Year: 2022

Review: Caraval (Caraval #1)

Title: Caraval (Caraval #1)
Author: Stephanie Garber
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: September 29, 2016
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A legendary competition.

A mesmerizing romance.

An unbreakable bond

between two sisters.

Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.

But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.

Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.

Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.

Review:

Scarlett Dragna and her sister Tella have never left their home island. Their father has arranged a marriage for Scarlett with an unknown Count. Scarlett has dreamed of going to the mysterious performance of Caraval, but now that she will be leaving to be married, she won’t have the chance to go. However, one day she receives three tickets to Caraval: one for her, her sister, and her fiancé. Instead of Scarlett’s fiancé, who they haven’t met, they bring Julian, Tella’s latest lover. On their way to Caraval, the sisters are separated. The game of Caraval this year will centre around the mystery of finding Tella. Scarlett is constantly told not to believe anything in the game, but she must trust her instincts to find her sister before the game is over. 

I’m so glad I finally started this series! This was such a thrilling story. I didn’t know what it was going to be about, so the plot was a surprise. There was fantasy, romance, and a mystery. 

The game itself was unreliable so, like Scarlett, I didn’t know what to believe. This made the story unpredictable, especially by the end. I really enjoyed the ending and I’m going to have to start the next book soon!

Caraval is an exciting start to this series!

What to read next:

Legendary by Stephanie Garber

Other books in the series:

  • Legendary (Caraval #2
  • Finale (Caraval #3)

Have you read Caraval? What did you think of it?

Review: No Rings Attached (Ms. Right #2)

Title: No Rings Attached (Ms. Right #2)
Author: Rachel Lacey
Genre: Romance, Contemporary, LGBTQ
Publisher: Montlake
Source: Thomas Allen and Son
Format: Paperback
Release Date: April 12, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From award-winning author Rachel Lacey comes the second installment in the Ms. Right series: a captivating romance about a reluctant bookseller finding love in unexpected places.

Lia Harris is tired of being the odd one out. She’s never quite fit in with her uptight family, and now that her roommates have all found love, she’s starting to feel like a third wheel in her own apartment. Fed up with her mother’s constant meddling in her love life, Lia drops hints about a girlfriend she doesn’t have. But with her brother’s London nuptials approaching, she needs to find a date to save face. Lia turns to her best friend, Rosie, for help, and Rosie delivers—with the fun, gorgeous Grace Poston.

Grace loves to have a good time, hiding her insecurities behind a sunny smile. Her recent move to London has provided her with a much-needed fresh start. Grace isn’t looking for love, and she hates weddings, having weathered more than her fair share of heartache. Friendships are different, though, so for Rosie’s sake, she reluctantly agrees to pose as Lia’s adoring girlfriend for the wedding festivities.

Both Grace and Lia are prepared for an awkward weekend, complete with prying family members and a guest room with only one bed. As it turns out, they get along well—spectacularly, in fact. Before they know it, the chemistry they’re faking feels all too real. But is their wedding weekend a fleeting performance or the rehearsal for a love that’s meant to last?

Review:

Since Lia’s best friend and roommate, Rosie, started dating Jane, Lia has felt like a third wheel in their New York apartment. Lia’s led her family in London to believe that she still has a girlfriend, but when she has to go home for her brother’s wedding, she doesn’t have a girlfriend to bring. Rosie suggests that Lia bring Rosie’s childhood best friend, Grace, who lives in London, as a date. Grace has just moved to London from Spain. She’s looking for a fresh start in a new city but she doesn’t want a relationship. She’s still upset about what she found out about her parents’ marriage after they died in a car accident years ago, so she isn’t looking for a relationship. However, when Lia and Grace meet and go to the wedding together, their chemistry is undeniable. They have to decide if they will give this relationship a chance, even though they live on different continents. 

This rom com had some of my favourite tropes. Fake dating/relationship is my favourite scenario. This story had a bit of enemies to lovers, because Lia and Grace both shared Rosie as a best friend, so they considered each other competition before they met. There was also “only one bed” and a “found family” in the group of friends. 

There was a lot of tension in this story, despite it being a rom com. One of the characters finds a relative that they didn’t know through an online DNA site. There were a lot of conflicted feelings about this discovery. In one way, it was good to find a relative, but it also introduced a lot of questions about how they came to be related. This was an intense subplot that ended up playing an important role in the main storyline. 

No Rings Attached is a great sequel to Read Between the Lines!

Thank you Thomas Allen and Son for sending me a copy of this book.

What to read next:

Read Between the Lines by Rachel Lacey

Off the Rails by Rachel Lacey

Other books in the series:

Have you read No Rings Attached? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – July 5

Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!

