really liked this!

Alex and Grant had a solid enemies to lovers vibe, but yet sweet? I don’t know how to explain it. I loved the banter and the fun ways they got to know each other in a camp setting. They had maaaany super cute moments where I was cheering them on.

Alex had a lot to learn and explore within herself and this book did an alright job accomplishing that. I think there could have been a deeper dive into the entire story. It’s a short book and I felt much of it was surface level. The ending went kind of quickly with the bigger plots being wrapped up.

It was an engaging read I had a hard time putting down. It’s a simple read that’ll have you thinking of all things summer.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: a little
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: mild
- Trigger/Content Warnings: drunk and underage driving (resulting in loss of life), loss of a parent, grief depiction

 

TAKE ME TO SANTORINI.

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Oh wow. I read Love & Gelato years ago and adored it. I ended up skipping book two after seeing less than stellar reviews. I HAD NO IDEA THERE WAS A BOOK THREE??

I’m so glad I read it because it was the charming quintessential young adult contemporary that I love reading. This gave me major wanderlust about traveling and now I have officially added Santorini to my bucket list. I loved all of the Atlantis theories and lore. I remember a time when I was really into this fabled city and it was fun exploring that too. The ending made me tear up with the discussions on mental health and doing the best you can.

Olive held a lot of pieces I love about teen girls. I liked her bravery in going to see and confront her father, but also her willingness to see what’s been happening in his life. She had a great balance of (deserved) anger and finding new joys while overcoming personal anxieties. I thought the sweet romance with Theo was so stinkin’ cute. It continually made me smile. My only tiny issue was that I hate when a main character dates someone off page for 95% of the book (he really didn’t have a point past the first 15%).

Anyways, LOVED THIS. A great edition to the series.

Overall audience notes:
- YA Contemporary Romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses
- Trigger/Content Warnings: bipolar disorder, panic attacks, smoking 

I am always bound to pick up a marriage of convenience read and this was no different. I loved that aspect and watching Edward and Amelia (especially Edward) bumble around trying to figure out how the whole marriage and falling in love thing works.

Edward wad endearing. I liked his nature and I think his heart was in the right place even if his mind put together the most ridiculous ways of trying to woo Amelia. Gratefully she was taking no crap from Edward and actually made him work for it. Anytime these two were on page having a quiet moment by the piano or talking together and letting walls down I was charmed. I do think these two had fantastic chemistry.

I struggled with the plots involving Edith. Wow she had way too much control over this entire story. I did not like her at all and became increasingly frustrated that she was never put in her place until 98% of the book. It made the ending wrap up way too quickly and not get some of those satisfying moments to the antagonists. I’m glad that Edward and Amelia were able to have an adult conversation about rumors etc. and that the drama for by that point was significantly lessened.

There’s plenty of good things here even I was had some issues with it. I like Thornell’s writing and will continue to read her books. I love a good swoony cinnamon roll lead and Edward delivered.

 

These types of reads both haunt me and make me the happiest. Why? Because the format of dual timelines where you’re not quite sure what caused the fallout causes LACK OF SLEEP. I binged this in a day chasing down the reason Percy and Sam fell apart and hoping they’d find their way back together.

It was an interesting tiny tidbit that when they ran into each other again there wasn’t immediate animosity. I really liked that they were able to already find some common ground to reconnect and rehash what happened between them.

The trope of childhood friends to lovers was written beautifully. I loved the sweet friendship that started to become longing looks and brief touches to finally saying OH HEY I LIKE YOU. Ah, young love. Percy and Sam definitely get in their own ways sometimes, but somehow it was endearing. Fortune’s ability to craft this story was amazing. All the mess that can come with first love and rekindling that love years later had me glued to my book.

I do stand by that I just didn’t love the last big piece of information needed to answer why there’s been so many years apart. I AM grateful that it was handled really well. The drama had already been thrown down so at this point, I thought the characters all approached it in a realistic way. Which all led to a sweet ending.

Great read, highly recommend. Perfect for summertime!

 

READ THIS SERIES.

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I am so impressed by this series. 800 pages and I hardly notice. I love the writing. It’s captivating and keeps the pace moving. The characters are extremely easy to get attached to and I can’t believe some of the things that happened this round?! NOT OKAY.

I love how much depth we got from many characters. Specifically this time, Elias. He went through the ringer (and fire, literal fire) and now I can see just how strong of a character role he’s going to continue to play. And his bromance with Kallias? ADORE!!!!! We stan strong friendships. Moving towards Kallias, do I spy a romance? The slow burn is torturous, but oh so good.

MY SWEET BABY FINN. Easily my favorite character for this book. Wow his story took so many turns. I loved it. I love his morally gray, but fiercely protective self. My heart hurts for where his arc may lead. I need him comforted ASAP.

The plot moved beautifully. A mix of action and politicking. Sneaking out at night and creatures coming out of the woodwork. I loved the changes in scenery and all of the new characters that I got to meet. Everyone felt pertinent to the story and only added to how much I love reading these books.

ADD TO YOUR TBR ASAP PLEASE.

Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: little
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: med/high
- Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, torture, physical altercations, creature attacks, near death - experiences, poison, grief depiction 

EXPECTATIONS.

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I’m going to start with saying that this felt more like a book about sisters than it did a romance. And if I had known that prior I think I would have enjoyed it more. For too long I sat there wondering WHERE IS THE ROMANCE.

Admittedly, the romance did show up (after 25%) and I was charmed. I adored Nora and Charlie. I was laughing so much at the absolute perfect banter and chemistry between them. The forced proximity between the two was one of my favorite aspects. I liked the small town setting and the slow unraveling of feelings that heated up right on cue.

The main plot with Nora’s sister, Libby grew on me [though, good heavens stop calling her Sissy]. I think both showed some improvement as they reconnected. I liked seeing Nora’s perspective change and really diving into why she feels the way she does (and the responses it causes). These two have the kind of bond I love seeing in sibling books.

Not my favorite of Emily Henry’s books, but still a fantastic read. I look forward to more!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary Romance
- Language: some strong
- Romance: multiple brief open door
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a parent, anxiety/panic attacks, stroke (parent, not on page), grief and loss depiction