User Profile

“Damn you, Colonel. You're going to get everything that's been coming to you. I promise. God, how I promise.”

I know, I can't believe there isn't an exclamation point in that sentence either.(!)

The theme for this month's TBRChallenge was Change of Plans. In Captive of Fate Alanna is a twenty-nine year old woman who works for a Senator in D.C. She's been pulling sixty hour work weeks when he suddenly springs a trip to Costa Rica on her. She's supposed to go down there and prove that the US's head of a relief effort for earthquake victims, Marine Colonel Matt Breckenridge, is running and making money off a survivor goods black market. Having worked for the senator awhile and been tainted against Matt with all the horrible stories the senator has told her and that Matt is at fault for the senator's son's death in Vietnam, Alanna is gung-ho to get the evidence.

He was honest in a way she had never known a man to be.

Of course, she gets a change of heart (plans) when she meets and spends time with him. Their first meeting initially sets up the friction with Alanna's presence bumping a radio specialist Matt really needed and him being angry at her but that dynamic doesn't rage as hard in this as I was anticipating as Matt softens and pretty obviously likes/falls for her quickly. Alanna for her part tries to keep her distance because she's been listening to the senator for so long but seeing Matt in action in Costa Rica and then realizing the evidence doesn't point to him at all for the black market has her leaning more into her attraction.

He represented the emotional freedom she longed for. Yet, at the same time, he was a threat to her sense of security. He was dangerous.

With the 1983 publishing date of this, you'll get a lot of Matt is so hot because of his masculine masculinity, He's sooooooooo male!, and leaned a bit too much into the fish out of water Alanna with some overemotional helpless female. With the Vietnam War fresh in memories there was a ton of “[...]Politicians versus military. Dove versus hawk.[...]” dialogue and ideology going on, I about fell off the couch when Alanna made a crack about Marines having a reputation for being rapists; 2000s military rom-suspense were, for the most part, ever up to touching that. It was interesting to me how Matt was portrayed, his thoughts on Vietnam (war is hell and all that but with how it was a waste of human life) and how though he was a Marine Recon the author worked hard at portraying him softer, very invested in emotions and wanting out of that kind of life, again I feel like the 2000s subgenre works hard at the messaging of for good of country/way of life and all that. (we're getting some years removed from the Afghanistan War so maybe I need to dip back more into rom-suspense and see if these feelings are being grappled with again)

The last 40% they've left Costa Rica and the story kind of lost it's way for me. They romp around Maine for awhile as love, sex, and marriage are declared, had, and planned for but there's the senator wanting to take Matt down lingering in the background. There's a, sort of, third act breakup for the last 10% and Alanna leans way too hard into helpless female as Matt takes care of business and we eventually get our HEA. Some interesting character aspects to Matt, some disappointing from Alanna, the constant talk of “maleness” was wearing, a story that seemed to lose it's way for a while, kind of an odd late betrayal reveal, and interesting post war authorial thinking in the fabric, all lead to a not bad but probably not memorable book.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

At a quarter past five in the morning Nils Vik opened his eyes, and the last day of his life began.

Prepare to sob, really, that's all you need to know. I mean, if this doesn't gut punch you with the grief: He simply stared at his eldest daughter. Her clear eyes, her feminine movements, the way she said things, the way she laughed – and all the while, he saw her mother. It was all he had now. To other people it would have been nothing, but for Nils it was almost too much.

All his passengers – they ooze out of the logbooks, arise from his handwriting, grow out of his memory. They line the fjord, they are with him, they present themselves in the hope of being recognised. See us. Touch us. Speak of us.

The Ferryman and His Wife was a shorter story of a Norwegian man who knows it's his last day on earth and he becomes a sort of Charon on his fjord as he ferries ghosts from his past and thinks back on his life.

After Marta, he still flicked off the lamp on the nightstand and said: Goodnight, sweetheart, sleep well. After Marta, he whispered the words from his side of the bed, but from the other there was no longer any reply.

It's all from Nils' point-of-view with such descriptive setting writing that you'll freeze on the fjords with him at times. Readers learn that he still lives in the home that he grew-up in and he's followed in his father's footsteps as a ferryman for the community since he was fourteen.

Everyone needs to be seen – there isn’t a single person on this earth who isn’t longing to be discovered.

His wife has already passed on and he has two grown daughters, are the bare facts we know as he starts his ferry up for the last time. It's all pretty intrapersonal but through his thoughts and feelings you get such a beautiful scope of all the people and moments that make a life.

He can remember no point in his life when he hasn’t loved her, or when he’s doubted that she truly loved him back. Sometimes, when he turned on the radio at home and heard people harping on about being unhappy in love, all the bitter experiences of their lives, he would walk into whichever room Marta was in and just look at her. What are you staring at, Nils Vik? she might ask him then. I’m staring at you, Marta Haugen Vik. Well, you can bloody well stop it – go on, get away with you, Nils Vik.

Nils first passenger is his dog that died twenty-five years ago and their communication and love will be your first sob-fest and from there on readers are treated to vignettes about passengers Nils has had over the years. It's a heartfelt look at how his job integrated him into the community and how everyday people can make such a huge difference.

A cigarette in her hand, and strangely enough it was the cigarette that had shaken Nils the most – not the smoking itself, but that she was sitting there on the edge of the bed with a cigarette, when she usually never smoked. It was as if there were another Marta, one he had no knowledge of, one to whom he had no access. Who was his wife? And who was his best friend?

