Book Review: Out With the Tide (Never Harbor #2) by Julie Olivia

April 3, 2026April 5, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 353 pages
Author: Julie Olivia
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 28th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

This isn’t her idea of home, but she’s quickly becoming mine.

I’m Never Harbor’s neighborhood best friend. Along with being the middle child in a loud family of seven, I’m accustomed to being everything to everyone. But after moving into my new townhouse by the sea, my world has suddenly grown too quiet.

But then she moves back to town.

Marina Starkey is my landlord’s daughter with nowhere to go. She needs a place to stay for the summer, and thankfully I’m just the kind of guy to offer.

Hello there, new roommate.

She’s gorgeous and cheeky with a stubbornness that matches my own. (Don’t get me started on the shared bed situation.) Summer days pass in soft touches and afternoon swims, and my heart sinks deeper with every stroke.

I’m not a temporary fling kind of guy, and Marina has no intention of staying past the summer.

She doesn’t want to fall in love with her hometown, and I’m basically Mr. Never Harbor himself.

But my home is quickly becoming wherever I’m with her.

THIS AIN’T IT.

After really enjoying the first book in this series I have no idea why this one fell completely off the rails??? I wanted to love it and there were definitely some good and charming scenes but the extreme lack of character and plot consistency ruined this for me.

Cassidy is an absolute sweetheart and made me smile throughout the book. I liked his optimistic nature and the way that he took little notes on the people he loves to remember their favorite things. It was kind and heartfelt.

Marina on the other hand couldn’t decide what she wanted to be. She hid unnecessary information, ran away instead of having one conversation and seemed clueless at times when her education would have led me to believe otherwise.

And then the whole relationship was very physically focused. It kind of became the only thing about them. Add in a plot that never made sense and this one lost me.

I’m hoping book three is better???

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance
Language: strong
Romance: 4+ open door
Violence: low

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

ARC/ALC Book Review: The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst

April 2, 2026March 25, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Cozy Fantasy
Length: 384 pages
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Delacorte
Release Date: March 31st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

After a devastating heartbreak, a teen girl decides to spend her summer helping her eccentric great aunt manage her quaint Vermont inn–but this fixer-upper is hiding a magical secret–in this cozy and irresistable new fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop.

Sixteen-year-old Calisa is desperate for a change of scenery after her lying ex ruins her perfect Brooklyn summer. When her parents suggest she head to rural Vermont to help her great-aunt run her cozy bed and breakfast for a few months, she jumps at the chance.

But when Calisa arrives at the B&B, she’s shocked to find a rundown inn with only a handful of guests. And to make matters worse, upon meeting with her great-aunt it quickly becomes clear that Calisa was not invited. Auntie Zee is determined to keep anyone from messing with her beloved inn…even if it is clear she needs the help.

To earn her keep, Calisa sets to work fixing up the inn, enlisting extra help from the groundskeeper’s (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the more it becomes evident that there is something strange about the B&B—and its residents. Something almost…otherworldly.

The inn is keeping a magical secret—but to protect the place she’s come to love, Calisa must unravel the truth of it, and her aunt, before it’s too late.

Thank you PRH Audio for the gifted audiobook and Get Underlined for the gifted copy.

NICE AND COZY.

One of these days I might give a five star to a cozy fantasy but at least I’m still overall liking them. I’m continuing to enjoy SBD’s writing style and the themes she adds to her stories.

The pacing was my only issue here. I think I just really like an edge to my fantasy books. But if you’re someone who’s all in with cozies, don’t miss this one. I appreciate that it is good for a young adult audience and kept themes in the same tone. I liked seeing Calisa work hard and be open to the ideas and world around her. She’s caring and well-meaning and found an escape by staying at the Inn.

I liked the soft romance and personality of Jack was just right. He’s so dang sweet and I adored watching them figure things out together. I’m glad that Jack got his moments for his character arc too. The family dynamics worked for me and I think the push and pull between Calisa and Auntie Zee made sense. They had to butt heads a lot to break down some walls and find a way to reconnect.

All of the characters who stayed at the inn were charming and added a delightful little touch throughout. I loved the idea of the different realms converging at the inn and the importance of having a place to rest.

Overall audience notes:

YA Cozy Fantasy
Language: low
Romance: kisses
Violence: mild

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: March 2026

April 1, 2026 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Oh it’s so nice to be outside more before it gets way too hot to do so. I read many books, check them out!

The Sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin
[ALC] In Time with You by Kristin Dwyer
The Mirror Game (The Blood and Water Saga #5) by Cassidy Clarke
An Accidental Marriage (The Gentlemen’s Gamble) by Deborah M. Hathaway
Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl #1) by Matt Dinniman
Her Hidden Fire (Her Hidden Fire #1) by Cliodhna O’Sullivan
In Her Own League by Liz Tomforde
The Determined by Rachel Rueckert
Meet Me Under the Lights by Cassie Miller
Heart of Mischief (Soul of Shadows #2) by Emma Noyes
We Danced Among Shadows (Meadowbrook Ranch #2) by Ashley Dill
First Down and Forever to Go (River Foxes #1) by Leah Dobrinska
[ARC/ALC] This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying #1) by Ilona Andrews
[ARC] Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen
Carl’s Doomsday Scenario (Dungeon Crawler Carl #2) by Matt Dinniman
[Reread] Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas
[ARC] Could’ve Fooled Me (Georgia Jaguars #1) by Jenny Proctor
Heir of Illusion (Verran Isles #1) by Madeline Taylor
[Novella] Everybody’s Favorite Guy by Katherine Center
The Housemaid (The Housemaid #1) by Freida McFadden
[Non-Fiction] Spark by John J. Ratey, MD
Dawn of the North (The Ashen #3) by Demi Winters
What Echoes in the Dark (What Bloom from Death #2) by S.M. Gaither
[ARC/ALC] The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst
[Reread] Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas
[ARC] We Are Never Getting Together by Janette Rallison
Drive Me Crazy by Lizzy Dent
[Novella] When Fate is Cruel by LJ Andrews
The Night We Met (Say You’ll Remember Me #2) by Abby Jimenez
Drop Shot (The Off Court #1) by Vai Denton
Scars Beneath a Serpent’s Scales (The Fatesworn Saga #1) by Nicole Platania
How to Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh
[ARC] Until Next Summer by Allison Ashley

Instagram || Goodreads || The StoryGraph

Book Review: The Ragpicker King (The Chronicles of Castellane #2) by Cassandra Claire

March 27, 2026April 3, 2025 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★.75
Audience: Fantasy + Romance
Length: 480 pages
Author: Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Tor
Release Date: March 4th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the epic follow-up to the New York Times bestseller Sword Catcher, praised by George R. R. Martin as “everything I look for in fantasy,” Lin and Kel must chart a perilous course between love and lies.

Kel Saren, body double to Conor, crown prince of the dazzling city of Castellane, is caught between two worlds. In order to protect his beloved prince, Kel must find the culprits responsible for a massacre at the royal palace—and the only clues are held by the Ragpicker King, the notorious criminal who rules Castellane’s underworld. The trail Kel follows leads back to the Hill, where among decadent nobles and glittering parties a dark conspiracy to destroy the royal family has taken hold—a conspiracy headed up by the monstrous Artal Gremont, the man engaged to marry the woman Kel adores.

Meanwhile, Lin Caster must face the aftermath of the greatest risk she’s ever taken. To save the life of a dying friend, Lin has falsely claimed to be the Goddess Reborn, the legendary heroine destined to save her people. Now the terrifying—but strangely magnetic—leader of her people has arrived to test her powers. The price of failure is exile, and only through her alliance with the Ragpicker King can she continue to access the magic that may save her.

Then Prince Conor reappears in her life, demanding that she use her healing powers to cure the madness of his father, the King. Lin soon realizes the King is gripped by an ancient and terrible magic, one whose lure she cannot deny any more than she can deny her growing passion for Conor.

As the simmering tensions in Castellane reach a fever pitch, Lin and Kel must decide who to trust when any false move means death—or worse.

BETTER THAN THE FIRST.

Well here we are. I actually didn’t expect myself to pick this book up so soon after release (or maybe even at all) but a few reviews found their way to me and I decided to give it a go. And I do think it is an upgrade from book one. Being settled into the general plot, world and characters helped this book move much more smoothly and I realized I was more invested as the pages went on.

Do I think it still dragged quite a bit? Yes. And some of the politicking lost me as well. I do love the complicated character dynamics and all of the choices that lead to some devastating consequences. I’m also intrigued by the romances and where those will continue to go too.

So yeah, I’ll keep reading this series.

Overall audience notes: