*eARC provided by Netgalley. All opinions are my own*
OK, this book started out ROUGH. In the first half, I seriously contemplated DNFing it at least three times. Dana was super unlikable to me and the plot started super fast. The instantaneous (and I'm talkin' INSTANTANEOUS) romance between Dana and Lorenzo was jarring and unwelcome. Dana just made absolutely awful decisions-- one, to get involved with a coworker on literally YOUR FIRST DAY ON THE JOB, LIKE SHE WASN'T EVEN ACTUALLY HIRED YET, then to almost immediately after place her new (big break, well-paying, super important) job on the line to participate in something she knew was in breach of her contract? That was just plain stupid and made me resent her for it.

I ended up skimming most of the descriptive text, and I was still able to get the entire story through mainly dialogue. I'm always a bit hesitant about romances that are longer than 350 pages, and I think this is a good example that justifies my hesitance, because a lot could be cut down. Once I hit about the 60% mark, I decided to just finish the book, and it did get better! I got more interested in the murder case and the one truly redeeming aspect of this book was the relationship between Dana and Ari! I liked them SO much more than Dana and Lorenzo and I thought the ending was good. This definitely won't be very memorable for me, but in the end I'm glad I was able to bump it up to 2 stars!

(yes. I'm going to yet again attempt to transfer my reviews here consistently. a miracle in the working.)
"Safi was ready to bend the world. Ready to break it. And with that thought, a new life began."

Ooof. This book was kind of a struggle for me. Like with Truthwitch, it was hard to find motivaion to pick this up at the beginning. All the characters I loved were separated, plus we got new characters and another POV to deal with. Unlike Truthwitch, unfortunately, this one didn't really pick up. I kept waiting for it to get better and instead it was just SLOW SLOW SLOW.

The fact that everyone remained separated throughout the book was probably the biggest reason why the plot didn't really pick up for me. My favorite parts of Truthwitch were the interactions between Safi, Iseult, and Merik, and all of that is just nonexistent from this sequel. I wasn't thrilled to have another POV thrown into the mix, and though Vivia grew on me a bit by the end, none of her storylines were particularly thrilling.

"Aeduan pretended not to hear. He was already spinning away. After all, he had no time for prayer. Particularly since he knew no one ever listened."

Iseult's and Aeduan's perspectives were easily the highlight of this book. I LOVE their relationship and I can't wait to learn more about Aeduan in the next book! I'm all in for a unlikely pairing that turns into a genuine relationship!! Their connections go really deep and it's so fun to see them interact.

I'm still SO confused about the world building behind this series though. I could not tell you ANYTHING about the politics of this book; everything about the truce or the tribes or the war just flies over my head. I'm focused solely on the characters because I just don't understand anything else that's happening. There's also a lot of weird magic happening throughout this book that has yet to be explained, so I just felt out of it for most of the book.

This was definitely a bit of a disappointment, especially since I loved Merik so much in the first book and I was excited for "his" book! I would probably rate this closer to a 2.5. I'm really hoping Bloodwitch isn't more of the same and that we can reunite some more of these characters! PLEASE!

OH YEAHHHHHHHH

(full review)I’d seen a friend rave about this series on bookstagram (thanks Hayley!) and after reading the synopsis, I added it to my TBR immediately. Happy to report that it did not disappoint! This book is filled to the brim with magic, friendships, slow burn romances, and royal antics; all great things that seem to be leading into a very fun high fantasy series!

I actually read this book fairly slow compared to my usual reading pace. Although I was really enjoying it, it was hard to find motivation to actually pick it up in the beginning. The first 15% of this is kind of hard to trudge through. There’s a lot of information thrown at you in terms of world building but much of it is not really explained? You mostly have to fend for yourself and figure things out as you go, but at the end of the book you’re still left with some questions about the Truce and the royal relationships. It doesn’t completely distract from the story but it did catch me a bit off guard at the beginning. Once you hit about 35% you become more invested in the characters and the plot, so most of the confusion slips to the wayside. The ending definitely makes up for the slow beginning!

