Andrea Ward

The family around Jonelle is amazing! That really made the story something special. I liked the way Jonelle investigated. I was frustrated by the people that didn't understand why Jonelle was upset and investigating. This was a great mystery with memorable characters and a good investigation.

Wow! I did not expect this book to touch on so many heavy topics! Blanche is very honest and straightforward. This mystery found her and she was smart and brave in the solving of it. I really enjoyed this book.

This was so cute! Lucy Snow reminds me of Anya from Spy X Family and the.ln add in a mad scientist school!! Be still my heart. The art work is bright and cute which is different from the expected look of a mad scientist school. I can't wait to read the rest of this series.

This was all the backstories I didn't know I needed! Magic slowly and insidiously corrupts people. I knew it was coming and I was still surprised.

This was a middle grade novel that had a wonderful nostalgia feeling. It has an amazing grandpa, a grumpy and awful great aunt, a new friend, and magic.

The family in this is complicated and so are their goals. The family history and the house history are complicated. It is hard to know who to trust including Jade sometimes. I liked that part well enough, but the body horror and bug horror really set this book apart. Once I even had to read a part aloud because I had to let someone else know how gross that part was.

I have debated for a while about how to write this review. I ended up DNFing, but I don't want to give a star rating that would hurt the book. The horror started right away. The setting was Latine in all the very best ways. I sometimes got lost in whose perspective we were in and the time period we were in. I also think I might not have been in the right mindset when I was reading it. I think reading it physically would've been an easier read. I definitely want to come back to this book and try again sometime.

I am a sucker for a found family and the small details that really make the world of the book come alive. This book had that in spades! I love the way that kids were taught and they way that they looked at their “home” - the Museum of Natural History. Nonie's “powers” were just the slightest touch, which I thought was well done. Their journey to the new safe area was interesting and I liked the different kinds of challenges faces and people that they found along the way.
My only complaint is that the character of Keller was a little uncomfortable because he felt too tropey, but some of that was resolved by the end.
Overall this was an interesting post apocalyptic found family journey book.

Ellie Brannigan does a fabulous job of making McGrath Castle feel just like home! As soon as I started reading, I was reminded of reading the first one. The sense of place in this series is fabulous. When reading a wedding cozy or an extremely rich people cozy, bridezillas and awful behavior from the main woman is to be expected. However, Brannigan went against type and gave us a demanding, but fair bride who wanted to have a fabulous wedding. There were plenty of other people behaving badly to keep me entertained. Then when all the secrets starting being revealed, my jaw was on the floor. This was a fun light read with a strong sense of place and some fabulous characters.

I love a found family, especially when they are healing each other. So not only do we have a lovely found family that are there for each other, but we also have a house that is cozy and a garden that is magical. The grief is not too heavy, but it is not treated lightly either.
The POV is first person and sometimes second person. I think it makes sense and it is used well, but not everyone is going to love that POV.

There is a big battle near the beginning and I wasn't sure what was going to happen next. I didn't expect to have such a uniquely populated fantasy world to experience. This book was a new experience. I didn't know what I was getting into, but I enjoyed the experience. If you like a unique fantasy world and people battling for what is right, you will like this one.

I love the setting of an island and a snow storm. I like mystery of the people disappearing, and dying along with the other scary things people did. The more the story unfolded, the more eh I felt about it. There were plenty of secret motives and awful people. There was a secret history of the island. I mostly liked those. Then as everting started to be explained, it all made less sense. The solution to the danger wasn't great either. Everyone was acting within their character on an individual level, but when you put all those individual pieces together it didn't make sense.

I loved that this one had so many unique and challenging situations. There were unexpected dishes that the customers asked for, but then when you find out why it is so sweet. We see the layers of these characters in just a few minutes when we start investigating the foods that are special to them. If you like books with investigations and layered characters, read this one.

Miranda Abbott is back at it! Ridiculous demands of those close to her, but also an attention to detail that helps her solve the mystery. I really liked how she was able to use her knowledge of costars and costuming to solve the mystery. The relationship with her (ex?) husband is interesting, but didn't really seem to go anywhere in this one. The solution was more twisty than I expected. I liked the way we were given the answers. This was a great book 2 in the Miranda Abbott series.

I wasn't sure how I felt about Mara at first, but she grew on me. The wood carving she did to keep her hands busy played a bigger role than I expected. I liked how quickly Mara took to her job with the reality TV show. It was nice to see her feel competent at something. The haunting part and the explanation was not done as well as I would have liked. I listened to it on audio and I think that helped increase the creepy feeling of the locations where the filming was done.
Overall I liked the feel of this creepy little story.

