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Book Review: The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion: Vol. 7 (The Unselected Journals #7) by Beth Brower

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Historical Romance
Length: 313 pages
Author: Beth Brower
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: August 27th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

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.

UNHINGED.

Y’all. I love this series with my whole heart and am so grateful it was put on my radar from bookstagram friends. These are GEMS. Every dang one of them. This is my favorite of the series (so far, I am saddened I’m now caught up).

I adore Emma. I love how much these make me laugh and smile. I love how much my heart feels squeezed and feet kicking giddy. There’s such incredible subtlety to every move made in the plot and I love watching it all slowly take place and seeing Emma grow.

I love the entire cast. Seriously, not one poorly crafted character. I am charmed, I am giddy and I beg of you to pick up these books.

Overall audience notes:

  • Historical Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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Book Review: Mile High (Windy City #1) by Liz Tomforde

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Sports Romance
Length: 603 pages
Author: Liz Tomforde
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 7th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Zanders

Chicago hockey isn’t complete without me—everyone’s favorite player to hate. I know my role, and I play it well. In fact, I thoroughly enjoy spending the majority of my game time in the penalty box before leaving the arena with a new girl on my arm each night.

What I don’t like is the new flight attendant on our team’s private plane. She works for me, not the other way around. But I’ll be sure to remind her of that, and I can guarantee, by the end of the season, she’ll be begging to quit her job.

But every road trip blurs the lines, and I can’t quite figure out if I keep pushing that flight attendant call button in order to push her buttons or if it’s more than that.

Stevie

I’ve been a flight attendant for years. I thought I’d see it all, but when my new job lands me onboard working for the most egotistical and self-righteous diva in the NHL, I start to second guess everything. Including the promise I made to myself of never hooking up with an athlete again…no matter how annoyingly tempting he may be.

Evan Zanders is unfiltered, unapologetic, and too attractive for his own good. He loves his image, but I hate everything about it.

Everything but him.

TOOK ME BY SURPRISED.

Here I am, reading every sports romance I can get my hands on. I’ve been holding off on picking this one up because of the spice, BUT I will say, why spicy (and I did skip a lot), the plot did outweigh that for me. I really loved the core of this story and the character growth throughout.

I am obsessed when the guy falls first, and the guy falls HARD. Enter Zanders who absolutely could not leave Stevie alone. Love that for him. I loved his bad boy, but actually a sweetheart persona and I loved that Stevie would take no crap from him, but also worked through her personal body issues.

I didn’t love that this had a one night stand trope *shrugs*. That’s a me thing but I stand by it. I did love the mental health conversations, all of the shelter dog content and of course, the hockey games too. I loved the audio and look forward to book two!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 5+ open; high explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: many conversations surrounding body image/weight issues, parental abandonment, mentions of anxiety/panic attacks, psychologically manipulative mother

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ARC Book Review: Sunday Supper by K. Sinko

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 321 pages
Author: K. Sinko
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: September 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

It’s fall in New York, arguably the most beautiful time to be in the city, but Bella Russo doesn’t care. After experiencing the unthinkable three times in a row, she gave up on everything, and her husband packed his bags and left.

Thick in the fog of her disappointment, Bella takes a series of DNA tests to find out what’s wrong with her. Little did she know one of her tests would reveal a dark family truth: her grandfather had a secret family, and she has an uncle she never met.

Even though Bella spends every Sunday supper with her family at her Nonna’s deli in Little Italy—famously known for her iconic meatballs—they never told her the truth. Could she trust them to tell her now?

When she researches her uncle, she finds out he owns several restaurants, so she visits one. Her uncle isn’t there, but instead, she ends up butting heads with the executive chef Wyatt Henderson. He’s a little too pretentious for Bella’s taste, and yet, Wyatt is obviously close with the uncle she never knew. Before she fully comprehends what she’s doing, she befriends Wyatt to get her answers.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

SMITTEN.

Oh this book took over my evening. And then suddenly it was 1 AM and I was puddle finishing this beautiful story. I loved the way two difficult topics (mentioned in the content warnings below) were handled. The honest and hard conversations were had with raw human emotion and a clear strength of soul.

And let me tell you, this book screams FALL IN NEW YORK. I’ve honestly never had big designs on going to NY but this book might have just convinced me. The setting is beautifully landscaped and had me wishing I was wearing a sweater right now.

THE ROMANCE. Gosh. This is how you write that instant kind of connection. There’s a fantastic slow burn with immediate chemistry. I was all for Bella and Wyatt from the get-go. These two souls who feel so broken about some deep things in their lives and how they finally found that person who seems them as a whole.

There was just the right level of family drama too. I was intrigued and drawn into this family. I loved the journey. I loved this book. Read it!!

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: 2 open door scenes; low explicit
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: erectile dysfunction, miscarriage (recurrent theme), cheating (FMC’s ex-husband), brief physical altercation, grief and depression

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ARC Book Review: Serpent Sea (The Spice Road Trilogy #2) by Maiya Ibrahim

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Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: YA Fantasy
Length: 512 pages
Author: Maiya Ibrahim
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Release Date: September 17th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Get swept away by the sequel to the instant Sunday Times bestseller Spice Road! In this romantic, action-packed fantasy set in an Arabian-inspired land, Imani and Taha must save their home from an invasion after the magical enchantment that hid them from the world is defeated.

Imani is a magic-wielding warrior sworn to protect her land from the monsters that roam the desert. But an even worse enemy now threatens the Sahir. As the powerful Harrowlanders march south with their greatest weapon—spice magic—Imani knows it’s only a matter of time before their invasion of her land begins . . . and it will be a losing battle for her people.

But Imani also knows that one way to fight magic is with monsters. If she can restore Qayn’s stolen powers, together they can summon a supernatural army to defend the Sahir from the Harrowlanders. Forming an alliance with a djinni king is risky, but Imani will do anything to save her people, even embarking on a dangerous quest beyond the sands to find the magical jewels of Qayn’s lost crown.

As Imani journeys far from home, she will discover monsters that warriors have only heard about in myths . . . monsters that can strike at any moment. Meanwhile, her rival, Taha, has been captured and is on a dangerous mission of his own.

One wrong move could cost them their lives—and everyone they love. But they may find that there is more than meets the eye crossing the Serpent Sea . . . and betrayal cuts deeper than any dagger.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, critically acclaimed author Maiya Ibrahim dives into the complexities of love and war in her richly imagined Arabian-inspired fantasy.

Thank you GetUnderlined for the gifted ARC.

MIXED THOUGHTS.

This genuinely started strong. After being mixed about book one I was hopeful this would rise to the occasion, and it did…for a bit. The beginning had me intrigued and I love this whole cast of characters. There’s a good found family quality and Imani is a strong FMC. I can easily cheer her on and I liked seeing the growth in her character. I also loved having Taha’s POV too. It was a solid contrast to Imani’s journey and getting to see what was happening in other parts of the world too.

The middle took a veer of a sub story that I was bored by. I am still puzzling out why it was added as it didn’t fully connect back into the main story. Maybe it does in book three? I don’t know. The hunger games-esque moment felt out of place amongst the rest of the book. I do think the magic system is interesting and mapped out well. I love that I can understand what’s happening amongst the spices and tea and monsters.

You may see this called romantic. It is not. And that was a big letdown for me too. There IS ROMANCE, but it is maybe 10% of the story. I would have loved to see more development in this arena because I thought it was going to play a bigger role.

I’ll still read the third book because I am intrigued enough and the last quarter picked up some necessary speed. I am very curious how everything will come together.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content Warnings: loss of life, brief torture, weapons violence

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