Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish meme originally created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @ Book Nook Bits, where every Friday, bloggers write discussion posts based on a weekly prompt and Dini @ dinipandareads has cohosted since the beginning of 2025.
This week’s topic is:
April 25: Do Blog Tours Build Community?
Prompts:Do you participate in blog tours? What do you like or dislike about them? Do you trust reviews that are written for blog tours? When you participate in blog tours, do you connect with other bloggers involved? Do you think blog tours build community?
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Do you participate in blog tours? What do you like or dislike about them?
Yes I do blog tours but not as much as before. I might only do 1-3 blog tours now when before I’d try to do a bit more. I like that I get a chance to help promote a book but I hated when I didn’t love a book and didn’t want to leave a bad review. So now I will feature an excerpt of the book for the blog tour and save my own review of it for another post.
Do you trust reviews that are written for blog tours?
I do. I think if someone doesn’t love a book they generally will say so. If I don’t like a blog tour book I just say it isn’t for me but a certain type of reader might love it so give it a chance.
When you participate in blog tours, do you connect with other bloggers involved?Do you think blog tours build community?
I don’t usually connect with other bloggers during a blog tour but I do see when their posts pop up and I check it out just to see how they felt about the book! So in that way I do think it builds community because we see we are on the same blog tour and then read check out each other’s posts.
April Topics:
April 4: Reading Relatability
Prompts:Real life can be a lot. Do you enjoy reading books with high relatability to your past or present situation (i.e. with relatable characters, situations they face, or places they visit) or do you read purely to escape reality? Do you seek out a certain type of read, depending on your head space or mood?
Prompts:Do you buy books randomly or do you think about what to buy? How do you decide which books to buy vs which books to borrow or just save for later? For books at the top of your TBR, is your go-to buying a book or do you check your library first? What book formats do you own most of—physical books, ebooks, or audiobooks?
Prompts:Do you collect bookish accessories? What are some bookish accessories that you can’t get enough of? Is there any type of bookish accessory that you feel is “overdone” (i.e. book mugs)? Where do you usually get your bookish accessories and do you have recommended stores to get them from?
April 25: Do Blog Tours Build Community?
Prompts:Do you participate in blog tours? What do you like or dislike about them? Do you trust reviews that are written for blog tours? When you participate in blog tours, do you connect with other bloggers involved? Do you think blog tours build community?
Title: The Floating World (The Floating World, #1)
Author: Axie Oh
Format: eBook (NetGalley)
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 4/29/25
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Categories: Fantasy, Steampunk, Romance, Young Adult, Korean Mythology Retelling
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 Axie Oh, the New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in this romantic fantasy reimagining the Korean legend of Celestial Maidens.
Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. An ex-soldier, he can remember little of his life from before two years ago, when he woke up alone with only his name and his sword. Now he does odd-jobs to scrape by, until he comes across the score of a lifetime—a chest of coins for any mercenary who can hunt down a girl who wields silver light.
Meanwhile, far to the east, Ren is a cheerful and spirited acrobat traveling with her adoptive family and performing at villages. But everything changes during one of their festival performances when the village is attacked by a horrific humanlike demon. In a moment of fear and rage, Ren releases a blast of silver light—a power she has kept hidden since childhood—and kills the monster. But her efforts are not in time to prevent her adoptive family from suffering a devastating loss, or to save her beloved uncle from being grievously wounded.
Determined to save him from succumbing to the poisoned wound, Ren sets off over the mountains, where the creature came from—and from where Ren herself fled ten years ago. Her path sets her on a collision course with Sunho, but he doesn’t realize she’s the girl that he—and a hundred other swords-for-hire—is looking for. As the two grow closer through their travels, they come to realize that their pasts—and destinies—are far more entwined than either of them could have imagined…
Content Warning: violence, death
+The world building in The Floating World is really interesting! It’s fantasy but with steampunk elements – people in the Under World travel by train and an airship. This world is separated into the Under World, which is cast in darkness and The Floating World, where the Celestial Maiden once ruled and has the power of light. The story is a retelling about a myth called the Woodcutter and the Celestial Maiden and I really enjoyed that.
