Book Review: Holiday Heist (Wayfair Witches #11.5) by A.A. Albright

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Paranormal cozy mystery
Length: 237 pages
Author: A.A. Albright
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: November 21st, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

This is a standalone cozy mystery novel, set in the Wayfair Witches world. It can be enjoyed without having read the Wayfair Witches series.

A holiday heist, a powerful child, and a parolee Melissa can’t stand the sight of? It sounds like a recipe for a very Merry Solstice.

The Nemo Foundation’s kids are planning some Solstice shenanigans, but Melissa has no idea what their hijinks might entail. She’s far too busy figuring out why an emaciated wizard was drained by a harpy, and trying to keep a young weredog out of jail. Plus, the Queen of the Faeries has promised three miracles this holiday season – and in order for those three miracles to pass, Melissa must learn to trust someone she hates.

ALL THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT.

This book just shouted HAPPY HOLIDAYS, and I loved it. All the Christmas-time vibes with some magical miracles really melted my heart.

I love that this story had quite a bit of Will in here. I’ve always loved his character and I really needed and appreciated getting more of him in this book. Especially with Melissa. The focus on forgiveness was tender and fit this story perfectly.

This really is the last story [right now?] for this series. It’s a side story that didn’t have a murder mystery this time, but a mystery all the same. We got to know more of the members of Nemo and the great work that Melissa and Miles are accomplishing for and with them.

Heartwarming and a delightful read. I’m glad I took the time to read these side stories as well. They truly only added to the whole Wayfair Witches series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal cozy mystery
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: magical, kidnapping

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ARC Book Review: Don’t Hate the Player by Alexis Nedd

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Alexis Nedd
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Release Date: June 1st, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

By day, Emilia is a field hockey star with a popular boyfriend and a mother obsessed with her academic future. But by night, she’s kicking virtual ass as the only female member of a highly competitive eSports team. Emilia has mastered the art of keeping her two worlds thriving, which hinges on them staying completely separate.

When a major eSports tournament comes to her city, Emilia is determined to prove herself to the male-dominated gaming community. But her perfectly balanced life is thrown for a loop when a member of a rival team—Jake—recognizes her . . .

From an exciting new talent, this sweet and charming YA romance will win the hearts of gamers and non-gamers alike.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC. All opinions are my own!

ADORABLE GAMER ROMANCE.

It’s been a minute since I’ve read a book with virtual gaming at the forefront and I’ve missed it! This was a solid read that was quick to fly through and definitely had me smiling by the end.

Emilia was a strong heroine. Intelligent and geeky, with the perfect amount of snark and boldness. I loved her inner monologue. Em’s character felt high school appropriate, but not in the over dramatic way that can be too much. She’s a high schooler figuing it out. The pressure of parents wanting the best for her, wanting to choose something that’s only hers and finding her niche in the world. I love that Emilia was able to acknolwedge her mistakes and understand how she could improve. It was even better when she had that last tough conversation with her Mom and her parents understood her even better too. I love a good family chat.

Jake, bless his heart. He was SO DANG CUTE. Put him and Em together and it was the gamer romance I didn’t know I needed. They were adorable. I loved anytime Em and Jake were on the same page. The support and compassion was fantastic. No unnecessary miscommunications here. Just some great kissing scenes and young love flirtations.

My only eh thing was that sometimes the gaming aspects took up a lot of page time. Pages dedicated to very specific gameplay and breakdowns. I wanted more of the real-life characters over an extended play by play of the game.

All of the side characters were so fun and well rounded. They only added to the book and were perfectly placed throughout. Everything about this read was pretty fabulous. I found myself flying through it. The ending was great and worked out exactly like I hoped it would!

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult contemporary romance
  • Language: some
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: racism, sexism, sexual harrassment of a minor, divorce, cheating (main characters + Jake’s parents), transphobia, doxxing, cyber-bullying

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Book Review: All Hallowed Out (Wayfair Witches #11) by A.A. Albright

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Length: 273 pages
Author: A.A. Albright
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: October 25th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Halloween is coming to Riddler’s Cove. And this year, it might just last forever …

Wanda and her coven are looking forward to the holidays. Unfortunately, a dangerous spell is in the works, and in order to see it through, witches are being put to sleep or being murdered, without a clear connection between them all.

With the help of a hyperactive familiar, Wanda and the gang need to track down the novel which began it all. But with all the copies quickly disappearing, and the book’s writer in a deep sleep, their task is a difficult one. And if they can’t stop the spell in time, the world will never be the same again.

Will Berry, now imprisoned in Witchfield, might well be the only one who can help. But only if they can bring themselves to trust him …

A FITTING ENDING.

Y’all. I did it.

I read this entire series during the fall season and it fit perfectly. In addition to the book review I want to add a touch of a series review too. I just loved these characters, how within the murder mystery of each installment there were bigger pieces being moved. The sweet romance and friendships. Cute talking animals, a great setting. I can’t wait to read Albright’s other series because this is definitely a favorite. I rarely stick with and read all the books in a series in such a short time period, these continually kept me entertained.

Now to the book, I love how this ending worked out. It was fitting and gave a certain character the redemption arc I needed to see for them. The mystery had me guessing the entire way through with its twists and turns. It flew by so quickly and I’m sad it’s over!

I love Wanda. I love Max. I love Dizzy, Melissa, Wanda’s family and coven, Finn, and oh my goodness everyone. These characters continue to do what they do best and make this series what it is. A hidden gem that I will definitely continue to recommend if you’re looking for a cozy paranormal mystery.

Overall audience notes:

  • Paranormal cozy mystery
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: murder

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Book Review: The Strom Crow (The Storm Crow #1) by Kalyn Josephson

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Rating: ☆☆☆
Audience: Young adult fantasy
Length: 352 pages
Author: Kalyn Josephson
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release Date: July 9th, 2019
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the tropical kingdom of Rhodaire, magical, elemental Crows are part of every aspect of life…until the Illucian empire invades, destroying everything.

That terrible night has thrown Princess Anthia into a deep depression. Her sister Caliza is busy running the kingdom after their mother’s death, but all Thia can do is think of all she has lost.

But when Caliza is forced to agree to a marriage between Thia and the crown prince of Illucia, Thia is finally spurred into action. And after stumbling upon a hidden Crow egg in the rubble of a rookery, she and her sister devise a dangerous plan to hatch the egg in secret and get back what was taken from them. 

A YA FANTASY BOOK.

A simple tagline for my main thought throughout this book. It was neither good nor bad. I just felt it was very typical for young adult fantasy. And since I’ve read a lot of them, I didn’t experience anything new.

Not to mention, my ship doesn’t seem to be sailing like I planned and that is always a let down. Especially because, another love triangle? YUP. Not even one I can get behind. One second they were sitting there talking, the next kissing out of nowhere. Ah, I’m so for the other guy.

I did like Anthia as the main character. The clear depiction of grief and depression resonated with me and while I didn’t always love how it was addressed, I overall thought it was well written in these regards.

The writing is engaging as well and I did read it very quickly. It is extremely trope-y and you’ll notice multiple of them. I’m not sure how much happened here because it mostly focused on this one crow, and that was it. In addition to the handful of things I didn’t love, I would have appreciated some more side character back story to help bring this book to life.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: very little, light
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: murder, fires, magic, physical altercations, swords/arrows
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: PTSD, depression, grief

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