• ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    THE BREATH BETWEEN WAVES by Charlotte Anne Hamilton | ARC Review

    26th November 2021
    Cover of The Breath Between Waves (Charlotte Anne Hamilton)

    THE BREATH BETWEEN WAVES by Charlotte Anne Hamilton

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    The Titanic journey lasted for six days from April 10th to 15th, 1912. It was supposed to arrive at New York on the 17th. To make the main characters fall in love within the timeframe is a huge challenge, and unfortunately, the chemistry between them wasn’t enough for me to be fully invested in their story.

    Penelope Fletcher doesn’t want to leave Scotland, but she joins her parents onboard Titanic after being heartbroken by her ex-girlfriend. Her roommate, Ruby Cole, is traveling with her sister’s family. As they spend more time together, they realize there might be something brewing between them, but the clock is ticking as they get closer and closer to their destination.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    PASSION MARKED by Ophelia Silk | ARC Review

    23rd November 2021

    PASSION MARKED by Ophelia Silk

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    A romance between a racehorse trainer and Nocturne centaur! The first few chapters really sucked me into the story but I was slightly disappointed in how the rest of the book played out. Ellie (human, she/her) and Nadine (centaur, demi-girl, she/her, Mx.) are cute together and I really liked their interactions and small touches. Note that there is also quite some sex scenes going on, but I’m here for the cuteness and Ellie’s attempt at winking.

    The writing of Passion Marked was enjoyable. It is my second book by Silk, and while the first one Spellbound (my review) was a fantasy romance with a simplistic plot, this book was somewhat too expansive for me. I had some issues with the pacing of the story where the first half was slow and everything happened close to the end. There is a lot of talk about magic, like Nadine’s Nocturne magic, but we don’t really get to understand how these magical elements worked. The only thing I know about Nadine’s magic is that… she has shadows that curl up at her hooves? So the world-building didn’t work great for me and I had the feeling of the world setting being just out of reach. I did enjoy the fact that there were phones and high school students of different species (just random characters; this book is NOT YA), making the world in Passion Marked feel more like ours.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    MARRY ME by Melissa Brayden | ARC Review

    19th November 2021
    Cover of Marry Me (Melissa Brayden)

    MARRY ME by Melissa Brayden

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Ally and Megan’s chemistry was off the charts! From their first kiss to all the intimate scenes, I felt warmth in my stomach—always a good sign that the romantic connection is well-written.

    Allison “Ally” Hale, a fourth grade school teacher, and Brent Carmichael, eldest son of the rich Carmichael family, are getting married. With Ally’s parents’ financial security on the line because the Carmichaels have the power to make or break their oatmeal bars, no one expected Ally to develop feelings for the locally famous wedding planner, Megan Kinkaid (Black, biracial), a friend of Brent’s. Should Ally ignore her growing attraction to Megan, or shoot for a chance of having a happier future?

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    Cheer Up! by Crystal Frasier & Val Wise | ARC Review

    10th August 2021
    Cover of Cheer Up! (Crystal Frasier & Val Wise)

    Cheer Up! Love and Pompoms by Crystal Frasier, illustrated by Val Wise

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    Content warnings: transphobia, outing, sexual harassment

    This was so cute and wholesome!

    Annie Ginter has excellent grades and doesn’t care about having no friends, but she needs extracurricular activities for college application. Her mom suggests cheerleading and Annie is not happy. But when Beatrice Diaz (trans) decides to take Annie in on the team, the pair start spending more time together. Beatrice helps Annie make friends on the team and Annie speaks up when people mistreats Beatrice. They grow together, and so does everyone else around them.

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  • ARCs,  Book Reviews,  Fiction

    One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston | ALC Review

    1st June 2021
    Audiobook cover of One Last Stop (Casey McQuiston)

    One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston, read by Natalie Naudus

    Click on the cover for my review on Goodreads.

    AUDIOBOOK REVIEW

    tl;dr: 23yo disaster bi + 24yo chinese american displaced from the 1970s; a lot of chaotic, mostly queer 20-somethings in nyc

    One Last Stop is pure joy. CMQ has crafted a beautiful romance with a full cast of the loveliest characters ever existed. It is a perfect story of love, found family, connecting to one’s heritage, and finding oneself.

    August Landry (23, bisexual) grew up trying to solve the missing person mystery of her uncle with her mom. At 23, she moves to NYC for college, hoping to finally find a home, only to end up in a sketchy apartment. But soon, she finds out that her roommates are incredibly friendly. Automatic friends. When she meets Jane Su (24, Chinese American) on the Q train her first day of school, she couldn’t get the friendly hot butch in a leather jacket and ripped jeans out of her head. And when she finds out Jane is stuck on the subway without much memory of her past, August decides to help Jane piece out the mystery and maybe send her back to the 1970s. But as they spend more time together, August isn’t sure she wants Jane to disappear in time again.

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