Tag Archives: 1 fire emoji

ARC — To Get To The Other Side — Kelly Ohlert

“Chickira? Henrietta? Princess Lay-A. Hennifer Lopez! Clucky Charm? I’m going to call you Chick-Chick.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 3.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses sick animals, bullying, child abuse, and frustration and unhealthy parental relationships after practicing a professional sport. Has some sexual innuendos.

“To Get To The Other Side” follows Trixie, Bear, and Chick-Chick—two roommates and a chicken found abandoned in the streets of Chicago. Trixie found Chick-Chick in the middle of the street and, by trying to sneak her into her not-pet-friendly apartment, is kicked out by her landlord. That’s when she finds an ad about a so-called Bear, who’s looking for a roommate and doesn’t mind pets…ish. Obviously a chicken was a bit unexpected, but Trixie and Chick-Chick end up falling right into his routine… perhaps falling in too well. To the point he’s thinking she could be more than just a roommate.

I think the best way to describe this book is as weird? The writing isn’t horrible but the story is just odd. Love at first sight and then close proximity and kind of enemies to lovers for a hot second… and a chicken? Found in the middle of the street? I don’t know. I love fiction just as much as the next chick (no pun intended), but this really wasn’t it for me.

This is a sort of closed-doors-romance, where we know they bang but we don’t know anything about it, if that makes sense. So I wouldn’t call it a clean romance per se, but I also can’t give it much of a spicy rating as is.

I think I didn’t enjoy this book quite as much as I expected. (I’ll blame it on judging a book by its cover). It’s supposed to be a romantic comedy, but I didn’t find any of it funny—more like I found it all very unrealistic. I read to escape my reality, but not in this whimsical, idealistic way. Life isn’t like this. People don’t talk like that.

Trixie is annoying, Bear (who the hell is called Bear?) is fictional at worse, and the name of the chicken is Chick Chick. Need I say more?

I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a short, silly read. No substance, all fluff—and clean fluff at that.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Alcove Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: December 6, 2022

The Atlas Six — Olivie Blake — The Atlas #1

“(…) What could possibly be the but, Varona? What about this would you kill for?” (…)
“Jesus, Rhodes, what part of this wouldn’t you kill for?”

Author: Olivie Blake
Narrated By: Andy Ingalls, Caitlin Kelly, Damian Lynch, David Monteith, James Cronin, Munirih Grace, Siho Ellsmore, and Steve West.

Genre: Dark Fantasy, Romance
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Narration: 5 mikes
Content Warnings: Discusses and describes suicide, death (in general and parent and sibling death), murder, kidnapping, terminal illnesses (degenerative diseases), abandonment, child neglect, and some sexual content.

“The Atlas Six” follows six magical young adults as they study and prepare to hopefully join the Alexandrian Society, a secret society of academicians who keep the secrets of lost civilizations and who initiate 5 new members out of 6 candidates every 10 years. These candidates are the best magicians of their time, and so in come the mismatched bunch that wins your heart throughout this story. Libby Rhodes and Nico da Varona have known each other their whole lives and they’re both physicists who can create and change matter with their minds. Reina Mori is a naturalist who can create life itself. Parisa Kamali is a seductress and telepath that’ll know exactly what to say and when to say it. Tristan Caine can see through reality and through magic. Callum Nova is an illusionist that can manipulate everything and everyone to no limit. Together, they could wreak havoc on the world—apart, they could wreak havoc amongst themselves.

“The Atlas Six” was a Tiktok, pandemic sensation, but I truly believe it could’ve made it big without those circumstances as well. This is the epitome of dark academia, it gives all those aesthetic vibes. Mix magic with morally-gray characters and there you’ll have “The Atlas Six”.

I listened to the audiobook of this novel and I adored every single narrator, no buts or exceptions, and I honestly can’t wait to listen to these characters brought to life again in “The Atlas Paradox.”

This story is very character-driven, and I’m more of a plot-driven reader, but I learned to love the characters, so by the end I didn’t mind one bit. I loved Libby and Nico instantly, I lowkey ship them together but also ship Nico with his roommate, so I don’t know what to tell you. I found Reina intriguing from the start, I think of all the magical powers hers is the one I would like to have myself. I felt indifferent about Tristan at first but his friendship and relationship with Libby and his accent won me over little by little. And then there were Callum and Parisa, the characters I hated to begin with and then grew to appreciate.

If one thing is true about this world that Olivie Blake has built is that no one is purely evil or purely good. Circumstances and power can turn anyone into something they are usually not.

If it isn’t obvious by now, I cannot recommend this book enough. Here’s hoping the sequel doesn’t disappoint.

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“Knowledge is carnage. You can’t have it without sacrifice.”

