THE GRIMROSE GIRLS By Laura Pohl

November 20, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE GRIMROSE GIRLS By Laura PohlThe Grimrose Girls by Laura Pohl
Series: Grimrose Girls #1
Published by Sourcebooks Fire on 10/26/21
Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy & Magic, LGBT, Mystery & Detective, Retellings, Young Adult
Pages: 267
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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After the mysterious death of their best friend, Ella, Yuki, and Rory are the talk of their elite school, Grimrose Académie. The police ruled Ariane's death as a suicide, but the trio are determined to find out what really happened.

When Nani Eszes arrives as their newest roommate, it sets into motion a series of events that no one could have predicted. As the girls retrace their friend's final days, they discover a dark secret about Grimrose—Ariane wasn't the first dead girl.

They soon learn that all the past murders are connected to ancient fairytale curses…and that their own fates are tied to the stories, dooming the girls to brutal and gruesome endings unless they can break the cycle for good.

Short and Sweet Review

Yuki, Ella, and Rory are still reeling after the mysterious death of their best friend Ariane, and they’re just trying to make sense of it all. Ariane’s death was ruled a suicide but her friends know she wouldn’t even attempt to swim in the lake so they know something is up. Nani is a new student at the academy and she ends up rooming with Yuki and Rory. Nani’s appearance ends up setting in to motion the investigation into Ariane’s final days. The girls end up finding a book Ariane was looking at that has fairy tales and Ariane was connecting the fairy tales to students and how they would die. Following this lead the girls find out that Ariane wasn’t the only death at the academy.

This book was interesting and I loved the premise. Each of the girls is very different, Yuki is the protector and Ella is the caretaker, while Rory is rough around the edges and has a lot of emotions. Nani is one who I’m still trying to figure out, she came to Grimrose to learn more about her dad and she finds another mystery instead. Each girl gets their own POV and I didn’t have a specific one that I liked but I feel like I couldn’t really get to know them as well as I would have if the book was longer and just one POV. I did like that the fairy tale stories were connected to how someone would die, and these aren’t Disney fairy tales these were like the Grimm Brothers versions. The mystery was good and I loved the setting of the academy and the darkness of it all just set the mood. This first book is pretty short and I feel like there were a lot of things left to be answered. I’m interested to see what’s going to happen in the next book, and I’m hoping for more development and more of a connection to these characters.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES By Suzanne Collins

November 16, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES By Suzanne CollinsThe Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Series: The Hunger Games #0
Published by Scholastic Press on 5/19/20
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy & Magic, Young Adult
Pages: 541
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
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It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute.

The odds are against him. He's been given the humiliating assignment of mentoring the female tribute from District 12, the lowest of the low. Their fates are now completely intertwined - every choice Coriolanus makes could lead to favor or failure, triumph or ruin. Inside the arena, it will be a fight to the death. Outside the arena, Coriolanus starts to feel for his doomed tribute . . . and must weigh his need to follow the rules against his desire to survive no matter what it takes.

Short and Sweet Review

It is time for the 10th annual Hunger Games and Coriolanus Snow has been chosen to be a mentor to one of the tributes. Coriolanus knows that if his tribute wins that this could bring him and his family back to their former glory. The odds are stacked against him when he’s given a tribute from distract 12, but Lucy Gray has a way about her that charms people and Coriolanus knows that every choice they make can either make it or break it for them.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is Coriolanus Snow’s villain origin story. We get to see who President Snow was before he became the guy gunning for Katniss in the Hunger Games trilogy. Here we see that the house of Snow has fallen on hard times and he’s just trying to make it by and keep up appearances. Coriolanus attends the academy and him and 23 other students were chosen to be mentors. Coriolanus is given Lucy Gray from district 12 and she’s probably the most willing to talk to her mentor and follow his lead, she’s also a singer and that’s how she’s been winning over the people. Coriolanus finds himself coming up with new ideas for the games, like betting and sending things into the arena for the tributes, and it was interesting to see that it was him who came up with some of the things we see in the other books. Coriolanus falls for Lucy which in the ends gets him in trouble and instead of being in the Capitol he’s sent to be a peacekeeper in district 12. In district 12 Coriolanus tries to follow the rules but he’s reunited with Lucy again and also an old friend from the Capitol but they have some rebel ideas in mind. It took me a while to figure out but after some thinking I realized that this is when we see Coriolanus make the switch into a villain, during his time in district 12. After we see Coriolanus switch up on people he ends up going back to the Capitol and starts to make his way back up the social ladder and this is when he eventually becomes the President Snow that we see in future books.

