Sahi

I've wanted to read this book for some time now because I love Avon Gale's writing and how effortlessly diverse her books are. So, I guess I did go into this one with lot of expectations and the rating is also quite high on Goodreads.. and that's why I was quite sad to be disappointed.

This book is basically about Sawyer finding the courage to follow her dreams, discovering her sexuality and being honest with herself. There is an instanct connection between her and Vix which quickly develops into more and I loved how cute they were together. They had some very open conversations about their sexualities, about Vix being bisexual and how that makes people perceive her in a different light, what they expected from each other in and out of bed; and I really liked that about them. But suddenly when it was time for them to talk about the future of their relationship or the band and their feelings were each other, they completely shut off and make assumptions about each other and all of this no communication leads to a lot of misery and it just bugged me.

The conversations about bisexuality and lesbians and how they are incorrectly judged and perceived were quite interesting to read about. I also loved how Sawyer's coming out was just accepted and not made a big deal out of. The other band members are also diverse but it felt like tokenism to me, because they are never really fleshed out. Except a few funny incidents, we don't really get to know Kit or Connor a lot and Jeff is just that long time best friend and ex of Vix. I would have loved to know more about the band dynamics and how they worked together.

Overall, this was a fun f/f romance and can be a good one time read. But I just felt it was missing a spark and I just couldn't connect to their relationship. I felt like Sawyer and Vix would make good friends but I didn't get the intense love connection between them. I guess I was just expecting more.

This anthology gets lots of points for its diversity- in settings, writing style, race and sexuality. But there are hardly a few stories here which would actually qualify as love triangles.
It starts on a good note with a couple of nice stories but falters a lot in the middle. But the last 2 by Tessa Gratton and Bethany Hagen just blew my mind and I was left crying. No better way to end the book.

Individual reviews are below:

– Riddles in Mathematics by Katie Cotugno

This was a sweet start to the book. Rowena is trying to juggle a lot of things - dealing with her mom's (assumed) disappointment over her sexuality, hiding her longtime crush on her brother's best friend and just proving to everyone that she is still the same person despite coming out - all this was well depicted in so few pages. It also ends on a very hopeful note.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

– Dread South by Justina Ireland

This story is told through the POV of a racist southern white woman in the 1800s who is suddenly confronted by situations that make her question her prejudices and see her black Attendant Juliet in a new light. I loved that Juliet was super confident in her ability to kill the undead, very cool and wise in difficult circumstances but also showed a quiet indifference towards the racist attitudes flung at her. The ending is very optimistic and I kinda wanted to know what happens next.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

– Omega Ship by Rae Carson

A spaceship containing the last surviving humans goes crashing and the three people alive land on a new planet. Eva is the only girl and is aware of the massive implications of it. The way the two guys immediately started to make decisions affecting her without even letting her speak just hit too close to the real world for me, where men are often quick to decide things on behalf of women in the name of “duty”. I really don't begrudge Eva the choice that she makes. But the story didn't really work for me because I didn't like any of the characters.

Rating: ⭐⭐

– La Revancha del Tango by Renee Ahdieh

Maya is on a trip to Argentina after finishing high school where she meets a young British guy and they go salsa dancing. There is also the guy who she sees dancing a mesmerizing tango in the club. Frankly, I didn't understand the point of the story and it's so overdone with bookish references that I cringed a lot. I might be a total bookworm but I wouldn't compare every bearded guy with Gandalf or a creepy hallway to Grimmauld Place.

Rating: ⭐

– Cass, An and Dra by Natalie C. Parker

Cass is descended from a family where they can see the possible futures. An is the future she has chosen for herself but she is startled when she is presented a future without her but with a new mysterious person Dra. I didn't really understand Cass's fascination with Dra because they are not someone she has met but just a possibility and it kind of made me question her feelings for An. But, the writing was very interesting and I think the genderfluid rep of Dra was done well. I especially loved that their names together form “Cassandra”.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

– Lessons for Beginners by Julie Murphy

Ruby is a fat high school girl who is invisible at school but is secretly giving kissing lessons to anyone who wants to improve. So, she is shocked when one of her clients turn out to be a couple, one of whom is her once close childhood friend. She is in for more surprise when she finds herself attracted to Annie. I loved that Ruby is so comfortable with her body and doesn't really bother with labels for her sexuality. The writing is also very easy to read and the story was quite sweet until the end, where it took an unexpected turn.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

– Triangle Solo by Garth Nix

Connor and Anwar are chilhood friends who go to school together, are percussionists and love competing with each other. When their once best friend Kallie returns from Earth, they both want to ask her out. There was nothing remarkable about this one.

Rating: ⭐

– Vim and Vigor by Veronica Roth

Edie is still feeling lost years after Amy's death. She has also lost touch with her friend Kate since then and has been in therapy. And currently very panicked about choosing between the two guys who asked her out for prom. When she asks Kate to give her access to Kate's dad's very important piece of scientific equipment to make her prom choice, without telling Kate the reason, knowing full well that Kate might be punished for it, I kinda lost it.

