Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Tricia Levenseller just doesn’t miss when it comes to pirate adventure novels! 

Following the events of the “Daughter of the Pirate King” duology, “Vengeance of the Pirate Queen” centers around Sorinda Veshtas, the pirate queen’s assassin. As a newly appointed captain, Sorinda is dispatched on a rescue mission. Unfortunately, her sailing master just so happens to be Kearan Erroth, the one person attuned to her every movement in the shadows. Sadly, it’s near impossible to avoid him on a ship with few hiding places. But when the crew faces the King of the Undersea, a being who can control the dead, Sorinda’s helmsman might be the only one that can save her from becoming an undead queen. 

I. Love. Sorinda. Veshtas. I always have ever since reading “Daughter of the Pirate Queen.” Now I love her even more. Levenseller never fails to create strong female characters and Sorinda might just be the fiercest one of all. Her past is revealed in bits and pieces. Once I saw the whole picture I was devastated. Her vengeance for what happened to her family is a driving force in her life and motivated her to become a weapon. At the same time, she is consumed by guilt. 

Kearan is the one who helps her realize that she is worthy of life, love, and saving and that it is okay to lean on others. Their romance truly left me a sopping mess. I enjoyed watching Sorinda try to avoid him as much as possible until she could no longer ignore her budding feelings. Watching their squabbles turn into playful banter. Their reluctant love story is a beautiful one as they learn to confide in each other and accept their own flaws. 

As a huge fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, I enjoyed how this book pays homage to The Curse of the Black Pearl. I was on the edge of my seat, soaring through each chapter wondering how Sorinda and her crew would defeat an army of the undead. The explosive ending does not disappoint. This swashbuckling adventure fulfilled all of my pirate loving dreams! 

Review: A satisfying conclusion to a high stakes adventure! 

 

Picking up a few weeks from where the first installment left off, Alosa Kalligan finds herself in a deadly race against her father after learning of a secret he has kept from her. Despite the danger, Alosa knows she will recover the legendary hidden treasure first with the help of her a crew and the still unfairly attractive and unexpectedly loyal, first mate Riden, who once took her captive. 

 

New book, same cunning, ruthless Alosa. I loved getting to see Alosa’s dynamic as a captain in “Daughter of the Siren Queen”! She is so devoted to her crew, willing to sacrifice her life without hesitation for them, and owning up to her missteps. This only deepened my admiration for her character. 

 

Alosa’s romance with Riden definitely isn’t the focal point of this book, which is something I normally wouldn’t mind, but I couldn’t help but feel like something about their chemistry was off. Instead of their relationship deepening, it was repeatedly sabotaged and not enough time was spent on how it was mended (in my opinion) in the end. All this to say, there was a lot of back and forth and I was eager for them to just be together considering that their romance is a subplot. 

 

One of my favorite aspects of “Daughter of the Pirate King” was the promise of sirens and this book did not disappoint on that front! Levenseller leans more into the fantasy genre with this one and I loved being able to delve more into Alosa’s siren nature and learn more about roots. 

Review: I could not have dreamed up a better conclusion to this series than “A Curse for True Love”! 

 

Following the events of “The Ballad of Never After”, Evangeline is living a fairytale married to the handsome prince of the Magnificent North…or so she thinks. Her husband is determined to make sure she doesn’t learn the truth. To do so, he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts. But true love always prevails. 

 

For the first time in this series, Garber tries her hand at alternating between three points-of-view: Evangeline, Apollo, and Jacks. Admittedly, I enjoyed reading some more than others *cough sorry Apollo cough* but I strongly believes that the absence of even one would have left the story feeling incomplete. Each perspective is purposeful and necessary in understanding the choices each character makes in “A Curse for True Love.” Finally getting to inhabit the minds of two of Garber’s most notorious villains was everything. Discovering what they were willing to sacrifice for true love, their true feelings towards Evangeline, and their respective motivations really informed my understanding of their characters and the role they played in the previous books in the series. 

 

Part of why I loved “The Ballad of Never After” so much was because of Jacks and Evangeline’s romantic chemistry. Garber goes through the process developing their romantic tensions from scratch following Evangeline’s memory loss with that same addictive quality she infuses in her writing. Watching the two fall in love for a second time despite Apollo doing everything in his power to ensure Evangeline loathed Jacks truly solidifies the power of true love in Garber’s stories. As anticipated, I was an emotional mess by the end and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. 

 

The different endings for this book in each special edition are so uniquely Stephanie Garber—magical, romantic, and full of mischief. I loved every single alternate ending and hope this isn’t the last we will see of this world and the characters that have a hold on my heart. 

Review: Levenseller’s pirate tale is so much fun! 

 

“Daughter of the Pirate King” follows Alosa Kalligan as she carries out her mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map from an enemy ship. The only ting standing in her way: her captor, the attractive first mate, Riden Allemos. 

 

This is a pirate romance like no other and I couldn’t put it down. I love the “I came to manipulate you, but fell in love” trope and that in combination with there only being one bed due to cramped quarters made it feel like this book was written with me mind. 

 

While Alosa singles out Riden immediately and acknowledges that he is attractive, she does not act on her feelings right away. I enjoyed their slow development from enemies to lovers and how evenly matched they are in wit and strength. 

