Tag: Book rec

The Puzzle Master by Danielle Trussoni 🌟 Arc Review 🌟

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Mike Brink is one of the rare people who, after suffering a brain injury, develops Acquired Savant Syndrome. Basically, he’s a bit of a genius. Especially when it comes to solving and creating puzzles.

When Mike Brink meets Jess Price, a convicted murderer, he finds the strangest and most difficult puzzle yet.

This book is a bit mind-boggling, with religious and scientific additions to the plot. Plus, I will never forget these creepy dolls!!! I really enjoyed this one and had a lot of fun just looking at these puzzles.

Out June 13, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

Maeve Fly by C. J. Leede 🌟 Arc Review 🌟

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Brilliant. A very strange, unsettling, and horrifying read that has just the right amount of quirkiness.

Maeve is a princess in a theme park. Think an ice queen and mouse ears. She loves her job. Her best friend Kate is an aspiring actress, and just as Kate lands the role of a lifetime, her brother Gideon moves to town and takes an immediate interest in Maeve.

Maeve has some odd quirks, and she knows she is different. Living by the rules from different edgy books that speak to her inner and real self, about how to be an outlier. Her grandmother, a once famous starlet, showed her how to get through life by observing and hiding her inner demons, but too soon, she went into a coma.

All of these things culminate and come crashing into Maeve just as she loses her job, and in a way, this allows her to let out what most don’t see her true nature.

This has so many levels…. distrust, loneliness, that Hollywood vibe bordering on what’s real and what’s not. And then comes the gore!

I really loved this. I loved the whole construction of this story, the buildup making the ending even more impacting. I think this belongs on the same shelf as American Psycho and Fight Club.

Out June 6, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

Content warning for blood, gore, and body horror.

Always isn’t Forever by J.C. Cervantes 🌟 Arc Review 🌟

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I knew this would be heartbreaking, but while reading and sobbing, I also found a beautiful hopefulness in this story that I will not forget.

Ruby and Hart. They have their whole lives ahead of them, and they are lucky enough to have found each other and their impossible love so early in life. When Hart drowns while saving another, an angel takes pity and saves his soul for a new body. Hart winds up waking as Jameson. Jameson is everything Hart is not. A party boy who seems to not care about anything except football. Can Hart work his way back to Ruby in Jameson’s body, with Jameson’s history?

This book was heartbreaking and uplifting all at once. It is a story of loss and sadness,but also, real true love. Get the tissues ready now!!

Out June 6, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

The Kingmaker Kennedy Ryan 🌟 Arc Review 🌟

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This is good!!! But the ending!!! Major cliffhanger but not for long because I’m going to start the next book asap!

I loved the author’s note describing the amount of time and effort they put towards representing Native Americans, particularly the Apache.

This was sizzling hot but with a very full plot that carried this story.

The Guest by Emma Cline 🌟 Arc Review 🌟

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I loved Emma Cline’s book The Girls for many of the same reasons I wound up loving in this one. This author tells the most interesting stories featuring women whose lifestyles are not something ordinarily thought of… or even known about. I love the honesty behind this character. The third person narration also gave me a lot of room to wonder at what was really going on in the main character’s head.

Alex is kind of a moocher. I would say a professional moocher, but I didn’t get much of a professional vibe from Alex. She spends her days going to the beach in Long Island after stealing a pill or two from the older man she’s staying with right now. It’s a great set-up for someone like Alex. Simon buys her beautiful clothes, jewelry, handbags…. but of course, there is always a price.

When Alex gets booted for a mishap with Simon’s car and a small adventure at a party, I felt like I was watching her careen downhill. She does everything in her power, manipulating, stealing, to get back to a safe spot. But her ventures wind up being as ambiguous as she is.

Out May 16, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

Fake Dates and Mooncakes by Sher Lee. 🌟Arc Review 🌟

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This was the sweet, fluffy, ya romance that I needed. I loved this book immediately. As soon as I started reading, I could tell that this was going to be a new favorite, and it definitely is!

Dylan is working and living at his aunt’s restaurant, Wok Warriors, when he has to make a delivery and comes across the rich and handsome Theo. He is talked into fake dating Theo after Theo makes a large donation to his aunt’s restaurant. Theo takes Dylan to the Hamptons, but is this fake dating maybe based on a real crush?

Everything about this is kind and simply wonderful. Even just the descriptions of food have been so delicious sounding. (I’ve been eating dumplings all week bc I can’t just read about dumplings without picking some up at my local restaurant). This is such a comfort romcom read!!!!

Out May 16, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

Venom and Vow by Anna-Marie Mclemore and Elliott Mclemore 🌟 Arc Review 🌟

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I absolutely loved this. The representation is so beautifully done. These authors wove together a fascinating tale that, above all else, speaks on love.

I thought the storyline started slow, but as the two main characters became more familiar with each other, I began to fall in love with this book.

A transgender prince finds himself up against a bigender assassin. Their land has been cursed, including stealing away many adults in charge of their respective kingdoms. However, as these two enemies begin to fall for each other, it becomes clear that action must be taken now to break this curse.

I didn’t start out loving everything in this story bc it started slow, and I had a difficult time grasping the full picture of the plot, but this turned out to be really remarkable, in my opinion!

Out May 16, 2023!

Thank you, Netgalley and Publisher, for this Arc!

Transmogrify: 14 Fantastical Tales of Trans Magic! Edited by G. Haron Davis 🌟 Arc Review 🌟

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A ya fantasy book of trans magic stories!! I really enjoyed this. I love a book of short stories, so this was perfect.

Some of the stories gave a bit more attention to the trans MC rather than the magic, but all of them were very enjoyable. I loved the creativity of these authors, and I can tell that a lot of thought was put into each individual story.

I’d say that this is more fantasy oriented overall with less attention to solving many of the issues approached. However, I will never be unhappy about a book bringing positive attention to this great community of beautiful and wonderful individuals.

Out May 16, 2023!

To Shape a Dragon’ Breath by Moniquill Blackgoose 🌟 Arc Review 🌟

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This excellent steampunk world that also has dragons was not only fun but also very poignant about the reality of colonialism and racism (many of these factors still exist today).

I loved the energy here. The author did not hold back with this main character. I felt pure pride reading about this MC challenging every misconception of her people and standing up against any slight.

This is a great fantasy with a lot of attention to the details, which is what really highlights it as steampunk to me. These small details of designs to either create machinery or to control a dragons breath are simply fantastic.

I will say that parts of this book seriously dragged for me and seemed a bit slow. But I am so glad I kept reading because the ending is wild!

Out May 9, 2023!

I’m Not Supposed to be In the Dark by Riss. M. Neilson 🌟 Arc Review 🌟

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This story immediately pulled me in. I loved the main character, Aria, and I found that this whole story was just so well written and composed that I couldn’t help but enjoy this.

Aria has a secret power. She’s not really sure. In the very beginning of the book, she stops drinking the tea her mother and grandfather always push on her, and she begins to see into a gray world, some spirits. But, I’m getting ahead of myself. Her power doesn’t fully come into play until later in the story, but it is there the whole time.

She begins noticing some oddities about her neighbors. Her ex-bestfriend, Derek, lives next door. And, he is really acting strange. It’s almost like it’s not exactly him sometimes. In her search to help Derek, Aria also finds out a lot about herself.

I love this cover!!! And, throughout this story, the author includes some beautiful descriptions of Wisteria. (I just wish I didn’t have allergies! But I love Wisteria season!)

Overall, I really enjoyed this!

Out May 9, 2023!