Romance WRAP Up

A little change up as I feel like is more easy to do, I’m going to combine all my genre reads into one post so I don’t feel like it’s a chore to make separate posts for them.

Rosie Taft and Jane Breslin couldn’t be more different as books are Rosie’s life as she owns a bookstore that was originally her mother’s. With living in Manhattan, the young girl seems to have it all except for one thing: a love life. While Rosie is wishing her love life to take shape, Jane Breslin operates as a real estate owner by day and a streamer by night where she uses the alias of Brie and spends her time flirting with a mysterious person who happens to be Rosie. When Rosie finds out that Jane’s family business has terminated the lease to her beloved bookstore, romance is on the back burner but there is no denying the sparks between them, will the two find a way to meet in the middle or is it another heartbreak for the young women?”

What a super cute book with a fun and engaging plot! I loved the relationship between Rosie and Jane as it developed throughout the book. It had everything you could want and I found myself relating to both characters as they had their own quirks and flaws that made them feel so real. The plot was cute and although I’ve read books with this similar plot, the author does of a good job of changing up a few things so it’s not so familiar. Overall, a super cute and fun book and I can’t wait fro the second installment of this series.

For the last year, Jo Stewart has been working on a bucket list while working as a yacht stewardess and she’s been excelling with her list while enjoying her time before her birthday. Jo is feeling good and on track with her bucket list when tragedy strikes and Jo”s world comes crashing down as she’s forced to confront painful memories from her past and process through difficult emotions. While trying to stay on track with her list, she finds herself developing feelings for a young man, Alex Hayes and this further complicates her relationships and she must make a choice to stop playing it safe and embrace her past or she will lose what matters the most.

I really enjoyed this book as it touched upon serious issues like grief, mental health, emotions, and family issues in a way that wasn’t over the top but still very real. I loved Jo, I thought she was a very relatable character and I felt for her throughout the book as she struggled to come to terms with her past in order to embrace the present and choose what matters most to her rather than playing it safe. That struck a cord with me as I went through similar changes so I was rooting for her the entire time. The romance was very cute and I did enjoy the plot! I would totally recommend this book to others! A fun, interesting, and heartwarming read about embracing the past so you can live the life you’ve always wanted for yourself.

If there was one person Catalina Martin couldn’t stand, it was Aaron Blackford and the feeling is mutual. But, desperate times call for desperate measures as she needs to bring someone to her sister’s wedding or else she’ll never live it down. It’s just a simple trip with the most obnoxious, aggravating, and nosiest man she’s ever met. Or is it?

Ahhhhh, this book was so much fun!! I loved it from beginning to end. The enemies to lovers trope is my favorite and it was so well done and felt very real! I love their relationship and how it developed through the book. The plot, characters, and how the story developed were fleshed out together so that it made a very fun read.

To everyone who knows them, best friends Meil and Sam as are strange as they are inseparable.The pair has magical abilities that are on opposites sides of the spectrum as roses grow out of Miel’s wrist and Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs out in tree’s and while not much is know about him or his mother before they moved here, even they know to stay away from the Bonner girls, who are witches. But, when Miel and Sam discover that the witches want Miel’s roses that grow out her skin as they believe the scent can make anyone fall in love, the two must do what they can to not only protect Meil and every secret she’s sworn to protect but their loved ones.

Oh Anna-Marie McLemore, you really have a way with words. This was such a heartwarming and beautiful read as I was hooked from beginning to end. I’ve been a huge fan of her writing and she never fails to disappoint with how she develops her characters and I always feel like I know them. The struggles of the characters are what drive this particular story as it follows, Latina Miel and Samir, an Italian-Pakistani trans boy and McLemore does an excellent job with tackling these serious issues in a way that feels real. A truly beautiful tale of friendship, belonging, and finding your inner voice.

Non-Fiction Wrap up

I’m trying out something new with my book reviews so we’ll see how this works out!

For many of us, navigating the stress that comes with the pressure of our daily lives can force us to take on patterns that aren’t healthy which can impact our lives in the future. While it can be difficult to develop healthy patterns or strategies, they are crucial for our own well-being. The Age of Overwhelm provides readers with techniques, skills, and strategies to help improve our well-being while still being present in our every day lives.

I don’t normally read self-help that much those kind of books are hit and miss with me but I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I found it relevant for the times especially with learning to be more present, learning to say no without feeling guilty, and cutting people out your life who drain your energy. All of the issues that were discussed in this book struck a cord with me especially being more present. I think these are all things that most people struggle with in their daily lives as many of us come from home environments where we learned unhealthy strategies and coping skills. I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking to better themselves as I found this very helpful.

