maggiestraveledbookshelf's reviews
568 reviews

A Risk Worth Taking by Jessica Joyce

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

📖 A Risk Worth Taking

✍🏻 Jessica Joyce

☑️ Contemporary Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ | 4.25

🌶️🌶️

“𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙩.”

Overview:

•Wintery Novella

•One Night Stand-ish

•Life Pivots

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗦𝗮𝗻 𝗙𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼, 𝗖𝗹𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.

This was honestly adorable.

From the opening meetcute to the last page, Claire and Connor had fun banter and sizzling chemistry! I love that they had time and space to grow individually, even in a novella.

Plus, the theme of leaving your comfort zone was perfect. It balanced the swoony moments with genuinely valuable lessons, and it gave this sweet story some extra depth.

𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙟𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙨𝙚𝙩: 𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚? 𝙏𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠?

If you want a sweet and spicy novella, I definitely recommend this one.

✨ Read via Purchased EBook ✨

A Little Magic by Lindsey Lanza

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

📖 A Little Magic

✍🏻 Lindsey Lanza

☑️ Contemporary Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 4.5

🌶️🌶️

This was SO sweet!! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Overview:

•Childhood Friends to Lovers

•Brother’s Best Friend

•Second Chance Romance

•Dual Timeline + POV

•Chronic Illness

•Christmastime/Hanukkah

•Snowed In

𝗦𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱, 𝗘𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲 𝗞𝗹𝗲𝗶𝗻’𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗼 𝗙𝗼𝘅.

I don’t always love friends-to-lovers, but Ellie and Theo’s love story is filled with SO much heart. Their relationship development from childhood acquaintances to more felt natural, filled with tender moments and holiday traditions.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙢, 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩...

“𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙢𝙤𝙢’𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙩, 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙭𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮. 𝙄 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤𝙤.”

My favorite part of this story was Lanza’s depiction of chronic illness (in this case: lupus) and how it deeply affected every member of the family. The complicated dynamics made the narrative so compelling and relatable.

Plus, this included the FMC’s therapy sessions, which were so honest and real. So often we want therapy to be a Quick Fix, where our therapist just explain all of life’s answers - and very unfortunately, it doesn’t quite work like that.

“𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙭𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙚. 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙢 𝙄 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙭 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.”

“𝙏𝙧𝙮 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙞𝙭. 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙀𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙚. 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮. 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙚 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨.”

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧?”

Furthermore, I will always adore stories where loss and grief are depicted so beautifully. In this case, we get to see how grief changes shape over time, cementing old memories and filling up unexpected moments.

“𝙄𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙚. 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣.” “𝙊𝙝.” 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙙. 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚?

This book wasn’t filled with eloquent speeches or perfectly crafted scenes - it overflowed with raw, candid moments that felt like real life. And I loved it.

I highly recommend this book, especially around the holiday season. If you enjoyed The Ex Vows or Love And Other Words, definitely pick this one up!

✨ Available via Kindle Unlimited ✨

The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

📖 The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year

✍🏻 Ally Carter

☑️ Mystery + Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙄’𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧. 𝙄’𝙢 𝙤𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩.”

This was so fun!!

Overview:

•Cozy Mystery

•Slow Burn Romance

•Knives Out Vibes

•Mixed Media Format

•Flashback Scenes

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀, 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵.

I’m not normally a Mystery Reader, but this genre blend of cozy mystery + rom-com really worked for me! With the added setting of Christmastime, it was the perfect vibe.

(Side note - I think this could be read at any point of the year! Christmas was just the backdrop, with low festive tones.)

Ally Carter mentioned that the FMC (Maggie) is her homage to While You Were Sleeping and how the holidays can be so challenging and lonely.

𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙩.

With Maggie’s complicated history, it set up the rivals to lovers romance perfectly. Her emotional baggage forced her to employ defense mechanisms, and the MMC Ethan definitely got caught in the crossfire.

Luckily for Maggie (and all of us), Ethan is steadfast and protective of her. His respect and admiration of her was purely delightful to read. I love a “I will harm anyone who harms you” man.

Plus, their back and forth banter was so fun!

“𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩.” “𝙎𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙨, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙙.”

Also, the Mixed Media format had interspersed police interrogation transcripts, which may have been my favorite parts!

