Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to MIRA for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
A haunting novel about the boundaries people will cross to keep their dreams alive.
A mysterious stranger shows up at Riccardo’s apartment with some news: his grandmother Perihan has died, and Riccardo has inherited her villa in Milan along with her famed butterfly collection.
The struggling writer is out of options. He’s hoping the change of scenery in Milan will inspire him, and maybe there will be some money to keep him afloat. But Perihan’s house isn’t as opulent as he remembers. The butterflies pinned in their glass cases seem more ominous than artful. Perihan’s group of mysterious old friends is constantly lurking. And there’s something wrong in the greenhouse.
As Riccardo explores the decrepit estate, he stumbles upon Perihan’s diary, which might hold the key to her mysterious death. Or at least give him the inspiration he needs to finish his manuscript.
But he might not survive long enough to write it.
Content Warning: body horror, death, murder, insect horror
+ I almost DNF’d this at 30% – it is so slow of a mystery and yet I was intrigued by Riccardo who is a struggling and poor writer who is on a tight deadline with no manuscript to show for it. His grandmother passes, and leaves him her home in Milan, Italy. With no money and too much stress, he goes thinking he can write while he is there but instead he finds a manuscript written by his grandmother, Perihan.
+ I did find Perihan’s manuscript interesting because of the time it’s written in the past and also she is from Turkey. Her life is hard from the start but it takes her to Milan where life really flourishes for her. I couldn’t tell at first if she was a good person or not. Riccardo is doing no writing but he is reading this manuscript and learning a lot about his grandmother’s life.
+ The horror and the twist comes at the end. It’s a crazy ending! But if you don’t like monstrous butterflies, stay away from this one.
~ Like I said above, this was almost a DNF. I didn’t though and skimmed until 70% into the book where everything starts picking up. I’m already not one who enjoys mystery books, and I struggled because this one is a slow one, but I just wanted something to happen in the first half with Riccardo either staring to right his book or some horror at the start. But this is a slow building horror story that ends with a bang.
Final Thoughts:
I don’t think I was the target audience for this book. For me, it was too slow for the first two-thirds of this book. I did find the characters and Perihan’s life very fascinating and the ending is wild. If you like slow building mystery and horror then you might enjoy this one.
A haunting novel about the boundaries people will cross to keep their dreams alive.
A mysterious stranger shows up at Riccardo’s apartment with some news: his grandmother Perihan has died, and Riccardo has inherited her villa in Milan along with her famed butterfly collection.
The struggling writer is out of options. He’s hoping the change of scenery in Milan will inspire him, and maybe there will be some money to keep him afloat. But Perihan’s house isn’t as opulent as he remembers. The butterflies pinned in their glass cases seem more ominous than artful. Perihan’s group of mysterious old friends is constantly lurking. And there’s something wrong in the greenhouse.
As Riccardo explores the decrepit estate, he stumbles upon Perihan’s diary, which might hold the key to her mysterious death. Or at least give him the inspiration he needs to finish his manuscript.
But he might not survive long enough to write it.
Book Excerpt:
Prologue
Perihan gazed at the opulent villas lined up like precious pearls on a necklace, feeling overwhelmed by their excessive beauty. The sight was almost terrifying, reminiscent of the antique pearls adorning her own necklace. As the dark clouds were illuminated by a sudden flash of lightning, she shook off her thoughts and quickened her pace along the deserted road. The gentle raindrops on her tired face felt like an ominous sign. The unexpected gust of wind, unusual for a mild November afternoon, added to her unease.
On her seventieth birthday, Perihan had indulged in a day of shopping at Milan’s most luxurious stores. Despite her age, she possessed a strong physique, with firm knees, agile movements, and enough strength to carry her shopping bags from the stores to her home. The kind store managers at Cartier and Valentino had offered to send the packages to her address with a courier, but she declined, insisting she could manage on her own. Though she lacked a family to celebrate with, her small group of friends had arranged to gather at the villa, refusing to let her spend the evening alone. They had asked her to leave the house and return around seven o’clock. Glancing at her watch, Perihan realized she was already half an hour late.
Oh my… Licia must have already set the table, she thought as she turned the corner onto Via Marco de Marchi, where she resided. Just then, another lightning bolt flashed across the sky, and a large monarch butterfly appeared seemingly out of nowhere. Despite the heavy rain, Perihan could hear the faint flapping of its wings. The butterfly had bright orange and black stripes, with one wing decorated with symmetric white dots. It seemed to hover in midair.