I had no clue I wanted to read a zookeeper romance, but it was exactly what I wanted. There is so much information about the animals, plus their personalities. It is easy to fall in love with the animals, but especially the birds. Aila has so much social anxiety to overcome, but in the process she finds people she can count on as well as those that challenge her. I was pretty sure of the bad guy early on and it made sense that Aila didn't see it coming. I loved the way she was able to use her skills to keep all the animals safe. Overall it was wonderful to spend time at this special zoo.

I have mostly avoided Romantasy books, but there was something about this one that made me want to try it and I'm so glad I did. I liked the layers of story and character. I listened to it as an audiobook and it was great to hear the different characters. I was never confused about who was speaking in the different chapters. I did watch a spoiler review before I read it, so that may have contributed to the ease of my following the plot.
It was not a perfect read. A couple complaints- 1. The descriptions were beautiful lush purple prose and then the dialogue was very basic. 2. I didn't like the way the epilogue and the last few characters were done. 3. The chapter of Rekk Zharos POV felt unnecessary. The information could have been given without his POV.
As the first official Romantasy I have read, this was pretty good.

People are way scarier than any fantastical creature or paranormal entity. This story proves that.
Shanice and Estelle both have battles to fight and obstacles to overcome to find a safe place for themselves and their work. I liked those challenges and I was glad to be right about a couple of the twists. I was also glad that there were a couple that surprised me. One of the ways that Shanice found out important information made me roll my eyes, but one convenient plot point with all of the complicated relationships and motives is pretty good. The strongest part was definitely the characters and the fight they had in them. That will stick with me for a long while.

There was a lot going on in this one! I liked the secret American history thriller parts, but the villain(s) and their ultimate plan were a little over the top. I didn't mind the way it ended and the twists about identities. I didn't like the AI parts and I'm not sure that I understood what the ultimate plan was with those.
Overall this was a good over the top sci-fi thriller. It was a fun read.

I like that this book is telling a different kind of serial killer story. Rebecca is not really a likable character, but she is not trying to be liked. She is trying to protect her daughter. Some of the personal life about the detective didn't feel necessary, but it did provide a view of parenthood that competes with Rebecca. I was a little confused at the beginning about what was going on with Rebecca and her daughter, but it didn't remain a secret for too long. I think some people will love the secret between Rebecca and her daughter, but it isn't what I was wanting to read.
If you like a serial killer thriller with a horror twist, you will like this one.

Maddy was frustrating me at the beginning, but by the end I was in love with her again. She did a great job getting information out of some people. I also laughed out loud a few times as the obvious was pointed out to her. I liked the addition of Carson Law and the Admiral showing up. They were really great additions that supported Maddy through some difficult spots. The conclusion was obvious, but I realized several clues that I didn't pick up earlier. I also really like the way this series humanizes the beautiful women and influencers. This might be my favorite of the three I have read.

I loved part 1 and part 3/ Epilogue. She didn't spend too much extra time on breaking hearts. She just simply told us about these characters and what they were dealing with. I didn't really like part 2. It was a nice enough story and did clear up some questions I had from part 1, but it didn't seem to have much of an impact on the rest of the story.

I am a sucker for a good sibling story and this is a good sibling story. The magic is interesting and the futuristic nature of it left me thinking about several things. I love how the various characters work together for the good. This was a great read with fabulous characters.

I liked the way Anna and Liam's relationship developed. There were a couple moments where I laughed out loud. I appreciate the portrayal of Liam's dad and the effect he had on people. It really was stressful, but it certainly made the book about more than just their romance. They had to grow and reckon with their own faults and past. Part of the third act break up was a little silly in comparison with the stressors of each of their dads. Overall I liked the romance with deeper character work involved.

Tiffany D Jackson, Storm, Black Panther, and an African journey?! Take my money! The X-Men are my favorite superhero's in both movies and comics. I am not an avid reader/watcher, but when I am in the mood that is what I reach for. So I was excited to hear about this book. This book did not let me down. Storm, or Ororo, doesn't know about her heritage and isn't quite sure who she is. She has trauma to deal with before her powers manifest and the bad guy shows up. So she has to take a journey to get answers about her powers and keep everyone safe from the bad guy. Along the way, she has to deal with her past and start figuring out her future. I really loved seeing her develop from someone who is just getting by to someone who is empowered make decisions for her life. I love novels like this that give me a new way to look at these characters.