Rating: ⭐

– Work in Progress by E. K. Johnston

This story had nothing working for me. The writing style was unique but hard to get into because it had multiple sections - each one being a story of it's own. And each section had three POVs - all narrated in second person - so I had to figure out on my own whose POV I was reading. It just got too difficult for me to comprehend the actual story.

Rating: ⭐

– Hurdles by Brandy Colbert

This was probably the most conventional love triangle of the lot. Mavis is a high school track player on the path for her Olympics trials. She has a boyfriend who is a good, dependable guy but she is also in love with Bobby, her best friend's brother, who is just out of rehab. Who should she choose? I wasn't even convinced about Bobby's feelings and I wasn't happy that she wasn't even considering her supportive parents while making her choice. Not the story for me.

Rating: ⭐⭐

– The Historian, the Garrison, and the Cantankerous Cat Woman by Lamar Giles

This story was very fascinating. It's like if Alfred was younger and in love with Batman who was in turn in love with Catwoman. Tatiana has always thought that she would be the one for Jermaine until Niya came into their lives. And she will do anything to get him back. I did not see the end coming.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

– Waiting by Sabaa Tahir

Ani is hopelessly in love with her best friend Sam - who is currently in prison - but also has to deal with some growing feelings for Felix, the sweet basketball player who will be with her at college. Though I understood Ani's feelings and conflict, I coouldn't get over how indifferent Sam seemed. But the ending did give a hopeful feeling.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

– Vega by Brenna Yovanoff

This story is about Elle, who has to choose between her childhood best friend and the city she loves. Both the characters had this rage that manifested out of their loneliness which they expressed through partying, booze and drugs. But when Alex has had enough, Elle has to decide if she wants to chase the light with him or drown herself in darkness. I liked the writing style but have mixed feelings about the story itself.

Rating: ⭐⭐

– A Hundred Thousand Threads by Alaya Dawn Johnson

This story had a unique writing style, told in the form of letters, poems, interviews - most of them in second person. I saw the “twist” quite early in the story, which is quite rare for me and the plot went predictably from there. It was still an enjoyable read though and dealt with some moral dilemmas, which was interesting.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

– Before She Was Bloody by Tessa Gratton

I absolutely fell in love with the setting and the characters here. The princess has to dedicate herself to a god - preventing her from being with the woman she loves - but then they fall in love with a guy. When tragedy forces her to become the brutal, strong willed and determined leader that she was never meant to be, she finds strength in their beautiful polyamorous relationship. This was a delight to read and I would love to see this story expanded into a full length novel.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

– Unus, Duo, Tres by Bethany Hagen

Two vampires deeply in love with each other start falling for a new girl at school, who is struggling with a secret of her own. OMGGGG!!!! This was beautiful and heartbreaking and I was sobbing uncontrollably by the end of it. What a perfect finale to this anthology.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is a book that's very suitable to read in a group and discuss the various interpersonal relationships, the togetherness of a neighborhood, it's pros and cons on everyday life. This is a thoughtful foray into the lives of people in various stages, how such a tight knit community can be a great support for some while also be stifling for others who just don't want to conform. The writing is beautiful, the pacing is a bit slow and the too many characters did get confusing at times, but it was still a fascinating read and very realistic in its portrayal.

The book is light and cute and fluffy like we expect from all YA contemporary romances. But the stakes or conflict never felt interesting enough for me to root for the characters. I also wish the development of their initial friendship was done better because that might have made me connect to them more.

Overall, I recommend this book if you like the usual YA high school stories.

Very new age and self deprecating feminist novel. It's definitely very progressive and there were a lot of intellectual discussions throughout, but maybe I'm not smart enough to understand all of it and it left me confused a lot of times.

I still think you should give it a try if you are interested in feminist YA. Maybe it just wasn't exactly for me.

I am a huge fan of Austen retellings because they are my favorite classics and I love them interpreted for a modern audience. But Emma is actually not one of those favorites, because it's hard to empathize with the main character for the most part and I always thought it would never work in a contemporary setting. That idea was busted when I read I Could Write A Book and loved it so much; so I decided I will give this adaptation a try too.

Emma in the classic is a meddlesome young woman with a good heart but the Emma in this book, however, is very patronizing, selfish and judgmental. She covers up her own insecurities about abandonment by her parents, by putting up a false confident image and uses this to project a certain version of herself for her blog and to her friends. She also uses people to further her needs, whether she realizes it herself or not. She thinks quite highly of herself, judging others for their beauty, social status and worthiness and ends up finding them lacking or in need of her intervention.

It's the side characters that really made this book a good experience for me. Adam Knightley is definitely the swoony hero worthy of the classic. He is a good person who deeply cares for Emma and only wants best for her. He is also very compassionate and understanding, lending a shoulder for Hailey to cry on when Emma's plans for her backfire; always looking out for Belinda and her mother; even looking out for Juliette when Emma's completely ruins her reputation. I liked that he never backed out from telling Emma the truth about her behavior, even when he couldn't express the depth of his true feelings. I also loved the characters of the slightly naive Hailey who gains self confidence through the novel and the lovely Juliette who may feel aloof, but is just a strong woman minding her own business.

