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Book Review: Love Interest by Clare Gilmore

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 335 pages
Author: Clare Gilmore
Publisher: Griffin
Release Date: October 10th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A sparkling adversaries-to-lovers romcom set at a magazine publisher in Manhattan. When Casey and Alex are forced into proximity, they soon realize falling for each other is just as much of a risk and as it is a reward.

Casey Maitland has always preferred the reliability of numbers, despite growing up the daughter of two artistic souls. Now a twenty-four-year-old finance expert working in Manhattan, Casey wonders if the project manager opening at her company – magazine powerhouse LC Publications – is a sign from the universe to pursue a career with a little more sparkle. That is, until she’s passed over for the job in favor of the board chairman’s son.

Alex Harrison is handsome, Harvard-educated, and enigmatic. Everybody loves him – except for Casey. But when the two are thrown on the same project, they both have something to prove. For Casey, it’s getting tapped for a transfer to the London office and fulfilling her dreams of travelling. For Alex, it’s successfully launching a brand that will impress his distant father.

As work meetings turn into after hours, Casey and Alex are drawn to each other again and again, but neither can avoid the messy secrets and corporate intrigue threatening to tear them apart. What they discover about their workplace might change everything – including the dreams each of them is chasing.

LESS OFFICE, MORE ROMANCE.

That’s honestly how you can boil down this entire review. I really loved Alex and thought he was a handsome cinnamon roll. And I even enjoyed the FMC, Casey too! Both were great characters. I did like them together, I just needed more of them connecting and hanging out (without work being involved so much) to really feeeeeel this romance.

There’s A LOT of office content. Honestly some of it was even going over my head at various points because I just didn’t care. I love an office romance, but there can be too much. This was that case. I found myself skimming over those portions to get back to Alex and Casey. Casey also tended to have random inner monologue tangents that took me out of the story too.

All to say, I would read another book by this author. I know it was a debut so I’m curious to see how the growth of writing goes in another romance.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 3ish brief, low explicit open

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Book Review: The Deathly Grimm (The Forest Grimm Duology #2) by Kathryn Purdie

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 400 pages
Author: Kathryn Purdie
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: March 25th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The spellbinding sequel to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling dark fairytale, where our main characters must return to the forest—and its monsters.

The story hasn’t ended yet.

After surviving the Forest Grimm and defeating the Wolf, Clara and Axel have made it back to their village, the one place they can be safe behind the forest’s borders. But when the forest itself begins luring in more villagers, it’s clear that Clara and Axel have only treated the symptoms of the forest’s curse, not the cause—and it’s getting worse.

Burdened with visions of the past and learning to navigate her fragile new relationship with Axel, Clara finds herself entering the forest with Axel yet again to discover the truth once and for all: the identity of the murderer who caused the curse. As they fight murderous woodsmen with incomprehensible riddles, ladies who will drag you into an eternal dance, and ghosts with the power to wield the forest against them, Clara and Axel realize the stakes are higher than ever. If they don’t survive the dark, deadly twists of the forest once more, not only will they never escape, they may also no longer have a home to escape to.

Romantic, eerie, and beautiful, The Deathly Grimm is the triumphant conclusion to Kathryn Purdie’s bestselling Forest Grimm duology.

Thank you to Wednesday Books for the gifted copy.

BETTER AS A STANDALONE.

And I rarely say that, but I mean it this time.

I had a hard time getting through this one because it felt very much the same as book one. Clara goes back into the woods, meets some fairytales that have gone awry, figures out who the bad guy is (who is obvious from the start) and saves the day. Which was practically what happened the first time.

There was also a forced issue in the romance. I think it was trying to add tension, yet it didn’t come across as such. I wanted to love them and that never happened.

