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Book Review: Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Magical Realism Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: September 12th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Legend goes that long ago a Flores woman offended the old gods, and their family was cursed as a result. Now, every woman born to the family has a touch of magic.

Sage Flores has been running from her family—and their “gifts”—ever since her younger sister Sky died. Eight years later, Sage reluctantly returns to her hometown. Like slipping into an old, comforting sweater, Sage takes back her job at Cranberry Rose Company and uses her ability to communicate with plants to discover unusual heritage specimens in the surrounding lands.

What should be a simple task is complicated by her partner in botany sleuthing: Tennessee Reyes. He broke her heart in high school, and she never fully recovered. Working together is reminding her of all their past tender, genuine moments—and new feelings for this mature sexy man are starting to take root in her heart.

With rare plants to find, a dead sister who keeps bringing her coffee, and another sister whose anger fills the sky with lightning, Sage doesn’t have time for romance. But being with Tenn is like standing in the middle of a field on the cusp of a summer thunderstorm—supercharged and inevitable.

NOPE.

I wanted to enjoy this, I really did, but this entire book just felt ANGRY. Which then made me angry and then I wanted it to be over quick. I thought that the main character spent so much energy being upset over so many aspects of her life that it was draining her and that made it a pill to read.

There were some moments of the romance that I liked and parts of the second half were better than the first. But nothing stands out as truly something I enjoyed. I didn’t understand why some of the side plots were there. I don’t think the witchy/magic system played into the story well. And now I’m ready to move on to another book and not think about this one again.

Overall audience notes:

  • Magical Realism Romance
  • Language: strong
  • Romance: 2-3 open door
  • Violence: moderate
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: Threats of revenge pornography, domestic abuse recounted, parental abandonment, death of a parent/sibling recounted

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ARC Book Review: Pictures of You by Emma Grey

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 416 pages
Author: Emma Grey
Publisher: Zibby Books
Release Date: November 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

If you knew then what you know now, would you make the same choices? Imagine having a second chance with the one you never forgot.

From the author of the global breakout bestseller The Last Love Note comes the story of a young woman struggling to piece her life back together in the wake of a tragic accident, and the man who gives up everything to help her.

When Evie Hudson wakes in an unfamiliar hospital room, she thinks she’s fresh out of a teenage party with her best friend, Bree. Except, Bree isn’t around anymore and high school was years ago. Evie had just survived the crash that killed her husband, Oliver—whom she can’t remember either. After suffering a traumatic loss of memory, she’s left to connect the dots. But how?

Drew, a promising photographer whose chance encounter with Evie unravels the elusive details of her marriage and her husband’s death. As Drew watches Evie stitch the story of her life together, secrets emerge that might shatter both of their worlds.

This tangled second-chance romance leads Evie to question every decision she ever made. This time around, she’s seeing all the things she missed–and the life she gets to choose…again.

Thank you Zibby Books for the gifted ARC.

HOLY TWIST.

This book took me on a JOURNEY. I’m quite confident this is my new favorite book involving amnesia. I usually struggle with the handling but this hit all of those spots so well. The romance was angsty and filled with incredible tension as you start to unravel Evie’s life and what memories she is missing.

The flashback sections were exactly what I was hoping for. Adding in the notes to build those reveals at the end. If you think you can guess EVERY single place this book will go I am impressed because I was blindsided plenty.

I loved the intensity of feelings, the themes of forgiveness, and just how complicated the cycle of abuse can be. There’s many moments that squeeze your heart and make you yearn for that elusive HEA.

My one little 1/2 star issue was that the ending was a bit abrupt. I was hoping for something else to close off a few things.

But anyways, two books in and I’m an official Emma Grey fan girl.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Romance
  • Language: low – moderate
  • Romance: closed door
  • Violence: low
  • Content Warnings: abuse is the main theme (mainly psychological and emotional), loss of a parent (cancer), grief depiction, mentions of suicide ideation

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Book Review: Wanted: A Roommate Who Isn’t Evil (High Court of the Coffee Bean #3) by Jennifer Kropf

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy
Length: 280 pages
Author: Jennifer Kropf
Publisher: Winter Publishing House
Release Date: October 16th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The High Court of the Coffee Bean returns with a battle of wills and wit as two sworn enemies find themselves facing their worst nightmare—each other.

