ARC Review: Work It Out ~ Eva Siedler

 

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Format I Used: E-book

Pages: 400

My Rating: 5 stars

Publication Date: January 29, 2024

 

This was a fun RomCom, that had me cackling at times, but there were also several serious issues being dealt with as well. It also has a pretty cover and I am obsessed.

There will be some spoilers in the review, so please read on at your own risk

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I LOVED the back and forth between Rayah and Jake. He was a shameless flirt, and I couldn't get enough of it. Jake was such a Green Flag (for the most part) I loved how respectful he was of Rayah, and when Rayah told him he needed to back off, he did. As someone who also has a chronic illness, I can see why he struggled with telling other people about it. For me, personally, I don't hide it on purpose, but it's not something you just casually blurt out in a conversation. I do think that he shouldn't have dragged it out as long as he did. Especially since the training he was doing was adversely affecting his health.

Rayah was such a strong character. I loved her and rooted so hard for her to get her happiness. She was hurt and let down by the people closest to her, and instead of letting it stop her, she managed to become successful, and she also took care of everyone around her. her little Found Family made my heart so happy. 

I was so angry for Rayah. At her deadbeat father and the rest of the people who abused and took advantage of her. I really would have liked to see her confront him about everything, but you know  what? I also like the way that it was taken care of.

I also really liked Blaine, and I'm glad that everything was able to work out the way it needed to. I literally giggled imagining Blaine and Jake taking a million pictures to find the one with JUST the right angle and lighting.

There was no big fight that let to their break up, but there was an issue of... forgetting to communicate about one thing, that happened at a very bad time, and while they didn't fight about it, it led to hurt feelings.

Did It Make Me Cry? Yes. Towards the end, when Rayah walks into the room of *spoiler redacted* She thought it was going to go one way, but I knew exactly what was happening.

Thank you SO SO much to Entangled Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

ARC Review: Somewhere In The Deep ~ Tanvi Berwah

  

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Format I Used: E-book

Pages: 384

Running Time: 12h 32m

My Rating: 3 stars

Publication Date: January 9, 2024

 

This book throws you into the action immediately!

I thought it was a good YA fantasy read and it kept my attention the whole time. I do think that it was a little slow during some parts, but after the first 50 ish percent it picked up.

The cover is cool and the monsters are interesting.

I think I'll do a re-read if I can get my hands on the audio version.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Review: Plot Twist ~ Erin La Rosa

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Format I Used: Digital ARC

Pages: 336

Running Time: 9h 11m

My Rating: 3 stars

Publication Date: November 14, 2023

A fun little trope filled romance.

It took me a little bit to get into it, but overall I really enjoyed it. I liked seeing the character development, and seeing how our main characters interacted with each other.

thank you to netgalley and harlequin trade publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts.

ARC Review: A Bright Heart ~ Kate Chenli

  

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Format I Used:E-ARC

Pages: 344

Running Time: 10h 2m

My Rating: 5 stars

Publication Date: October 17, 2023

So this was amazing. I love that it read like the Manhwas that I keep devouring. The cold "evil" prince, the actual bad guy, and the girl who has been given a second chance to fix things that went wrong.

I love the relationship between Mingshin and Jieh, and how it started out rocky, but grew so much and how they respected each other.

I also really enjoyed the relationships that Mingshin built with Yunle, Fei, Mai, and everyone else.

That twist and cliffhanger ending kind of threw me for a loop, but only because I thought this was a standalone.

I cannot WAIT to see what happens next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Union Square & Co.for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinions!

Did It Make Me Cry? No

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Review: The Scarlet Veil ~Shelby Mahurin

 

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Format I Used: E-book

Pages: 640

Running Time: 18h 40m

My Rating: 5 stars

Publication Date: September 26, 2023

I went through a phase where literally all I read was vampire books (thanks Twilight) and then I was sick of them and didn't want to read them anymore... Until this book that is. This book was everything I never knew I needed and then some.

If you haven't read this book and are planning on it, please back away from this review now, because there will be SPOILERS (also some spoilers for the Serpent and Dove series)

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It took me a little longer to get invested in this one, because it took Celie a long time to finally find her footing and grow more confident in who she was. I was so glad that she was able to start seeing how important and powerful she was even if it was in a way that was different from the people that she loves. I was a little frustrated with her and how black and white she saw things for a while (although a lot of that can be blamed on how she was raised) but as the story went on, she started questioning things more.

