Birthstone Book Covers: September – Sapphire


The original creator of this book tag is Leslie @ Books Are The New Black so go check out her blog!

THE RULES

  • Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back to me so I can see your post!
  • Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
  • HAVE FUN!
  • Nominate people if you want!

Let’s find some book covers in this color:

I nominate everyone! It’s a fun and easy tag to do so try it out. ☺️

First Lines Fridays – Can You Guess What Book? | 9/6/24

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

“There once was a town. It was a quaint little town, in a quiet valley, where life moved at the pace of snails and the only road in was the only way out, too.”

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Can you guess what book it is?

Did you guess it? Have you read this one?

📖 ~ Yolanda

Reading Monthly Wrap Up for August 2024

August was full of transitions! My kids went back to school, my son is now in middle school and we have new routines but I love how everything has really come together seamlessly. Now we are just counting the days until their dad is back home with us, which will be in 3 months.

I think with how busy I’ve been in August, I read a pretty good amount of books and posted a bunch of reviews. Question – do you post a review of every book you read? I’m just curious because I do, but I’ve wondered if I need to. 🤔 Just thinking of ways I can tweak my blog a little.

Here is how my book ratings went in August:

What I Posted: 12 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

I actually read more books than I posted in August only because the arcs I read will be posted closer to their publication date. But wow, I’m amazed most of my book ratings in my August books are 3-3.5 stars! No 4-5 stars, shocking!

How was your month?

Can’t Help Falling in Love by. Sophie Sullivan | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Can’t Help Falling in Love

Author: Sophie Sullivan

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 304

Publication Date: 9/17/24

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Categories: Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fall Romance, Holiday Romance, Fake Dating

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A struggling waitress and the heir to a major Seattle company stumble into a high-profile fake engagement while simultaneously trying to keep up with their own love lives in this flirty fall rom-com!

Lexi Danby is looking for some no-strings, fall fun. Once a college track star, she was forced to drop out when her father passed away. Now she’s trying to make ends meet while putting herself through school and caring for her grieving mother. When her comically bad waitressing lands her directly in the path of a handsome, charming stranger named Will, Lexi may just have found the distraction she’s been looking for. Their first date looks promising until a misunderstanding at a party thrusts Lexi and Will into a fake engagement they can’t talk themselves out of. And Will turns out to be a member of Seattle royalty.

Will Grand is heir to a major company, and Seattle’s most eligible bachelor. But he’s been placed in charge of an important merger with a company that values family above all else, and needs to show them that he’s settled down. While a fake engagement is advantageous from a business standpoint, it’s not so great for a budding relationship with a woman who’s wary of commitment. With a woman who Will is beginning to care about much more than he could have anticipated.

As Lexi gets a taste of Will’s glamorous world and the pair keeps up the pretense of their fake engagement for the press, they decide to see where a more casual relationship takes them out of the spotlight. And amid apple picking in comfy flannels, outdoor breweries in the crisp air, and fun Halloween preparations, Lexi starts to realize the scariest part of the season might just be taking a chance on love.

“Sophie Sullivan consistently crafts romances to root for.” -Courtney Kae, author of In the Event of Love and In the Case of Heartbreak

Content Warning: death of parent, grief

Lexi is in her mid-20’s and is struggling a bit through school, jobs and keeping everything together after her dad passed away. I really felt for Lexi because you can see she is trying hard and she’s patient with her mom who is in a period of grieving to the point she doesn’t want to get out of bed sometimes. When Will comes into her life accidentally and they agree to fake date, I felt like everything seemed to work out well for them like their chemistry, their attraction and there wasn’t really any conflict between them besides Lexi being fearful of falling in love and losing that love.

This was a cute, quick fluffy read and perfect for the holidays! I love how the story happens around fall but I thought even if this was a Christmas holiday romance, it would have worked because by the end I was left with happy feelings as they celebrated Thanksgiving. I really liked the insightful things about life, love and loss that we get from the story. Lexi doesn’t have it all together and she thinks everyone around her does until she finds out everyone is struggling with something. I think that was really relatable.

I do think because there isn’t much conflict between them it felt like too light a read at times in the beginning, but I think we get some depth when Lexi gets fearful as things get more serious between her and Will. Also this happens in a span of six weeks – the fake dating to falling in love, so not exactly insta-love, but kind of.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I thought this was a fun, sweet, quick, fluffy romance! This story is heart warming with family and friendship themes and I think perfect for the fall holiday season.

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Instagram (crafts🎨) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (Shop)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books by This Author:

A Guide to Being Just Friends by. Sophie Sullivan| ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Match by. Sarah Adams | Audiobook Review

Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Match

Author: Sarah Adams

Format: audiobook (borrowed)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 5/30/20

Categories: Romance, Contemporary


Sometimes, love finds you when you least expect it…

Having worked for Southern Service Paws for a few years now, I like to think I’m prepared for just about any client meeting under the sun. I am dead wrong.

The day I meet with single dad, Jacob Broaden, about potentially matching his daughter with one of our service dogs, I learn a few valuable lessons.

1) Always set my alarm clock.
2) Single dads are way hotter than I previously thought.
3) It is possible to go from fantasizing about kissing someone to wishing they would be run over by a truck in a matter of two minutes.

Unfortunately, I don’t hold that opinion of him for very long. Not when he shows me a different side of himself—one that’s sweet as maple syrup and hot as apple pie fresh out of the oven. And after a few days of working closely with him and his daughter, he starts looking at me with fire in his eyes, making me dream of something I probably shouldn’t…
A family.

The Match is a feel-good, closed-door romantic comedy! Perfect for readers who enjoy sweet, sizzling chemistry with passionate kissing only.

Content Warning:

I thought this was a cute read and the narrators did a really good job with voicing the audiobook.

Evie has epilepsy, grew up rich, but is striking out on her own with her disability and service dog, Charlie. I admired her strength and bravery and her personality is very full of sunshine. She meets Jake because of his daughter Sam who has the same condition and wants a service dog. I liked the disability rep and the moments with the service dog.

Jacob is a great single dad, but he is seven years older than Evie so at times I felt like Evie was falling too fast for him even though he had some baggage to deal with. Overall though it’s a really cute, sweet romance.

My Final Thoughts:

This one has service dogs, a disability rep and a super cute romance!

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Twitter (X)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read By This Author

Practice Makes Perfect by. Sarah Adams | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WWW Wednesday | 9/4/24

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

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?

I feel like now that we are in September I have more motivation to finish all these fantasy reads I have in my NetGalley library! I’m such a mood reader. I also can’t believe we are in September and I have to be thinking about Halloween soon or do Christmas shopping or something! lol…I want to be prepared because I hardly am when the holidays hit. Anyway, what are you reading right now?

What are you currently reading?

Fledgling by. S.K. Ali – 50% – slow going only because of my mood reader tendencies

Stranger Skies by. Pascale LaCelle – 1% – still no progress because I’m reading other things but I will be getting to this one very soon!

Heir by. Sabaa Tahir – 35% – more progress and I think I will be done with this one this week!

Zodiac Rising by. Katie Zhao – 12% – no progress

Deja Brew (Elemental Love, #3) by. Celestine Martin – 24% – I haven’t read the first 2 books in this series but I couldn’t resist the cover and Fall themes!

What have you just finished reading?

Truly, Madly, Deeply by. Alexandria Bellefleur – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by. Carissa Broadbent – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 – when I got this arc, I pushed every other book aside to read this!! lol

The Match by. Sarah Adams – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?

Books Involving Food (That are Not Cookbooks)   | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday 9/3/24

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!

This week’s topic is:

Books Involving Food (That are Not Cookbooks) 

With or Without You by. Eric Smith – food trucks in Philadelphia

What’s on your TTT?

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (shop)


Top Ten Tuesday Topics:

SEPTEMBER~~
September 3: Books Involving Food (That are Not Cookbooks) (Submitted by Cathy @ WhatCathyReadNext and Hopewell’s Public Library of Life)
September 10: Books That Provide a Much-Needed Escape (bonus points if you tell us why!)
September 17: Ten Characters Authors Surprisingly Redeemed (which characters did you not like at first, but grew to love by the end of the book?) (submitted by Deanna @ A Novel Glimpse)
September 24: Books on My Fall 2024 To-Read List

OCTOBER~~
October 1: Books I Read/Avoided Because of the Hype (and did you make the right choice?)
October 8: Bookish Brags (or Confessions!) (what are you proud of or… not-so proud of in your bookish life?) (submitted by Lydia @ https://lydiaschoch.com)
October 15: Books I Was Assigned to Read in School (These can be books you loved or hated. Or just tolerated. Bonus points if you give us a tiny review of your thoughts!)
October 22: How My Reading Habits Have Changed Over Time (submitted by Lydia @ https://lydiaschoch.com)
October 29: Halloween Freebie

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 9/3/24

Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:

Shadows of Perl by. J. Elle

The dazzling romantic fantasy world of House of Marionne continues in this dark and deadly sequel full of forbidden magic, devastating lies, and broken hearts. A must read for fans of Stephanie Garber, Leigh Bardugo, and Alex Aster.

Unleash the darkness. Claim your power.