The Charmed List by Julie Abe

The Darkening by Sunya Mara

Who We Were in the Dark by Jessica Taylor

Lia and Beckett’s Abracadabra by Amy Noelle Parks

A Disaster in Three Acts by Kelsey Rodkey

Frightmares by Eva V. Gibson

What Souls Are Made Of by Tasha Suri

The Pallbearers Club by Paul Tremblay

Honey and Spice by Bolu Babalola

Cold Cold Bones by Kathy Reichs

Dream On by Angie Hockman

Miss Aldridge Regrets by Louise Hare

The True Love Bookshop by Annie Rains

A Dress of Violet Taffeta by Tessa Arlen

The Finalists by David Bell

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

The Promise of Lost Things by Helene Dunbar

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo

Title: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance, LGBTQ
Publisher: Atria Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: June 13, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

Review:

Aging Hollywood icon, Evelyn Hugo is ready to tell her life story, but she only has one person in mind to write it. Monique Grant is a writer at a large magazine, but she isn’t well known. When Evelyn insists that Monique write the article, the editor has no choice but to send Monique for the job. However, the job isn’t what she expected. Evelyn actually wants Monique to write Evelyn’s memoir, and Monique is the only person who can write it. Over a few days, Evelyn tells Monique the story of her life in Hollywood, including her marriages to each of her seven husbands. When Evelyn finishes telling her life story, Monique can finally find out why she was the only one who can tell it. 

I’m very late to the Evelyn Hugo party, but I’m so glad I finally read it! This book is definitely worth the hype. Though these characters are fictional, they all feel like real people. There were surprising reveals throughout the story, but everything led to a satisfying ending. 

Evelyn would manipulate the media stories about her, using her marriages to change the public narrative about her life. If she thought one story was going to break about her, she would do something more shocking to deflect from the news she didn’t want to make the front page. This is still done with celebrities today, who will use surprising relationships to deflect attention from something else in their lives. I liked this behind-the-scenes view of a Hollywood icon. 

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a great story and worth the hype!

What to read next:

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Have you read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – June 28

Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!

The Dream Runners by Shveta Thakrar

The Sizzle Paradox by Lily Menon

Katzenjammer by Francesca Zappia

The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

Sometime in Summer by Katrina Leno

Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert

Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty

Godslayers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

Bad Things Happen Here by Rebecca Barrow

Ride With Me by Lucy Keating

The Song That Moves the Sun by Anna Bright

A Secret Princess by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz

Blade Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

The Black Girls Left Standing by Juliana Goodman

My Name is Jason. Mine too. by Jason Griffin and Jason Reynolds

The Wife Before by Shanora Williams

Sea Glass Summer by Miranda Liasson

Summer on Blackberry Beach by Belle Calhoune

For the Love of the Bard by Jessica Martin

A Shoe Story by Jane L. Rosen

The Clackity by Lora Senf

Outside by Ragnar Jónasson

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

Stealing Infinity by Alyson Noël

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Katzenjammer

Title: Katzenjammer
Author: Francesca Zappia
Genre: Young Adult, Horror, Contemporary
Publisher: HCC Frenzy
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: June 28, 2022
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Cat lives in her high school. She never leaves, and for a long time her school has provided her with everything she needs. But now things are changing. The hallways contract and expand along with the school’s breathing, and the showers in the bathroom run a bloody red. Cat’s best friend is slowly turning into cardboard, and instead of a face, Cat has a cat mask made of her own hardened flesh.

Cat doesn’t remember why she is trapped in her school or why half of them—Cat included—are slowly transforming. Escaping has always been the one impossibility in her school’s upside-down world. But to save herself from the eventual self-destruction all the students face, Cat must find the way out. And to do that, she’ll have to remember what put her there in the first place.

Review:

Cat lives in her high school along with a bunch of other students. None of them are able to leave. The school expands and contracts like it’s breathing, and the showers pour with blood. Cat wears a cat mask that she can’t remove, and her best friend, Jeffrey, is turning into cardboard. Many of them are transforming into animals or inanimate objects. The problem is that Cat doesn’t know why or how they got there. As she slowly regains her memories, she discovers the events that led them there. 

This story was very good but also very unusual. It was inspired by the story Metamorphosis by Kafka, in which the main character wakes up to discover he has turned into an insect. This story was complex and disturbing. It’s one of those stories that I can’t say much about without spoiling it. 

There were some disturbing scenes, but that’s expected with a horror. There was a lot of trauma experienced in the present story, along with bullying in Cat’s memories of the before time. The one thing that I didn’t like at the end was that there were a lot of questions left with open ended answers. I prefer it when everything is answered at the end, but that’s just my preference. 

Katzenjammer is a suspenseful, high school horror story!

Thank you HCCFrenzy for sending me a copy of this book.