As he's traveling picking up some ghostly passengers and reminiscing about others, there's always going back to thoughts and feelings about his time with his wife Marta. I loved how his memories showed the highs and lows of a longterm relationship, the way that couples can grow apart and grow together; Nils changing and working a little harder for Marta is subtle but there in a big way.

How could I ever have prepared myself for you? he whispered. How could I ever have prepared for these days, which became these weeks, which became these months, which became these years, which became this life?

This, to me, is the best of literary fiction, it set me in a place I could feel and delivered on the emotions that make you run the gamut, crying, smiling, struggling, questioning, and wanting to understand yourself and others more. The grief, love, connection, and with all the mistakes and doing right of a life well lived was beautifully relayed in this story. Read this, get your book clubs to read this, and then come talk to me about it (sob with me about Luna and let's talk tea about that photographer bestfriend).

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

The Book of Dark Nights was gone.

I devoured The Library of Fates in the beginning as I found the magical realism world where an 18th century book created by a witch for Voltaire acts as a sort of Ouija board and powers a library. The lore created about and around this book was fascinating, you're supposed to write in the book a true confession, shut the book, and then open it to read what the book has written in answer to you. Only the writer can read their confession and the tell you something about your future answer. Told in dual time-line and povs from our two leads, more story about the book's origins and purpose gets revealed as you read on.

To him the touch meant nothing, while for her it roused far too many memories.

As the story goes back and forth between Now (2019) and Then (1995) we get the story, mostly, from Eleanor, a college student and then eventual librarian of The Library of Fates, and Daniel, the professor's son, who introduces them to The Book of Dark Nights, and eventual former flame of Eleanor's. We start off with Daniel's mother having died and Eleanor discovering that The Book of Dark Nights is missing from the library. As the book gives the library it's power and makes Eleanor feel special because she's one of the few who the book “talks” to by directing her to select the exact book a person needs at that time and place in their life, she's devastated and worried. Daniel comes into the picture as he's showing up for the first time back at Harvard, where the library is, in twenty-four years, and realizes his mother's will states that he doesn't get his inheritance if the Book is not in the library by the time of his mother's wake. When it becomes obvious that Eleanor's mentor and Daniel's mother hid the book and left them clues, we have them going on a scavenger hunt for the Book in the current time-line as the Then time-line goes back and shows us how Eleanor and Daniel met in his mother's special Book class and the events that lead up to their separation.

“You protected the Book, Eleanor. You've been protecting it all this time, haven't you? What if I said I think we should destroy it?”

From Eleanor's pov, it's clear there was a lot to her and Daniel's relationship, readers get to see it in the Then sections, but Daniel doesn't seem to remember Eleanor at all in the Now. There's a slow build to that reveal as they search for the Book and secondary characters come into the picture, others from the special Book class and Daniel's father. As I mentioned, the plot about the Book immediately drew me in but when we got towards the ending with reveals and tying the characters and plot together, I couldn't help feel some disappointment, it all felt messy and somewhat underdeveloped. There was a henchman that came out of nowhere, and some secondary character usage that had them staying off-screen too much to suddenly come in and make the impact they were supposed to.

What if, when you confessed, a sliver of your soul stayed in the Book?

The second chance romance stays a thread throughout the story but it didn't encompass enough to be a strong genre element. I thought the dual timelines of furthering the plot while going back and showing how the foundation of it was built worked but I can't help feeling the climax felt like a whiff. I'd definitely recommend for some cool magical realism as The Book of Dark Nights plot will definitely fascinate (witches! Voltaire! confessions!) and textual potential shenanigans that give fun shout-outs to literature of yore, but just be prepared for a little bit of a messy letdown on the wrap-up.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

I won’t kill my next partner. I won’t.

You're Knife, My Heart had a sci-fi Suicide Squad vibe where recently caught murderer Emery and Dark Forces soldier Cameron are thrown together to survive the Under Trials. Listen, you're just going to have to roll with stuff on this. Emery was a forced to be murderer when her Underground (Mafia-ish) head of the family father forces her to become a hitwoman for the Family at age sixteen (I kind of question this man's leadership skills but c'est la vie). She was trained by someone named Reed, who we only get to know through her reminiscing and I guess was her mentor. She ends up getting caught, some plot comes out about this later, and gets pulled out of jail by a General Nolan who tells her she's going to be sent to a sort of boot camp and if she survives, she'll work for the super secret Dark Forces. When she gets there, she meets Cameron, who readers have already been introduced to, this is told in dual pov, and while she is instantly attracted to him, she senses something very off with him.

My fatal flaw is the desire to fix broken things that don’t want or care to be fixed. I’m drawn to them like vultures are to carcasses.

Cameron has already survived the Under Trials and worked for the Dark Forces on their team Fury for years. He's also been the only one to survive the drugs General Nolan's enhanced soldiers project has been trying out on these criminal soldiers. It takes a while to get Cameron's full background story but it's obvious he must have had an abusive childhood because he's damaged enough to want to keep taking the drugs, even though they're clearly giving him adverse side effects, he just can't stop killing people he's teamed up with on Fury, because his continued survival makes him feel special. He's been sent down to the Under Trials again because he needs to prove he won't kill Emery, his potential new partner, as they try to survive the Trials.

I don’t want to be hidden when she’s around. Her eyes belong only on me.