Quell Marionne’s explosive final Rite of Induction to House Marionne sent shockwaves through the magical world, unearthing long buried secrets and her own deadly power. But she paid a steep her family and her love. Fleeing Chateau Soleil for House of Perl, for once Quell is celebrated instead of shunned. She has finally found somewhere to belong. But secrets lurk in every House, and Quell’s quest to find her mom threatens to lead her deeper into the shadows.

Assassin Jordan Wexton, second-in command of the Dragun brotherhood, must protect the source of all magic, the Sphere. Yet the biggest threat to the Sphere is Quell Marionne—the girl he loved, until she claimed the deadly, outlawed toushana. As the Sphere cracks and war brews among the Houses, can the only way to save the world be to kill his own heart?

Now, these two lovers-turned enemies must confront their competing ambitions and conflicting loyalties. Or die. The future of magic hangs on their decision.

Goodreads | Amazon


The Monstrous Kind by. Lydia Gregovic

An atmospheric, haunting, romantasy inspired by Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, set in a Regency England about two sisters fighting to hold on to their manor while deadly monsters prowl along its perimeters—perfect for fans of House of Salt and Sorrows and Anatomy: A Love Story.

Merrick Darling’s life as daughter of the Manor Lord of Sussex is better than most. Unlike the commoners, she is immune to the toxic fog that encroached on England generations earlier. She will never become a Phantom—one of the monstrous creatures that stalk her province’s borders—and as long as the fires burn to hold them back, her safety is ensured. She wants for nothing, yet she will never inherit her family’s Manor. She must marry smartly or live at the kindness of her elder sister, Essie.

Everything is turned on its head, though, when Merrick’s father dies suddenly. Torn from her New London society life of ball gowns and parties, Merrick must travel back to her childhood home, the Darling estate of Norland House, and what she finds there is bewildering. Once strong and capable, Essie is withdrawn and frightened—and with good cause. A recent string of attacks along the province’s borders has turned their formerly bucolic countryside into a terrifying and unpredictable landscape. The fog is closing in and the fires aren’t holding, which makes Merrick and Essie vulnerable in more ways than one. Because the Phantoms are far from the only monsters in Merrick’s world, and the other eleven Manor Lords are always watching for weakness.

Revealing her and her sister’s current state to the rest of the Manors is out of the question, but when Essie goes missing, it’s clear that Merrick needs help. Only, who can she trust when everyone seems to be scheming, and when all she holds true feels like it’s slipping right out of her grasp?

Goodreads | Amazon


Guava and Grudges by. Alexis Castellanos

Ana Maria Ybarra dreams of becoming a world-famous pastry chef, but dreams have a cost. Her family can barely keep the family business running, let alone pay for culinary school. Ana Maria helps out at the family bakery, Café Y Mas, whenever she can, but they are struggling while the rival Cuban bakery across the street, Morales Bakery, is doing better than ever with their Instagram famous desserts. Ana Maria’s only hope is winning a recipe competition, which has a grand prize big enough to pay for culinary school. But then the ultimate distraction shows up in her small town: Miguel, a boy she spent one magical day with six months ago, and who she never thought she’d see again. Ana Maria thinks maybe fate has brought them together again for a reason– until she learns the horrible truth that Miguel is a Morales.

A Ybarra cannot be associated with a Morales-let alone fall for one. But when Miguel offers to help Ana Maria with the competition, she is so desperate to win she can’t turn him down. All she needs to do is keep Miguel at arm’s length and keep their deal a secret from their families. After all, teaming up with Miguel is just business, nothing more…right?

Goodreads | Amazon


The Games Gods Play by. Abigail Owen

Percy Jackson for adults meets The Hunger Games with a slow burn romance between a contestant and Hades himself.

Every hundred years, the gods toy with us mere mortals.
And we let them.

The gods of myth are alive and well.
Once every century, they select a new ruler in a cutthroat competition, pushing mortal players to the limit. But this year, Hades is done sitting on the sidelines. And he’s picking a champion no one expects—in this modern mythic romantasy, she’ll fight for her life…
for the god of Death.

Goodreads | Amazon


When Haru Was Here by. Dustin Thao

We Are Okay meets Wandavision in this novel about loss, and learning to let go.

After the death of his best friend, Eric Ly creates imaginary scenarios in his head to deal with his grief. Until one of them becomes real when a boy he met last summer in Japan finds his way back into his life. When he least expects it, Haru Tanaka walks into the coffee shop and sits down next to him. The only thing is, nobody else can see him.

In a magical turn of events, Eric suddenly has someone to connect with, making him feel less alone in the world. But as they spend more and more time together, he begins to question what is real. When he starts losing control of the very thing that is holding him together, Eric must finally confront his reality. Even if it means losing Haru forever.

