Tag: Book Review

Book Review: These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows #1) by Lexi Ryan

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA/NA Fantasy Romance
Length: 464 pages
Author: Lexi Ryan
Publisher: HMH
Release Date: July 20th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From New York Times best-selling author Lexi Ryan, Cruel Prince meets A Court of Thorns and Roses in this sexy, action-packed fantasy about a girl who is caught between two treacherous faerie courts and their dangerously seductive princes.

Brie hates the Fae and refuses to have anything to do with them, even if that means starving on the street. But when her sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie court to pay a debt, she’ll do whatever it takes to get her back—including making a deal with the king himself to steal three magical relics from the Seelie court.

Gaining unfettered access to the Seelie court is easier said than done. Brie’s only choice is to pose as a potential bride for Prince Ronan, and she soon finds herself falling for him. Unwilling to let her heart distract her, she accepts help from a band of Unseelie misfits with their own secret agenda. As Brie spends time with their mysterious leader, Finn, she struggles to resist his seductive charm.

Caught between two dangerous courts, Brie must decide who to trust with her loyalty. And with her heart.

READ IT.

Did I think I would be saying that when I started reading this book? No. BUT Y’ALL. Let me convince you to read it too.

THV has been touted as an ACOTAR/TCP (The Cruel Prince) mash-up. I know this may be a bad thing to some, but for me it made me love it allllll the more. Many books claim to be like those classic fae reads, and I love that this one ACTUALLY DELIVERED on that fact. It gives all the vibes you could hope for, with being its own story, and that’s what I’m here for.

Hello a love triangle I can handle. This was written beautifully. Even if I made my pick once the second love interest came onto the page, I still felt drawn both ways. I had to yell a few times at the book of course, but by that ending, all things became clear and I will not hear further commentary and WHO BRIE SHOULD BE WITH.

I loooove the strong sister bond here too. Brie is a fierce force of nature who will do whatever she needs to do in order to save her sister. I love her passion and strength. Those closing scenes had me fist pumping at her bad-a self and I can not wait to see her revenge in the next book.

There’s gossipy goblins and curses. Twists and turns with plenty of action. Soft and subtle moments that will bring the swoon. Goodness, I just adored this book.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA/NA Fantasy Romance
  • Language: a little
  • Romance: kisses to brief open door
  • Violence: physical and magical altercations
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, loss of parents and loved ones, indentured servitude, poisoning, near death experiences

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Book Review: The Gods of Men (The Gods of Men #1) by Barbara Kloss

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: New Adult Fantasy Romance
Length: 452 pages
Author: Barbara Kloss
Publisher: Self-published
Release Date: June 26th, 2018
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Sable hated the gods. She hated what men did in their name.

Magic is forbidden throughout the Five Provinces; those born with it are hunted and killed. Sable doesn’t know her music holds power over souls—not until, at age nine, she plays her flute before the desert court and accidentally stops her baby sister’s heart, killing her. Horrified by what she’s done and fearing for her life, she flees north, out of Provincial jurisdiction and into the frigid land of exiles and thieves, known as The Wilds. There, Sable lives in hiding, burdened by guilt, and survives as a healer. But now, ten years later, someone—or something—is hunting her.

On the run again, Sable’s best chance for survival is Jos, a lethal man from the Five Provinces, who claims to need her skills as a healer to save his dying father, and she needs the large sum of money he’s offered. There’s something about him Sable doesn’t trust, but she doesn’t have many options. A spirit of the dead is hunting her, summoned by a mysterious necromancer, and it’s getting closer.

Sable soon discovers she’s just the start of the necromancer’s plan to take over the Five Provinces, and she’s the only one with the power to stop it. But harnessing her forbidden power means revealing it to the world, and the dangerous Provincial, Jos, she’s beginning to fall for.

BETTER AND BETTER.

Off to a slow and confusing start, I wasn’t sure where the hype from my friends had come. If felt dropped into a story without a basis for the location, world or magic system which left me really lost for awhile. Once I started to figure things out, we were good to go!

The romance brought on the heat (in a low steam way) as things progressed. I love the spicy kissing scenes and the clear pull between Sable and Jeric. Oh my goodness did I adore Jeric. He’s that dark and brooding type with a heart that gets softened by Sable and I AM HERE FOR IT. All of their interactions and banter made me love this book all the more.

The magic here is wild and I’m still a little confused by it. There doesn’t seem to be a full explanation for it so far, but I did at least establish how it works [mostly]. The world is also a touch confusing too. Yet again though, it did get better over time.

I like that this had a villain I didn’t see coming. My initial choices were there own brand of awfulness. I like the unreliableness of those kind of characters. It also doesn’t leave you on a major cliffhanger. The Gods of Men reads like a full story, there’s enough strings untied though where I’m saying I MUST HAVE BOOK TWO.