This was tagged as Dark Romance, Fantasy, and Military Romance, I know it's cringe to use “old” terms but, y'all, this is rom-suspense with some sci-fi. If you've read Anne Stuart or any Bodice Rippers from the '70s and '80s (I'm personally a reading survivor of Part 5 of Sweet Savage Love), you're not going to even flinch at anything in this. Cameron leans soft towards Emery from the moment they meet, insta-attraction, and while they like to talk up, while also disliking it, their killing natures (some Joker and Harley Quinn vibes) their relationship was pretty solid throughout. Emery slaps Cameron a couple times and while there's always talk of Cameron killing her, I can't say I ever felt the danger. Besides a closer to the end murder scene that did read squeamish gory, what I felt the darkest about this story was the constant vibe of Emery staying and wanting to help/fix/redeem the psychologically damaged and physically violent Cameron. I'm a sucker for the Beauty and the Beast trope but that line needs to be walked more careful than I think it was here, messaging is all I'm saying.

Maybe two monsters like us really can find happiness.

The trials and bedroom scenes (more descriptive/steamier than most newer big 5 pub house contemporary) get going around the half-way mark. There's some danger with each of the three trials but with some other points in the plot, rushed through and not really fleshed out. We get some last second reveals and a cliffhanger, which kind of surprised me as I felt Emery and Cameron's story felt completed. If you have a thing for the occasional “love” uttered by your MMC, some enhanced solider sci-fi, and a belief in a couple that stabs together stays together, this could be one for you to give a try.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Don’t move too fast. Don’t touch anyone. Ignore the smell of blood.

A young adult mash of historical fantasy, romance, and magic, with a cover that will surely grab those among us that haven't gotten past our ship phases and still have sea shanty songs on our feeds. Break Wide the Sea takes place in a fantasy world where finfolk (mermaid and fae mix) exist and are close to going to war with the humans who hunt Livyati (magical whales). It's a historical fantasy 1800s whaling world where told all from her point-of-view, eighteen year old Annie is now the head of her family's whaling company. Her parent's died when she was younger, finfolk attacked them when they were out whaling and only she, and two other boys August, and Silas, survived. This was nine years ago and bonds the three together, oh yes, we have a love triangle, but it's a weak one. Annie's family was cursed eons ago, she's turning into a Siren, her turning brought on by Heartbreak but holds it off by getting comfort from her fiancé August. When they were attacked by the finfolk it was revealed that Silas was half-human, half-finfolk, but Annie can't reveal him as he also knows she's cursed. Six years ago, Silas sent Annie a shell that holds a memory showing her August plans on killing her eventually and taking over the company. Annie's trying to fend off a curse, take care of her two younger siblings, and figure out who she can trust.

“Dissolve the company,” he whispers. “End whaling forever.”

I think this will be more for historical fantasy readers, the whaling world and finfolk elements captured my attention the most, but maybe that's the sea shanties ringing in my ears. The romance felt fairly weak to me, it's YA so there was kissing and groping, with a completely off-screen bedroom scene later on but more importantly, there wasn't much emotion to feel between Annie and August. For plot purposes, it's clear it wants to remain a mystery to put tension between Annie, August, and Silas, if Annie can trust August or Silas, but, it's all pretty obvious. Annie's pov felt wishy-washy a lot of the time and that made for drawn out melodrama because as it's all from her, the reader can't escape.

Something malevolent is happening on the Heralder. My family’s ship, I think with a surge of possessive anger.

A lot of the story takes place on the sea, which I enjoyed and the messaging is pretty clear on this, humans have to respect and work with nature or feel it's wrath. I almost felt like Annie's younger sister Lydia stole the show from her, she was a stronger character and I wish we could have felt that decisiveness from Annie. Silas intrigued, as he's mostly a mystery to Annie, he remained for most of the story the same to me as the reader. I'm not usually a fan of love triangles but as the relationship didn't feel strong to me between Annie and August (you'll swim with the whales to deeper depths), well, I was just waiting for her to open her eyes more to Silas.

A monstrous queen wants me for unknown purposes.

As Annie fights to figure out who to trust, August claiming to help her build up her whaling business or Silas who claims August wants to kill her and tells her he can bring her to the finfolk to cure her curse, it all builds to a now you're going learn ending when the finfolk and their Queen show up. This does end on a cliffhanger, we see what happens to the characters but they are set on new journeys as the building war between the finfolk and whalers isn't over, and a new one has begun between Annie, August, and Silas.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

The Kincaids had their own world, a world of sideways realities where they hunted down dangers in the thick of the trees.

Son of the Morning was a sex-on-a-stick insta-lust paranormal romance. The main star of the show was Galilee Kincaid, trying to establish some independence from the fierce Kincaid women, she moves of their land and tries to live a “normal” life. However, there's something even the favored Kincaids sense is wrong/different about Galilee, but their matriarch Darling Kincaid isn't talking and Galilee does her best to stifle any powers she may feel trying to bubble up. It's when she meets Lucifer Helel, there's no mistaking here, she knows he's the literal Devil, that Galilee gets put on a crash course of fate, truth, and embracing your power.

She wanted to be seized, and he had so many teeth.

