Tag: simon audio

Book Review: The Fast Track by Angelica Cheng

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Sports Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Angelica Cheng
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: August 4th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

An ambitious racer who dreams of becoming the first female F1 champion finds her plans going off track when she catches feelings for her biggest competition in this dishy, delicious contemporary romance for fans of love, Lynn Painter, and Lewis Hamilton.

Justine Kwong has always dreamed of becoming a Formula 1 champion. There’s just one problem: no female driver has ever done it before. So when she’s offered a coveted chance to race in Formula 3, she leaps at the opportunity. Sure, half the fans think she’s just there to fill a diversity quota, and her teammate—the infuriatingly cute Cameron Evans—mistakes her for an intern, but Justine knows her talent will leave them all in the dust.

But driving well isn’t the only prerequisite to getting noticed, and Justine’s forced to fend for herself in a sea of prejudice, paparazzi, and petty backstabbing. There’s a lot riding on her ability to navigate the complicated trackside hierarchy—like the open F2 seat that could be her ticket to the big leagues.

Except…when Justine and Cameron’s bickering gives way to unexpected chemistry, the boy she’s falling for may be the one person standing in the way of her dreams—because while they may be teammates, they are also each other’s biggest competitor. And with her only shot at glory on the line, this race could break more than just hearts.

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook and Simon Teen for the gifted book.

A GOOD YA.

Y’all know I love when a young adult novel is actually meant for young adults. And this one was! It’s also the first F1 romance I’ve read that I have genuinely liked so good things all around. It’s a fast paced and short novel that you could read in an afternoon kind of thing.

Justine can be a bit frustrating but in that I’m an adult with a fully formed front cortex reading vs. actually bothersome. I liked her overall character arc and the way she worked through issues and moved forward when life threw her backwards. Combining that with a sweet rivals to lovers-esque romance and it made for a wonderful read. I really liked Justine and Cameron together and the push and pull as they figured out how to communicate with each other.

🎧: Great audiobook! I loved the narrator and can’t recommend this format enough.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Sports Romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: low

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ARC/ALC Book Review: Armor for Liars by S.E. Grove

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Rating: ★★★
Audience: YA Historical Fantasy
Length: 432 pages
Author: S.E. Grove
Publisher: Simon Teen
Release Date: July 21st, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

A brilliant girl risking it all to infiltrate a secret society of enchanters gets unexpected help from one of their victims—now a vengeful spirit—in this historical dark academia novel by New York Times bestselling author S. E. Grove.

In a world where magic is drawn from the realm of the dead, enchanters—always men—go to great lengths to steal it. Voyaging to the spirit realm, an enchanter will claim a dead woman’s spirit as his own and make her a servant, a tool for his own magical ends. Enchanters maintain great secrecy around their practices, so only a wealthy elite have access to this members of a secret society shrouded within Commonwealth University, the nation’s premiere institution for the study of enchantment.

When Sam—the son of islander immigrants of modest means—dared to use magic to blend into the blueblood world of Commonwealth, it cost him his life. Now a spirit, he’s determined to avenge his murder and uncover the secrets of the Cisneros Society from beyond the grave.

When Sam encounters Clementine Quinn, a young woman disguised as a male student at Commonwealth, he quickly sees that Clem is putting herself in grave danger at the school. But as he tries to warn her of the peril, it becomes clear that his past and her fate are inextricably entwined. To avenge his murder and prevent hers, they’ll need to help one another and thereby prove, ultimately, that friendship and love can transcend everything, even death.

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook and Simon Teen for the gifted ARC.

NOT FOR ME.

I kept trying to get into this and nothing ever GRABBED me.

I think the point of view was an intriguing idea but kind of lost me in connecting with the other characters. Maybe the beginning was a bit more confusing than I’m remembering? It was more clear as things went on what the situation was so that at least made for an easier read.

The mystery worked for me on some levels though I think if the pacing/page count was tightened up a bit things would have moved better. There’s a lot of meandering and trying to combine Sam’s story with Clementine took a long time. Then to add a “romance” in the epilogue? Not quite what I was expecting. And I’m still not sure how that works.

