Romance

Book Review: Graceling Series

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“When a monster stopped behaving like a monster, did it stop being a monster? Did it become something else?”

All her life, Katsa has been an outsider as she’s a graceling, a rare group of people who are bore in her land with an extreme skill: killing a man with her bare hands. As the niece of the King, you would think she would enjoy having a life of privilege but it’s hard to enjoy it when you’re spending so much time doing the King’s dirty work. But, such is the life that she has until an encounter with Prince Po and finds herself falling for him and the closer they become, the more she discovers that not everything is well within the kingdom as a terrible secret about her race is bound to tear the seven kingdoms apart.

It’s been awhile since I first this series and it was a good reread, fun to go back and see how I feel about the book from when I first read. It’s one of my favorite YA series and a new one is coming out in October so I thought I would start the re-read now so I can be ready for when it comes. I love the different names for the books and each story is it’s own and it’s been fun reading these books again. This first book was never my fave, I really like Fire and the others as I found the main character, Katsa very annoying but I did enjoy the other aspects of the book especially with the world-building as that always helps. Katsa is a graceling which is the ability to kill a person at the slightest touch and being the King’s niece, she has helped torture, murder, and struck horror into the lives of anyone who opposes the king. The older she gets, the more insecure she feels not only with who she is and the skill she possesses and soon begins to start living a double life as a hero. What I loved about this book with not only the world-building, every character was fully fleshed out and even though Katsa annoyed me, I did like aspects of her personality. It’s a very interesting plot and I think it was well written so if it sounds up your alley, then go ahead and check it out!

Book Review: Dark Night, Golden Dawn

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“They complemented one another well, the perfect mix of dark night and golden dawn.”

In a place where the elite are just as powerful as gods, the season is about to begin in where The Immortal Orders will gather, pair and create a spectacle for all Nuva Troi to witness. But, if there is one person who isn’t interested unlike past years it’s Harlow Keane who is more concentrated on fixing her broken heart. Fate has other plans as when the season begins, the order comes to her with a job offer and they promise to back off, if she agrees to pair with their most eligible bachelor, Finn McKay. She has been burned by Finn before and knows that she’ll get burned again. But as the season goes on, strange things begin to happen and the balance of power between Immortal Orders and Humans is growing deadlier by the day. Only Finn and Harlow are the ones who notice what is going on and if they want to save their city, they must put aside their petty grudges and find out what is happening before it’s too late.

Although the start was a little slow, I’m glad it picked up and that I ended up enjoying it as it was a fun and exciting read and I feel like it lived up the what it was about. Sometimes, summaries can be very deceiving and there’s nothing worse than when a book doesn’t live up to it. Besides the beautiful world-building, I really enjoyed Harlow and her relationships especially wit her family, it was so comforting and wholesome. You could tell how much they truly cared for one another and they were all so interesting and unique, it’s not always you find secondary characters as fleshed out as the primary characters. So it’s always nice to have that and I did enjoy the banter between Harlow and Finn, I did fine the romance to be believable and that’s a good sign because there’s nothing worse than a forced romance. Overall, I really enjoyed it so if it sounds like something

Book Review: The Enemy

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“I feel my heart physically crack a little. It’s both painful and healing at the same time.”

It’s been twelve years since June Bug saw Ryan Henderson, the man who outsmarted her in a game of wits. If she had her way, she’d never cross paths with him again but all that fails when she gets news that Ryan will be showing up for her best friend’s wedding. A lot of time has passed since that fateful day and June is a different person, she’s owns a successful bakery and plans to rub that in his face. If all goes to plan, June will have her revenge on Ryan but fate has other plans in store for June.

