ARC Book Review: Check Mate (Under Kansas Skies #3) by Leah Brunner

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 300 pages
Author: Leah Brunner
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: July 1st, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

How did I find myself sharing a tent with my obnoxious—albeit gorgeous—neighbor, Isabella Romero?

It all started with a stupid bet.

All I had to do in order to win was something unpredictable. (Which my brother thought was impossible for the ever-boring David Windell).

Well, I showed him… by booking a trek in the Andes Mountains to see Machu Picchu.

When the brochure for the expedition mysteriously appeared on my front porch, along with Isabella’s cat who doesn’t have boundaries, it was like fate interceded: I could win the bet while simultaneously getting a vacation from my irritating neighbor.

Two birds, one stone.

Except, it turns out that was Isabella’s brochure… and she booked the same trip.

So here I am, stuck sharing a tent with the woman who drives me crazy—and makes my heart race like never before.

Check Mate is book three in the Under Kansas Skies Series, but can be read as a standalone. Check mate is a dual POV, closed-door romcom. It contains mild language and innuendo.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

THIS WAS SWEET!

Sometimes what you need is a fast paced contemporary romance and I feel like this mostly delivered in that department.

I adored the opposites attract vibes between Isabella and David. It’s not enemies in anyway. Just two people creating some laugh out loud neighborly pranks between each other before realizing how much they actually care about one another. It’s mega sweet and I loved seeing David come out of his shell. This also gave me major wanderlust as someone who is very much like David with a resistance and hesitancy towards big adventures.

Isabella was the perfect balance. I loved that she was a travel blogger and it was a career field I don’t see explored often in the contemporaries I happen to pick up. She has an amazing sense of who she wants to be and standing up to her Mom was the cherry on top.

My issue with a lot of this read was the depth. It is SO FAST that I felt like I was missing something. I wanted deeper explorations of everything. The main characters, side characters, maybe a good sub-plot or two. Anything to increase my connection with the story as whole. I kept feeling like the chapters were cutting off really quickly and moving on to complete new scenes without steady pacing.

This is another good installment to the series though. The conflict was truly natural and not overdrawn and gosh dang it do I love a sappy grand gesture ending. I was grinning hard at those closing scenes.

And I anxiously await getting my hands on the next brother’s story because I know I’m going to love it!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: emotionally manipulation from a parent

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Book Review: Witchshadow (The Witchlands #4) by Susan Dennard

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 464 pages
Author: Susan Dennard
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: June 22nd, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Susan Dennard’s New York Times bestselling, young adult epic fantasy Witchlands series continues with Witchshadow, the story of the Threadwitch Iseult.

War has come to the Witchlands . . . and nothing will be the same again.

Iseult has found her heartsister Safi at last, but their reunion is brief. For Iseult to stay alive, she must flee Cartorra while Safi remains. And though Iseult has plans to save her friend, they will require her to summon magic more dangerous than anything she has ever faced before.

Meanwhile, the Bloodwitch Aeduan is beset by forces he cannot understand. And Vivia—rightful queen of Nubrevna—finds herself without a crown or home.

As villains from legend reawaken across the Witchlands, only the mythical Cahr Awen can stop the gathering war. Iseult could embrace this power and heal the land, but first she must choose on which side of the shadows her destiny will lie.

BORDERLINE.

I enjoy this series, I do. And I read a lot of fantasy. This is one of those fantasies that I’m on book four and still feel turned around half the time about the world building and who’s doing what and where. It feels borderline genius or convoluted. And I flirt with that line every other chapter. Which is why my rating is lower. While an enjoyable book, the density of everything can be hard to grasp.

The complexity of the characters and their arcs are something I liked in this installment. There was SO MUCH going on. Honestly not very many dull moments. The continual rotation of point-of-view keep the action moving and the pace steady. Iseult definitely saw the most growth and I love that this book focused more deeply on her story. I did miss some of the general relationships (friendship and romantic) that have been brought up in previous books. Everyone was kind of on their own for most of this one.

I’m curious enough to keep reading the next book in the series. I have plenty of questions and I know the writing will be as great as always. It’ll be interesting to see how this series ends!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: very little
  • Violence: physical altercations, magical/elemental magic, murder, loss of loved ones

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Book Review: Daughter of No Worlds (The War of Lost Hearts #1) by Carissa Broadbent

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 520 pages
Author: Carissa Broadbent
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: January 7th, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Her life for freedom. Her blood for love. Her soul for vengeance.

