Review: Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross

Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

If you are a fan of the Letters of Enchantment Duology (aka Divine Rivals) this is a prequel, that delves into the lives of the gods that are frequently mentioned in those books. We get the background leading up to events that occur in Divine Rivals, however this does read as a standalone and you can read Divine Rivals before or after reading this. This follow Matilda, herald of the gods and goddesses and a goddess in her own right. In this world there are two different sets of gods, those of the Underling and those of the Skyward, Matilda is unique as she belongs to both and is the only one that can traverse the two realms in addition to the mortal world. She has befriended a mortal boy named Vincent in childhood through her dreams, and after a long separation they reunite in person as adults.

The first third of the book sets up the world nicely and describes who the characters are. We have a good understanding to this point who Matilda is, how the magic system works, and who the players are, but the plot is only just beginning to be revealed at this point. The plot really starts to pick up in Act 3, when the conflict between Vincent and his uncle kicks off and the gods pick sides in this familial war. This book is a bit on the slower side as we spend most of our time with Matilda, but some of the chapters are in Vincent's POV. Matilda must decide where her loyalty lies and come to terms with new abilities she uncovers as the story unfolds. She must make alliances, make deals, and call in favors to help Vincent and his people, all while performing her duties. As she aids Vincent, their friendship turns in to something deeper, and they must grapple with their differences while war rages on around them and the plans fate has laid out for them.

I'm a huge fan of Ross' books and this is no different. The writing is beautiful, and while the pacing is a bit on the slower side it fits the plot. We spend time with Matilda, who as a goddess is immortal and time doesn't really matter to her and very few things can hurt her, so we spend more time with her on her tasks and developing plotlines and strategies. For Vincent, time is limited and as a human his body is fragile, so our chapters with him tend to be faster paced. I loved how their relationship developed, and if you like a relationship with yearning, look no further.

I loved the audiobook and the multiple narration is wonderful.

View all my reviews

Review: Resisting You by Katana Collins

Resisting You by Katana Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author and Literally Yours PR, all opinions are my own.

I'm a bit behind on reviews, but this was delightful. I loved that Noah and Rosa were already friends for a long time and already had chemistry between them. That eliminates the awkward we just met and now we're married situation after a night of debauchery. Noah had been asking Rosa out for years, but she always turned him down, despite liking him. She had her reasons, which become very apparent as the book unfolds. Now that they are married and tabloid fodder, these two friends turned spouses decide to use this marriage to their advantage as it might help both of their careers. Plus it helps that they actually like each other, I mean really like each other. Everything starts off well in their "marriage of convenience" until Rosa's overbearing parents show up demanding she have a proper wedding, inviting people she doesn't know and people Noah can't stand to their wedding. The happy couple is determined to make their marriage work until traitors in their midst make it known that they are determined to tear them apart. Will the couple survive the tabloids and the paparazzi?

Noah and Rosa were such a fun couple. They had great banter and chemistry. I also loved that they adopted a puppy! I love dogs. We get alot of character development from our couple as they both have to deal with alot of outside pressure from family and the media in the wake of their accidental marriage. Rosa grew up with famous parents and she doesn't like being in the spotlight. She wants to do her job and be successful on her own merit, and when her credibility gets questioned she completely shuts down. I think her reaction was completely reasonable and realistic, but I loved that she had a friend to support her. I also appreciated that she had a conversation with her father about how she felt. I would have liked to see a similar conversation with her mother, but overall I thought the conflict resolution was done nicely on Rosa's side. As for Noah, relationship's aren't really his thing, but you can tell he's be holding out for Rosa this whole time. He has some family stuff to deal with, and I loved how that was all handled in the end and his interactions with his siblings especially his twin sister.

This reads as a complete standalone, however it is related to the Maple Grove series. I've read a few of the books in the series out of order, and I can attest that you can read them in any order. The Tripp family is worth getting to know and Maple Grove is 100% a place I wish was real because I want to live there. I can't wait to read Callie's book!