I enjoyed the writing of this book very much. It was very easy to read and I could get through it very quickly. I also liked the changes to the original, like Emma's estranged relationship with her father and addition of the whole celebrity and gossip magazine angle. I just feel Emma is probably not a very easy protagonist to adapt for our current sensibilities, and trying to do that just made her more unlikable. I'm glad that she realizes her mistakes and works to better herself, but I also think we should have gotten more of her working towards forgiveness from everyone she has wronged. Even though I enjoyed the overall story, I just feel her redemption came too easy.

If you really like the story of Emma, you should definitely give this a try. It also sticks quite close to the original, so you should be prepared for an extreme slow burn with almost no romance till the end. But the conclusion is definitely very satisfactory.

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this book, but turns out it wasn't what it actually was.

I liked both the MCs to an extent. I could really relate to Avery's insecurities because of her curves which are only compounded here due to her trying so hard to make it in a man's profession. I applauded her trying to be more confident in her skin and believe that she is sexy and worthy. Declan is the usual broody bad boy we all love in our romance novels and I liked the way he treated her. However, both of them have too many walls in place so that they never get hurt again with short tempers to go along, which leads to quite a few misunderstandings. I might have liked the angst and the eventual resolution in another book but I couldn't enjoy it here because every time one of them felt threatened, they decided to humiliate each other with words and I really hated it.

The writing is very easy to read and I finished it fairly quickly. The author also brings New Orleans to life with her words and I was mesmerized by the descriptions of the city - I just want to visit it once now. I also really liked the side characters here, both of their friends are great and supportive and brought some light moments to this very intense love story. I might even be interested in reading their individual stories next.

This had all the elements of a romance I usually like - chemistry, passion, intensity and the whole soulmates thing - but I just couldn't warm up to the main characters enough. However, this might still be the right one for you and you should take my review with a grain of salt.

A 2.5 starrer probably...

I really wanted to enjoy this book because I think we need more feminist YA novels which take on the sexism and rape culture that is so prevalent in the current society. This book tries to give voice to that anger that girls are feeling more and more everyday, and appreciate the author for trying, but the execution is definitely not done well. The writing feels very choppy, there are a lot of issues with continuity between scenes, there are too many characters and their stories which are hard to keep track of and also difficult to empathize with, because we never do spend a lot of time going into depth about their feelings and trauma.

I liked the songs that Crystal writes and I will definitely be listening to them because they capture the tone of the book well. I wish the remaining book could also have been equally good.

This book has all the elements of an m/m romance that I have come to expect. Both Issac and Logan are funny, smart, nerdy guys and I loved the interactions between them. Though the development of their relationship proceeded very quickly, it was written well and I was rooting for them every step of the way. Issac's sister Sue is hilarious and a great support for him and I was glad she was part of his life. There are also two groups of friends, and I have to say that it was difficult to keep track of them. But, they were overall a great bunch and embodied the friends-like-family trope.

The major conflict in the book is Issac's racist homophobic parents. And I really couldn't understand why Issac felt so much for them, at the expense of better relationships in his life. For most of the second half, I just couldn't go along with his reasoning for wanting to be a part of his parents' life and not believing that friends could be just as good as family.

The book does have an optimistic ending but I was hoping for a bit more in the epilogue as hinted earlier in the story. Overall, despite some issues, this was an enjoyable read with nice characters and a lot of diversity.

This was more of a 3.5.

As someone who's never played a sport in life and doesn't know much about team sports, it's really surprising that I fell in love with sports romances this year, especially hockey romances. So when I saw this book on Netgalley, I really couldn't resist and it was a sweet love story that I very much enjoyed.

Kip is a young, handsome, extroverted history major who is unhappy in his job as a barista and is quite unsure of what he wants to do in life. He has a great supportive family and awesome friends but seems slightly low on confidence which is supplemented by his huge college debt. But that doesn't stop him from flirting with the gorgeous NY hockey team captain Scott.

Scott may have been in the closet for a long time, but he is tired of keeping his secret and is very lonely which is affecting his game too. So, when he meets Kip and feels that instant connection with him, he decides to take a chance for the first time in his life. Their chemistry is scorching hot right from the get go and it doesn't take long for the declarations of love.

Their relationship definitely feels very insta, but the author makes it very believable. They are a very cheesy couple, completely moony over each other and quite perfect. The conflict is pretty obvious and predictable, but it did need to happen because for a long time in the book, Kip gave a lot of himself for the relationship but Scott was happy to keep it limited just to the four walls of his house. When they finally did resolve their issues, it was quick and sweet and the ending was very very romantic which I enjoyed.

I don't usually mind reading romances which would probably put me in a sugar coma and I really did enjoy the love story here, but there were some things that could have been done better. There are a lot of sex scenes here and while I do like some steam in my romances, it got boring after a while. Kip and Scott's conversations were a lot of fun and I would have liked to see more of that. The coming out of Scott is also made out to be a big deal throughout and while I really admired the way he did it, it was just too easy and we never get to see the consequences. However, it was nice to see him supported by his teammates and coach and wish that was the case in real life too.