Have you ever wondered why you can’t control some of your emotions at times or why people do the things that they do? If so, you’re not alone and it’s nothing that has anything to do you as a person but the events that occurred in your life that altered your ability to deal with them in a healthy way.

This book has been on my tbr for a long time so I was glad to finally have a chance to read it. I have read a lot of books having to do with trauma and this was the first one I read where I got clarity on the experiences I went through as a child. Before reading this book, I had watched a few interviews with Oprah and Dr. Bruce Perry and I was hoping that I would enjoy the book and I did. It’s very difficult to navigate through life when you have a messed up childhood and when you can finally make sense of the events that happened to you and that last part is so important. It’s not what’s wrong with you but what happened to you? It’s such a simple yet profound statement. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

The Crossing Gate

“A moment passed before he peeked at my necklace, and his eyes became tender. “You know, Leen love isn’t always a crazy, obsessive emotion. Love is understanding and respecting each other, and giving space to grow and sacrifice and compromise. It’s about being there for each other, not running away. And it certainly isn’t treason.”

In the kingdom of Elpax, juveniles must walk through crossing gate to become adults. Seems very simple doesn’t it? For a young woman named Lenore it would be anything but as when the time comes her to cross through the gate, it goes horribly wrong. The young woman who was hoping to have to finally have success with crossing the gate is now being accused of trying to start a revolution and she must follows the rules if she wants to stay alive. But, following the rules is never easy and Lenore is going to find herself being tested in ways she didn’t imagine especially when a young handsome stranger shows up and she starts to feel emotions that she’s never felt before. But, juveniles aren’t allowed to fall in love so Lenore is finding herself at a crossing point as she wants to follow the laws and keep her family safe but more and more secrets come out about her kingdom that she realizes, fighting against the system and saving her family and loved ones might be the only way she will survive.

Wow! This was a truly beautiful story and the plot was so unique and that’s what caught my attention when I was looking for new books coming out. Someone called this a mash up between The Handmaiden’s Tale and Hunger Games and they couldn’t be more right as there were moments of terror, rage and anger but also heartwarming moments that made you feel for the characters and Lenore. There were so many times that I wanted to rage with her and I’m glad that she finally got to rage herself. This is so true for many of us as there are reasons why we have to keep certain emotions suppressed but all that does it create more problems especially if we longer have room to suppress them. Not only did I enjoy and relate to Lenore, I enjoyed all the characters and their dynamics with each other so I highly recommend it!

MOst anticipated books FOR FEBRUARY

Didn’t plan on doing this originally but I thought it would be fun to share my most anticipated books for each month of the year! I was going to do it all in one but that would go on forever!

Lockdown on London Lane by Beth Reekles
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: 2/1/2022

Hunt The Stars by Jessie Mihalik
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Release Date: 2/1/22

Theses Deadly Games by Diane Urban
Genre: Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers
Release Date: 2/1/2022

Not The Witch You Wed by April Asher
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Release Date: 2/8/2022

Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: 2/8/2022

House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Release Date: 2/15/2022

Second Star To The Left by Megan Van Dyke
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Retelling
Release Date: 2/15/2022

League Of Liars by Astrid Scholte
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery
Release Date: 2/22/2022

Deliah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: 2/22/2022

Tripping Arcadia by Kit Mayquist
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Horror
Release Date: 2/22/2022

Fake by Erica Katz
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: 2/22/2022

The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Genre: Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: 2/22/2022

Sisters of The Forsaken Stars by Lina Rather
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Sci-Fi
Release Date: 2/22/2022

Best Books of 2021

This is a little late but oh well! I had planned to do this but got distracted and busy but I waned to share my favorite reads of the year with y’all so I hope you enjoy!

Contemporary:

Fantasy:

LGBT:

Mystery:

KIng of Battle and Blood

“All of the stars in the sky are not as bright as my love for you.”

While many brides find their wedding day to be their happiest day but not Isolde De Lara, she expected to wed the vampire king Adrian Alexksandr Vasiliev in order to end a decades long war. She is planning to kill him on their wedding night but things don’t go as planned as he catches her in the act and threatens to raise her as the undead, which is the thing that she hates the most. Isolde isn’t going to go down without a fight as she finds other ways to defy him and survive the brutal vampire court. But, the court isn’t what she fears most. It’s Adrian himself and despite their obvious electrifying chemistry, she wants to know why he would chose her as his consort.

