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WHAT DID I JUST READ?
Do you ever feel that question whenever you’ve closed a book? Because that’s how this one made me feel. And not even in a bad way because it was verrrrry entertaining. I just have no idea what genre it was hanging out in and exactly what the plot was trying to accomplish. And while that did bring it down a little for me, I think it also really added to its overall charm.
Cecilia and Ned were an adorable match. I love a good assassin falling in love with their mark trope. It worked well here and got more heated than I expected, but still enjoyed. They were clearly into each other and worked well together to help rescue Cecilia’s society.
The society of lady scoundrels (aka pirates) had me laughing. It was utterly ridiculous with the wild dialogue and commentary. I loved it. It was hilarious every time someone mentioned how posh it was to be worthy of being a mark for an assassin and how everyone steals from everyone else, but also, lets get together and steal from this guy too. Ahha, it was comical and spot on humorous.
It’s delightful and silly. The villain is outrageous. Plot’s a bit scattered. Yet, a fun and lighter read that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Overall audience notes:
- Historical romance + fantasy aspects
- Language: some strong
- Romance: kisses to one brief open door
- Violence: physical, gun and swords, swashbuckling, murder
CHARMED BY APPLE VALLEY.
What a great read! I’ve been seeing this making the rounds on bookstagram and it did not disappoint.
The chemistry and pacing worked really well for Brooke and Mac. With a month time frame I felt the draw between them and the nature of which the story was built on. It was easy to be swept away into Apple Valley. I found myself smiling and chuckling at a handful of scenes. I love a single-dad trope and Mac and Daisy were so precious and just trying to make it through what life had handed them.
Some [spoilers] related matters felt a bit out of nowhere. This wasn’t necessarily a deal breaker for me, but I hate when a twist feels like it’s added purely to push the plot rather than fitting into the story nicely.
It’s a very sweet romance, some swoony kisses and quiet moments. I would have loved even more moments where Brooke and Mac could have had more alone time together. I thought the conflict was handled mostly well. Half of it I was cool with, the other I was about to flip a table with. So you win some, you lose some on that matter. I look forward to the next book in the series with Emi!!!
Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Trigger/Content Warnings: infertility, parental abandonment, separation and divorce
This was a quick and poignant read. I loved the concept of the elevator and going over the past. The art brought the story to life even more. Wish the ending wasn't so abrupt!
SECOND HALF SAVE.
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I went in really wanting to love this book after having mixed feelings over You Deserve Each Other. Fortunately, this was leaps and bounds better for me personally and I look forward to seeing what Hogle writes next.
Now to this book specfically, the first half was ehhhh. It was slow and the one thing I didn’t love over the entire book was Maybell’s alternate universe? I thought it was odd, took me out of the book every time it happened and didn’t fit well.
Besides that, when the second half hit things picked up beautifully. Wesley IS SUCH A CINNAMON ROLL. My poor heart swooned at each confession and realization of how much he was doing without Maybell knowing. It was incredibly tender and kind. It was a dash of enemies to lovers with forced proximity that hit, and hit well. It was flippin’ adorable. Just all of it. He’s honestly the real gem here.
I like the anxiety representation here too (often specifically, social anxiety). It’s been awhile since I have truly felt seen by an author’s words and that was the case here. Feeling and knowing those exact emotions made this story even deeper for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE how the communication aspects (for both Wesley and Maybell) played into this. I thought it was heading for a crash and burn, but NO. It was perfect. It was everything I would want to hear in that situation and I couldn’t believe the pure love and kindness shown to both characters. Gahhh, the sweetest.
It was all so wholesome and full of heart. I’m so glad the second half opened up. I about teared up many times and WOW I JUST LOVE THEM OKAY.
Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses to mostly closed door scene
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a loved one, catfishing
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I went in really wanting to love this book after having mixed feelings over You Deserve Each Other. Fortunately, this was leaps and bounds better for me personally and I look forward to seeing what Hogle writes next.
Now to this book specfically, the first half was ehhhh. It was slow and the one thing I didn’t love over the entire book was Maybell’s alternate universe? I thought it was odd, took me out of the book every time it happened and didn’t fit well.
Besides that, when the second half hit things picked up beautifully. Wesley IS SUCH A CINNAMON ROLL. My poor heart swooned at each confession and realization of how much he was doing without Maybell knowing. It was incredibly tender and kind. It was a dash of enemies to lovers with forced proximity that hit, and hit well. It was flippin’ adorable. Just all of it. He’s honestly the real gem here.
I like the anxiety representation here too (often specifically, social anxiety). It’s been awhile since I have truly felt seen by an author’s words and that was the case here. Feeling and knowing those exact emotions made this story even deeper for me. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE how the communication aspects (for both Wesley and Maybell) played into this. I thought it was heading for a crash and burn, but NO. It was perfect. It was everything I would want to hear in that situation and I couldn’t believe the pure love and kindness shown to both characters. Gahhh, the sweetest.
