The Hearts We Sold by. Emily Lloyd-Jones | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Hearts We Sold

Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones

Format: paperback (own)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 8/8/17

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Categories: Urban Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult

Dee Moreno is out of options. Her home life sucks (to put it mildly), and she’s about to get booted from her boarding school–the only place she’s ever felt free–for lack of funds. But this is a world where demons exist, and the demons are there to make deals: one human body part in exchange for one wish come true.

The demon who Dee approaches doesn’t trade in the usual arms and legs, however. He’s only interested in her heart. And what comes after Dee makes her deal is a nightmare far bigger, and far more monstrous than anything she ever could have imagined. Reality is turned on its head, and Dee has only her fellow “heartless,” the charming but secretive James Lancer, to keep her grounded. As something like love grows between them amid an otherworldly ordeal, Dee begins to wonder: Can she give James her heart when it’s no longer hers to give?

In The Hearts We Sold, demons can be outwitted, hearts can be reclaimed, monsters can be fought, and love isn’t impossible. This book will steal your heart and break it, and leave you begging for more.

Content Warning: alcoholism, addiction, parental neglect, emotional abuse

What drew me to this book first was the cover – which is so pretty. Then I realized it’s written by Emily Lloyd-Jones and I loved her book The Bone Houses, so that’s what made me buy it on sale from Book Outlet! Here is what did and didn’t work for me:

+ Very interesting and unique world building. Demons walk the earth and if you want something from them you can trade with them. Dee decides to trade her heart. But not all is what it seems with the demons – the tasks her demon or Daemon has her do is to enter these voids that appear and destroy them. She learns what the voids are and wonders if her trade was worth it.

+ Dee has a sad home life. She’s at boarding school to get the best education she can so she can get out from her parents . Her parents are alcoholics and their family life is toxic. I liked all the characters were meet in the story, like James who traded his heart for art. They all had an interesting story to tell. I like how they became a found family.

+ The romance is a slow burn because Dee knows she’s broken inside. But James is patient, he understands being broken and the two of them together and how it ends broke my heart unexpectedly! I didn’t know I was invested until this story took a different turn. It’s bittersweet.

~ Thought I was very interested in the world building I still felt like I needed more details about the void. It didn’t seem like a concrete image I had in my head about the monsters in the void and what they wanted.

~ Sad ending, but hopeful too.

Tropes: found family

Spice Level: 🌶 (barely any spice)

Why you should read it:

it’s got a sweet romance
the characters being a found family
good questions about what people would give up to get what they want
Dee overcoming a lot of issues with her family and herself

Why you might not want to read it:

sad ending
needs more world building

My Thoughts:

I’m glad I read this book even though it wasn’t quite what I expected. The ending was touching and sad, and overall I think it was a solid book. It makes me more of a fan of this author!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Bone Houses by. Emily Lloyd-Jones – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I like to think that I was the one who made the choices that brought me to this moment. They may have been bad or good choices – I don’t know.”
Emily Lloyd-Jones, The Hearts We Sold

I chose this.”
Emily Lloyd-Jones, The Hearts We Sold

Some secrets you keep all tangled up in yourself, so tight that to pull them out is physically painful.”
Emily Lloyd-Jones, The Hearts We Sold

The Suite Spot by. Trish Doller | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Suite Spot (Beck Sisters, #2)

Author: Trish Doller

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 288

Publication Date: 3/8/22

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Categories: Romance, Women’s Fiction

Trish Doller’s The Suite Spot is a charming romance novel about taking a chance on a new life and a new love.

Rachel Beck has hit a brick wall. She’s a single mom, still living at home and trying to keep a dying relationship alive. Aside from her daughter, the one bright light in Rachel’s life is her job as the night reservations manager at a luxury hotel in Miami Beach—until the night she is fired for something she didn’t do.

On impulse, Rachel inquires about a management position at a brewery hotel on an island in Lake Erie called Kelleys Island. When she’s offered the job, Rachel packs up her daughter and makes the cross country move.

What she finds on Kelleys Island is Mason, a handsome, moody man who knows everything about brewing beer and nothing about running a hotel. Especially one that’s barely more than foundation and studs. It’s not the job Rachel was looking for, but Mason offers her a chance to help build a hotel—and rebuild her own life—from the ground up.

Content Warning: grief, sexual harassment, sexual assault

I didn’t realize when I was borrowing this that this was the same author that wrote Float Plan. I enjoyed that book and was curious to see that The Suite Spot was about Anna’s sister, Rachel.

+ I love how we get to know Rachel and Mason because they both come with baggage but they give one another the space needed before trying to get together. It was refreshing to see two adults trying something scary like making their dreams come true: owning a hotel/inn, and meeting someone they could fall in love with. And there wasn’t a lot of drama involved.

+ I think it’s wonderful how Rachel moved to a new place and found it welcoming, I was really invested in her life. She makes new friends, while in her own family – there are lots of changes: her mom moving and her sister living on a boat with her new love. So I like that she found stability even with so many changes going on in her life. It’s a very heart warming story, especially in the end where everyone comes together!