This started off with some enticing magic and fantasy elements. The beginning gave us time to learn the characters, the Kincaid women, led by Darling Kincaid and Galilee's cousin Celestial, along with Galilee's friends, Bonbon and Oriaku, were deeply fascinating secondary characters in their own right and I missed them when they disappeared for a bit in the middle. There were also Lucifer's princes that gave enough that I wanted to spend more time with them all, we get the most out of Leviathan and while he has his own mini-arc in this, I still think the cover layout promise of more the merrier should have been delivered earlier in the book so we could have gotten more of it. Basically, extremely strong secondary characters that are going to have you begging this to be a series.

“It might be an end, but a whisper in me wonders if it could also be a beginning.”

Our main stars, Galilee and Lucifer had that insta-lust that never quite delivers on the depth of relationship I'm looking for but it was hot. Galilee was at turns strong, vulnerable, lost, and fierce, basically what you'd look for from a character trying to learn her origins, finding out she's mixed up in millennia old beef between Heaven and Hell, and having the Devil get off from her burning touch. For being the literal Devil, Lucifer didn't pop off the pages as much as I would have liked, but in service to Galilee his character worked.

The Devil had betrayed her, and an angel was whispering in her ear.

The mystery of who Galilee really is, who's the villain pov, why is the Hellgate suddenly letting demons out, and the lurking around the edges war between Heaven and Hell will intrigue but it did wrap up a bit abruptly for me. I missed how some of the strong secondary characters disappeared for long stretches, but if you're looking for some angels and devils warring, this would be a sexy little number to pick up.

3.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

“I hope and pray none of you see it, but if you do, don’t look at its face. Turn away and you may, perhaps, be spared."

All of Us Murderers was a fun romp of a Gothic mystery and romance. As any Gothic worth it's salt, this starts with our lead Zeb arriving to Dartmoor at the looming, dark, and cold stone, Gothic mansion Lackaday House. His cousin has written and begged Zeb to visit for them to get to know each other. When Zeb arrives he's greeted by a night-gowned young woman dramatically running out of the house and his former lover Gideon. Zeb clearly has ADHD (he uses the original fidget spinner, a rosary) and with that not being understood or respected in Edwardian times, he struggles with keeping jobs. When he worked with Gideon, it had Gideon covering for him at times and trying to keep their romance a secret, it was the first time for Gideon being in a relationship with a man. They ended up getting seen and they both got fired, with Gideon blaming it on Zeb.

Wynn looked around the table. “It is very simple. One of you shall marry Jessamine, and have my fortune with her.”

Along with Gideon, Zeb's brother, his wife, and two other cousins are houseguests. Wynn tells them all that he's changed his inheritor from Zeb's brother to whomever will marry Jessamine, a distant cousin and the previously night-gowned fleeing woman. It's a plot set-up that has family members turning on each other for money and a setting that brings in the spooky, hauntings, legends, myths, and similarities to moments from their grandfather's published Gothic books. The first half focused more on the Gothic mystery, it's a little foggy mystery with introducing all the characters and working out, remembering who's who and the relationship dynamics between them all.

He was a serious man, but Zeb knew, none better, how much his eyes could warm and crinkle at the edges, how his face could light up with amusement or desire or love—

The second half brought in the romance more and we got Zeb and Gideon working out their past relationship issues with a clearer understanding of who they are individually and how that means they will work together. I enjoyed how neither character was perfect, in how they previously reacted but visibly grew into their selves more and worked and learned how their chemistry puzzle pieces fit together; they developed their relationship. There were bedroom scenes to bring in the heat before the latter second half brought the mystery back in and delivered reveals and answers.

“It was razed to the ground because of the corruption of the monks.” “Well, that was the point of the Reformation.” “I mean, it was a place of great cruelty,” Jessamine said. “Cruelty and secrets, presided over by evil men, until the people of Dartmoor tore it down because no such acts of darkness should be concealed in a house of God.” “Gosh,” Zeb said, nonplussed by the sharp left turn into melodrama. “Odd site to pick for a house, then.”

There were numerous nods to other Gothic works (The Yellow Wallpaper, etc.) and the foggy atmosphere you want from the genre was there. I did think some of the twists and turns got a little convoluted towards the end but even if the vengeance, justice, and retribution ride got a bit bumpy, it was still fun. Gothics are always great at getting Satan to take a back seat to the true horror, family dynamics, and this story definitely delivered on that vibe.

Definitely reads like a found footage movie, epistolary story with video scenes, diary entries, interviews, and text messages.

A husband who claims to have had a ghostly encounter when he was a kid grows up forever searching for proof of ghosts and ends up dragging along the college scientific PhD woman he fell in love with when they get an opportunity to do a reality tv show hunting for ghosts. The wife plays the skeptic and works to debunk what the husband and his crew find, an actress added to the show to liven things up, a tech guy who was a former police officer who claims to have meet a demon, and the camera guy just taking a job.

They're coming to the end of the season and looking for a way to end on a high note and ensure they get a second season, with the wife wanting to bounce because she's sick of dealing with pseudoscience. Their last job is the Foundation House, a place where in the sixties two professors conducted experiments on a group of people trying to further the Human Potential Movement but as the wife reads through the papers left by the profs, realizes they were doing unethical experimentation.

The first half starts off a little slow with getting to know the characters and their intra/interpersonal drama and then the house starts to wake up and eventually reveals a well with a door at the bottom that has the group doing an Alice in Wonderland and traveling, what the wife comes to realize is a Mandala loop.

It all starts to get a bit out there, a little bit of a The Cabin in the Woods down the rabbit hole, and I ended up feeling like this was more SciFi (think movie The Abyss like) and less horror. I also struggled a bit with the flow of the story that was probably a personal issue with the epistolary style and not novel form.

