the_cover_contessa's Reviews (1.75k)

Thank you to Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Roaring Brook Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
Blaze is a rain singer who almost drowned the world with her birth. She has hidden away from the world her entire 17 years. When an invitation comes to compete for a future as a ruler, she and her brother join the games. Blaze is forced to explore her untapped power. But there are threats to the palace and Blaze must forge her own path to write a new story for herself.
I must first comment on the beautiful cover of this book. I'm admitting to judging a book by it's cover. This one drew me right in and I don't think I even read the blurb before I requested it. But then I read the blurb and it sounded intriguing. While the blurb talks about The Red Queen and Shadow and Bone, it fails to mention The Hunger Games or even Avatar. While it's not quite the same, the story definitely has these vibes with the way the potential rulers go through challenges, challenge each other, and use elements as their power. However, this one is unique: people taking their powers from the elements of fire, water, wind, and earth. While I know it's been done before, the author really did give this story it's own unique twists and turns. And there is an added elements of being all seeing and knowing the future added in.
I enjoyed Blaze. She was, for me, a quite typical YA fantasy heroine. One who doesn't really know what power she holds until she begins to explore it and see what she can really do. I liked how she learned to control her water wielding. The emotion attached to her being able to rein in her power was an interesting twist. She is not fearless at all, but definitely becomes determined to prove herself. What I didn't love was not having the other characters fleshed out. The author just barely skimmed the surface with making us understand them. I feel like the first person point of view truly limited the character development.
The romance didn't hit me well. I just didn't feel the chemistry to author was trying to create with the Crown Prince. It seemed too superficial. Though, when I think about what was revealed later, this makes a bit of sense. But still, Blaze definitely fell into things a bit harder than I would have thought given the limited interactions with the Crown Prince before she was pining for him. The addition of a bit of a love triangle definitely made things more interesting. The romance scene with said third party was probably the best part of the romance in the book. I will say the romance is not the crux of the story. But if you're going to introduce this trope, I need it to work well and it just didn't really do that for me. I honestly think it could have been left out and just been a fantasy and left at that.
As for the pacing, it was all over the place. Some scenes were super fast and I had to actually back track to make sure I understood what was happening. But other parts of the book were so slow, I found myself skimming at times to just get to the next chapter. The final chapters of the book did explode, though, and I found my rating increase just because of how they were structured and where they took the story. There were some unexpected twists thrown in, which definitely helped keep me in the story.
Is the story totally unique? No, not at all. I definitely saw elements from pretty much every YA fantasy I have read. But the author does do a good job with keeping the reader engaged. I have seen some talk of racism and slavery and it not being handled well. I did not find this to be the case, personally but I can see where others may have felt this way. The politics of the story definitely lend themselves to this fact.
Overall, this one was just ok for me, nothing new and exciting and nothing that kept me wanting to truly turn the pages. I'm not sure if I will continue on with this series. I wanted to be more surprised by what was happening because that is exciting to me, but that just didn't happen. I wanted to love it but the plot was predictable and the creativity was lacking.

Thank you to Random House Publishing/Ballentine/Dell and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
When Kate Elliott writes a letter to her old agent in the hopes of jump starting her old career, she doesn't think she'll end up working for his son after her agent's untimely death. Charlie Francisco is not his father, nor does he want to be. But he's determined to help a surefire hit book make it to publication. And Kate is just the person to help him with it!
I loved that Kate was a divorcee who has lived life a bit. She has a daughter in college and she's coming up on midlife. I don't read a lot of books with characters her age and it was refreshing to see a 40 year old woman portrayed. I felt everything she did when it came to her personality and how it had been wrapped around her marriage. She didn't have a sense of her own self and now that she was divorced she was determined to find it. She is quirky and fun and the author made her someone you truly wanted to have find her happy ending after all she had been through. I loved her sense of humor and how, even though she had many awkward situations in this book, she handled them well and tried to embrace herself as is.
