i mean, this wasn't Bad. it was just….. kinda superficial. way too much french.

hunter was cute, tho.

3 hockey-is-badass stars

"Maybe you didn’t have to get over your fears completely to conquer them. Maybe if you just faces them in general that counted."

another 5 star MZ read????

i?? can’t think of any reason to NOT give this a 5 star rating?? two five stars in a row for the same author??? Who Am I???

this book is about new beginnings, and hope, and grief, and pushing through the hurt and still smiling about it.

with a fmc so emotional and teary that i have no idea how i didn’t dislike her (let alone adored her), but with an older, stoic, mmc and who is a single dad!! there was just no wayyy i wasn’t going to love this book.

but that isn’t all! this also featired small town living, a distinct season change narrative awareness, found families, thoughtful insights about grief and new beginnings. just!! gosh. this felt like a warm hug.

also, i think maybe most male romantic characters by Mariana Zapata are grumps? but if that’s the case that just means i’m gonna want to read all of them. onwards to the next!

"Grief seems like a privilege, in a way," she says. "To have loved someone so much that you can’t imagine life without them. I’ve never felt that."

3 lukewarm stars

i don't love this quote kind the same way i don’t love this book. it was fine, pretty nice actually.

it felt a bit like it was going for the emotional markers, trying to hit them at the right times, and some were still spot on! i teared up successfully just fine at least three times! but idk if i’m just more desensitized from reading a bunch of romances throughout my time, or all the grief i’ve experienced myself, but i guess i just feel like this could’ve gone a bit deeper.

idk if it’s fair of me to be so demanding, lol. what a weird way to feel after finishing a book that by all intents and purposes was still a fun read.

4.5 sapphic stars

this was damn near everything i wanted in a sapphic romance! Her Spell That Binds Me managed to do everything that i hoped [b:The Honey Witch|196726166|The Honey Witch|Sydney J. Shields|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1693440479l/196726166._SX50_.jpg|147758498] would.

there was still something missing, i can't quite put my finger on it, idk if i wanted a slower burn, or if the romance felt too intense too fast once it finally got going, but nevertheless, iona and ariadne were delightful characters and the magic system and world building were pretty cool.

all in all, a high quality read.

5 stoic-silence stars

i... wasn't expecting to like this book so much????

i picked this up without any expectations, especially since i thought it was going to be bad?? i mean, i fully blame the summary for this, because i was expecting the man called The Wall of Winnipeg to be a jerk who would treat the fmc badly, but he was just... stoic? man, i LOVE stoic characters, c'mooonnnnn!!!

this was peak, there was barely any sports, which is something i actually to read more about when there's an athlete character, but this was PEAK!!!! 5 starts after my own heart, and now i will go through all of Mariana Zapata's body of work, thank you very much.

"What was the saying? When one door closes, another one opens. I might just have to do a little breaking and entering to get the right one for me."

4 good-but-could've-gone-harder stars

i guess this is the risk you gotta take when you decide to read three books by the same author in a row: i don't know if Kulti is slightly not as good as [b:The Wall of Winnipeg and Me|29367958|The Wall of Winnipeg and Me|Mariana Zapata|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1456774327l/29367958._SY75_.jpg|48358625] and [b:All Rhodes Lead Here|57605091|All Rhodes Lead Here|Mariana Zapata|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1617355542l/57605091._SY75_.jpg|89905511], or if it's just that her male leads are wayy too similar. i mean, MZ kinda makes up for it with her female leads, i guess, and since i do very much enjoy the type of guy she writes about, idk if thats really an issue?

anyways. sal, the fmc this time, is hard-working, determined, focused, pretty emotionally inteligent and just overall a badass. i really liked her, she has a lil bit of a temper, but she's so determined it was pretty cool to go through her thought process in the narrative.

kulti, who gives the book its title (like in all MZ books, it seems?) was kind of a jerk. which is what i actually expected from The Wall of Winnipeg, so it was fun to get it this time. this book also had more sports than Winnipeg, despite not actually, going into more into the super details of the games? it could've gone a little more in that direction, but, well, this is a romance book, not a sports focused one and that's fine.

overall, you gotta respect consistency. MZ writes yummy books, with yummy male leads, but i guess you just never forget your fist love, Winnipeg is still my fave from her so far.

(and i guess it isn't fair? maybe? to compare both books so much, but oh well)

Well, that was it. I checked my watch. Time of death, 6:06 p.m. I had to off myself. My life had turned into a hobbit movie and that was unacceptable.

no but these books are just too entertaining, look at that quote.

this is the silliest book title ever but, you know what? it didn’t take itself too seriously and i cackled a lot while reading it so it’s all good.

It’s the classic story of boy meets boy, boy loves boy, boy leaves boy, boy hates boy, boy comes back and loves boy again. Plus ghosts.

this is the best possible quote to describe this series, or at least the first book. this continues to be sweet and funny and entertaining as heck!

”I mouthed the word happy, just trying it out. As a perpetual pessimist, it was foreign tasting on mu lips, but no less meaningful. And I suppose if tech could boil down to a string of ones and zeroes—as Chevy continued to grouchily insisti—then I guess my state of being could be condensed in a single word. Happy.”

4 silly stars

a book this goofy has no business also being quite so sweet? it is, tho.

i love my m/m couples as the stoic yummy one/the squawking, silly little one. also, the blending of ghost whisperer and criminal minds is pretty entertaining, and i sure love a book that doesn’t take itself too seriously. this is an entertaining, lighthearted read, and i recommend it!