“What a miracle,” Perihan exclaimed, a smile stretching across her wrinkled face. “It’s been years since I last saw this one…and on my birthday!” Hastily shifting the heavy bags onto her shoulder, she wiped the raindrops from her eyes with her long red nails and followed the butterfly. It fluttered around in circles for a few moments, before darting straight ahead. Despite the downpour, the orange-and-black wings moved swiftly. Overwhelmed with excitement, Perihan disregarded the red light—and almost got hit by an old Ford passing by. The driver, an unattractive man with numerous moles and few teeth, leaned out of the window and cursed at her in an Italian dialect she couldn’t understand. Unfazed by his behavior, Perihan remained focused on following the butterfly, which flew rapidly and ascended into the sky.
“I wonder where it disappeared to,” she mused with a melancholic expression on her face. The rain intensified, the drainage problems in the area turning the road into a pool of water. Perihan’s bare feet were drenched as the rain seeped through the open toes of her green python slingbacks.
“You’re blocking my view.” The unexpected comment startled her. She looked at the stranger, hoping to recognize a friendly face, but it was no one she knew. She turned to notice the growing crowd of people with their faces hidden behind their phone screens. She wondered if they were filming her. Lacking an umbrella, her meticulously coiffed hair now wet, her makeup smudged, and her silk skirt ruined by the muddy street, Perihan was struck by the crowd’s indifference. They shifted slightly to the right, attempting to remove her from their line of sight, all the while continuing to record whatever had caught their attention. Curious, Perihan turned around and was terrified by what she saw. In shock, she dropped her red shopping bags, causing more muddy water to splatter onto her skirt and completely destroying her shoes.
“This can’t be happening,” she screamed to the sky at the top of her lungs. Her knees trembled uncontrollably, left her unsure about taking another five steps to cross the road. Perihan noticed the cameras turning toward her in her peripheral vision, but she paid no mind to the desperation and terror that would eventually go viral on numerous social media networks in multiple countries. Her villa loomed in front of her, concealed by high walls covered with lush green bushes—now invaded by hundreds, if not thousands, of butterflies. They hovered over the garden, flapping their wings vigorously despite the pouring rain. The entire structure, partially visible through the bushes, seemed imprisoned within a butterfly sanctuary. When Perihan realized the creatures were all monarchs, each one so exquisite and valuable, she paused. Beauty had a threshold, and beyond it, it became a captivating terror, holding people’s attention hostage to fulfill its own needs. She propelled herself into the flooded road, heading for the garden gate. With what little strength remained after the ordeal, she pushed her way through the floral Art Nouveau door.
“Licia! Where are you?” she shouted upon entering the garden. Before closing the door behind her, she turned to scream at the onlookers, “Leave! The show’s over! This is my property!” Yet, the crowd remained unaffected, mesmerized by the extraordinary natural phenomenon unfolding before them.
Licia, Perihan’s housekeeper and closest friend of nearly forty years, looked like a ghost. Her complexion was drained of color, her wet hair clung to her face in disheveled patches, and her shoes were ruined by dark mud. She trembled as she spoke. “Perihan… We did our best, but…” Licia glanced quickly at their small group of friends, who observed the scene from the kitchen window on the first floor of the house. Perihan brushed Licia aside with the back of her hand and made her way toward the large greenhouse on the left side of the garden. Orange butterflies continued to emerge rapidly through a broken pane in its ceiling, swarming through the air. Looking up at the vortex of butterflies resembling a brewing tornado, Perihan felt a wave of dizziness. Her bony hand reached for the intricately detailed metal handle of the greenhouse door, but fear gripped her body. She hesitated, afraid to enter, yet knowing she had no other choice. Slowly, she pushed the door open, entered, and closed it behind her.
Licia tried to conceal her sobbing behind her hands. Should she follow Perihan into the greenhouse or return to the house? The rain cascaded like a waterfall, obstructing not only her movements but her thoughts as well. She compelled herself to decide, but the sudden outburst from within the greenhouse froze her in place.
“No… No… No!” Perihan’s voice echoed, growing louder with each repetition—until the world fell silent, save for the raindrops tapping against any surface they encountered. The darkness beneath the swarm of butterflies gradually gave way to a dull light as they departed from the house. Licia collapsed onto her knees and allowed herself to sink into the saturated garden soil, her tears mingling with the raindrops. Once the first monarch butterfly Perihan had witnessed a few moments earlier found its way to her villa, it hovered briefly over the garden before heading in the same direction as the others. When the last of the butterflies vanished, no trace of the miraculous event remained.
Yigit Turhan was born in Ankara, Turkey. A lifelong reader, he owes his love of horror to his grandmother and the films she shared with him. He has previously published a horror novel in Turkish. He lives in Milan, Italy, where he holds a C-suite role at a renowned fashion house. This is his English-language debut.
Categories: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller, LGBT+
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
In this delightful dark comedy debut, when the members of an LGBTQ+ club find themselves accidentally framed for attempted murder, it’s up to them to clear their names before it’s too late.
