Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Crimson Summer

Author: Heather Graham

Book Series: Amy Larson & Hunter Forrest FBI Book 2

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: mystery, murder mystery, thriller, suspense

Publication Date: April 5, 2022

Genre: Mystery Thriller

Age Relevance: 18+ (murder, death, violence, gore, language)

Explanation of Above: There is a lot of murder and death in this book, along with violence and gore. There is also cursing in this book.

Publisher: MIRA

Pages: 384

Synopsis: They're not going down without a fight.

When FDLE special agent Amy Larson discovers a small horse figurine amid the bloody aftermath of a gang massacre in the Everglades, she recognizes it immediately. The toy is the calling card of the apocalypse cult that Amy and her partner, FBI special agent Hunter Forrest, have been investigating, and it can only mean one thing: this wasn’t an isolated skirmish—it was the beginning of a war.

As tensions between rival gangs rise, so does the body count, and Amy and Hunter’s investigation leads them to a violent, far-right extremist group who are in no hurry to quell the civil unrest. With a deadly puppet master working to silence their every lead, it’s a race against the clock to figure out who’s been pulling the strings and put a stop to the escalating cartel turf war before the Everglades run red.

Review: Overall, this was an ok book. The premise is interesting and it kept my interest throughout the book. The characters were fairly well developed and the world building was ok. I also liked the mystery aspect and thought it was intriguing.

However, I feel like the book didn’t execute well and the dialogue was just really weird. The book had a lot of repetition and the book also was weirdly paced. I also feel like some of the backstory was in the synopsis.

Verdict: It was ok.

Disclaimer: I received this e-audiobook arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Starless Crown

Author: James Rollins

Book Series: Moon Fall Book 1

Rating: 2/5

Recommended For...: can’t recommend, DNF

Publication Date: January 4, 2022

Genre: Dystopian

Age Relevance: can’t recommend, DNF

Publisher: Tor Books

Pages: 560

Synopsis: A gifted student foretells an apocalypse. Her reward is a sentence of death.

Fleeing into the unknown she is drawn into a team of outcasts:

A broken soldier, who once again takes up the weapons he’s forbidden to wield and carves a trail back home.

A drunken prince, who steps out from his beloved brother's shadow and claims a purpose of his own.

An imprisoned thief, who escapes the crushing dark and discovers a gleaming artifact - one that will ignite a power struggle across the globe.

On the run, hunted by enemies old and new, they must learn to trust each other in order to survive in a world evolved in strange, beautiful, and deadly ways, and uncover ancient secrets that hold the key to their salvation.

But with each passing moment, doom draws closer.

WHO WILL CLAIM THE STARLESS CROWN?

Review: I had to DNF this read at 20%. The book wasn’t grabbing my attention and it had a lot of things that started to kind of trigger me. The book had a ton of exposition, but the plot didn’t feel like it was going anywhere. And while I do like the characters overall, nothing is just making me want to read this one.

Verdict: It’s not for me, but maybe for you!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the author. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Girl with the Golden Eyes

Author: Samantha Hastings

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 5/5

Recommended For...: historical fiction, romance, murder mystery, thriller

Publication Date: September 27, 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction Mystery

Age Relevance: 16+ (death, murder, violence, gore, romance)

Explanation of Above: The book revolves around a murder, so death and gore are involved in the book. There is also some slight violence and there is some romance as well.

Publisher: Indie Published

Pages: 236

Synopsis: Hana's life is forever changed when the Comtesse de Champagne, a wealthy and eccentric Englishwoman, sees a painting of her. The comtesse purchases Hana from her father, and Hana's existence transforms from one of poverty to one of privilege.

For years Hana enjoys the comforts of her new position, but she hates how controlling and neurotic the comtesse is. When the comtesse is accused of murdering Sir Reginald Shipley over a painting, Hana must do all in her power to prove the comtesse's innocence or she'll lose everything.

She reluctantly works with Aaron Shipley, Sir Reginald's grandson, to track down the true murderer, only to discover shocking secrets that will shake everything Hana and Aaron thought they knew about themselves and their families. And falling in love could prove deadly.

Review: For the most part this was a great read. The book reads like a cozy mystery and the writing is so smooth and easy to follow. The characters are well developed and the world building is so atmospheric. The romance is also so sweet and cute! It’s a nice relaxing read for the summer or for a thunderstormy day.

