Categories: Contemporary Romance, New Adult, Sports Romance
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to St. Martin’s Griffin for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Ella Davies didn’t trade her life in England for a year in Nashville to let anything—or anyone—throw her off her game. She only has one to prove herself on her new school’s elite cheer squad.
What she hadn’t planned for was meeting a gorgeous stranger on her first evening in America.
Hudson Fox is Whitland’s prized possession, a star quarterback who’s never lacked admirers. But this year, he’s sworn off temptation—especially the new English cheerleader who’s proving impossible to ignore.
When Ella and Hudson are forced to spend more time together, their “just one night” pact soon shatters.
Until tumbling from the pyramid becomes the least of Ella’s worries. Because instead of hitting the mat, she’s falling hard for the quarterback. . .
Content Warning:
+ Ella is a cheerleader from England who goes to Whitland in Nashville, Tennessee. Along with the culture shock, which hasn’t really fazed her, he boyfriend of a few years dumped her and then she has a one-night stand with the star quarterback at Whitland. I thought Ella was a cool character, typical college girl going through the growing pains of relationships and school.
+~ The romance is a one-night stand to friends to lovers. There is a lot of back and forth between Ella and Hudson, which was not my favorite of the romance. I do think their relationship is relatable because it’s set in college and young love can start and end so fast. There is spice but because these two kept things mostly casual throughout the book I didn’t quite connect to their romance.
+ I enjoyed the cheer parts of the book and it gave me flashbacks to Netflix’s show Cheer (where the star cheerleader was a girl named Gabi haha – there is a Gabi in this book also, coincidentally). I thought Ash was an intriguing character.
~ The conflict that comes at the end of the book was minor and it didn’t feel like the big deal, Ella made it out to be. It was resolved with communication.
Final Thoughts:
This was a light, sports romance and a very quick read. I don’t feel like I connected much to the characters, because of the back and forth and miscommunication but I did enjoy all the cheer aspects to the story – I thought that was interesting and fun! Overall, this was not for me but if you like sports romance, you might enjoy this one.
Categories: Dark Academia, Fantasy, Historical Fantasy
Two graduate students must set aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul, perhaps at the cost of their own.
Alice Law has only ever had one goal: to become one of the brightest minds in the field of Magick. She has sacrificed everything to make that a reality—her pride, her health, her love life, and most definitely her sanity. All to work with Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge, the greatest magician in the world—that is, until he dies in a magical accident that could possibly be her fault.
Grimes is now in Hell, and she’s going in after him. Because his recommendation could hold her very future in his now incorporeal hands, and even death is not going to stop the pursuit of her dreams. Nor will the fact that her rival, Peter Murdoch, has come to the same conclusion.
Content Warning: violence, death, sexual harassment, gore, suicidal ideation, depression
+ I dove into this book without seeing many reviews for it. I just knew there was hype because it is R.F. Kuang and I loved The Poppy War series, but those are the only books I have read from her. I still have Babel on my TBR list but have never gotten around to it. I was pleasantly surprised with Katabasis!
+ Alice Law is a grad student who needs to go to Hell to get her professor back. Peter Murdoch her classmate/colleague/competition, goes with her. There are a lot of philosophers, academics, mythology mentioned in here, and I have heard of some of them and studied some of it in school, but I loved how we are taken on this journey to Hell with this students who have studied so much about magick and Hell. I didn’t know have the things they were talking about. These two are brilliant minds and it shows, because it hurt my brain to hear them go on and on about this philosophy or paradox, or equations of something or other. But I thought it was also fun, even though it was a lot to process, because I could have never been like Alice and Peter.
+ Hell was a fascinating place and in this book, it’s a campus. Which I actually thought was funny. There were lots of humorous parts in this book actually! I really loved how there was action with the Kripkes, strange bone-like creatures that were out for blood! I find so many of the characters they met along the way, whether they be mythological personas or former people from their college, very fascinating. They all stood out in their own ways with their own motivations while in Hell.
+ Alice is an amazing, flawed character, probably some readers will find unlikable but she is who she is! She’s obsessed with succeeding, to the point of it being unhealthy but has to learn, while in Hell that it’s all futile when the man she admired is really a monster who pitted her and Peter against one another. She has been basically been abused by this professor but her admiration of him was clouding out all the bad things happening with him. She also faces that she is depressed. Her journey through Hell was actually her salvation where she realized so many things about life above, finding her voice and power and about love. I also thought Peter’s backstory was tragic.
