melanietalksbooks's Reviews (1.89k)

 The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst was an absolute cozy fantasy dream. The book follows Terlu Perna, the librarian who was turned into a statue for doing the spell that gave Caz sentient life. Terlu wakes up from years of being a statue in a freezing cold place and cannot find the sorcerer who woke her. Before she freezes to death she finds a magical greenhouse and the grumpy gardener who takes care of it. Together they must revive the dormant sentient plants and protect the magic from destroying the greenhouse after the sorcerer who created it died.

I loved this book. I've been reading not great books lately so this was an absolute dream. I got the chance to listen to the audiobook and it is the same narrator from the Spellshop which I loved because her narration there was great in my opinion. I really liked that we have plenty of sentient plants that get their own personalities. I did not think that they were the same as Caz but thought they were still great in their own way. I also enjoyed the little side romance that we got, I thought it was sweet even if the FMC was a little naive at times. 

I recommend this book to anyone who likes cozy fantasies or is looking for a nice cozy book to get lost in. I do not recommend this book for anyone looking for action, twists and turns, and really cunning characters. I recommend the audiobook a million times because it was absolutely delightful! I had to do a long drive and popped it on and it made my drive so pleasant. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, and Sarah Beth Durst for allowing me to listen to this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

King of Pride by Ana Huang is Isabella and Kai's love story. Isabella is a loud mouth, purple haired, snake loving bartender. Kai is a businessman who does business and I'm not exaggerating here more boring that a piece of cardboard. They maximize their slay potential by getting together. They do have to keep their relationship a secret because of Isabella's job but basically Kai comes out of his shell and Isabella gets fired from her job because she is dating a club member but finds a better job and a passion. They end up together.

Basically the setup was good, the premise was good, and the ending was good but I wish the middle had been condensed, the book just didn't need to be this long. I did not love this book which is insane because I loved the first book and I'm sad that I didn't love this one. I had to skim some parts because they were so boring. I was also so worried about Isabella getting fired through the entire book which dampen the enjoyment of the good parts. The book did pick up around chapter 39. As I said, the ending was good so that I enjoyed but not enough for even 3 stars. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who has never met a nerd in their life or people who can just look past the nerdy stereotype. I would not recommend this book to anyone who likes pizzazz in their MMCs as this one falls flat. 

Tropes: billionaire, opposites attract, hidden romance

Blind Date with a Werewolf by Patricia Briggs is freaking fantastic. The book follows my favorite werewolf from the Mercyverse, Asil. Asil is being set up on five blind dates by a "concerned friend" since he apparently doesn't get out much. Asil quickly finds out that the dates are more than what he was expecting and action packed chaos ensues. 

It is very hard to describe this book without giving any spoilers but I will say, I was a little worried given the title. I know, I'm a fake fan lol but I learned that I should never doubt Patricia Briggs because this book was an absolute action packed collection that is so worth the read. I particularly enjoyed the guessing game of victim and perpetrator that happened through the whole book. I loved the fourth date so much and the epilogue was absolutely phenomenal to help us learn more about the Mercyverse. I guess my only real complaint is that I wish it were longer or that we get more installments because I enjoyed this so much. 

I highly recommend this book to anyone because I don't think there is any lore. The book is also a good samaritan action packed urban fantasy with no spice so if you enjoy that in particular you will like this but I think anyone who likes action would love this book. I am hoping that we get to see more of Asil's story because I am so interested! What an absolute treat this book was. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Berkley Publishing Group | Ace, and Patricia Briggs for giving me the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette is a slow burn second chance romance with a dual timeline and dual POV. This book had a lot of potential, but it just didn't live up to it, and that's how I really feel.

The book follows Maeve and Finn who are trying to navigate Finn's truly incredible f-up after signing a multi-million dollar deal with a Spotify-like streaming service for their Call Her Daddy-like podcast. For context, the f-up was that Finn calls Maeve while they are "on a break" to ask her for permission to date "the one that got away." Then in the middle of the book it is revealed that

he is getting paid more for the podcast she created and edits while he is comic relief.

While he does apologize and seems sincere in both instances, I think that his f-ups are too big to be looked past so I didn't like him. 

I think we started where the third act should have been and then the entire second conflict of the book should not have existed. I would have been less likely to absolutely hate Finn if we weren't fed how he's just a chill guy who doesn't realize when he messes up. Another thing that was weird was that I think it just regurgitates therapy concepts but neither of the main characters use any of it. On the bright side I thought that that the family scenes for both of them were sweet. I also enjoyed their friendship when they were just being people not falling in love. Sadly, I don't know who I would recommend this book to. 

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press | St. Martin's Griffin, and Betty Cayouette for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

4.5 stars rounded up 

Anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely adore a cozy book so obviously, I thought that A Fellowship of Bakers and Magic by J. Penner was an absolute delight. AFoBaM follows Arleta Starstone, a human baker with a magical name who is looked down upon for being human. Her neighbors decide to enter her in a baking competition with magical creatures and she's invited because her bake goods are just so good even without magic. Theo, an elf, delivers the invitation to the baking competition and is insistent that she comes. At the baking competition she makes friends and foes and has to prove that even a magic-less human is able to bake with the magic-full folks.