Overall, this was a very charming, sweet and sexy love story with low angst, but it did manage to make me emotional sometimes. I would recommend it when you need some cheesiness in your life.

PS: Thank you to Netgalley and Carina Press for providing me an advance copy of this book. All opinions expressed are unbiased and entirely mine.

Another 3.5 starrer in the series !!!

It is always fascinating to read about the love story of middle aged characters and I think it was done very well, appropriate to their age. It's a wonderful slow burn, which concentrates more on the friendship development and how the characters come to terms with the losses they have suffered and figure out how to move on. It was also nice to see Greg and Micah again and also the resolution of Greg's case.

This book also has lots of scenes with delicious cooking experiments, so be prepared with some food next to you or else you'll just keep feeling hungry.

Probably a 3.5 !!!!

What do I say about a book that I read in one single sitting without ever putting it down because it's so well written and enticing to read, but I don't really know what I feel about the characters. It's a very realistic emotional read while being equally frustrating and I don't think I've ever struggled so much to rate a book.

Mary is such a realistic portrayal of the lives of so many women that it just pained me to read her story. Due to her childhood abandonment issues, she chose a life of safety and contentment over that of love and passion and has spent the next two decades dedicating herself to the welfare of her family. Her work revolves around making sure her husband is successful without ever getting credit for her massive contribution and her home life is all about making sure her kids, her mother and mother-in-law are happy, irrespective of her feelings on any matter. Even after the disastrous way she learns about her husband's affair and the subsequent divorce, it falls to her to keep the peace, make sure the kids don't lose their father and co-exist happily with her husband's new partner.

I can understand the responsibility that Mary feels towards her family and wanting to make sure that her kids are able to get through the divorce and the new reality without a lot of hostility. But she suppresses every part of her personality and her heart for this to happen; she is essentially a doormat for most part of the book and I hated it. I hated it more because it's also very accurate and hit quite close to home and I guess I just wanted her to finally reach for her happiness instead of settling for what others expected of her. It takes a long time for her to realize her own worth, decide that she deserves her own life outside of her family and even though she does change her mind later, I thought it was too late in the book and I was already on the verge of exasperation.

The major problem I had with the book is that I disliked most of the other characters. Her ex-husband Leo is a selfish, lying, cheating, manipulative jerk and I didn't like that he got everything that he wanted in life, but never really had to answer for any of his wrongs. He is never called out, Mary never confronts him and she doesn't even really think that he has wronged her, and is happy to remain his friend. I was very disappointed with this take that a man can get away with anything and a woman will forgive him. Mary's mother felt very condescending and kept reminding her to choose her family and keeping everyone happy over her own life. Her mother-in-law seemed like she wanted more for Mary but she never tells it outright and when she does, I again thought it was too late. Mary's 14-year old daughter Ava is supposed to be a typical parent-hating teenager, but I especially disliked that she showed so much disrespect towards her mother who did so much for her, while seeming to accept her father's decisions so easily. Her son Jonas is the only one in the household who seems to care how his mother feels and though he speaks very less, he definitely succeeds in conveying his support for her. And her brother-in-law Ethan is the one person who tries very hard to poke and prod and provoke her to realize that there is more to life than feeling contented and encourages her to come out of her shell and let herself fly.

The writing is seamless to get through and it felt very hard to put down. Every single character and emotion is portrayed very close to reality and that's what made it such a difficult read. The feel of a small town and it's dynamics are captured very well and I could really feel being in the setting. There is also a whole subplot about a Victorian author Alice Hornby and Mary's adoration of her writing which I thought was done really done well. I could totally feel the love that Mary had for books and the bookstores she visits are described beautifully, especially Archer's and I felt totally transported to those places.

If you like realistic fiction with very accurate true to life portrayals of characters, then I think you will enjoy this one more than I did. I just didn't feel satisfied with the end and also with the way everyone got away with their lies and manipulations. I also think I just wanted Mary to be more assertive and decisive earlier in the book and I definitely would have loved an epilogue to finally see that she is truly happy.

This is a solid 3.5.

I still haven't read the first book in this series but after enjoying Counterpoint so much, I knew I had to read Mish's story. And this was a fun read for the most part and I quite liked the slightly mysterious part of it too.

Mish Sullivan is a badass and hates showing her vulnerable side to anyone. She can seem bull headed at times, but I liked knowing the reasons for the way she is. She is confident and amazing and totally in her element on stage, she enjoys her interactions with fans but there is also a good deal of unwanted attention. The author does a great job of showing us how even fans or people in general treat female artists differently when compared to their own male band mates. The way everyone feels entitled to tell Mish how she should behave or what clothes she should wear or even questioning her sexuality (which she is pretty open about) is a testament to how women in general are constantly questioned for making their own decisions. I really loved Mish for never backing down, despite being stalked but I also really liked that gradually, she let her friends take care of her a little.

