Tag: audiobook

Book Review: Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 356 pages
Author: Makiia Lucier
Publisher: Clarion Books
Release Date: April 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From acclaimed author Makiia Lucier, a dazzling, romantic fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology.

In the old tales, it is written that the egg of a seadragon, dragonfruit, holds within it the power to undo a person’s greatest sorrow. An unwanted marriage, a painful illness, and unpaid debt … gone. But as with all things that promise the moon and the stars and offer hope when hope has gone, the tale comes with a warning.

Every wish demands a price.

Hanalei of Tamarind is the cherished daughter of an old island family. But when her father steals a seadragon egg meant for an ailing princess, she is forced into a life of exile. In the years that follow, Hanalei finds solace in studying the majestic seadragons that roam the Nominomi Sea. Until, one day, an encounter with a female dragon offers her what she desires most. A chance to return home, and to right a terrible wrong.

Samahtitamahenele, Sam, is the last remaining prince of Tamarind. But he can never inherit the throne, for Tamarind is a matriarchal society. With his mother ill and his grandmother nearing the end of her reign. Sam is left with two to marry, or to find a cure for the sickness that has plagued his mother for ten long years. When a childhood companion returns from exile, she brings with her something he has not felt in a very long time – hope.

But Hanalei and Sam are not the only ones searching for the dragonfruit. And as they battle enemies both near and far, there is another danger they cannot escape…that of the dragonfruit itself.  

ENJOYED.

This was a great, quick read. I loved the Moana x How to Train Your Dragon vibes. It’s a fun adventure filled with sea dragons, pirates, and a good old fashioned quest. I loved the world and how the magic system with the dragons worked.

It’s a really great standalone and truly in the young adult category. I think many would enjoy it. I needed a bit more character depth and just something else. Not upset at all I picked it up though.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none-low
  • Romance: flirting
  • Violence: moderate

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: May 2025

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May was a rough one y’all. Almost gave a book one star and had THREE two star books which is generally underheard of for me. Two were new to me authors so at least I tried some new authors??

Some of these reviews are already out and others will be out in the future!

  • Broken Souls and Bones (Stonegate #1) by LJ Andrews
  • [ARC] The Enemy’s Daughter by Melissa Poett
  • What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon
  • To Steal from Thieves (Thieves & Kings #1) by M.K. Lobb
  • Watch Me (Shatter Me: The New Republic #1) by Tahereh Mafi
  • The Things We Water by Mariana Zapata
  • [ARC/ALC] Cruel is the Light (Cruel is the Light #1) by Sophie Clark
  • Silver Elite (Silver Elite #1) by Dani Francis
  • As You Ice It (Appies #7) by Emma St. Clair
  • [ALC] Not Safe for Work by Nisha J. Tuli
  • Even if It Hurts (Huntley Square #1) by Molly Barlowe
  • [ARC/ALC] The Knight and the Moth (The Stonewater Kingdom #1) by Rachel Gillig
  • [ARC/ALC] Rules for Ruin (The Crinoline Academy #1) by Mimi Matthews
  • [Short Story] The Six Deaths of the Saint (Into Shadow #3) by Alix E. Harrow
  • The Geographer’s Guide to Romance (Love’s Academic #2) by India Holton
  • The Long Way Home (Magnolia Parks Universe #3) by Jessa Hastings
  • A Curse Carved in Bone (Saga of the Unfated #2) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • The Q by Beth Brower
  • [ARC] The Friendship Fling by Georgia Stone
  • A Guarded Heart by Heidi Kimball
  • All We Lost Was Everything by Heidi Kimball
  • Enchanted Kingdom (Enchanted Kingdom #1) by Tricia Wentworth
  • [ARC/ALC] The Beautiful Maddening by Shea Ernshaw
  • Scot and Bothered by Alexandra Kiley
  • Rewind it Back (Windy City #5) by Liz Tomforde
  • Love Sick by Deidra Duncan
  • Caught Stealing (Southern Sports Sweethearts #1) by M.J. Padgett
  • [ARC/ALC] A Forgery of Fate by Elizabeth Lim
  • Can’t Get Enough (Skyland #3) by Kennedy Ryan
  • [ARC] The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
  • [ARC] Call of the Loon by K. Sinko
  • The Floating World (The Floating World #1) by Axie Oh
  • It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan

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Book Review: Old Flames and New Fortunes by Sarah Hogle

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Sarah Hogle
Publisher: G.P. Putnam
Release Date: April 2nd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A steamy second-chance romance about a magical florist’s unexpected reunion with her high school sweetheart as she fake dates his soon-to-be stepbrother.

