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goodeyreads
medium-paced
Thank you LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.
CHARMING & HAUNTING.
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I love Jen DeLuca romances but didn’t know what I was specifically getting into when I went into this one. I think the paranormal/ghost aspects worked genuinely well. It was woven seamlessly into the plot and I thought it was a charming piece to the overall story. It kind of has that cozy mystery vibe but with a little more of a romance focus.
I loved the small town setting and the smoothness of the audiobook was an easy listen. The romance was sweet. I liked that Nick owned a coffee shop and Cassie was the girl from the big city. I thought there was a great set-up for future books in this series. The side characters (including the ghosts) were such good addition. The moody vibes of this book were exactly what I was after and I can’t wait for more.
Overall audience notes:
- Paranormal Contemporary Romance
- Language: moderate, scattered throughout
- Romance: 2 open door
- Content Warnings: mentions of infertility, exorcism/seance scenes
CHARMING & HAUNTING.
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I love Jen DeLuca romances but didn’t know what I was specifically getting into when I went into this one. I think the paranormal/ghost aspects worked genuinely well. It was woven seamlessly into the plot and I thought it was a charming piece to the overall story. It kind of has that cozy mystery vibe but with a little more of a romance focus.
I loved the small town setting and the smoothness of the audiobook was an easy listen. The romance was sweet. I liked that Nick owned a coffee shop and Cassie was the girl from the big city. I thought there was a great set-up for future books in this series. The side characters (including the ghosts) were such good addition. The moody vibes of this book were exactly what I was after and I can’t wait for more.
Overall audience notes:
- Paranormal Contemporary Romance
- Language: moderate, scattered throughout
- Romance: 2 open door
- Content Warnings: mentions of infertility, exorcism/seance scenes
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fast-paced
Thank you Simon Teen for the gifted ARC!
SMITTEN.
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I enjoyed this story so dang much. I love Wes and Liz and I loved seeing how their relationship progressed through this book. It’s messy and complicated, has a bit of drama and struck many chords of life in college and figuring things out. I loved watching the character growth for both Wes and Liz. Each had some tough truths to learn and adapt from and I love that they found their way back to each other in the end.
And this is a subtle baseball romance?? Heck yes. I could not get enough of the baseball content and I loved Liz’s college job! I think it worked perfectly for this story and added to the necessity of some good ol’ forced proximity moments that I crave.
The side characters were fantastic too. I loved all of Wes’s teammates (and please tell me we might get more stories from this UCLA crew??). Liz’s roommates were also so fun and it really reminded me of the joy that being on a college campus can bring.
Bonus points if you catch the little Taylor Swift references throughout. I loved all of the song lyric additions and gosh dang am I obsessed with a good argument scene, bring me all of the passionate confessions. This truly did read like a movie for me and I would watch it in a heartbeat.
Overall audience notes:
- NA Contemporary Romance
- Language: high and present throughout
- Romance: kisses
- Content Warnings: loss of a parent (heart attack), grief depiction, panic attacks
SMITTEN.
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I enjoyed this story so dang much. I love Wes and Liz and I loved seeing how their relationship progressed through this book. It’s messy and complicated, has a bit of drama and struck many chords of life in college and figuring things out. I loved watching the character growth for both Wes and Liz. Each had some tough truths to learn and adapt from and I love that they found their way back to each other in the end.
And this is a subtle baseball romance?? Heck yes. I could not get enough of the baseball content and I loved Liz’s college job! I think it worked perfectly for this story and added to the necessity of some good ol’ forced proximity moments that I crave.
The side characters were fantastic too. I loved all of Wes’s teammates (and please tell me we might get more stories from this UCLA crew??). Liz’s roommates were also so fun and it really reminded me of the joy that being on a college campus can bring.
Bonus points if you catch the little Taylor Swift references throughout. I loved all of the song lyric additions and gosh dang am I obsessed with a good argument scene, bring me all of the passionate confessions. This truly did read like a movie for me and I would watch it in a heartbeat.
Overall audience notes:
- NA Contemporary Romance
- Language: high and present throughout
- Romance: kisses
- Content Warnings: loss of a parent (heart attack), grief depiction, panic attacks
slow-paced
Thank you Get Underlined for the gifted ARC.
MIXED THOUGHTS.
