Category: Books

The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith | ARC Review

Posted September 27, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

This year, I started celebrating ~spooky season~ on August 31st, and was already building out my autumnal TBR weeks before then. When I was pitched the opportunity to read The Witch Haven as an ARC, I knew it would be an amazing story to officially kick off my autumn themed TBR. I’m a huge fan of historical fiction, so a paranormal, witchy boarding school story set in the early 1900s sounded right up my alley! The story follows Frances, a girl living in New York in 1911, who is reeling after the death of her brother and working as a […]

Romance Reviews: Heartbreak for Hire and The Soulmate Equation

Posted September 13, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

Heartbreak for Hire has a really unique yet bizarre premise: a company of women who are hired to exact revenge on men who have wronged women. It’s a little crazy to wrap your head around at first, but once you adequately suspend your disbelief it’s intriguing to see how such a company would operate and the moral/ethical questions it poses. The story follows protagonist Brinkley, secret artist and failed (at least in her mother’s eyes) academic who thinks she is healing her own heart through the work she is doing to take down men with “egos” for the company. Since […]

How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland | ARC Review

Posted September 6, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 1 Comment

Do you ever go into a book thinking it’s going to be just OK but have it completely blow your expectations out of the water? That’s what happened to me with How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe. I was expecting a typical young adult contemporary novel (a genre which I’ve been sort of so-so with lately) but what I got instead was an absolutely breathtaking, raw, and beautiful story steeped in magical realism and stunning observations. The novel follows Moon Fuentez, who is the self described “weed” or ugly duckling in the family in comparison to her […]

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley | Review

Posted August 2, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I’ve procrastinated on writing this review because there is just so much to unpack with this novel. At almost 500 pages, I didn’t expect this contemporary/mystery book to lean so far into the realm of a thriller, but it’s one of the most well-written mysteries I’ve read in a long time (and probably the best one I’ve read so far in 2021). The story follows 18 year old protagonist Daunis, who is a half-Native, unenrolled tribal member and the outcome of a scandal between her Native father and her white, upper class mother. Daunis often struggles with her biracial identity, […]

Dead Dead Girls by Nekesa Afia (Harlem Renaissance Mystery #1) | Review

Posted July 26, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 1 Comment

I love a good historical fiction novel, so when I saw this 1920s story that was ALSO a mystery I knew I had to read it! Darker than I originally anticipated, Dead Dead Girls is a thriller set against a vibrant backdrop of 1920s Harlem. I was instantly sucked into the story by it’s action packed first chapter, which features a young Louise (our protagonist) being kidnapped and then managing to attack and escape along with several other girls the man had kidnapped. While it was a bit of a jarring intro to the book, it sets the stage for […]

A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire and A Crown of Gilded Bones | Reviews to Wrap Up An Addictive Trilogy

Posted July 19, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I suppose I’m back on the JLA train because I was legit addicted to this book. It’s by far my favorite in the series, and Poppy and Casteel’s relationship is definitely at its peak as one of my favorite fictional couples. Though one can argue second series installments are usually filler and bridge books between the first and third installments, I find that when I adore characters sometimes those filler books are my favorite kind because I get to know them and spend time with them in less high intensity situations. Much of this book takes place in Spessa’s End, […]

How To Love by Katie Cotugno | Review

Posted July 12, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I swear, Katie Cotugno never fails to disappoint me. She takes the realest, rawest emotions from being a teenager and manages to spin them into a story that takes me right back into that state of mind, empathizing with the characters even if I haven’t been in their exact situation before. Such was the case when I read How to Love, which I requested from my library on a whim, and absolutely tore through it, inhaling it in a way I haven’t read a contemporary YA novel in a while. The story follows protagonist Reena, who is a teen mother […]

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto | Review

Posted July 5, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I’ve recently discovered the cozy/humorous mystery genre, and have been consistently delighted with the genre’s irreverent, laugh out loud antics and outlandish premises. Dial A for Aunties fits the bill perfectly, and despite a slow start once they mystery got going I was so amused I could not put it down! The story centers on protagonist Meddy who has stayed in her Southern California town with her mother and aunties despite her aspirations for a bigger and better life outside of her tight knit family structure. While she at times resents staying home and working in the family wedding business, […]

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry | ARC Review

Posted June 21, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

After roughly a year and a half in Covid quarantine, People We Meet on Vacation was such a wonderful, romantic escape. Detailing the reunion of estranged best friends Poppy and Alex, People We Meet on Vacation flawlessly alternates between present and past timelines, showcasing amazing vacations while also building an authentic, riveting, heartbreaking relationship and legitimately exploring the often mocked “millennial ennui.” I read Beach Read last year and thought it was pretty good, but People We Meet on Vacation truly tugged on my heartstrings. Poppy and Alex’s story was lyrical yet bold, and Henry simultaneously works backwards, starting off […]

Chain of Iron by Cassandra Clare | Review

Posted May 24, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments

Look, I love a good Shadowhunter book. But there’s just something about historical fiction Shadowhunter novels that are just *chef’s kiss.* I keep thinking there’s no way Cassie Clare can top her previous novels but I absolutely adored Chain of Iron and could honestly read about these Shadowhunter babies doing the most boring, everyday things and still be completely and utterly charmed. I honestly wish I could scrub this book from my brain so I could read it for the first time all over again (and I already know that it’s going to be a definite reread for me in […]