In this “enemies-to-brothers” humorous fantasy, two dangerous fae who hate each other sign a contract to share an apartment without realizing who their new roommate will be. One is Dranian Evelry, former assassin of the Brotherhood of Assassins. The other is Luc Zelsor, a deadly nine tailed fox more powerful than nearly any fae from the Dark Corner of Ever.

With several binding rules in their roommate contract such as, “No loud noises” (which means they’ll have difficulty trying to kill each other) and “No large messes” (which means once one finds a way to kill the other, they’ll need to discreetly dispose of the body) the two enemies find themselves trapped in a close quarters situation with only one to try and live together until the three-month agreement runs out, unless one of them can force the other to break the contract and be kicked out of the apartment for good by management.

Thus a battle of wills begins as two fae on opposite sides of the fairy wars try to make the living accommodations unbearable for the other.

But Dranian has another problem, one he must hide from his new roommate. Whenever he falls asleep, his nights become haunted by a voice of his past, belonging to a girl who was never given a name. As she enters his nightmares and gets closer and closer to taking control of his dreams for good, Dranian is forced to remember key things about the North Corner forest village he grew up in – a place he swore never to think about again – and the girl he once gave everything for who has now returned to haunt him forever.

Dranian knows there’s only one solution to keeping the girl with no name out of his Never fall asleep again.

Thank you to the author and Book of Matches Media for the gifted copy.

A GOOD SET-UP.

This was a very short read (230ish pages) and felt like a nice filler book before book four. I loved seeing the beginnings of Dranian and Shayne’s future romances and all the things that are happening in their lives. It was great having their POV’s including Luc’s!! I love a villain arc and seeing how a character has a whole different dynamic than you expected.

There’s the same quality that have been in the previous two books that have me utterly charmed. I love the urban fantasy and how quirky all of the fae are about all the earth things. It makes me chuckle every time and the writing is just so fun.

Not upset I took a chance on this series and can’t wait to continue it with the next book.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban Fantasy
  • Language: low
  • Romance: not really any but hints at future
  • Violence: low – moderate
  • Content Warnings: anxiety attacks

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ARC/ALC Book Review: The Courting of Bristol Keats (The Courting of Bristol Keats #1) by Mary E. Pearson

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 512 pages
Author: Mary E. Pearson
Publisher: Flatiron
Release Date: November 12th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Mary E. Pearson comes a thrilling romantic fantasy full of dangerous fae, dark secrets, and addictive romance.

After losing both their parents, Bristol Keats and her sisters struggle to stay afloat in their small, quiet town of Bowskeep. When Bristol begins to receive letters from an “aunt” she’s never heard of who promises she can help, she reluctantly agrees to meet—and discovers that everything she thought she knew about her family is a lie. Even her father might still be alive, not killed but kidnapped by terrifying creatures to a whole other realm—the one he is from.

Desperate to save her father and find the truth, Bristol journeys to a land of gods and fae and monsters. Pulled into a dangerous world of magic and intrigue, she makes a deadly bargain with the fae king, Tyghan. But what she doesn’t know is that he’s the one who drove her parents to live a life on the run. And he is just as determined as she is to find her father—dead or alive.

Thank you to Flatiron for the gifted ARC and Macmillan audio for the ALC.

LOTS OF THOUGHTS.

Alright, y’all know this was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024 and I thought it delivered in the end. I do tend to have a hard time with an urban-ish setting where the characters kind of flip back and forth between fae/human lands. I thought enough time was spent in the fae lands that I was able to enjoy the fantasy world.

I loved that it was multiple POV. I love having views from all the characters. And with shorter chapters the pace was moving well and I was getting every angle of the story I needed to see the big picture.

The world building was perfectly fine and I love books with fae so no issues at all for me there. I thought Bristol was a FMC I could get behind and I think her potential is brewing and I liked the growth and strength throughout this book. There were some good reveals that you could see coming but enjoyed all the same with the dramatic fall outs.

I also loved the romance. It was a slow burn where the characters actually got to know each other and gave good push and pull with banter and heated moments. This is OPEN DOOR for anyone who has read her previous series. It’s vague though (my preference) and didn’t overwhelm the plot.

The audiobook was amazing. I listened and read my copy and loved the experience. I thought the narrator did a fantastic job for reading all of the POV’s and creating distinct voices.

I’m just a huge fan of MEP and I loved being immersed in her writing and world again. I can’t wait to see what happens in book two.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: low-moderate
  • Romance: 3+ vague open door
  • Violence: moderate-high
  • Content Warnings: murder, loss of life, weapons violence

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