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This genuinely started strong. After being mixed about book one I was hopeful this would rise to the occasion, and it did…for a bit. The beginning had me intrigued and I love this whole cast of characters. There’s a good found family quality and Imani is a strong FMC. I can easily cheer her on and I liked seeing the growth in her character. I also loved having Taha’s POV too. It was a solid contrast to Imani’s journey and getting to see what was happening in other parts of the world too.
The middle took a veer of a sub story that I was bored by. I am still puzzling out why it was added as it didn’t fully connect back into the main story. Maybe it does in book three? I don’t know. The hunger games-esque moment felt out of place amongst the rest of the book. I do think the magic system is interesting and mapped out well. I love that I can understand what’s happening amongst the spices and tea and monsters.
You may see this called romantic. It is not. And that was a big letdown for me too. There IS ROMANCE, but it is maybe 10% of the story. I would have loved to see more development in this arena because I thought it was going to play a bigger role.
I’ll still read the third book because I am intrigued enough and the last quarter picked up some necessary speed. I am very curious how everything will come together.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy
- Language: low
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: moderate
- Content Warnings: loss of life, brief torture, weapons violence
MIXED THOUGHTS.
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This genuinely started strong. After being mixed about book one I was hopeful this would rise to the occasion, and it did…for a bit. The beginning had me intrigued and I love this whole cast of characters. There’s a good found family quality and Imani is a strong FMC. I can easily cheer her on and I liked seeing the growth in her character. I also loved having Taha’s POV too. It was a solid contrast to Imani’s journey and getting to see what was happening in other parts of the world too.
The middle took a veer of a sub story that I was bored by. I am still puzzling out why it was added as it didn’t fully connect back into the main story. Maybe it does in book three? I don’t know. The hunger games-esque moment felt out of place amongst the rest of the book. I do think the magic system is interesting and mapped out well. I love that I can understand what’s happening amongst the spices and tea and monsters.
You may see this called romantic. It is not. And that was a big letdown for me too. There IS ROMANCE, but it is maybe 10% of the story. I would have loved to see more development in this arena because I thought it was going to play a bigger role.
I’ll still read the third book because I am intrigued enough and the last quarter picked up some necessary speed. I am very curious how everything will come together.
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy
- Language: low
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: moderate
- Content Warnings: loss of life, brief torture, weapons violence
slow-paced
Thank you GetUnderlined for the gifted ARC.
CHARACTER DRIVEN.
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If you love character driven books (like I do), then this is a must read. It is heavy on the development of Hazel and I loved her journey. This was extremely atmospheric and had the right gothic vibes that I was swept into this world with ease.
I loved all of the pieces put together with complicated families, meddling gods who don’t have it all together, bargains and mistakes and betrayals of those closest to you. It’s a slower read that takes its time and you see the path that is woven from Hazel truly just trying her best.
It was a little too slow for me in the beginning because we got a lot of Hazel growing up from 6 to 13 to 18, but after that I found myself pretty much glued to my book because I was loving this read. I really liked the sub-plot romance too. There was good character development in that situation and I loved the way he stuck by Hazel as the kingdom unraveled. Merrick was someone I couldn’t get enough of either. He had such a unique story line with Hazel and I don’t remember having come across a story like this or quite as intricate as Hazel and Merrick’s relationship.
Gorgeous writing as always. Craig is one of my favorite fantasy/horror writers in the young adult category. A must read for the fall!
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy Horror
- Language: low, scattered throughout
- Romance: heated makeouts
- Violence: high
- Content Warnings: blood/gore depiction, multiple scenes with medical concerns depicted, parental abandonment, loss of life, murder
CHARACTER DRIVEN.
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If you love character driven books (like I do), then this is a must read. It is heavy on the development of Hazel and I loved her journey. This was extremely atmospheric and had the right gothic vibes that I was swept into this world with ease.
I loved all of the pieces put together with complicated families, meddling gods who don’t have it all together, bargains and mistakes and betrayals of those closest to you. It’s a slower read that takes its time and you see the path that is woven from Hazel truly just trying her best.