It’s kind of hard to graduate high school when you’re the prime suspect in an attempted murder.
Seventeen-year-old Eleanora Finkel just wants to finish her senior year and get the hell out of Texas. But when her club meeting inconveniently coincides with an attack on the school’s head cheerleader, she and her friends find themselves in the hot seat.
In order to clear their names and ensure the survival of their club for future queer teens, they’ll have to track down the real culprit themselves. But Eleanora is far from a professional detective; she’s riddled with anxiety, annoyingly attracted to the case’s cute victim, and her trusty crochet hook feels insufficient for fighting off a murderer. Can this ragtag group of unlikely sleuths find their way out of an entire freaking murder mystery before one of them is next?
Content Warning: violence, cursing
+ Students in an LGBT+ club are witnesses to an attack on a cheerleader, but because they were seen at the scene of the crime, people are suspicious that they were the ones who attacked her. So to prove their innocence, they decide to investigate to find who the real attacker is.
+ Eleanora and her friends in the club are funny! There is cursing but I thought it was fine. They are quite a cast of characters and they found themselves in a lot of chaos and drama. Plus I love the diversity that is being represented in the story.
~ I didn’t feel invested in the story. I was thinking it was going to be a serious mystery but it wasn’t but that’s part of it’s appeal. I eventually did enjoy the dark comedy vibes but I also felt like maybe a younger audience will definitely enjoy this book more than I did.
Final Thoughts:
I love the representation in this one! It’s got queer kids trying to solve a crime with lots of chaos and drama. Eleanora and her friends are a fun group! I think this one will appeal to young adults and teen readers.
Categories: Young Adult,Contemporary, Disability Rep, Romance, Family, LGBT+, Semi-Magical
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
All the Stars Align is the magical love story that is Taylor Swift’s Enchanted meets Cyrano, from the author of Ellie Haycock is Totally Normal.
All the women in Piper’s family know their true love at first sight, complete with butterflies, heart eyes, and a gut instinct. The kind of fated love that lasts forever. Piper grew up with her ancestors’ epic love stories repeated like fairy tales, and yearns for the day she’ll start her own. Already singled out in her family due to her physical disability, Piper collects a second strike against her when her parents announce their divorce, which convinces her family that she’s doomed.
When she finally finds her true love at a party, she’s more determined than ever to attain her love story and earn a spot in her family. But after completely botching their first meeting, she realizes that she’ll need help from her best friend Leo, who is sort of a love expert. The catch—he and Piper haven’t talked in six months, since he needed a “break” from their friendship.
To win over the love of her life and a place in her family, Piper must convince Leo to teach her his ways. And it’s all going as planned…until Leo confesses his own love for Piper. Now, she must decide which fate to follow.
Content Warning: divorced parents
+ This story is about a girl, who wants to fulfill receiving her Blessing. A Blessing is basically a soulmate – but in Piper’s family, all the women have had, even her mom, until the divorce happened. So what does that mean? I like how the story questions different types of love, relationships and fate versus choice. Piper’s parents loved one another, or still do, but they aren’t compatible and that wasn’t okay with Piper until she had to face some truths. Other types of love displayed are the love of parents with their child, the strained love of family, and the tumultuous love of the teenage years.
+ Piper is disabled and she blames herself for her parents’ divorce, which is sad. I did like the talk her mom had to have with her. Piper is so hell-bent on her plan to find her Blessing, be with that boy forever, and run her family’s business. She has a need to feel wanted by them instead of always feeling different from them. Piper has an amazing support system though – her parents and her best friends Leo and Diana really keep her protected.
+ Because Piper is trying her best to find this Blessing, she’s confused about how she feels about her best friend Leo, who she did have feelings for but they never said anything about it. And then she meets Forest, who supposedly is her Blessing – so things end up perfect right? Not really.
~ I had a bunch of issues with this story. The Blessings hint that something magical is tied to this family but it is so vague. Is it something truly magical or something they made up in their own family? It’s not clear. Piper’s focus on the Blessing did get tiresome. I understand why she clung to the hope of it, but it got repetitive. Hearing ‘the Blessing’ got tiresome too. Also, what kind of family pushes their own sister out because she got divorced? That was ridiculous! I’m glad Piper finally stood up for her mom.
~ Another thing that wasn’t clear – Piper’s disability. She mentions she’s disabled but it’s later in the book where Leo talks about her surgery. Eventually, she talks more about her arm but from the beginning it’s just not clear.
~ The back and forth with Leo was also not something I liked. Clearly they have feelings for each other but Piper’s belief in the Blessing and it not being Leo was frustrating. She does grow by the end and makes the right decision for her which is great, but the back and forth made me impatient. I guess it’s relatable because young love and all is so confusing, but I was frustrated for Leo.