The only issue I had with the book is that some of the pacing is a bit too slow for me, but most of the time it was great!

Verdict: A great murder mystery read!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Matchbreaker Summer

Author: Annie Rains

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 3/5

Recommended For...: young adult readers, middle grade readers, contemporary, romance, camp, summer camp

Publication Date: April 5, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 12+ (parental death, romance, grief)

Explanation of Above: The book discusses a parental death and the grief following that. There is also small bits of romance here and there, but nothing beyond crushes and slight kissing.

Publisher: Underlined

Pages: 304

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Paisley Manning has been attending Camp Seabrook since she was a little girl, when her parents ran it together. For the last few years, since her father’s death, she’s been the one helping her mom run the camp behind the scenes. This year, however, will be Camp Seabrook’s last hurrah because Paisley’s mom has met a guy online and they’re getting married.

Enter Hayden Bennett, who is working alongside Paisley. Paisley and Hayden are like oil and water. She follows the rules, and he seems to live to break them all. But when Hayden catches wind of Paisley's predicament, he has an idea. If a matchmaker in some computer algorithm caused the issue, a couple of real-life matchbreakers can fix it.

As they work to break up the happy couple, Paisley discovers that maybe Hayden's not so bad after all. Has she met her own perfect match in her fellow matchbreaker?

Review: For the most part this was an ok book. The book had a great premise with relatable characters. The characters were fairly well developed and the world building was pretty good. The romance was enemies to lovers and the romance was fairly cute for the most part.

However, I did have a few issues with this book. The book’s main characters are 16 but the book reads like a middle grade novel. That’s not necessarily bad and a lot of younger/pre-teen teens need books but it was just kinda an odd choice. The books characters weren’t that well developed and I would have liked to see that more. I also thought the pacing of the book was too fast and the manner of which the romance moved was also too fast.

Verdict: It was ok.

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Once Upon Another Time

Author: James Riley

Book Series: Once Upon Another Time Book 1

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: children’s readers, fantasy, retellings, fairytales

Publication Date: April 5, 2022

Genre: Children’s Fantasy

Age Relevance: 7+ (prejudice, scary moments)

Explanation of Above: There is some scary moments in the book and prejudice is discussed.

Publisher: Aladdin

Pages: 321

Synopsis: Five and a half feet might seem pretty tall for a twelve-year-old, but it’s not when your parents are giants. Lena has kept the fact that she’s a tiny giant secret, using magic to grow when out in the giant village. But hiding who she is has always felt wrong, even though she knows the other giants might not accept her. Fortunately, Lena has friends down in the Cursed City who understand that looking different doesn’t make her less of a giant.

Someone who knows not to judge by appearances is Jin, a young genie currently serving one thousand and thirty-eight years of genie training that requires him to fulfill the wish of whoever holds his magical ring. In Jin’s case, it’s the power-hungry Golden King. At least the king only has two wishes left, one of which is for Jin to go to the Cursed City and capture its protector, the Last Knight—one of Lena’s closest friends.

What Lena and Jin don’t know is how close the Golden King’s plans are to coming together, between his dark magic and his horrible Faceless knights. If Jin does find the Last Knight and bring him to the Golden King, why, that could doom the entire fairy-tale world.

…This sounds like it’ll end badly, doesn’t it?

Review: For the most part this was a good book. I loved the mashup and twist on fairy tale tropes and this would be a fun book for younger readers! The book had some fun themes and it was overall a very fun read. The book also leaves you with lots of questions for the next book. The character development is good and the world building was great!

The only issues I had with the book is that the pacing is a bit wonky in places and it goes from fast to slow in some spots. The book also took a bit for me to get into.

Verdict: It was great!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and finished copy from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Blood Trials

Author: N.E. Davenport

Book Series: The Blood Gift Book 1

Rating: 3.5/5

Diversity: Black MC, Biracial side character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, sci-fi, fantasy, revenge

Publication Date: April 5, 2022

Genre: YA Sci-fi

Age Relevance: 16+ (alcohol consumption, violence, torture, gore, death, language, racism, misogyny)

Explanation of Above: The book has a lot of violence, including torture, and gore in the book, especially blood and vomiting. The book shows alcohol consumption and mentions death. There is a lot of cursing in the book as well as racism and misogyny shown.