ARC — Something in the Heir — Suzanne Enoch

“I love you, William Pershing.” (…)
“I have waited a very long time for you to say that, Emmeline Pershing.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy, Women’s Fiction
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji (if that)
Content Warning: Mentions physical and emotional child abuse, domestic violence, classism, and death of parents.

“Something In The Heir” is all about marriages of convenience and fake adoptions. It follows Emmie and William Pershing, as they deceive their family into thinking they have kids, just so they can inheriting Winnover Hall. (Is it weird it’s called Winnover, when this whole books is about winning over this Estate? Anyways, let’s move on.)

You see that endorsement on the cover? Nice stuff. Julia Quinn saying Suzanne Enoch is “one of (her) favorite authors”… See how she says nothing about the book per se? That tells you pretty much all you have to know about that. I had to know I would hate it as soon as I read her last name was “Pershing”. Or as soon as I saw how the Pershings were willing to take two orphans through a ride of faking being their kids, cementing those strong abandonment issues.

I love books from the Regency period—think “Pride and Prejudice” or the Brigertons series—so I had very high hopes for “Something In The Heir”. Oh, how wrong I was to expect so much. I feel like this book was 150 pages longer than it should’ve been. In the end, I had to skim through it because the descriptions were too long and downright boring, and I felt absolutely nothing for any of the characters. This did not feel like a romance book at all. I am not even sure why I tortured myself getting through it, I’m thinking I should’ve just DNFed.

I’m not sure who to recommend this book to. But here we are. Writing this review anyway. I guess grab “Something In The Heir” if you want a slow-paced read with lying characters that want to be quirky and clever but aren’t, with two first-endearing-but-then-annoying kids, and a somewhat happy ending.

This is the first St. Martin’s Press book that wasn’t a hit for me, but that doesn’t me it can’t be a hit for you. Reviews on Goodreads are mixed, so might as well give it a try if you like historical and Regency Era novels.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: September 20, 2022

The Cheat Sheet — Sarah Adams

“Do you see now? You’re always giving me things that remind you of me, but I’m over here stealing things that remind me of you.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Describes panic attacks, discusses a career-ending car accident, and describes someone very drunk.

“The Cheat Sheet” follows Bree Camden and Nathan Donelson, two (almost) inseparable childhood best friends. Bree aspired to be a professional ballet dancer but, when an accident ruina her chances, she pulls away from everyone and everything. Now, years later, she’s back to being friends with her best friend and forever crush, Nathan, who is now a star quarterback in the NFL. It’s just platonic for them tho. Bree would never even come close to Nathan, she can’t lose her friendship again. Little does she know, Nathan may have those same feelings. Perhaps, he’s had them all along too…

This book had all the things I like in a romance: friends-to-lover and football themed. Yet, I didn’t like it that much. Bree was annoying, the double pinning was exhausting, Nathan was clearly a man dreamed by a woman… I could go on and on about the things I didn’t like about this book. But it was a fun read nonetheless.

The panic attacks seemed like they were written by someone who’s never had a panic attack (or perhaps just didn’t know how to describe them), but they were very off putting, seemed oversimplified.

Personally, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this book, but Booktok does, so read it at your own risk. It’s not particularly a bad read, it just wasn’t particularly a good read either. If you’re looking to read books by Sarah Adams, I would highly recommend going for “The Off Limits Rule” instead.

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ARC — Lucy Checks In — Dee Ernst

“You sound happy, she texted me.
Maybe I am, I texted back. Or maybe I’m too tired to be sad.”

Genre: Romance
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warning: Mentions alcoholism, parent death, and cheating.

“Lucy Checks In” follows Lucia Giannetti, a shunned hotel manager, as she moves to the other side of the world, from New Jersey to France, in order to help renovate Hotel Paradis, a boutique hotel in Rennes, a small historical town. As soon as she arrives, she notices she’s way in over her head, but after a scandal left her unemployed and unemployable in the United States, she has nothing left to do but try.

I don’t even know where to begin. How can I describe a book that’s well written but not particularly captivating to me, personally? Basically I wasn’t a fan of the hotel remodel theme, but I liked a few of the characters and it was definitely catchy, I read it almost entirely through a 5-hour airplane flight.

Also, not to sound age-ist, but it seemed weird to me how Lucy was described as a 49-year-old with grey hair, yet the girl in the cover looks like anything but that, in my opinion. Misleading covers are one of my pet peeves.

This book was a slow-burn romance that drove me insane, and I am sad to say that the fire was not worth the wait. And not to mention that the nickname “Bing” was a bit of a turnoff for me, but for each their own, I guess. Actually, I wouldn’t even classify this as romance per se, more like Women’s Fiction or just Fiction would be fine. It deals with a lot more than just romance and the romance parts aren’t even the most important if you ask me.

