When Mercy's brother Gary shows up at her house incoherent and affected by magic, Mercy and Adam head to Montana to see if they can break the 4 stars
When Mercy's brother Gary shows up at her house incoherent and affected by magic, Mercy and Adam head to Montana to see if they can break the spell. There they find themselves trapped in a resort in the midst of a snowstorm with other guests of the lodge. But not everything is as it seems and Mercy and Adam must find a magical artifact before even worse things begin to happen.
Let me start this with I am being very kind with my 4 star rating. Any other author or series I probably would have rated much lower, but I absolutely love this series and Mercy. But this book really was not up to the standards of the other books in this series. It was very disjointed with bad pacing and took me a very long time to read. But it's like pizza, even when it's bad, it's good. And I'll always welcome more of these characters and this world into my life. I just hope the next installment in the series is more plot forward than this book. This book felt a lot like a side quest.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley. This did not affect my opinions, thoughts, rating, review. ...more
My first book by Meryl Wilsner (who I've been meaning to read ever since I saw them at LA Festival of Books in 2023). This book follows two soccer plaMy first book by Meryl Wilsner (who I've been meaning to read ever since I saw them at LA Festival of Books in 2023). This book follows two soccer players, one a stoic team captain, the other an outspoken newbie. Attraction sparks right when they meet, but playing on the same team means some conflict and tension.
I enjoyed this book but it was solidly in the "it's just okay" category for me. I had it on my list for a while and it counts for a reading bingo square for "Olympics" so I pushed this to the front of the tbr. There was just a lot of internal monologuing for me, it was endless to the point that it was either that or sex scenes. Which is fine! But I wanted more the character development earlier in the book (with some more plot) rather than the dump we got later. Otherwise it's a fun sports romance and it was nice to see women's soccer in the mix.
An ALC was provided by libro.fm via the librarian ALC program ...more
A romance between bodyguard Walker and housekeeper Sloane. Sloane has a mysterious past, but has been able to hide in Scotland employed at a private cA romance between bodyguard Walker and housekeeper Sloane. Sloane has a mysterious past, but has been able to hide in Scotland employed at a private club retreat for the rich and famous. Walker is a guard that works at the estate. Sparks fly between the two, but Walker is wary of getting serious with the sweet, single mother.
Maybe it's just me, but as I've been reading the Adair series by Samantha Young, and now this spinoff series... these books have become a little bit too formulaic for me. I'll still read anything Young writes as she's one of my favorite authors, but this book felt overly long and I predicted just about every major event that happened. I'm curious about North and Aria's story, so hopefully that one will be good....more
I think this just boils down to personal preference, but I am not a fan of low plot just vibes books and therefore this one didn't work for me. Most oI think this just boils down to personal preference, but I am not a fan of low plot just vibes books and therefore this one didn't work for me. Most of the story I was bored while reading, even though all of the characters are very sweet and likeable....more
It wasn't my favorite book, contemporary adult fiction is not a genre I typically choose to read. I did like t 2.5 stars
Read for One Book One County.
It wasn't my favorite book, contemporary adult fiction is not a genre I typically choose to read. I did like that this book was a look at a family and wasn't stereotypical or negative depictions of a Hispanic family like we tend to see in fiction. It was fun to follow along where they went in Los Angeles and surrounding areas.
Overall, I just didn't like any of the characters or really cared what happened to most of them. Most of them were incredibly selfish and wouldn't even talk to their father when they could tell he was really dealing with something awful. ...more
Really not much to say about this one. I think I prefer Ann Cleeve's stories on screen more than reading her books. This book felt all over the place Really not much to say about this one. I think I prefer Ann Cleeve's stories on screen more than reading her books. This book felt all over the place with the reveal at the end coming out of nowhere. It's probably just me though, many other readers really loved this book....more
Book 2 in the Dark Rise series, you need to have read book 1 before reading this one. If you haven't, maybe avoid reading my review as it 3.75 stars
Book 2 in the Dark Rise series, you need to have read book 1 before reading this one. If you haven't, maybe avoid reading my review as it may contain spoilers for book 1. Also I won't do any summary, just thoughts on the book.