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Pages: 448

Synopsis: It's all about blood.

The blood spilled between the Republic of Mareen and the armies of the Blood Emperor long ago. The blood gifts of Mareen's deadliest enemies. The blood that runs through the elite War Houses of Mareen, the rulers of the Tribunal dedicated to keeping the republic alive.

The blood of the former Legatus, Verne Amari, murdered.

For his granddaughter, Ikenna, the only thing steady in her life was the man who had saved Mareen. The man who had trained her in secret, not just in martial skills, but in harnessing the blood gift that coursed through her.

Who trained her to keep that a secret.

But now there are too many secrets, and with her grandfather assassinated, Ikenna knows two things: that only someone on the Tribunal could have ordered his death, and that only a Praetorian Guard could have carried out that order.

Bent on revenge as much as discovering the truth, Ikenna pledges herself to the Praetorian Trials--a brutal initiation that only a quarter of the aspirants survive. She subjects herself to the racism directed against her half-Khanaian heritage and the misogyny of a society that cherishes progeny over prodigy, all while hiding a power that--if found out--would subject her to execution...or worse. Ikenna is willing to risk it all because she needs to find out who murdered her grandfather...and then she needs to kill them.

Mareen has been at peace for a long time...

Ikenna joining the Praetorians is about to change all that.

Magic and technology converge in the first part of this stunning debut duology, where loyalty to oneself--and one's blood--is more important than anything.

Review: Overall, this was a good book. I love a good revenge-seeking book and this one had it locked down! I loved how the action kept rolling in the book and the book blended fantasy magic elements with sci-fi. The book had well written characters and the world building was amazingly well done as well. I flew through the book and liked it well enough.

However, the beginning of the book is super confusing and it immediately jumps into the story with little backstory. I feel like some of that backstory is in the synopsis, which is unfortunate. And while the action was rolling continuously in the book, I felt like there was a lot of slow moments.

Verdict: It was good!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Love From Scratch

Author: Kaitlyn Hill

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Diversity: Anxiety MC, non-descript people of color side characters, queer side character

Recommended For...: young adult readers, cooking, contemporary, romance, food

Publication Date: April 5, 2022

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Age Relevance: 15+ (language, racism, sexism, sexual harassment, religion, religious trauma, romance)

Explanation of Above: There is an occasional curse word used here and there and a rant with a few used at the end. There is racism mentioned and sexism shown. There is also one scene where there is some small sexual harassment. Religion is mentioned once and some religious trauma is mentioned in regards to how a side character was kicked out of their church for being queer. There is also romance in the book, but nothing beyond kissing.

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Pages: 368

Synopsis: This summer, Reese Camden is trading sweet tea and Southern hospitality for cold brew and crisp coastal air. She's landed her dream marketing internship at Friends of Flavor, a wildly popular cooking channel in Seattle. The only problem? Benny Beneventi, the relentlessly charming, backwards-baseball-cap-wearing culinary intern--and her main competition for the fall job.

Reese's plan to keep work a No Feelings Zone crumbles like a day-old muffin when she and Benny are thrown together for a video shoot that goes viral, making them the internet's newest ship. Audiences are hungry for more, and their bosses at Friends of Flavor are happy to deliver. Soon Reese and Benny are in an all-out food war, churning homemade ice cream, twisting soft pretzels, breaking eggs in an omelet showdown--while hundreds of thousands of viewers watch.

Reese can't deny the chemistry between her and Benny. But the more their rivalry heats up, the harder it is to keep love on the back burner...

Review: Overall, I liked this book. I loved the intern cooking show romance and how the romance was rivals to lovers. I loved that the MC was a foodie and I loved all the anti-purity culture talk. The book shows what it’s like for females who are in social media/media presence and it highlights the sexism and misogyny that women constantly face in that presence. The book does good to show how men could literally be doing the same thing women do, but yet the women are shamed for their position while the men are congratulated. It was a great show on how women could take back their own power as well. The book had good world building and good character development as well.

However, I did feel like the pacing was a bit too slow for the book and I would have liked to see more of the competition and less of the characters being flirty with each other. I also didn’t like the full resolution to the book and how sexist bosses were kept in power. While I get it’s realistic, it was maddening to me.

Verdict: It was good!