This is would be a very cool read for anyone who likes DIYing and remodeling and fixer upper shows. “Lucy Checks In” is a colorful romance with a plethora of whimsical characters and an enemies-to-lovers and Grump-meets-Sunshine trope that’s quite cute. I would highly recommend this read, especially if you’re looking for a mild romance with not a lot of sexual descriptions.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 16, 2022

“She said, ‘But if you loved me, you’d stay.’ He said, ‘But if you loved me, you’d go.’ ”

ARC — Mr. Perfect on Paper — Jean Meltzer

“But love—”
“Doesn’t conquer all. (…) It doesn’t, Chris. Look at the divorce rates in America. (…) Do you know what every single one of those couples had when they got married? Love. They all stood in front of an altar and gazed into each other’s eyes, and that’s the problem with these modern notions of love. There’s too much staring into each other’s eyes, and not enough looking in the same direction.”

Genre: Romance, Comedy
Actual Rating: 5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warning: Discusses antisemitism, generalized anxiety disorder, and mixed religion discrimination, and mentions car crashes, parent death, aneurysms, and head tumors.

“Mr. Perfect on Paper” is just about what the title suggests. Dara Rabinowitz is a modern Jewish matchmaker, having created a dating app called J-Mate, when she just still hasn’t found her Mr. Perfect. In comes, Chris Steadfast, a news anchor who moved to New York recently after losing his wife. Dara’s “Perfect Jewish Husband” list is broadcasted by her grandmother in live television, pushing in a series of events that lead to Dara and Chris working on a reality TV style segment where they try to find this Mr. Perfect on Paper. But what does it say of Dara when they actually find Mr. Perfect, but all she can think about is Chris (who fits basically none of her requirements)? Will she follow tradition or will she follow love? And why can’t she follow both?

I am not Jewish myself, but I enjoy so much reading and learning about different religions and beliefs, and I must say this is truly a blast for that. This books takes place during the High Holidays, and even though I had read about them before, Jean Meltzer really did deliver at subtly explaining and showing how these holidays are lived—and why.

I loved Dana’s mannerisms and Chris’s insecurities and empathy. They both felt really human to me. Did I like the outcome? I’m not sure, but I still gave it 5 stars because in the end I just wanted Dara to be happy, and that’s the best testament of how this book moved me. But, if what you’re looking for is spice, this book isn’t for you. You’ll get a few kisses and that’s it.

I would recommend this book to readers with exposure to the Jewish religion and traditions, or anyone whose willing to Google a ton of terms you might not understand (that’s what I did, and I loved it). If you’re looking for a light-hearted, clean romance, “Mr. Perfect on Paper” is perfect for you.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 9, 2022

“But what I learned from this journey, from finding my real-life Mr. Perfect on Paper, is that love isn’t something that can be quantified on a list. Love is messy. And terrifying. It shows up when you least expect it, and complicates your life in every way. But it’s also…safe. And comforting. It allows you to be yourself completely, without judgment or fear, and it feels right.”

ARC — The Stars Between Us — Cristin Terrill

“This is a significant decision, son. Are you entirely sure?”
“I am. Even if I wanted that fortune, it would require me to hurt someone I love in order to claim it and I wouldn’t—couldn’t—do that to her. (…) No amount of money is worth hurting the girl I love that way.”

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warning: Discusses classism, death and murder, fire injury details, and infidelity.

“The Stars Between Us” follows Vika Hale, a barmaid in an impoverished planet, as she learns she is to have an arranged marriage to the son of a very powerful and rich man, from one of the privileged planets. But what will happen when people around this powerful man begin to be targeted by a rebel group? People are dying and Vika feels like she might be in danger, but won’t stop until she finds out why this is happening.

I had high expectations of this book, having it compared to a futuristic Bridgerton, but it was sadly disappointing to me. It felt longer than it actually was, that’s how dreadful it was. Some names really threw me off (I mean, do we really think there’ll be someone named Janus in the future?) and the use of peculiar language also felt really weird (an’t instead of can’t, da referring to her dad…).

The dialogue between characters felt forced almost all the time, they were stiff-y and downright rude sometimes. In the very first chapter, Vika screams “Stop!” to her mom and dad bickering, and that is something I just would never imagine anyone in their sound and respectful mind doing. Vika had the absolute worst attitude always. This was just a very weird read.

It did have a few really cool plot twits tho, I’ll give it that. I’d recommend this book if you’re looking for a futuristic, space-setting, peculiar science fiction read.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: August 2, 2022

“Ariel exhaled, cause she knew, seeing the way they looked at each other in that moment, that those two were as inevitable as gravity.”

