I received an ALC from Libro.FM in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: June 6, 2023
Rating: 3.5/5
Something More is a YA contemporary romance, and I’ll be honest: I’m past my YA romance days, but I make exceptions for some. Something More is a coming of age story about a Palestinian-Canadian teenager coming to terms with her ASD diagnosis while navigating her first year of high school.
Continue reading “ALC Review: Something More by Jackie Khalilieh”Thank you to the Must Love Audio team for my ALC.
Release date: March 26, 2024
Rating: 2/5
I’ve liked Skye Warren’s stories before, so I’m a bit surprised that The Professor missed the mark for me. It had all the elements I generally like: forbidden/taboo, dark academia, secret society, masquerade party, ex-boyfriend’s dad, and student/professor.
Continue reading “ALC Review: The Professor by Skye Warren”I received an ALC from Libro.FM in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: February 13, 2024
Rating: 5/5
Black Girl You Are Atlas is a love letter to Black girlhood. The author details her experience as a Black girl through a series of creative poems. This collection of poetry is the author’s love letter to the young girl she was and to the young Black girls today. It is a celebration of Black girlhood, sisterhood, family, and community. As a non-Black reader, I appreciated getting insight into what it means to be a Black girl.
There are also plenty of life lessons for young girls in this book, some life lessons that I myself just recently learned as an adult. I highly recommend this collection of poetry, especially on audio. The author herself narrates the poems and you could feel all of her emotions through her narration.
I will one day revisit this collection either in eBook or print so I can take a look at the accompanying art.
“Hold onto joy while you wait for happiness.”
I received an ALC from Libro.FM in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: September 1, 2020
Rating: 4/5
I was excited to read Alyssa Cole’s thriller debut when it first came out. It took me a long time to actually read it because of the mixed reviews. I’m so glad I finally picked it up and I ended up enjoying it a lot.
Continue reading “ALC Review: When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole”I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: March 19, 2024
Rating: 4/5
Pride and Preston Lin is a new adult Chinese-American Pride and Prejudice retelling. Lissie Cheng is finishing off her English degree and her older sister Jenny is studying for the MCAT. They both work at their aunt and uncle’s restaurant and that is where they meet Preston Lin and his friend Charles Bing. A misunderstanding leads to an upheaval at the restaurant and Lissie is determined to hate the arrogant Preston. But as the original tale goes, Lissie finds herself in Preston’s orbit when her sister Jenny and Charles start dating.
Continue reading “ARC Review: Pride and Preston Lin by Christina Hwang Dudley”I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: March 12, 2024
Rating: 4/5
The Moon That Turns You Back is a collection of poetry by Palestinian-American Hala Alyan. From my personal reading, displacement is the ubiquitous theme in all of the poems. The idea of displacement manifests in different ways in this book. The most common form is of course geographic displacement. But there is also the displacement that takes place within the self and within the self’s body.
Continue reading “ARC Review: The Moon That Turns You Back by Hala Alyan”I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: February 13, 2024
Rating: 4.5/5
At First Spite has a glorious premise that I couldn’t turn away from. Athena’s fiancé gets swayed by his older brother and breaks off their engagement. At that point, Athena had already bought a house that was supposed to have been a wedding present for her fiancé. She has no choice but to move into that house by herself…and now she’s neighbours with her ex-fiancé and his disapproving brother Matthew.
Ahhh this book. It’s a romcom that also does a good job dealing with the topic of depression in a realistic, healthy, and relatable way. Athena’s journey really resonated with me. Her struggle with her career, guilt, and depression were all so relatable.
And the romance. Ooooh the romance. Soooo swoony!! I loved Matthew so much 😭 The way he writes down all her pop culture references so he could research them later. The way he is so attuned to Athena and her emotions. The way he takes care of her, listens to her, and tells her the things she needs to hear. And his grovel at the end was the cherry on top. There are so many memorable scenes that live rent free in my brain.
I also really enjoyed the supporting cast of characters that populate Harlot’s Bay and I cannot even begin to explain just how excited I am for Karl’s story!!
Definitely pick this one up if you’re into swoony romcoms with a dose of realism.
I received an ARC from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: January 16, 2024
Rating: 3.5/5
Behind You is the Sea is a collection of short stories about Christian Palestinians living in Baltimore. Each story is about a different character within the community. Together, these short stories span years and often intersect with one another through the characters.
Continue reading “ARC Review: Behind You is the Sea by Susan Muaddi Darraj”I received an ARC from the author in exchange for an honest review.
Release date: January 11, 2024
Rating: 4/5
Charlotte and the Seductive Spymaster is the final (maybe?) book in the Lady Charlotte’s Society of Angels series—a historical romance version of Charlie’s Angels. If you’re new to the series, I think this book actually stands well on its own.
Charlie’s husband passed away 12 years ago…or did he? 🤔 Turns out, he’s not really dead. He’s a spymaster who was forced to fake his death in order to protect Charlie. Let’s just say that Charlie isn’t too happy when she finds out the truth. I am in the minority when I say that I love second chance romance lol. I especially love this trope paired with marriage in trouble.
Charlie and Jack have a lot of secrets and deception to unravel before they find their HEA. In addition to the steamy, angsty, and emotional second chance romance, Charlie and Jack have to work together to avert an attack in London that could very well dismantle the monarchy. Packed with steamy romance, action, and mystery, Charlotte and the Seductive Spymaster does a great job bringing together the entire team and their husbands for an epic conclusion.
P.S. There’s definitely room for a spin-off series though 👀
Romance Library 