View all my reviews

Review: The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell

The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC and ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I loved this time travel, historical romantic comedy!  This follows Tess Bright, a Teen Choice Award winning actress who has recently been cast in an adaptation of Northanger Abbey opposite very serious method actor Hugh Balfour.  Hugh is classically trained, and wants nothing to do with Tess.  He has heard the rumors of why she was fired and believes all of them and doesn't believe she is qualified to star in this production.  Little does he know that Tess is actually a very good actress and Jane Austen has been part of her life for a very long time, and this is her chance to be taken seriously as an actress.

When an accident at craft services sends Hugh and Tess back 200 years, they will get to test their acting skills in the actual Regency period.  They find themselves on the Balfour estate with Hugh's ancestors, and they must put all of their knowledge of the time to use to fit in and find a way to get back to their own time.  As they navigate the Balfour estate and the social customs of the Regency era, Hugh and Tess slow down and really get to know each other.  With time to put away external gossip, hair and makeup, and call times for the movie, they learn they have much more in common with one another than they ever thought.  Quickly a bond forms and sparks start to fly.

I really loved all of the characters and getting to know them.  I love a good enemies to lovers and this was just that.  This had good banter, a unique plot, great side characters, and was just fun overall.  This touches on grief and ailing parents, I thought that was portrayed in a sensitive yet believable way.  Both of the characters were dealing with grief in  different ways but were able to connect with their feelings on the topic.

This was a wonderful debut and I really enjoyed it.  

View all my reviews

Review: An Introvert's Guide to Life and Love by Lauren Appelbaum

An Introvert's Guide to Life and Love by Lauren Appelbaum
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided both a ALC and an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This follows Mallory in the wake of her grandmother's passing.  Mallory has a nice quite life in Seattle where she works from home, does online yoga, and rarely has to interact with other people.   During the reading of the will, Mallory finds out that she has inherited her grandparent's cottage under the condition that she keeps an eye on her grandfather who lives in Florida.  Determined to turn the cottage into a rental property, she takes a quick trip to Florida to see what needs to be done and hire a property manager and check in on  Gramps.  There she finds out that the cottage needs quite a bit of sprucing up before it can be turned into a rental.  Gramps enjoys having someone to chat with and help him out with things

I didn't really understand why Mallory was classified as introverted, socially awkward for sure, but  Mallory does not like spending time alone in fact she seeks out contact with people even if she says the wrong thing sometimes.  At times she is completely outgoing, but she is completely clueless and when it comes to certain basic life skills and adult situations.  She gave off a more scared to try new things and not be perfect vibe than introvert.  I did enjoy her relationship with Gramps!  Mallory's initial attempts to connect with Gramps were a bit insensitive and pushy, her heart was in the right place.  Once they started to connect, their relationship was actually quite lovely.  The romance that develops between Mallory and property manager Daniel was OK but lacked the tension and chemistry I wanted.  She kept pushing him away because she was always going back to Seattle "the next day" then changing plans.

Mallory's work from home situation really irritated me, because it hit close to home and I'm going to step on a soap box for a second which I normally don't do in reviews.  As someone who has worked remotely since Covid, and worked from home several days a week for years prior, I know it is a privilege that I don't take for granted.  I know I am very lucky but I am also very aware of our company policies, she didn't even seem to know that there was a company policy for working remote which I find strange because most places have them.  I have worked with people like Mallory in real life that threaten that privilege daily, because they work where they aren't supposed to without permission, don't complete their tasks in a timely manner, or they get caught doing something else on the clock. In this case, Mallory was already fired once from a remote position and didn't get the hint that she actually has to do her work and got mad when her boss checked in with her about progress.  No one wants to be micromanaged, but a simple conversation with her manager about her family situation would have sorted that whole situation out, made this whole thing believable (in my opinion), and given Mallory a sense of maturity that she was missing.  To be clear most remote positions can actually be worked from anywhere depending on the company you work for, but there are tax implications if you work out of your "home base" for more than 30 days so there is accounting paperwork that could have been done with a quick conversation with a manager or HR, which her HR person mentioned when they noticed Mallory was using her VPN in Florida instead of Seattle, which if undocumented is a fireable offense at most companies.  If she had just asked to work in Florida or taken a leave of absence it would have made so much more sense, plus her job didn't have anything to do with the plot.  That's why this bothered me so much, because this could have been portrayed so much more accurately, but instead situations like this is why companies want to take away remote work, because employers think we are painting and installing flooring on company instead of doing our actual jobs.  End rant.