+ This is such a slow burn. Mason is Rachel’s boss but really at this point it’s just 2 of them in the “company”. We see how they work as a team to get Mason’s vision for the brewery/inn off the ground and they really do work well together. From there the attraction grows but their sexy times are fade to black and mild at best. As I mentioned they both have baggage – Mason dealing with a divorce and grieving a child. Rachel dealing with being a single mom and Maisie’s dad who is in and out of their lives.

~ The slow burn showed how sweet they were with one another which I did love but I also wish there were more hot scenes between them. I felt like it would have made the story even more amazing.

~ There is a conflict that comes at the end but it is easily resolved. I felt like it was a little bit rushed?

Tropes: single mom, one house, small town/island, slow burn, workplace romance

Spice Level: 🌶

Why you should read it:

If you liked Float Plan, then this is your chance to hear Rachel’s story (Anna’s sister)
it’s a nice slow burn, with 2 adults that didn’t have a lot of drama, gave each other time, space and patience
I loved the small town environment and Mason’s history there – it was sweet to know new memories were being made in an old place.

Why you might not want to read it:

ending a bit rushed and everything seemed perfectly tied up in a neat bow
wanted more heat between Rachel and Mason

My Thoughts:

Despite the little issues I mentioned, I thoroughly enjoyed this because it left me happy at the end of the story. I look forward to reading more from this author!

📚 ~ Yolanda

Other Books I Read by This Author:

Float Plan by. Trish Doller

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by. Akwaeke Emezi | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

Author: Akwaeke Emezi

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 288

Publication Date: 5/24/22

Publisher: Atria Books

Categories: Adult Fiction, Romance, Grief, LGBT+ , Contemporary

Feyi Adekola wants to learn how to be alive again.

It’s been five years since the accident that killed the love of her life and she’s almost a new person now—an artist with her own studio, and sharing a brownstone apartment with her ride-or-die best friend, Joy, who insists it’s time for Feyi to ease back into the dating scene. Feyi isn’t ready for anything serious, but a steamy encounter at a rooftop party cascades into a whirlwind summer she could have never imagined: a luxury trip to a tropical island, decadent meals in the glamorous home of a celebrity chef, and a major curator who wants to launch her art career.

She’s even started dating the perfect guy, but their new relationship might be sabotaged before it has a chance by the dangerous thrill Feyi feels every time she locks eyes with the one person in the house who is most definitely off-limits. This new life she asked for just got a lot more complicated, and Feyi must begin her search for real answers. Who is she ready to become? Can she release her past and honor her grief while still embracing her future? And, of course, there’s the biggest question of all—how far is she willing to go for a second chance at love?

Akwaeke Emezi’s vivid and passionate writing takes us deep into a world of possibility and healing, and the constant bravery of choosing love against all odds.

Content Warning: car accident memories, grief, death, profanity

I saw this book on my Overdrive online library and borrowed it because I see this author’s name everywhere and have yet to read one of their books. This was a very interesting, layered, complicated and messy romance story and I feel like I’m still processing how it made me feel, but here are some things off that bat I can say that I worked and didn’t work for me:

+ I like the real talk in this story. Feyi has a best friend named jour and it’s a relationship where they can talk about anything and I mean anything from sex, dating, feelings even if all of it is messy. Joy brought the humor and she is my favorite character in the whole book.

+ This is not a romance with an easy happily ever after. I felt like this was very realistic with complicated relationships. I myself could relate with Feyi about being a young widow and all of her pain and grief, wanting to feel alive by being reckless – I felt that, and I related to that. There is a lot of sex positivity and diversity in this story.

+ I appreciated the in-depth looks into the themes about grief, about relationships and trying to love again after experiencing trauma. Because I like my romance books in a certain way, I had to really set judgment aside (at some points it was challenging). I know relationships aren’t so concrete and black and white most times, sometimes it’s more of a gray area like presented in this book.

~ I’m not sure what I thought of Feyi’s dating style. She was hopping around, trying to feel something after being so numb from the grief of losing her husband ~ and I understand the whole what-does-it-really-matter-anyway-in-this-life because yes, our lives do come to an end so will all this matter anyway? I remember searching for those same answers trying to make sense of life when I was grieving. But I wasn’t into Feyi and Alim’s love story by the time it happens. I didn’t feel invested in their romance. It was too insta-attraction, not enough build up for me. I just knew it was going to leave shattered feelings around them also and I felt bad for the people who got hurt. But once again, this story examines choices…so, it is what it is but I wasn’t into it.

~ I could understand and relate to Feyi’s grief but as a character I didn’t connect to her. She’s very beautiful and everyone is drawn to her. She felt superficial but maybe on purpose because she had so much anger and grief and a multitude of issues going on underneath. It’s how she gets through life now post trauma – leaving things at the surface level until she meets Alim. But she comes off selfish at times too. How was Nasir someone who doesn’t understand grief? Did he not lose his mother, does his pain not matter?

