Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for a review.
All opinions are my own!

NEEDED MORE.

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This book caused me to learn something about my bookish self.

I am picky when it comes to standalone fantasies.

Why? Because I think it’s hard to give everything a fantasy book needs laid out to make it feel whole by the time it ends. A fantasy needs strong world-building, an explanation of magic systems and more. I thought this was missing a lot of that plus a lack of character depth (with main and side characters).

The Stolen Kingdom started off pretty strong. The premise wasn’t wholly unique, but it seemed to have a flair I could get behind. I liked Maralyth as a main character. She was strong-willed and may have had to go with things she didn’t approve of, yet made the right decisions when it came down to it. I saw her in her role by the end.

Alac was a love interest I enjoyed. He wanted to change his kingdom for the better and was open to listening and working with his perceived enemies to do so. I wish there would have been more to Alac and Maralyth’s romance sub-plot. It was charming watching them together and I wanted to see the banter and tender pages.

It was an enjoyable story for a standalone. Even when I think it was missing deeper aspects, it delivered likable characters and a nifty, yet simple, magic system to follow. It would be an enjoyable read for younger YA audiences too.

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy
- Language: little to none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: physical, poison, loss of loved ones, murder

Thank you to Shadow Mountain Publishing for an ARC. All opinions are my own!

ROUGH SEAS.

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This book was a bit of a hit and miss for me.

I did enjoy the regency romance aspect. And I did like Caroline as one of the main characters. She had a bold nature and allowed her education to shine. Caroline was more progressive and free-thinking which was a nice change of pace. I didn’t always love Captain Scott. He had some repetitive dialogue and was rather stubborn for way too much of this. They had some sweet moments and cute banter at least. Really enjoyed the good kissing scenes too.

The setting is what kind of dragged for me. With things set mostly out at seas it made any added drama really feel dramatic. I caught myself wanting to roll my eyes sometimes because it was a clear way to try to progress the story without really doing so. A shorter book with less fluff would have made the pacing better.

The overall journey was successful. I liked the ending and wish there would have been an epilogue! I wanted a touch more of Caroline and Thomas.

Overall audience notes:
- Regency Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: physical altercations, stormy seas, child abuse (one of the boys on the ship is beaten off screen by someone)

INDEED, IT WAS SPOOKY.

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I have officially decided this is my second favorite of Sager’s (The Last Time I Lied being the first). It freaked me out, had some interesting story lines, and was overall a good spooky thriller.

The ghosts and haunted manor setting had me reading in the day time. I do NOT do haunted houses. Regardless of ridiculousness, I still found myself totally on edge. This is a slow-burn kind of haunting. It felt like a movie, slowly amping up to the climax of all the weird things going off at once.

I liked the alternating chapters between the Dad and daughter, Maggie. Though I think I leaned more towards her Dad’s more horrific tale. Which lead me to being let down by the ending. I almost wanted more ghost-y-ness (is that a word?) then having every single answer laid out. I have a confused mix of how I feel about the end. I liked how things were overall solved, but still, just something, *something* was missing for me.

What also had me out of the book from the beginning was the ease at which this entire book wouldn’t have existed if she sold the house. And I always love a character who sprints towards the danger rather than away.

Overall audience notes:
- Thriller
- Language: occasional
- Romance: none
- Violence: murder, physical altercations
- Trigger warnings: multiple discussions a murder-suicide and of multiple children being murdered

I LOVED this!!
Made me laugh, had some great hit you in the feels moments. Ah, such a fantastic graphic novel. And the artwork is beautiful!

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for the eARC. All opinions are my own!

GREAT ATMOSPHERE.

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I’m grateful I got an ARC for this one, because reading it in September with all of the fall, spooky, and Gothic vibes was the perfect combination. The atmosphere of Down Comes the Night was written beautifully.

I loved Wren as a main character. She was emotional, brave, intelligent, and devoted. I really loved her compassion for others and the fact she was emotional. It’s okay to feel things and to show those feelings and I loved knowing and seeing that in a character.

Her relationship with both Una and Hal worked amazingly in this standalone. It was somehow a love triangle, but not. Just a movement and progression of Wren’s relationships as the story grew. I thought the way it worked out with Una fit well, and appreciated that it wasn’t some blown out of proportion break-up, but an acknowledgement of where they both were in their lives. And moving with Hal felt right for the now, and he was just SO PRECIOUS. I love a brooding guy with a soft heart.

There’s a LOT of medical terminology used. More so than I’ve seen in any book I’ve read in a good long while. I do have a background in this kind of medical jargon so I didn’t mind it and kind of enjoyed this different addition to a young adult fantasy book. Wren works as a healer and whenever she explains something she’s trying to do, it’s in a more medical based format.

Our villain is a little roll your eyes worthy, but they have a flair all their own that was very creepy and fit into this entire setting well. I wish the story wasn’t confined to essentially one location, but there was enough overall to influence the narrative. Adored the ending and there’s plenty of highlight worthy quotes in here about choosing peace. Definitely a must read!

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy + romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses / make-outs; a very little detailed fade to black scene
- Violence: bloody/gory; murder, physical altercations, poisonings, magic attacks

TOO MANY FAIRYTALES.

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Oh I gave this a try. And oh, I feel disappointed.

I think this book and I got off on the wrong foot. I was thrown into a scene knowing absolutely nothing, and nobody was telling me anything. We went from there to full on info-dumping for chapters about Bristal’s new magical powers, her duty to the world, and all of these countries kings/queens/offspring. I was very confused.