I think this book will work for alot of people but the whole work from home thing really took me out of the book because it is something I face everyday.  It is kind of a "this is why we can't have nice things" situation that those of us that work remotely face constantly and it hit really close to home and took away from my enjoyment of the story.  That paired with my inability to connect with Mallory on other levels didn't help.  For alot of readers that will not be an issue, so take my review with a grain of salt.

View all my reviews

Review: The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez

The Maiden and Her Monster by Maddie Martinez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided both an ALC and ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is being marketed as a sapphic romance between the maiden and the monster, however the romance takes a backseat in the novel until the very end of the book.  For much of the book main character Malka is terrified and fairly nasty to the golem Nimrah.  Their interactions are not romantic at all until the very end of the book, and they don't have any romantic chemistry in my opinion.  Malka is a healer, and the forest surrounding her village is known to take young girls who never return.  The golem is rumored to have done terrible things under the control of magic, which Malka has been taught to fear.  I feel like the romance aspect was completely unnecessary.  The action, lore, and magic was enough to keep me entertained, and had they learned to respect each other and work together (which they did) that would have made more sense to me.

I believe this is a retelling of the Golem of Prague, which I plan to read soon.  I loved the folklore, the magic, and the worldbuilding.  I thought the magic system and the creation of monsters and forest were explained well.  We also get a good explanation of the politics and religion going on in the world.  While I found Malka to be an unlikable character, that is part of her character development arc.  Her core is deeply rooted in her faith, and that is shaken on her journey to save her mother and her people.  She learns that not everything she was told is true and she has to come to terms with that in her own time.

Overall, I thought the book was well written and developed.  I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

View all my reviews

Review: The Summer War by Naomi Novik

The Summer War by Naomi Novik
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Del Rey Publishing and Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was such a rich novella.  At only around 150 pages it packed a complete story.  This follows Cella, the youngest of 3 half siblings.  Being the youngest she has been sheltered from much of the world while her older brother Argent has been trained as a soldier.  Her middle brother Roric is tolerated, but mostly ignored, but when she accidentally curses Argent, she and Roric only have each other and they form an alliance.  Through this alliance they come to genuinely care for one another and come up with plans to break Argents curse.  Cella only found out about her magic when she cursed Argent in a fit of rage, and sorcery has been long dormant in their world.  Given that this is a novella, this isn't explained in great detail or how her magic suddenly came to be.  I would have liked more information about her magic and them magic in general, but the rest of the story is well developed so it gets a pass.

While Argent is off soldering and Cella and Roric are planning, the King, his sone, and the King of the Summerlands are also plotting.  The royals have long been fighting a ware between the humans and the fae, now that Cella has magic she is caught in the center of a new plot.  Unfortunately for the Kings, Cella is strong, smart, and doesn't do as expected.  This has the beautify writing I've come to love from Naomi Novik with a fairy tale atmosphere.  It has lessons to be learned and interesting character dynamics to move the plot forward.  If you are interested in trying Novik's work for the first time, this novella is a great place to start to see if you enjoy her work.

View all my reviews

Review: To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth

To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth
My rating: 0 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is the 2nd novella in the Curse Bearer series.  I'm not sure if there will be more to the series, but I hope there is.  This was fast paced and action packed.  I highly recommend reading the first novella to understand the dynamics at play and the character interactions.  It has been quite a while since I had listened to the first novella, and I wish I had taken the time to listen to When Among Crows before jumping in to the sequel to refresh myself on the world.  The author does do a good job reminding the reader of what is going on and giving you enough information on the lore and characters so you aren't completely in the dark.  The Slavic lore is front and center in the novellas and it really works well to develop the plot.