There’s some dark academia, secret societies, and a historical fantasy vibe. Things that usually work for me but might work for you with this book. I also did like the characters. They weren’t part of the issues I was having with the overall plot.

🎧: I do think the audiobook narrator was great. If you’re going to try this book out, that can be option for format! I liked the narrator.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Historical Fantasy
  • Language: mild
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: moderate
  • Content warnings: racism, sexism, loss of a parent

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ALC Book Review: A Forsaken Prophecy (The Artisan Trilogy #2) by Stacey McEwan

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 368 pages
Author: Stacey McEwan
Publisher: Simon Audio
Release Date: July 13th, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

In a world of high-class magic and gangster grit, a star-crossed couple must decide where their loyalties lie in the sizzling romantasy follow-up to BookTok star Stacey McEwan’s New York Times bestseller A Forbidden Alchemy.

In Belavere Trench, the Artisans and the Craftsmen are at war. Patrick, the last Alchemist, and Nina, the world’s only known earth Charmer, have been captured by the Artisans, putting Patrick’s rebel union in a precarious position.

Though he hasn’t forgiven Nina her betrayals, Patrick has other things to worry about. He is finally reunited with his father, a prisoner of the Artisans, and the group lands a narrow escape only with the help of Nina’s first love, Theo. Decoding an ancient prophecy, they set off in search of an infinite supply of idium that will determine the course of the war, should it prove more than a myth. Fleeing across Craftsman towns on the brink, they will encounter old friends – and enemies – in search of answers.

Thank you Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

I LIKED IT.

But not as much as book one. Something was missing.

🎧: I do like that this book had three separate narrators. That helped with the POV switches. I thought they did a good job and I liked listening, easily recommend this format.

Alright, back to the book itself. I do really appreciate that this wasn’t a spice forward romance. There’s still a lot of tension and will they/won’t they slow burn that I liked seeing between Nina and Patrick. I did NOT love that the love triangle-ish?? was present from the first book. This kind of story doesn’t need it.

I thought most of the pacing and movement was fine. I don’t know if the addition of new POV’s or the mostly travel based plot caused the detriment, but alas, I was hoping for a bit more. There’s a lot of action and intensity that helped a lot too. Some good reveals and turns as well.

I’ll absolutely be reading the conclusion.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy Romance
  • Language: moderate
  • Romance: 1 open door
  • Violence: high

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Off Base by Haley Warren

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Rating: ★★★.75
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 324 pages
Author: Haley Warren
Publisher: Simon Maverick
Release Date: June 2nd, 2026
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He’s trying to find a way out.

She’s trying to find herself.

Miller Colson-Burke has only ever been good at three things: flirting his way out of anything, being the best shortstop in the league, and playing baseball side by side with his best friend, Matt.

Until an accident takes Matt from him forever, leaving him haunted by a memorial banner and a sport he used to love. The only things he’s really interested in being good at now are avoiding the press and figuring out how to run away from a rumour he can’t seem to escape.

Ren Jacobs has spent the last four years building a new life and trying to remember all the reasons to love the person she used to be. But when someone from her past comes along and steals her dream job, she finds it hard to love anything about herself at all.

Thank you to Simon Audio for the gifted audiobook.

IT GREW ON ME?

I immediately had to have this book because *dinosaurs*. Little did I know there was almost too much dinosaur content? As if the author was trying to make sure I knew that Ren was paleontologist. DON’T WORRY. I got it. She loves dinosaurs. The museum content was good though and I loved how the musuem and baseball team were working together.

Matt, I adored. He was a man broken by grief trying to find pockets of joy. There’s a soft fake dating angle to this that kept sending Matt and Ren into each other’s orbit and I think that worked well. I did like that banter and converations between them too. They were definitely a match.

Buuuut. The third act made me cranky. Which wouldn’t surprise anyone that has read this too. Not to mention there was way too much ex related content. I hate when the ex takes up too much time and overshadows the main romance. Just go away.

This was my first book from Haley Warren and I would read another!

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: mild – moderate
  • Romance: 3ish open door
  • Violence: low
  • Content warnings: loss of a friend, grief depiction, absent parent, gaslighting ex

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