Originally, I was going to write a review for this because it was so bad but I changed my mind. The summary made me believe it was enemy to lovers which is one of my favorites and it was a poorly attempt at it because they were pining for each other while not liking one another and that’s not what the trope is. So that was a bummer but that’s not what I disliked the most about this book. At first, I liked June who is one of the main characters as I found her interesting but quickly she began to really annoy me with how she was acting towards Ryan. While I do understand her hesitancy with future relationships because of her past, she came off as very immature at times not willing have to communication in a n effective way so there wouldn’t be anymore misunderstandings. She was being petty and annoying and this is where I started to lose my invested in the book, she was very unlikable and not in a good way. The romance also felt very forced so it was hard to really believe that they really liked each other, it was not a good book. I’m bummed because this trope is one of my favorites and when it’s poorly done, it makes me sad.

Book Review: Something Wilder

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“He’d loved Lily so deeply that it changed his biology. Standing here now, it seemed his love for her hadn’t gone away, it had just been vacuum-sealed and stored. Back in her presence, the physical memory of his infatuation was released in a deluge, gasping to life, and adrenaline flooded his bloodstream.”

Growing up as the daughter of notorious treasure hunter and absentee father, Duke Wilder left, Lily without much patience for the profession or money in the bank. But, as always, she will find a way to make things work she does just that. Finding a way to pay her bills but also continue carrying on the legacy of treasure hunting, Lily is looking forward to this new found journey. If only, Leo Grady didn’t show up with his new band of friends, things would be perfect and now she has to deal with the man she once loved, the man who broke her heart and if she had her way she’d take him out to the desert and leave him there. But, as fate has other plans for Lily and Leo.

While I didn’t character for the romance, I loved the other parts of the book especially the characters, Lily and Leo. I honestly would’ve preferred Lily on her own because there was something about Leo that felt off and I did find her very relatable. The romance takes a back seat in this novel and it;’s more of an adventure which I liked, the author is known for romance in her books and she’s very good at it. The pacing and writing helped moved the story along and I was into the adventure more than the romance so it all worked out! This has adventure, love, hope, danger, and romance so if you think this is up your alley then I would give it a try!

Book Review: The Magic of Found Objects

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“Just take your place in the world with as much grace and gratitude as you can muster and try to see the best in us.”

Conceived at Woodstock in a serendipitous liaison between a free-spirited hippie and farmer’s son, Phronsie Linnelle was born with magical wonder flicking in her DNA and rationally knit into her bones. Torn between the two for most of her life and now that she’s been betrayed by both love and the the mother she once idolized, her rational is winning out. So when her childhood best friend proposes that they give up on romance and marry each other, she couldn’t think of a better idea. What’s better than spending the rest of your life with your best friend who you know won’t hurt you? But as fate has it, right when she’s about to embark on this journey, someone from her past makes a very convincing argument for revisiting romance, Phronsie must look at her own heart to find that the answers that have been there all along.

What a delightful and fun read from beginning to end! I was so invested in the story and had to force myself to sleep or I would’ve stayed up way too late to read more. This book was so wild and entertaining and that’s really what I loved the most because just when I thought I knew what was happening, it would go in the different direction. I really loved how well written the characters were even the secondary characters were fleshed out and felt so human. They were all so deeply flawed and complicated which is so nice to have in books. Phronsie was such a likable protagonist and I really felt for her while she was trying to sort out the events that transpired in her life and I really liked her growth. The plot and how everything tied up nicely in the end was so well done, I really enjoyed this one and I’m going to check out more of Dawson’s work. Highly recommend this!!

Book Review: FLOAT PLAN

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“I’m starting to understand that some people come into your life when you need them, and go when it’s time.”

Float Plan follows Anna as she navigates through the loss of her fiance to suicide, she is grief stricken at the loss and unable to integrate back into her normal routine. Her life kicks back up when she gets a reminder about a trip that the two were supposed to take together but now she is alone and on a impulse she decides to go on the trip alone. But, it turns out to be too overwhelming for her and she realizes she needs an extra hand, someone who is good with sailing and she finds that Keane, a professional sailor to help. Much like Anna, his life has been thrown into a tailspin and he is trying to make his way through and soon a budding friendship starts to form with the two realizing that their might be more than friendship in their future.

