Book Review: Please Don’t Go (The Midnight Strike #1) by E. Salvador

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Rating: ★★
Audience: New Adult Sports Romance
Length: 591 pages
Author: E. Salvador
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 12th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He felt like he was drowning.

She was about to drown.

Josefine Resendiz, is struggling to figure out her life. Between her complicated relationship with grief and not having a single clue how to feel what she can’t understand, she’s sinking and isn’t sure how to float back up to the surface.

Daniel Garcia, shortstop, a budding ray of sunshine, and potential first round pick for the MLB Draft, has life figured out. At least, that’s what everyone assumes. On the surface, he’s the embodiment of happiness and life. But beneath it all, guilt and grief have been consuming him since his brother passed away. Unsure how to deal with his feelings, he bottles them up and masks the pain of haunting reminders behind a mask of smiles.

That’s until he stumbles upon Josefine on Christmas Day. That wasn’t supposed to happen. He wasn’t supposed to be there but neither was she, at least not for long. The night evolves into something neither one of them expected and when morning comes, she’s nowhere to be found.

He can’t stop thinking about her. She wants to forget him. But fate seems to have plans for them.

Once the semester begins they find out they have a class together, and avoiding Daniel becomes hard when they’re paired to be hiking buddies. Much to Josefine’s chagrin, she likes him more than she cares to admit. And Daniel is struggling to keep everything he’s bottled up around her.

Hesitantly and unknowingly, they’re opening up old wounds they wanted to keep closed. Feeling grounded around each other. And unintentionally falling in love.

PROGRESSIVELY CHECKED OUT.

I thought this started strong and was in for an emotional romance. I also love a good sports romance so the check list was working for me. I liked the black cat x golden retriever nature of this relationship and the deeper moments that started to unfold between them. I can say there were some quiet, tender things I loved. But unfortunately, too many I didn’t.

For one, the love scenes were incredibly cringy to me. I did not like the word choices and could not flip the pages past enough to move past them. Add in the fact that in the second half alone a big chunk was dedicated to them, I lost focus and wondered if this is how this book became 600 pages.

There was some petty drama with exes that seemed overblown to the bigger underlying issues the leads were trying to tackle. I rolled my eyes one too many times. And this became repetitive alongside many other things.

I don’t have plans to continue this series.

Overall audience notes:

  • New adult sports romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 5+ open door
  • Violence: moderate+
  • Content warnings: suicide (ideation and mentions of attempts), grief and depression, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: The Slantwise Histories: Collected Stories by Alix E. Harrow

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Short Stories Collection
Length: 304 pages
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Publisher: Tordotcom
Release Date: October 20th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of The Everlasting and Starling House comes a new fantastical collection of stories about tricksters and ghosts, magics ordinary and spectacular. Alix E. Harrow spins tales never-told and seen just outside the periphery of reality–in the tradition of Angela Carter, Anne Sexton, and Carmen Maria Machado, these hauntingly resonant and defiant stories leap from the page and dance in and out of a history that never was (but could have been) and into a future startingly like our own.

Before I was a liar I was a historian, which is a kind of storyteller who doesn’t make any money and likes footnotes.

These are stories about the past as it wasn’t quite, but might have been, from ancient battlefields all the way up through roadside attractions off I-70. They’re about the people caught in the mean jaws of history: the women and workers, the soldiers and mothers, everyone shoved into the margins of the world.

But these aren’t singular tragedies―these are the stories of the ones that got away. The ones who defected and dissented, who broke the rules, who ran and tossed a match behind them. SLANTWISE HISTORIES AND OTHER STORIES collects the best known short fiction of Alix. E. Harrow, including the Hugo-award winning “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies” and for the first time in print, Amazon original titles “The Six Deaths of the Saint” and “The Knight and the Butcherbird”. Updated to reflect the author’s preferred editions, Slantwise Histories also includes “The Long Way Up”, “Roadside Attraction”, “Mr. Death”, “The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly”, “The Sycamore and the Sybil”, “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”, “The Whisper in the Weld”, “Dustbaby”, and four all-new short stories.

Thank you Macmillan Audio for the gifted audiobook.

GO FOR THE EYEBALL READ.

I had no issue with the narrators. They read this book wonderfully. My issue with doing the audiobook is that everything starts to run together. There were a LOT of short stories. And I tend to listen to one audiobook in a day and this combo made things worse. If you go for the audio definitely space it out more.

There were some stories in here that were good, one that made me absolutely bust out laughing, and others I was very bored with and skipped through. The entire vibe of the book is perfect for a spooky season read though. Many different topics, themes, and conversations throughout.

I still really enjoy Harrow’s writing and I will continue to look forward to her next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Short story collection
  • Language: some
  • Violence: high
  • Content warnings: child death, loss of life, misogyny, homophobia, sexual assault

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ARC/ALC Book Review: Mortal Things (Mortal Things #1) by Marie Lu

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Rating: ★★★.5
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Release Date: October 27th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Set in a world of insatiable immortals, their eternal rivalries, and the humans trapped between them, MORTAL THINGS is a cinematic and sweeping new fantasy from #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marie Lu, perfect for fans of Heartless Hunter and A Darker Shade of Magic.