David is a bodyguard that Mish doesn't want, but he is extremely respectful of her decisions while also making sure she is protected. The attraction between them is crackling right from the get go and it was wonderful to see both of them never backing down. I especially loved the emphasis on consent and asking each other about their preferences every time they got together - it was written with such beauty and thoughtfulness, it was great to read. His being trans is also never an issue between them but we can see that he had issues in the past, but he is in a better space now. The author manages to capture the conflict that David feels about protecting Mish as a job vs because of his relationship and his worry about how his feelings might affect his job. He is really hard on himself and while everyone can see that, he can be a little adamant too. While it felt like the relationship moved into serious territory pretty quickly, it felt very organic and David and Mish were just so good for each other.

My favorite part of this book and the series in general is still the band. They are an amazing group of people who love their music, their art and their fans but they mean so much more to each other. It's a perfect found family dynamic and I love how everyone of them is always there for each other. Mish might not want to show any vulnerability, but Zav and Ray are always ready to shoulder her burdens or just let her express her feelings. I also loved seeing Adrian become such an inseparable part of the group and his budding friendship with David was a delight to read. It's pretty evident from the beginning that David fits in perfectly with the group and I absolutely adored the scenes where they were all together just goofing off.

This is only my second book by Anna Zabo but I've quickly realized they're awesome at writing banter. The back and forth and conversations in this book are flirty, sweet and heartfelt and I had a big smile on my face for most of it. The situations in the story also feel very realistic and it felt like a good depiction of the darker side of fame and social media. The writing was also very easy to read and I finished very quickly. It would have been a solid 4 or maybe more but the conflict after about 70% felt so irrational and pointless to me. David had his reasons but just like Mish, I couldn't agree with them and it just shocked me for a while. But I'm glad the author didn't drag it out a lot and the ending was really sweet.

This is a nice love story which works well as a stand-alone but I think reading the previous installments gives it more depth. If you love badass female rockstars who are never afraid to punch someone who deserves it, you should definitely check this out. This series also has some of the best friend groups I've read in recent times and I am totally in love with Twisted Wishes.

More of a 3.5 but I don't wanna round off to 4.

Brit in the FBI series has been a fun, thrilling reading experience with slightly out there plots but quite enjoyable with some suspension of disbelief. This book is no different and I can wholeheartedly say that I had a lot of fun, much better actually than the previous installment The Sixth Day.

This series is another one which always makes it a point to use some advance technological concepts as plot points and in this book, we get a nuclear EMP that has been secretly deployed on a satellite and sent to space. While the whole of a nuclear bomb being secretly sent to space without anyone's knowledge seems preposterous, an EMP is a very believable and plausible idea and it's repercussions are devastating. I loved how the author duo was able to make me believe in the antagonist's capability to go to such great lengths to destroy the world and still feel that she's doing it for the betterment of the world. There are also some very very far fetched ideas like aliens and the Holy Grail, which were completely unrealistic but I still enjoyed reading about them as part of this story. The book is very fast paced – taking place in just about four days – so the story is always moving from one country to another (which is what I completely eat up in my adventure novels). The action also starts quite early on and never stops, with some breathtaking sequences on helicopters, in the middle of a typhoon, landslides etc and I was thrilled to bits.

I definitely enjoyed the characters more in this book. Mike and Nick's banter is very hilarious and enjoyable and I think I have finally come to love them. Mike is such an adrenaline junkie that not even the end of the world can scare her and I admire her skills. The best part is that while Nick is the go-to hacker of the team, Mike is the one everyone relies on when the situation calls for some hand to hand combat skills. Even during the crisis time towards the end, their banter never ceases and I was particularly thrilled by how the ending played out. It was also great to see Grant and Kitsune again but I wish they could have been a longer part of the story.

Overall, if you have read the other books in the series, then you will definitely love this one. If you don't mind reading a slightly unrealistic but very thrilling globe-trotting action novel, then you should give this book a try. The end of the world might be on the horizon, but you'll still be smiling most of the way.

This is my first f/f romance with a fake marriage trope and I was excited to read it. And though the story took some unexpected turns, it was a pleasant and sweet experience.

Dora is a very confusing protagonist and I'm not exactly sure what I feel about her. I could totally feel her anxiety about the deportation and about not wanting to go back home because she has already come to love Toronto like her own. However, she seemed very resigned to her fate and didn't seem very proactive in trying to change her visa situation. I really liked Abby more and would have loved to read her POV. She could be both assertive and shy, and I could totally see that she was developing genuine feelings for Dora, despite Dora's own cluelessness. And I just felt that Abby was more concerned about Dora's visa situation than she was herself, which just made me slightly angry. However, I liked the way the uncertainty was resolved and the ending was very cute and optimistic.

The writing is very easy to read and I finished it pretty much in a single sitting. I think the author did a good job bringing Dora's resignation (which almost felt like laziness) to life and then gave her that touch of inspiration to move forward with her future plans. It's always great when the author is able to make me change my opinion about the main character and it definitely helped me come to agree with the direction the author took this story in. I also loved that both our main characters have supportive friends who always have their back. I always enjoy good female friendships.