𝙈𝙨. 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚: 𝙄 𝙤𝙗𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙢.

𝙈𝙧. 𝙒𝙮𝙖𝙩𝙩: 𝙈𝙖𝙜𝙜𝙞𝙚’𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖—

𝙈𝙨. 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚: 𝙄𝙛 𝙄’𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙞𝙢, 𝙝𝙚’𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙.

𝙈𝙧. 𝙒𝙮𝙖𝙩𝙩: 𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣. [𝙈𝙧. 𝙒𝙮𝙖𝙩𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙨 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩.] 𝙍𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚.

The whole story definitely reminded me of Knives Out (a movie which I loved), with plenty of unexpected twists, a sprawling estate, and an eclectic group of people.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone wanting a lighthearted and cozy mystery with rom-com vibes!

✨ Read via Libby ✨

10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak

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dark inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

📖 10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World

✍🏻 Elif Shafak

☑️ Literary Fiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙪𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙤.”

WOW. Absolutely remarkable!

Overview:

•Unique Storytelling

•Set in Istanbul

•Found Family

•Humanity and Death

•Heavy Themes

𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝗶𝗹𝗮, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗷𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗱.

I’ve read one Shafak book before, so I knew to expect a heartbreaking and exquisite tale, but with the added friendships and the unique format of this one? Incredible.

The narrative is split into three parts: Mind, Body, and Soul. This allowed for a fully three-dimensional reading experience as we are immersed into vivid memories and the tragic present.

𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙣𝙚? 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙣𝙤 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩?

Shafak’s descriptive storytelling painted such clear images of these characters, their unique histories, and the complex beauty of Istanbul.

Diving into Leila’s memories allowed us to see the very heart of her, and how horrifying moments and loyal friends have shaped her. Check TWs, if needed.

𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙞𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙. 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜.

One prevalent theme threaded through this story is how our family molds us, for better or for worse. All the decisions that Leila’s parents made directly impacted how she ended up in a brothel with a guilt-ridden soul. On the flip side, her bother provided some powerful insights and a deep well of love.

𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙’𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙮, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙮𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙧.

Water can sometimes be thicker than blood, and this group of friends formed the powerful heart of this story. All outcasts in their own right, it was a impactful reminder about the power of friendship and love.

𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙝 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙗𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙨𝙤𝙤𝙩.

Leila and her friends encompassed the full spectrum of religious views, from complete reverence to atheism. Their discussions and internal conflicts provided so much depth to this complex layer of the world.

𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙟𝙪𝙙𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙥𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙤 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙃𝙞𝙢.

I cannot review this book without talking about sex trafficking, which Shafak shines multiple spotlights on. Sometimes we can sit in our privilege, not realizing what is a still prevalent problem, and I will always appreciate this dose of reality.

𝘽𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙢 – 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙚𝙭𝙪𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙡𝙤𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 – 𝙞𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙚.

Shafak is not subtle either her reflections on humanity and society treats those whom are different, especially when it comes to death. I’m thankful for her precise, honest portrayal for the world needs more empathy and understanding.

𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬, 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨.

Each time I’ve finished a book by this author, I’m immediately in a book hangover. These stories demand time to reflect and recover, and I am grateful to Shafak for bringing these powerful stories to the world - especially at the very real risk to herself.

I recommend this book full heartedly.

✨ Read via Libby ✨

Content Warnings

White Horse Black Nights by Evie Marceau

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

📖 White Horse Black Nights

📚 Book 1 of the Godkissed Bride series

✍🏻 Evie Marceau

☑️ Fantasy Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝙒𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙩𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙎𝙤 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣. 𝘼𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧.”

An overall fun and intriguing romantasy! The ending of this book really bumped everything up a notch.

Overview:

•Snow White Retelling (ish)

•Forbidden Romance

•Forced Proximity

•Bodyguard x Forced Bride

•Selective Magic Powers

𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗴𝗲, 𝗦𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗲, 𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝗱𝗸𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹𝘀, 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗼𝗱𝘆𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗪𝗼𝗹𝗳, 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗼𝗼𝗻-𝘁𝗼-𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝘀𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱’𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝘂𝗻𝘁𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗻.

First and foremost, the majority of this book involves Sabine traveling for almost three weeks on horseback - while wearing zero clothes, as mandated by her betrothed. Apparently this aspect is a retelling of the Lady Godiva legend, but it still felt WILD.

