The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi is a wonderful historical fantasy that features pirates, adventures, legends, and magic! The characters were some of the most developed and individual perspectives I've read from.

We follow Amina al-Sirafi, a middle aged woman who retired from piracy 10 years ago to raise her daughter. She used to be the famed nakhudha of her ship, the Marawati as she followed in her grandfather's steps. Amina is doing her best to stay away from the pull of her old life, when she is offered a job she cannot refuse. She must reunite with her old crew and ship to pursue a Frank with horrible power. 

It actually took me awhile to get into this book, maybe around the 30% where I truly felt invested. I do believe a big part of that was just getting used to the new world and culture. Additionally, this is taking place after many of Amina's famous adventures, and her relationships with her friend and crew are already existing. You're sort of dropped into the middle without any context, but that's pretty typical with adult fantasy. The world is meant to reflect 12-13th century Indian Sea and the surrounding cities, which I found extremely interesting! It was very fun to read a realistic and historical world with magic and mythology added in.

Another aspect that I absolutely loved is the characters. Despite not knowing their history, you truly feel like Amina has deep relationships with her three friends and crew. It comes off as genuine and I enjoyed their interactions. Amina herself is a truly interesting character. She is torn between wanting to care for her daughter and giving her a life away from her criminal past, but also loving the freedom and feeling she gets captaining her crew on the seas. She was a joy to read from, and the framing of the story was unique, where each chapter starts with the narrator who Amina is telling her story to. 

The magic is based off mythology and folktales, including mythic creatures such as djinns and artifacts of great power. I wasn't expecting it to be so magic heavy going into it, but this is a true fantasy where it takes a historical part of history and adds those fantastical elements. 

The plot takes twists and turns that I didn't see coming, and I can't help but love Amina's ex husband, even if he is someone you can't trust and backstabs. When reading this, I thought it was a standalone, but it definitely leaves it open for more adventures and I would be lucky to read anything further from Amina's adventures!

A Multitude of Dreams is a dark, gothic YA novel that is inspired by "The Masque of Red Death" by Edgar Allen Poe. Expect vampires in this book, but not in the way you are used to.

A devastating plague, the mori roja, has cut through the kingdom of Gosling, leaving only those immune or quarantined surviving. Princess Imogen, the youngest of four daughters of King Stuart, has been stuck in the castle with all of the king's court for the last three years. King Stuart is descending into madness, and all she wants to do is leave the palace. Imogen is hiding a secret, she is not truly the Princess Imogen, but Seraphina, a Jewish girl who is forced to masquerade in front of the nobles. Nicodemus Mott was a noble before the plague, but after losing his family and everyone around him, he finds himself rescued from starvation from Lord Crane. Nico works as a gravedigger for Crane and a servant of his household. Crane sends Nico to search for survivors in the castle, where he meets with Seraphina. They both discover horrors and mysteries they must navigate and face together. 
 
What I really, really liked about this book was the uniqueness of the setting and overall atmosphere. It is a YA story, but there are elements of horror and the author does an amazing job of incorporating an eerie atmosphere. This book does not shy away from the darker parts and effects of a plague, such as burying the bodies, the isolation, and the grief and loss of family and community. It also showed the gaudiness of the nobles and how they lived in excess while they shut off the rest of the kingdom to suffer. The plot is very unpredictable and twisty, I seriously could not guess where this book was going. This isn't a book about revitalizing the kingdom or taking rule, but just individual people who just want to survive and be free. 

We do get introduced to vampires in this book, but the author treats them as horrifying as they truly are. Blood-sucking creatures that survive any wounds and crawl around at night, searching for their next victim. They are truly monsters, and our first encounter in the book with one was actually pretty scary. 

The author did note that many parts of this book illustrate anti-semitism towards the Jewish community, as they were often accused of creating the Black Plague that this is based on and many prejudices are still weaved into this world. 

I will say the characters weren't necessarily my favorite part of the story, and didn't exactly stand out to me. Seraphina is very brash, but smart and able to put on a performance as she's had to in the last three years. Nico tries to as ethical as possible and truly tries his best to save people and do the right thing, which ties into his passion for being a physician. Their motivations were very straight forward and I felt they were your typical YA main characters. The romance felt a little rushed at the end as well, where they suddenly became very interested in each other rather than intrigued and caring about each other. The romance is a very small subplot in this story though. 

Overall, I just loved the overall setting and how the author incorporated different plot lines. It kept me on my feet and immersed within the writing. If you like dark, YA fairy tales, this is for you!

Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

I have heard so much mixed reviews going into this book, but I really enjoyed this!! This book was such a spicy, fast paced rom-com that had a very unique premise.

The Nanny follows our main characters Cassie and Aiden. Cassie is a college student who recently got laid off and is looking for a job before she ends up on her best friend's couch, her neighbor in her 70s. Cassie previously had an OnlyFans account, but shut it down and is hoping she can find employment somewhere else. She finds a job listing for a live in nanny, and finds out that the employer is Aiden, a single dad and chef with a nine year old at home. Cassie moves in with Aiden, and his adorable daughter Sophie, but quickly discovers that Aiden was one of her OnlyFans subs.. but he doesn't remember her. 