Goodreads | Amazon


Immortal Dark by. Tigest Girma

The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.

It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.

Goodreads | Amazon


Us in Ruins by. Rachel Moore

Margot is on the quest to uncover and reassemble an ancient—and cursed—vase, with the help of a boy who went missing in 1932, because it’s the only way to put back together her broken heart in this stand-alone adventure rom-com, perfect for fans of What the River Knows and The Lost City.

The mythical Vase of Venus Aurelia hasn’t been seen since 1932, but Margot Rhodes is determined to change that.

Drawn by the vase’s supposed magical properties, Margot embarks on her school’s archaeological trip to Pompeii. Sure, it’s her first time holding a shovel, but she’s got something no one else does: lost teenage explorer Van Keane’s journal.

Poring over the poetic entries that serve as a map to the vase’s missing shards, Margot finds herself falling in love with the boy who wrote it a century ago. She’s shocked when her search leads her to a statue that looks exactly like Van, and then the statue comes to life.

Catapulted into the present, Van is nothing like the wordsmith Margot imagined. He’s all sharp edges, intent on retrieving the relic for all the wrong reasons. But it takes two to survive Venus’s death-defying challenges, and, together, Margot and Van must excavate the treasure—and their buried pasts—before their story ends in ruins.

With a blend of humor, magic, and love, Rachel Moore crafts another stand-alone adventure rom-com full of double- and triple-crosses, hilarious shenanigans, and frustration-fueled banter, where the best treasure is true love.

Goodreads | Amazon


Songlight (The Torch Trilogy) by. Moira Buffini

Star-crossed lovers, against-all-odds friendship, and a brutally unforgiving world make this first in a trilogy utterly unforgettable.

We’re two songs joined. And there’s a word for that. A harmony.

Elsa is used to hiding the most important parts of herself—her feelings for Rye, her distaste for a world ruled by men, and, most crucially, her gift of songlight. She buries that secret deep inside. In Brightland, those with songlight are called Unhumans and are abhorred. Rye is the only other person Elsa has known with songlight, and their shared bond has brought them together.

Elsa’s world begins to fall apart one desperate, heart-wrenching day and she doesn’t know where to turn until a girl appears before her. But the girl isn’t really there—her songlight has been drawn to Elsa’s frantic grief.

Elsa lives in a remote seaside village; Nightingale, her new friend, lives in a city hundreds of miles away with her father, a government official responsible for rooting out Unhumans. The two never expected to connect via songlight. But when they do, and when they realize the extent of their power, they’ll be thrust in the middle of a war that threatens their very existence.

From an award-winning screenwriter making her novel debut comes this powerful, page-turning trilogy perfect for fans of Sabaa Tahir and Adrienne Young.

Goodreads | Amazon


Hot Hex Boyfriend by. Carly Bloom

Delia Merriweather does not believe in magic. But she does believe in family, and her family happens to identify as witches. Their lack of magic doesn’t dampen this heartfelt belief, because according to lore and legend, they’re hexed. Convenient? Yes. True? Probably not.

Thanks to a weird birthmark, the eccentric circle of Merriweather women believe that Delia is their blue witch. In other words, she’s supposedly the person capable of restoring magic to the Coven Merriweather. However, A) magic isn’t real and B) the spell is truly horrific and illegal in all fifty states. Who’s going to boil a baby, for crying out loud? So, they’re all completely blown away when Delia accidentally breaks the hex (sans baby-boiling obviously). Chaos and mayhem ensue, drawing the attention of the invisible witching world. And that includes the sexy, brooding, and excessively irritable Max Halifax who has recently moved in next door to settle his uncle’s estate.

Just when Max thinks he’s done with his endless tour of duty—keeping an eye on the bumbling Merriweather women—he discovers Delia Merriweather has somehow broken the hex placed by his great-great grandfather. He worries that beneath the Merriweathers’ seemingly harmless antics, lies the very real possibility that this gaggle of clueless witches will somehow stumble into their power and, like their ancestors, threaten to rule the witching world by controlling the hearts of men. Maybe it’s even starting already. Because Max’s heart beats erratically whenever Delia Merriweather is around.

Goodreads | Amazon


Pumpkin Spice & Poltergeist by. Ali K. Mulford & K. Elle Morrison

Get ready for a bewitching tale of love, laughter, and supernatural shenanigans in the heart of Maple Hollow!

The last thing apothecary witch, Jordyn, had on her mind was romance, but when she got witchy-wasted, she cracked open the coffin of her love life and conjured the ghost of her ex-girlfriend. Jordyn is in for a spell of trouble now that the snarky specter is determined to haunt her until she finds someone new.

