Book Review: Heir of Sun and Moon (The Five Realms #1) by Jenessa Ren

January 3, 2025November 21, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Length: 485 pages
Author: Jenessa Ren
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 31st, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Forced into isolation by the ruler of the Mortal Kingdom, Princess Rhea Maxwell spends her days in the company of her pet fox, Bella, dreaming of an existence outside the confinement of her tower. As the rightful queen, she knows that there must be more to life than the endless monotony she’s been forced to live. Harboring a deadly secret from her past, her desolation grows until one fateful night brings an unlikely ally into her life. Though wary to trust this stranger, Rhea suddenly finds herself with something she’s never had: a choice. With a future she never thought possible hanging in the balance, the princess must decide if following her heart is worth risking everything she’s ever known.

In the neighboring Mage Kingdom, Princess Bahira Daxel is the first of her kind to be born without magic. Fixated on finding a way to unlock the power she believes to be hidden within, Bahira knows there is no price too great to achieve her goals. As tensions rise and her kingdom prepares for a threat they can not defend against, her desperation comes to a head. Ultimatums push Bahria to rethink who she truly is and the future that she had pictured for herself.

In a post-war world where kingdoms are divided by a powerful spell, can Rhea and Bahira each break free from the shackles of the lives expected of them to forge their own paths? Or will lies and obsession threaten to destroy everything.

UNDECIDED.

This one started off really intriguing. I loved that it was a loose Rapunzel retelling with a bodyguard romance, YAY. But execution wise, it dragged badly. Rhea was stuck in that dang tower for so long that I had to do some speed reading to see if the plot ever actually got to moving. Aaaand the romance came off as a bit insta-lovey. There were some cute and sweet moments, yet I’m not sure I’m convinced of them quite yet.

THEN we have our other POV. As a personal preference, I don’t love when the main character sleeps with other people who aren’t the love interest with actual on page spice. Otherwise, I liked Bahira’s storyline. I’m curious about the magic, about where she ended up and how that will play out with future books (but will I read said book??? I DON’T KNOW).

The ending happily blindsided me and I am admittedly intrigued about how those things will go. This was just too long without enough engaging plot.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: low
Romance: 1-2 open door
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: murder, weapons violence, kidnapping, abuse

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Book Review: One Small Secret (Gift-Wrapped Romance) by Esther Hatch

December 30, 2024November 20, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Genre: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 214 pages
Author: Esther Hatch
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: November 13th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Ruben Palmer is on every woman’s Christmas wish list. Except mine.

I grew up with him and bested him in practically everything we did together–debate, grades, mini-golf, you name it. So I’ve built an immunity to his boy-next-door charm. Sure, sometimes I might accidentally type his name into my search engine, but his dimples, hotel empire and thirst-trap photos don’t tempt me. I’ve got my sights set on earning my way to the top of the Palmer Hotel empire, and nothing is going to get in my way.

Until my step-sister leaves her secret toddler with me before skipping town for three months. Now suddenly everyone thinks he’s mine, and instead of powering my way to the top, I’m struggling to not get fired. And instead of Ruben staying on the executive floor where he belongs, he’s invading my apartment, breaking dates with starlets, and looking disappointed that I decided to settle down with anyone except him.

But I know Ruben, and Ruben doesn’t settle down. So there’s no way I’m giving him my heart. Not even for Christmas.

WELL.

This wasn’t all bad, truly. I just feel like there was a whole lot going on for 200 pages and I think I got off on the wrong foot with the way the entire plot was set-up. It left me with more questions than answers.

There were a lot of good swoony moments and the kissing scenes were fantastic. I did like the second half more and I adored Ruben the most. He really did roll with the punches and had some of my favorite love confession scenes. I liked all of the holiday content and office place romance. There’s good banter and it’s witty. While things didn’t fully click for me, I look forward to more contemporaries from this author.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Holiday Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: parental abandonment

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Book Review: The Rules of Mistletoe by Taylor Epperson

December 11, 2024November 8, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance
Length: 203 pages
Author: Taylor Epperson
Publisher: Self published
Release Date: October 5th, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

She’s got a list of rules and he’s about to break them all.