You'll get a fantastical major ending that also stutters epilogue final endings, the last epilogue I felt delivered the best chill, and a story that will work to expand your mind while delivering some creeps.

3.7 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

“I don't care if you tag along, but I'm warning you. You might not be able to tag back out.” Tori buckled her seat belt.

From the moment Tori sees her boss killed in a hit and run and she tries to chase after the driver, she finds herself thrown into a world of monsters and the hunters that chase them. With some tv show Supernatural, a lot of mythology (mostly Greek), and real historical events and figures, The First Liar takes you on a ride full of mystery, emotions, and battles. Told mostly from our twenty-something software engineer bored with her day job in Atlanta, Tori mourns the loss of her brother while feeling she's meant for something greater. When she meets up with a younger guy, Vincent, who gets his own povs more in the second half, she gets brought into a world that only a few knew about.

There was so much more to Greek mythology than its heroes and villains.

The story works to keep the players true identities hidden as long as possible, Vincent's “parents” Roy and Brooks, who rescued Vincent when he was a boy and taught him how to fight, are two men who always seem to know more than they're telling. Tori learns from them that around fifty years ago, someone or something seems to have awoken mythological beings and they're now running amok. Roy, Brooks, and Vincent have been fighting them and trying to piece together a puzzle of what their main plan seems to be. Orion, Narcissus, Asterius, are seen the most but there are numerous other mythological characters you'll recognize throughout.

“After all this is over.”

The first half's pace is slower as, along with Tori, the reader gets some introduction to a world that exists in the shadows. This is also set in the future (I think I worked out the year to be 2046) and climate change with political upheaval has taken it's toll on the United States. Tori's feeling like she's stuck in life, grief over brother, societal issues, along with Vincent's unresolved trauma from his childhood, will have you feeling for the characters. There's a little romance with Tori getting drawn to Roy and a character that comes in later, Grace, slowly penetrates Vincent's wall around himself. You'll get to feel like you'll know Tori, Vincent, and Grace but Roy and Brooks remained a little too distance for me; it serves the plot but I just personally wanted to know them more.

So she couldn't let this be a happy ending. Or a sad one. It had to be a new beginning.

The second half really brings in answers and action, almost too fast and furious the last fifteen percent as battle after battle is raged. I really enjoyed the melding of real historical events (Atlanta building fires), mythology themes and characters, and supernatural elements; made for an interesting and fun story. There's an ending but it felt more like a closing chapter with room for our group to definitely go and fight more battles, it is alluded to there are more on the horizon. Interesting, chaotic at times, characters that will intrigue you, and a story that was emotional and fun. If looking for something different, definitely give this one a go, especially during the spooky fall season.

3.3 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

She was in love with her best friend. And everyone knew but him.

The Baby Dragon Bakery was an extremely soft and cozy smalltown read with some fantasy elements. I jumped into the series here and had no problems, there is a big supporting cast, with the couple from the first and obvious future couples but they add to the smalltown setting and make you feel at home more than lost. This second in the series stared Lavinia and Theo, two midtwenties who have been friends since childhood. Getting point-of-views from each, readers can see that both have started to develop romantic feelings for the other but are scared to tell in case that ruins their friendship.

And that was how Lavinia found herself enlisting the help of her best friend (who she had feelings for) to help her get with someone else (to get over aforementioned feelings). Which wouldn’t be complicated. Or messy. And that wasn’t a bad idea. Not at all.

Readers get to see them going through those quarter life growing pains, Lavinia is in her second year of veterinary school while working part-time and living at home while Theo is starting to think he wants to use his business degree and make baking his hobby again, instead of his job. They're figuring themselves out while still dealing with some childhood issues. Theo's parents were extremely cold, leading him to never feel good enough and his angst keeping him apart from Lavinia, he thinks she's too good for him and while Lavinia had loving parents that has lead to her putting pressure on herself to copy the formula of their love. Lavinia is the same age her parents were when they fell in love, so she's determined it must happen now. Not knowing Theo's feelings or wanting to ruin their friendship, this causes her to date someone else, which works because it forces Theo to expose his feelings.

He stroked her cheekbone with the curve of his thumb, his pulse quickening.

As I mentioned, this had cozy, soft vibes, Theo's issues with his parents and how it makes him feel is the lowest it gets in the smalltown of Starshine Valley. It started to feel a bit dragged out with Theo not feeling good enough and Lavinia purposefully, what it felt like anyway, not seeing that Theo did in fact have romantic feelings for her. We do get a little flashback to an emotional moment in their childhood friendship for some depth building blocks in their relationship but this was mostly kept in the sweet friendship romance vibe, with a quick dash of spice opendoor scene (bonus Ghost movie like moment!).

If he had her, he didn’t need anything else.

The fantasy elements are almost purely the baby dragons that appear here and there in scenes, not the stars but add a dash if looking for that element. After feeling like they were dragging their feet, their declarations of love felt kind of rushed to lead to a clunky feeling ending where we rehash Theo's not feeling good enough issues once more and then suddenly plop down the happily ever after. This was a cozy and sweet new adult (the characters had big thirties is old vibes) that had a fantasy smalltown setting that was a delight to spend some time in and the little tease between two characters who seem lined up to become enemies-to-lovers will have me checking out the next in the series.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

Because she needed extra complications like a hole in the head, and nothing good ever came of a Capelthrone having anything to do with a Montbeau.