Final Thoughts:
There are a lot of vague parts to this story especially when it came to the magic and Piper’s disability but I understand what the book is trying to do. I did like the themes about love and family in the story. Readers will find it relatable and it’s nice to have a disability rep as the main character. I think Piper’s relationship with her parents or how she feels about their divorce and what that meant about ‘the Blessing’ was my favorite part of this book. I like how Piper had to question fate versus choice. Overall, I got the message but the story itself fell a but flat for me.
Categories: Dark Academia, Magic, LGBT+, Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary Fantasy, Horror
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Feiwel & Friends for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
From author Elisa A. Bonnin comes Lovely Dark and Deep, a YA dark academia novel exploring magic, loneliness, and the power of found family.
Hidden off the coast of Washington, veiled in mist, there is an island that does not appear on any map. And on that island is Ellery West.
Ellery West has always been home for Faith. After an international move and a childhood spent adjusting to a new culture and a new language, the acclaimed school for magic feels like the only place she can be herself. That is, until Faith and another student walk into the forest, and only Faith walks out.
Marked with the red stripe across her uniform that designates all students deemed too dangerous to attend regular classes, Faith becomes a social pariah, an exile of Ellery West. But all she has to do is keep her head down for one more year to graduate, and she gets to keep her magic. Because when students fail out of Ellery West, they have their magic taken away. Forever. And Faith can’t let that happen.
Except terrifying things are still happening to students, and the dark magic that was unleashed in the forest still seems to be at work. To stop it, Faith and the other Red Stripes will have to work together, risking expulsion from the magical world altogether.
Content Warning: some horror
+ Ellery West is a boarding school for magic users and Faith has been there awhile, but something happened and she gets blamed for the death of her friend, Sydney. Now she’s back but she’s an outcast and lives with the other outcasts. They call themselves the Red Stripes and I did enjoy the found family that they created.
+ Faith is Filipino which is awesome (representation) and she’s going through some things with school and not wanting to disappoint her family again. She’s haunted by what happened in the forest that time she and Sydney went in but is someone now trying to send her a message? She’s having nightmares, and thinks someone is watching her. I love the diverse characters of the Red Stripes and how they welcome Faith as one of their own. They help her try to figure what is going on and has her back.
+ The setting of the school Ellery West is perfect for dark academia. There is a forest at the school where something is not right. The magic system is cool – students have magical powers with different affinities.
~ There are flashbacks in this story that didn’t always work for me. I kind of wish we got a book before this one that explored this friendship that Faith had with Sydney and what happened in the woods.
~ I wanted it darker. But that’s just my preference – I actually think young adult and teens are the perfect audience for this book.
Final Thoughts:
This story has magic, some light horror, mystery, diversity and a found family. For me I wanted it to be a bit darker and it might have been a bit too young for me but I think fans of YA Dark Academia will enjoy this one a lot. It is definitely more for teens and younger young adults.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Darkan Press Inc for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
“A breathless rivals-to-lovers Romantasy that will captivate you from the very first page.”— USA Today Bestselling Author Stacy Reid. In a glittering Sahara Desert palace, many have come to die…
Zair, a reviled half-blood with magical powers, is determined to stop the traitors attacking her academy and kidnapping its students—especially as her beloved sister is targeted. Sent to the palace during the king’s coronation, her mission is unmask the culprits behind the disappearances. But when she crosses paths with Dathan, a rival spy from another academy, his hidden motives complicate everything.
As danger escalates and more students vanish, Zair and Dathan realize they must join forces to stop the looming threat. As they close in on the traitors, a shimmering attraction pulses between them, threatening to unravel their focus. In a palace where everyone covets power and night magic guards its halls, Zair must save her fellow students—and protect her heart from the one person she cannot afford to trust.
+ I was a beta reader for A Desert of Bleeding Sand and I was so excited to read this one!
+ I love a rivals to lovers romance and this one has a great start with Zair and Dathan being from rival academies. These two are from military academies so they are competitive and when they have to work together on a mission, the competitiveness comes out. I love their banter and watching their attraction grow. It’s a slow burn so we’ll see what happens in the next book.
+ I like a fantasy book that has themes of friendship and family because it’s so relatable to me. Zair is close to her family and is protective of them which is nice – I love their bond! Zair is half Esan, and she experiences prejudices against her but what I love about her is her strength! She’s a great, strong yet at times vulnerable young woman. Dathan is an interesting character also but he doesn’t have the coziest relationship with his family.
+ The story moves quickly which I love – it’s filled with lots of action and even some mystery. The world-building is great – we get to learn about the different kingdoms and the political intrigue kept me invested. I love the diversity of this world.