What to read next:

Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Have you read Katzenjammer? What did you think of it?

Review: Out of the Blue

Title: Out of the Blue
Author: Jason June
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Fantasy
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 31, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Crest is not excited to be on their Journey: the monthlong sojourn on land all teen merfolk must undergo. The rules are simple: Help a human within one moon cycle and return to Pacifica to become an Elder–or fail and remain stuck on land forever. Crest is eager to get their Journey over and done with: after all, humans are disgusting. They’ve pollluted the planet so much that there’s a floating island of trash that’s literally the size of a country. 

In Los Angeles with a human body and a new name, Crest meets Sean, a human lifeguard whose boyfriend has recently dumped him. Crest agrees to help Sean make his ex jealous and win him back. But as the two spend more time together and Crest’s pespective on humans begins to change, they’ll soon be torn between two worlds. And fake dating just might lead to real feelings…

This instant New York Times bestselling novel from Jason June dives into the many definitions of the world home and shows how love can help us find the truest versions of ourselves.

Review:

Crest is a mer, who lives in the Blue, and must go on the journey that all of the merfolk do, which is go on land and help a human. When Crest goes on land, they go by the name Ross, and meet Sean. Sean is a lifeguard, whose boyfriend has just dumped him for another swimmer. When Sean’s ex boyfriend sees him with Ross and looks jealous, Sean realizes he can use Ross to make his ex jealous and want to get back together. Ross agrees to it since that will fulfill their journey by helping Sean. As Sean and Ross fulfill all their tasks for their fake dating plan, they end up developing real feelings for each other, which makes them wonder what will happen when Ross’s journey is finished and it’s time to return to the Blue. 

This story was set in contemporary Los Angeles, but it was a world where fantasy creatures exist. Mer can go on land, losing their tails and taking on a human appearance. There were other supernatural creatures mentioned, like vampires and elves, so hopefully more of this world will be described in other novels. 

I enjoyed the gendered exploration in this novel. Mer were a gender neutral species, so Ross went by the pronoun “they.” It’s ironic, since we usually talk about “mermaids” as being female, and don’t usually mention a male equivalent. Making all mer gender neutral meant there were no mermaids or mermen. They were all mer. 

Out of the Blue is a great original story!

What to read next:

Jay’s Gay Agenda by Jason June

Café Con Lychee by Emery Lee

Have you read Out of the Blue? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: To Kiss a Wallflower

Title: To Kiss a Wallflower
Author: Jen Geigle Johnson, Heather B. Moore, Anneka R. Walker
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
Publisher: Mirror Press
Source: Austen Prose
Format: Ebook
Release Date: June 21, 2022
Rating: ★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

THE WALLFLOWER’S DANCE by Jen Geigle Johnson
Lottie Hughes likes people, as long as they aren’t too close. Does it bother her that no one asks her to dance? Yes, but she’s not sure how to drum up dance partners when she has almost no dowry, no title, and freezes up when anyone tries to talk to her. When she suddenly inherits a huge amount and is the new center of attention all over London, her secret dreams might come true but also her worst nightmares. Suddenly everyone wants to talk to her. Men ask her to dance. And she is inundated with interested suitors. She fights to stay close to the few friends she knows are true. One man saw her before her life changed forever. But does she want to accept his help when he, too, might be insincere?

LETTERS TO A WALLFLOWER by Heather B. Moore
Ellen might be beautiful and considered a diamond of the first water by Society, but she is so very tired of the pressure to marry a titled gentleman so that her beauty won’t go to waste. When her cousin Dinah dares Ellen to attend a ball with no frills and to stand with the wallflowers, Ellen takes on the dare. What’s in the wager for her? The prize cuttings of her aunt’s extraordinary roses. But what Ellen isn’t expecting is Lord Ravenshire to engage her in the most interesting conversation. When she confesses to him of her opposition in marrying for a title, he confesses his distaste of the London scene. They strike a bargain together, one which will either push them apart or lead to a future sweeter than either of them could have imagined.

TO MARRY A WALLFLOWER by Anneka R. Walker
Charlotte Winters is destined to spinsterhood until she turns down an unwanted proposal and everything changes. With gossip rampant, her father attempts to salvage her reputation by betrothing her to another. Soon she is sent off to her aunt’s to meet Lord Templeton, her intended. Anxiety-ridden, Charlotte begs her aunt to let her observe Lord Templeton from afar before their introduction. She never planned to pretend to be her fictional cousin to learn more about him, or to fall in love with Lord Templeton’s friend in the process. Lord Templeton dreads returning to the empty halls of Newcliff Manor. When his father’s old friend, Mr. Winters reaches out for assistance, Lord Templeton finds himself returning home engaged to a woman he has never met. Desperate to learn more about Miss Winters, he befriends her cousin. He wouldn’t have spoken to her, or lied about his identity, if he’d known the quiet woman would sneak into his heart.

