JULIETA AND THE ROMEOS By Maria E. Andreu

May 10, 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.

JULIETA AND THE ROMEOS By Maria E. AndreuJulieta and the Romeos by Maria E. Andreu
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/16/23
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
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Julieta isn’t looking for her Romeo—but she is writing about love. When her summer writing teacher encourages the class to publish their work online, the last thing she’s expecting is to get a notification that her rom-com has a mysterious new contributor, Happily Ever Drafter. Julieta knows that happily ever afters aren’t real. (Case in point: her parents’ imploding marriage.) But then again, could this be her very own meet-cute?

As things start to heat up in her fiction, Julieta can’t help but notice three boys in her real life: her best friend’s brother (aka her nemesis), the boy next door (well, to her abuela), and her oldest friend (who is suddenly looking . . . hot?). Could one of them be her mysterious collaborator? But even if Julieta finds her Romeo, she’ll have to remember that life is full of plot twists. . . .

Short and Sweet Review

Julieta isn’t looking for anyone but she does enjoy writing romantic stories. Julieta is enrolled in a summer writing program and her teacher encourages them to publish their stories online so Julieta does and someone named Happily Ever Drafter decides to collaborate on the story. Julieta doesn’t know who this Happily Ever Drafter is but she begins to think it may be one of the three boys in her life, Lucas, Calvin, or Ryan. Julieta tries to figure out who the mystery writer is but she also remembers that life is full of twists and turns.

Julieta is a promising writer and she loves coming up with stories, so this writing program that she’s enrolled in is a chance of a lifetime. When Julieta post her first story she’s surprised that someone wants to collaborate with her and the story gets a bit spicy which makes Julieta think that this may be someones attempt at trying to date her. Julieta believes this could be her very own meet-cute. There’s Ryan, Julieta’s best friend Ivy’s brother, who is usually her nemesis but since being in the writing program together she’s seeing him in a different light. Lucas is one of Julieta’s oldest friends and he suddenly looks good, but he’s also the safe option. Calvin lives next door to Julieta’s grandma and he makes her feel like she should be more adventurous. We basically have a love square? I didn’t really like any of the romance mainly because Julieta spent so much time bouncing around the three guys trying to figure out if they were Happily Ever Drafter. We see why Julieta would think each guy could potentially be the mystery writer but the amount of time she spends with each of them is pretty minimal that there isn’t much of a connection. I will say I was rooting for one guy more than the others and although it didn’t happen, I was okay with the guy she did end up picking. We have a few subplots about Julieta trying to figure out if she’s a good enough writing, her parents marriage, and their struggling restaurant, and not spending enough time with her friend Ivy. The ending was a little surprising to me, I wasn’t expecting Happily Ever Drafter to be who it was, but I understand why they did what they did.

Overall, the premise was good and I did like Julieta I just wish maybe it was only two love interest instead of three. I also liked seeing snippets of Julietas writing and her ideas for stories. This was a cute romance novel and I enjoyed the little mystery aspect of it.

Filed Under: Reviews

SCARLET By Marissa Meyer

May 8, 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.

SCARLET By Marissa MeyerScarlet by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #2
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 1/1/13
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 464
Format: Ebook, Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit's grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things Scarlet doesn't know about her grandmother or the grave danger she has lived in her whole life. When Scarlet encounters Wolf, a street fighter who may have information as to her grandmother's whereabouts, she is loath to trust this stranger, but is inexplicably drawn to him, and he to her. As Scarlet and Wolf unravel one mystery, they encounter another when they meet Cinder. Now, all of them must stay one step ahead of the vicious Lunar Queen Levana, who will do anything for the handsome Prince Kai to become her husband, her king, her prisoner.

Short and Sweet Review

In France we meet Scarlet Benoit whose grandmother has disappeared. Scarlet is looking for any clue that could lead to where she is but she doesn’t realize the kind of danger her grandmother could be in until she meets wolf. Wolf is from Luna and has been modified and is in Queen Levana’s army. Scarlet reluctantly teams up with Wolf to try to find her grandmother and ends up running into members of wolf’s pack who are looking for information about Princess Selene that Scarlets grandmother would have. Cinder on the other hand is breaking out of prison and that’s where she meets Captain Carswell Thorne. Together Cinder and Thorne escape and make it to his ship and they end up going to France because Cinder is also trying to find Michelle Benoit for information about her past.