This cozy fantasy is definitely the Great British Bake Off with a dash of romance and absolutely no spice. I enjoyed it a lot because it was so cozy and warm. I thought the characters were lovable even the tough cookies (see what I did there? lol). I thought that the book was great at showing the FMC and MMCs character rather than telling you the type of people that they are. I enjoyed the whole plot a lot but my highlight was the friendships that are made in the baking competition. I did think that the slow burn was way too slow for me but if I had been warned that it is just a side of romance then it wouldn't have bothered me at all. 

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a cozy fantasy. I would even recommend it for people who want anything low stakes that has a warm feeling even if you aren't a big fantasy fan. I do not recommend this book to people who like high stakes and fast moving plot or maybe give it a try and you might enjoy it. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Poisoned Pen Press, and J. Penner for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

I read Crash Landing by Annie McQuaid in one sitting! The book follows Piper as she is trying to reach her best friend's wedding when she gets stranded on a deserted island with her ex-boyfriend who was driving the small private plane. After eight years of not seeing each other, they have to work together to be able to survive but, she has so much animosity towards him for the way he left that it makes it quite hard. This close door, forced proximity, second chance romance is quite sweet and while it does hit some of the familiar beats manages to keep you engaged the whole way.

I hate second chance romances and dual timelines separately so I got nervous when I got this book because it was both. I was so pleasantly surprised at how great both the original breakup and the timelines worked in this book. I also really liked how well developed both of the characters were and while we can disagree with their motivations we understand where they are coming from. I do wish we would have seen more mother-daughter flushing out towards the end of the book because I feel like that part was missing (which is why I deducted a half a star). The book also did feel predictable but I think that has to do with how well we get to know the characters through the dual timeline. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes close door romances, forced proximity, second chance romances, and the show survivor. I would not recommend this book to anyone who feels like they need plot twists to enjoy a book or that everything needs to be super realistic. If you are like me and hate dual timelines you can skip them and the whole thing will be explained in the "now" portion.


Tropes: close door, forced proximity, second chance, high school sweethearts

Triggers: parental neglect, parental disapproval, plane crash

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon and Harper Voyager | Avon, and Annie McQuaid for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch was well written and the idea sounded great but the actual plot was just not my for me. It felt like a lot of the decisions the main character made were absolutely insane. She feels responsible for someone and runs away from the scene of the crime rather than just calling the police. I could not get over the initial plot line to enjoy the book. While it had "killer potential" it was just not for me. I think that if you are able to get past the terrible decision making this book might be for you! 

Thank you to NetGalley, William Morrow, and Hannah Deitch for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

This book tried to be too many things at the same time. It was just not for me. 

Any Trope but You by Victoria Lavine follows Margot. Margot is a busy best selling romance author who does not believe in love and is dedicating all her time to care for her chronically ill sister, Savannah. She is outed as a "non-believer" when someone hacks into her computer and to get her inspired for her next novel Savannah sends her to Alaska. There she literally jumps into Forrest's arms, a guy who she thinks looks like every romance character she has imagined, when she sees a moose. Together they run through an impressive number of tropes while both really wanting to stay away from each other but end up giving in.

I thought this rivals to lovers book was cute. I liked Forrest a lot. He basically gave up his life in order to help with his dad's treatment which was so swoony of him. I thought Margot was fine but it worked for this type of book because she is a tough cookie that needs to be dipped in milk to soften her up. The side characters were my favorite and I really wish we had gotten more interaction with them as I thought they made the story very charming. I thought this book was not long enough which never happens but I could have read another few chapters at least of interactions between the sisters and then Forrest and Savannah. 

My only true problem with the book was that it was too self aware. Like it felt like the author was trying to be so clever but it only worked sometimes. The book still won me over because eventually she relents but brings it back up in the end but it is enough for me to deduct a star. I still thought the book was really fun though and would recommend it to anyone who likes tropey books that are self aware and also for people who love a Taylor Swift reference.

Tropes: rivals to lovers, one bed, instalove, heart of gold, cinnamon roll mmc, grumpy x grumpy, forced proximity, love triangle, happy for now, tortured hero

Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books, and Victoria Lavine for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Written in Stone is the latest installment from the Scottish Bookshop Mystery by Paige Shelton. The book follows Delaney after she gets invited to a special exhibition for a famous local artist named Ryory. While she is at the exhibition she briefly meets a professor from her alma mater in Kansas. Ryory proceeds to show them how to sculpt stone and show some of his exhibition until his assistant gets sick and Delaney calls emergency services. Later, the professor is found dead and Ryory finds himself a suspect as the professor was trying to sell him what could be a fake ancient artifact. Delaney feels compelled to help the professor and the mystery takes off from there.

I just enjoy cozy mysteries so much and this one was an absolute banger of a mystery. I thought the story was fantastic. I liked the artist Ryory a lot! I hope he makes more appearances in the series. I also liked learning about the Picts. I think one of my favorite parts about these books is the Scottish history that is weaved into the mystery. I thought the mystery was really good but I did think it was a little obvious as the character that ended up doing it was the only odd one out. I still had a really good time reading this book and would recommend it if you enjoy cozy mysteries.