Tropes: second chance at love, insta-attraction, insta-love

Spice Level: 🌶🌶🌶

Why you should read it:

it’s one of those books you will either love or hate, but it is thought provoking
not a typical happy ending romance, this is messy and complicated, people get hurt because of Feyi and Alim’s actions
tackles issues like sex, love and relationships, and also death and grieving

Why you might not want to read it:

messy and complicated
this is not a typical romance that leave you with fuzzy, happy feelings

My Thoughts:

I’m on the fence about this one since I’m still processing it. In terms of it being a romance, it’s a no – it’s too messy for me. I felt like Feyi and Alim had a comforting relationship between them because they shared experiences of loss and grief but other than that – it wasn’t for me. As for delving into grief and loss and how to move on from that, I related and loved those parts of the story. Feyi expressing how she feels through her art? I felt that. Having the characters be open with relationships, bisexual representations and sex positivity – all good. My favorite relationship for Feyi in all of this? Was her ride or die relationship with Joy, her best friend. I loved that Feyi had her. I may not have loved this story but it sure made me think a lot and I can appreciate that.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes from the Book:

She liked the city as an entity better; it didn’t care who you were or what your damage was, it ate everyone up indiscriminately.”
~Akwaeke Emezi, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

And that’s something I’ve learned in the years since, that there are so many different types of love, so many ways someone can stay committed to you, stay in your life even if y’all aren’t together, you know? And none of these ways are more important than the other.”
~Akwaeke Emezi, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

yeah, I guess messy and alive is a good way to put it.”
~Akwaeke Emezi, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

What did survival mean? Madness, certainly. Guilt, but she didn’t want to lean into that. It leaned into you hard enough already, it didn’t need encouragement.”
~Akwaeke Emezi, You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by. Axie Oh | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

Author: Axie Oh

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 2/22/22

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Categories: Romance, Korean Mythology, Fantasy, Young Adult

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the “true bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the village—and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joon—may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shin—as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spirits—Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Content Warning: depression

All I knew of this book was it was based on mythology and the cover had to be one of the most beautiful cover’s I’ve seen this year. I finally got to read this and let me tell you, this pulled so hard at my heart strings. 🥺 Here’s what worked and didn’t work for me:

+ I read somewhere that this story has inspirations from Spirited Away, one of my favorite movies and I found this out after reading the book. But sure enough during my reading of this book I thought it reminded me of that movie, and there was even a line in the book where she wrote “spirited away”. The characters and world-building definitely had that same feel of Spirited Away where spirits, ghosts and Gods walk the world.

+ I love Mina and how she got into her predicament because she loved her brother so much. Let me tell you, all the family references in this book pulled at my heart, I even almost teared up at the end! But it was happy tears I wanted to cry. Mina as a character fights for her loved ones and doesn’t let the word “no” stop her. She is determined to break the curse of the Sea God to save the people she loves. She has a beautiful heart.

+ The characters are great especially Shin and my other favorite Namgi! And because Mina is basically in the underworld, she runs into people who have passed. It’s part of the reason I wanted to cry at the end of the book.

+ The writing is beautiful and the story itself is filled with little myths here and there that Mina is remembers or tells. There is a romance and it starts off as an enemies to lovers situation until Mina unveils the secret of the Sea God. I love how it unfolded and how sweet the ending is.

~ I did have to get acquainted with this world in the first few chapters. I like that we jump right away into the story without any background but once she is is in the Spirit Realm, I feel as disoriented as Mina so I felt like her, I had to get my bearings. Once I do, the story sweeps me away. The conflict of the story, doesn’t have a big impact, there is a battle but it’s resolved quickly.

~ Even though we meet Shin in the beginning I started to suspect some things about him and I was right, which isn’t a bad thing – it made me look forward to see how the book would end.

Tropes: soul mates, mythology retelling, chosen one

Why you should read it:

it’s an enchanting, magical story about Mina who has a big heart
the romance between Mina and Lord Shin starts off as enemies but it’s a sweet ending for them
this story is about choices, consequences, family, friendship, loneliness and just caring for one another

Why you might not want to read it:

might read too young for some people – it’s a light fantasy not high fantasy
slow beginning

My Thoughts:

I wasn’t sure what to think in the beginning of the story but by the end, I was in love with it. I love Mina’s heart and Shin’s protectiveness even though at first he comes off as hostile. I love the Spirit Realm (it has Spirited Away vibes), and the fun side characters. This one made me want to cry with all the talk about family – it really is a beautiful story with a gorgeous book cover to match.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Other books I’ve read and reviewed by this author:

XOXO by. Axie Oh

Quotes from the Book:

You claim the gods should love and care for humans. I disagree. I don’t think love can be bought or earned or even prayed for. It must be freely given.”
~Axie Oh, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

My love for you is endless. Deep and endless, like the sea.”
~Axie Oh, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

Sometimes you don’t find family in your own blood, but elsewhere.”
~Axie Oh, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

I wish I could bear some of your burden for you. Holding you now, I can feel how heavy it is.”
~Axie Oh, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

Ramón and Julieta by. Alana Quintana Albertson | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Ramón and Julieta (Love and Tacos, #1)

Author: Alana Quintana Albertson

Format: paperback (own)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: 2/1/22

Publisher: Berkley Books

Categories: Romance, Women’s Fiction, Latinx, Foodie Romance

When fate and tacos bring Ramón and Julieta together on the Day of the Dead, the star-crossed pair must make a choice: accept the bitter food rivalry that drives them apart or surrender to a love that consumes them.