Final Thoughts:
I was so honored to be a beta reader for this book and honestly I was impressed with the arc copy. I enjoyed how balanced this story is plus I love a story with students in an academy and add to that it’s a rivals to lovers romance? I was hooked. The diverse world-building is so interesting, the action keeps the story moving and I was invested with the political intrigue. I can’t wait to see what happens in book two!
Categories: Fantasy, Series, Romance, LGBT+, Young Adult, Mystery
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
It’s been nearly two years since Vanja brought down the cult she started, and she’s still paying the price. As the Pfennigeist, she bucks the law in order to help the desperate and haunt the corrupt all across the empire—and no matter what, she works alone.
But an impossible killer is tearing through royalty, and leaving Vanja’s signature red penny on every victim. Suddenly the Pfennigeist is no longer a folk hero but a nightmare. When even the Blessed Empress falls, the empire’s seven royal families must gather to elect her successor within a matter of weeks, or risk the collapse of reality itself… even though it puts every house in the killer’s sights.
Vanja tells herself she’s wading into the royalty’s vicious games only to save the name she made, and the loved ones also in jeopardy. But the Order of Prefects has also put their sharpest official on the case, the one who swore he’d always find Vanja—until she broke his heart. Journeyman Prefect Emeric Conrad may no longer be the boy Vanja knew, but they’ll have to work together one last time to have any chance of surviving the deadly catastrophe coming for them all.
With bloody conspiracy, sinister magic, and old adversaries closing in, it will take everything Vanja has to save not just the people she loves, but the future she’s fought for. In this thrilling final chapter of the Indie Next series Little Thieves, New York Times-bestselling author Margaret Owen shows us the pain and beauty of choosing which demons to face, and which to forgive.
Content Warning: mention of sexual assault, death, murder, violence
+ Holy Terrors brings us back to the world of Little Thieves and I went into this one not doing a re-read…all I remembered was Vanja and Emeric breaking my heart in book two and I needed to know what happens to them. I didn’t need to do a re-read, it picked up where it left off and everything was coming back to me because this story is so unique.
+ My favorite girl, Vanja is back. Her life as the Pfennigeist is full of adventure – she’s a thief, always running from one con to another. She’s helping people along the way and trying to forget Emeric and the choice she made in book two. I love her personality and attitude – she’s someone who is broken, trying to find desperately who and what she is and what she wants in this life. She’s always running but this is the time she has to face the music. There is so much growth in her – I was proud of her!
+ My favorite gods Death and Fortune are back and funny as ever. I love how they mother Vanja as much as they can. Another character that grew on me is Benno, love him! There were some interesting characters in this book and all of them are needed to solve this case of royals dying.
+ The romance – this is the first book this year that made me cry. Vanja and Emeric, my loves. They have both moved on after Vanja left him at the end of book two. He’s engaged. She’s had other lovers. But it’s undeniable when they come together again that they are just messy and meant to be. But Vanja has to learn to stop running, and Emeric has to realize why she ran. I loved all her self reflections because Vanja did some hard work looking inwards and facing her demons. I love them so much. My favorite part of this story was them.
+ Outside the romance there is a major event happening and Vanja is the number one suspect, until they realize it’s not. The whole crew is led on a merry chase trying to figure out what is happening and catch the main killer. There are a lot of twists and turns. It also showcases how amazing Vanja and Emeric are, like Sherlock Homes haha! I did enjoy the mystery but there is a lot of names – names that are long and hard to pronounce, so at times I found that to be too much. At least everything happens in one place, at conclave.
~ There are also some events at the climax of the story where something happens, and it has to do with time and a different timeline, gets very fantastical but it was a little confusing but maybe because I was rushing to the end with everything that is happening. I might have to read that ending again just to make sure I understood what happened.
Final Thoughts:
My favorite part of this conclusion is Vanja and Emeric making their way back to one another. I never knew this story would be so emotional. Their story made me cry. I was so proud to see Vanja grow, she came such a long way from book one and she deserved to have happiness. This world of Little Thieves is so unique with the world-building, the mystery, magic and characters. I love all of it. This book had lots of twists and turns and even some parts that confused me at the end but overall this is a fantastic conclusion to a really amazing trilogy.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Harlequin Trade Publishing / Canary Street Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
She’s got everything planned–including when she’ll have kids. Until something completely unplanned turns her world upside down.
World-famous Whitney “Sahara” Richardson is at the top of her game. With four Grammys, an Oscar nod, and a billion-dollar clothing line, her career is skyrocketing. Even her headline-grabbing dating life is looking up. And if everything goes as planned, marriage and children are just a few years away–and they will come in that order.
That is…until a mix-up at the fertility clinic where her eggs are stored puts the cart before the horse. Oops. Whitney suddenly has a daughter…whose biological father is reluctant to share her.