It was all so wholesome and full of heart. I’m so glad the second half opened up. I about teared up many times and WOW I JUST LOVE THEM OKAY.
Overall audience notes:
- Contemporary romance
- Language: very little
- Romance: kisses to mostly closed door scene
- Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of a loved one, catfishing
ABSOLUTELY AMAZING.
I LOVED this book. I have seen the error of my ways holding off for so long on reading it. I couldn’t put it down. I needed to know what happened next. The pacing and writing was beautiful and kept things moving and engaging. I am officially here for this series.
I’m not generally a fan of books that involve a school/academy/etc. This played it perfectly. There wasn’t a copious amount of time spent going to class and other mundane tasks that ultimately wouldn’t affect the plot. Each scene and conversation led into Rin’s life and her story as well as connecting to the over arching plot of the coming war. I loved the side characters and the rolls they played in developing Rin’s character as she grew over the years. The time covered in more/less five years never felt too long or short.
The action was intense and at times hard to read. It doesn’t shy away from the trauma of war (and that’s putting it lightly). This is a dark read and brimming with context on many levels. Definitely read the authors notes at the end about incorporating modern Chinese history into this series.
Fantasy wise, the world building and magic system were stellar. No big info dumps that leave you more confused rather than clear-headed. Slowly built within the story itself it was easy to follow. I love the ideas being used in how it works and based on the ending, can’t wait to see how it further expands. I’m fascinated by many things and will be getting my hands on book two soon!!
Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: some strong
- Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, drug use, substance addictions, self-harm, racism, misogyny, genocide, bullying, abandonment, abuse, animal death and cruelty, torture, killing, rape, mutilation, graphic depictions of child death, medical experimentation, colonization
SMITTEN.
Wow. I was blown away by this regency! It’s the first one from the author I’ve read and I found it enjoyable on many levels.
One of those being the unique nature of both Rebecca (the narrator) and Nicholas (the love interest). I loved that Rebecca rode bare-backed and was interested in learning how to shoot guns and other things that really added to her personality. Nicholas was a Navy lieutenant who was totally cool with Rebecca’s interests and willingly helped her improve those skills. They were such a match from the moment they met.
Which leads me to my 1/2 star deduction. I struggle with this across genres. I don’t like a current love that takes up most of the book. It takes away from the romance I’m trying to be fall for. Because it always creates instances of cheating (as it did here) and no amount of wording really makes me feel completely fine about it. This one did end that plot line better than I expected so I’ll give it that at least.
Overall, a really great regency. I love this genre, especially when swoony kisses are added in. The writing was beautiful and kept me captivated. The plot moved steadily and I loved the introspection from Rebecca. Even with that one issue I had I liked the way she easily acknowledged she messed up and could apologize and work towards her character arc. Many things to love on in this one!
Overall audience notes:
- Regency Romance
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Trigger/Content Warnings: gun use (not in a violent matter), recollection of a bad fall from a horse, medical trauma, depiction of difficult birth, cheating
READ IT.
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How do you write a review for a book you basically consider perfect?
There aren’t words.
I loved this so much (and also highly recommend on audio, the narrators do a FANTASTIC job).
The incredible character development for every single person in this book was off the charts. The amount of emotion put into the words and scenes broke me down (no really, I almost cried a few times). I also found myself laughing, fist-pumping and preparing to pummel some characters too. There’s a clear raw, beautiful talent to Sanderson’s writing and you hardly notice you’ve spent 1,000 pages enraptured by the lives of these people.
I have more, lots more, but for fear of hinting at *any* spoilers I’m keeping it more brief. If you’re looking to try a fantasy or a big book, look no further. Read this series and come to be caught up in it all as the rest of us. It’s an amazing and stunning piece of literature.
Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: war depictions, swords, magic, battle scenes
- Trigger/Content Warnings: depictions of grief and depression, suicidal ideation, a lot of discussion on mental health (struggling with it, coping, and finding help, etc.)
BLOG || INSTAGRAM
How do you write a review for a book you basically consider perfect?
There aren’t words.
I loved this so much (and also highly recommend on audio, the narrators do a FANTASTIC job).
The incredible character development for every single person in this book was off the charts. The amount of emotion put into the words and scenes broke me down (no really, I almost cried a few times). I also found myself laughing, fist-pumping and preparing to pummel some characters too. There’s a clear raw, beautiful talent to Sanderson’s writing and you hardly notice you’ve spent 1,000 pages enraptured by the lives of these people.
I have more, lots more, but for fear of hinting at *any* spoilers I’m keeping it more brief. If you’re looking to try a fantasy or a big book, look no further. Read this series and come to be caught up in it all as the rest of us. It’s an amazing and stunning piece of literature.
Overall audience notes:
- Fantasy
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: war depictions, swords, magic, battle scenes
- Trigger/Content Warnings: depictions of grief and depression, suicidal ideation, a lot of discussion on mental health (struggling with it, coping, and finding help, etc.)
It was all good until the conflict kind of soured things for me.
Full review to come!
Full review to come!