Book Review: The Determined by Rachel Rueckert

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 400 pages
Author: Rachel Rueckert
Publisher: Kensington
Release Date: February 24th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A groundbreaking novel of historical fiction based on the real experiences of two of the Golden Age of Pirates’ most infamous women, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who dared to subvert the rules and gender roles of their time.

1721, Spanish Town, Jamaica. Captured, convicted, and pregnant, twenty-three-year-old Anne Bonny faces the gallows. When writer Captain Charles Johnson enters the garrison, she strikes a deal: she’ll tell this opportunistic fool her story if he sends a doctor to her friend, Mary Read, who’s battling prison fever.

Prior to their arrest, life at sea had offered Anne and Mary freedom that few women knew. Anne, born into scandal in Ireland, seeks home and elusive safety in South Carolina. Discovering the opposite, she makes a bitter bargain for emergency passage to the Bahamas.

Across the Atlantic in England, Mary confronts her own limitations as an illegitimate daughter. She sneaks into a merchant crew, disguised as a cabin boy. But when war sends Mary into the cavalry, she meets a challenge even she might not rival.

When their paths collide in Nassau, a notorious “pirate den,” Anne and Mary find kinship aboard the Revenge, the fastest ship in the Caribbean. With the governor out for blood, every raid brings more risk. From the high seas to the depths of a Jamaican prison, Anne and Mary must navigate impossible choices, each determined to taste freedom again.

Thank you to the author for a gifted ARC.

SOLID HISTORICAL FICTION.

HF that doesn’t involve a romance is not a genre I pick up often anymore, so I’m here to say that The Determined is an exception to the rule and you should absolutely try it out if you’re interested in female pirates. I enjoyed the combination of learning about Anne and Mary’s pasts while flipping to the present timeline and how their stories end. While some of it has to be left up to speculation I liked how the author handled the ending and gave (what I thought) was a good conclusion. I’m a sucker for a thick afterword about the research and commentary surrounding plot decisions and I loved hearing how Rachel Rueckert brought this story to life.

I could have used a little something more? I couldn’t quite put my finger on it but I did have an enjoyable time and it was easy to pick up the audiobook. The narrator is fantastic too. If you enjoy books that explore women in male dominated field I would recommend this! I loved the imaginings of Anne and Mary as these hard to knock down souls who had to constantly battle against the ideas of their time to survive.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical fiction
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate+
  • Content warnings: loss of life, executions, assault, imprisonment, childbirth

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Book Review: Magnolia Parks (Magnolia Parks Universe #1) by Jessa Hastings

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: A very toxic romance
Length: 448 pages
Author: Jessa Hastings
Publisher: Dutton Books
Release Date: August 8th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

“How many loves do you get in a lifetime?”

She is a beautiful, affluent, self-involved, and mildly neurotic London socialite. He is Britain’s most photographed bad boy who broke her heart.

Magnolia Parks and BJ Ballentine are meant to be, and everyone knows it.

She dates other people to keep him at bay; he sleeps with other girls to get back at her for it. But at the end of every sad endeavor to get over one another, it’s still each other they crawl back to.

But now their dysfunction is catching up with them, pulling at their seams and fraying the world they’ve built; a world where neither has ever let the other go completely.

As the cracks start to show and secrets begin to surface, Magnolia and BJ are finally forced to face the formidable question they’ve been avoiding all their How many loves do you really get in a lifetime?

WELL, I DID IT.

I swore I would never read this book but those were my famous last words because I did read it…and I do want to continue the series. WHO AM I. There’s something hard to explain about how living in someone else’s toxic world makes for a good read for me, but I’ll take it?? It’s wild, there’s cheating in abundance and y’all better be telling the truth about these character arcs because I am a SKEPTIC. A skeptic who needs answers.

I didn’t love the writing style. I don’t know how to put my finger on it though. The style just didn’t click all the way. I did love that it was dual POV and getting both Magnolia and BJ’s sides as the story went along. Good heavens that reveal at the end was the WORST (but in the best way because I was shocked??).

My thoughts are all over the place. There’s enough here for me to put a hold on the next audiobook though and see what Daisy’s story is all about.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: a lot of discussion around sex, a few fade to black
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: physical altercations, allllllll the infidelity, drug overdose, drug use, alcohol consumption

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ALC Book Review: In Time with You by Kristin Dwyer

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance + Magical Realism
Length: 384 pages
Author: Kristin Dwyer
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: March 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A gripping speculative romance about one girl saving her first love’s life by falling for the last person she ever should – his best friend.

