Tag: Book blog

Book Review: Mortal Queens (The Fae Dynasty #1) by Victoria McCombs

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A dark red background with a black crown and gold crown over the background. The book title Mortal Queens by Victoria McCombs is written in gold.

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 320 pages
Author: Victoria McCombs
Publisher: Enclave Publishing
Release Date: February 1st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

“They vanish without a trace, disappear into the night . . .

Each year on the center island, one girl is chosen to be the next Mortal Queen of the idolized fae. The mortals praise these lucky girls, but their daughters are never seen again.

The fae realm is eternal night, where disputes are settled by chess matches, power is acquired through the most devious kinds of trickery, and seven illusive kings roam. The fae hide their faces behind masks and guard their glass hearts to keep them from shattering. But beyond the veil of this luxurious paradise, a dark secret simmers, for their Queens have disappeared.

When aspiring artist Althea is selected, she is desperate to avoid the same mysterious fate. With no one to trust, she conceals messages in paintings and receives anonymous replies from a stranger who slowly reveals the tale of a girl who outwitted the fae. Only if she is clever enough will Althea survive the fate of the Mortal Queens. As long as the king who cannot love does not claim her first.”

PRETTY GOOD.

I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting take on fae and their world. I liked seeing how the magic system was working and how the curse was put into place. It’s an intriguing idea that helped keep the pace going. There’s a decent amount of world building, though I’d hope for more as the series continues because I

Althea was a good FMC. I liked that she was unlikeable and had a buuunch to learn. Occasionally she was a bit too immature for me, and by the end I’m still not actually quite sure how I feel. There’s definitely room for growth in book two.

I liked the romance, its sweet and a nice slow burn. I think this book is more geared towards a younger YA (which is completely fine, just mentioning). I’m curious how the series will progress.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate

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ARC Book Review: Secret or Shutout (D.C. Eagles Hockey #4) by Leah Brunner

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Hockey Romance
Length: 321 pages
Author: Leah Brunner
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: March 27th, 2025
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A 6’5 NHL goalie walks into a bar and meets the love of his life…no, this isn’t the start of a bad joke.

I had a chance encounter in a dimly lit bar that led to an earth-shattering kiss with a beautiful stranger.

But then the next morning my world is rocked again–when I walk inside my team captain’s house and see her.

Farrah Remington isn’t a mysterious stranger after all, she’s the little sister of my captain and best friend. A woman firmly off limits to anyone on the D.C. Eagles.

Now, I have to pretend that kiss never happened. But the more I see Farrah, the hotter our chemistry burns, and the stronger our connection grows–until we can’t resist each other any longer.

Sneaking around isn’t ideal, but what my team captain doesn’t know won’t hurt him (or piss him off in the middle of the Stanley Cup playoffs).

I’m with my dream girl and my team is sailing through playoffs…until the truth comes out.

Now my team captain hates me, I can’t keep pucks out of my net to save my life, and the woman I love won’t speak to me.

Can I save my relationship, my friendship, and enough goals to help the D.C. Eagles finally win the Cup…or will I get shut out of Farrah’s life forever?

Secret or Shutout is a dual POV, fade-to-black romance that can be read as a stand alone. This work of fiction contains mild language, depictions of PCOS, infertility, and divorce. If you are sensitive to these subjects, please use this content warning to make an informed decision about reading this book.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

MY HEART CAN’T HANDLE.

Oh my gosh this was everything I wanted and MORE. I could not put it down and why would I? IT WAS PERFECT. But I’m also a mess because this series is over and how I adored it with every fiber of my being. D.C. Eagles are one of my favorite sports teams ever now.

Bruce and Farrah have immaculate chemistry. Burning up my kindle and begging for them to kiss already. I loved how their opposite natures played off of each other and the softness that Bruce showcased with Farrah. Gosh this book was swoony y’all. And the medical content (check content warnings below) was handled in a respectful, real, and tender way. It breaks your heart and gives you hope, because differing emotions can exist at the same time.

Don’t even get me started on seeing all of my loves from previous books. It’s all fantastic. I’m obsessed with this team. I love the banter and the way they take care of each other. Can I please have a girl group like this too??? There’s a sense of healing reading this book.

I’m an emotional puddle and can’t beg you enough to pick up this series. THANK YOU.