Every book in this series just gets better and in this sequel we meet Scarlet, Wolf, and Thorne. Scarlet just has a fire about her she’s not afraid to do what’s right and she’s not going to back down. We learn that there’s things that even Scarlet didn’t know about her grandmothers past so she’s surprised but she’s still determined to save her. Wolf is an interesting character he was made to serve the queen but he wants to break away, which is why he helps Scarlet. I think the bond that Scarlet and Wolf form is cute, they really look out for each other. Carswell Thorne is like comedic relief. Thorne is a serial flirter and it’s funny because not everyone is trying to be wooed by him and sometimes he doesn’t get it. We see Scarlet and Wolf go around France looking for her grandmother and fighting off others who have been modified like Wolf. Cinder and Thorne on the other hand are fugitives who are trying to evade capture. I love that we also get to see more of Iko but this time she’s the ship that Cinder and Thorne are in.

Now we have a few more characters joining Cinder and each character is important to helping Cinder take down Levana. I’m just excited to read Cress next and see where our characters will end up!

Filed Under: Reviews

CINDER By Marissa Meyer

May 5, 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.

CINDER By Marissa MeyerCinder by Marissa Meyer
Series: The Lunar Chronicles #1
Published by Feiwel & Friends on 1/1/12
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Retellings, Romance, Science Fiction, Young Adult
Pages: 400
Format: Ebook, Paperback
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth's fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She's a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world's future.

Short and Sweet Review

Cinder is a futuristic retelling of Cinderella. We follow our main character Cinder who is also part cyborg and lives in the commonwealth of China. Cinder lives with her stepmother Adri and two stepsisters Pearl and Peony. Cinder also has a super cool android named Iko. Anyway Cinder works at the market as a mechanic and is basically the breadwinner for the family and is treated like dirt by everyone except for Peony. One day Prince Kai comes to Cinders market stand to ask for help fixing his android. The sparks between Cinder and Kai fly and Cinder knows that she doesn’t really have a chance with a Prince so she tries to fight off her feelings but he does ask her to go to the ball with him. Cinder is obviously told she can’t go to the ball and unfortunately her sister Peony ends up getting Letumosis a disease that has killed millions. Cinder is blamed for this and Adri signs Cinder up for the cyborg draft which subjects cyborgs to be tested on to find an antidote. It’s there that the head scientist realizes that Cinder is not only a cyborg but Lunar and she needs to keep a low profile because Queen Levana of the Lunars is coming to the Commonwealth and she won’t want Cinder alive, because Cinder may be the only one who can stop her. It’s interesting to see how some Lunars have powers and others don’t. Cinder never knew she was a Lunar until she met Dr. Erland who was able to tell her things about her past that she didn’t know, like she’s the lost Princess of Lunar!

Cinder is such a fun and different take on Cinderella. I loved the futuristic elements and that Cinder is a mechanic and a cyborg. Iko is a great sidekick to Cinder. There was a lot of world building and it’s great. We’re introduced to some characters that are going to be paramount in the next three books in the series and just rereading this book I see a lot of things that I may have missed the first time around. The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favorite series and Cinder is just setting everything up for what’s to come in the next installments. This series is a lot of fun and I love retellings and it’s going to be fun rereading this series and seeing where Cinder will end up and who she’ll meet.

Filed Under: Reviews

KINGDOM OF ASH By Sarah J. Maas

May 3, 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.

KINGDOM OF ASH By Sarah J. MaasKingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #7
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 10/23/18
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 992
Format: Ebook, Hardcover
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Aelin has risked everything to save her people-but at a tremendous cost. Locked within an iron coffin by the Queen of the Fae, Aelin must draw upon her fiery will as she endures months of torture. Aware that yielding to Maeve will doom those she loves keeps her from breaking, though her resolve begins to unravel with each passing day…

With Aelin captured, Aedion and Lysandra remain the last line of defense to protect Terrasen from utter destruction. Yet they soon realize that the many allies they've gathered to battle Erawan's hordes might not be enough to save them. Scattered across the continent and racing against time, Chaol, Manon, and Dorian are forced to forge their own paths to meet their fates. Hanging in the balance is any hope of salvation-and a better world.