It was a little too slow for me in the beginning because we got a lot of Hazel growing up from 6 to 13 to 18, but after that I found myself pretty much glued to my book because I was loving this read. I really liked the sub-plot romance too. There was good character development in that situation and I loved the way he stuck by Hazel as the kingdom unraveled. Merrick was someone I couldn’t get enough of either. He had such a unique story line with Hazel and I don’t remember having come across a story like this or quite as intricate as Hazel and Merrick’s relationship.
Gorgeous writing as always. Craig is one of my favorite fantasy/horror writers in the young adult category. A must read for the fall!
Overall audience notes:
- YA Fantasy Horror
- Language: low, scattered throughout
- Romance: heated makeouts
- Violence: high
- Content Warnings: blood/gore depiction, multiple scenes with medical concerns depicted, parental abandonment, loss of life, murder
medium-paced
Thank you to the author for an eARC.
LOOOOVED IT.
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Joanna Barker is just my favorite. I love her books so much and this newest release was a gem too. I love the combination of historical romance + romantic suspense. There is the perfect air of mystery throughout that leaves you guessing and flipping the pages. Add in a lovely swoony romance and this is the ultimate combination.
I loved Verity! I loved how unique and dynamic she was. How clever and filled with a lot of tenacity to do things on her own and learning to let others in and find that trusting piece she had been missing. And of course I was smitten with Nathaniel. He melted me into a puddle and was protective and brave and wanted to be Verity’s partner. Not once trying to overstep. I loved the way the came together and the tender quiet moments they found along the way.
I enjoyed the side story that worked back into the plot (do I spy maybe a future story???). I loved the close friendships and getting to see Jack and Ginny again too.
Overall audience notes:
- Historical Romance + Suspense
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low
- Content Warnings: brief gun violence, kidnapping
LOOOOVED IT.
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Joanna Barker is just my favorite. I love her books so much and this newest release was a gem too. I love the combination of historical romance + romantic suspense. There is the perfect air of mystery throughout that leaves you guessing and flipping the pages. Add in a lovely swoony romance and this is the ultimate combination.
I loved Verity! I loved how unique and dynamic she was. How clever and filled with a lot of tenacity to do things on her own and learning to let others in and find that trusting piece she had been missing. And of course I was smitten with Nathaniel. He melted me into a puddle and was protective and brave and wanted to be Verity’s partner. Not once trying to overstep. I loved the way the came together and the tender quiet moments they found along the way.
I enjoyed the side story that worked back into the plot (do I spy maybe a future story???). I loved the close friendships and getting to see Jack and Ginny again too.
Overall audience notes:
- Historical Romance + Suspense
- Language: none
- Romance: kisses
- Violence: low
- Content Warnings: brief gun violence, kidnapping
fast-paced
This was purely a fluff piece and I don't care because I love any and all things Wes Bennett.
medium-paced
RIDICULOUSLY CHARMING.
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I love the way India Holton writes stories. I love that they are wild and outlandish and combine historical and fantasy aspects into a spell binding story. I think the ornithologist plot line was really fun. The concept of all of these interesting birds with different powers and everyone trying to catch them? It led to some great scenes that had me chuckling.
I’m grateful this had the POV for both the FMC and MMC. There was a third and I don’t think that would have been necessary for the story so while I didn’t hate those chapters, I didn’t love them either. I did love the romance between Beth and Devon. The rival to lovers trope was well executed and there was a lot of soft and tender swoon. I loved the audiobook and just had a genuinely good time reading this book. I can’t wait for the series!
Overall audience notes:
- Historical fantasy romance
- Language: low, scattered throughout
- Romance: 2-3 vague open door scenes
- Violence: moderate
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I love the way India Holton writes stories. I love that they are wild and outlandish and combine historical and fantasy aspects into a spell binding story. I think the ornithologist plot line was really fun. The concept of all of these interesting birds with different powers and everyone trying to catch them? It led to some great scenes that had me chuckling.
I’m grateful this had the POV for both the FMC and MMC. There was a third and I don’t think that would have been necessary for the story so while I didn’t hate those chapters, I didn’t love them either. I did love the romance between Beth and Devon. The rival to lovers trope was well executed and there was a lot of soft and tender swoon. I loved the audiobook and just had a genuinely good time reading this book. I can’t wait for the series!
Overall audience notes:
- Historical fantasy romance
- Language: low, scattered throughout
- Romance: 2-3 vague open door scenes
- Violence: moderate