Disclaimer: I received this e-arc and arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: Even the Dog Knows

Author: Jason F. Wright

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: contemporary, fiction, dog lovers

Publication Date: March 7, 2022

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Age Relevance: 17+ (child death, dog death, sickness, grief, violence, gore)

Explanation of Above: There is a child’s death mentioned in the book and there is grief surrounding it and through most of the events in the book. There’s sickness mentioned in the book and there is violence in regards to an airplane crash and car crash mentioned and shown. There’s also a stabbing. There is mention of animal control putting down a pet and mention of the dog’s death.

Publisher: Shadow Mountain Press

Pages: 336

Synopsis: Meg Gorton finds herself alone and lonely in Florida. Three years earlier, she had packed what she could fit into her sister’s car and asked her estranged husband, Gary, to take care of Moses, their beloved black Labrador. Things between Meg and Gary hadn't been the same after the loss of their only daughter many years ago. Even after raising their grandson, Troy, it was clear that if Meg wanted a new beginning, she would have to do it alone.
Haunted by the tragedy of his daughter’s death, Gary is stuck in his life in Woodstock, Virginia. He still owns and drives the bus for their hometown minor league baseball team, and he still thinks about the day his wife drove away.
Everything changes when Meg contacts Gary with a request to bring Moses to visit her one last time before the old dog passes on. Gary is reluctant, but Troy thinks it’s an excellent idea. They could even travel together in Gary’s bus. Along the way, Gary takes a detour to visit Troy’s ex-girlfriend, Grace. Gary might not know how to fix things with his wife, but he knows he doesn’t want Troy to make the same mistakes he did.
Although Moses is just a dog, he’s very observant. It doesn’t take long for him to figure out they are going on to see Meg. He knows he’s an old dog and that his time is near, but he also knows his family needs his help.
Even the Dog Knows is a novel that will take readers on a thousand-mile journey to find forgiveness, understanding, healing, and the meaning of true and lasting love.

Review: Overall, this was a sweet book. It had a good story and I loved how the family was brought back together with the efforts of the family dog. The book had a lot of perspective from the dog, which I also liked. The character development was well done and the world building was also pretty good. The book had a lot of emotional bits in it as well.

However, I did feel like the pacing was a bit too slow for me and the time jumps were a bit jarring.

Verdict: It was good!

Disclaimer: I received this arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.

Book: The Valet’s Secret

Author: Josi S. Kilpack

Book Series: Standalone

Rating: 4/5

Recommended For...: romance, historical fiction

Publication Date: March 8, 2022

Genre: Historical Fiction Romance

Age Relevance: 15+ (romance, death)

Explanation of Above: There is some romance in the book, but nothing beyond kisses and hugs. There’s also some mention of death, including spousal death.

Publisher: Shadow Mountain Press

Pages: 288

Synopsis: York, England, 1819

As a once happily married woman, Rebecca Parker had a good life, but now widowed, working for a living, and her only child grown, she feels invisible, tired, and lonely. That is until the day a valet speeding by on a horse nearly runs her off the road. Mr. Malcolm Henry is apologetic, gentle, and handsome. She’s instantly drawn to him, which is why, rather than stopping him from kissing her, she kisses him back, reigniting a nearly forgotten passion. But love at first sight only happens in fairy tales—never to an ordinary woman like her.

She sees Mr. Henry again and feels the possibilities growing until, while working in the kitchens during a dinner party, she sees the valet she kissed sitting at the right hand of the baroness. Mr. Henry is not the earl’s valet; he is the heir to the earldom—Kenneth Winterton.
Heartbroken, angry, and betrayed, Rebecca does not trust Lord Winterton and refuses to accept his apology. But when Lord Winterton proves he is as kind and gentle as “Mr. Henry” was, she finds herself willing to give him a second chance. But will he take a chance on her? He needs a wife to help him in his place in society, and nothing about Rebeccas life does that . . . except how he feels when she is with him.
Trust, love, loneliness, and passion collide in this story about a man who will risk it all to fight for the woman he loves and a woman who does not believe in fairy tales—until she finds herself living in one.

Review: For the most part I really enjoyed this read. It was so sweet and I loved the Cinderella-esque style of the story. The book had such great atmosphere and the writing was well done. The book had some great character building and world building as well.

However, I do think that the pacing was a bit too slow for me and that I would have liked a bit more condensed character list.

Verdict: It was good!