Tag: audiobook

Book Review: Burning Crowns (Twin Crowns #3) by Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy Romance
Length: 457 pages
Author: Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Release Date: May 7th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Twin queens Rose & Wren survived the Battle for Anadawn and brought back magic to their kingdom. But danger lurks in Eana’s shadows.

Wren is troubled. Ever since she performed the blood spell on Prince Ansel, her magic has become unruly. Worse, the spell created a link between Wren and the very man she’s trying to forget: Icy King Alarik of Gevra. A curse is eating away at both of them. To fix it they must journey to the northern mountains—under the watchful guard of Captain Tor Iversen—to consult with the Healer on High.

Rose is haunted. Waking one night to find her undead ancestor Oonagh Starcrest by her bed, she receives a warning: surrender the throne—or face a war that will destroy Eana. With nowhere to turn and desperate to find a weapon to defeat Oonagh, Rose seeks help from Shen-Lo in the Sunkissed Kingdom, but what she finds there may break her heart.

As Oonagh threatens all Rose and Wren hold dear, it will take everything they have to save Eana–including a sacrifice they may not be prepared to make.

BEST OF THE BUNCH.

I haven’t been a WILD FAN about this series, but I have genuinely increasingly enjoyed each book in this series. Holy cow though y’all, this last book brought it as is easily my favorite. A fantastic conclusion that had everything I needed and reminded me why I love young adult fantasy books so much. This writing duo aced it.

I loved Rose and Wren. I have loved seeing their character growth over the story and how much they have risen to their individual callings. There’s strength in their souls and the unfailing loyalty and love they have to each other. These are the kind of sister books that squeeze my heart. I loved this relationship so much.

Other relationships I enjoyed were the romances!!! Gosh I felt like I was in a chokehold the entire time. For romances to be perfectly drawn out over three books is an impressive feat and this truly accomplished that goal. I still felt giddy every time our pairs (each sister has a romance) glanced each other’s way and those lasting moments of love confessions made me WEAK Y’ALL. ABSOLUTELY WEAK.

I felt like everything came together and wrapped up it should. I loved how the villain was taken down, how the romances worked out and where the ending scenes landed. Beautiful series, I can’t wait for more from these two!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: vague fade to black
  • Violence: moderate-high

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Book Review: An Improbable Season (Unexpected Seasons #1) by Rosalyn Eves

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Historical Romance
Length: 352 pages
Author: Rosalyn Eves
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: April 25th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

For fans of Bridgerton, a YA Regency romance by Rosalyn Eves about three teenage girls, their big dreams, and a London Season gone awry.

When Thalia, Kalliope, and Charis set off to Regency London for their first Season, they each have clear goals–few of which include matrimony. Thalia means to make her mark among the intelligentsia and publish her poetry, Charis hopes to earn her place among the scientific elite, and Kalliope aims to take the fashionable ton by storm. But this Season, it doesn’t take long for things to fall apart. Kalli finds herself embroiled in scandal and reliant upon an arranged marriage to redeem her reputation, Thalia’s dreams of publication are threatened by her attraction to a charming rake, and Charis finds herself an unexpected social hit–and the source of a family scandal that her heart might not survive. Can this roller-coaster Season find its happily ever after?

An Improbable Season is a voicy, swoony regency drama about falling in love–with another person, with new opportunities, and with yourself.

GREAT DRAMA.

This book had a wonderful balance of drama without feeling over the top. I think the Bridgerton vibes were on point and I liked the entire book. Honestly I would have loved even more to have separate books for each character because I enjoyed each story so much and having even deeper background exploration would have been awesome.

I liked that each romance had a unique perspective and plot. It was easy to keep everyone separate and enjoy each point of view change. It was cute and I especially loved the sister relationships. They weren’t this easy going, not accurate portrayal, but a lovely realistic story that I could completely get behind.

There’s good character growth and finding your passion and paths. I liked seeing each woman overcome their mistakes and find what works best for them. I look forward to seeing who the next book will focus on!!