I thought this book was interesting and I liked that we get to see how Snow became who he was. It was also interesting that this book isn’t completely focused on the games its just one part of the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, the pacing was kind of slow but it was really to build everything up and in the end I was satisfied and a few days after reading this book I’m still thinking about it.

Filed Under: Reviews

SERIOUS MOONLIGHT By Jenn Bennett

November 13, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

SERIOUS MOONLIGHT By Jenn BennettSerious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on 4/16/19
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 432
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she’s cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.

In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide. The hotel’s charismatic young van driver shares the same nocturnal shift and patronizes the waterfront Moonlight Diner where she waits for the early morning ferry after work. Daniel also shares her appetite for intrigue, and he’s stumbled upon a real-life mystery: a famous reclusive writer—never before seen in public—might be secretly meeting someone at the hotel.

To uncover the writer’s puzzling identity, Birdie must come out of her shell…discovering that most confounding mystery of all may be her growing feelings for the elusive riddle that is Daniel.

Short and Sweet Review

Birdie loves mysteries and has an over active imagination mainly due to the fact that her strict grandparents had her isolated and homeschooled. But since her grandmother died Birdie’s grandfather has given her a bit more freedom and now she has a job in Seattle at a hotel. Birdie doesn’t think she’ll know anyone but then she runs into Daniel, a boy she had an awkward encounter with in the past. Now that they’re working together and Birdie is still standoffish, Daniel suggest they solve a mystery together about one of the hotel guest; an author who may be having a romantic relationship.

Serious Moonlight is one of those books where the premise sounds exciting but the execution wasn’t great. Birdie is one of those people that hasn’t had a lot of experiences due to being confined to one place. Now Birdie has a job and she runs into Daniel a boy she had a romantic encounter with that didn’t end well. Daniel tells her about an author that frequents the hotel but comes under a fake name, Birdie is determined to find out the authors true identity. I thought that this book would revolve more around the mystery but we see a lot of Daniel trying to get back on Birdies good side and try to be a romantic interest to her. We also learn what happened between Birdie and Daniel which is pretty funny in a the situation did not call for that kind of way. Anyway I didn’t like the romance between these two, they would have been better off as friends and just seeing the dynamic between the two it didn’t work. I didn’t like Birdie much and its one of those situations where when someone is on such a tight leash and they get some freedom that they’re indecisive and all over the place, that was Birdie. The ending of the book made me mad, I won’t spoil it but Daniel has some nerve and the fact that Birdie thinks she’s in love with him is mind boggling.

Overall, I didn’t like this book. I wanted more mystery but what I got was a sheltered girl experiencing her first romance and being completely clueless and giving us a snooze fest of a book that was 432 pages. I feel like Jenn Bennett has books for me personally that are hit or miss and this was a miss.

Filed Under: Reviews

PRITTY By Keith F. Miller Jr.

November 9, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

PRITTY By Keith F. Miller Jr.Pritty by Keith F. Miller Jr.
Series: Pritty #1
Published by HarperTeen on 11/14/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 416
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

On the verge of summer before his senior year, Jay is a soft soul in a world of concrete. While his older brother is everything people expect a man to be—tough, athletic, and in charge—Jay simply blends into the background to everyone, except when it comes to Leroy.

Unsure of what he could have possibly done to catch the eye of the boy who could easily have anyone he wants, Jay isn’t about to ignore the surprising but welcome attention. But as everything in his world begins to heat up, especially with Leroy, whispered rumors over the murder of a young Black journalist and long-brewing territory tensions hang like a dark cloud over his neighborhood. And when Jay and Leroy find themselves caught in the crossfire, Leroy isn’t willing to be the reason Jay’s life is at risk.

Dragged into the world of the Black Diamonds—whose work to protect the Black neighborhoods of Savannah began with his father and now falls to his older brother—Leroy knows that finding out who attacked his brother is not only the key to protecting everyone he loves but also the only way he can ever be with Jay. Wading through a murky history of family trauma and regret, Leroy soon discovers that there’s no keeping Jay safe when Jay’s own family is in just as deep and fighting the undertow of danger just as hard.

Now Jay and Leroy must puzzle through secrets hiding in plain sight and scramble to uncover who is determined to eliminate the Black Diamonds before someone else gets hurt—even if the cost might be their own electric connection.