This was such a cute and sweet book, I really enjoyed the romance. Keep in mind this is very spicy and the book is very much focused on their relationship. There is definitely a lot of miscommunication, so that may turn off some people from the book. For me, I'm honestly not a big hater of the trope for the most part, so It's something I didn't notice as I read.

I loved Sophie as a side character, she was so cute! Cassie's 70 year old friend didn't seem to reflect her age though, just her dialogue in general seemed extremely young and was the biggest thing that stuck out to me. The writing wasn't exactly the most amazing thing ever, but it delivers on what it says it will. 

Not feeling interested in continuing right now :/

The Name Drop is a YA rom-com that features coming of age and workplace romance. 

Jessica is eager to attend a prestigious university, but she needs a letter of recommendation for scholarships. She applies for and is accepted at Haneul Corporation, a major tech company, for a summer internship in New York. She is excited to make the most of it, much to her father's chagrin who works for Haneul. Elijah is the CEO of Haneul's son, and is expected to take over the reins and become the next CEO. He arrives to New York to work an executive internship at Haneul, and expects the royal treatment due to his privileged and sheltered life. When Jessica arrives, she is introduced as the executive intern and receives a large luxury apartment all to herself. Elijah is shocked to find he is sharing a tiny apartment with 9 other interns without all his usual comforts. Elijah and Jessica discover the mixup: they both have the same Korean name. But they decide to stay switched, Jessica really needs the networking, and Elijah wants a relaxed summer away from all the expectations. 

For the things I liked, I thought this was a very unique premise and the plot itself is what kept me reading the book! It's a very fun mistaken identity trope and the romance was super sweet. Jessica and Elijah spend a lot of time together exploring New York City and I really enjoyed seeing their romance grow. It also reminded me a bit of the Parent Trap? Just with the switch and how they pretended to be each other. It is dual POV (which is the best for romance) so you can see what drives their decisions and how they view each other. 

This is a YA book, but I was pretty surprised by the internal dialogue of the characters, it read 14-15 years old rather than an 18 year old about to enter college. For example, Elijah's privilege and thoughts about money seemed extremely over-exaggerated and not realistic. That honestly might just have been personal preference and not an issue with the author's writing. Once I got used to it/development in the characters occurred throughout the book, I enjoyed it more and it stopped bothering me. Especially because Jessica and Elijah learn each other's perspectives and both expand their views significantly around wealth and privilege.

There were some plot holes I could not look past. These may not generally be plot holes, but based on my individual experience it did not make sense. There are SO many scholarships, and they often don't require income information, the only ones that do are financial aid directly from schools. Letters of recommendation don't take you that far regarding scholarships, perhaps more for the acceptance into a school? I was a bit confused on why she said her father would be responsible for any loans she would take out, which seems strange considering most students take out student loans and pay in the future using their future income at a job, and usually the parents are not responsible. I think the book could have used a bit more explanation and background in this area!

It did wrap up quite a bit fast, with the epilogue being extremely short. I do think it could benefit from more development in the last couple chapters, but this was overall an enjoyable book!

Thank you to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! 

What a conclusion! Silence and Shadow is the sequel to Blood and Moonlight, which I loved! This book combines a charming romance, thriller, and fantasy. If you like true crime with your YA fantasies, this is definitely the series for you.

After the events of the previous book, Catrin and Simon must flee the city. They arrive to the city Londunium and travel to a local Selanae university, known as Akademeia. Selanae with moon based magic hone their skill into healing and Cat hopes she and Simon are able to seek refuge there. However, the powerful council that manages Akademeia disapproving of her relationship with Simon as he is a "Hadrian" and shouldn't be privy to Selanae secrets. They threaten to take all of his memories of her, and so she must do what she can to fit in and protect him. At the same time, there is a local serial killer wracking up victims in the nearby forest, and Simon is recruited to help the investigation. Both Cat and Simon are thrust back into a world of murder, secrets, and conspiracies that threaten their lives. 

This was a wonderful follow-up to the previous book, but it also stands on its own. We are introduced to a new city that has a new culture and government. There is also so much more learned about the Selanae and their history and magic. Cat discovers she is extremely powerful and that hasn't even begun to understand the true abilities she has. I love that the relationship isn't completely perfect either after the events of the first book. Both main characters are trying to figure out what they truly want. Simon is struggling to with the feelings that he is a burden to Cat and he is depending on her for stability. At the same time, Cat wants to learn more about her magic and culture, but she is afraid of the divide it causes between her and Simon. I feel this book focuses more on their romance and chemistry than the first as a subplot. The characterization for both characters is developed further. 

The serial killer plot line is intriguing and differs from the first one, especially because there are other important events happening that move the plot. I do miss the setting of the sanctum and Cat's previous job, but we also learn more about the Akademeia and the Council that precedes it. Cat gains more agency by heading many of the parts of the investigation herself.

One part that I wish was improved on is the twist towards the end. Cat isn't sure which of the Selanae council members she can put her trust in, and it becomes obvious who is taking advantage of her and her naivety. There are many twists and turns throughout this story as it is a thriller as much as it is a fantasy novel. I'm very happy with how the ending left our main characters. 

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!