And across the sea, his companions unwavering beside him, Rowan hunts to find his captured wife and queen-before she is lost to him forever.

Short and Sweet Review

Kingdom of Ash continues where Empire of Storms ended. Aelin is being held captive by Maeve and is being tortured by Cairn until she gives them the information they want. Rowan, Gabriel, Lorcan, and Elide make it their mission to find Aelin. Aedion and Lysandra are still trying to rally the troops while also still pretending that Lysandra is Aelin. Manon and Dorian are trying to find the Crochan witches to form an alliance and get their help in this war. Chaol, Yrene, and Khagan’s army are also on their way to fight in this war.

Kingdom of Ash was epic. I was wondered what would happen seeing as Aelin wasn’t around the other characters for a bit of time but the other characters added a lot and really held the story together. I will say seeing Aelin in a helpless position broke my heart. I did like seeing how each character had their own missions and how they were holding it down without Aelin to be their guiding force. Seeing all of the character reunite was my favorite thing, just seeing the interactions made me happy. I also liked that almost every character had a mate and that we’ve seen these relationships grow over the course of the books. There was a lot of action and I was ready for Maeve and Erawan to be stopped. Dorian and Aelin also had to make some had decisions just to have an advantage in this war. I will say some of the loses were really sad but it was all for the greater good and everyone believed in the future they were fighting for.

I loved this series and just following Aelin and the other characters across the course of seven books was worth it. This book will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions but its a series full of lovable characters, it’s action packed, and everything you would want in a series where someone needs to reclaim their throne.

Filed Under: Reviews

LYING IN THE DEEP By Diana Urban

April 29, 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.

LYING IN THE DEEP By Diana UrbanLying in the Deep by Diana Urban
Published by Razorbill on 5/2/23
Genres: Contemporary, Mystery & Detective, Romance, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 382
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

After being jilted by her ex-boyfriend and best friend, Jade couldn't be more ready to embark on the adventure of a lifetime—11 countries in 4 months, all from the luxurious Campus on Board ship—and to wedge an entire globe between her and the people who broke her heart.

But when Jade discovers the backstabbing couple are also setting sail, her obsession with them grows and festers, leading to a shocking murder. And as their friends begin to drop like flies, Jade and her new crush must race to clear her name and find the killer they're trapped at sea with....before anyone else winds up in body bags.

Short and Sweet Review

Jade recently got dumped by her boyfriend who just so happened to leave her for her ex best friend, Lainey. So now Jade is ready to embark on a campus on board cruise visiting 11 countries in 4 months. What Jade wasn’t expecting was to see that Lainey and Silas have also come along. Jade becomes obsessed with trying to figure out why those two basically did her dirty and soon enough someone on board gets murdered and Jade and her crush Felix try to solve the mystery before one of them is next.

This was a good mystery I wasn’t sure what was going on until the end and then it just all made sense. I will say Jade is not my favorite character, she was too impulsive and just made bad decisions. I will say seeing Jade constantly obsess over Silas and Jade was exhausting. Jade used to date Silas and be friends with Lainey so when she sees that their also on this trip she tries to talk to them and even when they try to avoid her she still doesn’t get it. There was a bit of a romance between Jade and Felix, mainly because Jade was trying to use Felix to make Silas jealous but I guess somewhere in there they ended up liking each other. The first murder doesn’t happen until maybe 100-150 pages in but that’s when things start to get interesting. There’s a boat full of people and Jade is mainly hanging out with the college kids and somehow most of them have ties back to Lainey whether they know it or not. Jade looks guilty mainly because she doesn’t know how to let things go so she looks like a vengeful manic to some of the other people on the boat. I will say the first murder really surprised me but the other two kind of seemed unnecessary.

I liked that the mystery took place on a cruise ship, because there’s really no place for the suspect to run. There were some twists which were interesting, the ending was a little lackluster. I will say overall this was a good mystery but some things could have been better especially our main character Jade.

Filed Under: Reviews

TOWER OF DAWN By Sarah J. Maas

April 28, 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.