It's been thirteen years since Jules embarrassed herself in front of her forbidden crush, Roman, but of course he's the first person she sees and has to share a cab with when she dashes home from London when her mother calls her saying her great-aunt Flo had an emergency. And of course, he's opening a rival bookstore right across the street from her decades owned family one. When Jules finds herself staying longer than she thought, she's all-in with battling Roman, and her inopportune crush on him.

Roman liked a challenge, and Jules, he suspected with some pleasure, was a worthy adversary.

If you're a frequent reader of this author, you'll immediately feel at home in this little English countryside town, where many of her previous couples make their home and make appearances (The Littlest Library). You could start here as there's not a important backstory or plot threads to know but you'll probably be curious about some of the romances featured and want to search out their books. This followed the previous books' vibes and formula, cozy atmosphere, a little awkward not quite sure of herself but determined female main character, a handsome male main character that gently pokes at her but also tries to take care of her in little ways, some family drama/issues, and small town issues.

As if she could ever have truly loved a Montbeau.

There's obviously some play with their last names, Capelthorne and Montbeau, and the Romeo and Juliet themes are brought up a good amount. It's centuries old family drama, with Jules and Roman not quite sure exactly what divided and caused the bad blood in their families but it does play into some of their current drama. Roman's rival bookstore (there is credible reason he opened a bookstore) and though it takes a while to be revealed, an obvious looming issue that will deliver the third act breakup between the two regarding the lease of Jule's family bookstore that is held by the Montbeaus. With a smattering of Roman's point-of-view readers get a look into his family issues, an overbearing father, and mostly told from Jule's pov, we see the distance between her and her mother and the closeness between her and her great-aunt Flo. There was also a fascinating plot thread with a diary/grimoire found in their bookstore that belonged to one of Jule's female ancestors that brought in historical elements about wise women/witches and the witch trials in England in the 1600s. I wish the story had kept the focus more on the romance, bookstore rivalry, and witch elements, when it veered into some women's fiction meandering, Jules just living her days and flitting around the town, the pace dragged for me, especially in the second half, I feel some just needed to be edited down/out.

And it just felt so right.

The romance had the tension from the bookstore battle but all kept pretty light, I wouldn't call it an incredibly strong focus in this but it was an enjoyable additive. There was some, feeling, forced righteousness to Jules being angry at Roman for things he couldn't change but they get a sweet HEA. The bookstore battle, with the help of the ancestral grimoire plot tie-in, ends in a way not easily predicted but, mostly, happily. All-in-all a cozy and sweet look-in at the newest romance in this little English town setting.

2.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

I was public enemy number one.

Love is a War Song was about a Disney childstar actress trying to grow into becoming a pop star but getting wrapped up in a media frenzy when she showcases her Muscogee heritage in an ignorant way on the cover of Rolling Stone. If you're a fan of Hannah Montana vibes, then you'd probably enjoy this more than I did, it read and came across in a young way to me that I had trouble getting into.

We were in on the joke. Taking back this Native maiden stereotype. Reclaiming it. But it backfired, because of my ignorance. It wasn’t powerful. It was problematic.

Avery's only ever known her mother, who's also her manager, for family. She's constantly being pushed by her mom and has no real idea about her Native American heritage. When she dresses in a war bonnet for Rolling Stone, social media goes into a frenzy condemning and arguing if she has a right to wear it. When it looks like her new record deal could be in danger, her mom decides that she should go escape to Avery's grandmother's ranch in Oklahoma. There, the story has Avery trying to learn about her family, being a fish out of water, and arguing and getting turned on by a cowboy on the ranch, Lucas.

Under these stars, I wasn’t disgraced singer Avery Fox. Right now, I was just a girl (with terrible insomnia) free to do whatever I wanted.

This was told from Avery's point-of-view and for the first half, I honestly felt like I knew more about her Golden Goose shoes than Lucas. The second half we get Avery inserting herself into Lucas' family drama by pretending to be his girlfriend and going to a family dinner with him. Readers finally learn some about him, he comes from money but has disappointed his father by “only” becoming a ranch hand, and had addiction problems in the past but he's now clean and sober. Their relationship was a lot of Lucas eye-rolling at Avery because he doesn't like how she utilizes her Native American heritage in her celebrity persona and how helpless and naive she is on the ranch, Avery likes to poke at him because he comes off stuffy to her, but there's always the looking at each other's lips factor. There were some rom-com moments ran through for lighter moments and Avery wanting desperately for her grandmother to talk to her about not only her immediate family history but also cultural for some emotional pings.

Love is a war song, a battle cry. Something to fight for. And I would fight for us.

Between fish out of water scenes, Avery does slowly start to learn not only about her culture but about herself, and a big event comes up where Avery had to decide if she wanted to continue on the same path or make an effort to live a more true life. I was looking for more emotional depth while this had a lighter, younger, vibe to it, so a different audience, the aforementioned Hannah Montana fans, would more than likely end up enjoying this more.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

“What do you think I regret, Luke?” He’d turned it over in his mind so many times, rewound every choice that led to this: lost moments, misspoken words, every chance he had to love her the way she deserved, but saved himself instead. He gathered it all in his mind, held it there, and said, “You never should have met me.” She smiled the worst smile he’d ever seen. Like a gaping wound. “You’re wrong. I never should have lost you.” Luke was too stunned to respond. She used his paralysis as an opportunity to gather her things. There was so much to say. But none of it mattered. “You didn’t” was all he could manage as she slipped out the door.