Well, here have another predictable enemies to lovers vampire story that I found myself engrossed in even if the writing was choppy in some parts. From the reviews on this book, people either loved it or hated and I’m one of those people who is in the middle. I didn’t exactly love it as much as I wanted to love it but it was entertaining and I did like the smut. The second book isn’t coming out for awhile and I don’t even know if I’m gonna read it but let’s get started on the good with this book. As I mentioned, the smut was pretty good and I did enjoy that because sometimes either the smut is written poorly or there’s not enough. While I did find Isolde annoying, I did buy the chemistry between herself and Adrian so that’s one of the pluses. One reason why I didn’t completely like Isolde is because I got I’m not like most girls vibe and I hate that type of character because it’s over done so it made me enjoy the book even less.

But, overall I enjoyed it and maybe I’ll check out the second book when it comes out!

Lore Olympus by Rachel Symthe

“I know it may seem overwhelming right now. If I were lucky enough to have somebody love me, I would try everything to make it work. You’re lucky to have that even if it hurts.”

Young goddess of the spring, Persephone, is new to Olympus but as the young woman who has promised to train as a sacred virgin is about to get more than she’s bargained for when she’s meets the mysterious, Hades during a night out with her new roommate and sister Artemis and her life is thrown into a chaos as she finds herself attracted to the older man who is charming yet very misunderstood ruler of the underworld. Now, Persephone must find her place among the world of Olympus all while navigating through the confusing politics and find her true power.

I know what you’re thinking! Great, another Persephone and Hades retelling? I hear ya I hear ya but this is one retelling that is guaranteed to keep you wanting more. Going into this, I thought it was going to be a similar retelling and it was the opposite and it did not disappoint as I loved everything about it especially the personalities of the gods especially Hades and Persephone. In addition to the fantastic characterization, the dynamics between the gods and chemistry between Hades and Persephone felt very real. They are so cute together and I can’t wait to read more of their adventures in the next book coming out this year but not until July, ugh that’s too long. Not only did it feel real but it was relatable at times especially with how Persephone was navigating through the political climate in Olympus while trying to figure who she is and what he wants to do with her life.

Definitely check this out if you love mythology but I think many people would actually enjoy this book as it was a wild, entertaining, and fun ride from beginning to end.

The Exiled Fleet

“What’s our motto, friends?”
“Get it done fast and don’t die, sir.”

The crew of sentinels, led by courageous Adequin Drake are making a desperate preparations to return to the galaxy that abandoned them all before they all starve. Having stabilized the situation at the Divide, the immediate threat, the crew is now low on supplies and their is a impending mutiny brewing. With tensions building, the team must find a way to get through this or they may not make it out alive.

A thrilling and entertaining follow up to The Last Watch and I am so happy that I didn’t have to wait a long time to read this follow up or else I would’ve been unhappy. I was engrossed from beginning to end and while I did find the novel very entertaining there were a few things that didn’t make me love it as much as the first one. One plus was the continued developed fo the characters as I felt like it was very real and and relatable especially with Rake and her own self-doubt about whether she’s fit to be a leader. Out of all the characters, she’s probably my favorite. It’s hard not to root for her and the other members. I felt like this novel was a bit overcrowded with new characters, plot details, and a bit too much information that made me confused at times. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more it there wasn’t so much going on as it was hard to keep track of who was who especially with new characters being introduced in this book. But even with all of that, Dewes crafted a entertaining and fun follow up to the first book and I am excited for the third to come out even though it won’t be for a long time!

The Last Watch

“One act doesn’t define someone, good or bad. I hate what you did. Not you.”

The Last Watch follows a band of criminal misfits who have been banished to the edge of space that have to their petty grievances aside to save the universe from certain destruction. Each character has their own agenda but if they want to save earth and find a way to redeem themselves, they must work together before it’s too late.

Wow! This book was truly enjoyable and I’m glad that I don’t have to wait for the second book. I’ve been reading a lot of Sci-Fi lately and I’m really glad that I have because I haven’t had a miss yet and will probably be my new favorite Sci-Fi series. The plot wasn’t something that I’d seen before with a band of misfits coming together to save the world but the way it was done here made it more unique and interesting and I believe the writing had a lot to do with that. It honestly felt like I was there and I could feel the tension between the characters in stressful situation. Another great aspect of the book were the characters as they each had their own flaws that made them very relatable and I felt invested not only with their personal journey but how they fit in with the rest of the group. Overall, this was a really good suspenseful Sci-Fi space opera filled with everything you would hope for a Sci-Fi series to have.