+ Ren is part of an acrobat troupe but one day her world changes and we find out later who she really is. Sunho, is a mercenary on a mission to find this special girl, and by finding her he could find his brother, Junho. Sunho, was probably my favorite character in this book – he’s a good guy even though he’s missing some memories and I loved how he protected and saved Ren. Ren I thought was a sweet girl throughout the book, even though she’s gone through some challenges. The both of them I thought were sweet together. There isn’t much romance, but I thought it was nice to see their friendship build first, as they are are companions on the road.
+ I think Jaeill is an interesting character also and he was Ren’s friend in the past. I hope book two sheds more light on him and what Ren means to him, if she even means anything to him anymore. His dad is hell-bent on getting rid of Ren so the political intrigue could get more intense in book two.
~ The beginning was a bit slow for me, I felt like I didn’t really get into the story until after a few chapters in. But it does pick and up and end with a great set up into the sequel.
Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed this one from Axie Oh who has become a must-read author for me! I loved the retelling of this Korean mythology that I’m unaware of, I love learning myths from different cultures. I thought the world-building was very interesting with a mix of fantasy and steampunk elements and it’s easy to get invested in the characters, especially Sunho, who was my favorite. The romance is sweet and soft which made me feel protective of Sunho and Ren. I’m looking forward to see what happens in the sequel.
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
Someone needs to take Netgalley away from me – I have way too many arcs to read this year but I can’t stop requesting! I’m trying to escape reality and boy am I reading many more books this year to do that. But why are there SO many books releasing in July – and why did I request all of those? lol
I feel like the books I’ve been reading have been spicer and darker lately. 🤔 I need to get out of this fantasy headspace of mine and cleanse with some contemporary romance – something lighter and happier lol. So once I’m done with this batch of current reads, I’m jumping into the contemporary romances I have listed below in my what I’m reading next section.
When seventeen-year-old Eliza Lin’s essay about meeting the love of her life unexpectedly goes viral, her entire life changes overnight. Now she has the approval of her classmates at her new international school in Beijing, a career-launching internship opportunity at her favorite magazine…and a massive secret to keep.
Eliza made her essay up. She’s never been in a relationship before, let alone in love. All good writing is lying, right?
Desperate to hide the truth, Eliza strikes a deal with the famous actor in her class, the charming but aloof Caz Song. She’ll help him write his college applications if he poses as her boyfriend. Caz is a dream boyfriend — he passes handwritten notes to her in class, makes her little sister laugh, and takes her out on motorcycle rides to the best snack stalls around the city.
But when her relationship with Caz starts feeling a little too convincing, all of Eliza’s carefully laid plans are threatened. Can she still follow her dreams if it means breaking her own heart?
Get ready to fall in love in this hilarious romcom about a girl who begins a fake relationship with the famous actor in her class, perfect for fans of Meg Cabot and Jenny Han.
Salama Kassab was a pharmacy student when the cries for freedom broke out in Syria. She still had her parents and her big brother; she still had her home. She had a normal teenager’s life.
Now Salama volunteers at a hospital in Homs, helping the wounded who flood through the doors daily. Secretly, though, she is desperate to find a way out of her beloved country before her sister-in-law, Layla, gives birth. So desperate, that she has manifested a physical embodiment of her fear in the form of her imagined companion, Khawf, who haunts her every move in an effort to keep her safe.
But even with Khawf pressing her to leave, Salama is torn between her loyalty to her country and her conviction to survive. Salama must contend with bullets and bombs, military assaults, and her shifting sense of morality before she might finally breathe free. And when she crosses paths with the boy she was supposed to meet one fateful day, she starts to doubt her resolve in leaving home at all.