One in a Million is a fun celebrity rom-com with the poignancy of Abby Jimenez and a modern twist on “surprise baby” for fans of Jasmine Guillory.
+ The premise of this book sounded so intriguing that I had to see how it played out in the story! Myles and his wife have a new daughter, but it’s clear there is a problem. During their IVF procedure, someone else’s eggs were used! Yeah, that’s messy!
+ Whitney is a celebrity – she’s a singer, actor, CEO, billionaire but I liked how she was so down to earth even though she was also strong. The moment she meets her daughter, I felt for her – what a situation to be brought into! But watching her fall in love with her and learn to coparent with Myles was really sweet.
+ The romance is sweet and spicy! Myles’ divorce is almost final when Whitney stepped into his and his daughter’s life. I could definitely see why he would be defensive and not trusting Whitney when she came around to see their daughter. But I love seeing them buttheads, then back down for the sake of their daughter and of course the attraction between these two hot people is undeniable. Once they start their situationship – they can’t keep their hands off one another!
~ The timeline is quick between Haylee being born, Whitney meeting her 6 months later, Myles getting divorced and then Whitney and Myles starting up something between them. I think Whitney was level-headed but I was worried Myles was getting into something way too quick after his divorce and becoming a single father! I mean this was his second divorce. But everything worked out fine and the epilogue was cute.
Final Thoughts:
While I was reading this, I was thinking I can see this made into a rom-com movie. I loved seeing how this messy situation gets fixed when Whitney and Myles decide they will do what’s best for their daughter. It was fun seeing them fall into lust and then love with one another after butting heads in the beginning. Overall, I enjoyed this one and I can’t wait to read more from this author!
She’s got everything planned–including when she’ll have kids. Until something completely unplanned turns her world upside down.
World-famous Whitney “Sahara” Richardson is at the top of her game. With four Grammys, an Oscar nod, and a billion-dollar clothing line, her career is skyrocketing. Even her headline-grabbing dating life is looking up. And if everything goes as planned, marriage and children are just a few years away–and they will come in that order.
That is…until a mix-up at the fertility clinic where her eggs are stored puts the cart before the horse. Oops. Whitney suddenly has a daughter…whose biological father is reluctant to share her.
One in a Million is a fun celebrity rom-com with the poignancy of Abby Jimenez and a modern twist on “surprise baby” for fans of Jasmine Guillory.
Book Excerpt:
Myles Redmond was annoyed.
Scratch that. He was more than annoyed. He was pissed and currently doing his best not to glare at the woman sitting in the chair next to him.
Dear God, he’d never resented anyone more in his life, and the fact that he was married to her made the nightmare they were living through one hundred times worse.
It would be fair to say their three-year marriage hovered on the brink of failure, and the outcome of this meeting might be what sent it plunging to its demise.
Myles clenched his jaw as he regarded Holly, taking in her unsmiling face and rigid posture. His wife’s beauty turned heads everywhere they went but had failed to turn his since she’d demanded the DNA test.
“Would you stop looking at me like that?” Holly huffed, cutting a pair of ice-blue eyes at him. She sniffed and abruptly looked away, her chin notched a fraction higher as she presented him with her profile. “Whether you want to admit it or not, we’re doing the right thing.”
She’d worn a light blue dress for the occasion. As if she hadn’t made her hopes for the outcome of the meeting clear enough. Blue was her lucky color. Her long manicured nails kept up a rhythmic tapping on the wooden arm of her chair.
“And what exactly is that?” he asked, his tone like shards of glass.
Exasperated, she rolled her eyes and flicked a wavy lock of platinum-blond hair over her shoulder. “God, I hate when you’re like this. You know exactly what I’m talking about. I can’t believe you don’t want to know who she belongs to.” She addressed the empty desk in front of them more than she did him.
“She,” he stressed through gritted teeth, “has a name. Her name is Haylee, and she is our daughter.” His voice was low and controlled while he seethed inside. It didn’t matter what the DNA results revealed. Haylee was their child. After all they’d—she’d gone through to have her, how could she say otherwise? That was the thing he couldn’t understand. His part had been easy. Hers had not—as she’d frequently reminded him.
Holly huffed out a sound of deep frustration, her narrowed gaze taking a glancing stab at his face. “She’s not ours, Myles, and for the life of me, I don’t understand why you refuse to accept it. It’s as obvious as the nose on my face that she belongs to another couple.”
“She’s ours.” He was the only father Haylee had ever known, and no test was going to change that.
“I’m sure her biological parents will have something to say about that.” His wife had made up her mind and refused to be swayed.