I loved that there were so many familiar faces in this book, while still being able to stay its own story. It was actually so spooky and much darker than I was thinking it would be (even though that's a silly thing to say because it's VAMPIRES so of course it's going to be spooky and dark)

I LIVED for the back and forth between Michal and Celie, and I really can't wait to see if we get to learn more about the... future that predicted that Michal would take a bride that was described to be an awful lot like Celie. and then kill her.. which... well you can't see my face right now, but. I like that Michal didn't treat Celie like she was made of glass. He pushes her (and sometimes comes off as a jerk which, yeah, he is...) and tells her that she is much smarter and stronger than everyone (including herself) thinks that she is.

The part with the silver dress... I may cry.

This was a slow slow slow burn romance, and I liked it so much. But just be aware of that going in because if you're expecting lots of romance right off the bat, you'll be disappointed. It hits heavy on the Enemies first in this enemies to lovers book.

I really really like Dimitri, which has me nervous because my track record with lovable side characters is not good. They either turn out to be evil or get killed. And considering what happened to Ansel in From Blood and Honey, this has me REAL NERVOUS.

I also think it will be interesting to see what's going to happen with Jean Luc. I have very mixed feelings about him. I hate the way he treated Celie as if she was something so easily breakable, but avoided actually talking to her and trying to help her. He lied and hid things from her. He also called her some mean things when they met up again. I was so frustrated and irritated with him on Celie's behalf. I think he does care for her, but he's so old fashioned and in the "girls can't do anything" mindest. Where I don't want him and Celie together at all, I hope he does get to go through some major character development.

The actual bad guy kind of sort of surprised me. Like, I didn't like this person to begin with, but I just assumed that it was a normal dislike, nope turns out this person was REAL BAD. So that was nice. I was suspecting everyone else. Whoops.

The cliffhanger ending had me so stressed out, but also now I can't stop thinking about it, and how long it is until I can read book 2. So BRAVO Shelby Mahurin, you've got me hooked again.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for allowing me to read an ARC

Did This Book Make Me Cry? Yes.

ARC Review: Never A Hero ~ Vanessa Len

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(image on the left is the US edition, image on the right is UK edition)
 
 
Format I Used: Combination Audiobook/Ebook/Physical Book
Pages: 528
Running Time: 15h:23m
My Rating: 5 stars
Publication Date: August 29, 2023

 

I think I need to re-read book one and maybe re-evaluate what my rating was for it. I rated the first book 3.5 because at the time it felt like that feeling that you get when you really need to sneeze, but then don't... And I really stand by that. HOWEVER. I think about that book far too much for it to just stay at a mid rating... Like, a LOT a lot.  

Never A Hero was probably one of my MOST anticipated books of 2023, And I screeched like a velociraptor when I saw that I had been approved for a copy. I dropped every single other book I had been reading in order to dive into this one. And I was up until almost 2 am because I needed  answers more than I needed a proper amount of sleep. My watch even told me that my quality of sleep was "poor" but it's 

F I N E

Don't ask me to have a conversation about time travel, because it still confuses the heck out of me and it also makes my head hurt. 

I very much enjoyed this volume, and I will be rambling, and since I'm also using this as a recapof sorts for my future reference, there WILL be spoilers, so please do not read any further if you don't want anything spoiled.

In similar fashion to book one, this book started with something rather traumatic happening not very far into the story, and then it progressed at a steady slowish pace until about the 50% point. Except this time, we have Joan paired with Nick instead of Aaron. 

SIGH. I was really hoping to get more page time for Aaron. Whatever though.

We get to learn more about Nick, which is what I wanted in the first book, and I actually quite liked that. It was interesting to see Nick when he wasn't a bad guy trying to kill Joan.

There's a lot of trauma between Nick and Joan. The Nick Now is so so so sweet and kind and amazing, and even though he's different and doesn't remember his time as The Hero, there are still moments where he'll move or do something that shows just how ingrained all that "training" was. It's still there buried deep inside even if he doesn't remember. And Joan is rightly terrified. She's always on edge and about ready to jump out of her skin. He also starts gaining back some of his "powers" as the story goes on, and is able to break through the "mind control" (which is why I don't think that they should be the endgame couple, regardless of them being together in the "true timeline". Even though they were, at one point, soulmates, there is so much trauma and distrust there now, that I don't know if they'll ever be able to work through it all) But that's just my delulu brain hoping that Joan will end up with Aaron, and there probably WILL be some kind of way for them to work through everything.