+ Although this is a dark academia book taking place in Hell, there is room for love. And Alice and Peter are just two people who didn’t have time to even consider love while they were so consumed with their higher learning endeavors. But their time in Hell helps them work through some of the misunderstandings, lack of communication, and distrust. It’s kind of sad that it took this for them to see that love was there between them.
+ I loved all the questions, themes and messages in this story. It explored women in academia, pursuit of higher education and how toxic it can be. I also love how it explores Alice’s descent into a person who is filled with bitterness, anger, revenge, but also hopelessness and how she evolves through her journey in Hell.
~ This is dark academia – emphasis on academia. Now because there was so much academia name dropping and so many I never heard of since I’m not and will never be pursuing knowledge to that degree. I did have to read a little of this day by day to process it better. At times it did get bogged down with too many mentions of philosophers and their philosophies that I needed a mental break. Honestly, I can see how Alice lost herself when her whole world was surrounding academia and nothing else.
~ This is dark – there are mentions of suicidal ideation, sexual harassment, even some parts that I considered horror. But also, I thought this book had humor as well, still there are dark themes explored by Alive and Peter.
~ Though I loved the people we came across in Hell, the landscape and world building of Hell at times felt lacking. Maybe Hell is lacking? I mean, yes it gave me gloomy, stark vibes, but I felt like we were just moving through these levels quickly and not really getting a feel for what they look like.
Quotes From The Book:
“To learn is the most godlike thing we do”
Katabasis by. R.F. Kuang
“She had not realized, until that day, how humans needed to forget to function.”
Katabasis by. R.F. Kuang
“Professor Grimes had instilled in her a deep horror of ever being made an idiot.”
Katabasis by. R.F. Kuang
“This was a paradox her mind could not accept, that someone could be in the world one moment and simply be gone in the next.”
Katabasis by. R.F. Kuang
“It was all so unfair, she thought. You thought people were giants, and they devastated you by being so human.”
Katabasis by. R.F. Kuang
Final Thoughts:
I was going back and forth between a 4 and a 4.5 star for this book but I enjoyed so much of Alice’s journey within herself and I liked the combination of academia, fantasy, horror even, and romance. I wasn’t expecting the humor but I loved that. Did I have to read it little by little because there was a lot to process? Was some of the info-dumping a little clinical? Yes, but I felt like my brain got a workout – but in a good way. Because once upon a time when I was in college I did love learning about Dante, philosophy, and logic…but come on, it’s been so long I’ve been in school! 😅 I’ve been reading a lot to escape and not think so that this book forced me to think – I actually totally appreciate it! I was highly entertained by this book! I still need to read Babel, but I look forward to reading more books from R.F. Kuang.
Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Vampires, Werewolves
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Page Street YA for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Eighteen-year-old Mirabella “Mira” Owens grew up in Timber Plains, Kansas hearing all about the local legend—that werewolves had, many years ago, traveled to their small Midwest town to protect humans from the growing threat of a vampire enclave. Just a story of course, a fairy tale, one Mira had stopped believing in when she was young—just like she stopped believing in the idea of her mom returning, after she up and left without a trace when she was only thirteen.
Mira is grown up now, starting freshman year at the nearby Lakeland University. College feels normal, exactly the thing she’s been craving most… except for one particular classmate: Julian Santos, a mysterious boy with long hair, golden eyes, and a coldness that seems directed exclusively at Mira for reasons she can’t understand and he won’t explain.
When Mira receives an unaddressed letter from her mother, she’s told the world isn’t as it seems. She suspects her mom might be telling the truth when she stumbles across strange animal tracks on a hiking trail, and when she’s miraculously saved from a twenty foot drop by the one and only, Julian Santos.
The problem? Julian would have had to jump the length of the cliff to catch her, making him incredibly fast and strong beyond belief. When she confronts him about this, he denies everything.
But when a Blood Moon rises, Mira soon finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient, magical war, with Julian on the other side of the line. She discovers there’s much more truth to the old town legends than she could ever have anticipated—and her family’s historic role in it will change her world forever.
BLOOD MOON is a dark and thrilling, intensely romantic ride, a fresh take on a werewolf love story for a new generation of paranormal romance readers, and is the first book in a series. It is set against a high-stakes paranormal backdrop—a world ripe with secret identities, rich supernatural lore, and a forbidden romance… that comes with a deadly bite.