Short and Sweet Review

Pritty centers around two teens, Jay and Leroy. Jay is more soft around the edges and isn’t one to find himself in a lot of trouble. Leroy is more rough around the edges and is one to find himself in trouble even when he isn’t looking for it. Jay seems to think he belongs in the background but Leroy always notices him. We see a group called the Black Diamonds who are dedicated to protect black neighborhoods in Savannah, but someone is coming after them and isn’t afraid to start killing to get what they want. Leroy is closely affiliated with the Black Diamonds as his brother and Aunt currently run it and Leroy knows to keep Jay safe he needs to keep his distance.

Pritty is a deep novel, we have Jay and Leroy and it truly feels like a coming of age novel. Jay has a lot of character development throughout the book, so does Leroy but I thought Jay did a lot of growing. The Black Diamonds are a group that want to protect black neighborhoods but when a reporter ends up dead and someone shoots at Leroy and Jay things change. Taj is Leroy’s brother and the head of the black diamonds and he’s basically an older brother and a father figure for Leroy. Jay has his older brother Jacob who tries to protect him. The book is about Jay and Leroy but also so much more, it includes love, family, and friends. There’s a lot that goes on through the book but I think my favorite part is seeing the effort Leroy puts in to show Jay that he truly does care about him. There is also a bit of a mystery surrounding who is after the black diamonds and I’m interested in seeing how that will play out in the next book.

Pritty is a beautiful book, and its raw and thought provoking. Jay and Leroy are characters that you can connect to and feel for. I loved the integration of the families and seeing Jay and Leroy’s upbringing. Jay and Leroy are different but when they get together the world around them disappears. This is a book I highly recommend.

Filed Under: Reviews

THE TAKING OF JAKE LIVINGSTON By Ryan Douglass

November 6, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

THE TAKING OF JAKE LIVINGSTON By Ryan DouglassThe Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 7/13/21
Genres: Horror & Ghost Stories, LGBT, Paranormal, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 255
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Sixteen-year-old Jake Livingston sees dead people everywhere. But he can't decide what's worse: being a medium forced to watch the dead play out their last moments on a loop or being at the mercy of racist teachers as one of the few Black students at St. Clair Prep. Both are a living nightmare he wishes he could wake up from. But things at St. Clair start looking up with the arrival of another Black student—the handsome Allister—and for the first time, romance is on the horizon for Jake.

Unfortunately, life as a medium is getting worse. Though most ghosts are harmless and Jake is always happy to help them move on to the next place, Sawyer Doon wants much more from Jake. In life, Sawyer was a troubled teen who shot and killed six kids at a local high school before taking his own life. Now he's a powerful, vengeful ghost and he has plans for Jake. Suddenly, everything Jake knows about dead world goes out the window as Sawyer begins to haunt him. High school soon becomes a different kind of survival game—one Jake is not sure he can win.

Short and Sweet Review

Jake Livingston is a medium and can see the dead almost everywhere he goes. Jake doesn’t know what’s worse seeing the dead or having to go to St. Clair prep while being on of the few black students there. But things are looking up when another black student starts attending the school and Jake hits it off with him. Unfortunately, things start to go awry when a vengeful spirit named Sawyer starts to haunt Jake.

This book needs to have a trigger warning at the beginning, we have a teen that wants to commit suicide, talks of rape and abuse, and also a school shooting. Not going to lie this book was a lot more violent than I thought It was going to be, I originally thought it would just be about a medium and trying to get rid of a ghost but it was a lot more than that. Jake goes to a fancy school where most of the teachers and students are racist but he tries to ignore them as he believes that no one cares. He sees ghost and the worst part of it all is that Sawyer Doon a kid who recently killed six kids at his high school and himself is coming for Jake. There was a lot of back and forth between Sawyer and Jake and just seeing Jake try to figure out if he really could best Sawyer or if this was the end for him. We also get Sawyer’s POV and its mainly diary entries and we get to see how he became the way he is. There’s also a bit of romance between Jake and a new student Allistar, which wasn’t completely fleshed out so I can’t say I was the biggest fan of this. I don’t think the world building was complete and some of the things that happened just seemed too abrupt and out of place. The whole thing with Sawyer and Jake was a game of cat and mouse and I think I would have appreciated Sawyer’s POV to also include some of the present to see what exactly he wanted from Jake. I wasn’t into the ending because I get that Jake was trying to trap Sawyer but to let him just possess you and go live out his revenge was a little ridiculous. I did enjoy the fact that Jake and his brother Benji were able to have a heart to heart and that Jake did have friends.

