I had problems with this book from the beginning and was close to dnf-ing.

The whole relationship was built on a breach of trust and privacy it was gross, and I don't like that. To explain my opinion, I might have to add a few spoilers so stop reading here if you don't like spoliers.

Tom - the main male character decides to sabotage Elizabeth - the main female character from going on tinder dates by going into her phone (which he knows from 'accidentally' seeing her enter) and blocking them. He then also sabotages her efforts to find an apartment by helping other students find apartments using her search conditions and in other cases speaking to the realtor for her or sending the apartment she wanted to another student. Elizabeth also decides to play games, manipulating each other for most of the book. Nothing I've read makes me think the two should've ended up together.

In my opinion, they both suck; the best characters are on the sidelines like Tom's mother and Daichi - the professor. Sure it was cute in some parts, but as soon as the foundation of the relationship was breach of trust and privacy, I was out.
 
Thanks to Netgalley and BooksGoSocial, as I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Book #169 of 2022.

Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King is a collection of ten short stories which explore themes such as "desire and heartache, loss and discovery".

I liked some of the stories more than the others. Five Tuesdays in Winter is the one I liked the most, about a bookshop owner falling in love with his employee and his relationship with his daughter. Creature was my least liked, I didn't really want to finish that one. I don't like the idea that 'coming of age' and 'sexual assault' are often paired together and don't like to read about it. Some I found pointless like the North Sea I understand the relationship it depicted between the mother and the daughter, but I found the end very odd and uncomfortable. Mansard was strange didn't see the point of it? I didn't feel like there was a plot or we were moving towards anything. Waiting for Charlie was interesting and to some extent memorable.  The others fell flat for me, and I don't recall the plot for them. Timeline was trouble especially as we were flashing back to two relationships whilst in the present for the main story line and I don't think it was as clear as it could've been.

King's writing however was arguably the best part of Five Tuesdays in Winter.

Book 168 of 2022 

Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan, Picador, as I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I did not read Gongs' previous duology before reading Foul Lady Fortune nor do I have any intention of doing so as I don't like Romeo and Juliet as a story in any form - in spite of that I found that you don't have to have read the duology to read this book as the duology is briefly recapped. Not reading the duology also meant that I had no expectations going into Foul Lady Fortune, except for what others had said about the books. Granted according to a few reviews it felt like a full-on sequel but I think I agree with Gong in that Foul Lady Fortune is its own series.

The two main protagonists are Rosalind Lang, an immortal assassin, and Orion Hong, a spy. The two are connected together by a joint mission and have to fake marry. So if that is a romance trope you like then you'll like this, kinda like SPY X FAMILY, there's also the "Who did this to you?!", "I'll love you from far away" and in my opinion, the guy falls first. I liked their romance - it was a slow burn and I liked the interactions they had with each other. They just work together. The secondary group of main characters are Oliver Hong, also a spy and Orions' brother, and Celia, also a spy and Rosalind's sister... and they're also together and then there's Phoebe Hong, the sister, and Silas, the friend who I think are in a will-they-wont-they situation? The Pet Names! Please someone call me sweetheart.

The characters are wonderfully diverse (I think there's a tweet confirming but this is what I could find). "Rosalind is demisexual, Orion is bisexual, Celia is a trans woman, Alisa is aromantic and asexual, Phoebe is bisexual", and it's accepted by all the characters which was lovely to see as it didn't become something that defined who that character is, just a part of them. 

Onto the plot: Foul Lady Fortune per Gong is a "speculative historical thriller inspired by Shakespeare’s As You Like It". I liked it I thought it was well-paced, and I enjoyed the multiple third-person POVs.  I liked that the main antagonist wasn't predictable, personally, I had two or three people pegged from the beginning and so I liked that it play out like a spy thriller where you kinda don't know who's really behind what. There are also code names, fake identities, and double and triple agents. Trying not to give too much away right now but Gong pulled me in quickly. 

There really wasn't much to dislike, I think my only issue was that they kept saying out loud to themselves that they were good spies or an agent and that could not be me, risking my cover to give myself a pep talk ???

I recommend this, I really want to read the next book because what was the epilogue - Chole Gong really did that! I will also be keeping my pre-order of this book via Waterstones and the copy I ordered from Fairyloot.

Thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton, as I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Book 167 of 2022

The FMC was annoying, childish and indecisive. Put it down thinking I'd pick it back up. That was not the case.

Daughter of Darkness is a remix of Eurydice and Orpheus' story. It is what I would call Greek Mythology adjacent - in the same camp as Percy Jackson. It's not a retelling which I liked about this book, the Corr sisters make it their own. 

I have to say that the world-building in the first 100 to 150 pages is strong and it was hard to get into the book because of it but it is definitely worthwhile and necessary. The action picks up once the gang gets into the underworld, and that's when you get into the story and want to absorb the pages. I enjoyed the different characters and how they were distinct from each other through their characteristics and strengths. With a slightly larger group size, it's hard to make sure every character has an identity but the Corr sisters did this well. I liked where the story went and the pacing and how the interpersonal relationships are explored with the characters. 

Nat is adorable - I want to see so much more of him in book two.

This is a YA book so if like me you have read a lot of YA you may find the plot a tad predictable but it was still so good to see it play out exactly how you predicted. 

My only issue is that I have to wait for book two! I really want to know what happens next.

It is a solid solid start to a new series, I'm excited to read the next instalment and I highly recommend it.

Thank you NetGalley and the Corr sisters for an ARC copy!

Orchid Blooming is a slow-paced, slow-burn love story, in which the protagonist Orchid deals with trauma, self-doubt and trust issues to finally fall in love with the male protagonist Phoenix.

There was a clear plot line, clear romance between the two but I think for me that's about all that I liked. 

I had a hard time getting into it, it took me two weeks reading on and off to finish it, which is rare. I normally read books in one to two sitting max so already I knew I was going to have problems. 

I thought the book could do with a bit of editing as there were parts which were overly descriptive and in my opinion not needed. Also, there were a lot of side characters and some I wanted to know more about - I thought they could have been developed more; especially as this book can be read as a standalone. Additionally, I found that sometimes the conversation didn't feel very organic or natural (I'll include an example below).

Not sure if it's an error or intentional but either way, in my opinion, it felt off.

It's not a bad book at all, three stars is a pretty solid rating. 

Thank you @netgalley for the chance to review this!

Twisted Lies gets a big 4.75 from me! I loved this, as in I read it in one day in a 2-3hr ish binge loved this.

I'm a sucker for a steamy romance where the guy hates everyone but her, is a billionaire and dangerous and  

Ana Huang does this so well. I've been reading Huang since she first started on Wattpad with 'All I never wanted' which is a Boys Over Flowers retelling which she also did well (and shows her immaculate taste lol) and she continues to write books that suck you in, that make you ship the MC's from the get-go.

Also, the epilogue... so sweet and lovely and really ties the whole series up in a nice bow.

Whiny and Childish.

Seven Days in June follows the romance of two novelists who shared a week-long romance in June as teenagers but meet again fifteen years later for seven days.

Dual Timeline, Multiple POVs, Romance, Enemies to Lovers.

I really liked this. I liked that Eva has an invisible disability and that doesn't impact her ability to be a great parent. I loved her relationship with Audre. I loved Audre, she's brilliantly strong-willed and quick-witted and smart. 

Granted, the relationship was quite toxic throughout, including the past and present relationship there didn't really seem to be any growth in how either character dealt with their issues. Shane the male lead goes incommunicado a lot as a response to trauma and other stress and so doesn't really talk to Eva during this time, which annoyed me as they're supposed to be rebuilding a relationship/friendship. However, when they do talk about their emotions both are respectful and present.

Also, you kind of knew what the conflict was going to be so it felt a little bit obvious and a little bit there just to make things interesting - but it wasn't, it was just annoying. I think it took away from the plot and the progress the characters were making.

There were many popular culture references throughout this book which I think affects the longevity of the work, I don't think it's something I could come back to in say 5 to 10 years and still relate to. But I think it's a good reflection of popular culture right now.

There are a lot of trigger warnings before reading this.

I loved that they wrote books about each other I thought it was very cute.

One issue I did have is that the self-harm/harm-enabling part of the plot is overlooked and I think could've been dealt with a little bit better. So what happens to the money she needs from Cursed? Does she write the books and gets the money? Or does she not get the money that she really needs...

 

Book #156 of 2022.