3.5 stars

Wow. This book was a Godsdamned JOURNEY. The ending. Oh my gods THAT ENDING.

There were times when I wasn't sure we'd make it there, time would drag and then it would speed up and go by in a blink. If Malachiasz is chaos then this book is like living in his mind. It is chaotic and pointed at the same time. Those points are sharp though and they will exact their pound of flesh. I feel like I could read this book thousands of times and still not fully grasp everything, which can be maddening at times, but is weirdly quite fitting for this story.

This was probably even more dark and gritty and twisty than I expected. I honestly have no clue how all of this will end but I'm dying to see what happens next! I definitely need to follow this one up with something light and fluffy. Give me comfort because I'm shook.

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press / Wednesday Books via Netgalley and this is my honest review.

This was such a fun quick read! Loved the characters and the fantasy element was top notch. I love mythology, especially greek mythology and it is really fun to see it in a contemporary setting. The romance was well done, lots of delicious tension and buildup, which I find can be hard to not feel a bit rushed in novellas, but it was perfectly done here in my opinion. I was able to read it all in one sitting and I can't wait for more Brimstone INC tales in the future!
 

I received an ARC of this book from Entangled Publishing via Netgalley and this is my honest review.

If I had to sum this book up with one word I think it we would have to be SURPRISING. So many elements of this one took me by surprise, the off the charts heat, making a priest sexy (omg the things he says!) and don't even get me started on the twists that you will not see coming. I will be checking out more from this author in the future!

I received an ARC of this book from Booksprout and this is my honest review.

I had really high hopes for this one. The description sounded great and I previously read and really enjoyed The Girl From the Well books by Chupeco. I wish I could say I enjoyed Wicked As You Wish but it just never really grabbed me and if I'm being completely honest it ended up feeling like a chore to finish it. This is one of those times that I wish I was more of the DNF camp because it would have saved me weeks of dragging my heels through this book.

I'm trying to think of way to adequately describe what this story felt like, and the best I can come up with is it reminded me of leftover surprise. You know that ramshackle meal you throw together when you really need to go shopping or you're feeling kinda lazy and you just grab a bunch of random ingredients that are still good and you have on hand and throw them in a pot with broth or a casserole and call it dinner. This book was like that to me. Insert a handful of fairytale characters, a dash of legends and mythology, a pinch of hot topic social issues, a sprinkle of different cultures, and a side of LGBTQ. Voila, dinner is served! All of these on their own are wonderful ingredients, brought together they can make one incredibly tasty dish, but in this case it just didn't work for me as a cohesive recipe. Nothing quite married or really brought it all together.

It ended up feeling like instead of bringing these elements together in a new exciting way pieces of them were just mashed together but never quite fit as a whole. Getting thrown into the fantasy world blind at the beginning was jarring, which could have been ok for me if I understood it more as we went on, but honestly even after the end I'm still confused by it.

When the fantasy end falls short a reader can sometimes turn to the characters to carry them through, some cool peeps to get behind, or someone to root for. When I inevitably turned there I also felt like something was lacking. None of these characters were stand out for me.

Maybe the most interesting to me was 'the Scourge of Buyan' which seemed unfortunately used more to try and make Tala somewhat interesting rather than an intriguing character on its own. Ryker maybe being a younger version of that could have been something but we really didn't see much of him, especially not much beyond the surface level of his high school crushiness that dominated the beginning.

All in all this was just not for me, as much as I wish that wasn't the case. Definitely not something I'd be interested in continuing as a series.

I received an ARC of this book from SOURCEBOOKS FIRE via Netgalley and this is my honest review.

I was excited to get an arc of this book. I've read this dynamic duo's previous two books, Anonymous Girl & The Wife Between Us, and really enjoyed them. You Are Not Alone was very on brand for them. If you enjoyed one or both of their previous titles I'm confident this is right up your alley too.

I've learned to go into these stories suspicious of everyone, trying to eye details that might be telling later, hoping to get a jump on at least one of the inevitable twists. Try as I might they still manage to surprise me and I love that about these authors! You may figure out a few things on your own along the way but they seem to always have at least one ace up their sleeve that will rock you.

I read most of this book in one sitting. It is so absorbing. You can't help but keep breezing through the pages eager to find out what will happen next. I don't want to give any spoilery details, which is especially hard to do with this one. I will say I extra loved the darker undercurrent that connected all these ladies. I look forward to whatever these two come up with next!

I received an ARC of this book from St. Martin's Press and this is my honest review.

SLUMBER BY: J.L. WEIL
 
The cover initially caught my eye with this one. Once I read the synopsis I thought I'd give it a try. I am glad I did! Oddly enough, since there was a lot of dark and deadly things in this world, this book ended up feeling like a light read. It was fast paced and the rather funny, snarky commentary and age of the characters helped level things out against the dangerous dystopian, post apocalyptic chaos you are immersed in.
 
 

 
 
There was quite a bit going on in this story. Charlotte has awoken decades in the future and NOTHING is even close to what she remembered. She quickly has to learn how to navigate this new post-mist world where even the most innocuous seeming things will likely try to kill you now. Luckily she has Dash Darhk there to be her gorgeous, reluctant guide. Their banter was as entertaining as their chemistry was. I quite enjoyed this pair and I am rooting for them to make it! By the end I was searching for the sequel hoping for more, but unfortunately it isn't out yet. It is definitely on my watch list though.

I was so excited about the premise of this book, and with a tag line like "Inception meets The Magicians" I was like I NEED THIS NOW. I was pumped to receive an ARC from Netgalley. While I did overall enjoy this book, it ended up being more of a mixed bag for me.
 
I really loved the idea of the reveries! Definitely a very cool, imaginative idea. They were often vivid and beautifully described. On the flip side I thought there were some aspects of them I wish was a little more fleshed out as I felt like the concept of them was an idea that was brought to life only 85% conceived. I'm not quite sure if this was intended as a standalone book or part of a series where it is intended to expand on the idea more thoroughly in the future.
 
The characters are another element that I really liked in a lot of way but felt like something was missing. They were 100% fabulous but I also found myself struggling to connect with them. Like a beautiful painting that's just a smidge too far away to fully appreciate. I loved the idea of them having powers too and how this ragtag team of wildly different people shared one important thing in common, being misunderstood and not really knowing where they fit in this world. I only wish that would have been expanded on more as the thing that brought them together. It felt like maybe the author was unsure on how to make that happen more organically and so it is just stated vaguely later that their powers were magically bestowed to them without them really understanding why or how. I think doing this another way could have helped connect me to them more. I wanted to see how they became a team, see the struggle to adjust to this wild thing happening to them and all around them, and see those connections and bonds being forged rather than just being told it was so because...magic.
 
All in all I think this is a unique imaginative story that is a lot of fun but missing a few pieces that would have really made it amazing.
 
I received an ARC of this book from Sourcebooks Fire via Netgalley and this is my honest review.