Tag: YA Fiction

The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham | ARC Review

Posted August 15, 2026 in ARCs, Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

Apparently dishy, posh East Coast boarding school novels are the niche I didn’t know I needed, but here we are. The Thoroughbreds, a sequel to last year’s The Academy, was one of the easiest five stars for me to give this year. I cannot get enough of Tiffin Academy! I was a little uncertain as to the execution of the plot in this second installment given one of the biggest mysteries was resolved in book one, and this book does read much more like a slice-of-life into the senior year of high school- and I honestly adored it! I loved […]

The Thorn Queen by Sasha Peyton Smith | ARC Review

Posted April 14, 2026 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

The scream I scrumpt when I saw I had been approved for The Thorn Queen on NetGalley was truly something. One of my top anticipated releases of 2026, The Rose Bargain was a sleeper hit of 2025 (IMO at least- I don’t see nearly enough people talking about it!) that left off on quite the cliffhanger. I often dislike comp titles because it often does books a disservices, but this series truly feels like Bridgerton x The Selection x The Cruel Prince and I am here for it. *Spoiler Warning- This review contains some spoilers for book one in the […]

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith | Review

Posted April 13, 2026 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I used to be an avid YA reader, who then over the years pivoted mainly to adult, and romantasy before “romantasy” was even a word. Sometimes it can feel like I’ve seen it all, and while still enjoyable, many of the books I read can feel formulaic. Therefore, I was so thrilled to find The Rose Bargain to be a fresh, compulsively readable addition to both the YA category and romantasy genre, and its sequel is going to be one of my most anticipated reads of whatever year it’s released! The synopsis touts the novel as a cross between The […]

Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle | ARC Review

Posted October 6, 2025 in ARCs, Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

In a world over-saturated with YA fantasy novels, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd these days. However, Curious Tides brings a really unique spin to the genre, with a magic system dictated by the phases of the moon and a seaside, college setting. This dark academia novel perfectly fit the vibe I was looking for in an October read. Told in alternating POV chapters the story follows Emory and Baz, who attend Aldryn College for Lunar Magics and are in two separate houses, with Baz being in the highly controversial Eclipse house. Each house has certain powers that […]

A Spell to Wake the Dead by Nicole Lesperance | ARC Review

Posted September 17, 2025 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I don’t read YA that often anymore (it used to be huge part of my life but now that I’m in my 30s it doesn’t resonate in quite the same way) but when I heard the words “witchy thriller” I knew it was time to dive back in! And new-to-me author Nicole Lesperance did not disappoint with her creepy, atmospheric paranormal mystery in A Spell to Wake the Dead. I’ll be honest, at first I wasn’t sure how I was going to get on with this book. It opens with teens Mazzy and Nora who were at first giving off […]

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson | Review

Posted August 26, 2024 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I was a huge huge fan of Jackson’s debut novel, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, and overall felt it was a very strong trilogy. I know she’s put a few books out since then, but this is the first I picked up since the original trilogy, and I was excited! I’ve been wanting to start reading more thrillers as the end of summer looms and we transition into fall up here in the Northern Hemisphere, and what better way to kick off my thriller TBR than with a tried and true author? Turns out I was wrong. I honestly […]

Suddenly a Murder by Lauren Muñoz | ARC Review

Posted September 15, 2023 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

I love a good thriller, and the elements of this novel having a Latinx protagonist and a 1920s themed party had me instantly sold from the synopsis! Protagonist Izzy goes on a graduation trip thrown by her very privileged BFF, Kassidy, at a famous estate owned by an eccentric mogul that served as the setting of many of their favorite silent film era movies. It gave me MAJOR Heart Castle vibes (a landmark on the Central Coast of California that was owned by William Randolph Hearst who threw parties that were rumored to have inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Gatsby parties). […]

Thriller Mini Reviews: More Than You’ll Ever Know & I’m the Girl

Posted January 23, 2023 in Books, Reviews / 1 Comment

I honestly can’t remember how More Than You’ll Ever Know ended up on my radar- probably a Goodreads email or round up post. However, I do remember the striking cover and vaguely knowing that it was a thriller/mystery. When my library hold came in, I didn’t rush to read it, and almost let it slip through the cracks. I’m so glad I didn’t, because it ended up being one of my favorite reads of 2022! Told in a dual POV with alternating timelines, More Than You’ll Ever Know centers around Cassie, an aspiring true crime writer, and Lore, an infamous […]

Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean (Tokyo Ever After #2) | ARC Review

Posted May 23, 2022 in ARCs, Books, Reviews / 2 Comments

If you’ve been reading my reviews over the years, you know that one of my absolute favorite series in the whole wide world is The Princess Diaries, and that I am a sucker for the normal-girl-finds-out-she’s royalty trope. Naturally, Izumi’s story of finding out she’s the illegitimate daughter of Japan in the Tokyo Ever After series is right up my alley! I actually found that I enjoyed the second book in this series quite a bit more than the first, because as a reader I adored getting to see how Izumi has adjusted to royal life and what her life […]

As Good as Dead (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder #3) by Holly Jackson | Review

Posted February 7, 2022 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments

Whoa. Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoa. Just when I think Holly Jackson can’t build upon her previous mysteries BAM she gets me with a twist so unexpected that I’m left reeling. I have a lot of whiplash from this book, the third and (likely) final installment in the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series, and it went in a direction I was NOT expecting. I’ll admit, I considered DNF-ing this one initially, because the beginning is super slow. Pip is obviously dealing with PTSD (as she was after the first book, however it’s amped up a LOT after what she went through in the […]