As much as I enjoyed Naomi pranking Nicholas and trolling her nightmarish, Karen incarnate mother-in-law in the beginning, and the tender rekindling of Naomi and Nicholas’ romance closer to the end, I can’t look past how much some of the events in the middle of the book bothered me. Nicholas crossed multiple lines, and parts of their relationship, while not ever getting to abusive territory, honestly felt so toxic to me that I had no idea how Sarah Hogle was going to turn it all around. So yes, it was cute, but I was enjoying it at arm’s length, so to speak. I also would’ve liked a bit more from the ending, maybe an extra couple of chapters or an epilogue.

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When I read The Wedding Date, I thought Drew’s best friend Carlos was a great, really funny guy. I was on the fence about reading The Proposal until I saw that it was Carlos’ love story, at which point my interest was up 1000%. Although I had to speed read this book to make sure I finished it before my ebook was returned to the library, I thoroughly enjoyed it; I probably would’ve read it nearly as fast without the time crunch.

I loved Nikole and Carlos right away, and had so much fun reading their story. I loved their banter and inside jokes and the generally sweet nature of their relationship. (Now the thought of sour cream makes me giggle. If you know, you know.) I also really liked Nik’s friends, Dana and Courtney, and how they roasted one another so frequently but were still, without fail, each other’s biggest cheerleaders. (And reading about Courtney’s cupcake shop has me craving cupcakes. I don’t have cupcakes. Crap.)

In both books I’ve read by Guillory at this point in time, I’ve noticed some conversations with rather cheesy dialogue, though I can overlook that since her books are so much fun to read. What I can’t overlook so easily is the surprising amount of similarities between her protagonists and love interests. Each side character is unique, but the same can’t be said about the stars of the show. Alexa, Drew, and now Nikole and Carlos are all very driven people, hard-working but still very social, that for some reason or another aren’t looking for a serious, long-term relationship. Both The Wedding Date and The Proposal go about like this: two attractive people meet, want sex, have sex, like it enough to continue having sex, catch feels, realize they caught feels, bail on said feels, mope about until their friends encourage them to kiss and make up, then actually kiss and make up, the end.

I know romance novels are usually formulaic to some extent and I don’t mind that. Over the last several months, I’ve grown to love them despite the fairly obvious patterns, and find them very comforting to read. However, something about this specific situation, with these specific books, just feels janky to me, and I wanted to mention it.

That being said, it didn’t stop me from loving this book or adding the rest of the books in the series to my TBR, and it certainly won’t stop me from recommending this book to others. Completely worth it!

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Once again, Jackson has written a completely mind-boggling story that I never once knew what to expect from. Not only did she manage that, she also made me care about Pip, which is significant because my biggest issue with the first book was with our protagonist. I still don’t like her that much, but I empathized with her, especially in the final chapters of the book.

My other issue with the first book was the way Pip and Ravi ended up romantically interested in each other in the end. I felt that there was no development leading up to this, that it was random, and I wasn’t interested in it whatsoever. I loved Ravi—still do—and his friendship with Pip, but was adamant that they only ever seemed like friends. It seemed like Jackson turned their friendship to a romance just for the sake of having a romance in her story. I wasn’t a fan.

Now, I still stand by that opinion, but I’m ever so slightly less sure of it. Their couple banter is as amusing as their friend banter was, and there was one scene in the second half that was vaguely cute. I’m also glad that Pip has Ravi, someone outside of her family that loves and supports her unconditionally. Maybe the next book will fully convince me that they’re a good couple; to be determined.

I just quickly want to put put into the world that I love Ravi. He’s my favorite character out of all of them in both books (second only to Barney, RIP) because he’s honestly so sweet and fun and funny. Jackson really did a great job writing him, as well as some of the other side characters. I knew I liked Cara, but the Reynolds family was great and, surprisingly, so was Nat. There was one other person who surprised me, but to say who would be a spoiler. (Child Brunswick. If you know, you know.)

And on that note, on a new, spoiler-free note, it’s seriously impressive to me that Jackson created a new, separate true crime case to use in her book’s mystery. I did some googling and couldn’t find anything to prove the Child Brunswick thing is real, although I could’ve missed something. I don’t know. But whether it’s real or not, the use of a totally separate case in the case Pip was solving is brilliant. I’ve truly never seen anything like it before. Kudos to her for not only doing it, but pulling it off.

There’s not much I can say without spoiling the biggest twists, but wow. This book is intense, even more so than its predecessor, which in my opinion says a heck of a lot. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder was majorly intense, and somehow, Good Girl, Bad Blood topped it. The note Pip found in her locker felt repetitive, seeing as she found a nearly identical one in the same place in the first book, and her knack for putting herself in dangerous situations lowkey makes me want to hit my head on a wall. (Though I didn’t actually do that.)

At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d read the next (last?) book in the series, but now I know I definitely will. In fact, I’m looking forward to its release, and hoping to read it as soon as possible afterward.

((Last little thought: I don’t think we ever found out who that body belonged to and I want to know. I really do. Poor random dead guy.))

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Braswell’s retelling did a good job staying true to the vibe of the original Disney movie. Never Land was very whimsical, and the characters felt accurate. I liked the way she wrote Wendy; this version of her was fiercer, cleverer, and more creative. I also liked Wendy and Tinker Bell’s friendship. Although the fairy had some rather ridiculous moments of jealousy, I liked her, and the way she and Wendy worked together when it was most needed.