Charlie was harder to get a read on. I don't think the author gave him enough time on the page. As a reader, if the author is using a dual POV type of storyline, I need equal time from the characters. And I didn't get this at all. It made it hard to get to know Charlie. I wanted more of him and I didn't get it. What I did get, I really liked. He was genuine and caring. 
The romance seemed a bit forced for me. I did like it once it was revealed but it just seemed to forced. The close proximity trope aside, the chemistry seemed off. Charlie definitely appeared more into Kate than the other way around, which would have been fine if we didn't only see this through Kate's eyes. I wanted to watch Charlie fall for her and Kate realize it. But beyond that, I just didn't necessarily feel the chemistry between them. I just didn't believe they loved each other as much as they told each other they did.
The pacing of the story was good. I loved all the humor the author infused and the chapters flowed well to move the story forward. I liked the writing, it was easy to read and Silver kept me engaged.
Overall this story was just ok for me. I needed more romance and chemistry. I needed more of something. The idea was there but the execution left something to be desired. That being said, I would pick up other Silver books as I did enjoy the writing.

Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here aer my own.
I will admit, I didn't even read the blurb for this one. I saw it was Ali Brady and I requested it. I loved their book Until Next Summer, so I was convinced this one would win me over just as much. Then I read the blurb and all I could think was a book about bookstores? What book lover wouldn't love that story?
Josie Klein and Ryan Lawson are rival bookstore owners pitted against each other by their mutual boss. Both are determined to make their store the winner and keep their jobs. As their rivalry fires up, they both turn to their online book friends for advice. But when Ryan finds out Josie is really his online friend, he's determined to move them in the direction of real life friends, even if it means giving up the one thing that has gotten him through the toughest times in his life.
Josie was a fun character with so much emotion. She is a giver and someone who takes care of those around her. She gives a lot of herself. So much so, she is missing out on giving things to herself. I truly enjoyed her relationships with books. It was very relatable for me. I would have liked to see her grow just a bit more. Her trust issues don't resolve for me. 
I think Ryan was probably my favorite character in this book, besides the cats in the bookstore! I love that he has a found family. People who surround him and lift him up and show him his true potential. I also love his connection with books. How they helped him throughout his teens years and into his adult years. I will say it was hard for me to actually picture him. His a giant of a man with Clark Kent looks, but it just didn't click with me. My only issue with him was his knowledge of who Josie is, his online friend, and how he uses that to find out more information about her. It felt unethical and secretive. Knowing Josie's trust issues, I can't believe the guy who is falling for her would do this.
This writing in this book was very different from other Brady books I've read. I have to admit it didn't pull me in as much. I found it difficult to completely connect with the characters because of this.
The story gives a bit of You've Got Mail vibes with is online relationships where people are connecting through their love of books. I really liked this idea. It took You've Got Mail into this century. With all the online forums we have now (Discord, Reddit, etc), it was great to see this woven into a story line.
I will admit, I went into this story with very high expectations having loved Brady's other works. Unfortunately, it didn't meet them as much as I would have liked. Was it cute? Sure! Did the author make it fun to read? Yes! Did I want to put it aside? Nope. As a matter of fact, I read it rather quickly. I just didn't think the writing had the same quality as the other stories I've read. This one read almost like a YA book. The characters did not strike me as what age they were supposed to be. This is what kept me from truly loving the story. I was looking for an adult romance but I didn't get that.
The story is fun with good banter, some fun side characters, and some cute romance. I'll definitely be keeping Brady on my list of go to authors and hope future books are just a bit better than this one.

Thank you to Afterglow Books by Harlequin and Edelweiss for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I've been hard up to find a good F1 book. One that integrates the sport and the romance seemlessly. This one does it so well!
I really enjoyed this book. Mia is a down to earth, every day girl who is very relatable. Her neurodivergence is a nice touch for her character. She's flawed and I think this is what makes her so endearing to the reader. She's thrown into the world of F1, so much more than what she could have thought it would be. You can feel her anxiety about being around the drivers, especially her favorite, Xander, after she's thrown shade on his racing in her last few podcasts. Of course their enemies status becomes something more when they start to spend time together. I love that Xander was willing to take care of her mental health throughout the book. It was refreshing to see a male character who gave themself over so easily to  this form of caring. Both characters had distinct personalities and were developed well.