Ramón Montez always achieves his goals. Whether that means collecting Ivy League degrees or growing his father’s fast-food empire, nothing sets Ramón off course. So when the sexy señorita who kissed him on the Day of the Dead runs off into the night with his heart, he determines to do whatever it takes to find her again.

Celebrity chef Julieta Campos has sacrificed everything to save her sea-to-table taqueria from closing. To her horror, she discovers that her new landlord is none other than the magnetic mariachi she hooked up with on Dia de los Muertos. Even worse, it was his father who stole her mother’s taco recipe decades ago. Julieta has no choice but to work with Ramón, the man who destroyed her life’s work–and the one man who tempts and inspires her.

As San Diego’s outraged community protests against the Taco King take-over and the divide between their families grows, Ramón and Julieta struggle to balance the rising tensions. But Ramón knows that true love is priceless and despite all of his successes, this is the one battle he refuses to lose.

Content Warning: gentrification, parental neglect/parental relationship problems

The first thing that attracted me to this book was the book cover and all its vibrant colors. This romance story itself is full of color so let’s see what did and didn’t work for me:

+ This one has a bunch of romance tropes: rival families, it’s a loose retelling of Romeo and Juliet, it’s a millionaire romance, workplace romance and insta-attraction but I think it all works nicely together.

+ Ramón and Julieta meet right away and the attraction is instant. They are even ready for a one-night stand which doesn’t happen though. But throughout the book they are basically itching to get their hands on one another and when they do, there are some steamy moments – but they are quick and not super detailed.

+ It’s a really quick read and though Ramón and Julieta has challenges, it is easily resolved. This one is centered around a Chicano community in San Diego called Barrio Logan and I thought the author did a great job capturing the sights, customs, and flavors of the community. The rivalry between the two families centers on a taco recipe, so yes this book will make you hungry for Mexican food. I thought it was good to put a spotlight on class issues – Ramón’s family being known as “coconuts” and how he feels like he doesn’t belong in Julieta’s community because they were raised different and richer. Or how Julieta felt being poorer than him. I did like how he made amends to Julieta’s family though and how he stood up to his dad.

~ There was a lot of talk about Ramón’s McLaren which is I guess a very expensive car? lol I wouldn’t know.

~ It’s a very loose retelling of Romeo and Julieta, it had some elements of it – even the two characters spouting lines from the play at times. But it’s not an exact retelling so don’t expect that.

~ Although there were some deep issues to do with class and gentrification in the story, I think the story glossed over it. It stayed a light-hearted romance book, which is fine, so if you want a romance story that tackles the issues – this isn’t it. This one stays light and has a happily ever after.

Tropes: insta-attraction, instalove, romeo and juliet inspired, rivals, millionaire romance, workplace romance

Why you should read it:

lots of Chicano culture is represented
it’s got a few elements of Romeo and Juliet in the story but it’s a whole unique story in itself
Ramón and Julieta are hot for each other, they don’t really care that their parents advise them not to see one another and they have a HEA

Why you might not want to read it:

the rivalry isn’t really a strong aspect of the story – something happened in the past between their parents, a miscommunication or no explanation – so that rivalry is mostly between their parents. Ramón didn’t even know about it! Julieta and Ramón let go of the rivalry once they figure out what happened.
Some of the Romeo/Juliet verses was a bit cringe to me lol but I went with it – it’s a romance 🤷🏻‍♀️. Maybe if some guy serenaded me I’d fall hard too…or cringe LOL -knowing me, I’d cringe 😅.

My Thoughts:

This was a cute one and I read it fairly quick. I love the book cover, which I think captures the vibe of the story very well. The way the author describes San Diego and the Barrio, all the customs and food was wonderful. The romance is light hearted, had elements of Shakespeare’s famous play, and it was steamy when it needed to be.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Our Crooked Hearts by. Melissa Albert | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Our Crooked Hearts

Author: Melissa Albert

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 339

Publication Date: 6/28/22

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Categories: Young Adult, Witchcraft, Urban Fantasy, Mystery, Contemporary, YA Thriller

THE SUBURBS, RIGHT NOW . . .

Seventeen-year-old Ivy’s summer break kicks off with an accident, a punishment, and a mystery: a stranger whose appearance in the middle of the road, in the middle of the night, heralds a string of increasingly unsettling events. As the days pass, Ivy grapples with eerie offerings, corroded memories, and a secret she’s always known—that there’s more to her mother than meets the eye.

THE CITY, BACK THEN . . .

Dana has always been perceptive. And the summer she turns sixteen, with the help of her best friend and an ambitious older girl, her gifts bloom into a heady fling with the supernatural, set in a city of magical possibilities and secret mystics. As the trio’s aspirations darken, they find themselves speeding toward a violent breaking point.

Years after it began, Ivy and Dana’s shared story will come down to a reckoning among a daughter, a mother, and the dark forces they never should’ve messed with.