A small, magical town tucked away in rural Ohio, Moonville is the perfect place for flora fortunist Romina Tempest to expand her shop, where she uses the language of flowers to help the hopeful manifest their love lives. After giving up on her own big romance eleven years ago, at least she can bask in the promise of others’.

So, when the shop’s potential financier shares news of his wedding, Romina jumps on the opportunity to discuss buying the business. What better place to negotiate a deal than at a wedding, even if she has to fake-date her chaotic colleague Trevor to get an invitation? But all hell breaks loose when she discovers Trevor’s soon-to-be stepbrother is none other than Alex her high school sweetheart. Her greatest love. The boy who, eleven years ago, broke her heart, and who now thinks she and Trevor are dating. 

What starts as an innocent misunderstanding becomes a week-long fake dating scheme, as Romina resolves to make Alex pay for breaking her heart. The only issue? She can’t deny their still-burning connection. Caught between proving to Alex what he lost, and coming clean and risking her business, Romina must decide whether giving Alex another chance means going back on herself, or finally releasing her hold on the past.

CUTE AND QUIRKY.

I enjoyed this one so much. I loved all of the flower content and the whole plot set-up. The magical realism was at just the right level to add to the story without overwhelming it. This was a good second chance romance that brought some heated tension and angst, and some solid jealousy moments too.

There’s a lot of quirky side characters and sub plots that made me laugh. This book balanced not taking itself too seriously while covering some heavier topics too. There was a lot to work through for Romina and I loved where she landed in the end.

I thought a big third act full of nonsense was on the horizon, but pleasantly it was handled really well and with meaning. Unfortunately afterwards the last quarter of the book dragged on too long. I think things could have been wrapped up quicker with the same emotional hit.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: grief from a break-up that also involves a child

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Book Review: Watch Me (Shatter Me: The New Republic #1) by Tahereh Mafi

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: NA Dystopian Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Tahereh Mafi
Publisher: Storytide
Release Date: April 15th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Lose yourself in this exhilarating return to the #1 global bestselling Shatter Me universe, the first book in a new series set ten years after the fall of The Reestablishment.

James Anderson had a plan. Or half of one. All that matters is that he managed to do what his older brother, the famous Aaron Warner Anderson, never did: infiltrate Ark Island, the last refuge of The Reestablishment. In the past decade no outsider has breached the stronghold of the authoritarian regime, but James is in. In a prison cell, sure, but as far as James is concerned, a win is a win.

It’s been ten years since the fall of The Reestablishment. Ten years since the notorious duo — Juliette Ferrars and Aaron Warner Anderson — led a worldwide rebellion and established the New Republic of the West. But after a decade of unsettling quiet, The Reestablishment is ready to make a devastating move, and they have the perfect person for the job.

Rosabelle Wolff had a plan. She always has a plan. On Ark Island, where constant surveillance is packaged as security, even emotions must be experienced with caution. A trained assassin, her every movement is monitored by synthetic intelligence—and when she’s given an order to kill, she never hesitates.

Brimming with pulse-pounding action and torturous romance, Watch Me is an explosive journey through a dystopian landscape where enemies-to-lovers has never felt more impossible. Step into a beloved and breathtaking world that demands an answer to a desperate question—

Who are we when no one is watching?

THE JOY THIS BROUGHT ME.

Oh my gosh did I love reading this book so dang much. I had no idea how I would feel about this spin off series and it delivered. NOW, I will say, this is not a series to ponder every single page and break it down. Enjoy the ride, the drama, the banter and the family. Speaking of found family, I highly recommend reading the original Shatter Me series first to get a full understanding of the characters and world. This is set 10 years later and I think my basis of the previous series helped me enjoyment level for this one.

I loooved the banter and chemistry between James and Rosabelle. I love that he’s the sunshine character and the interactions between them set me of every time. They are a hoot. I love the push and pull and waiting to see who’s going to betray who and when all the secrets will come out. I liked that there was enough information here to turn the pages but that there’s plenty more to uncover as the series goes on.

And I loved seeing all of my favorites again. GOSH I MISSED THEM.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Dystopian Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: almost kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: torture, starvation and lack of food

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