The romance was fun to watch bloom in this one. You definitely see an attraction to begin with but then it makes a slow burn and build. The chemistry was there and the author pushed the relationship at a great pace. It wasn't insta-love which I do not love. It was refined and woven into the plot of the story well.
Booth did a nice job with including the F1 language as well as explanations. I think those who do not know or understand the sport of F1 will do so when reading this book. It wasn't super technical, which was nice.
I loved the pacing of this one. I flew through it. I felt Booth easily switched between the character POVs. I was happy to see both characters giving their view of what was happening. There was lot of humor and fun interactions. Booth's writing was easy to read and flowed well.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one and I'm happy I had the chance to read it. I would love to explore more of Booth's books in the future. I think F1 fans looking for an easy to read and fun sports romance will enjoy this one.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Putnam for providing me with a copy of this title to read and give my honest review. The opinions expressed here are my own.
I love Monaghan's stories. She always draws me in and makes me invested in her characters and their plot. I was super excited to be able to read this one early and get to know Jane and Dan. If you're looking for a romance story plot, this one is it. There is an underlying theme about jobs and what is needed to ensure we keep them but overall it's really the story of two people finding each other and falling in love.
Jane Jackson is a former teen star who has a fake it til you make it attitude. When her job is on the lie, she fakes it and puts herself in a position to come face to face with her childhood crush and fellow singing star. Dan Finnegan is a cinematographer who has one goal, do what he loves. Their lives crash together when Jane has a script for a movie she must have made. They travel to Dan's home town in search of Jack Quinlan in the hopes they can get him to make the theme song for the movie and push it to be made. Jane is not expecting Dan's family, or the way she feels when she's immersed with them, or the feelings she starts having towards Dan because surely true love does not exist! 
Jane doesn't believe in true love. Or at least she hasn't let herself believe it. She's spent her life riding on the coattails of her costars, always the jokester, always the one in the background. She is so relatable for so many. She allows her past to infiltrate her present and start to shape her future. She doesn't see herself for what she could truly be. She has so many insecurities and wants it's impossible not to understand her and the feel how she feels. 
Dan is so much more astute than he first appears. When we are introduced to him, I really felt he was just this guy with no real purpose or goal for himself. But he does have a goal, doing what he loves. And, when Jane goes with him to Long Island, we learn so much more about him. How he's different from his family, how he felt he never fit in, how he wanted different things for himself than others did. I loved that he was so different.  I adored his self-awareness and how he honored that part of himself. I loved that he so easily loved. He was super selfless in this book, which surprised me as when he was first introduced I really did feel like he was just selfish. 
The plot line for this one was kind of under the surface. So many instances of Jane almost coming into contact with Jack to be thwarted by circumstances beyond her control. When I first started the book I thought Jack would be the love interest, and that kind of bothered me. And, while there is some background to why that may have been, in the end he turns out to just be a jerk who I wanted to literally grab from the page and strangle. 
I really loved the romance in this one. There was a bit of insta-love which I think could have been fleshed out a bit more. I understand the close proximity trope but I just wanted a bit more of the swoon, we are falling for each other, look at us go, so I could understand that instant attraction. I think this is probably Monaghan's most romantic book to date. The title absolutely fits the story. I loved the big jester that happened at the end. It was unexpected from the person that did it and I loved that little twist.
The found family, for Jane, was probably my most favorite part of this book other than the romance. I adored the whole Finnegan crew. They were so accepting of Jane. They treated her like family from day one. It was refreshing to see how easily they took her in and made her feel welcome. 
I don't think there's anything Monaghan will write that I won't read. I'm so happy I got to float along for the ride with Dan and Jane. If you are looking for the perfect beach summer read with an enemies to lovers trope that will wrap you in the arms of romance and drag you along for the ride, this one is it. Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, and Katherine Center.