Ripped from a forgotten homeland as a child, Tisaanah learned how to survive with nothing but a sharp wit and a touch of magic. But the night she tries to buy her freedom, she barely escapes with her life.

Desperate to save the best friend she left behind, Tisaanah journeys to the Orders, the most powerful organization of magic Wielders in the world. But to join their ranks, she must complete an apprenticeship with Maxantarius Farlione, a handsome and reclusive fire wielder who despises the Orders.

The Orders’ intentions are cryptic, and Tisaanah must prove herself under the threat of looming war. Even more dangerous are her growing feelings for Maxantarius. The bloody past he wants to forget may be the key to her future… or the downfall of them both.

But Tisaanah will stop at nothing to save those she abandoned. Even if it means gambling in the Orders’ deadly games. Even if it means sacrificing her heart.

Even if it means wielding death itself.

I WANT MORE.

OH yes, I have found a new fantasy series to read!!!!!

This was so good y’all. I have been struggling to find a good book that kept my attention the whole way through and this was that breakthrough. I was into it from the start and loved the path it took.

My only small tidbit is the first part could have been shortened just a bit. I did love that there was actual time for Tisaanah to learn the language, more about her power, and the area she was in. It just felt a little too long initially. But yay for a character who didn’t wake up one day and master everything. We love progression!

MAX. I will protect that man at ALL COSTS. Oh my goodness. He was easily my favorite character and I was stoked when his POV showed up. I am smitten with this multi-layered man who desperately needs a hug. The romance plot between Max and Tisaanah was the perfect kind of slow burn. I loved getting to watch a true connection build between them and it was the SWEETEST. Which was much needed with the themes of the rest of the plot.

It’s a hard read with tough subjects and the pain kept coming. I appreciate that it doesn’t end on a cliffhanger. Though I easily was thinking, GIVE ME THE NEXT BOOK. Stay tuned.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: one open door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: mentions of rape, sexual assault, kidnapping, slavery, torture, possession, loss of loved ones, battle themes, physical and magical altercations, whipping, near death experiences

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Book Review: Fudge and Jury (A Bakeshop Mystery #5) by Ellie Alexander

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Cozy Mystery
Length: 304 pages
Author: Ellie Alexander
Publisher: St. Martin’s Paperbacks
Release Date: January 3rd, 2017
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Welcome to Torte—a friendly, small-town family bakery where the pastries are delicious…and, now, suspicious.

It’s almost spring in Ashland, Oregon, and the town is preparing for the Shakespeare and the annual Chocolate Festival. Business is cookin’ at Torte, and the store is expanding as Jules’ team whips up crèpes filled with mascarpone cheese and dark chocolate. Torte stands a chance of being this year’s confectionery belle of the ball! Life couldn’t be sweeter—unless murder taints the batter.

Evan Rowe, of Confections Couture, makes a chocolate fountain that would put Willy Wonka to shame, and his truffles are to die for—literally? Yes, the world-renowned chocolatier has just turned up dead…right after sampling a slice of Jules’ decadent four-layer chocolate cake. Now all eyes are on Jules as she tries to find the mysterious ingredient in her own recipe. Can she sift out the truth before another contestant bites the buttercream?

ALL THE CHOCOLATE.

This book made me intensely crave everything related to chocolate. I need to find a local chocolatier and get some because YUM. Still one of my favorite things getting all of the recipes at the end!

I liked this one (even if the 3 stars may appear otherwise). It was a good mystery, I really wasn’t sure who the murderer was until closer to the end. I think Alexander does a solid job on keeping the reader enough in the dark to keep pursuing the story.

Am I the only one who loves Thomas more than Carlos?! I think if Carlos can’t bother to stay, then why not let things move on? I feel like that’s where the plot is going, and I know it’s a long series, but I do wish the pace for this moved a little quicker. A couple can work together to solve mysteries too!!

The other sides plots are charming and I can’t wait to see how those further develop too. With her Mom’s story, and Jules’ friendship with Lance, the new additions to the bakery and more. I really love this series as a palate cleanser between denser books. They’re well written and incredibly charming.

Overall audience notes:

  • Cozy mystery
  • Language: none
  • Romance: none
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: death by anaphylactic shock, attempted kidnapping, assault

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