After I finished reading this, all I could think/feel was Oooof. Get your book clubs to read August Lane because you're going to want to talk about the million and one things in this and not have to condense it down into a short enough review people will read and be tortured like me. Constructed like a song, the story of August Lane starts off with a podcast interview being given by her famous first crowned Black Miss Arkansas Delta Teen mom who had to relinquish the crown after it was found out she had a one year old daughter and then turned country music star. I, obviously, want Jojo Lane's own book but you'll get a good amount of her story in this one, because it gives context to August's character. While we have Jojo's perspective and storytelling in current 2024, the story also goes back and forth into 2023 with August and Luke reunited and 2009, when they first met in high school.

Even now, thirteen years after “Another Love Song” hit the top of the country charts, Luke couldn’t play the first chords without fumbling.

In 2023 Luke is a down and out former country star who got his big break from a reality tv competition show. He's broke, from signing bad contracts, and been on a long separation from his pop sensation wife, who is bisexual and in a relationship with a woman, so careers and media frenzies keep them from going through with divorce. He's doing the bar circuit and singing his one hit song, that destroys him every time because while he wrote the music, he didn't write the lyrics to it and he knows it's stolen. It's when Jojo Lane's manager comes up to him and asks him to sing a duet to that song with her at her country music hall of fame induction, taking place in his hometown, that he may finally get to apologize and try to make things right with August.

He played the music again and sang the revised chorus, changing the tempo to make it more vulnerable, the way she wanted. August sang along and Luke let his voice fade. He watched her while he played, too caught up in the melody to notice he was tumbling into something vast and endless.

The first twenty-five percent or so of this felt like set-up but it's also context, you're going to get an amazing understanding/look into these characters and secondary characters in their lives. August still lives in the hometown her grandmother raised her in, later she was her grandma's caretaker and just lost her three months ago. She has that vulnerability of not feeling like her mother wanted her and the confinement of not being able to break out of how a small town can keep you tied down to any reputation you gained as a kid, undeserved or deserved. The 2009 flashbacks not only show us how August and Luke met but the instances in their lives that made them the adults they are today, August's self-worth from family issues and betrayal from Luke and Luke's inherited self-medicating with alcohol from his mother, who suffered from undiagnosed fibromyalgia. Luke's been sober five years but, obviously, still battles with it as his emotional trauma from his childhood is unresolved.

One strap of her sundress had collapsed, and he leaned over, kissed her bare shoulder, her collarbone, the swell of her breast.

I went into this with my romance reader cap on, and while this was one of the fullest stories I've ever read, the romance didn't feel quite the star of the show that I like in romance genre. It takes a while to really get there but it's because of all the context to understand these two characters, so wear your romance caps but maybe pair them with your contemporary fiction/book club fiction hats too. So while we have August justifiably angry at Luke, Luke feeling incredibly guilty for feeling like he stole August's song, there's also that delicious tension drawing them together, the 2023 parts draw on all this and end up providing a heat inducing open door scene. You'll feel it between these two because the emotional groundwork and development between these two was solidly constructed up to this scene; they have intimacy!

“For people to love me, I mean. I can be a lot.” “You’re the easiest person to love I’ve ever met.” The words slid so quickly from his mouth that it was like he’d been possessed. No halting half sentences. No long stretches of gathering his thoughts. He nodded at her journal. “It’s right there on paper. You see the world in colors I never knew existed. The rain plays you symphonies. You are so special, August Lane, and I can’t imagine anyone not seeing it.”

I did think the way Luke provided the way to their happily ever after felt a little, he just went and did it, rushed but him doing it probably out weighed the rushed feeling. If you've been looking for an Ooof story, this is it. These characters felt real as they battled, endured, thrived, lost, and loved through physical and sexual assault, racism, colorism, sexism, substance abuse, betrayal, small-town b.s., abortion, cost of fame, and all the little moments that build to make a person and a life. Along with some country music history and shout-outs (DeFord Bailey), the secondary characters were incredibly rich, Luke's brother Ethan and mom Ava, Jojo's manager, the town sheriff, Jojo who I mentioned wanting her own book with this insight about herself: It was the press about me being a good mother. I’m not. I never was. That was forced on me, by Theo and Birdie. August knew that, which made it hard to get close to her. I could never relax with that girl because she was always working so hard to prove she wasn’t a mistake. But all she did was drag me back to that time where I had no control over my life. and also Mavis, August's cousin, I NEED her to get her own HEA. Mavis had this insight about Jojo: “I think she survived terrible things and did the best she could.” She paused. “I also think people can only give what they have. Some of us don’t have much.” and this insight about herself: It’d be easier for him to love me if I loved myself.”. So yeah, read this if you want those ooof feelings and get your friends/book clubs to read it with you because this was rich with elements you're going to want to talk about.

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

The Pendeltons ruined my father's life and my family's future. I'd never forgive it. And someday, I'd find a way to even the score.

The Gilded Heiress had the beats of the Anastasia cartoon movie, with great historical additives but the romance lacked intimacy and depth for me. Told in dual first person pov's, Leo lives in Boston, hustling as a confidence man to try and take care of his mom and five sisters. His father used to be a gardener for a rich family in New York but when their toddler daughter was kidnapped, an investigation started to point fingers at him and he was sacked without references. This made it hard to find a job and he ended up drinking himself to death. Leo knows his father was innocent and holds a huge grudge against the Pendletons, so when he sees a young woman singing on a corner in Boston that closely resembles Mrs. Pendleton, a scheme is hatched.

I would need to be more careful with Josie. She had a strange power to make me confess things, apparently.

Even though this told in both Leo and Josie's povs, I got more of a sense of Leo's character, his scheme to pose as Josie's singing manager to get her to New York and then somehow introduce her to Mrs. Pendelton, convincing both Josie's the kidnapped baby and collecting the reward money, is the plot of the book. We get the bare bones of Josie's character, she grew up in a Boston orphanage, she has a bestfriend Pippa, who we barely see, and she's very judgmental about Leo's past and how he's made money to help his family survive. Josie can hardly lie, could barely understand what would possess someone too, and is that all round sweet, good-hearted character that comes off a little too goody-two shoes, to me anyway. The reader knows the third-act break-up is going to be Josie finding out about Leo's original plan, even though Leo falls in love with her and plans on telling her his original scheme but, obviously, not in time.

“Careful,” I warned, my voice husky. “Or I might attempt to corrupt you.” Her mouth twisted slyly, like she had a secret. “Perhaps I'll let you, tomcat.”

The romance was pretty much insta-lust, a lot of gazing at lips and body parts that make them have the hots and want to jump into bed together. I struggled with feeling the depth in their romantic relationship, I believed them as friends, but if you're more into the physical, these had some good open-door scenes. If you've been a historical romance reader for years, this will feel like a clearly written stylistic choice to try and catch a newer reader, if the dual first person povs didn't already tip you off. I'm not sure how years long fans of the subgenre will take to it and I'll be vastly interested if the change to pick up new readers works.

Looking down, I used my pinkie finger to lightly touch the back of her hand---and her breath hitched.

Shupe is always great with her historical additives (Lotta Crabtree plays a decent part!) and I had a fun time catching things I knew and going on to learn about things I didn't. I wish we could have gotten more scenes with Leo and his family, who he's doing this all for, and gotten Joise's character a little more flushed out, more out of the “I'm here to be lusted after by Leo and shame him for having been a confidence man”. Romantic relationship depth wasn't really here to be found for me, but if third person historical romance hasn't worked for you, this would be something different for you to pick up and if you were looking for some Anastasia movie beats.

3.5 stars

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review

For nearly three decades now, he had refused to worship the Great Goddess Ligea— the Queen of Sirens. He claimed Sirens were vicious and pitiless as the sea, that they took joy in destruction, and over time he’d stopped honoring the Great Gods all together. He made blood offerings to his water deity, Eusia, instead.

In the Veins of Drowning was an impressive debut that I hope doesn't get lost in the sea of endless romantasy being published right now. I really enjoyed the world building where kings rule but serve gods and magic plays a role in good and evil. This is adult and for the most part I felt it read that way, you'll get gory and open door scenes for some horror and romance. This was mostly told from our main character Imogen, who in her later twenties is engaged to be married to a captain of King Nemea's guard, who she has been a ward of since she was a baby. The atmosphere clues readers into the fact that not everything is right in this fantasy medieval feeling world, along with the tension bleeding through Imogen's thoughts and feelings. It's when she accidentally exposes herself to her fiance that she's a Siren, beings hunted in this kingdom, that the story kicks off with romance and thriller aspects.

“No.” I looked him squarely in the eye— I had nothing left to lose. “I came to bind myself to you.”

Even though Imogen is King Nemea's ward, she has reason to fear him, so with a first meeting that struck something between them, Imogen decides that the King of Varya, Theo, is her way out. They end up doing a blood binding, Theo becomes immune to Imogen's siren calls and they feel a sense of protection towards each other and make a deal that Theo will get Imogen safely to his kingdom, also asking three things of her. They plan on breaking the binding once in his kingdom because Theo is engaged to a powerful empress' daughter. So you can kind of see where this is going, some road adventure with Imogen and Theo starting off a little at odds with one another but trying to fight that physical and binding attraction. I liked the byplay between them but overall I still wanted a feeling of more depth between their emotional connection.

“Your purpose— the reason I agreed to bind myself to you— is to ensure that you will help me track down and kill King Nemea’s water deity, Eusia. And it’s your power that makes me believe you can. That silent lure you possess is Gods’ power. It’s beyond what a normal Siren can wield.”

While the romance builds between the two with obstacles stacked between them, the worldbuilding takes shape and I was pretty fascinated by it all. Imogen doesn't have all the facts or the truth about her origins and as she learns more, it builds the plot. I don't want to give too much away but her siren abilities point to a greater role she's destined for and the years she spent forced to worship the god King Nemea made her, Eusia, has empowered Eusia in such ways, she may be impossible to defeat. The imagery of sirens and how the wings tear out of Imogen's back, getting a prophecy from the mage seerer, and the nekgya, dead bodies powered by Eusia that hunt sirens in the water, was really cool and had me sinking into this world.

“There’s too much against us,” I whispered.

Even though this was mostly from Imogen's pov, I did think we got enough of Theo's backstory to get a good feel for him as a character. There was also a slight secondary romance between Agatha and a commander of Theo's that helped add to the world and made me wish we had a novella of their first time around romance. The romance could have had deeper depth but the fantasy lore building was more than worth the price of admission. This is the first in a duology, though, so prepare for that cliffhanger until next summer.