Beyond that, I’m not sure what I think of the book. There were a lot of elements included that I felt weren’t fleshed out enough: one of the Lost Boys being a girl, Hook’s growing mental instability, the witch Hook made a deal with, the gods Wendy and Tink sought out for help, Tink’s fairy friend Thorn that Wendy instantly and rather randomly developed a crush on. I’d prefer if the whole Wendy and Thorn thing was erased from existence, though I did like Thorn himself.

The book could’ve been so much more interesting and memorable if the aforementioned elements had been properly developed. We could’ve had meddling gods. Pirates that allied with a witch to increase their chances of winning against Peter and the Lost Boys. Their dark, corrupt magic against the good, imaginative magic of Never Land. A villain losing his mind as his side lost the fight. Never Land defying real-world gender norms. I would’ve devoured that book.

Not that this one was bad. I liked it, for the most part. I will say, though, that the middle portion dragged considerably. This could’ve, and probably should’ve, been a good 100 pages shorter. I also wish we’d seen more of Peter Pan, as aside from the brief prologue, we don’t see him until the last 150 pages. That’s when Wendy meets him for the first time, though he already knows her because he and Tink would go to the Darling house to listen to the Never Land stories Wendy told her younger brothers. It doesn’t make sense to me that a Peter Pan retelling would feature so little of Peter.

Overall, Straight on Till Morning is neither the best nor the worst Twisted Tales book I’ve read. I’d recommend it if you’re looking for a fun read, so long as you don’t go in with incredibly high expectations.

I’ve yet to read a book by Anna-Marie McLemore I didn’t like. As always, their writing is beautiful, the characters and relationships brilliantly developed. I loved Ciela and Lock and Jess. I loved the pastelería and the secret orchard. It was an emotional story, for sure, but also a very good one that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. Highly recommended to all who can handle the content.

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I picked this up thinking it was a romance, and that mistake is entirely my fault. I decided to stick with the book because the premise intrigued me. Unfortunately, only a couple of elements of the story were actually appealing to me: the side characters, the protagonist’s cat, and the cooking. As a vegetarian, most of the dishes weren’t any I’d personally want to eat, but I enjoyed reading about a protagonist interested and experienced in culinary arts. The story’s rather slow pace and Lim’s purple prose seriously hindered my enjoyment of the novel. While it was an interesting magical realism I think some people will enjoy, it wasn’t my cup of tea, and I’m not sure I’ll pick up anything else by this author.

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CW: death, grief, mentions of mental illness (agoraphobia, depression)

This book is my newest obsession. I was instantly drawn into the story and attached to Taliesin and Athlen. These boys are adorable and precious and need to be protected. Their romance is so soft and sweet and perfect. I love them and Tal’s family and Dara.

From a more critical perspective, not only  was this a really fun read, but the plot, characters, and world were all well-developed. In the second half, there were some interesting twists I didn’t see coming. Lukens took the story in multiple directions I never expected.

Also, I was so not expecting the last fifty pages to be as emotional as they were. I was panicking as I read, desperately hoping that everything would work out. Thankfully, it did. The last chapter was so unbelievably cute and wholesome and good. It made me very happy.

I’ll be thinking about this book for a while. It’s definitely one of the best books I’ve read in 2021, and a new favorite. Highly, highly recommended!

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A very average, mostly uninteresting book. I liked the setting. Noreen was a decent protagonist, but not really memorable and she had a tendency to overshare. Kabir, the love interest, saved the book. He’s so sweet and I liked him a lot. While not a bad read, there are other contemporaries I’d recommend more. I probably won’t pick up more books by this author.

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While this was a fun read with some sweet moments and an especially sweet epilogue, it’s definitely not the best romance I’ve read. I loved Alexa and many of the side characters—Maddie, Theo, Carlos, Lauren, and Jack in particular—but I don’t know what I think of Drew. Some of the things he said rubbed me the wrong way, and his apologies always felt half-baked, like he was apologizing because he knew he was supposed to, not because he actually felt bad. Additionally, Alexa and Drew’s weekend routine of fast food and nearly constant sex was rather repetitive. I would’ve preferred more time spent with side characters to so much of the same old stuff. I think Guillory has potential, though, so I’ll likely read more of her books in the future.

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I don’t think I’m smart enough for this book. The discussions of physics and biology and all sorts of complex science stuff went over my head, and the fact that that comprises so much of the book means most of the book went over my head.

Jokes aside, Solomon wrote a unique sci-fi that left me with much to think about. The setting was interesting, and their writing easy to read without being too simplistic. The main issue I had was with the pacing, as the beginning and end were good, but the middle lagged significantly. I also think the ending could’ve been explained more, though it was satisfying enough as it is.

I ended up quite liking Aster and Theo. It took me some time to warm up to them, but I did. They’re well-written, contrasting characters with a sweet associates to friends to lovers dynamic between them. This relationship is very much a slow-burn, and very much on the back burner. While I respect that, as the emphasis of this book isn’t meant to be romance, a part of me does wish we’d seen a bit more of them in a romantic way.

As I’m thinking more about the book, I’m realizing that, though it’s well-written, the narration was sometimes confusing. If I wasn’t paying close enough attention, it was easy to miss Aster slipping into a flashback. In those situations, I had to be especially attentive so I knew when she had returned to present time. The book gives little indicators at the start of each chapter narrated by a different character even though it only happens a few times, so it would’ve been easy enough to similarly indicate time jumps.

Ultimately, this was neither great nor awful. I’d recommend it, but likely only to specific people, as I don’t think it would be everyone’s cup of tea. Despite some enjoyable elements, I’m not sure it’s my cup of tea. I may or may not pick up more from Solomon in the future.

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