Overall, this is a cute story of falling in love but I would have definitely loved to get to know the two MCs better. Give this a try when you want something short and fluffy.

Lily Morton has become a favorite author since last year, particularly for her snarky sarcastic British humor and I have gotten used to waiting for every new release of hers. Milo and Niall were introduced in Oz and I've wanted to know more of their story since then. But this book turned to be something I wasn't expecting.

Milo's backstory was very painful to read. He's a fighter, who struggled hard to overcome his stutter and gain confidence before losing it all again because of an abusive relationship. I enjoyed reading about his growth, how he slowly realized what and who he wanted in life and he needed a lot of nudging to get there. Niall is very confident, kind of like a force of nature, whom Milo has always crushed on but isn't sure if he can actually be with such a person. It takes a lot of time for Milo to see Niall in a different light than his ex and for Niall to see Milo as a prospective partner rather than his closest friend and former lover's brother. Even though there were some feelings on both sides, the relationship was quite a slow burn and took time to develop and I enjoyed it.

The side characters have always played very significant roles in Morton's earlier books and that's where this book faltered for me. It was a joy to see so much more of Silas and Oz along with their adorable daughter Cora and each of them were instrumental in helping the MCs realize their true feelings. However, the whole arc with Milo's brother Gideon, his and Niall's sometime lover Jacinta and various other friends of theirs felt like a filler, not adding anything important to the story while also being a turn off sometimes. While the story of a main character going from being one brother's lover to another wouldn't necessarily be a deal breaker for me, I don't think it was handled well here. The signature humor of Morton, while present in the first half of the book, was few and far between as the story progressed.

Finally, I can probably say that I had a lot of expectations from this book and it didn't live up to them. While I liked both the MCs individually and am glad that they got together, I wasn't completely invested in the story and kept getting distracted while reading. I can sense that the upcoming book will probably be about Gideon, and while I didn't like his character, I don't think I will be giving it a miss. I recommend this if you are a Lily Morton fan like me, but go into it with lowered expectations.

Definitely a 3.5.

I never would have read this book if not for the author contacting me and letting me know of this contemporary romance with desi characters set in South Africa. As I'm always excited for more diaspora stories, I was glad to have the opportunity to read this one and while I have a few conflicting feelings about it, it was an overall enjoyable experience.

I really really liked Varini as a character. She was warm, kind and compassionate, with lots of love in her heart. She is also an accomplished doctor and I loved what little we got of her interactions with patients and colleagues, and her dream about creating a pediatric oncology wing in the hospital. Her only weakness was Aariyan and I totally understood her conflict over feeling all the love towards him even when he kept hurting her repeatedly. On the other hand, Aariyan was a frustrating mess and I really wanted to shake him up for the most part. I hated how much he gave Varini a bit of hope but then crushing her spirit, never ever apologizing for his appalling behavior or ever communicating anything. I could sympathize a bit for his past but I just couldn't accept the way he treated her.

I absolutely adored the whole cast of side characters we got in the book. My favorites were obviously Divya and Eri, but the whole gang of friends were very entertaining and I loved their banter. I also liked that all the elders in the book were sweet and gave sensible advice to the main characters, but were never stereotypically nosy like I usually see depicted in other books. We even had a couple of delightful kids who brought a lot of laughs and emotional heft to the story.

While I really liked the characters for the most part, I think it was the writing where it faltered a bit for me. Firstly, I have to mention the desi elements because the author managed to bring a very familiar South Indian feel to the book and I absolutely loved it. I also thought the family dynamics and some of the romantic moments between the couple were written beautifully, but at other times, the writing felt disjointed and wasn't going with the flow. I also thought many side characters were all introduced at once and it felt very infodumpy, and I could hardly keep track of them. Even the way the wedding rituals were described felt more informational rather than an organic part of the story. There were also places where I felt there was more telling rather than showing, but thankfully those moments were few and far between. While second chance romance and marriage of convenience are some of my favorite tropes and I have read many books with such plot lines, I think the author did a reasonable job subverting them enough to make it feel fresh and different from the usual. However, the way the story is written towards the end and how Aariyan realizes his true feelings was very very cliche and I was slightly disappointed.

Overall, I can say that I enjoyed this book enough despite some of its flaws. If you like second chance romances or arranged marriage based stories, you can give this a try. It is slightly predictable and the hero might frustrate you a lot, but I really loved everyone else. And despite being set outside India, it is very South Indian at its heart (specifically Tamil) and that familiarity definitely made me enjoy the book a lot more than I expected to.

I can't express how excited I was when I first got to know about this book, and that joy doubled when I was approved for this ARC. I don't know if it was my high expectations or the book itself, but I'm not quite happy with the experience.