Like the first installment this is narrated by Dymitr, Ala, and Niko, we also get a few chapters from Elza Dymitr's sister.  In this tale, Ala and Dymitr work together to find something for the Baba Jaga, while Dymitr attends a wake for a fallen member of his family in his hometown in Poland.  Niko on the other hand is on a mission to kill a very dangerous member of Dymitr's family.  Dymitr has secrets he needs to keep from his family and his feelings for Niko complicate things.  His dynamic with his sister is interesting as well.  

The narration is excellent, with each POV being voiced by a different narrator.  I always appreciate when I can tell who is speaking when I don't have a copy of the book in front of me and the narrators did a wonderful job with accents, emotion, and character interaction.

I really enjoyed this novella, and hope that this is the beginning of a much longer series for these characters.  I really love the lore and the concept.  The character dynamics are interesting between the blood family loyalty and traditions and the found family.  I'm interested to see where this goes in the future.

View all my reviews

Review: Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley

Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided both an ARC and an ALC of this book via Netgalley.

This is a tough book to read.  It follows Lucy, a teenager who has had a very rough childhood and has navigated the foster system for the last five years since her father passed away.  Lucy has done what she needed to do to survive.  She has been lied to and betrayed by the people she trusted, including her father, and now based on decisions she made to protect herself she is being followed to protect the secrets she has uncovered.  

This reads like a companion novel to Boulley's debut [book:Firekeeper's Daughter|199437737].  It has been several years since I've read that and I have not read Warrior Girl Unearthed yet, but I was able to follow along with this easily and recall many of the events that occurred in that book with the context given in this book.  We reunite with Daunis and Jamie from book 1 as they nurse Lucy back to health after a terrible "accident" at the diner where she worked.  There they explain to Lucy about her Native American heritage and their connection to her late sister.  This story is told in both the present during Lucy's recovery from a broken leg and her research in to ICWA (Indian Children's Welfare Act), and during the past beginning when she was 6 through her father's battle with cancer and her journey through the foster system after his death.  The timeline eventually meets up in the present when she is 18 living with Daunis and Jamie, when she finally explains to them what she is running from and who is after her and why.  Lucy's story is filled with twists and turns and is truly heartbreaking as we learn of her experiences in the foster system, some good, some terrible.  

I enjoyed reuniting with characters from the previous books and how the story ended overall.  It really brings to light how Native Americans are treated and how children of all backgrounds are treated in the foster system.  This book is an emotional rollercoaster that brings to light important topics.

View all my reviews

Review: Play Me by Adriana Locke

Play Me by Adriana Locke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author, all opinions are my own.

This reads as a complete standalone, however it is connected to the Brewer Series.  You don't need to have read any of the book in that series to read this, but if you want to understand who Renn is you will want to read The Proposal.  Astrid has been present in several of the Brewer books in the past as she works her magic as their assistant who can organize an event and have anything delivered at the last minute.  If you've read the Brewer series you know she likes to give them crap for bothering her with their crazy request at the last minute, but she secretly loves the challenges they throw her way.  She loves making order from chaos, and her new assignment is no different.   Now that Renn owns his own rugby team, he has given Astrid a new assignment.  He wants her to assist a new player who comes to the team surrounded by rumors but full of talent.  Their first meeting does not go well, and they immediately hate each other.  Gray is looking forward to a fresh start under Renn's guidance, but he does not want Astrid as his babysitter.  Unfortunately for them both, they have to learn to work together.

Unbeknownst to each other, both Gray and Astrid have some baggage from the past the grate on each others nerves, but when a trip to Gray's hometown has them both relaxing into their natural personalities and sharing some truths they realize they don't have to be enemies.  They are able to break down each others walls and find comfort in each other.  I really appreciated that this wasn't an insta-love connection.  Their relationship built from an enemies situation, to a pseudo friends situation, to something more.  This was filled with all the things I love about Addy's books, it had good banter, a fun friend group for both characters, an emotional connection between the characters.  This has some spicy scenes but it isn't over the top.  I really enjoyed getting to know Gray and Astrid.  I'm hoping the side characters mentioned in the book get books in the future.