See You Yesterday — Rachel Lynn Solomon

“I’ve wanted you for weeks. But I don’t just want you in September. It’s not enough. I want you in winter, too. I want you in spring and in summer. I want you the whole fucking year, and then I want you in September all over again.”

Genre: Young Adult, Romance
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Discusses bullying and sexual harassment, and describes panic attacks.

“See You Yesterday” follows Barrett and Miles, two freshmen university students who are inexplicably stuck in a time loop. Barrett is passionate about journalism, and suffered through high school due to just that, while Miles is a Physics major who’s the son of two professors. With a bit of a bumpy start, will this pair find a way out of reliving their first day in university over and over again, or will they find a way into each other’s hearts instead?

I loved this book right up until the end. The conflict and rising actions were pristine, but the turning point and the resolution weren’t worth it, at least not for me. Yes, we get a happy ending, but really? Like that? I don’t know. This book went from a 4-star to a 2.5-star read real quick.

I really like the characters tho. Especially Barrett. It isn’t often that we see a mid-size main character, one that isn’t extremely overweight or has the perfect body. Just a curvy, regular, young adult. Much like myself. Much like a good chunk of the population. Apart from weight representation, we also got to see mixed-race, double-identity crises, a character with same-sex paternal figures, and characters living through a religion that isn’t highlighted ofter enough in YA book, Judaism. It wasn’t the characters or even the concept of the plot that let me down, it was more about how the ending was executed.

I would recommend this book to any reader looking for a “Groundhog Day”-style book, with a time loop where two strangers are stuck reliving the same day and they have no clue why.

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ARC — Epically Earnest — Molly Horan

“What did he say?” (…)
“He said, ‘End Act I.’” (…)
“And that means what exactly?”
“I’m not one hundred percent sure. A start? The promise of Act II?”

Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQIA+
Actual Rating: 3 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Abandonment of a baby and harassment.

Inspired on “The Importance of Being Earnest” by Oscar Wilde, “Epically Earnest” follows Jane Grady, a high school senior who found her fame when she was just a baby, as she was abandoned at a train station and found in a Gucci bag, becoming #bagbaby. In a coming-of-age story, Jane is stuck between trying to find her biological family or moving on with her life, as she crushes on a girl who’s out of her league.

I loved the quotes in the beginning of every chapter, I loved the relaxed narrative that didn’t try to be overzealous, but mostly I loved the characters Molly Horan portrayed. In this queer story, we get to see how complicated it can be to just be a teenager—finding young love, starting to make life-changing decision… “Epically Earnest” is a short, sweet read. Actually, too short if you ask me. That’s why I only gave it 3 stars. It’s really well written, but I felt like there was just so much unresolved or under-explained.

I would recommend “Epically Earnest” to anyone looking for a short, sapphic or queer romantic comedy that’s not only a romance book, but that goes a little more in-depth into character development and family relationships.

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ARC provided by NetGalley and Clarion Books in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date: June 21, 2022

Conversations with Friends — Sally Rooney

“Everyone’s always going through something, aren’t they? That’s life, basically. It’s just more and more things to go through.”

Genre: Fiction, Coming-of-age
Actual Rating: 4 stars
Spicy Meter: 1 fire emoji
Content Warnings: Deals with cheating, affairs, big age-difference relationships, and alcoholism. Mentions miscarriages and endometriosis.

“Conversations with Friends” follows Frances and her best friend Bobbi, two college students, as they’re sucked into the lives of older friends. These two childhood friends-turned lovers-turned friends again are performing spoken-word poetry in Dublin when they’re spotted by Melissa, a writer who’s married to a somewhat recognizable actor. From there, they’re exposed to a world where expressing controversial opinions is welcomed and affairs aren’t necessarily the end of the world—or the end of a relationship.

I feel weird about writing this review, because I must say I never gave Sally Rooney’s book a fighting chance. I hated it from the start. I hate books about cheating. I hate them so so much. I actually grabbed this book without knowing what it was about, I simply grabbed it because I wanted to see the Hulu series and I am morally opposed to seeing a series or movie without reading their book first—if only to respect the author’s original intention for their story. So imagine my not-so-pleasant surprise when the affairs start unraveling. I dreaded it, pure and simple.

But I do have to give it to Rooney. Although hard to read without the conversations in “ ” quotations, this book was a masterpiece. It was exceptionally written and incredibly crude. It felt like real life, which for me is the best compliment a fiction book can get.

I can confidently say I liked the book better than the series with this one, so if you liked the series with Joe Alwyn and Alison Oliver, then grab this book as soon as you can. Also, if you’re looking for a book with vibes similar to “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara, without it being downright depressing, then this book is for you.

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