Maddie is still struggling to deal with the grief over her ex-fiancé ditching her at the altar six months ago, while also figuring out how to manage her not so well running bookstore in her small town. I liked that she passionately loves her books and the store, and also wants to find her very own romance hero. But I just didn't like her as a person. She is so flighty and indecisive and occasionally selfish, and just can't make up her mind about anything. I'm all for introspection in a character when they are at a critical juncture in their life, but Maddie is not introspecting anything. She just doesn't want to critically examine anything in her life, always living in her imagination and hoping for someone to come and sweep her away without putting any actual effort.

The side characters were all pretty interesting. Dylan was the typical flirty rockstar but he wasn't obnoxious and could be very charming. Max came across as very critical of Maddie initially but as the book goes on, we realize he really cares about her and just can't stop himself from giving unnecessary(sometimes even necessary) advice. Charlie is a literature professor and his conversations with Maddie tended to be more fun and bookish than flirty. While I hated how the initial contact with Silver Fox happened, I definitely enjoyed her emails and messages with him. That was the only place I thought Maddie tried to be honest. Peter, the ex-fiancé is a manipulative jerk and I absolutely hated that she even contemplated going back to him even though his true colors were right there to see.

The writing was actually pretty easy and amusing to read. The plot itself with the anonymous online friend trope and a whole gang of interested suitors was quite promising, but I think it faltered somewhere in the execution. Except for the emails, I don't think I felt connected with any of the possible couples, so I wasn't even rooting for anyone. One thing I liked was that I couldn't guess the real identity of Silver Fox until it was very obvious, and it was impressive of the author to be able to maintain the mystery. I also thoroughly enjoyed the book club discussions because everyone seemed to bring a different perspective to the well known stories, though I was slightly miffed that Maddie seemed to think only classics were the right books for her book club. I also didn't like the first time she emailed Silver Fox just because he gave a 3 star review. Even though I understand that he could have worded his review better, I hate the idea of an author finding out the email of a reviewer and then messaging them in a drunken rage. It just put me off immediately and that might have totally changed my perception about Maddie as a character and overall, the book itself. We've seen enough of this passive aggressive stuff in real life, and I don't think romanticizing this behavior in a book is the right way to go.

On a final note, I think this book had a lot of potential but it just didn't work for me. There is an interesting group of characters, some wonderful conversations about books and the lovely setting of a small town bookstore, but ultimately I just couldn't like the main character and didn't feel invested in any of the relationships. It was still a mostly entertaining read, which I was able to breeze through quickly and enjoyed some laughs along the way. I guess I was just hoping for something more. It's not really a bad book per se, so I would definitely recommend that you pick it up if the premise interests you. It might however be better to temper your expectations a bit.

It's probably more of a 2.5 but I'm rounding up.

I was very excited to read this book because I've really enjoyed the author's two previous trilogies and I wanted to see how her attempt at a standalone romance novel would turn out (especially without the suspense elements). I'm so sad to say that it didnt live up to my expectations.

The one thing you'll consistently see me saying about this author's books are that they are very fast paced and I always end up finishing them pretty quickly. However, this one turned out to be very slow paced and though I couldn't figure out the exact reason, I had quite a bit of trouble with the writing style. I just kept wanting to put it down but I persevered and managed to finish it. As the main premise of the book is the two MCs on a culinary tour, we get some beautiful, mouth watering and delectable descriptions of amazing food and wine and it was a delight to read. As I'm pretty unaware of most of the high end food mentioned, I instead enjoyed reading about the different kinds of wines and the yummy and decadent desserts. The locations of the culinary tour covers some wonderful places across America and I almost felt like I was traveling alongwith them. This journey was definitely the best part of the book. The book is also pretty emotional towards the last third, because one of the MCs is sick and refusing treatment, and I ended up shedding a lot of tears. But I still didn't have an easy time reading it. I had a tough time differentiating between the two POVs which usually doesn't happen to me, and that's probably one reason it took me a while to get through.

The romance is instalove because it all happens in ten days, but it was believable and definitely felt brought on by the heightened circumstances. I really liked Clancy, who is a complete foodie and his heartfelt appreciation of all the food he is introduced to was great to read. He is also a very compassionate doctor and I could totally feel how much he wanted to be an oncologist. Miller on the other hand is a famous Michelin Star chef and while I could understand some of his reasoning behind not wanting treatment, it was mostly rubbish. As someone who has an amazing family and a great group of friends, I found it callous that he didn't want to give anyone even the chance to say goodbye. There was a lot of push and pull between the two of them, mainly because Miller has resigned himself to die and doesn't wanna get close but Clancy doesn't let him go. I liked the development of their friendship and love story but the writing style made me feel a bit detached from them. Sloane is Miller's ex-wife but she plays a significant part in his life and this book and I actually liked getting to know more about their friendship over the years too. Both their families are also wonderful and supportive and it was nice to see all characters being so loving towards each other.

To conclude, this is probably my least favorite of Layla's books. Without the suspense elements of her other books, this one felt very slow paced and took me a while to get into the groove. The love story is emotional and I liked it, but it's not something I consider memorable. However, if you like reading about amazing food and wine, you might like this book. I would definitely suggest not going into this book hungry.