Content Warning: violence, blood, animal death

I went into this one expecting nothing and thoroughly enjoyed it! I’ve read Melissa Albert’s Hazel Wood series and honestly thought her books were not for me. I was curious about this one because it was about witchcraft and with the way she writes, I thought maybe…just maybe, this would be better than The Hazel Wood. Here’s what I thought did and didn’t work for me:

+ The witchcraft is dark and sinister, just how I like it. At first we follow Ivy, who’s a teenager who comes upon a strange girl in the woods. After that the story sucks you into the mystery of the girl, and Ivy’s mom’s secretive past. It’s one of those stories where I don’t know where it leads but it takes you on a twisty, dark journey until all the secrets are revealed. One of the best things about this story is how it unfolds.

+ The story is told between Dana’s past and Ivy’s present and I think it was well done and I was interested in both timelines. It merges together in the climax of the story. The writing is lyrical and dark, and I especially liked when we are in Dana’s past which is set in the 1990’s. I could visually see it all (since I grew up in that time).

+ There are some choices that Dana makes that affects Ivy and it’s something as mother and daughter that puts a wedge between them. Even now as I think about it all, I wonder if Dana could have done something else different to keep her daughter safe from her past.

+ There is a tiny bit of romance, but it’s not a main focus of the book.

~ The beginning may seem a little slow because it’s building the story of the past and it is also part mystery on Ivy’s part.

~ The book is atmospheric but if you aren’t into lyrical prose, this might not be your thing. I’m on the fence with her writing but I feel like for this type of book – where it’s creepy, mysterious and edgy too – it works. Witchcraft and Melissa Albert goes well together! It gave me flashbacks of the movie The Craft – especially when Dana is telling her story because her story is set the 90’s.

Tropes: family secrets, best friends for life

Why you should read it:

there is witchcraft and I love how twisty this story is
Dana and Ivy’s mother daughter relationship is strained – but you have to find out why
atmospheric, creepy, thrilling and so dark

Why you might not want to read it:

a little slow to get into only because it is a mystery but it picks up once the pieces fall into place
lyrical prose

My Thoughts:

I didn’t know what to expect with this one but I enjoyed it a lot! I was craving a good, spooky witchy book and this had all those elements and more. I was really invested in how Dana and Ivy’s story intertwined and how the consequences of Dana’s past would surface. If you like dark, witchy books with a few twists, you might enjoy this one! I hope the author writes more books like this one!

📚 ~ Yolanda

Other books I’ve reviewed from this Author:

The Hazel Wood by. Melissa Albert – 3.5 STARS

The Night Country (The Hazel Wood, #2) by. Melissa Albert – 2.5 STARS

Quotes From the Book:

He’d had all these ideas about who I was—that’s one of the perils of being quiet, people invent personalities for you—”
~Melissa Albert, Our Crooked Hearts

A mother can be a paring knife, a chisel. She can shape and destroy. I never really thought I would become one.”
~Melissa Albert, Our Crooked Hearts

magic was a thing with teeth, and a history as old as the world.”
~Melissa Albert, Our Crooked Hearts

For the Throne by. Hannah F. Whitten | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: For the Throne (Wilderwood, #2)

Author: Hannah F. Whitten

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 496

Publication Date: 6/9/22

Publisher: Orbit

Categories: New Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Twins

The First Daughter is for the Throne
The Second Daughter is for the Wolf…

Red and the Wolf have finally contained the threat of the Old Kings but at a steep cost. Red’s beloved sister Neve, the First Daughter is lost in the Shadowlands, an inverted kingdom where the vicious gods of legend have been trapped for centuries and the Old Kings have slowly been gaining control. But Neve has an ally–though it’s one she’d rather never have to speak to again–the rogue king Solmir.

Solmir wants to bring an end to the Shadowlands and he believes helping Neve may be the key to its destruction. But to do that, they will both have to journey across a dangerous landscape in order to find a mysterious Heart Tree, and finally to claim the gods’ dark, twisted powers for themselves.

Content Warning: violence, self harm, rats and roaches

I finished this duology in one week, yay, so was it better than the first book? Let’s so what did and didn’t work for me:

+ The story is still told through different perspectives: Neve in the Shadowlands with Solmir trying to take care of the Kings, Red and company trying to figure out how to get Neve out of the Shadowlands and Raffe who brings in a new character to their crew, Kayu. Once again, where I was more invested in Red’s story in For the Wolf, I was now more interested in Neve’s in this volume.

+ We learn more about the Kings and what happened in the past. We get to try and decide if Solmir is trustworthy or not.

+ Neve is a strong character and she’s battling with some internal struggles. She’s trying to uncover who she really is – is she good? Or has her actions trying to save Red show that she’s bad? Is it so black and white? Will she embraced all parts of herself, good and bad? Neve held her own in the Shadowlands, she thrived alongside Solmir and killing beasts and taking their god powers. I liked Solmir – he knew he was an a-hole and didn’t try to hide it, basically Neve and Solmir got to know each other on a very real level – flaws and everything. They are morally gray characters.

+ I think the story tied up all the loose ends in the story. I liked more of the action in Neve’s story. I loved that there was a concentration on the love between the two sisters moreso in this book than the first one.

~ I feel like the different perspectives didn’t make this story flow. It started off good and then it fizzled out, then ended with a bang. The pacing was just off for me this whole duology, it moves to slow. This one had more action but only when it was Neve telling the story. She and Solmir get into some thrilling situations, some gross (killer rats and roaches anyone? ugh). I was more interested in Neve’s story but we get a new character Kayu who is helping Red and friends try and figure out who to contact or help Neve. Also the new character being a love interested for Raffe I’m torn about. I’m glad Raffe has someone new to fall for but I felt like it was rushed.

