Tag: Book blog

Book Review: Best Friends, Backups & Something More by Ranee S. Clark

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 180 pages
Author: Ranee S. Clark
Publisher: Sweetly Us Press
Release Date: August 18th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A sweet sports romance inspired by Jane Austen’s Sense & Sensibility .

If “best friends at first sight” were really a thing, Eli Dash would say that’s how his friendship with the new private school teacher, Court Edwards, began. She’s the only person who understands his determination to prove himself as the new L.A. Rays quarterback. She, and nobody else, completely relates to his drive to make everyone forget about last year’s disastrous season with his old team. She’s also stolen his heart and run off with it, faster than any running back he’s ever met.

The problem is, she’s secretly dating another teacher who also happens to be her department head. She’s completely clueless about Eli’s feelings and seems content to keep him in the friend zone forever.

For those reasons alone, Eli should take a sideline bench. Speaking up may risk their friendship, and then he could lose her altogether. But Eli Dash isn’t the sidelines type. It’s the most critical season of his life, and he refuses to let others call the shots this time—not with their happily-ever-after barely within reach. Can the new QB take them from friend zone to the end zone? Or is it game over for them both?

NEEDED DEPTH.

This was much shorter than I expected and it showed. While a cute and sweet story, I wish it would have been a regular novel length to really feel the connection between Eli and Court.

And a lot of it was filled with adults handling issues like high school drama. A bit he said/she said, not being forthright with feelings and such. Just not what I was hoping for. Eli bugged me the most as is CONTINUALLY put himself down and argued that he was a terrible football player. I get it, but also, where’s the character growth?

It’s dual POV and friends to lovers, and he falls first which were my favorites aspects. And if you are looking for something short, maybe this is for you?

I will continue my quest for sweet/closed door football romances that I would love to recommend. This one just didn’t click for me.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses

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Book Review: The Girl with No Reflection by Keshe Chow

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 496 pages
Author: Keshe Chow
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: August 6th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A young woman chosen as the crown prince’s bride must travel to the royal palace to meet her new husband—but her world is shaken when she discovers the dark truth the royal family has been hiding for centuries—in this lush fantasy debut perfect for fans of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night and Violet Made of Thorns.

Princess Ying Yue believed in love…once upon a time.

Yet when she’s chosen to wed the crown prince, Ying’s dreams of a fairy tale marriage quickly fall apart. Her husband-to-be is cold and indifferent, confining Ying to her room for reasons he won’t explain. Worse still are the rumors that swirl around the imperial whispers of seven other royal brides who, after their own weddings, mysteriously disappeared.

Left alone with only her own reflection for company, Ying begins to see things. Strange things. Movements in the corners of her mirror. Colorful lights upon its surface. And when, on the eve of her wedding, she unwittingly tears open a gateway, she is pulled into a mirror world.

This realm is full of sentient reflections, including the enigmatic Mirror Prince. Unlike his real-world counterpart, the Mirror Prince is kind and compassionate, and before long Ying falls in love—the kind of love she always dreamed of.

But there is darkness in this new world, too.

It turns out the two worlds have a long and blood-soaked history, and Ying has a part to play in the future of them both. And the brides who came before Ying? By the time they discovered what their role was, it was already too late.

Thank you GetUnderlined for the finished copy.

MAKE IT STOP.

The insta-love killed the whole vibe of this book for me. And it even happened TWICE (there’s a love triangle, you’ve been warned). I do admit that it got better in the second half but I did also let out a scoff when these passionate love confessions came out. I tried y’all.

The plot itself isn’t bad. There’s some good bones there. If the FMC, Ying, had been a little less naive about everything I would have really liked her. I kept waiting for that movie montage moment of her gaining some common sense but alas, I was left [mostly] wanting.

It is a standalone, and I know that can be a nice feature for a lot of people. I went in having high hopes and I’m left feeling meh by the journey. The audiobook was good though. I liked the narrator if you want to try out that avenue.

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low
  • Romance: heated make-outs with touching; vague fade to black
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: loss of life, war themes

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Book Review: House of Roots and Ruin (Sisters of the Salt #2) by Erin A. Craig

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: NA Fantasy Horror Romance
Length: 544 pages
Author: Erin A. Craig
Publisher: Delacorte
Release Date: July 25th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a manor by the sea, one sister is still cursed.

