zmurph16's Reviews (619)

 Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the advanced re-release of this title.

"The Ruin of Evangeline Jones" by Julia Bennet starts a bit sketchily, with the male protagonist, the Duke of Harcastle, having an illicit photo of the female protagonist. It's implied that if he isn't able to oust her as a fraud (she is a medium by trade), he will use the photo to ruin her reputation. Literally this is the first scene of the book. It gave me a bit of a sour tummy and if I were the author, I would have rewritten/axed this subplot in the rerelease of this novel.

All that being said, this romance did end up feeling good in my opinion. A lot of the romance, realistically, rests on the Duke's need to marry a wealthy heiress to keep the Dukedom and his dependents employed. Evie's desire to also be free of those that control here is a pertinent topic as well. There were very realistic reasons to the barriers of their romance. Of course, the Deus Ex Machina of it all solved the problems, but it seemed very fitting for the characters and measured up to the fantasy of it all regardless. This was an enjoyable read and I might pick up the first book in this series at a later date. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for the advanced copy of "The Rose Bargain".

I initially requested this book on a whim off of netgalley. There were a lot of key words triggering me to do it, specifically that it was kind of a fae version of "The Selection", which was one of my favorite series as a teenager. I didn't pick it up for awhile until I heard someone on TikTok raving about it and BOY were they correct. I don't want to say too much about the plot of the book because discovering those things is the most fun part of this read. The Fae are so tricky and the premise of Regency England and the Fae Queen who has been ruling for 400 year finally putting her son on the marriage market for the season is insanely clever. It will hook all the correct readers. But then, having to swear to the queen that if you are putting yourself forward as a suitor, you are also swearing that you will not ever marry, even if you are not chosen to be the prince's wife. On top of this there is the intrigue of the bargaining system: all citizens can make one bargain with the Fae Queen in exchange for a fair "price", no fingernails, no hair, only able to turn Right forever, etc. It is all so cleverly done and will suck you in with story. I could not put this read down. Please have this on your radar for pre-order!!! It is only going to be a duology which is a more manageable series for me, so I am excited where the second book will take us! 

 Thank you to Berkley Publishing Group for the advanced copy of "First-Time Caller".

This is my first B.K. Borison novel, but I had only heard good things from friends and reviews on goodreads. I was charmed from the beginning by the premise of the story and then my heart melted even more at the addition of the meddling child in her mother's life. It was so heartwarming to have so many people rooting for Lucie's love life. Aidan immediately captured my attention as well. You can tell from the beginning there's something about him that's hurting, and the climax of this book is a really good culmination of how bottling up your feelings is never a beneficial thing. The third quarter of this book was a little slow and made me want to pick up the book less often but overall, I was very happy with my first Borison read and will certainly be turning my attentions to the Lovelight Farms series in the future! 

Is it the audiobook? Or is it my inability to like anything Oz related except for the musical version of Wicked?