Overall, I’m glad this book covered some tough subjects but it wasn’t for me. I didn’t relate to the characters and some of the scenes were just hard to get through.

Filed Under: Reviews

LOVEBOAT FOREVER By Abigail Hing Wen

November 3, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

LOVEBOAT FOREVER By Abigail Hing WenLoveboat Forever by Abigail Hing Wen
Series: Loveboat,
Published by HarperTeen on 11/7/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 399
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Pearl was ready for a worldwide stage. Instead, she needs to stage a comeback.

Seventeen-year-old music prodigy Pearl Wong had the summer of her dreams planned—until a fall from grace leaves her in need of new plans…and a new image.

Where better to revamp her “brand” than at Chien Tan, the Taipei summer program for elite students that rocketed her older sister, Ever, on a path to romance and self-fulfillment years ago.

But as the alumni know, Chien Tan is actually Loveboat—the extravagant world where prodigies party till dawn—and there’s more awaiting Pearl there than she could have ever imagined, like a scandalous party in the dark, a romantic entanglement with a mysterious suitor...and a summer that will change her forever.

Short and Sweet Review

Pearl Wong is on her way to being a music prodigy until one of her performances goes viral on Tik Tok for all the wrong reasons. Her invite to an exclusive music program is rescinded, and her manager advises her to lay low. So Pearl decides to go to Taipei and maybe have the same amazing experiences her sister Ever had, while also making a comeback.

Loveboat Forever follows Ever Wong’s younger sister Pearl. I loved this book. Pearl is a musician a pianist to be exact and after finding out how cruel people can be on social media she ends up having to stay out of the spotlight and to do that she goes to Taipei. Loveboat is different than when Ever was there, but the kids still want to go out and have fun and at a masked party Pearl ends up kissing someone but she doesn’t know who it is. Honestly, this book follows the same formula as the first book, while Pearl is immersing herself in the culture she also finds herself in a love triangle. Pearl ends up meeting Ethan Kang who is also a musical prodigy in his own right but he’s a bit controlling and doesn’t know how to be himself. Kai on the other hand is hard to get to know and is very judgmental towards her and the other kids at love boat. Ethan and Pearl decide to team up and do a duo for the end of the program talent show which is Pearls chance to get some good publicity. Kai and Pearl on the other hand work together trying to get back Pearl’s great grandmothers pipa and also they play music on the street. I did like Pearl and Kai together mainly because she was allowed to be herself and not worry about the outside world telling her who she needs to be. My favorite part of this book was how we get to see characters from the past books like Ever, Rick, Sophie, and Xavier and honestly their involvement in this book is what upped my rating.

Loveboat Forever, was magical and fun and it just keeps alive the feelings you had from reading the other books. Pearl had a lot of character development throughout the book and I was so happy to follow her journey. We get to see Pearl immerse herself in culture and learn more about her family and also about herself. Definitely check this book out and relive the magic of Loveboat one more time!

Filed Under: Reviews

FINDING MY ELF By David Valdes

November 1, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

FINDING MY ELF By David ValdesFinding My Elf by David Valdes
Published by HarperTeen on 11/7/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 254
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Escaping to NYU for college didn’t turn out the way Cameron planned—he’s flunking his theater classes, about to lose his scholarship, and he still hasn’t found anyone he can call his “people.” When he gets home for winter break, he’s so desperate to avoid a Conversation with his dad that he takes the first acting job he can get—as a mall elf. Despite how Scroogey he feels, the plus side is that there’s a cash prize for the most festive of Santa’s helpers.

But the competition is fierce—especially from fellow elf Marco. Christmas spirit oozes out of his veins. At first Cam is determined to see him as nothing but a rival, but as they spend more time together, Cam starts to second-guess himself. What if he’s finally found his people here—in the fakest consumerist nightmare place on Earth, where he least expected it?

Short and Sweet Review

After is first semester at NYU doesn’t go as planned Cam is glad to be back in New England for the holidays. Cam was failing theater which is surprising because in high school he was a theater kid, and now he’s on the verge of losing his scholarship, because of this he ends up getting a job at the mall as an elf. The job as an elf comes with a little competition, where guests can vote for their favorite elf and the winner gets $5,000, which would really help Cam at the moment. Cam’s biggest competition is Marco who just embodies the elf spirit, but the more time Cam spends with Marco the more he begins to fall for him.