 

The pacing of the story itself is very fast and I was easily lured in by Alosa’s high stakes mission, the promise of a hunt for buried treasure, and life aboard the Nightfarer. I was most intrigued, however, by the fantastical elements pertaining to the existence of sirens. The siren lore that Levenseller creates adds depth to her world and shed light on the extent of Alosa’s abilities. 

 

What I love the most about this book is that Alosa is just as fierce without her powers as she is when she is using them. To avoid alerting the suspicion of her captors while she searched their ship for the hidden map, Alosa only drew upon her powers when absolutely necessary. During that time, she proved to be a skilled swordswoman, resourceful when in a bind, capable of disarming her opponent no matter their size, and extremely courageous, which I greatly admired. 

Thank you to Ali Hazelwood and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Who knew Ali Hazelwood would be the one to get me interested in chess?!

“Check & Mate” follows Mallory Greenleaf, a former chess player working as a mechanic to support her family. Eager to leave the sport and the destruction it caused in the past, she plays one last charity tournament. Only, she manages to beat Nolan Sawyer, the current world champion and bad boy of chess. What follows is the opportunity to continue playing for sorely needed cash prizes and cross pawns with her fiercely attractive competitor. That is, so long as she can protect her family from the game that wrecked it. 

I want to begin by saying that I agree reviewers that are saying that this book is new adult and NOT young adult. The characters are 18 and 20. Mature language is used. Sexual content is referenced. Please keep these factors in mind before reading. 

Considering that this is an NA debut, Hazelwood is successful in branching out into this space. I adored Mallory, Nolan, and their rivals-to-lovers romance. The pacing of their relationship contributes to the ease with which I tore through this book. I feel like Mallory and Nolan truly started out as competitors too absorbed in their rivalry to entertain the idea of a relationship before finally giving in to their attraction. I devoured every single page. 

I also really loved the depth of the characters in this book! As the eldest child in my own family, I really connected to Mallory and the pressure she feels to take on more responsibilities, set an example for her younger siblings, and step in as another parent of sorts. 

As with her other books, Hazelwood explores the ways women are treated in male-dominated spaces. In this case, she does so by putting the chess world under a microscope. Going into the book, I knew next to nothing about chess, but Hazelwood made it easy to understand and digestible. It just worked and now I feel empowered to try my hand at it. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Get Red PR, and the publisher for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review: I could not be more grateful to Kennedy for revisiting the Briar Universe with her Campus Diaries series! 

 

“The Graham Effect” follows Gigi Graham, the daughter of the legendary hockey player Garrett Graham, as she tries to make a name for herself by qualifying for the women’s national hockey team. In order to improve her game behind the net, she makes a deal with Luke Ryder, Briar’s new hockey co-captain. In exchange for a few practice sections, Gigi agrees to put in a good word for him with her dad so that he can get the summer coaching spot he so desperately wants. The only snag? The chemistry between them that is impossible to ignore. 

 

If I’m being honest, I don’t normally reach for “next generation” stories. I find that they don’t live up to the stories that paved the way for them and they lack a certain something. All this being said, “The Graham Effect” is THE exception. I found myself loving this book just as much as I loved the Off-Campus series and it’s all thanks to the addictive quality I’ve come to associate with Kennedy’s writing. 

 

Gigi and Luke are my new favorite couple. Alternating between their perspectives deepened their romantic tension and mutual pining, making my heart race. Most of all, I loved that they could be vulnerable with and push each to be better. 

 

I would be remiss if I did not touch on the cameos made by the characters that started it all! I thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Garrett, Hannah, Logan, Dean, and Jake. Their brief appearances are memorable without taking away from Gigi and Luke’s love story. 

 

I cannot wait to see which child of this new generation will be the protagonist of book 2!

Thank you to the author for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Hunter’s first novel in her Runaway Ranch series made my heart swell!

“Tame the Heart” follows Ruby Bloom, who, by chance, makes a pit stop at Resurrection, Montana on her cross-country rode trip. Armed with a bucket list and a secret, her carefully laid plans to keep her heart guarded fall apart when she meets grumpy rancher Charlie Montgomery after he saves her in a bar fight. To repay the favor, Ruby offers to work for him for three months and help save Runaway Ranch. Only, his rare smiles and tender heart won’t let her run back to the open road when her time runs out. 

Ruby is one of my favorite protagonists created by Hunter! I really appreciate Hunter providing  great chronic illness representation through the creation of Ruby’s character and for communicating that just because Ruby has a heart condition, that does not mean that she needs to put her life on hold. Instead, she is able to fulfill all her greatest hopes and dreams with Charlie at her side as a partner rather than one of the many people in her life trying to hold her back. 

Alternating between Ruby and Charlie’s perspectives was a dream come true! Their night and day personalities created a rift between them at first, which made reading the moment they figured out they were meant for each other all the more squeal inducing! I could not get enough of Charlie’s protective side and Ruby’s fun-loving characterization. Additionally, their complex pasts led to me becoming invested in reading from both of their perspectives. I adored watching them uplift each other and work through their trauma without overstepping or becoming overbearing. 

I fell in love with Hunter’s fictional small town of Resurrection and its residents. Her descriptions are so atmospheric and bring locations like Main Street, The Corner Store, Nowhere (a popular bar), and Runaway Ranch itself to life. Through Charlie and Ruby, we are introduced to the locals and ranch staff, including the other Montgomery brothers. I cannot wait to get to know them better and watch them find love in the novels to come!