“‘I’m Safiya fon Hasstrel, and I can do anything.’ As those words fell from her tongue, her magic perked up… and then purred like a lion in a sunbeam. True, it said. Always and forever true.“

The characters were my absolute favorite aspect of this book. All of them have rich and intriguing backstories, and the individual relationships between the characters are fascinating. I just want to know more! I loved the friendship (Threadsisterhood?) between Safi and Iseult. Their personalities totally balance each other out perfectly and you can clearly see the affection and love they have for each other. I loved them both a lot! Merik was GREAT as well. I’m TRASH for him and Safi, they’re so insufferably adorable. Slowest of burns in this one, and at the end you’ve barely scratched the surface! I was less thrilled by Aeduan’s perspective, only because I was immediately attached to Safi, Iseult and Merik’s perspectives more. But! By the end he really became a lot more interesting and I can’t wait to learn more about him!

I think this was a great series opener! I’m really excited to continue on (I’ve already started Windwitch) and see how these characters progress! I feel like this has potential to be a series I really love!

"Never corner a man on a losing streak. Desperation is deadlier than a bullet."

I really enjoyed this! Which makes me VERY happy because I got it in the January Owlcrate box and I LOVED LOVED LOVED the pin it came with so now I can say I loved the book too!

I've never read The Count of Monte Cristo and I didn't really know any of the premise behind it (besides the revenge plot). From reading a few other reviews it looks like some people who had read the original didn't enjoy this book so much, so I'm glad I came in fresh! I seem to usually enjoy pirate/sea/ship/etc books, and this was no exception.

"It's funny, isn't it, how you only ever see the surface of a person? I feel like most of the time, beneath my surface, I'm drowning. And no one can see it."

I really enjoyed the twisty, turny plot- especially at the end! A buuunch of twists that I wasn't expecting. There were a few areas that I think could've been cut down-- I could've done without some of Cayo's forays through the city-- but overall I thought everything flowed pretty well. Amaya was likeable and it was fun to root for her to get some answers. The relationship between Amaya and cayo was obviously a highlight for me, bc I love a Romance, and I'm excited to see where the sequel takes them!

The beginning was definitely slow. It was hard to find the determination to focus and get a feel for the characters. The timeline is a bit wonky for the first bit and though I figured out fairly quickly what was happening, it was still a bit difficult to get a grasp on. I'm not super enthralled by the world building; some of the mentions of different areas or groups of people were never fully explained (I'm guessing we'll learn more in the sequel) so I never got full clarity or investment. Also, none of the side characters really grabbed me- I did like Soria and Roach- but no one super stood out.

Overall, really happy with this and will definitely pick up the sequel! Also, Bay Area author- yay!

"In order to weaken Grey Emerson, Jaya had to get him to be vulnerable with her. And what made boys more vulnerable than love?"

I've been looking forward to this book for quite some time (plus the cover is SUPER cute) and I'm really pleased to say that it was a delight to read! It's good to read something lighthearted and funny in these stressful times, and I've already got another contemporary romance lined up because I'm in the mood for them now! This is my first Sandhya Menon book and I will definitely be picking up the next one in this series :)

I am ALWAYS here for a fairytale retelling. This was a bit looser retelling of Beauty & the Beast but it was fun to see the little hints that were there, like the rose pendant and the West Wing tower. I was SUPER thrilled to hear that the sequel was based on the Princess and the Frog, which is one of my underrated favorites! The plot moved pretty quickly, and the twist at the end was suuuuper predictable from early on, but that wasn't a huge deal for me.

I liked both Jaya and Grey (though Jaya sometimes annoyed me with how oblivious and uncommunicative she was) and their relationship was cute. Jaya's stubbornness was also a bit grating at times, and I always hate when plot problems could easily be solved by communication and honesty and then are not. Still, this book was a lot of fun! Definitely cheesy sometimes but overall a very adorable read.

The side characters were kind of hit or miss for me. I liked Isha and the sister relationship was really heartwarming. Daphe Elizabeth annoyed me too much to really like her, and her plot was just a nuisance to me, since it was obvious that she was making all the wrong choices. My favorite side character actually ended up being Catherine (shocker, I know) and I absolutely LOVED how her storyline played out! I'm HYPED that the sequel will be focused on her because I thought she was a lovely character, and I hope to see her friendship with Jaya grow in the next book as well!