Finding My Elf is a cute book especially for the holiday season. I just personally didn’t connect to the story or characters. I thought the idea of the competition was great and it was fun to see the different activities the elves would have to complete. I’m not sure if I really liked Cams character, sometimes he would say things that were insensitive and he was also into this guy Leroy who was complete and total trash. This book was short and I think that may be why I had a hard time, I think Cam could have benefitted from some character development. I don’t think I was into the romance either because Marco comes off as a sweet guy but Cam kind of gave him the cold shoulder and then all of a sudden he had a change of heart.

Overall, I don’t think this book was for me, but I do think if you’re into short holiday romance books you should give this novel a shot!

Filed Under: Reviews

WISH OF THE WICKED BY DANIELLE PAIGE

October 30, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

WISH OF THE WICKED BY DANIELLE PAIGEWish of the Wicked by Danielle Paige
Series: Wish of the Wicked #1
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 11/7/23
Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 480
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Everyone knows a fairy godmother helped Cinderella get to the ball. But no one knows why.

For centuries, Farrow's family-the Entente-have been magical advisors to the Queen. Their wisdom and foresight kept the Thirteen Queendoms in harmony. Until a new queen, Magrit, takes power, outlaws magic, and executes the Entente. Only Farrow survives, with her magic warped beyond repair. She can now use it only to fulfill the feeble wishes of commoners.

Since that day, Farrow has dreamed of revenge. The one way to reach the queen is through her son, Prince Mather, who is nearing the age when he must select a bride. When a special ball in his honor is announced, Farrow sees her opportunity. All it will take is a young woman named Cinderella who dreams of true love. With one night, one chance to reclaim her magic and destroy the queen, Farrow will stop at nothing.

Short and Sweet Review

For centuries the Entente have been advisors to the queens, and with the Ententes advice and wisdom the 13 queendoms have been in harmony. There are three fates: the Past, the Present, and the Future. When Hecate the fate of the Future informs Queen Magrit of a future she doesn’t want to believe, Queen Magrit orders all of the Entente to be executed and for magic to be outlawed. Farrow is the only survivor and she vows to get revenge, and the chance comes when she becomes the shadow to a couterie which is someone the Prince wants. When Farrow becomes the couterie she now has access to the palace to kill the queen and she won’t stop until she does just that.

Wish of the Wicked is an interesting Cinderella retelling in that it’s centered around the Fairy Godmother who is Farrow, and that it’s based on revenge. Farrow has magic but for some reason she can only use it when people wish for things. The story starts off when Farrow is young and she see’s Hecate burned at the pyre and most of her Entente family killed by the Queens men. We then see Farrow go on to be adopted and as a shadow learn how to be a couterie, and also plot her revenge on the queen. This part was okay but then it gets weird and I think it may have been the pacing but this is during the middle of the book but we’re suddenly taken from Farrow being a couterie to her finding out that some of the Entente are still alive and she goes with them to some place that’s out of sight for people looking for them. This jump just felt so disjointed and I didn’t like it, it felt like that prior part of the story wasn’t completely fleshed out and we just wanted to jump to the part of the story where Farrow meets Cinderella. Towards the last half of the book we learn that the fate of the Present is still alive and so are some of Farrows Entente sisters, unfortunately they’re the wicked stepmother and evil stepsisters. Farrow begins to learn more about Cinderella and getting to know her she realizes that the Entente are in the wrong and not the same people she knew as a child. When the ball is announced, Farrow thinks its the perfect chance to final destroy the queen and she enlists the help of Cinderella.

This book had an entertaining premise, I just think the pacing was off. There were some scenes that were slow and others that were fast, and some that just didn’t have a lot of content in them. I don’t think there was a lot of character development for Farrow and she really didn’t have time to grow she was a bit one dimensional. Also the romance angle didn’t work for me, she and the prince hardly knew each other but I guess that basically a Disney thing unless you’re in the movie frozen and have an older sister who has some sense. Anyway, the ending was okay but I’m interested to see how the next installment will be and what will happen with the characters, also for some reason I’m more invested in Cinderella’s character than Farrows.

Filed Under: Reviews

A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE By Stephanie Garber

October 27, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Reviewer Purchase in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE By Stephanie GarberA Curse for True Love by Stephanie Garber
Series: Once Upon a Broken Heart #3
Published by Flatiron Books on 10/24/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 390
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out. . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.