SPEAKING OF AARON! He's my favorite character. (which should NOT be news to anyone.) Of course he was a bad guy in this book, just like he told Joan he would be. For a while. But things happen, and then he's not a bad guy, and then things happen and  they end up forming a tentative alliance. And all the curious glances and looks he gives her, and the way she keeps forgetting that she's the only one who remembers the bond that they have, and the way she keeps turning to him when things happen... MY HEART. I sobbed SEVERAL times, and I stayed up WAY TOO LATE in order to consume as many words as possible, even though I worked an early morning shift the next day.

TL;DR

This was an amazing book with some pretty interesting twists that kept tugging on my heartstrings AND sitting on the edge of my seat (or maybe that was just waiting for Aaron to show back up?). The characters and the growth they go through is SO good, and I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Thank you to Netgalley UK and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me a chance to read an ARC of one of my most anticipated 2023 books.

ARC Review: Hello Stranger ~ Katherine Center

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Format I Used: E-ARC
Pages: 336
Running Time: 10h:39m
My Rating: 5 stars
Publication Date: July 11, 2023

 

I was actually so impressed with this book. I was a little worried at first (hence the reason I put off finishing it for so long) but I shouldn't have worried.

The whole concept of the story was interesting to me. It's not the first time I've read or watched something that dealt with prosopagnosia (Bone Gap, Holding Up The Universe, My Unicorn Girl) but I thought the way they described it was good? (possibly? Someone with Prosopagnosia please let me know if the description was accurate)

I was a little frustrated with the whole non-communication, because a whole lot of hurt could have been avoided. But that would also have cut the book entirely in half. I did see the whole plot twist coming pretty early on, especially when certain things were mentioned several times.

I really really disliked Sadie's dad, step mom...but the biggest villain of them all was PARKER. Don't get me STARTED on Parker. I dislike her almost as much as I dislike Mahito from JJK. But it was interesting to see different familial relationships and feelings explored.

The Kim family was absolutely amazing, and they deserve all the love in the whole wide world. So was Joe for that matter. He was so kind and patient, and just the sweetest. Sadie was a little annoying at first, but I enjoyed watching her grow and learn more about herself.

I sobbed several times while reading this, so that means it gets even more bonus points.

Katherine Center has yet again created a story filled with imperfect yet endearing and relatable characters, and a story line that kept me interested once I finally got over myself and started reading.

Thank you to to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-arc!

Did It Make Me Cry? Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ARC Review: Nevermore Bookstore ~ Kerrigan Byrne & Cynthia St. Aubin

 

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Format I Used: Digital Ebook ARC
Pages:363
My Rating: 3 stars
Publication Date: March 28,2023

This was okay. Not my absolute favorite, but not terrible either. I liked the idea of it taking place in a bookstore, and the characters were interesting. Definitely give it a try if you're looking for a quick read!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.

Did It Make Me Cry? No

ARC Review: My Coworker Has A Secret Volume 1 ~ Mushiro

 

 

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Format I Used: Digital ARC

Pages: 178

My Rating: 4 Stars

Publication Date: April 11, 2023

 

 

Another promising start to a new series. It moves a little slow at first, but I really enjoyed reading it. Especially since I've been a fan girl once or twice in my life, so I can kind of relate to her feelings about things. The only difference is, I don't care who knows it. If you don't want to be my friend because I like something a lot, well then... there's the door. *shrugs*

I love the interactions between Akari and Kazama, they're just so cute, together, and it feels like they balance each other out very well, and I cannot wait to see what happens next, especially with how the first book ended!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read an ARC of this. All thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Did It Make Me Cry? No. But it did make me laugh a few times.

ARC Review: It's Boba Time For Pearl Li! ~ Nicole Chen

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Format I Used: Digital ARC

Pages: 368

Running Time: 7h 31m
My Rating: 4 stars
Publication Date: February 28, 2023

I thought this book was extremely charming. As someone who crochets a little, and enjoys the occasional boba tea, I love that this focuses on Pearl and her love for Boba and Amigurumi.

I think Pearl is a character who is easy to relate to. She's still trying to figure out who she is, and how to stand up for herself and what she loves. A lot of things start changing all at once, and she makes a lot of mistakes, but ends up learning from them. And she's able to strengthen her relationships with her friends and family.

I also love that there is a glossary of terms at the end of the book, and a little chart for how Pearl calculated the profits for Kawaii Crochets. I thought that it was a nice way for younger kids to understand what was being talked about, and give them an idea of what to do if they also wanted to start making and selling things.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and Harpercollins Children's books for allowing me to read an ARC of this delightful book. All thoughts and opinions are my own

Did It Make Me Cry? No.