I really loved how the author incorporated the retelling elements of Snow White with this unique magic system. The FMC, Sabine, can mind-speak with all animals, and there were a few scenes in particular that were frankly SO cool.

“𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙖𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙘 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝙛𝙚𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨, 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙠𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙. 𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙞𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙝𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮.”

Sabine’s interesting background gave her depth and empathy, and I loved how she processed the difficult situations around her. She somehow walked the line between Dreamer and Realist, which played out in authentic ways.

“𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙣. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚…𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙖 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙗𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙨.

While I appreciated Wolf’s protective nature and empathized with his turbulent upbringing, I had a hard time with a few of his decisions. His character reminded me a lot of TOG’s Chaol (who I love), so I’m excited to see where his arc goes.

“𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚. 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚’𝙨 𝙣𝙤 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙄’𝙙 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙟𝙤𝙗. 𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚.”

The combination of the bodyguard trope and the forbidden romance created such a fun, sizzling chemistry between the MCs. However, I personally wanted a little more slow burn to their relationship development.

The last 20% of this book escalated quickly and was the strongest part of the narrative. I loved all the elements of political intrigue and the additional characters. This opened up the whole world building and set up the series to expand so well.

Special shout out to my favorite scene:

“𝙄𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨? 𝘾𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙨? 𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧: 𝙄𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙝𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩.”

If you had asked me in the middle of this book, I’m not sure I would feel inclined to continue the series. But after the last third? I’m invested.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a fun fantasy retelling with forbidden romance vibes!

✨ available via kindle unlimited ✨

Morning Star by Pierce Brown

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

📖 Morning Star

📚 Book 3 of the Red Rising Saga

✍🏻 Pierce Brown

☑️ Science Fiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙭𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙭𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. 𝙒𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙙. 𝙒𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙣’𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣.“

An absolutely INCREDIBLE conclusion to the Red Rising trilogy!

Overview:

•Dystopian Sci-Fi

•Action Packed

•Major Character Arcs

•Plot Twists and Turns

•Found Family

Let me start with this: I have 150 highlights from this book. There is no way I can completely explain my thoughts, but I will try.

This book opens with immediate darkness, both literally and metaphorically, and there is a constant “how will they get past this” vibe, to the point where I was continually stressed.

“𝙎𝙤 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙙𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙨𝙩. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧. 𝙄 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨.”

The evolution of relationships and overall character dynamics in this book is flat out impressive. From the inevitable insecurities to the devout support, it felt so real and raw to watch the arc of these characters.

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙨.” 𝙄 𝙩𝙤𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙧. “𝙒𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩, 𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙤. 𝘽𝙧𝙤𝙠𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙥𝙞𝙙 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜.”

This third book felt above and beyond the rest, and I think that’s due to how he viscerally portrayed the complexity of humanity.

From the overarching themes to the quiet musings, I love how Darrow specifically grew in his perspective and overall stance on life and other people.

“𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙨𝙤 𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩? 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚. 𝙄𝙩 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧.”

I cannot go a single line further without declaring my appreciation for Sevro (also my book MVP).

“𝙒𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙖𝙜𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙬𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙣𝙚. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙎𝙚𝙫𝙧𝙤 𝙖𝙪 𝘽𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙖. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙣𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙙.”

Sevro is at the heart of this Found Family, and it was both excruciating and invigorating to love these characters so much.

No man is formed on an island, so I love how Brown depicted how we sometimes must draw on the strength of the people around us.

“𝙄 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚, 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜. 𝙉𝙤𝙬 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙬𝙚 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙣𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚. 𝙎𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙨.”

I could write so much more, but let’s just say:

Overall, I highly recommend this trilogy to everyone wanting an epic adventure.

✨ Read via Libby ✨

Extra Quotes:

𝙁𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙣’𝙨 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙍𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙞𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙚𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧.

𝙄’𝙢 𝙖 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙃𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩, 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚-𝙤𝙛-𝙩𝙝𝙚-𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙-𝙤𝙛𝙛 𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨, 𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙡𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙨.

𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙧. 𝙄𝙛 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙚.

“𝘽𝙮𝙚, 𝙁𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖.”