Short and Sweet Review

A Curse for True Love picks up right where The Ballad of Never After left off. Evangeline is awake again and so is Apollo but Evangeline doesn’t have any of her memories, and who knows where Jacks is. Apollo is acting like a dotting husband and comes across as wanting to keep Evangeline safe and while doing so he’s made Jacks public enemy number one.

Evangeline is out main character but in this book we also get the POVs of Apollo and Jacks. Evangeline doesn’t remember a thing but she does know that Apollo’s behavior isn’t right, he’s too overprotective and tries to keep her locked up. When we see what’s going on in Apollo’s view we learn he’s an awful person and the only person he truly cares about is himself. Jacks on the other hand is trying to help Evangeline get away from Apollo and also help her get her memories back. I feel like this book was different from the others because we’re not going all around the magnificent north, Evangeline is confined in the castle for a while. I loved seeing Evangeline eventually remember and realizing that Jacks is her true love and the story is turned around from her needing to be saved to her saving Jacks. The romance between Jacks and Evangeline is great because it’s like forbidden love but both of them know they belong together. I will say that seeing Lala again was great and she is an amazing friend to both Jacks and Evangeline. Apollo on the other hand gets what he deserves and he’s just a cruel and twisted individual, he reminds me of Gaston. I do think this book was a lot shorter than I expected it to be, but I’m glad things were resolved and the pacing was great.

Overall, I’m sad that this trilogy was over, but everything that happens from book one-three will leave you wanting more. I loved the characters and the plot of each book and Garber did an amazing job at writing books that feel magical and will leave you wishing you were apart of this world.

Filed Under: Reviews

CHECK & MATE By Ali Hazelwood

October 25, 2023 by Leave a Comment

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

CHECK & MATE By Ali HazelwoodCheck & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Published by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers on 11/7/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 362
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.

Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist....

As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent…and infuriating…)

Short and Sweet Review

Mallory Greenleaf used to play chess growing up, but after her father had a little scandal and rocked the chess world and tore apart their family she’s given it up. When her friend Easton asks Mallory to help her with a charity chess event Mallory reluctantly agrees. At the tournament Mallory ends up defeating Nolan Sawyer the current number one player. Mallory’s rookie status shocks everyone, even more so Nolan who wants to know more about the girl who defeated him.

Okay guys this book sounds cute and fun and full of chess competition, but what I got was a horrible main character and a romance with no spark and was at its core creepy. Mallory hasn’t touched a chess piece since her dad did what he did and since then he’s died but somehow Mallory has become the one to support her mom and two sisters with her minimum wage job. Her sisters are very annoying and always in someone else’s business, and instead of going to their mom with problems they go to Mallory which makes it seem like she has the weight of the world on her shoulders. Mallory’s mom doesn’t want her to think that she’s the parent which I thought was ridiculous because Mallory was the one who was paying for most of the household needs. Anyway after Mallory does that charity competition for Easton she gets some recognition and starts working with Defne who has a Chess organization. Defne takes a chance on Mallory and gets her into big competitions and although Mallory doesn’t want to compete she knows the prize money could be life changing for her family. Mallory tries to keep her chess life a secret but its hard when she’s gaining a lot of traction and ends up on news articles and on tv. Nolan likes Mallory and is usually at the chess competitions that she’s at and obviously there’s supposed to be a cute romance her but I didn’t see it. As I mentioned earlier Mallory is an awful character, I don’t know if that was intentional or not but I would not want that girl anywhere near me. Mallory is selfish and she likes to lash out at people and she really only cares about herself. I think her lashing out at people is a defense mechanism to push people away before they do it to her but honestly she should see someone about her problems. Nolan on the other hand he just comes across as obsessed with Mallory and it was not cute and I blame that on the dialogue. He keeps telling her how much he wants to play chess with her and how he wishes he lost her job sooner so they could have met sooner than they did, it was weird and it makes me want him on a watchlist. My problems with this book are the characters, Mallory is just trash and Nolan gives off stalker, not socially aware vibes. Also her friend Easton is in like the first chapter of the book and then we don’t see her again until 90% through, what the hell? I honestly think if Mallory had a friend around like Easton to keep her grounded she may have been more likable. My rating for this book is a two and the only two things I liked about this book was when a character came to Mallory’s house and told her about herself, because she really sucks, and learning about chess, kind of makes me want to play but not really.

Overall, this was not what I expected it to be. I knew chess would be involved which was great. The romance, not so great. The characters even worse. I cannot in good conscience recommend this train wreck of a book, I honestly think giving it 2 hearts was exceptionally nice of me.

Filed Under: Reviews