Recognizing the pointlessness of arguing with her, Myles kept his mouth shut and averted his gaze. These days, it was impossible to look at her without feeling a profound sense of betrayal…and anger—so much anger. Feelings far removed from how he’d felt the day they’d exchanged their wedding vows.
“Myles, they have as much a right to know as we do. Wouldn’t you want to know if you were in their place?” Holly said, her voice cajoling, indicating a switch of tactics. Good cop, bad cop, meet Holly the Bully and Holly the Sweet-Talker, the same woman employing two tried-and-true methods to get her way.
Well, it’s not going to work this time.
The office door behind them opened, and Dr. Kelly Franklin walked in, saving him from more of his wife’s attempts to convince him her motivation was altruism, not selfishness.
Small in stature at barely over five feet and clad in a white lab coat, Dr. Kelly had brown shoulder-length hair and carried herself with the confidence of the framed Harvard MD degree hanging on the wall.
“Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Redmond. Thank you so much for coming in on such short notice.”
The doctor’s greeting was warm and respectful. More importantly, she didn’t sound as if she was about to plunge a knife into his heart. That said, it was clear she hadn’t come bearing tidings of joy either.
Myles made a move to stand, but she stayed the act of male courtesy—ingrained in him by his father—by motioning for him to remain seated.
Quelling his instincts, he subsided back into his chair and watched as she quickly took hers behind the desk.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
She was nervous but doing her best not to show it. As a former defense attorney, Myles had learned to pick up on the subtleties of body language. She hadn’t blinked once since she’d greeted them, and the distinct tapping sound that began shortly after she sat down was her nervously tapping her shoe on the floor. Holly’s hands were on her lap.
“We were early,” Myles said. Fifteen minutes, to be precise. Because this was important. The rest of his life hinged on what she was about to tell them. Despite vowing to himself that he’d remain calm, he felt tenser than ever.
For a beat, her brown eyes bounced between them. Then she blinked and said, “The DNA test confirmed that—”
“She isn’t ours, is she?” Holly asked, cutting the doctor off midsentence.
Myles turned and narrowed his eyes at his wife. Why not put up a billboard? I don’t want her. Give her to someone else.
As far as he was concerned, Holly had checked out of motherhood and their marriage before she packed her bags and took off to San Diego to stay with her mother after telling him she needed space.
What kind of parent needed “space” three weeks after the birth of her daughter?
His wife, that was who.
Look, he got it. They had hired a surrogate, so Holly didn’t get to bond with Haylee the way mothers usually did, but she’d known that from the outset. They’d both gone into this with their eyes wide open…and then some. Furthermore, parents didn’t walk away just because their child didn’t turn out the way they wanted or expected. That wasn’t the way parenting worked.
At the end of the day, though, he had to face some hard truths. He was just as much to blame for what was happening. While he might be successful in other parts of his life—he was a loving father, son, brother, and uncle and a loyal friend, and had been elected president of the California Bar Association two terms in a row—he sucked when it came to romantic relationships.
How did he know?
Because he already had one failed marriage under his belt, and it looked like he was coasting for divorce number two. In sports terms, he’d soon be 0-2.
Dr. Franklin tentatively cleared her throat before continuing. “Unfortunately, your case is a little more complicated.”
“Complicated? What does that mean? Either she’s ours or she’s not.” She turned and looked at him as if expecting him to echo her demand for clarity. “Although I think it’s obvious she can’t be.” The latter she muttered as an aside meant to be heard—just in case the good doctor didn’t know where she stood on the matter.
Myles’s jaw locked. According to his wife—who’d gone from being the top-producing female real estate agent in Southern California to self-ascribed geneticist—Haylee couldn’t be the product of two white, blue-eyed parents. If she has a drop of Nordic ancestry in her, I’m the Queen of England, Holly had said in reference to her parents’ Swedish heritage and Haylee’s slightly darker complexion, dark brown curly hair, and brown eyes.
Never mind that he was a quarter Sicilian on his mother’s side, and his hair was dark and wavy. In her summation of their daughter’s parentage, it was clear Holly hadn’t factored his genes into the equation.
“Would you mind elaborating?” he said, his brow furrowed in concentration.
Dr. Franklin inhaled and treated them to another unblinking stare. “It means that you’re right. There was a problem, but not what I assumed. The error occurred during the egg selection portion of the fertilization stage, not the implantation stage.”
For the first time since they walked into the office, Holly appeared genuinely confused. “Are you saying that—” She broke off, as if unable or unwilling to give voice to whatever conclusion she’d drawn in her mind. Unusual for her.
The doctor met Holly’s puzzled stare. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but you aren’t your daughter’s biological mother.” Her gaze then shifted to him. “However, you are her biological father.”
Holly’s gasp cracked the air like a thunderclap. The deafening silence that followed was just as loud.