Dark Heir started out very slow for me, to the point that I almost quit at about 35%. There were a lot of new things thrown at us and lots of names to keep track of, but it got a lot better by the end of the book. I was sad we didn't get more of Violet in this book as she's my favorite character, but it made sense as other plot points needed to be pushed forward.
I am very excited for book 3 but nervous as there's no release date. I really want to know what happens mostly because (view spoiler)[ I was so frustrated with how quickly all of Will's friends turned on him once they found out he was the dark king. (hide spoiler)].
So if you get frustrated reading this push through because the end was great....more
I was very excited about this book when I heard about it: marriage of convenience, didn't actually get divorced, have to pretend to really 3.5 stars
I was very excited about this book when I heard about it: marriage of convenience, didn't actually get divorced, have to pretend to really be married, only one bed? It had all the markings of a book I would usually love. And I enjoyed it for the most part, but we ended up with a Succession like family story and that's where this fell a little bit flat for me.
I really loved the parts with Anna and West falling in love. But if you're going to dive in hard with toxic familial relationships I need a bit more closure on that in the end, more than what we got in this book. I liked this book, but felt pacing and story were a bit off. But Christina and Lauren always write a good time so I'm still glad I read this one. More glad I checked it out from my local library....more
An atmospheric thriller from Riley Sager about Ethan Marsh, a man in his 40 haunted by a tragic event that happened to him when he was a child. ThirtyAn atmospheric thriller from Riley Sager about Ethan Marsh, a man in his 40 haunted by a tragic event that happened to him when he was a child. Thirty years earlier, Ethan was having a sleepover in a tent in his backyard with his friend Billy. That night someone sliced the tent and took Billy, never to be seen again. Years later Ethan is back and convinced Billy's got something to tell him...
Riley Sager is an author whose books I will always read but don't always love. He can be hit or miss. This one fell in the middle for me a bit. I think this story had great bones but got a bit lost in the minutia of the everyday details. Sager paints a picture of what life on the lane was like in the 90's versus present day, and there were a lot of twists and turns. I did enjoy this book, but at no point was I scared, thrilled, or even super invested in what would happen by the end. And that's not my usual reaction to a Sager novel. I think many people will love this book, and I will always been reading this author's books, no matter what he writes.
An advanced listening copy by provided by libro.fm via the librarian alc program ...more
A romance between wedding planner Lear and divorce attorney RJ. I liked this book, but it also didn't wow me. I really loved Denise Williams' first boA romance between wedding planner Lear and divorce attorney RJ. I liked this book, but it also didn't wow me. I really loved Denise Williams' first book How to Fail at Flirting, but I've read 3 other books by her and none of them have blown me away. Hopefully her next book knocks it out of the park!...more
A forbidden romance between a scientist and the man on the team trying to take over her company. Rue doesn't want relationships, she's just looking foA forbidden romance between a scientist and the man on the team trying to take over her company. Rue doesn't want relationships, she's just looking for a one night/good time. After meeting Eli, she finds out the man she was meant to hook up with is one of the people trying to take over her company. What ensues is a forbidden romance they must keep secret.
It pains me to write this, but this book was not good. In that I mean there is way to much science talk of things I don't understand, a lackluster romance between the main characters, and I hate to say it but the worst of all: this book was boring. And I am really sad about this because I loved Hazelwood's last few books! Bride and Love Theoretically were so good and this book was pretty bad; it took me several days to read and I had to force myself to finish it.
The authors note at the beginning said this book was more like erotica than her usual and imo she did not lean in hard enough to the erotica aspects of the book. It might have been better! But what we got to me read like a jumbled mess and while I always saw the attraction between Rue and Eli, I never really felt the love between them.
ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley. This did not affect my opinion when reading this book or writing my review ...more