Content Warning: violence
+ Mira is off to college but very reluctantly. She’s trying to move forward in life while missing her mom who left her and her dad years ago. But she gets accepted to a nearby college, under suspicious circumstances, and realizes college might not be so bad. She makes a few friends and have met a few guys. They live in a town with a very known legend about werewolves coming there long ago to defeat vampires – but it’s just a story…right?
+ I love that this was set in college. I liked seeing her making friends, and learning to really make the most of her time there.
+ There is a love triangle – and yes this book has Twilight vibes, but this time it’s the werewolves who are the focus. Mira reunites with an old acquaintance, Seven. He’s on the football team, popular, good looking and seems like a nice guy. But there is another guy, Julian, who is broody, glares at her, threatens her to leave campus, she hates him but he’s gorgeous too and of course Mira feels a strong connection to him. It’s a slow burn, fated mates romance.
+ The ending has a few twists and it kept me invested in the story for sure! There is betrayal, and I wonder what will happen in book two.
~ Mira is clueless about werewolves and vampires, even though the legend is well known in their town. And it doesn’t help that Julian can’t just tell her things so that kind of got frustrating because she’s very mad at him, which he loves I think, but it got kind of tiring after awhile that she has to keep begging for answers and it made me wonder why she couldn’t figure some things out. She was in major denial about some things.
~ This has Twilight all over it and for me I mostly noticed it in the angst between Mira and Julian, which was kind of fun to reminisce to but also made me giggle because it’s so dramatic. Some other similarities, is the small town, her dad being a sheriff, her name being Mirabella (“bella”), her not knowing why Julian is drawn to her but pushes away, little things like that. I found it nostalgic though.
Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a fun vampire/werewolves story! It brought me back to the Twilight and Vampire Diaries days but with a different twist at the end. The romance and angst is there between Mira and Julian. I also loved that Mira had a college life, making friends, and going to school events. Some things were too similar to Twilight though and I did wish Mira could put some things together instead of feeling lost about everything but this is a young adult book so she is acting appropriately. I think the narrator did a great job bringing this story to life and I look forward to reading book two!
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to MIRA for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
In this spicy new rom-com, an ambitious entrepreneur working to get her speakeasy supper club off the ground is pushed off balance when her childhood crush turns up, hotter than ever––then tells her she’s off-limits.
Now that Kendra’s returned home, she can’t help feeling like a kid again—back in her big brother’s shadow, trying to get her restaurant off the ground while his new venture is flying high right out the gate. It doesn’t help that everyone refuses to stop calling her Keke, the childhood nickname she loathes.
The only bright spot is her longtime crush BJ. He’s been her big brother’s best friend for most of her life, and he’s always been that cool, chill guy who was easy to talk to and made her laugh. Now he’s looking at her like she’s all grown up, and there’s nothing childish about the chemistry brewing between them. Even better, he takes her dreams seriously, and he’s ready to help her make her supper club a reality.
But then BJ extinguishes the sparks flying between them, insisting nothing romantic can ever happen because she’s “off limits.” As her investors fall through and her best chance at fulfilling her professional dreams points toward leaving home again for a fresh start, will BJ be ready for love before Kendra moves on? Or will he sweep her off her feet when she least expects it?
Content Warning: misogyny
+ There are a lot of things I enjoyed about this rom-com. One of them being the strong theme of family. Kendra is back home in Washington, D.C. and staying with her older brother and his wife while she gets her feet back under her. She’s helping at his new restaurant but she has dreams of opening a speakeasy of her own. I love how her cousin is almost like a sister – I totally relate to that! I love that her family is tight-knit and though at times critical, there is always support somewhere in the family. When she is with her cousin, Lani and her sister-in-law, Shonda, they are so funny together – I loved their family friendship.
+ I love the different ethnicities being represented. Kendra is half Black on her mom’s side and Filipino and Thai on her dad’s side which was cool! I loved hearing about filipino food dishes in the book.
+ The romance is a brother’s best-friend kind of romance, and there are a few spicy scenes. There are some challenges between Kendra and BJ/Ben though but it is resolved in the end.
~ Now as much as I love her tight-knit family, there was definitely favoritism. She got criticism which is again totally relatable but I felt bad for Kendra. She was putting in the work and had all her plans laid out. Her brother was supportive but also a little bit overprotective. Kind of wished there a moment with her parents at the end where they work things out.