Myles was too stunned to speak, his heart pounding so loud in his ears that, for a few moments, it drowned out all possible thought or comprehension.
“No, no. That can’t be right.” Holly turned to him, her eyes wide with shock and disbelief.
If he could speak, he didn’t know what he would say, given the state of his mind. Completely blown.
The doctor’s composure—which had remained relatively calm thus far—began to show cracks. Based partly on the dates on her diploma, he guessed Dr. Franklin was in her early forties, but the depth of the lines now bracketing her mouth and fanning out from her eyes spoke of the toll this must be taking on her and made her look years older.
Swallowing visibly, she continued. “We had the test run by two different labs. The results are the same.”
Accompanying his wife’s cry of dismay came the realization that his claim to his daughter was as solid as any father’s could be. Haylee was his. Relief began to seep into every part of his being. Seconds later, it washed over him in a flood. He could breathe again.
Dr. Franklin regarded them, self-reproach stamped all over her face. “I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry. I don’t know how this happened. It’s never happened to us before. But I promise to get to the bottom of it and do whatever it takes to make this right.”
Coming into the meeting, Myles had prepared himself for only two possibilities. Either Haylee was biologically theirs, or she wasn’t. And in the latter’s case, he’d been fully prepared to fight to keep her even if his marriage would be one of the casualties of any battle he’d have to wage.
The one thing he never imagined was discovering he had a baby…with a woman he’d never laid eyes on.
BEVERLEY KENDALL has published over ten contemporary and historical romance novels. She also manages the romance review blog, Smitten by Books (smittenbybooks.com). Bev writes full-time while raising her son as a single mother. Both dual citizens of the US and Canada, they currently call Atlanta home.
Categories: Young Adult,Contemporary, LGBT+, Trans, Romance, Family, Foodie Romance
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Love, family, and food collide in this sparkling Romeo and Juliet-inspired romance.
Julie Wu and Randall Hur used to be best friends. Now they only see each other on Saturdays at the Pasadena Farmers Market where their once close families are long-standing rivals.
When Julie and Randall are paired with ultra-rich London Kim for a community-service school project, they are forced to work together for the first time in years. It quickly becomes obvious that London has a major crush on Julie. But Julie can’t stop thinking about Randall. And Randall can’t stop thinking about how London is thinking about Julie. Soon, prompted by a little jealousy and years of missing each other, school project meetings turn into pseudo dates at their favorite Taiwanese breakfast shop and then secret kisses at the beach—far from the watchful eyes of their families.
Just as they’re finally feeling brave enough to tell their grandmas, the two matriarchs rehash their old fight and Julie and Randall get caught in the middle and Julie’s brother finds out they are dating. Their families are heartbroken.
But it’s the Year of the Dragon, an auspicious time to resolve disagreements and start anew, and Randall isn’t going down without fighting for what—and who—they love. Could the Lunar New Year provide not only a second chance for Randall and Julie, but for their families as well?
Jennifer Chen’s Hangry Hearts is a funny, big-hearted romance about friendship, family, and first love—and being brave enough to have it all.
+ I love that this is a foodie romance and it features Asian foods like Korean and Taiwanese foods. It definitely made me hungry! Two families, one Korean and the other Taiwanese, are enemies at the food market, but they weren’t always this way. These two families used to be super close.
+ Randall is trans, and I thought it was a nice representation. I love how his grandmother accepted him when he told her how he felt. The support he has, even from Julie who is his “ex-friend”, is sweet.
+ Family is a main theme in this story and yes it’s very Romeo and Juliet – Julie and Randall are forbidden to be together because both families have bad blood. But I love how they resolve things at the end.
+~ The love story between Randall and Julie is an ex-friends to lovers romance. I thought it was a cute love story, especially because they used to be best friends. For the most part I thought they were cute together but this reads very young adult, there was the teen angst, longing and drama between them. This is definitely for younger YA readers.
~ Some of the family drama was ridiculous especially when it came to Julie and Randall hiding their relationship. I was surprised Julie didn’t rebel when she got caught and basically submitted to her brother watching her like a hawk just so she stays away from Randall. I understand that family came first but I also wanted Randall to fight for their relationship instead of ghosting her sometimes.
~ There were some pacing issues – it switched quickly between Julie and Randall’s POVs which made the story move quick but also made it feel choppy at times.
Final Thoughts:
I love the Asian food representations in this story, it definitely made me hungry! I found the theme of family really enjoyable also even though I do think it went too far at times when they tried to keep Julie and Randall apart (I’m looking at you Tyler). I mean, let these young ones fall in love! Randall as a trans rep was nice and watching him fall for Julie was sweet. There were some pacing issues for me and I do feel like this will appeal to younger YA readers, but for the most part, I enjoyed it and it’s a quick read.
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