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

Go to review page

lighthearted fast-paced

3.25

📖 Cruel Winter with You

📚 Under the Mistletoe Collection

✍🏻 Ali Hazelwood

☑️ Contemporary Romance, Novella

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 3.25

🌶️

“𝙈𝙖𝙧𝙘 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙥 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙬 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙡𝙚𝙩 𝙜𝙤 𝙤𝙛.”

Overview:

•Holiday Novella

•Best Friend’s Brother

•Snowed In

•”It’s always been you”

𝗛𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆. 𝗦𝗵𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘀𝗻𝗼𝘄𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺.

This was cute, albeit not my favorite Hazelwood story.

With the story alternating between past and present, we only get quick glimpses into who they are now individually. The flashbacks did provide levity and context for their foundation.

If you like “it’s always been you” with a heavy dose of man-obsessed, you will probably like the MMC. However, he’s a little too full-throttle in my opinion. (The phone background was a ~choice~)

“𝙄 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙖𝙡𝙡. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙪𝙥. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙩𝙝𝙨 𝙄’𝙢 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙤 . . . 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪.”

Overall, it was a quick and easy read! If you want a more holiday-centered story, I would look somewhere else.

✨ Read via Kindle Unlimited ✨

Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens

Go to review page

funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

📖 Is She Really Going Out With Him?

✍🏻 Sophie Cousens

☑️ Contemporary Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🌶️

“𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨.”

This was such a fun, lighthearted rom-com!

Overview:

•Workplace Romance

•Divorced Journalist FMC

•Matchmaking by Kids

•Rediscovering Self

𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗔𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮: 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿.

This story combined quirky rom-com vibes and the introspection of rediscovery. I thoroughly enjoyed how Cousens wrote the narrative about embracing new chapters and pushing through fear of failure.

Anna’s character arc was wonderful. I respected her love and commitment to her work, and I empathized with how she felt lost within her motherhood and her job.

The relationship between Anna her ex-husband felt so real, and the growth in that aspect was such a strong part of this narrative. I empathized with her internal struggles as she navigated this stage while grieving what she thought her life would be.

𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙨 𝙢𝙚, 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙖 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜-𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙙. 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨—𝙤𝙛 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜, 𝙤𝙛 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚, 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙, 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭-𝙬𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧.

I loved the hilarity of her kids choosing random people for her to ask out on dates! Dating in your 30s is not easy, and through the realistic dates, this provided some wonderful commentary.

The romance between Anna and Will was very sweet, albeit not my favorite part of the book. Their relationship felt a little too shortsighted, but they had sizzling chemistry and fun moments.

“𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜,” 𝙄 𝙨𝙖𝙮, 𝙜𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙪𝙥 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢. “𝙄’𝙢 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙚𝙭𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙪𝙣𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚.”

Special shout out to the chapter openings! They infused so much relatability and humor, like this example:

𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙨:

𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣 “𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚” / 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙨?

𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙚?

𝙌𝙪𝙞𝙯: 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙜𝙚 𝙘𝙮𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪?

I fully appreciate Cousens’ ability to write romances for a more mature audience while infusing so much heart and wit.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to anyone wanting a sweet and lighthearted romance!

✨ Read via Libby ✨

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

📖 All the Colors of the Dark

✍🏻 Chris Whitaker

☑️ Literary Fiction

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 | 4.5

“𝙄 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙫𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙙𝙙𝙨.”

In short, this book was EPIC.

Overview:

•Genre Blend: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

•Set in Small Town Missouri

•Multiple Decades

•Character-Driven

I’m not sure I’ve ever read a book quite like this one, which is a marker of an excellent read.

I favor character-driven stories, and this one delivers on multiple intricate characters with depth and growth. Human connection is the heart of this story. The family ties and friendships explored through this story were honest and meaningful.

Here’s a non-spoilery line for each main person (trying something new with this):

Joseph “Patch” Macauley

“𝘼𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙤𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩 𝙖 𝙛𝙪𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚. 𝘼𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙝𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙒𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙙.”

Saint Brown

“𝙎𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙢. 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙨.”

Misty Meyer

“𝙈𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩.”

Grace

“𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮?”

“𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙤𝙛 𝙪𝙨.”

Whitaker crafted a story with so many characters and plot lines that spans decades, and I was continually enthralled, partially due to his unique writing style.

His prose is poignant and evocative, but not effusive. The book is broken into multiple sections and very short chapters, which continually propelled the story forwards.