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Historical Romance
  • Language: little
  • Romance: kisses; light innuendo
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: The Last Word by Katy Birchall

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 384 pages
Author: Katy Birchall
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: May 2nd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A young journalist puts her career––and her heart––on the line when her former work nemesis is hired in her newsroom, for fans of The Hating Game and Beach Read .

Harper Jenkins is at the top of her game. A brilliant, determined journalist with a well-known knack for getting tight-lipped Hollywood stars to open up to her, Harper loves her job as Celebrity Editor at a newspaper’s glossy weekend magazine and has the best contacts in the business.

But when her awful boss hires talented reporter Ryan to be the new Features Editor, Harper is furious. Because the two have met a decade ago, they were interns at the same publication, where they fell into a whirlwind romance…until Ryan betrayed Harper, and they never spoke again.

Thrown together in a busy newsroom, their dynamic is a disaster from the start. They can’t agree on anything and bicker constantly―Ryan can’t bear how chaotic and messy Harper is; Harper finds Ryan’s condescending nature infuriating. They clash over who’s writing what article, and fight over who’s going to which event.

Yet as they’re forced to spend more and more time together, Harper realizes she may have misjudged Ryan and can’t help but feel a spark growing between them. Long buried feelings start to resurface and, when they’re thrown together on a romantic press trip abroad, their chemistry comes to a head.

But all is fair in love and magazines, and with the news that layoffs across the department are imminent, Harper is left to who will get the last word?

NOPE.

I became increasingly frustrated with this book the longer it went on. There was a reprieve in the middle for a bit where I felt like things were finally jiving and then it lost me all over again.

I hate cheating that can clearly be circumvented in books. And you can tell me multiple reasons why it’s “fine” and it will still bug me. I didn’t like it and wish the FMC of all people would have thought better.

Ryan was occasionally fine. He was pretty sweet and I liked seeing his emotional side too. Some of the flashback moments were cute.

History repeating itself did not work for me. Nor did the poor enemies to lovers banter. It was childish and a bit stilted.

I enjoyed the authors previous book but now I’m hesitant to pick up the next. We’ll see.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: fade to black
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: cheating (main couple), brief mention of death of a loved one

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ALC Book Review: The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Cozy Fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: July 9th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The Spellshop is a cottagecore cosy fantasy following a woman’s unexpected journey through the low-stakes market of illegal spell-selling and the high-risk business of starting over . . .

Kiela has always had trouble dealing with people, and as librarian at the Great Library of Alyssium, she hasn’t had to.

She and her assistant, Caz, a sentient spider plant, have spent most of the last eleven years sequestered among the empire’s precious spellbooks, protecting the magic for the city’s elite. But a revolution is brewing and when the library goes up in flames, she and Caz steal whatever books they can and flee to the faraway island where she grew up. She’s hoping to lay low and figure out a way to survive before the revolution comes looking for her. To her dismay, in addition to a nosy—and very handsome—neighbor, she finds the town in disarray.

The empire with its magic spellbooks has slowly been draining power from the island, something that Kiela is indirectly responsible for, and now she’s determined to find a way to make things right. Opening up a spell shop comes with its own risks—the consequence of sharing magic with commoners is death. And as Kiela comes to make a place for herself among the quirky townspeople, she realizes that in order to make a life for herself, she must break down the walls she has kept so high.

Perfect for fans of Travis Baldree and TJ Klune, The Spellshop is a romantic and cosy fantasy.

Thank you to Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

OH SO COZY.

I love a great cozy fantasy and this was definitely it. The audiobook was my favorite and I loved that format, highly recommend!

This had a lovely set-up. I liked the coastal small town, and how tight knit the entire community was. There was a cute bakery and quirky characters and I feel like this really hit the nail on the head for how cozy fantasy is supposed to feel. I liked the simple nature of the plot and how much depth we got from the characters.

The little sub-plot romance was super sweet too. It had great push and pull with just a little bit of tension. I loved how they came together and worked together to keep their town safe. This was wholesome and gosh I was very much in love with the cottage vibes. And Caz?? A sentient plant?? Stop it right now, I loved him. These are the kinds of things I love seeing in books like this. Such a gem.

Overall audience notes:

  • Cozy Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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