It was overall just a dry read. I don’t have much to say because I hardly felt anything while reading other than I was ready to be finished with this book.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: moderate

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Book Review: Things I Wish I Said by Gracie Graham

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: NA Contemporary Romance
Length: 543 pages
Author: Gracie Graham
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 29th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lung cancer patient Ryleigh Sinclair wants a boyfriend for the summer.

And my mother wants me to be the one to make her wish come true.

Me. The eternal pessimist. The guy who no longer believes in happy endings after my dad died of pancreatic cancer and my girlfriend dumped me in the same month.

But after weeks of spending time with Ryleigh, she somehow does the impossible. She fills the gaping hole of my father’s absence until I’m the one hoping for a miracle.

I’ve learned my lesson about wishes.

Happily ever afters are a lie.

Yet I’m the one wishing like hell for another outcome for Ryleigh.

I lost my father to cancer; I can’t lose her too.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

THE WAY I BINGED THIS.

For a book over 500 pages I read this at an unhinged rate because the medical anxiety it was giving me made me need to know what was going to happen next. Not to mention, Gracie Graham has such addictive writing. You want to keep turning those pages and fall in love with these characters.

I loved both Ryleigh and Grayson so dang much. There was a lot of trauma and past histories, secrets and turns that brought the unexpected. This is a drama filled book that really has you wondering where it will go next. I loved the banter and relationship between these two and the undeniable chemistry that was present from the first moment they met. Both of the character arcs with filled with a strong impact that hit me square on and I appreciated how the ending all came together.

This is a new adult book (which I loved) but I did struggle with the innuendo throughout. It was crass to me and I didn’t think wholly necessary. The intimate moments were great and worked well with the plot, it was the extra stuff that stood out. And this one does have a LOT [read that again] of language.

Overall audience notes:

  • New adult romance
  • Language: very strong
  • Romance; 2ish brief open door; low explicit + high innuendo
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: major theme is cancer (treatments, doctor’s appointments, etc.), loss of a parent from cancer, grief and depression, drug use, underage alcohol use, major car accident

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Book Review: Nightweaver by R.M. Gray

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 482 pages
Author: RM Gray
Publisher: Merlin’s Pen Publishing
Release Date: October 13th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Violet Oberon had never stepped foot on land.

Six hundred years after the Nightweavers claimed human lands for their own, the ocean is a haven for seventeen-year-old Violet and her family. Notorious pirates of the Western Sea, the Oberon clan are undefeated in battle—until an Underling murders Violet’s brother, and she discovers there are monsters more fearsome than the Nightweavers that have taken them captive.

When the son of a wealthy Nightweaver shows Violet and her family mercy, offering employment at his estate rather than enslavement, Violet vows not to forget that he is everything she hates. But as she adjusts to her new role as a kitchen maid at Bludgrave Manor, she finds that hatred is a curious thing. Arrogant, entitled, right hand to the wicked prince, William Castor might be the key to avenging her brother-and reclaiming her freedom.

But mercy always comes with a price. As Violet hunts the Underling responsible for her brother’s death, dark secrets threaten to unravel everything she thought she knew about the Nightweavers, herself, and her world. Torn between family loyalty and a chance at revenge, the cost of learning the truth about her brother’s murder could be her life.

STARTED STRONG.

I genuinely went in with the best of hopes for this one. And the first 40% were solid. I was intrigued by the magic system and world and all things pirates. A burgeoning romance was upon the pages and things seem settled for an amazing read.

And then I thought some aspects went downhill. The rest of the book was in one location and I needed more movement. There was also a lot of world building and magic explanations that felt info-dumping because we didn’t really see those in action. Having the book only in one place stopped a lot of expansion opportunities.

Then we had the love interest disappear for a bit on his own adventure which left the progress there become stagnant. I still don’t know if I like them together honestly. It does appear there will be a second book? I don’t have plans to pick it up though.

The last 25%ish picked up with some good twists and reveals. The villain monologues went on a bit but I was surprised by some scenes. I think I’m most obsessed with Captain Shade who absolutely needs his own POV.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high

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