This was such a great book! I binged it in one day as I was glued to my book to find out what was going to happen next and I found Anna so relatable and easy to like. I really felt for her while she was working through her own grief and how she went about it felt very real. Losing a loved one is never easy to deal especially with suicide as that brings out a lot of guilt and shame with thinking about what you could’ve done to help that person. It’s so difficult to process especially with by yourself and i thought the way the author developed the friendship and eventually romance between Anna and Keane was really well done, it didn’t feel so forced especially with the other issues that both characters are dealing with. Overall, I really enjoyed the book so defintely check it out if it sounds like something you’d enjoy!

BOOK Review: ACCIDENTALLY Engaged

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“Reena’s heart was safe. But she felt fine about their meddling. Truly. Friends who cared enough to meddle were hardly something to complain about.”

For Reena Manji, her life could be better but for right now she’s not complaining for while she’s not thrilled about her love life, she doesn’t really want to be involved in a relationship right now. If only her family got that memo and didn’t insert themselves into every aspect of her life. Reena is trying to do the best she can and drown out the noise but when her father moves his newest employee, Nadim across the hall from her with hopes that he’ll be the one, she’s going to get much more than she bargained for.

I absolutely loved this story, it was so pure and wholesome with heart warming and angst moments that made me glued to my book for more. Reena was such a relatable protagonist, I really felt for her and enjoyed seeing her character growth throughout the book and found her chemistry with Nadim very real and I loved both of them on their own and together. They were both very interesting and flawed and the development of the relationship didn’t happen so quickly or felt forced and that’s always good cause that can really be a downer. I did enjoy Reena’s relationship with her family and even if they did meddle in her love life, they truly cared for her and just wanted her to be happy. They were very close and there were some really great heartwarming moments and loved how Heron developed the secondary characters and made them just as important as the main characters. Highly recommend this one!

JULY TBR

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Hey everyone! I’m excited to share all my choices with you! This is gonna be a good month!

Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Bi: The Hidden Culture, History, and Science of Bisexuality by Julia Shaw
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Non-Fiction

The Donut Enemy by Sarah Adams
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Float Plan by Trish Coller
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid
Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Fiction

The Magic of Found Objects by Maddie Dawson
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The Meeting Point by Olivia Lara
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

No Rings Attached by Rachel Lacey
Genre: Adult, LGBT, Romance

Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Mythology

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

The Wedding Game by Meghan Quinn
Genre: Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Book review: Book Lovers

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“That’s the thing about women. There’s no good way to be one. Wear your emotions on your sleeve and you’re hysterical. Keep them tucked away where your boyfriend doesn’t have to tend to them and you’re a heartless bitch.”

Nora Stephens has the best life ever and all of it involves books and while she doesn’t think of herself as a heroine like the ones in the books, her clients would beg to differ. When she’s not reading books, she’s scoring enormous deals for her literary clients including her sister, Libby. When her sister comes to her with an idea to head out of town for awhile, Nora takes it up without even a second chance and before long she finds herself in a different kind of adventure. Once established in Sunshine Falls, North Carolina, she is ready to relax and unwind but life has other plans as she is finding herself thrown together with Charlie Lastra, a brooding book editor from back in the city and the two are less than happy about it. But, the more time the spend the more they begin to realize that they might not be so different at all.

This was a fun ride from beginning to end! I have been a fan of Emily Henry’s books for awhile now and although I still have issues with Beach Read but I won’t go into that. I did this reading with a friend and that was a lot of fun as I found it enjoyable reading this with someone else. Buddy reads don’t always go so well but this one did so I was glad that I was able to have that this time. I found the plot very interesting and Emily really does a good job with creating complicated and flawed characters that seem so real you feel like you know them. The tropes were brilliantly done and the dynamics between Nora and Charlie were fantastic! All in all, a very fun and entertaining read!