~ If book one was Beauty and the Beast, then I think the author tried to make this like Snow White. The story mentions apples and mirrors. But that’s all I got in reference to Snow White, which isn’t much.

~ We don’t get much more of Fife and Lyra except for the facet Fife is mad he’s still bound to Eammon (but he made that choice) and is is acknowledged that Fife and Lyra bring in an ACE relationship.

~ This happened to me in book one as well and again in this book where I had to pause and reread a sentence to make sure it made sense to me lol. There were times I was like oh, that’s deep and times I cringed and that was my experience with the whole series!

Tropes: monster boyfriend, morally gray characters, atmospheric setting, quest, villain redemption arc, good twin/bad twin, enemies to lovers, slow burn

Why you should read it:

you loved For the Wolf, or didn’t love it but curious enough to read about Neve and her character arc
it’s a romantasy (romance fantasy)
I feel like the sister relationship has more of a spotlight here and asks some interesting questions like what will you do for family or someone you love? Let the world burn to the ground to save her or not?

Why you might not want to read it:

Everyone in this book starts pairing up, not sure if Raffe’s pairing was needed but I thought Kayu was an interesting character. It made their relationship rushed though.
pacing issues like first book

My Thoughts:

So I’m done with both books and I can say I did love Red and Eammon together in book one but Neve and Solmir are more my speed. They faced crazy dangers in the shadowlands – psycho kings, scary godlike creatures, and beasts like rats and roaches (UGH yuck), and they had to kill to absorb power. Neve showed her mettle though and I liked seeing how she dealt with her internal struggle about goodness and evil. The sister love came through in this one and it was interesting to see how the roles were reversed. Neve wanted to save Red in book one and now Red was trying to save Neve and honestly…they both learned they could save themselves. They had to learn that lesson the hard way though. Overall, it was a series that took time to read because there were pacing issues and the books seemed too long. I was entertained enough to finish it through though.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes From the Book:

“May the next world be kinder, Beloved,”
― Hannah F. Whitten, For the Throne

“The two of you have overturned worlds for each other, Neverah. It’s hard to get more matched than that.”
― Hannah F. Whitten, For the Throne

Saving someone else was a wall you couldn’t scale unless they threw you a rope.
― Hannah F. Whitten, For the Throne

For the Wolf by. Hannah F. Whitten | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: For the Wolf (Wilderwood, #1)

Author: Hannah F. Whitten

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 481

Publication Date: 6/1/21

Publisher: Orbit

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Beauty and the Beast Re-telling, Twins

The first daughter is for the Throne.
The second daughter is for the Wolf.

As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose-to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he’ll return the world’s captured gods.

Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can’t control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can’t hurt those she loves. Again.

But the legends lie. The Wolf is a man, not a monster. Her magic is a calling, not a curse. And if she doesn’t learn how to use it, the monsters the gods have become will swallow the Wilderwood-and her world-whole.

Content Warning: self-harm

I got this book and the sequel on my online library so I read it right away before my borrowing period ended. I’ve seen good and bad reviews for this book, so let’s so what did and didn’t work for me:

+ This is story is a romantasy and those were the parts that I loved in the book. Redarys (Red) is the second the daughter, and if the first daughter is for the throne then the second daughter is for the Wolf. She gets sent as the sacrificial second daughter to the Wolf in the Wilderwood. No one knows much about him except from legend and lore being told from generation to generation. When Red meets Eammon, the wolf, she learns that his power is feeding the Wilderwood but he needs help and this is where she comes in to the picture.

+ I did like the world building and story about five Kings, magic, and the Wilderwood. I think I had a good grasp of the world this is set it. I think we got a pretty good idea of

+ This being a romantasy means I was invested in Red and Eammon falling for one another. It has very Beauty and the Beast vibes except I was thinking it was gonna be Red Riding Hood vibes because of the cover? And Eammon is called the Wolf? So yeah…maybe a blending of the two stories? So yes, I did love their moments together – they have physical chemistry…as for the emotional chemistry? I think Eammon is just the type who doesn’t talk about his feelings much. I do feel at times this could be more New Adult than Young Adult (I’m reading book 2 right now and it is definitely NA).

~ This story is actually told between two perspectives and I was more into Red’s story because it starts with her. But her twin Neve is on the other side of the Wilderwood, she misses Red, she wants to rescue Red without knowing Red doesn’t want to be rescued. Neve does some things that has dire consequences to the Wilderwood, Red and Eammon and I believe book two is her story. I wasn’t as invested in Neve because of the romance taking place with Red and Eammon.

~ The pacing was off, I was into the story and then there was a lull because Red doesn’t know how to use her power, doesn’t understand it and no one is explaining it to her (looking at you, Eammon). Eammon eventually trains her to use her power but he won’t let her help him take care of the Wildwood so he is self-harming himself like crazy because he doesn’t want help. I wanted to shake him a few times. Like what is Red’s purpose then if not to help him? The both of them were hopeless and stubborn at times 🤦🏻‍♀️ but at least they had good kissing scenes!