Despite dreams of adventures far beyond the Salann shores, seventeen-year-old Verity Thaumas has remained at her family’s estate, Highmoor, with her older sister Camille, while their sisters have scattered across Arcannia.

When their sister Mercy sends word that the Duchess of Bloem—wife of a celebrated botanist—is interested in having Verity paint a portrait of her son, Alexander, Verity jumps at the chance, but Camille won’t allow it. Forced to reveal the secret she’s kept for years, Camille tells Verity the truth one day: Verity is still seeing ghosts, she just doesn’t know it.

Stunned, Verity flees Highmoor that night and—with nowhere else to turn—makes her way to Bloem. At first, she is captivated by the lush, luxurious landscape and is quickly drawn to charming, witty, and impossibly handsome Alexander Laurent. And soon, to her surprise, a romance… blossoms.

But it’s not long before Verity is plagued with nightmares, and the darker side of Bloem begins to show through its sickly-sweet façade…

A modern masterpiece, this is a classic Gothic thriller-fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Erin A. Craig, about doomed love, menacing ambition, and the ghosts that haunt us forever.

WHOA.

Ya know, this might be why I don’t read horror books? This got a bit WILD Y’ALL. And maybe that’s totally on brand for the genre, but your girl does not read books like this often.

I had a pretty good time with it. It’s interesting. The audio was good so I enjoyed listening. I was simultaneously quirking my head at what was going on and feeling that need to know what happens next.

The ending becomes absolutely off the walls. It’s pure chaos in the best ways. I loved how it ended because it really fit the whole books vibe. I do think that it was oddly sexual. It’s definitely not a YA book. It fits more into the NA category for sure.

So I don’t know if I’d say run out and read it, but if you’re in the mood for something wholly different than your usual with an ending that will leave you feeling all of the spooky vibes, try it!

Overall audience notes:

  • NA Horror Fantasy
  • Language: a little strong
  • Romance: innuendo + one vague scene + closed door
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, medical experimentation, loss of life, near death experiences

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Book Review: The Wren in the Holly Library (The Oak and the Holly Cycle #1) by K.A. Linde

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy Romance
Length: 400 pages
Author: K.A. Linde
Publisher: Entangled
Release Date: June 4th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Can you love the dark when you know what it hides?

Some things aren’t supposed to exist outside of our imagination.

Thirteen years ago, monsters emerged from the shadows and plunged Kierse’s world into a cataclysmic war of near-total destruction. The New York City she knew so well collapsed practically overnight.

In the wake of that carnage, the Monster Treaty was created. A truce…of sorts.

But tonight, Kierse—a gifted and fearless thief—will break that treaty. She’ll enter the Holly Library…not knowing it’s the home of a monster.

He’s charming. Quietly alluring. Terrifying. But he knows talent when he sees it; it’s just a matter of finding her price.

Now she’s locked into a dangerous bargain with a creature unlike any other. She’ll sacrifice her freedom. She’ll offer her skills. Together, they’ll put their own futures at risk.

But he’s been playing a game across centuries—and once she joins in, there will be no escape…

NOT A BAD START.

I thought this got off to a really good beginning. I was intrigued, and surprised to find that this was actually an urban fantasy (which now that I’ve gone back to read the summary, I can see that, but I’m a go in blind type). ANYWAYS. As someone who usually doesn’t like urban settings, I thought this worked pretty well. I liked the dystopian dynamics of a world post monsters and how things were divided with all of the political machinations.

Kierse was a good FMC. I liked her personality and her watching her figure out where she wanted to place her loyalties. The romance kind of grew on me? I thought it went a bit fast for the plot and that we didn’t get much of Graves character until later in the story. There’s still some world building and magic system aspects that I would love to have a deeper explanations of. The middle lost me for a bit, and the last quarter things picked up again. There were some good twists that had me side eying the sequel.

I loved the audiobook and definitely have plans to continue the series.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban fantasy romance
  • Language: moderate-high
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: abusive ex-mentor (recounted, abusive father (recounted), non-consenual drugging, blood/gore depiction (mild)

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