~ Speaking of overprotective – BJ is her brother’s best friend so yes her brother would have thoughts about that. But the way BJ kind of strung her along, saying no they can’t act on their desire and then acted on it, then pushed her away? I did not like that and started not to like him. Also, he had no personality – he was definitely there for a booty call, but he didn’t open up to Kendra at all.
Final Thoughts:
There were a lot of things I liked about this story – the family themes, the food, the girlfriend group, and Kendra trying to make her dreams come true. I didn’t love the romance, even though the spice was good. I just didn’t like how BJ was going back and forth – keeping her at a distance, then pulling her in, then pushing away again. So I didn’t love the romance but I think everything else, at least for me, made up for it, plus it was a quick read.
Categories: New Adult, Dark Romance, Dark Academia, Childhood Friends to Lovers
Sometimes the pomegranate doesn’t fall far from the tree…
Asher Anderson is angry―at the world, at himself, at the way his best friend Lucy Wolfe seems determined to tune out this buzzing connection between them. He doesn’t mean to solve all his problems with violence, but maybe he has too much of his father in him. That’s why the faculty at Avernia College hates him, right? Because of the “evil” blood in his veins?
He should know better than to darken the old, ivy-covered university’s door, but it’s practically a law of the universe: wherever Lucy goes, Asher follows. Even if that means entering a twisting labyrinth of secret societies, human sacrifices, and a very personal history soaked in blood.
Lucy is used to being an outcast. She’s even used to Asher being her dark, brooding shadow. What she isn’t used to is him shattering her resolve by taking her up against library bookshelves as she desperately pretends her heart hasn’t always been his. She should know better than to play with fire, but with unexplained deaths and pointed threats ripping apart the university’s fabric, Asher and Lucy soon find themselves at the center of the turmoil…where they’ll have to confront their feelings or die trying.
Content Warning: violence, death, sexual assault, torture
+ I think the book started off strong and intriguing. Asher is in love with Lucy and I love how they knew each other since kids. He’s protective of her and they know the best and worst of each other. There’s a lot of no communication between them which was a bit frustrating, lots of angst but everyone knows they want each other and basically waiting for them to get together.
+ Their parents all know each other and I also liked the other characters in their friend/family group like Foxe and Aurora. Overall, I could tell this was a tight knit group.
+ If you want smut, it’s there but it comes in the second half of this book. So it’s a bit of a slow burn until then, but it is spicy! There is a lot of pent up longing and desire between these two.
+~ The premise of this one caught my eye and I saw it on booktok. I do wish I knew that this was a spinoff because I could tell while reading this I was missing something that regarded the parents of these kids in the book.
~ I was lost. Probably because I didn’t read the previous series that came before this book. I was missing the connection between the parents who all know one another. I didn’t know what was up with this college and what was so bad about it, even though everyone kept saying it was bad. It took so long for the story about the “bad things” at the college to develop. Like what was this curse? While the relationship between Lucy and Asher kept me invested, the plot was lacking and made me lose interest.
~ Book was too long for a story where not a lot was explained or happening.
Final Thoughts:
Read the series, Monsters & Muses before reading this book or else you might be as lost as I was. My favorite thing about this story was the childhood romance between Lucy and Asher – it’s full of longing and desire but also my least favorite trope -no communication, which was their only downfall really but still frustrating. There’s a lot of spice between them once they cave into their feelings for one another. The rest of the story has potential but I just needed more. Overall, just an okay read for me.
Categories: Greek Mythology Retelling, Young Adult, Romantasy
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
To hell with love, this goddess has other plans…
Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.
The real story is much more interesting.
Persephone wasn’t taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.
Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld’s annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core.
But consequences can be deadly, especially when you’re already in hell . . .
Content Warning: parental neglect
I thought this was an interesting way to retell the Hades/Persephone mythology because it fells modern and Kore/Persephone seems to be calling the shots, or eventually does by the end. Hades just kind of lets it happen and that’s not how I usually see Hades. So in that aspect, I thought this was a fresh retelling that will appeal to a teen audience, especially since the speech is modern. I also enjoyed some side characters like Styx.
Kore doesn’t want to marry and to avoid that she goes to the Underworld and hides there with a reluctant Hades. Hades doesn’t know what to do with Kore, she’s headstrong, stubborn and is basically a brat and she got on my nerves. She didn’t want to marry a man, so she runs away but basically places herself in Hades’ world (a man), and takes over his territory? There is something about Greek mythology retellings that I have to be in the mood for, to enjoy. I don’t think I was in the right mood for this one.