Soon, Salama must learn to see the events around her for what they truly are—not a war, but a revolution—and decide how she, too, will cry for Syria’s freedom.
From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah’s The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.
Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.
When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.
Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity… and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.
In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.
Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after?
Top 5 Tuesday topics: April 2025
1 April: Top 5 anticipated reads for Q2 2025
It’s time to talk about all the shiny new books coming out in April, May and June in 2025. What are the books you can’t wait to hold in your hands the most?
8 April: Top 5 books set in America
North or South, we’re doing the continents. Tell us about all your fave books set in the Americas!
15 April: Top 5 books set in Europe
Heading east of the Americas (and north in some cases), what are your fave books set in Europe?
22 April: Top 5 books set in Asia
Further east again, and a bit south, what are your fave books set in Asia?
29 April: Top 5 books set in Africa, Australia and New Zealand
Happy to add Antarctica in here too if you’ve got some, but let’s cover off your fave books the last three continents!! And I refuse to leave New Zealand off the list. (Although, can I just say, the Hobbit and LoTRs don’t count for NZ, sorry!!)
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Top 5 Tuesday topics: May 2025
6 May: Top 5 books with a heart on the cover
Scavenger hunt time!! Find your 5 favourite books with a heart on the cover. Up to you whether it’s an anatomical heart or a symbolic heart.
13 May: Top 5 books with a star on the cover
Time to find your fave books with a (or multiple) star(s) on the cover. And in the immortal words of Nicola Yoon: The Sun is Also a Star. (Just saying!)
20 May: Top 5 books with a ballgown on the cover
We are hitting it old school and FANCY this week. Your top five books with ballgowns on the cover, if you please. State of the ballgown is up to you. (I know some of you ramtasy fans have probably got bloodstained dresses somewhere on your shelves.)
27 May: Top 5 books with no pictures on the cover
I guess this one is more of an anti-scavenger hunt? Also, it’s up to you how far you take this one. Does a pattern count as a picture? What about a single line or spot of colour? Maybe you want to go completely blank with just the words. No matter, please share your top 5 books with no pictures on the cover.
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Top 5 Tuesday topics: June 2025
3 June: Top 5 standalone books I wished were series
This is the week for everyone who ever wished their standalone book had more books. Maybe even a long epilogue or novella after it. You know, a Mysteries or Thorn Manor style book. Or, even a Song of Fire and Ice style never-ending series?!
10 June: Top 5 series I wished were shorter
Speaking of George (or even any Wheel of Time fans), is there a series that you wish was shorter than it is. Maybe it’s by one book — maybe it’s by eleven. You tell us!!
17 June: Top 5 series I wished never ended
Is your favoueite series long, but you wish it was longer? Do you want Julia Quinn to continue with the Bridgerton grandchildren? Is there not enough Maas to go around? Please share your deepest secrets with us, dear reader. But only those that relate to a series you wish didn’t end (or five).
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
The ending left me with my jaw open – I was like, what is going on?! Also I’m always surprised when I enjoy a sci/fi book, it’s not my favorite genre. But I really like Thunderhead’s voice in this story, especially since we are now in the age of AI.
I was surprised that this was a dark romance fantasy! I just thought it was going to be a cute romantasy. I’ve read a ya thriller, and a dark romantasy from this author just this year alone!
Surprised that reading BDSM is not my thing when I feel like I did read so much more of it when I was younger 🤔 and it didn’t phaze me – honestly I don’t think it was the sex scenes even though it’s not my cup of tea, I don’t know that I liked Lukas – he was cold and left ME cold to the story.