Rose Lin Fairchild didn’t believe in gods, but one chose her anyway.

Rose despises Raven, the god of Death. His mysterious commands. His mercurial moods. His closed heart. But most of all, she loathes that she was forced to become his Harbinger, a human mercenary tasked to fulfil their god’s every want and whim. Still, she would do it again, because being a Harbinger is the only thing keeping her best friend alive.

When a murder rocks the world of the gods, Rose is suddenly thrust into the immortal realm’s spotlight as Raven’s heir. This is her chance to free her friend once and for all. But in order for her to ascend, she must first prove herself to the other gods—and the one person standing in her way is a fellow Harbinger.

Étienne Beauchard is notorious for his sly wit and charming good looks. Rose can’t stand that he is the one assigned to test her abilities, but as their initial hostility evolves into an intense attraction, they find that the gods’ secrets go deeper than they ever expected. Something is wrong in the immortal world, something that threatens to break their bond and engulf them all in war.

As Rose and Étienne fight to uncover the truth and trust each other with their hearts, they realize that everything hinges on the same How far would you go to save the person you love?

Thank you FS&G and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copy and ALC.

IT GOT BETTER?

I’m a big Marie Lu fan so I’m always jumping up and down when I get my hands on a book early. But unfortunately, this one was kind of a let down. I’m hoping with the next book I’ll feel differently.

The audiobook was great though. I had no issues with that format and liked the narrator a lot.

It took me a bit to get into because of the amount of info dumping about all of the gods, harbingers and urban setting. There is an immortal plane too so I didn’t feel like the urban setting bugged me. The vibe felt fantastical which I tend to love more often. Once I got a grasp of things I do think things felt more settled and it made me curious enough to for sure want to read the sequel.

I was hoping for a little more romance. I don’t think there was enough lead up and by the time there were love confessions I hadn’t fully gotten there myself. The age bracket I believe is young adult but it did feel older? Not a bad thing. Just another thing I noted.

It was lacking the emotional punch that I hope shows up in book two.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy + Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: a lot of conversation surrounding death

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Book Review: Immortal Rose (Immortal Rose Duology #1) by Alexandra Bracken

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Historical Fantasy Romance
Length: 496 pages
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Publisher: Avon
Release Date: August 18th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From Alexandra Bracken, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Lore, comes a stunningly original adult fantasy. Set in a sumptuous world ruled by magical perfume, this achingly romantic, slow-burn love story will shatter your heart and leave you breathless.

Members of the ancient House Rosebourne have a strange gift born of a fairy ancestor: the ability to infuse fragrance with magic capable of manipulating mind, body, and emotion.

When a shocking murder leaves the kingdom of Albion vulnerable to a coup, royal spymaster Hugh Thornton seeks the one person who can help: Viola Lockwood, the last living Rosebourne and secret heir to a fraught legacy.

Livid at the silver-eyed aristocrat who had her thrown in jail to force her compliance, Viola nevertheless comes to an agreement with him. In exchange for crafting Immortal Rose, the singular perfume capable of saving Albion, illegitimate Viola can seize the life—and fortune—that should have been hers.

As Hugh and Viola race to find the perfume’s lost fairy ingredient, hidden deep in Albion’s dark underbelly, neither can deny the scorching attraction building between them—especially as the attempts on Viola’s life grow increasingly brazen.

But a terrible truth lurks in the heart notes of their kingdom—and while every bargain has a cost, Immortal Rose may demand more than Hugh and Viola can ever pay.

Thank you to LibroFM for the gifted audiobook.

THIS WAS GOOD!

I can’t say I knew what to expect but I was pleasantly surprised how locked into this book I became. I thought the historical + fantasy vibes were working really well. The added perfume/scent based magic was cool and I found that unique to most magic systems I’ve come across recently. There’s a few world building questions I have about the *faeries* but it didn’t bug me as much as I thought it would.

I am curious how this will stretch out into a duology. I felt like with a few tweaks things could have been wrapped up well. The romance had progressed at a decent pace and I was invested in their interactions. The plot was moving too and seemed to be coming to a climax but then the addition of the *twist* towards the cliffhanger leads me to guess at how the story will expand for another 400+ pages. I’m hopeful at least.

We love when a romance gives a good slow burn. And we love when the FMC is resilient and full of perseverance. I loved the moments of banter and thought provoking statements too.

The side characters/found family were wonderful. I loved getting more tidbits about them and their presence added to the story. I loved the regency setting. The audiobook is great too! I would have loved even more chapters from Hugh. Can’t wait for book two!

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical fantasy romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: 2-3ish open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: loss of life, near death experiences, moderate blood/gore, child abuse, domestic abuse, sexual assault

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