TOWER OF DAWN By Sarah J. MaasTower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
Series: Throne of Glass #6
Published by Bloomsbury YA on 9/5/17
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 675
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Chaol Westfall and Nesryn Faliq have arrived in the shining city of Antica to forge an alliance with the Khagan of the Southern Continent, whose vast armies are Erilea's last hope. But they have also come to Antica for another purpose: to seek healing at the famed Torre Cesme for the wounds Chaol received in Rifthold.

After enduring unspeakable horrors as a child at the hands of Adarlanian soldiers, Yrene Towers has no desire to help the young lord from Adarlan, let alone heal him. Yet she has sworn an oath to assist those in need, and she will honor it. But Lord Westfall carries his own dark past, and Yrene soon realizes that those shadows could engulf them both.

Chaol, Nesryn, and Yrene will have to draw on every scrap of their resilience to overcome the danger that surrounds them. But while they become entangled in the political webs of the khaganate, long-awaited answers slumber deep in the mountains, where warriors soar on legendary ruks. Answers that might offer their world a chance at survival . . . or doom them all.

Short and Sweet Review

Chaol and Nesryn are in Antica to try to forge an alliance with the Khagan, whose large armies could be the turning point in the war that is on the horizon. Chaol has also come seeking the Torre Cesme to see if some of the wounds he received in Rifthold can be healed. Yrene Towers is the healer who has been chosen to heal Chaol but after all of the horrors she witnessed as a child from Adarlans Soldiers, she’s not sure she can even be around Chaol let alone heal him. Even though our characters are in a different continent there’s still danger that surrounds them.

If you were wondering where Chaol was in Empire of Storms he was here in Antica trying to get the Khagan to form an alliance to help with the war in Erilea. Everything about this book was perfection. I loved seeing new characters involved and seeing Chaol try to negotiate on Aelin behalf. Chaol and Yrene have a relationship that is rocky at the beginning but the more time they spend together seeing each others demons, the more their relationship began to bud. These two were perfect for each other and it made my heart just happy to see them realize that they belong. Nesryn on the other hand forms a bond with Prince Sartaq and ends up going with him and his ruk to the mountains, where they learn some interesting things. There’s a lot of good things happening in this book that will keep your interest. I didn’t think I would enjoy seeing what Nesryn was doing but her and Sartaq ended up learning some interesting things that changed everything. I also liked their relationship, because I didn’t think she belonged with Chaol.

This book was full of action that we’ve come to expect from this series and it explains Chaol’s absence from the last book. I’m so excited to see what the next book brings because so many things were revealed here!

Filed Under: Reviews

CURSED CROWNS By Catherine Doyle and Katherine Webber

April 21, 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.

CURSED CROWNS By Catherine Doyle and Katherine WebberCursed Crowns by Catherine Doyle, Katherine Webber
Series: Twin Crowns #2
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/9/23
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 512
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Twin queens Wren and Rose have claimed their crowns…but not everyone is happy about witches sitting on Eana’s throne.

Coolheaded Rose plans a royal tour to establish goodwill throughout the kingdom. But Wren balks—how can they gallivant around Eana when their grandmother Banba is imprisoned in Gevra?

Impatient Wren steals away on a ship to the icy north, where King Alarik offers a deadly magical bargain in exchange for Banba’s freedom. Desperate, Wren agrees. But her spell has unexpected consequences….

Meanwhile, when Rose's royal tour is interrupted by a mysterious stranger claiming to be from the long-lost Sunkissed Kingdom, the strands of destiny pull her south to the ancient Amarach Towers, where only the Seers of Eana know why the Restless Sands are erupting—and why Shen-Lo himself might hold the key.

But back in Anadawn, rebellion is brewing. And if Eana is to stand a chance at peace, the sisters will need to reunite once more and convince their people to forsake old loyalties for new ones.

Short and Sweet Review

In Anadawn, Wren and Rose are the twin queens, but not everyone is happy about having witches on the throne. Rose thinks the best course of action is going on a tour to show people that there is nothing to fear. There’s a group calling themselves the Arrows who are trying to stop Rose and Wren from having a successful reign and will even go as far as going to war with the kingdom. While Rose is thinking about the tour, Wren is thinking about Banba who is being held prisoner in the kingdom of Gerva. We see the twins go their separate ways trying to solve the problems plaguing Eana, but they’ll learn they’re stronger together than when they’re apart.