February 25: Books Set in Another Time (These can be historical, futuristic, alternate universes, or even in a world where you’re not sure when it takes place you just know it’s not right now.) March 4: Things Characters Have Said (Maybe a character said something really profound or romantic or hilarious or heartbreaking. You could share witty one-liners, mic-drop moments, snippets of funny dialogue between multiple characters, catchphrases, quotes that have become a part of pop culture–like “May the odds be ever in your favor.”, etc.) March 11: Books that Include/Feature [insert your favorite theme or plot device here] (for example: unreliable narrators, coming of age, darkness vs. light, time travel, metafiction, a specific romantic trope, good vs. evil. cliffhangers, flashbacks, plot twists, red herrings, loose ends, stories within stories, meet cutes, symbolism, etc.) (submitted by Alice @ The Wallflower Digest) March 18: Books on My Spring 2025 to-Read List March 25: Books I Did Not Finish (DNFed) (feel free to tell us why, but please no spoilers!) April 1: Books You’d be a Fool Not to Read (Happy April Fool’s Day! In honor of this silly holiday, share the books you think people must read for whatever reason. They could be your favorites, books you deem classics, books that you learned something important from, books you wish you’d read sooner, etc. You could even narrow it down to a specific genre and share the must-reads for that genre. Get creative!) April 8: Books with Springy Covers (Pastel colors, flowers, baby animals, sunshine, etc.) April 15: My Unpopular Bookish Opinions (You can share opinions surrounding being a reader, a book reviewer, etc. OR you could share your opinions on specific books that go against what everyone else is saying. Are there any books you loved that most people didn’t, or vice versa?) April 22: Books that Surprised Me (in a good or bad way) April 29: Books with the Word “[Insert Word Here]” in the Title (Choose a word and find ten books with that word in the title.)
The four princes of Lumathyst need a mate, and everyone wants a chance…except for her.
Threatened by invaders, the kingdom of Lumathyst is on the verge of chaos, and no one can stop it. Unless the four immortal god-princes find their fated mate―and safeguard the throne―Lumathyst will fall.
Five women have tried. Five have failed. And tonight in the royal city, the princes need to find their Chosen and hope she can survive the transformation that will make her immortal.
Only Rylee Gray wasn’t supposed to be here. She snuck in for her own dark reasons―and now they claim they’ve found their perfect match. Her. Of course, they have no idea she’s concealing a secret big enough to damn them all.
The four princes have no choice. They’ll use every delectably wicked skill they have to make Rylee fall for all of them…or watch their kingdom collapse.
Content Warning:
+ One woman, Rylee Gray, is chosen by one of the four Lumathyst princes, to go through a trial and see if she can survive turning immortal. Though this had more smut than plot, I did appreciate that Rylee did face some challenges on her journey to becoming the chosen one.
+ If you like smut, this one has a lot of it. It’s a “why choose” trope or basically reverse harem. There is one of her and four of them and Rylee enjoyed ALL of them. Literally. Sometimes two at the same time. So smut lovers this one is for you!
+ I did like the twist at the end. Throughout this story Rylee is sort of looking for her lost sister. I say sort of because it’s the princes who are supposedly looking for intel on her. There is more information about her at the end of the story.
~ I think Rylee spent the most time with Kal, who became my favorite only because she took time bonding with him and I felt out of all the guys – the romance between them is genuine. All the other guys were rushed. I think her favorite is Jax, but though there was tension between them from beginning to end, her moments with him (and the others) were rushed.
~ This was heavy on the spicy scenes and I thought the world-building was too light. Also she’s going through a trial with each prince to see if at the end she is “the one”. She’s with them for a mont but she fell for each prince fairly quick and there were no challenges there except for Jax and his dad, who constantly gave her problems. I mean I’m glad they all love to share her and she loves to be shared – but I wanted a bit more depth with the story.
~ I didn’t really connect to Rylee, i just wanted more from her character but I did think Mirren was a fun character. Would have liked to know Rylee’s friends bit better too.
Final Thoughts:
Even though this was more smut than plot, I read it fairly quick just because I wanted to see the difference in the princes and how she interacted with them. Unfortunately she didn’t spend lots of time with them equally – which is why I like Kal the best but I feel like that wasn’t fair to the other guys. I would have loved more world-building, more time with each prince and more from Rylee’s character. If you like spicy, reverse harem romances without heavy world building, then you will enjoy this one.
Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.
Megastar Whitney “Sahara” Richardson has everything planned—including when she’ll have kids. But a mix-up at the fertility clinic makes her the biological mother of a child she didn’t carry and whose father she’s never met. A fun celebrity rom-com with the poignancy of Abby Jimenez and a modern twist on “surprise baby” for fans of Jasmine Guillory.
World-famous Whitney “Sahara” Richardson is at the top of her game. With four Grammys, an Oscar nod, and a half-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. However, a mix-up at the fertility clinic where her eggs are stored puts the cart before the horse, making her the biological mother of a child she didn’t carry and whose father she’s never met.
Oops. Sahara suddenly has a daughter…and her father wants to keep her.
Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!
+ It was a short week for the kids which is nice. Didn’t do much except the usual stuff.
+Took my daughter to an Easter Egg Hunt yesterday nearby our house. Isn’t it sad when the kids get older? My son is too old for an egg hunt he says but I said, hey they did have a 9+ age group 😅 – he’s 12 and he’s not big on candy anyway but still. There were a lot of kids but it was a quick egg hunt! We used to hold the Easter Egg hunts at our house but now with the lack of street parking in my neighborhood it’s hard for our guests to find parking so we haven’t held an egg hunt since the pandemic I think.
Coachella – Ed Sheeran was there on the Saturday set list and I enjoyed it!
Videos I Posted to Youtube:
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
Categories: Fantasy, Pirates, Young Adult, Romance
Six hundred years ago, Nightweavers, cursed beings with untamed power, claimed the continents for their own. The ocean was meant to be a safe haven for humanity, including seventeen-year-old Aster Oberon and her pirate family. But after Aster’s brother is killed in an epic battle at sea against Nightweavers, Aster and her family are thrust into a new life on land.
When a handsome Nightweaver named Will offers the Oberons protection and work at his opulent estate, Aster is suspicious. As the arrogant and entitled right hand to the wicked prince, Will is everything that she has been taught to hate. But as he shows empathy and kindness, Aster can’t ignore a blooming attraction. And even more, Will opens her eyes to a new There are monsters worse than Nightweavers, monsters who may be behind her brother’s death.
As Aster hunts the creatures responsible, dark secrets threaten to unravel everything she once believed about her family, herself, and her world.
Filled with elemental magic, forbidden romance, and breathtaking twists, this is a propulsive romantasy about an iron-willed heroine avenging her brother and discovering her destiny—perfect for fans of Powerless and Heartless Hunter.
Content Warning: death, violence, possession, death of pet, death of family members
+ The beginning of this book caught my attention fast because Aster and her family are pirates! And right away they are embroiled in a fight at sea – it’s violent, bloody and things don’t turn out the way Aster thought it would, dashing her hopes and dreams.
+ Aster is young and isn’t afraid to fight for her family. I love how resilient she is even through whatever she is going through physically and mentally. There are other characters in this story like Will and Captain Shade that make the story very interesting also. I also loved the side characters of her family and Will’s family members.
+ There is a lot of political intrigue going on and I thought the twists and turns were entertaining. There is a clear side of good versus evil but I wonder where that leaves Aster and her knew knowledge of what she is and her powers. It will be interesting to see where the story goes. I thought the world building was great.
+ The romance is not the focus of this book, but I thought Aster and Will’s growing attachment was sweet although he’s keeping a lot of secrets. It’s definitely a forbidden romance with will being a Nightweaver and Aster being a human but again, it will be interesting to see what happens in book two.
~ I wanted more piracy because the first chapter where the pirates are the focus is so fun! It’s been awhile since I read a pirate book and it was nice to have it in this story! I think there is a tiny bit of a lull (not enough to stop me from reading – took me 2 days to read this one) in the middle of the book because Aster and her family is on land and not at sea. Also Will is supposed to be helping her find the Sylk that killed her brother but through out the “helping” all they are doing is spending time together. There was no hunting the Sylk involved.