I found myself skimming this one from the middle of the story to the end because it wasn’t holding my attention. Plus I think this one was a little too long.
Final Thoughts:
This one wasn’t for me – maybe because I wasn’t in the mood or maybe because I see Hades in a certain way and was waiting for those characteristics. I did find his softer side more fun though! As for Kore/Persephone, it’s great that she was trying to get power but her bratty personality turned me off. I do think Greek mythology lovers will enjoy this one and it’s a refreshing take on the mythology that will appeal to teen readers.
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Pantheon for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
From the No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of House of Roots and Ruin, comes an irresistible blend of dark fairytale and romantic fantasy set in the beautiful but brutal Canadian wilderness.
Like everyone else in the settlement of Mistaken, Greer Mackenzie is trapped. Founded by an ambitious Scottish lumber merchant, the tiny town on the edge of the American continent is blessed with rich natural resources that have made its people prosperous—but at a cost. The same woods that have lined the townsfolks’ pockets harbor dangerous beasts: wolves, bears, and the Bright-Eyeds—monsters beyond description who have rained utter destruction down on nearby settlements. But Mistaken’s founders made a deal with the mysterious Benevolence: the Warding Stones that surround the town will keep the Bright-Eyeds out—and the town’s citizens in. Anyone who spends a night within Mistaken’s borders belongs to it forever.
Greer, a mapmaker and eccentric dreamer, has always ached to explore the world outside, even though she knows she and her longtime love, Ellis Beaufort, will never see it. Until, on the day she and Ellis are meant to finally begin their lives together, Greer watches in horror as her beloved disappears beyond the Warding Stones, pursued by a monstrous creature. Swiftly realizing that the stories she was raised on might be more myth than fact, Greer figures out a way to escape Mistaken for the very first time. Determined to rescue Ellis, she begins a trek through the cold and pitiless wilderness. But Greer is being hunted, not only by the ruthless Bright-Eyeds but by the secret truths behind Mistaken’s founding, as well as her own origins.
Playfully drawing from Scottish folklore, Erin A. Craig’s adult debut is both a deeply atmospheric and profoundly romantic exploration of freedom versus security: a stunning celebration of one woman’s relentless bravery on a quest to reclaim her lost love—and claim her own future.
Content Warning: violence, death
+ This was an interesting story that starts off with settlers in a land that wasn’t what they expected. They come to find out that there are creatures and animals out there that could kill them so they build their town of Mistaken but create a protection barrier. The atmosphere is eerie, mysterious and gave me M. Night Shyamalan (the movie, The Village, except without the crazy ending 😅) vibes – not sure why, I just kept thinking there was some twist in the story that was gonna jump out at me.
+ Greer is woman with an adventurous spirit – she loves making maps but she is stuck in Mistaken. It’s too dangerous to venture out of town with the Bright-Eyeds (monsters) lurking in the woods. Her dad is overprotective but a powerful man in their town so he’s trying to marry her off to someone to inherit their business. But she’s in love with Ellis, a boy her father doesn’t approve of. I thought Greer was a strong character, who did everything to fight for the guy she loved.
+ I found the lore of the monsters very mysterious and really got invested the more we learned about them, but that mostly comes in the second half of the story. The world-building of Mistaken was interesting. There are flashbacks to the founders of the town, and I like how things were revealed little by little until the whole picture of what happened in Mistaken and Greer’s past tied everything together.
+ The author does such a good job at story telling – I always feel like I’m reading a dark fairytale when it comes to her books. And her stories are always so unique, just like this one is.
~ This one did start off slow but once some scary events happen and the horror kicks in, that’s when it really caught my attention. I couldn’t quite envision these Bright-Eyeds and so I was left trying to figure that part out.
~ Once everything starts being explained about the Bright-Eyed, the story goes in a new direction, more fantastical. Greer has to cope with her new knowledge about them, but it’s challenging as she tries to find Ellis. There is also a love triangle situation that I wasn’t into.
Final Thoughts:
I think this one felt like Small Favors with that small-town feel, except here in A Land So Wide, in this town, people are trapped. The people have a false sense of safety – in their boundary of protection, they should be okay, but once that boundary is broken, bad things happen. The setting is great, and the atmosphere is creepy and mysterious. I think the beginning was a little slow, but it does pick up and goes into more fantasy. I found this world and the lore around the monsters very fascinating. Greer goes through a journey when she finds out the truth about some things, and I definitely was invested to see what happened to her. This author is an auto-read author for me, and her writing will always suck me in! This will make a great read for spooky season.
Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Political Intrigue
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Storytide for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
In the Kingdom of Daradon, a persecuted few are Wielders – able to exert a physical power that extends beyond her visible a shimmering tendril that can pick a lock, a gentle coil that reaches out to give a loving caress, or an inexorable rope that will kill a man before he knows it is around his neck. Feared and mistrusted for this ability, Wielders have always been Hunted.
Alissa Paine – heiress of a noble lineage, daughter of a Hunter family – is also a Wielder. And as she approaches her eighteenth Season, Alissa knows she has escaped execution so far only through painful self-control, and the fragile efforts of her beloved father.
Summoned to the harsh and glittering royal court for the debutante season, Alissa finds herself trapped in a web of hidden intentions – and caught between two equally dangerous men. One is a brutal ruler with the handsome face of a fairytale prince, who would see her destroyed in an instant if the truth were known – and the other a beguiling foreign ambassador with secret agendas of his own.
It’s Rose Season at the palace, but Alissa knows that survival will depend on being the most vicious of the thorns…
Content Warning: violence, death, grief
+ I didn’t know what to expect with this one – honestly I requested the arc because I was so in love with the cover! But I love when a book cover is beautiful and the story is just as good! The political intrigue and mystery about a certain object really kept me on my toes, especially in the second half of this book.
+ Alissa is an heiress and King Erik has his eye on her. In this Kingdom of Daradon, Wielders are being hunted because they have power that isn’t allowed. Alissa’s families are renowned hunters, but they don’t know but only a select few that she’s a Wielder herself, just in hiding, except she hasn’t done a good job at that. Alissa is beautiful, cunning, has the King’s ear, plays court politics well, and she loves her father. I found her character fascinating. She’s tough, and I can’t see what happens for her next.
+ The court politics was really what kept me invested in this book. I enjoyed the mystery and plot twists. Alissa and the King seemed to be playing a cat and mouse game. The King is a real villain even though at first, it doesn’t seem like it. But his character is written so well, that I hate him so much. He is the kind of evil that comes in a pretty package.
+ There wasn’t a lot of romance in this story but I didn’t mind it at all. In the beginning I thought it would be a love triangle, but I don’t think it will be. But I could be wrong. Garrett, her ex-best friend is an interesting character with a rough childhood. And Keil, an ambassador from another kingdom where Wielders are allowed, looks like the one who will be Alissa love interest. They do a lot of flirting in this book but not much else.
~ Alissa talks about her specter a lot but I couldn’t fully grasp what it was except that it is power. I would have loved more history about it, and to learn more about what Wielders can do.
Final Thoughts:
It took my two days to read this book and the second half of the book had me hooked. I love the political intrigue and how Alissa navigates court. The politics, the magic, the complicated characters and the beginnings of a romance was melded together in an entertaining book. The power play between her and the King kept me riveted. I can’t wait to see what happens in book two!
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to William Morrow Paperbacks for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Three years after their break-up, Kiki’s worked hard to forget her first love. But just as she thinks she’s got her life under control—jumping into the distractions of her romance-by-calendar-invite boyfriend, and plans for her best friend, Aminah’s, wedding—Kiki’s career implodes, the family business teeters on collapse, and Malakai returns. As Malakai takes up his role as best man opposite her maid of honour, suddenly Kiki can think of nothing but their simmering chemistry, what went wrong, and why it is now impossible to act normal around each other.
Juggling a new job, the prospect of her parents’ restaurant being sold, and keeping her best friend from going full bridezilla, dealing with The Ex is the last thing she needs. But somehow the spark between them is only getting hotter—and threatening to ruin everything.
Content Warning:
+ Kiki is going through a few things, her career is not where she wants it to be, her family is selling their restaurant, her friend is getting married, she just broke up with a boyfriend and now, her ex, Malakai is back in the picture. And it’s not hard to get away from him when their paths keep crossing, so the memories come up again and they are both remembering their past.
+ My favorite thing about this story is Kiki and her girlfriends and how much fun they seem to be having! They are so funny when they are hanging out together – made me think of me and my girlfriends. Kiki is Nigerian and I love the representation in this book.