Overall audience notes:

  • Young adult/New adult fantasy romance
  • Language: a little throughout
  • Romance: kisses, heated make-outs (with clothing removed)
  • Violence: physical, magical, murder, creature attacks
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of loved one(s), multiple instances of implied sexual assault/rape, sexual assault, attempted rape

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Book Review: The Off-Limits Rule (It Happened in Nashville #1) by Sarah Adams

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: New Adult Contemporary
Length: 291 pages
Author: Sarah Adams
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: January 4th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

I have found rock bottom. It’s here, moving in with my older brother because I’m too broke to afford to live on my own. But that’s okay because we’ve always been close and I think I’m going to have fun living with him again.

That is until I meet Cooper…

Turns out, my brother has very strong opinions on the idea of me dating his best friend and is dead set against it. According to him, Cooper is everything I should stay away from: flirtatious, adventurous, non-committal, and freaking hot. (I added that last part because I feel like you need the whole picture.) My brother is right, though. I should stay away from Cooper James and his pretty blue eyes. He’s the opposite of what I need right now.

Nah—Who am I kidding? I’m going for him.

A MUST READ.

But really. A one sitting, absolutely loved every moment, kinda read. Sarah Adams best book [yet]. I LOVED IT SO MUCH.

Honestly, I feel like that should be the review. Just trust me. But, I’ll give you more.

I haven’t read many brother’s best friend trope books and this one nailed it. From the moment Cooper and Lucy meet, their chemistry flew off the charts. The sexy and fun banter was *chef’s kiss*. The antics they got into literally had me laughing out loud multiple times. I never laugh at books. This one brought out all the chuckles. I really fell for both of these characters and what they brought to the relationship. Everything was so tender and precious and I just want to read this book again for the first time. That’s my level of appreciation for this story.

The supportive family and friends was a wonderful change of pace. I like how those surrounding Lucy loved and cared for her throughout some difficult situations. Even when Cooper entered the picture, he never made her feel less and y’all, *swwwwooooooonnn*.

If you’re looking for a beautifully wonderful low steam (no outright love scenes, open or closed), give you all the fuzzy feelings kinda read. THIS IS IT. It brought me out of a slump I didn’t even know I was in and let me enjoy a fantastic romance for a few hundred pages. Oh this was the best.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses / make-outs; implied scene at the very end

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ARC Book Review: Never Saw You Coming by Erin Hahn

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Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: YA Contemporary Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Erin Hahn
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Release Date: September 7th, 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Raised by conservative parents, 18-year-old Meg Hennessey just found out her entire childhood was a lie. Instead of taking a gap year before college to find herself, she ends up traveling north to meet what’s left of the family she never knew existed.

While there, she meets Micah Allen, a former pastor’s kid whose dad ended up in prison, leaving Micah with his own complicated relationship about the church. The clock is ticking on Pastor Allen’s probation hearing and Micah, now 19, feels the pressure to forgive – even when he can’t possibly forget.

As Meg and Micah grow closer, they are confronted with the heavy flutterings of first love and all the complications it brings. Together, they must navigate the sometimes-painful process of cutting ties with childhood beliefs as they build toward something truer and straight from the heart.

In Erin Hahn’s Never Saw You Coming, sometimes it takes a leap of faith to find yourself.

Thank you to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for an eARC.

I LOVED THIS.

Hahn’s books are only getting better and better. Oh wow did I love this. My favorite of her books so far.

I am a religious person so I wasn’t sure how I would feel reading this. But the way that many important topics were discussed and approached made me tear up and want to hug this book. It hit home in many ways and honestly strengthened how I feel in my spirituality. It’s okay to question. It’s okay to love. It’s okay to find what works best for YOU. I may not 100% agree with every little thing in this book, but faith is handled differently by each of us and no two experience life the same way.

The absolutely precious first love romance between Micah and Meg had me grinning from ear to ear. IT WAS SO CUTE. I loved it. They truly hit it off and I couldn’t get enough of their open conversations and meaningful dialogue about their struggles and triumphs. Even better, there wasn’t some wildly dramatic conflict between them. The conflict lied elsewhere and I could shout for joy about how that was handled.

NSYC had me hooked from the first chapter. I read it in a day because I needed more more more. The characters were flawed and beautiful. I ended up loving the themes of faith and the essence of human nature versus God himself. It wasn’t a book of belittling, it was a book of hope and growing up. Being resilient in the torrent of trials and leaning on what matters to you most.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Contemporary Romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: kisses to heated make-outs; some implied closed door scenes
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: brief mentions of suicide and self harm, an incarcerated father, loss of a parent by drunk driving

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