Rules for my future boyfriend (husband):

3. He always opens doors for me
6. He has to lean (like in While You Were Sleeping)
8. He has a good relationship with his mother
11. He loves watching romcoms and thrillers (because I have excellent taste in movies across a variety of genres)

I, Holly Nelson, have been dreaming about the perfect romance my entire life. You know the kind: guy and girl have an adorable meet cute and slowly, over the course of the movie, fall madly in love. I have spent hours of my life watching romcoms and I now have a list of qualities and rules for my perfect man.

I finally found him, but I haven’t figured out how to get him to notice me. Instead, I’m stuck with Drew Rossi.

Andrew (Drew) Rossi doesn’t fit a single item on my list and yet he’s coming home with me for Christmas, posing as my boyfriend. He breaks every single one of my rules, well, except for maybe #5, because he does have an arm full of tattoos. But Drew is not my perfect guy, and we both know it.

This fake relationship started because of a misunderstanding, but when Drew agrees to help me land my dream man & he agrees to follow my rules, I reluctantly agree. We don’t actually like each other, so what could go wrong?

FLOUNDERED.

I wanted to love this, instead I really struggled with multiple aspects and unexplained plot points that were never resolved. Why the list? Why did we never get more true details about it? Those are the beginning of the questions I have.

There’s plenty of holiday cheer and I like seeing big families come together for the holidays. I will say there were a few cute moments between the main couple and it is dual POV which is always a nice bonus in a romance.

The third act aspects also didn’t quite make sense. I felt like there was an imbalance of “heavy” topics and the “light Christmas rom-com” vibes that I thought this book was going for.

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Holiday Romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Violence: low
Trigger/Content Warnings: recounting loss of a mother, mentions of cheating (in the past)

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Book Review: A Song of Shadow and Starlight (Shadow and Starlight #1) by Morgan Gauthier

December 6, 2024November 8, 2023 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 334 pages
Author: Morgan Gauthier
Publisher: Midnight Tide Publishing
Release Date: August 2nd, 2023
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Ilaria Shaye Kitarni is the sole heir to the Midorian Throne, but she will never be permitted to rule.

On the eve of her wedding to her childhood best friend, she unwittingly thwarts an assassination attempt, and is kidnapped by the Tronovians, the sworn enemy of the Midorians.

Determined to escape her captors, she burns their boat and swims to the shores of the Jungle Kingdom of Bava. But instead of getting away, she thrusts herself, and the three magic-wielding brothers who captured her, into perils she’s only ever read about in books.

During the long trek through Bava, she discovers hidden truths not only about the people she loves most, but about herself as well.

Never trust a Tronovian. That has been beaten into Shaye’s head for as long as she can remember, but could it be, the only people she can trust are her enemies?

A Song of Shadow and Starlight is the first book in a NA Fantasy Romance and Adventure series, perfect for fans of Avatar the Last Airbender, ACOTAR (Steamy vibes without Explicit Spice), and Dungeons and Dragons!

NOT QUITE RIGHT.

This started off well, but unfortunately went downhill for me in the end.

My biggest issue involved the writing style. The EASE of the writing was great, there was a fast quality to it and I felt like the pages were flying by. But there was a lot of modern dialogue/lingo + modern amenities that didn’t fit into the world that had been constructed. It took me out of the book over and over again. If this had been an urban fantasy (or at least those vibes) I think things would have made a lot more sense.

The romance is FAST. Shaye flips a switch so fast I got whiplash. From being “upset” with her kidnappers to “being one of them” in like 3 days. WHAT. There’s some good found family pieces slipped in, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the rest. This is NOTTTT enemies to lovers.

I don’t really have plans to pick up the second book. Not worth the time.

Overall audience notes: