Very formulaic Freida, but I guess we all know and are here for it. It had some twists at the end, but overall the book needed more salt. You know? A little something more. Quick and easy read though.

I jumped from the first book to this one, only because hockey players aren‘t my thing. I think a little bit at the end would‘ve been more impactful if I hadn‘t skipped the second book, but it still worked as a standalone. And while I liked the first one better, this was still super cute! I needed a fun, low-stakes HEA, and this was perfect.

This was a fun, fast read! I loved how twisty it was, and how everything came to together in the end. Very satisfying. And psycho men…you SUCK.

What a heartbreaking book. Families can be complicated in horrific ways, and how do you handle the grief and guilt? Lane, the MC, is flawed almost to being unlikable. But when her cousin goes missing, she goes home to confront her past, find her cousin, and find a way to move forward.

I just loved this book SO MUCH. I wish I could read it again for the first time. And I did not realize how romantasy heavy this year was, but fun times!

Best book of December!! 💕

I loved everything about this book. It took a while to actually get to the 🌶️, but when it did…🥵🥵🥵.

And…I would love for this Afterlife to be real. Like this would be perfect. I love the complexities of it, the hot demons, individualized paradises based on beliefs, etc. Just such a beautiful idea.

I didn‘t love this. Maybe because if they had just had like ONE conversation, all of that didn‘t have to happen. The ending was unnecessary. I appreciated the vibe of the book, kind of Brontë-esque. But rhe characters‘ choices really frustrated me.

I read this in almost one sitting. Super formulaic, no big surprises, but like all of McFadden‘s books, I enjoyed. Nice palette cleanser!

I really like the story. I‘m here for some witches/cult/demony-things, either in horror or romance. I mean, the premise could go either way, right? But…I really struggled with this. It‘s a fever dream of a story, but I just did not care about any of the characters. I as to make myself finish the book. I guess the writing style isn‘t for me.

Probably my least favorite of his books I‘ve read. If I had not read anything else of his, I‘d say it was really good. But…having read a lot of his stories, this collection was just meh.

This was a very quick read—got through it in one weekend. But I really liked it! The point of view kind of reminded of Skinamarink; the child‘s view made it creepier. Am there were some genuinely creepy moments. Only complaint—I did NOT like her calling her dad “daddy.” At all.

I really enjoyed this, even though it was predictable. It‘s very formulaic if you‘ve ever read a dystopian or romantasy novel, complete with a school/academy (think basgiath, dauntless training, the academy in red rising, the little palace in os Alta, etc). I was a little mollified that the characters are out of their teenage years at least.

Such a quick read-I started it yesterday and finished today. But very enjoyable! The twists were fun, the last 40ish pages were hectic fun, and I loved the ending.

What a wild book. I went from being bored, so thinking Jules was doing too much, to being bored again, then 😳😳😳😳. It‘s not my fav of Sager‘s books, but it was something.

This was a twisting fun ride. I did get annoyed at Amy, thinking if I was in her position I would just shut up and lay low. But then, I guess if I had done that, my night wouldn‘t have gone so well. And the epilogue? Made me smile.

My favorite book of November!

I love Stephen king. There‘s nothing more cozy than a rainy/snowy day and sitting on the couch reading a King novel. While I‘ve read a couple of these stories before, most of them I never have. And these are OG King!

Like any short story compilation, there are hits and misses. It was fun reading the ones that‘ve been made into movies (Lawnmower Man I had to look up, because that movie‘s only similarity is the title. Apparently King…

I mean…it was fine. Maybe it was the time in my life I read it, which was immediately after rotator cuff surgery, so I‘ve been high on pain meds while reading. Maybe it would‘ve been better in different, sober circumstances? But I wanted something easy and kinda fluffy for this, and that‘s what I got. I did come close to dnf‘ing, because I didn‘t really care about the whole mystery. But I kept with it, and it was worth the payout.

Super quick read. I like Lucy‘s inner monologue; she‘s dark, but also funny. And I did not guess who the murderer is! Question: why was every chapter headed “Lucy” when there was no one else‘s perspective?

Somehow I‘ve never read this. I‘ve seen the movies, preferring the OG, a they‘re good, but vampires don‘t really scare me. This, though…had some creepy moments. I expect nothing less from Uncle Stevie!

I can‘t tell if this book was so familiar because I‘ve actually read it before or because it‘s so similar to all the other domestic thrillers I‘ve read. Either way, it was a fun quick read, with a cool twist in the middle.

What a wild ride! I almost shouted several times in surprise/frustration. The twists kept coming, and I swear this book had like 37 endings. Every time you think it‘s over, something else.

So… this wasn‘t my favorite. Big spoilers coming.

I do not like the “who will she marry” trope. It really bothered me in the last book that Ranger was willing to sleep with her even though he knew she was in a relationship with Joe. And it bothered me that she also was willing. Then in this one, she kind of strings them both along.

Also, I do not like pregnancy used as a plot device like this.

Favorite book of October!

What. In the world. Did I just read. Holy crap. That was a wild, tense, dark ride, and the ending was insane, and…I‘m here for it?

This was fun. It didn‘t have quite as an explosive ending as I was anticipating, but there were a couple fun twists. I liked Hidden Pictures better.

This was mentioned in a NYT article, so I decided to try it, and I‘m so glad I did. This is such different world building, and I loved it. I‘m not sure how I feel about the ribbons, or the term “saddle,” but I‘ll def be reading the rest of the series.

I feel like this is an allegory for illnesses, like cancer and dementia. Tomes where people have to watch their loved ones change, suffer, and inevitably leave. It‘s heartbreaking. The story is beautifully written, and while sad, also hopeful and with love.

Ranger. Morelli. Ranger. Morelli. Personally, I‘d go with Ranger. Which one will Stephanie choose??

This was absolutely adorable. I love Oskar and Guinevere! I‘ve never heard of Critical Role, but the author mentioned it in the afterword. I assume this book is about two of the characters from it? I don‘t know. It doesn‘t matter, because this was so good and I want more stories from this! I want to see O and G go back to his mother‘s land. I want them to get married. Maybe meet some more adventurers. And some more 🌶️🌶️🌶️, cuz that was great!

Look. Are the Stephanie Plum books kind of all the same thing? Yes. Do I love them and get cozy comfort from them? Also yes. I love both Ranger and Morelli; who will she choose?? Personally, I‘d pick Ranger. Also, I love seeing more Bella!

Thanks to Lexy Night for picking me to have an ARC! I loved To No End so much, and I‘ve been waiting impatiently for this. I needed more Cress and Varro!

So here are my thoughts. I love the journey we‘re going on with the characters. I appreciate that we get to see their character evolutions more fleshed out, instead of skipping or montage scenes. In the first book, I enjoyed Cress‘s last month before leaving; here I had fun…

Surprisingly quick read, though it was partially because I was so invested. I even looked at the end at one point, just so I could be prepared for the ending, whichever way it went. Would recommend!

This was a fun, quick read. I kind of had the murderer figured out, but I still enjoyed the ride. The end was WAY too abrupt though. It was like ‘build up, build up, BUILD UP CLIMAX over. Aso here‘s the murderer.‘ Kind of anti-climatic.

I‘m a little it‘s getting this out, but this was my favorite read of last month.

I liked it. Part supernatural, part mystery, a lot sadder than I anticipated.

Maybe 3 1/2? I really, really wanted to like this one. The book itself is gorgeous, and there‘s a map, so I bought it. I‘m a sucker for a map. The world-building was really cool. But the characters…I didn‘t like Nina or Patrick. Or Theo. Or anyone except Donnie. And I was expecting a LOT more spice; there was hardly any. But then again, if there had been more spice, I wouldn‘t have enjoyed it (👀) because I didn‘t like Nina or Patrick.

I loved this. I loved the reverse mafia plot, I loved how at one point Nate fantasized about being a stay-at-home dad, I loved the spice. I was shipping the idea of Mary and Jenna, but I‘ll still be here for the next book. Maybe it‘ll still have more of Jenna. 100% recommend this!

This was a powerful, touching and sad story. A quick read, but difficult. 💔

This was like someone went on creepypasta and copied and pasted stories from it into an anthology. It was fine, lots of grammar issues.

The second book in this series. It‘s been 28 years since the first book, and Maude and Owen are heading back to New Orleans. To HIM. It wasn‘t nearly as good nor as spicy as the first one, and had a lot of grammar issues. But it‘s a fun story. Scavenger on the Run, by S. A. Burd

This was a perfectly acceptable story. I know that sounds bland, but that‘s how I feel about the story. I enjoyed it, but I probably won‘t remember it. I did look up the art the pieces in the story are based on, and real pieces mentioned, and for that I‘m very grateful. I especially loved Joan of Arc, by Jules Bastien-Lepage. And I find Fragments of a Queen‘s Face so intriguing! The art pushes this from so-so to pick.

I don‘t know. Like, the world building is amazing, like all Sanderson‘s books. But it kinda fell flat? I didn‘t really like any of the characters, even though the world was really cool. It‘s a quick read, which is good, but if it was a series I would not read more. So I guess it‘s a good thing it‘s a one-off.

As long as I age the characters in my head, my fav of August!

I stared at the cover for waaaaaay too long. 😍 Could‘ve used more 🌶️🌶️🌶️

This was good! There were no grammar issues, which I love. The story was great, had some creepy moments, and it‘s an easy read. I did get a little tired of the asides? Not sure what to call them? Like all through the book, if a character was about to die (or something happen around them), we‘d get several pages of their backstory. Even toward the end of the book, there‘d be a break for a backstory…cont

Well. That was fantastic. I need Hadriel to be my bestie in real life. I loved Finley‘s inner monologue, and how she talks to an audience. Nyfain is not my favorite name, but I get that Welsh/Nordic/Irish etc names are super popular in romantasy right now.