Something about his word choice and dialogue just really grabbed me. Examples:

“𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧?” 𝙎𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙩 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙, 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙞𝙧 𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙. (Cauterized!! Loved that.)

“𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙪𝙨.”

“𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣.”

“𝙉𝙤. 𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣.”

I also loved the exploration and dialogue about faith and religion. It brought so many colors and perspectives on a continually complex theme.

“𝙂𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚. 𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙤𝙪𝙩.”

Downsides: I found a few aspects a little unbelievable, and I wasn’t as emotionally attached as expected.

However, the strengths of this story (some I didn’t even mention due to spoilers) vastly outweigh those points, and I immediately added the author’s other works to my TBR.

Overall, I highly recommend this book.

✨ Read via Libby ✨

Heathen and Honeysuckle by Sarah A. Bailey

Go to review page

lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

📖 Heathen and Honeysuckle

📚 Book 1 of the Pacific Shores series (interconnected standalones)

✍🏻 Sarah A. Bailey

☑️ Contemporary Romance

⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ | 3.25

🌶️🌶️🌶️

“𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙠𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚. 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙖𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪. 𝙄’𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙬𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚.”

I had really high hopes for this one, but unfortunately it didn’t like land for me.

Overview:

•Angsty Romance

•Second Chance

•Dual Timeline + Dual POV

•Runaway Bride

•Good Girl x Bad Boy

𝗧𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗹𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗯𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗟𝗲𝗼 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲.

Outlier Island here. This book had so much potential, but I ended the story feeling more frustrated than anything else.

However - If the tropes listed above intrigue you, please still check out this book because clearly many people absolutely love this one.

🤍 What I Enjoyed:

I loved the premise and set-up of this story! We are immediately submerged into two timelines - the past where Darby and Leo meet in a small coastal California town and the present where Darby is prepping for her wedding to someone else.

Also, hearing from both POVs was a wonderful experience. They are quite clearly obsessed with one another.

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙄’𝙢 𝙖 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙮?”

“𝙄𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙, 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮.”

“𝘿𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪… 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙮𝙨?”

“𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙩 𝙪𝙥.” 𝙄 𝙡𝙖𝙪𝙜𝙝, 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢. “𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙖𝙙 𝙗𝙤𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙫𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙩 𝙖 𝙜𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡.”

We also got a scene where Leo completely told off her toxic family, and I live for those moments in books!! So satisfying.

😅 What I Didn’t Enjoy:

The characters felt inconsistent and surface level. Each had well-rounded back stories, so it was frustrating when their words and actions contradicted one another. Plus I felt like their individual traumas could’ve produced more depth and stronger arcs.

For example:

——> Grandma’s inconsistencies: “𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙗𝙤𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣. 𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙧 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙞𝙢.” But later: “𝙄 𝙩𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙪𝙢𝙗 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙣.”

And then her whole end arc? I have a hard time believing she wouldn’t fight harder to help her granddaughters?

——> Leo inconsistencies: “𝙋𝙡𝙪𝙨, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙄 𝙙𝙤 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙬, 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨: 𝙄 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙠 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙘𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙞𝙙𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮.” But he does SO many things (illegal and/or risky) with Darby that could potentially harm her.

I also predicted one of the main twists pretty early on, and I was extremely disappointed to have it confirmed near the end, as it made me very frustrated with the FMC.

The FMC was a constant damsel in distress, and it drove me bananas. I just wanted to yell: “stand up for yourself!!” Even by the end of the book, Leo was making moves for her.

And the spice… Oof. I have issues with how many of their encounters were portrayed. I’m ALL for sex scenes when there is proper tension and build up, but the present day scenes felt too sudden and unrealistic.

The writing itself had many lovely moments, especially in their metaphor of ghosts and wolves. However, the dialogue felt frequently too flowery and repetitive.

I rarely write reviews like this where they feel more like a rant than anything. But it was so frustrating to read a book that had so much potential and have it fall so flat.

If you want a weirdly lighthearted book with plenty of spice, you could still read and enjoy this book. Clearly there are plenty of people who love this one, and I’m genuinely happy for them!

✨ Read via Kindle Unlimited ✨

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maggiestraveledbookshelf's reviews 568 reviews

maggiestraveledbookshelf's reviews
568 reviews