This book was so exciting and full of action. Rose is on a tour that Wren was supposed to join her on but instead Wren went to Gerva to try to rescue Banba. On the tour Rose and Shen are met by a stranger who turns out to be Shens cousin from the lost Sunkissed kingdom. The trio travel to Amarach Towers where they meet seers who help them figure out where the kingdom is. It turns out that Shen is the lost heir and when Rose learns this she gets hopeful that maybe the Sunkissed kingdom can help the Anadawn kingdom fight off the rebellion that is brewing, but Shen has other ideas about what his people should be doing. Wren on the other hand is face to face with King Alarik trying to bargain for Banbas life. Wren ends up having to use forbidden magic to bring Ansel back to life and she faces steep consequences.

Rose had more character development in this book, she was more mature. Wren on the other hand was reckless and she knows right from wrong but she’s blinded by her own desires. Rose and Shen still have a relationship which was cute based on the bond they built in the first book. Wren has a love triangle which was not something I liked because I was looking forward to her just being with Tor. Even though the sisters are separated they were able to talk to each other through a magic mirror and offer each other advice which I liked seeing because even though they had others around they to offer words of advice sometimes you just need your sister. I also loved the setting Rose is basically in the desert and Wren is in the ice kingdom it was interesting seeing how different their circumstances were. There was a big twist at the end that I wasn’t expecting and was left unresolved and I’m excited to see how it will be handled in the next book.

Cursed Crowns was a great sequel, I couldn’t put it down and I’m ready to see what the next installment will bring!

Filed Under: Reviews

IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY By Becky Albertalli

April 17, 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.

IMOGEN, OBVIOUSLY By Becky AlbertalliImogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli
Published by Balzer + Bray on 5/2/23
Genres: Contemporary, LGBT, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 412
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon

Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.

She's never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There's Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen's biases in check. And then there's Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.

Imogen's thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she's finally visiting Lili on campus, she's bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen's all in.

Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.

Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she's told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.

Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .

Short and Sweet Review

Imogen is very straight but she’s all for being an ally, her younger sister is queer, her best friend Gretchen is bi, and her other best friend Lili is newly out and living her best life at college with her group of queer friends. Imogen is finally visiting Lili at college and she gets to experience all the great things Lili has been talking about. One thing that Imogen wasn’t expecting was to find out that Lili told her friends that Imogen is her ex-girlfriend, but Imogen goes with it because she’s a good friend. Imogen also meets Tessa and it makes her question her identity.

Imogen is used to living her life as a supporter an ally to her queer friends and family. I loved seeing her journey and her character develop throughout the story and seeing her come to grips that she may not just be an ally but she may actually be bi. My favorite thing about this book was seeing Imogen spend a few days on the college campus and expand her horizons, the group of friends that Lili has are so nice and inviting. Tessa and Imogen immediately hit it off, and this is when Imogen discovers she may have a crush on a girl and doesn’t really know how to process everything. Unfortunately for Imogen, her friend Gretchen thinks she knows it all and reassures Imogen that she is most definitely straight. I’m glad that Imogen had other supporters in her circle. Over the course of nine days we see Imogen have fun at the college and then go back home and try to think about everything that has happened. There was a lot of great dialogue and fun characters in this book that really made you wish you were apart of the group.

Imogen, Obviously is a personal one to the author and a statement. I loved Imogen and she’s just someone that readers can relate to and you can’t help but to root for her and hope she has a happy ending. This book was so cute and I enjoyed following Imogen’s story and see her discover who she really is. I would obviously recommend this book!

Filed Under: Reviews

OCULTA By Maya Motayne

March 29, 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.

OCULTA By Maya MotayneOculta by Maya Motayne
Series: A Forgery of Magic #2
Published by Balzer + Bray on 4/6/21
Genres: Fantasy & Magic, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 541
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

After joining forces to save Castallan from an ancient magical evil, Alfie and Finn haven’t seen each other in months. Alfie is finally stepping up to his role as heir and preparing for an International Peace Summit, while Finn is traveling and reveling in her newfound freedom from Ignacio.

That is, until she’s unexpectedly installed as the new leader of one of Castallan’s powerful crime syndicates.

Just when Finn finds herself back in San Cristobal, Alfie’s plans are also derailed. The mysterious organization responsible for his brother’s murder has resurfaced—and their newest target is the summit. And when these events converge, Finn and Alfie are once again forced to work together to follow the assassins’ trail and preserve Castallan’s hopes for peace with Englass.

But will they be able to stop these sinister foes before a new war threatens their kingdom?

Short and Sweet Review

After the events of the first book, Alfie and Finn haven’t seen each other in months. Alfie is preparing for a peace summit with Englass, a place where magic has been outlawed and their citizens are treated as less than. Meanwhile Finn is enjoying her freedom, but unbeknownst to her she becomes the new leader of a powerful crime organization. Alfie and Finn are brought back together when there are multiple murders occurring in the city and they seem to be attacking people related to the summit.

Alfie has a lot on his plate, the summit is actually something his brother Dez wanted to happen and Alfie feels an obligation to make sure everything goes right. It doesn’t help that there are murders occurring around Castallan during the time of the summit. Alfie and Finn try to find out who is calling the shots when it comes to these murders and they’re doing a lot of digging and at times I felt that this changed the pace of the book and things were moving so slowly. It doesn’t help that Alfie has to try to make the Englassian Royals feel welcome, he tries to make sure Prince Marsden feels the most welcome because it seems he’ll be the hardest to convince, Princess Vesper on the other hand seems to try to help Alfie with convincing her family that the summit is a good idea. Finn is on the other side working with a crime syndicate and she knows she needs to succeed in finding out who’s in charge so she can pass on the title of leader. Finn and Alfie obviously like each other, but they try to fight their feelings for whatever reason. They both know that they basically complete each other so this ridiculous take on we should fight our feelings didn’t work for me. The ending was intense and a lot of great stuff happened there, but I think it took way too long to get there. This book could have been 100 pages shorter.

This book had such a different vibe from Nocturna. I was waiting for more magic and fun but I think this book took on a darker tone. The ending was great the twists and turns were unexpected and I’m interested to see what the last book has in store.

Filed Under: Reviews

CREEP: A LOVE STORY By Lygia Day Peñaflor

March 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.

CREEP: A LOVE STORY By Lygia Day PeñaflorCreep: A Love Story by Lygia Day Peñaflor
Published by Clarion Books on 9/27/22
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Thrillers, Young Adult
Pages: 269
Format: Ebook
Source: Reviewer Purchase
Buy on Amazon

Laney Villanueva and Nico Fiore are the perfect couple: beautiful, popular, talented, and hopelessly in love. Everyone looks up to them at Holy Family High School.

But Rafi doesn’t just admire them. She watches them. She’s drawn to them.

Intent on becoming their closest friend, Rafi weaves her way into their lives. She starts small: taking photos of the senior class for the yearbook, joining Laney’s club, and babysitting Nico's little sister. And it works—soon they invite her to parties, take her on joyrides, and ask her for favors. Rafi’s actions quickly turn invasive, delving deeper and deeper until she’s consumed by their most intimate secrets.

When tragedy strikes the young lovers, Rafi’s obsession spirals, and she will do anything to keep the perfect couple together. Anything . . .

Short and Sweet Review

Laney and Nico are the perfect couple, at least they are in Rafi’s mind. She watches them and takes it one step further by infiltrating herself into their lives. She starts babysitting Nico’s younger sister, she goes to parties with them, and even gets rides home from them. This isn’t enough for Rafi, she wants to know everything about them, but when it seems like things aren’t going great for the couple, Rafi will do anything to keep them together.

I get the concept of the book, I really do. Rafi is obsessed with Laney and Nico and it’s uncomfortable how she’s not self aware that their kindness is not an actually invitation for her to do the things she’s doing. It’s kind of interesting because this is not the first time Rafi has become obsessed with someone, she’s not a first time offender. I think it would be nice to know what made her the way she is but I think that could be attributed to her parents relationship not working out. Reading from Rafi’s POV and seeing how delusional she is was hard, it also made me feel like I was creeping with her. The ending was not good. ITs not often that I don’t want a main character win but Rafi is not a character I liked, I kind of wanted her to get locked up and evaluated but that’s not what happened. Again I get what was happening her but maybe the execution didn’t work as well as it was supposed to.

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