This was a such a fun enemies to lovers book with a grumpy rugby player and his super organized assistant.  

View all my reviews

Review: Bitten by Destiny by S. Young

Bitten by Destiny by S. Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an ARC of this book via the author, all opinions are my own.

This was a much anticipated ending to the True Immortality series.  Echo is a vampire who has discovered that her maker is not the loving father she thought he was.  He has manipulated her from a young age and she has had enough.  She won't let her younger "sister" be manipulated and turned under false pretenses like she was, but in order to protect her, she must track down and partner with the fae she is supposed to eliminate.  Elijah is living the high life as a rock star.  He has known about his warlock abilities for a while, but he hasn't dipped his toes very deeply into the paranormal world.  He knows it exists, but when Echo shows up claiming he is fae he thinks she is insane.

To save the world and the people they love, Elijah and Echo have to find the other fae, who we have met in the previous books.  While this installment does read as a standalone, it does bring elements and characters together from the previous books.  I do think it elements from the overarching storyline are important to have as background and recommend reading those before jumping into this book as a starting point.  The author does do a great job giving background information and catching the reader up on past events as the last book came out 5 years ago and many of us haven't revisited this world in quite some time.  I was quickly able to remember who everyone was and what happened in their part of the story.  Each one of the fae born has a part to play in, and Elijah finds out that he and Echo are part of the bigger picture.  The are also extremely attracted to one another, but Echo has reservations especially when she is convinced she can't have anything good in her life.  Elijah is able to show her that being a vampire does not automatically mean she is evil.  There are some spicy scenes, but overall they are able to show each other how they feel and that they have each other's backs.  Not only do Elijah and Echo work as a team, but they work well with the other couples to save the world from impending doom.  It was nice to connect with the other couples for the final battle, and I also really appreciated the epilogue that closes out the storyline for each couple.  

View all my reviews

Review: The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard

The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both an ARC and an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

I loved all of the 90s pop culture references in this!  The X-files references made me smile, I loved that show when I was in high school.  Kids today will never understand having to use dialup or use AIM or ICQ to message their friends but that warmed my heart because that's how we communicated in the late 90s and early 2000s before everyone had cell phones.

This follows Freddie, a somewhat unknown member of her high school, who as a rule follower reports some kids disturbing the peace one evening.  Those kids happen to be from the rival high school, and she just got herself involved in an ages old prank war.  Now pulled in to the popular crowd with her best friend, she pretends that her good deed was in fact a master prank and hijinks ensues.  What she didn't account for is that the her hero and neighbor, the town sheriff, has a nephew at the rival school who happens to also be part of the pranks and he happens to be very attractive.

As Freddie and Theo bond over the prank wars, they also uncover a strange series of murders in town possibly tied to a curse.  Freddie channels her inner Dana Scully uncover the truth behind the curse and figure out what the heck is going on in her town, but she quickly finds herself in a Fox Mulder situation.  Unlike Mulder and Scully (in the original series), Freddie and Theo quickly give into their attraction despite going to rival schools.  

This was a great YA Paranormal Fantasy/Thriller.  It had great banter between the characters.  Freddie has a great best friend in Divya and the rest of the prank squad is pretty fun too.  This kind of reminded me of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where the kids are off doing stuff, with little to no parental supervision when it comes to the paranormal stuff going on.  Freddie does have parents whom she speaks with often, but not when it comes to the curse and her own investigation of the weird stuff happening in town.  I think that is part of why we loved teen dramas of that era, because we could for an hour once a week believe that we could fight the demons, break the curses, and lead a completely normal life on the side without our parents ever knowing we snuck out (and back in) to slay whatever came out of the hellmouth.  Freddie's and Theo's sells that same storyline, you can be the nerdy girl or boy, then become part of the popular crowd, investigate murders and curses on the side, and still be home for dinner with a little romance on the side.  I really enjoyed it.

View all my reviews