+ Yes this is a romance, but on the other end, this story is about Kiki and her career as a podcaster that talks about music. I liked seeing her trying to figure things out about her career and though there is a lot of pop culture references in here like musical artists, I didn’t mind it because I like listen to some of these artists.
+ The second chance romance is full of regrets but the same desire they had for one another in the past. Kiki and Malakai’s relationship is filled with sexual tension.
~ Unfortunately I didn’t know this was book two in a series and so if I had read book one, I’d have met Kiki and Malakai then. I didn’t feel lost reading this book, but I did feel like I had missed something. I might have to go and read the first book.
~ The story comes in just under 500 pages, which I think is too long. And Malakai doesn’t appear right away.
Final Thoughts:
I wish I had known this was book two in a series, because maybe I would have enjoyed it a bit more but even without reading book one I enjoyed this book – especially the banter and fun between Kiki and her girlfriends. I thought the second chance romance had lots of tension, clearly these two never lost their sexual desire for one another, but relationships are more than just sex and I like how they eventually worked through some things and chose one another in the end. Overall, an entertaining story!
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Saturday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Born in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic. But in a land where gods often kill each other to steal power and alliances break as quickly as they are forged, Matilda must come of age sooner than most. She may be known to carry words and letters through the realms, but she holds a secret she must hide from even her dearest of allies to ensure her survival. And to complicate matters . . . there is a mortal boy who dreams of her, despite the fact they have never met in the waking world.
Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life―begging the goddess he befriended in dreams to help him. When his request went unanswered, Vincent moved on, becoming the hardened, irreverent lord of the river who has long forgotten Matilda. That is, until she comes tumbling into his bedroom window with a letter for him.
As Fate would have it, Matilda and Vincent were destined to find each other beyond dreams. There may be a chance for Matilda to rewrite the blood-soaked ways of the gods, but at immense sacrifice. She will have to face something she fears even more than losing her magic: to be vulnerable, and to allow herself to finally be loved.
Content Warning: death, violence
+ I love Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows so when I saw this was a prequel to the series, I was intrigued! Wild Reverence is a story about the gods, and one in particular, Matilda. The storytelling is exceptional, beautiful, and poetic. It’s definitely what I come to expect from this author. She has a magical way of telling a story and I am always entranced by her books.
+ Matilda is such a fascinating character. She’s born to a Skyward father and and Underling mother, but Matilda wasn’t gifted any godlike powers that made her a threat to anyone. She was just there, just a nobody, but her character goes through a lot and being able to cross into realms was one of the most powerful characteristics she had – she just doesn’t know it until later.
+ I really enjoyed learning about this world of Gods. The world building as expected in a Rebecca Ross book is done so well. We even get a glimpse of how Enva and Dacre (the gods at war in Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows), and a hint of how their story begins. I love how we get a real sense of gods being all powerful, and caring about the human world really. And vice-versa with humans, some worshipping them, and some indifferent to them, not wanting to bend their whole lives to worshipping gods.
+ The romance starts off with Matilda and Vincent in their younger years. And the romance really doesn’t take off until later in their adulthood. It’s a sweet romance filled with yearning, longing, devotion, loyalty – a love that spans realms and time. I was rooting so hard for them.
+ Love the epilogue and how it ties into Divine Rivals!
~ I’m not sure why but the beginning of this book did not hook me right away. It was a slow build and I think I was looking for Enva and Dacre and not focusing on Matilda, who didn’t seem significant until her character grows. It took me a few days to really get invested in Matilda’s story but once I did, I could not put the book down.
~ Speaking of Enva and Dacre, I actually did want to see more of them in this prequel. I feel like they remain such a mystery still.
Final Thoughts:
It took me a few days to settle down with this book, the world-building is about Gods we have never heard of (except for Enva and Dacre really) so there was a bit of information and building to do. But when it finally clicked in my head I didn’t want to put down the book. We get to see this different realms, and learn of different Gods, learn about Matilda who seems insignificant at first but becomes one of the main Gods who’s impact is greatly seen in Divine Rivals. I loved Matilda’s journey from nobody to someone to reckon with – all while she stayed good and not power-hungry. All she wanted to do was lead a simple life with Vincent, the mortal man who she had a connection with as a child and now as an adult. I was rooting for their love story across realms and time – it’s heartbreaking and beautiful. Overall, this is a beautifully written prequel to the Letters of Enchantment series.
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