4.5! Wow. This was good.
**
“I have sung of the forgotten, the ignored, the untold. I have picked up the old stories and I have shaken them until the hidden women appear in plain sight. I have celebrated them in song because they have waited long enough.”

I really enjoyed this! It’s been sitting on my shelf for AGESSS because when I got it I was a little Greek-myth’d out (shocking, I know) and I haven’t gotten around to picking it up until now. But wow! It’s gotten me right back into the Greek myth swing of things and now that’s all I want to read.

I went back and forth on whether I liked the narrative layout of this (it skips around a looooot), but overall I enjoyed it. I could never tell where we were gonna go next and I think that worked in my favor, because I’ve read soo many books detailing the Trojan War that it gets a bit redundant. But this book just really shined by having it completely narrated by the women, most of which have very little presence in the popular texts. It’s similar to The Silence of the Girls (which I coincidentally got at the exact same time that I received this book) but this one brings the focus out to many different women, stories and myths (unlike TSOTG which is mostly reserved for events surrounding Briseis/Achilles). It was thrilling.

Myths I know so completely just had a whole new life breathed into them that I very much loved. Little nods towards major myth plot points we know but with a new spin were so fun. The recurring characters were compelling— Cassandra was amazing in this and I also liked Andromache’s and Hecabe’s narrations quite a bit. I especially loved the chapters narrated by Calliope, which I thought were funny, entertaining and a clever way to really drive the book’s central point home. I felt the book meandered a teeny bit in the middle, but the end was really strong and I loved the last few chapters, including the information in the author’s note. I am excited to check out more work by Haynes in the future!

This is my second Nic Stone book and both of them have been completely IMPOSSIBLE to put down. I started both with the intention of reading a few chapters and next thing I knew I was reading the last page. Her joyful personality comes through so clearly in her writing and it is supremely contagious.

This book was just so fun to read! The premise hooked me immediately and her characters are so real and charming and hilarious. Rico was a delightful narrator and her inner monologues were great. I especially enjoyed some of her nicknames for Zan in the beginning (my favorites were “toilet tissue Titan” and “pee pee paper prince”). Zan is a complete dork, Jax is the cutest, Jess is awesome and Ness is fabulous. I loved the random chapters that were narrated by inanimate objects— so creative and fun!

The plot kept me entertained throughout and though I guessed the big twist early, I was still shocked by how it played out! Stone’s writing is just so easy to read and I enjoy it so much. The ending seemed a bit abrupt to me but overall I liked this very much!!

*A million thanks to Fierce Reads for sending me this eARC! All opinions are my own.*

I've enjoyed everything that Marissa Meyer has written, so when I saw that she was venturing into contemporary romance I was STOKED! And rivals to lovers is my JAM. I've been super excited about this release and I'm so thrilled that I got a read an early copy. Though this book is fullllll of cheesiness and many-a-secondhand-embarrassment-omg-i-am-suffering-moments, it was actually SO MUCH FUN and I really enjoyed it.

I was a bit disheartened in the beginning. Prudence enters this book as an overachieving, holier than thou type, which brings her to clash with her laid-back and seemingly irresponsible lab partner, Quint. But actually, there's times when she's just straight-up unlikable. It definitely took me some time to warm up to her, but by the middle of the book she becomes much more tolerable and her overall arc was really satisfying. Quint, on the other hand, I liked immediately. He's goofy and kind and cheesy as all hell but it was so much fun to read about him! I don't think I've read a single POV romcom in a while, and while I would've loved to have his perspective, I thought he was just as enjoyable through Prudence's eyes only.

The original premise is a bit corny. The "magical karma powers" that Prudence somehow inherits play a fairly small role in the overall story and there's not much substance to it other than to drive home the message of second chances. However, the actual plot was really entertaining. The real story lies in Prudence's volunteer work at the animal center and how she grows as a person, both individually and in her relationship with Quint. I was a bit unsure how well I would actually like Prudence and Quint together since the beginning starts out so rough, but after the initial 30%, they're adorable and so much fun to read about. There are many laugh out loud moments and overall, the second half is just a frickin' joy. Really, really cute and fun!

*eARC provided by publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.*

3.5 stars! This series is just delightful. I have so much fun reading about these characters and every book is just full of cute, steamy, goofy antics that I find so enjoyable.

I was super excited for this one after reading and loving Undercover Bromance, because I really liked Alexis and Noah seemed cool too. I liked their relationship a lot and they were both great on their own as well. A lot of the storyline revolves around familial problems for both Alexis and Noah and those got a bit angsty at times but overall I thought lended well to the story.

I obviously loved seeing appearances from old characters throughout, especially Mack! I was surprised by the very small roles that Liv, Gavin and Thea had and I also wish that Alexis had further built her friendship with Jessica a little more. A gripe that I had with Bromance Book Club was that I didn’t really enjoy the amount of excerpts from the Book Club’s romance pick, but then it was lessened for Undercover Bromance and I liked that more. But I actually wish there was a bit more of the excerpts in this one, surprisingly! Overall, though this is probably my least favorite of the series, I still had a hell of a good time and I just think these books are so fun!

“Monsters were nothing. The true terrors were people like me – the ones who saw suffering, who heard the screams of a hundred generations echoing for miles around them — and still did nothing.“

4.5 stars! This was fantastic. I’ve been really looking forward to this one ever since I read the synopsis and I’ve heard nothing but great things since. The worldbuilding in this book is so thoroughly fleshed out and unique and all of that freshness just added to the magic of the world.

The premise of this captured me immediately because it’s right up my alley. A girl destined to kill a prince!? I suspected enemies to lovers but this story subverts those expectations and gives you something even deeper. I so loved these characters. Tarisai was an incredible protagonist and I loved watching her make her story and decisions her own. She is so smart and good and desperate for the love that she has been denied her entire life. The relationships she fosters with other characters throughout the book all hit different tones in a wonderful way: The Lady, Dayo, Sanjeet, Melu, and Kirah were the strongest, but I also enjoyed her connections with Woo In and Mbali, too.

This world is so rich and inventive. I was able to take my time with this book and remain entertained overall, though I did feel that a couple sections were a bit slow. Th ending was really fantastic though and definitely has me eagerly anticipating the sequel to see what comes next!

This was AMAZING! I started reading the Aru Shah series from the RR Presents umbrella last year and loved it a lot, and I've heard nothing but good things about this one and I was not disappointed!

I listened to the audio of this (same as I did for Aru) and I'm so happy because these books are so much fun to listen to. The narrator was soooo good and funny (especially his voice for Gum Baby) and the story was a lot of fun! I learned about new mythology and the characters were so great. Tristan was a super entertaining narrator and there were some great messages about loss and grief. I can’t wait for the sequel!

I’ve enjoyed the previous Aru Shah books a lot and this one was fun too! All of these books are really charming and easy to love. I listen to them all on audio and the narrator is great.

The friendships are sooo strong in the series and it’s great to see the found family aspect of the Potatoes (their group name)

I have had this series on my TBR for some time now, but wasn't sure how much I'd like it. This genre is a bit hit or miss for me, but I'd heard a lot of great things so I figured I'd try it. Well, it was great. Hooked me from the first chapter!

The world was so interesting and I loved learning about the rules of the scythedome and how society functioned. Both Citra and Rowan were really great characters and the plot was super entertaining, complete with shocking twists that I loved! I enjoyed Citra and Rowan's relationship, as well as both of their relationships with Scythe Faraday.

I felt a teeny bit complacent towards the latter half of the book, but the ending completely blew my mind and definitely set up the next book in a fun and explosive way!