~ There are side characters like Fife and Lyra but I didn’t feel like they contributed much to the story. It would be nice to get to know them a bit more. I do have to mention that Lyra is a ACE rep, at least from how Fife described her. Like I said, would be nice to get to know them more.

~ I said I think I got a good grasp of the world-building but I can also say I couldn’t really pin it down. It felt like a blur sometimes even though she went into detail describing it…does that make sense? 😅

Tropes: single bed, marriage/sacrifice, forced proximity, sentient forest, fairytale mash-up, monster boyfriend, girl with magic who doesn’t know how to use it, brooding male, slow-burn

Why you should read it:

Beauty and the Beast, Red Riding Hood vibes – seems like a bunch of fairy tales actually because the ending hints at Sleeping Beauty also
it’s a romantasy (romance fantasy)
twin sisters who care about one another a lot – but needing to learn how to let go of one another and be on their separate paths

Why you might not want to read it:

I should call it a romangstasy lol…because yes Red and Eammon = angsty – I was getting irritated when she wanted to help and he said no or when he asked her to use her power instead of blood and she said no. Like…come on….😂.
a slower read at some parts – mostly because of the repetition

My Thoughts:

I feel like I’m still processing this one but also I already started book two since it’s fresh in my head and this is definitely not a Young Adult series…I’m saying it’s New Adult because Red and Eammon have some sexy times right away. For the Wolf, was entertaining enough for me to stick it through. I do like fairytale mash-ups when they make sense. I was expecting Red Riding Hood but got more Beauty and the Beast instead. Red and Eammon have that angsty, non-communicative relationship which can be so frustrating but I liked when they stopped talking and kissed instead. So I have mixed feelings about this one to say the least. I also was more into Red’s story than Neve but now that I’m reading book two…Neve’s story seems already better than Red’s, maybe because Solmir is more talkative. So we shall see how everything turns out for both sisters.

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes From the Book:

People with power resent losing it, and too much power for too long a time can make a villain of anyone.”
― Hannah F. Whitten, For the Wolf

People created stories to fill the gaps they didn’t understand, and religion grew up around it like rot on a fallen tree.”
― Hannah F. Whitten, For the Wolf

“She could count the number of people who loved her on one hand, and they all kept begging for the only thing she couldn’t give them.”
― Hannah F. Whitten, For the Wolf

The Summer I Turned Pretty by. Jenny Han | Book Review | Re-read

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Author: Jenny Han

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 276

Publication Date: 5/4/09

Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Teen, Summer, Coming of Age

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer—they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

Content Warning: cancer

I read this back in 2009 and gave it 4 stars on Goodreads! That was 13 years ago…wow, I was single or just about to date my hubby. Crazy how long ago it was and my headspace was super different. Now I’m in my early 40’s with 2 kids, one who’s about to turn 10 years old. 😅 I don’t usually review re-reads but I will definitely do them if I never did a review for them on this blog. And I only did a re-read of this because the series on Amazon came out and I think they did such a good job. But so many people said lots of things were changed and I wanted to see what they were since I didn’t really remember the book except for being annoyed with Belly and being in love with Conrad. 😂

Here’s what I thought:

+ This is a such a quick read, it’s only 276 pages! Now young adult books can be like 500 pages long, so this was quick. It gave all the summer vibes as expected. I did forget all the time jumping it did from past summers to the present. The show didn’t do as many flashbacks as the book.

+ Jeremiah and Belly have more time together in the book than in the show. I can feel their bestie vibes.

+ Conrad is still that guy! I can see why I fell for Conrad because he’s the hurting, handsome guy and I was reminded that Belly was always in love with this guy. It’s always Conrad for her.

~ Because I’m so much more older – this actually bored me a bit. Belly is whiny and understandable because she is young! It’s jumping timelines from when she’s 11 to 14 to 15, etc…so we see her as a whiny girl. And I can’t see that much changes from 11 to 16. I can see why Conrad pushes her away and I’m glad he does.

~ There are SO many changes from the book to the show, I can see why hardcore fans didn’t love the show! There is no debutant ball in the book, Steven doesn’t stay for that summer when she turns 16 – he is in flashbacks though. I get why they made the changes….how do you stretch out this 276 book into 7 episodes? I felt like they did have all the parts from the book in the show though – like all those late night talks with Conrad. I don’t mind the extra stuff I thought it made it entertaining. But yes so many different changes from the book.