Also excuse me, that jersey moment? IYKYK.

Overall audience notes:

  • Hockey Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: PCOS (ruptured ovarian cysts and surgery involved), infertility, divorce (recounted)

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Book Review: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 8 (The Unselected Journals #8) by Beth Brower

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Fiction
Length: 339 pages
Author: Beth Brower
Publisher: Rhysdon Press
Release Date: December 3rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

“Strange, considering it all now after a night’s sleep, that I’d had no premonition of what awaited. That seems to be the nature of life, however. Things that ought to come with warnings rarely do.”

The Year is 1884 and Emma M. Lion has, at long last, gained her majority. Entering a golden age of friendship with Pierce, Islington, and Hawkes, Emma is confident she will manage whatever comes her way. It is The Season she must help Arabella secure a husband, while navigating the threat of Aunt Eugenia, the unflagging adoration of Charles Goddard, and the amusing unpredictability of St. Crispian’s. But the secrets of her trusted friends are what might very well bring about disaster.

Emma M. Lion offers up her Unselected Journals, however self-incriminating they may be. Armed with wit and a sideways amusement, Emma documents the curious realities of her life at Lapis Lazuli House.

Readers have compared The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion to Jane Austen, P.G. Wodehouse, L. M. Montgomery, and Jean Webster.

DID I SURVIVE?

Because I’m pretty sure this book finished me. Oh my gosh I LOVE THIS SERIES SO MUCH. PLEASE READ IT. It is clever and humorous and deeply felt through every emotion. The friendships are something I can’t even describe. One of the best representations of found family I have, and will ever, read.

I adore Emma so much. I love that seeing the subtle changes to her character as this series goes on. And don’t even get me started on Pierce, Islington and Hawkes. Of which I would deep dive into every single one of them if this wasn’t a review for book eight and I refuse to ruin anything for anyone. Let’s just say I have thoughts and bless anyone who listens to my marco polo’s at this point.

THE WAY I NEED VOLUME 9.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical fiction
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: mild
  • Content Warnings: mentions of child abuse and attempted murder (recounted), physical altercations

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Book Review: Valley Verified by Kyla Zhao

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Author: Kyla Zhao
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: January 16th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

When a fashion writer dives headfirst into the cutthroat Silicon Valley tech world, her future threatens to unravel in this addictive novel by Kyla Zhao, author of The Fraud Squad.

On paper, Zoe Zeng has made it in New York’s fashion world. After a string of unpaid internships, she’s now a fashion columnist at Chic, lives in a quaint apartment in Manhattan, and gets invited to exclusive industry events.

But life in New York City isn’t as chic as Zoe imagined. Her editor wants her to censor her opinions to please the big brands; she shares her “quaint” ( small) apartment with two roommates who never let her store kimchi in the fridge; and how is she supposed to afford the designer clothes expected for those parties on her meager salary?

Then one day, Zoe receives a job offer at FitPick, an app startup based in Silicon Valley. The tech salary and office perks are sweet, but moving across the country and switching to a totally new industry? Not so much. However, with her current career at a dead end, Zoe accepts the offer and swaps high fashion for high tech, haute couture for HTML. But she soon realizes that in an industry claiming to change the world for the better, not everyone’s intentions are pure. With an eight-figure investment on the line, Zoe must find a way to revamp FitPick’s image despite Silicon Valley’s elitism and her icy colleagues. Or the company’s future will go up in smoke—and hers with it.

BORING.

Oh my goodness I wouldn’t have even picked this up if it wasn’t gifted to me because blehhhhh. First, if you think this is a romance, it is not. There are some kisses but the relationship is poorly built and told instead of shown.

There were some good themes and discussions surrounding many facets of fashion, tech, etc. But I feel like it was poorly executed. The conversations seemed forced and inauthentic and this came off more like everything was being shoved in my face rather than a natural inclusion to topics that absolutely should be discussed.

The characters also provided a large disconnect for me. I didn’t care what happened to anyone and the FMC seemed to go backwards rather than forwards. Some of her actions and thoughts in the later half of the book made me incredibly frustrated.

I might have given this two stars but I never hit that “hate reading” point. Nothing set me off so badly that I was rage reading, I just didn’t care what was happening either.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fiction
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: misogyny, fatphobia, body shaming and sexual harassment

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