Review:

To Kiss a Wallflower is a collection of three Regency romance short stories:

The Wallflower’s Dance: Lottie has always been a wallflower at dances, but when she suddenly inherits a fortune, all of the eligible suitors want to dance with her. She enlists the help of her best friend, Denny, to figure out who is genuine, but Denny be the man who can sincerely love her. 

Letters to a Wallflower: Ellen’s been called the “diamond of the season,” but when her cousin bets her that she can’t attend a dance as a wallflower, Ellen takes up the challenge. Lord Ravenshire is looking for a ticket out of London and the season, so he stages a fake courtship with Ellen to get them both out of their seasonal duties, but they may find the love they didn’t know they were searching for. 

To Marry a Wallflower: When Charlotte’s father suddenly arranges a marriage between her and Lord Templeton, she wants to get to know him before they officially meet. Charlotte poses as her cousin, and Lord Templeton poses as his friend, so they can secretly get to know each other, but they end up falling in love along the way. 

This was a nice collection of stories about wallflowers. Each story explored a different romance trope: friends to lovers, fake dating, and miscommunication. The main issue I had with these stories is that they were so similar that they blended together. They had similar premises, with the heroine acting as a wallflower but ending up with their love interest in the end, so it’s not surprising they were so much alike. The stories also ended abruptly, like they could have been full length novels, but they were rushed at the end. 

This is a good collection for fans of Regency wallflower stories. 

Thank you Mirror Press and Austen Prose for providing a digital copy of this book.

What to read next:

The Inns of Devonshire by Sally Britton, Annette Lyon, Deborah M. Hathaway

A Seaside Summer by Jodi S. Kilpack, Martha Keyes, Heather B. Moore

Have you read To Kiss a Wallflower? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – June 21

Happy Pub Day to all of these new books!

Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron

Epically Earnest by Molly Horan

Jumper by Melanie Crowder

A Year to the Day by Robin Benway

The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley

Never Coming Home by Kate Williams

We Weren’t Looking to Be Found by Stephanie Kuehn

In the Dark We Forget by Sandra SG Wong

Juniper and Thorn by Ava Reid

A Thousand Miles by Bridget Morrissey

Maggie Moves On by Lucy Score

The Missed Connection by Denise Williams

Lies I Tell Myself by Beth Vrabel

The Drowning Sea by Sarah Steward Taylor

The Loophole by Naz Kutub

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun (Onyeka #1)

Title: Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun
Author: Tọlá Okogwu
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Fantasy
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: June 14, 2022
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Black Panther meets X-Men in this action-packed and empowering middle grade adventure about a British Nigerian girl who learns that her Afro hair has psychokinetic powers—perfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers, The Marvellers, and Rick Riordan!

Onyeka has a lot of hair­—the kind that makes strangers stop in the street and her peers whisper behind her back. At least she has Cheyenne, her best friend, who couldn’t care less what other people think. Still, Onyeka has always felt insecure about her vibrant curls…until the day Cheyenne almost drowns and Onyeka’s hair takes on a life of its own, inexplicably pulling Cheyenne from the water.

At home, Onyeka’s mother tells her the shocking truth: Onyeka’s psycho-kinetic powers make her a Solari, one of a secret group of people with super powers unique to Nigeria. Her mother quickly whisks her off to the Academy of the Sun, a school in Nigeria where Solari are trained. But Onyeka and her new friends at the academy soon have to put their powers to the test as they find themselves embroiled in a momentous battle between truth and lies…

Review:

Onyeka has a lot of hair that is out of control most of the time. One day, when her friend begins to drown, Onyeka swims after her, and her hair somehow pulls them both out. Onyeka’s mother tells her that she’s inherited these special powers from her father, who was a Solari. The Solari are a group of people with super powers in Nigeria. Her mother brings her to Nigeria to find her father and get answers on how to control her newfound power at the Academy of the Sun. 

This book is described as Black Panther meets X-Men and that’s the perfect comparison! Most of the story was set in Nigeria, in an advanced school filled with kids who have various super powers. The school was divided in four groups, by the type of power students had. The groups had to compete against each other and all the students had to compete against one another with grades and challenges. 

I loved the message that something that was perceived as a weakness is actually strength. Onyeka’s mom had strict rules for how she had to treat her hair. It was often a mess and going in every direction, until she learned how to control it. What she thought was her weakness ended up being the source of her super power. 

Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun is a great start to a middle school adventure series. 

Thank you Simon and Schuster for sending me a copy of this book.

What to read next:

Shuri by Nic Stone

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

Have you read Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun? What did you think of it?