Why you should read it:

perfect for teen readers, it’s short, has summer vibes and summer crushes

Why you might not want to read it:

Way different from the Amazon series!
Belly is still annoying me after all these years 😂 but she doesn’t annoy me that much on the show

My Thoughts:

I’m glad I did my first read in 2009 and loved it as a story about a young girl who has these amazing summers with 2 boys and their lovely mom. It’s about friendship at its core and love. At my age now, I do prefer the show because there is many more things happening to keep me entertained but I can see why that didn’t make fans of the series happy also because a whole lot of things were added! But I will say this – them using “This Love” from Taylor Swift for the trailer was genius because this song is ALLLLLLL Belly and Conrad forever feels lol. So here’s a video:

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes From the Book:

“I love Conrad and I probably always would. I would spend my whole life loving him one way or another. Maybe I would get married, maybe I would have a family, but it wouldn’t matter, because a piece of my heart, the piece where summer lived, would always be Conrad’s”
― Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty

“It’s hard to throw away history. It was like you were throwing away a part of yourself.”
― Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty

Where the Crawdads Sing by. Delia Owens | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Where the Crawdads Sing

Author: Delia Owens

Format: paperback (own)

Pages: 391

Publication Date: 8/14/18

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Categories: Adult Fiction, Murder Mystery

For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet fishing village. Kya Clark is barefoot and wild; unfit for polite society. So in late 1969, when the popular Chase Andrews is found dead, locals immediately suspect her.

But Kya is not what they say. A born naturalist with just one day of school, she takes life’s lessons from the land, learning the real ways of the world from the dishonest signals of fireflies. But while she has the skills to live in solitude forever, the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. Drawn to two young men from town, who are each intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new and startling world—until the unthinkable happens.

In Where the Crawdads Sing, Owens juxtaposes an exquisite ode to the natural world against a profound coming of age story and haunting mystery. Thought-provoking, wise, and deeply moving, Owens’s debut novel reminds us that we are forever shaped by the child within us, while also subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

The story asks how isolation influences the behavior of a young woman, who like all of us, has the genetic propensity to belong to a group. The clues to the mystery are brushed into the lush habitat and natural histories of its wild creatures.

Content Warning: abuse, violence, parental neglect, racism, N word, sexual assault, bullying

The movie adaptation for this book is coming to screens on July 15, 2022. It even has a song by Taylor Swift in the movie called “Carolina”. I remember there was so much hype for this book when it published but I didn’t pick it up because I wasn’t in the mood until now. Here’s what I thought:

+ My favorite part of this book has to be the setting. The author captures the marshlands and small town vibe in lots of detail. It is set in a time when racism and segregation was prevalent in the 1950’s-1960’s in the USA. This story takes place in North Carolina and it’s definitely eye opening – especially how the people on the marsh were considered and how they lived. It’s uncomfortable – especially when seeing the N word used in the book, yet in reality that is how people in these places talked.

+ Kya has a very hard upbringing – she is sorely neglected. Her mother leaves, her dad is an abusive alcoholic who is there some days, her siblings (most who’s name she didn’t know) left until it was just her. I can’t fathom and have never experienced loneliness like that. Abandonment like that. So in a way this took a good look at a girl who lives and grows up in isolation and how she turns out. I applauded how Kya took care of herself, learned to fend for herself in the marsh even as lonely as she was. She made something of herself!

+ Of course my favorite characters are Jumpin’ and Mabel, the two black characters who actually did all they could for Kya. They helped her when no one would. Of course Tate, her first love, was there to teach her how to read and such – but Jumpin’ and Mabel were the only ones Kya could really count on.

~ It’s a slower read for me because it is a mystery. I thought the details about Kya’s past, her family, and the marsh were very detailed but I did want to get more into the murder mystery. There isn’t a lot about it – there is a dead body, someone accuses Kya because of a missing necklace, and the story examines Kya’s life…then the last few chapters is the trial. The story lagged a little bit for me in the middle. The timeline wasn’t smooth because it jumped around.

~ I did guess who the murderer was only because there seemed to be no one else to suspect. Also this isn’t a romance book but it has two relationships Kya falls into almost one after the other. It shows how Kya was inept in human relationships even though she was an expert of nature and how mating works in that sphere. It’s due to her isolated upbringing and people abandoning her.

~ This is a heavy read – there is physical abuse, there is parental neglect, major abandonment, the racism Jumpin’ experiences and the N word, classism and there is sexual assault. Kya doesn’t have an easy life, she’s a white girl but illiterate (for a time), she’s poor “white trash”, she’s from the marsh…lots of people in her town looked down on her because of it.

Why you should read it:

you like a murder mystery with a lush setting in the marsh in North Carolina
Kya is a girl who grows up abandoned and in isolation – her story is incredible
filled with poems, the story is poetic in a melancholy and lonely way – but the twist in the end was nice

Why you might not want to read it:

murder mystery comes mostly in the end with the trial
I skipped over some of the poetry – because the story was moving slow already with all the nature descriptions, it was losing me before the trial came in – but I didn’t skip the last one.

My Thoughts:

I’m glad I finally read this book and I can see why there was so much hype. The marsh is described in such detail and Kya is an interesting character who overcomes such dire odds as a child. She’s a survivor. I did find it a little bit slow in the middle and wish there was more about the murder investigation but I understand this was mostly about Kya. It will be interesting to see how they make the movie but that Taylor Swift song already sets the mood for the movie. Here’s the video:

📚 ~ Yolanda

Quotes From the Book:

“lot of times love doesn’t work out. Yet even when it fails, it connects you to others and, in the end, that is all you have, the connections.”
― Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing

“She knew the years of isolation had altered her behavior until she was different from others, but it wasn’t her fault she’d been alone. Most of what she knew, she’d learned from the wild. Nature had nurtured, tutored, and protected her when no one else would.”
― Delia Owens, Where the Crawdads Sing