It's probably more of a 3.5 but I don't feel like rounding up.

I can't say that I've been a huge fan of this series since the beginning, but I've enjoyed the Alaskan setting enough to want to continue. And I'm glad I did because I found this book to be much better than the previous installments.

The writing in this book took me a while to get into and I was a bit bored initially. But once the winter season started in the story, it was interesting to get to know more about how the volunteers work along with rangers, what are their responsibilities and what kind of incidents should they be equipped to deal with. There was always this sense of danger, especially related to avalanches which felt real and visceral and gave me a real appreciation for the work all of them do to keep the tourists safe. On the flip side, this book doesn't showcase the beauty of the Alaskan backcountry but concentrates on the issues travelers might face - but I didn't mind this shift. I had enough of the picturesque locales in two books and it was nice to see the other side too. The last third of the book was also quite emotional and I ended up crying a lot (it could have just been my mood too though). It's probably one reason I liked this book more despite not connecting with the characters a lot.

Quill wasn't an easy person to like. Not that he is bad, but he has so many internalized issues about relationships and being out as gay that sometimes I wanted to give him a hug, but other times I wanted to give him a good shake. But he was great at his job and I really liked that he didn't shy away from talking about all the dangers, even if his audience didn't appreciate it. Owen on the other hand is a cancer survivor, who now has a bucket list and wants to get through it all because he doesn't want to waste any time. He is also a very social, talkative and extroverted person which makes him an exact opposite of Quill. And I totally understood his wish that Quill be more open, but I don't think he completely empathized with Quill's hangups. They are so different from each other that I couldn't understand why they liked each other in the first place, but there was a lot of friendship and relationship development which I enjoyed. It felt very domestic and adorable and I liked those quieter moments. However, there was also a lot of back and forth, especially on Quill's part and while I could feel where he was coming from, it got frustrating after a while. When the conflict happened, it seemed inevitable but I was also so upset that I kept sobbing for quite some time. However, the ending felt a little rushed but also earned and very very sweet.

Overall, this was an enjoyable read despite some of the issues I had with the characters. I loved following the rangers and getting to know their daily life, and that's one main reason this is probably my favorite of this trilogy. This book also has the hurt/comfort trope - so if you enjoy these themes or the setting of Alaska, you should definitely check out this book. Even if you have been disappointed by the previous books in this series, I have a feeling you might enjoy this better just like I did.

I remember owning a couple of books from this author's Abhorsen series years ago but I never read them. Even this book wasn't on my radar, but when I happened to read the synopsis around the time of its release, I thought it was a bit different from my usual reads and wanted to give it a try. I can't say I was blown away by it, but it turned out to be a good read.

I liked the idea of this world, each kingdom having its own archangel with their own host of lesser angels, and the mages of the kingdom being able to summon them using icons. I particularly loved the way the icons are described in detail and it would be very interesting to see some artwork related to it. But we are never given any details of the world itself, beyond the basics. It's almost not until the end that the Doom of Ystara is revealed, and while it made for a nice mystery, I just wasn't sure the revelation was worth the wait. There are also too many names of people we care nothing about, a hierarchy of the angels which I couldn't remember at all, and so many different angels who could be summoned that I stopped who was capable of what magic. The only part of the world that I could remember atleast a little was the top most power players in the kingdom of Sarance and their archangel.

The best part of the book was that it was fast paced right from the get go, with the readers being thrown in the middle of the action in the prologue itself. As there are too many characters introduced to us in the beginning, it took a while for me to realize who the important ones are and then try to remember them. This book is told through third person (I think) and had a level of detachment in the narrative style which prevented me from getting to know any character closely. I found the dialogue also to be a bit repetitive and annoying at times. There are only a few action sequences but I thought they were described very well. But on the whole, I was very interested to know what the end goal was and how it would be achieved, and that's what sustained me to keep going. I'm also a bit conflicted about the ending - it felt underwhelming but also appropriate, so I don't know what to say about it.

Whenever there is an ensemble cast, I'm always excited to get to know them all but unfortunately, that didn't happen here. Lilliath is probably the only one we spend a significant amount of time with, and she was very much a mystery throughout. All I could understand was that despite her promises to her followers, she really seemed very selfish and had her own motives, without any care to protect those around her. Among the other four main characters, the only one I really got to know a bit was Dorotea. She is a scholar and has powers that no one understands but I loved how confident she was in herself, and just wanted the opportunity to continue her education. Her quest for knowledge and her belief that books are the biggest treasure really endeared me to her. Henri, Simeon, Agnez and Dorotea's instant connection and friendship was also lovely to read about, but it would have been nice to know a bit more about them individually.

To conclude, I think this was a book that had a lot more potential but not all of it worked on page. If you have read the author's previous books and enjoyed them, then the writing style might work for you. If you like books which focus more on the plot but not a lot on characterization, then this might be the right book for you. It has an interesting world and magic system, but there was just something missing. And I also feel it could have been better fleshed out if it was a duology rather than trying to compress it all into a standalone book.