Nieve Monroe is devastated after her boyfriend Carter dies saving her from drowning. Even worse she blames herself for his death… and so does his best friend, Max. He was there with them on that fateful day, and he’s never liked Nieve.

Unable to pull herself from her grief and wanting to hide from the accusation in his eyes, Nieve goes to stay with her grandmother, who has always had strange stories to tell of uncanny happenings, of magic and make believe. The next morning, Nieve wakes up on the first day of college, the year before.

This time she plans to make sure Carter never follows her into that river. She’ll do everything in her power to keep him safe, even if it means losing him in other ways. But the more distance she puts between her and Carter, the closer she gets to Max, drawn to him in ways she never expected.

But is she betraying Carter if the only way she can save him is to move on? And can she ever forget her past to embrace her future?

Kristin Dwyer’s In Time With You is a heartbreaking story of first love, loss, and one chance to change everything.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

YEAH I HAVE THOUGHTS.

What did work for me was the general idea of the plot. I’m not really a magical realism fan but the idea of how this operated? It was fine. And I liked the directional shift of the romance.

Now moving on to the struggles.

I’m not sure the time slip worked on audiobook. I’m sitting here writing this wondering if I got the present vs. past vs. other timelines in the correct order because there’s no delineation on the audio. And switches were happening with chapters. I’m wondering if this is easier to follow on an ebook/physical book format?

And for the romance. This book was heavy with grief and anger and trying to change fate vibes. And while valid and necessary for the story, it also overwhelmed it too. SO much of the book was focused on Nieve looking back, trying to fix things, being angry or upset about different situations that I hardly felt the hope that showed up right at the end.

I also thought the scape goat for the final moments seemed tossed in? Like how can I make this work, oh, I’ll just do this, and it didn’t work.

Unfortunately this is my least favorite of KD books but I still plan to read what she writes next.

Overall audience notes:

  • Magical realism romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2ish open door
  • Violence: mild
  • Content warnings: loss of a loved one, grief depiciton

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ARC/ALC Book Review: The Dragon and the Sun Lotus (The Three Realms Duology #2) by Amelie Wen Zhao

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Rating: ★★★
Genre: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 386 pages
Author: Amelie Wen Zhao
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: March 3rd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the breathtaking sequel to The Scorpion and the Night Blossom, the battle has just begun. With Àn’yīng’s kingdom teetering on the brink of destruction, and amidst a budding forbidden romance, she must now risk everything to protect her world.

A decade ago, the Kingdom of Night began the war against the Kingdom of Rivers, ravaging the lands and releasing mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—to roam free, drinking the souls of mortals. Now the mó have made it beyond the magical wards of the immortal realm—the Kingdom of Sky—and will not stop until the entire world falls to darkness.

Àn’yīng is determined to banish the mó to their realm and return the mortal realm to peace. But a stunning betrayal has turned the tides of this Her handsome rival from the Immortality Trials and the man she was falling in love with, Yù’chén, is now the enemy. Yù’chén is half mó, his mother none other than Sansiran, the Demon Queen of the Kingdom of Night . . . and the monster responsible for killing Àn’yīng’s father.

There is one hope for the future, though. The boy in the jade—Àn’yīng’s lifelong mystery guardian and heir to the last mortal Emperor—Hào’yáng. Together, Àn’yīng and Hào’yáng must join forces to rally an army that stretches across realms, from the Four Seas of the Dragons to the Phoenixes of the Golden Desert. But first she must awaken to the immortal power slumbering in her own veins.

The thrilling conclusion of The Three Realms duology
THE SCORPION AND THE NIGHT BLOSSOM • THE DRAGON AND THE SUN LOTUS

Thank you PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook and Get Underlined for the gifted book.

I’M A BIT CONFLICTED.

This might be the third time now that I feel at odds with how AWZ has ended one of her series. The first book is always SO GOOD, and here I am feeling burned a little bit. This love triangle was all over the place. I kept thinking I was supposed to be leaning one way or the other and then by the end I was confused on where I was meant to be.

It’s like I liked both of the men, and kind of had a preference but then didn’t like how it was dissolved. I don’t even know if any of this is making sense because I’m having a hard time trying to convey my issues without spoiling. There were some truly beautiful moments though!! With both of them??! I AM SO CONLFICTED Y’ALL. And I did like the FMC?? I’ve lost the plot on my own review so I’m moving on.

And I did love the audiobook narrators!! I do recommend that format if you want to read this duology.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: vague fade to black
  • Violence: moderate

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