*Thank you to Tor and netgalley for a copy in exchange for an honest review.*

First off, Amanda Foody is one of my all time favourite authors, so I had high expectations for this. And I’m happy to say, IT DID NOT DISAPPOINT!

All of Us Villains follows 7 teenagers, from 7 different families who are all champions forced to compete in a tournament to the death. It’s The Hunger Games but with magic.

There are four POVs out of the 7 champions, and I loved each of their POVs. I really hope we get more in the sequel! I also hope there is going to be some LGBTQ relationships in the sequel, since there are LGBTQ characters.

I loved how dark this was, it’s a perfect read for fall/Halloween time. The magic system is so cool, with curses, high magic, and common magic. It’s all woven together throughout the story, which is what I love about magic systems when it isn’t dumped at the beginning, and rather talked about throughout the story.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review*

Chef’s Kiss follows Simone, a perfectionist pastry chef at her dream job at The Discerning Chef, a cookbook publisher in NYC. That is, until the new, very attractive, kitchen manager shows up. Simone just wants to write her cookbooks and bake, but is thrust into the spotlight when a video goes viral of Ray, the attractive kitchen manager, and she is forced to make videos with them.

I went into Chef’s Kiss expecting a funny and heartwarming rom-com, and I got that but also MORE. I loved every god damn second of this.

Simone: Simone grows so much alone in this book. She’s a cis bisexual woman, and she realizes she has the cisgender privilege. When Ray comes out to her, Simone makes mistakes. It’s a normal process when someone close to you comes out as trans* in anyway. And to see that in literature? That it’s not black and white? God yes, I need more. As a trans person, mistakes by cis people are bound to happen. It’s a normal thing. Simone tries her hardest, but even then it’s sometimes not enough. Simone always feels bad about using the wrong pronouns. I love that she recognizes her mistakes and wants to practice. That’s what I need more of in literature.

Ray: I want to hug Ray. Can I? Ray needs a hug. I say so. They are just amazing.

One thing I was not expecting was top surgery. Ray gets top surgery, and Simone looks after them for a while (along with someone else). But the talk of top surgery? SPOT. ON. Everything Simone researched/read on is what I went though. When reading the scene when Ray comes home from surgery was a whirlwind of emotions. It was like I was back in the hospital after my surgery. I beg of authors, please I want more of the medical transition talk for trans characters.

The romance is so slow burn I wanted to scream into a PILLOW. BUT it was worth it. I loved every second of it. AND this is a grumpy/sunshine story TOLD FROM THE GRUMPY POV. How else can I convince you to read this book?? Its got everything you should want.

*thanks to ben for sending me an arc in exchange for a review*

one again, ben knocked it out of the park. his gay retellings just HIT THE SPOT so well.

m/m hades x persephone retelling? PHENOMENAL.

ben knows how to capture readers within the first chapter, and this is no different. the way his books always start out is so fast that it grabs your attention with no hesitation.

faenir is known for one thing among the elves: his touch can kill humans. arlo has two purposes:
1. to stay alive and fight his odd sickness
2. protect and keep his sister safe

the spice is *chefs kiss*. seriously, ben has outdone himself once again. (not so) patiently waiting for the third book in this standalone series.

“One always has a choice.”

Buckle up y’all. This is one of those books you can read in a day. It sucks you in straight from the beginning! Why wouldn’t it? It’s a gay smutty retelling of Beauty and the Beast with witches and vampires. How could that not suck you in?!

I started reading this at like 8am, and man I could already tell it was a 5 star read. It’s easily one of my favourites of the year. I loved everything about it omfg. The banter, the love story, the world, the smut, witches and vampires. EVERYTHING!

Now I’m on my way to binge all of Ben Aldersons other books, see y’all in a few days