~ Please don’t be a love triangle – PLEASE because I like both guys. Which is the worst.
Final Thoughts:
I enjoyed this one a lot minus the few issues I had which doesn’t make me less eager for book two any less. I was entertained! It’s got pirates, magic, political intrigue, romance and I can’t wait to see what happens next.
Categories: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult, BDSM, Sports Romance
A competitive diver and an ace swimmer jump into forbidden waters in this steamy college romance from the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis.
Scarlett Vandermeer is swimming upstream. A Junior at Stanford and a student-athlete who specializes in platform diving, Scarlett prefers to keep her head down, concentrating on getting into med school and on recovering from the injury that almost ended her career. She has no time for relationships—at least, that’s what she tells herself.
Swim captain, world champion, all-around aquatics golden boy, Lukas Blomqvist thrives on discipline. It’s how he wins gold medals and breaks records: complete focus, with every stroke. On the surface, Lukas and Scarlett have nothing in common. Until a well-guarded secret slips out, and everything changes.
So they start an arrangement. And as the pressure leading to the Olympics heats up, so does their relationship. It was supposed to be just a temporary, mutually satisfying fling. But when staying away from Lukas becomes impossible, Scarlett realizes that her heart might be treading into dangerous water…
Content Warning: BDSM, sports injury, PTSD, mention of abusive parent
+ Scarlett is a competitive diver at Stanford and she’s trying to overcome PTSD from a sports injury but she has a mental block. I did like seeing the journey she makes overcoming her mental challenges as the story progresses. Lukas is a world-champion swimmer and it seems like he has it all, but he just broke up with his long-time girlfriend.
+ This book has kink and BDSM which is not usually my cup of tea, so beware – though I do say I was expecting some restraints or some props but they didn’t do anything like that. So maybe this is BDSM lite? 🤷🏻♀️. There’s a lot of rough sex and I was just like, ow, girl. I did like how they talked about it though, communicated about what would be okay and not okay before getting into it.
+ My favorite part of this story was the sports aspects of this story because it’s a world I don’t read a lot about but I love watching swimming and diving during the Olympics so that did fascinate me.
~ So…the romance. Lukas’ soon to be ex, or ex, Pen, who is Scarlett’s teammate and friend, suggests to Scarlett that she and and Lukas hook-up because they both like BDSM. It’s one of the factors of why Lukas and Pen’s relationship was not working out but I didn’t like how she basically got them together and then blames Scarlett later on for taking her man. It’s okay if it was an open relationship, but basically Lukas and Pen were over, yet…not? Because they let everyone believe they weren’t over and that was frustrating. I don’t mind a love triangle, but this was not it.
~ I get that Lukas’ personality is blunt, but for all the girls saying he was hot, he left ME feeling cold even with all the smutty scenes going on. That’s rare! I felt like their hook-up lacked emotion except from Scarlett who attached to that man so fast, even as she denied how she felt. She was always crying and he was always licking up her tears. I was turned off. I guess he’s not my type! 😅I liked them as characters, I thought her journey and growth was good and I even liked learning about Lukas and his upbringing – but for some really weird reason I can’t quite pinpoint, I didn’t love them together.
~ I got to 60% in and then put it down because it wasn’t over yet so it took me a few days to read. It’s a bit long at 464 pages, a good 350 would have been nice.
Final Thoughts:
There is a lot of smut, which is fine, but I wanted romance and I feel like I didn’t get enough of that. I didn’t like Pen always being in the middle of Lukas and Scarlett – it was irritating, but I also thought wow, these are some pretty mature young adults to be open and casual about sharing a guy. I did like Scarlett’s personal journal with her diving and PTSD, and the whole swim/diving world was refreshing to read about. Overall, not my favorite Ali Hazelwood book so far.