Once I caught a better grasp, things did take a turn for the better. The story settled in and I could see all of the fairy tales being woven in. I thought maybe too many were shoved into the story to help carry it along, but it was fun seeing the take on each of them.

I wish the romance had more build-up and that the story was more about Bristal. Yes, she was our main character narration, but her entire focus was on other people. I wanted more for her and wished she wasn’t so sidelined in her own tale.

There’s a lot of action and things really do start happening in the second half. Even if I was at the skimming point of reading this book, I know it might be a hit for others (which is why I was a little more lenient on my rating).

Overall audience notes:
- Young adult fantasy + retellings
- Language: very little, light
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: animal attacks, magic, physical altercations, swords/arrows; not overly bloody/gory

I’M ENJOYING THESE.

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Who knew? I’m usually not a witch (or paranormal) fan. But these? I’m really liking them! I found Bricking It, better than the first and once again had me downloading book three to continue these cozy mysteries.

I love Wanda’s outlook on life and her strength, and humorous self. She’s a great main character who keeps things lively and is always in the most interesting situations.

Some of the drama is, maybe, a bit ridiculous, but it works so well here. The absurdity of the Minister and other characters in Wanda’s world make me roll my eyes, then furiously read to make sure things work out in Wanda’s favor.

I’m curious how these will continue with Wanda learning more about her powers, and maybe falling in love?! I need to know.

Overall audience notes:
- Paranormal cozy mysteries
- Language: none
- Violence: murder, physical

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC. All opinions are my own!

A TOUGH [& GOOD] READ.

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Trigger warning, this review will be discussing suicide, grief, depression and possibly other sensitive topics. I mention it here because the basis of the book is losing a loved one who passed away from suicide.

I liked the way this book was approached. Every time Ben was brought up, the appropriate terms were used (such as passed away from suicide) which I sincerely appreciated. Anna’s grieving process was raw and out there in the open. It was heart-breaking and really had me pondering many important topics. Anna’s healing process wasn’t linear. She stumbled sometimes, took two steps forward to go one step back, but always had such a strength about her. I liked that this wasn’t linear because nobody can tell you how long is too long to grieve and process the unthinkable.

Keane was exactly what Anna needed though. He allowed her to grieve as she needed, made sure she was safe, and became a good friend first. The chemistry was kept on the low end and allowed for a progression of emotions and desire to come out as it needed to.

The trip itself made me want to get on a sailboat and sail the Caribbean myself. It was beautiful writing and really brought the islands to life. I loved all of the things Anna and Keane got to do together while sailing and visiting islands and meeting new people. It added charming side characters and more depth to the story.

I’m grateful I picked this one up (and got approval from Netgalley!) because this approached a hard subject, and also gave a sense of hopefulness in enduring.

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary fiction + romance
- Language: strong throughout
- Romance: kisses / make-outs; innuendo, a few open-ish (mild detailed) love scenes
- Trigger warnings: suicide (of a loved one, including method and being the first one to find them); severe grief, depression; losing a limb from a car wreck and resulting trials

INCREASINGLY BETTER.

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I admit, I struggled through the first quarter or so of this one.

Too much detail focused on Madison’s family and her previous lifestyle, etc. I will say, it did come back into play, but I don’t think that much time needed to be spent on it. They were a nuisance from start to finish. I’m reading a romance, I want the two love interests front and center!!

After that initial issue, I got really on board with this one. Tyler is absolutely someone to be smitten with. Precious and easy to love. He and Madison truly did hit it off and I thought their chemistry was fantastic. Those WHY DIDN’T YOU KISS HER scenes are some of the best in this book. I loved their progression and development of feelings. When we got to the main conflict (which we all know happens in a romance formula), I liked the way it was handled. It wasn’t overly blown out of proportion and things got back on track quickly enough that I didn’t feel like anything missed a beat.

I thought the side plots and characters were funny. Watching Madison try to figure out how to use a dishwasher and take care of a dog had me snickering. I think it made her character really lovable and I wanted to cheer her on for choosing her own path, out of the grasp of her Mother.

By the end, I was loving this and even went and picked out another Wilson book to read for my TBR. This low-steam contemporary romance was playful and sincere, and I always love a read that goes by so quickly!

Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: very little, light
- Romance: kisses / make-outs
- Trigger warnings: emotionally and verbally abusive parents; a cheating significant other

A LET DOWN.

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This book disappointed me so much. Honestly, I don’t think I would have finished it if it wasn’t for the fact I joined a Buddy Read for it and wanted to still contribute.

I felt like from the beginning there was too much time spent on inner thought and description. I wasn’t drawn into the setting or story initially and it kind of all went downhill from there. I found myself scanning way sooner than I generally feel the need too.

Things were occasionally creepy and did make me look around my house once or twice. Messing with people’s houses is always something that gives me the spooks. A lot of the side plots and stories didn’t weave well back into the murder mystery which left me wanting more.

I was kept guessing about who had done what though. The blame was tossed between many characters and I could easily see how it could be them. I did appreciate the mystery was kept alive. By the ending when things were revealed it was surprising, but nice to see how all the pieces fit together.

Overall audience notes:
- Mystery / Thriller
- Language: some strong
- Romance: kisses; a closed door scene
- Violence: murder, physical, house fire, car wreck (resulting in death)