Enter Harlow, the new girl in town, who just wants a job in her sister’s cafe but she discovers that the spooky town of Maple Hollow is more than just a gimmick. Real magic lives here. But after run-ins with vampires and one too many grave cafe blunders, she’s ready to hop on a broomstick and fly out of town. Until she finds herself falling under the spell of the enchanting witch who asks her on a date.

As sparks fly and cauldrons bubble, will this unlikely pair brew up a love potion that defies the ghostly odds? Or will Jordyn’s shade-y ex be the ultimate buzzkill to their budding romance?

Grab your broomstick and buckle up for a cozy sapphic paranormal rom-com that’s sure to cast a spell on your heart this fall season!

Goodreads | Amazon

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

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Most Anticipated Book Releases | September 2024

There are some exciting book releases coming up this month! 

This is what I’m looking forward to:

The titles above are books I haven’t read but I think I also should showcase the arcs I read that are releasing this month. So here they are:

What is your most anticipated book release this month?

The Thirteenth Child by. Erin A. Craig | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Thirteenth Child

Author: Erin A. Craig

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 512

Publication Date: 9/24/24

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Horror, Gothic, Fairy Tale Retelling, Fantasy

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Delacorte Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is the story of Hazel, a young healer navigating a ruthless court to save the life of the king, grappling with a pantheon of gods with questionable agendas as she fights for agency and true love in her own life as the goddaughter of none other than Death himself.

All gifts come with a price.

Hazel Trépas has always known she wasn’t like the rest of her siblings. A thirteenth child, promised away to one of the gods, she spends her childhood waiting for her godfather—Merrick, the Dreaded End—to arrive.

When he does, he lays out exactly how he’s planned Hazel’s future. She will become a great healer, known throughout the kingdom for her precision and skill. To aid her endeavors, Merrick blesses Hazel with a gift, the ability to instantly deduce the exact cure needed to treat the sick.

But all gifts come with a price. Hazel can see when Death has claimed a patient—when all hope is gone—and is tasked to end their suffering, permanently. Haunted by the ghosts of those she’s killed, Hazel longs to run. But destiny brings her to the royal court, where she meets Leo, a rakish prince with a disdain for everything and everyone. And it’s where Hazel faces her biggest dilemma yet—to save the life of a king marked to die. Hazel knows what she is meant to do and knows what her heart is urging her toward, but what will happen if she goes against the will of Death?

From the astonishing mind of Erin A. Craig comes the breathtaking fairy tale retelling readers have been waiting for— what does a life well-lived mean, and how do we justify the impossible choices we make for the ones we love?

Content Warning: body horror, death, violence, illness, neglectful parents, poison, grief

I didn’t know what to expect from this book but I love this author’s work and this did not disappoint at all. It surprised me and made me fall in love with Hazel and Merrick. This might be my favorite book of 2024.

I had to look up what this book was a retelling of and found that it’s a retelling of The Brother’s Grimm story called Godfather Death. I had never heard of it so I was invested in Hazel’s story right away. She’s the thirteenth child in a family who was too poor to take care of her. Three different gods come to offer to take care of her, but it’s Merrick, God of Death who has the honor of being her godfather. Their story is so complicated, yet morbidly sweet. He takes care of her the only way how an immortal god knows how and it’s endearing and strange because everyone is afraid of death. But not Hazel.

He gives her the life he promised her bio parents but it’s not an easy life. She is needed in the community for her healing talents and power, but because death is inevitable in a mortal’s life, she also has to make hard decisions like helping her patients seek peace by ending their lives. Hazel experiences love, friendship and even a found family but betrayal and making mistakes of her own to the detriment of her already fragile and strange relationship with Merrick. She also learns about the consequences of her actions.

The romance is sweet, the secondary characters all provided something to the story and I just enjoyed how the story made me think about and question things about life like love, death, parenting, power, religion, grief, making decisions and facing consequences. This book really has everything – it has paranormal elements, fantasy, romance, and even body horror (it’s gross but I think tolerable). And it made me cry at the end because there is just something about Merrick and Hazel that touched my heart. Him yearning to fill a void in him (as her godfather) and her needed a void to be filled because her birth parents neglected her.

My Thoughts:

I love this book so much and I’ll have to buy a hardcopy to have on my shelf so I can reread it again. It’s beautifully written and moved me to tears by the end. It’s my favorite book of 2024 so far!

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Instagram (crafts🎨) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (Shop)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

House of Roots and Ruin by. Erin A. Craig | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Small Favors by. Erin A. Craig | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

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