 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.This book is too cute. Set in the English countryside, The Most Wonderful Crime of All features a reserved author at a crossroads (Maggie), a charmer lead who no one else notices is all persona (Ethan), & the mysterious disappearance of a beloved author. The banter between Maggie & Ethan is fantastic, as is how the narration reveals the many, many ways Ethan has been/is currently crushing on Maggie. He supports her so hard & the gesture he makes at the end left me with the biggest heart-smile. Honestly, it was so cute. I’m ALL about these two recent adult releases of Ally Carter’s & definitely feel like I missed out by not reading her earlier. They’re so smartly & amusingly written—the interaction between the characters jumps off the page. Have you read this one or The Blonde Identity yet? Add them to your TBR if not! 4.5⭐️. Out now! CWs: attempted murder.
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 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.Meg Shaffer’s The Lost Story didn’t go where I thought it would. It pretty much surprised me from the beginning on, & in the end left me with memories of a story that was lovely, unexpected, & all about love. Jeremy & Rafe were the Lost Boys of West Virginia. Besties who have been separated for over a decade, they’re brought back together when Emilie asks Jeremy to find her sister. Jeremy leads the other two on a trip to a magical kingdom, where secrets are revealed & Rafe is confronted with the things he’s forgotten. That summary is totally surface-level, & the actual story is hard to describe & much richer. There’s a romance in this story, & also a web of friendship & connection that can cross different planes. I think I wanted something more—this one’s a bit understated—but overall, TLS is an intriguing & striking book & I loved the West Virginia setting. 4.5⭐️. Out now!CWs: abuse, violence, homophobia.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.It’s hard to describe why I like Claire Kent’s post apocalyptic romance series so much. The world the characters inhabit is so brutal but somehow, against the odds, they find love & joy & the other wonderful things that sustain them. (Not to mention the steam.) In Beacon, one-time friends with benefits Anna & Mack are reunited thanks to Anna’s efforts to rescue Mack from his self-imposed isolation. Mack was once the heart of so much. But after a tragedy, he’s retreated to the woods. Anna goes to rescue him, despite his major unwillingness to return to what remains of the outside world. Like I said, this world is violent & there are lots of content warnings. But this series is also so great, with resourceful, strong characters who are challenged in new ways after their world collapses. The romances the MCs find are pretty much always unexpected but no less special & fulfilling. 4.5⭐️. Out 10/11. [ID: Jess holds the ebook in front of an orange wreath.] Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARCs and the publisher for the complimentary hardcopies. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.HG Parry’s The Scholar & the Last Faerie Door is another immersive read by the author. Their way with words is stunning & as soon as I saw “Faerie” in the title I was all-in. This fantasy has dark academia a la The Secret History vibes—the protagonist’s friendships are consuming & possibly dangerous & secrets abound. The ending lost a bit of the magic for me but overall, a great, atmospheric read. 4.5⭐️ ️, out 10/22. Georgia Summers’s The City of Stardust. This book was one of my faves of last year. Absolutely beautiful writing & it’s used to tell a story with lots of secrets that are slowly & intriguingly revealed. This book has the emotional overtones I love in a weighty fantasy, too. I’m so excited to see what this author writes next. 5 ⭐️, out now. [ID: Jess holds the books over a group of white, orange, & mint pumpkins.] Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.I’ve seen some great things about FOUR WEEKENDS & a FUNERAL & it didn’t disappoint. With overtones of some fave rom coms, a funny heroine, supportive & also encouraging friends, & a grumpy hero who is gone for the heroine from the beginning even though his grumpiness almost, ALMOST hides it, this book is so good. This is the first time I’ve read a romance featuring a heroine with the BRAC mutation. Alison chose to have a double mastectomy before the book opens, & that decision process—& the subsequent effects on her life is movingly (& sometimes humorously) included. I’d recommend this one for fans of Roni Loren’s What If You & Me & other books in that series—the vibes & the heart of it are so good . 4.5⭐️. Out now!CWs: former death of a friend, grief, former mastectomy.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong is a sweetheart of a fantasy that left me with a full heart & the reminder that friendship is so important to life happiness. When the book opens, Tao is a solitary teller of small fortunes who left her remaining family for a life on the road. She soon runs into Mash & Silt, who are looking for Mash’s missing daughter, & later, Kira, who’s a baker with a desire to travel. As the group travels together, they run into mysterious/magical/annoying figures along the way, all encounters building the friendship that Tao has never had before. If you like low-stakes fantasy, you might like this one. With that being said, Tao is dealing with emotional pain & a ruptured relationship with her surviving parent, but it all wraps up fairly nicely & leaves the reader feeling the love. 4.5⭐️. Out 11/05.CWs: previous death of parent; ruptured relationship with surviving parent; discord with step-parent.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.I feel like anything I say about Tangled Up In You by Christina Lauren will sound derivative but this book is A D O R A B L E, an utterly charming Rapunzel retelling with so many smile-inducing adventures between the leads. Ren has had a very restricted upbringing so college is a new world for her. There, she meets golden guy Fitz, & after a less than auspicious beginning (that’s what we could call blackmail, right?) they go on a road trip together to uncover the mystery of Ren’s apparent birth father. This story follows the movie version pretty closely. One thing that’s bothered me about the movie version is how dark it actually is—I mean, the heartbreak of learning you were kidnapped & have been gaslit for years, etc. & how the movie—which, admittedly, is made for children—really glosses over the darkness even though it’s there in the premise anyway. This book delves into Ren’s feelings more, showing snippets of what her life would be like after such a shocking discovery. Tangled Up In You ended up being more swoonworthy than I expected & I was totally crushing on the story & the leads. Shout-out to Ren who holds Fitz accountable, who tells him she can’t conceive of falling in love with someone who doesn’t actually reveal more of himself, & shout-out to Fitz for opening himself up. Super cute, you all. 4.5⭐️. Out now![CWs: child kidnapping, emotional manipulation, gun violence, death.]
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.Bowen Penhallow. Brooding & brawny & blushing. Three amazing b’s. Also, he’s a Welshman (!!!). I don’t really see how the title of The Wedding Witch comes into play in the plot very much but this witchy romance by Erin Sterling is adorable & came into my life just when I needed a fun read. Bowen Penhallow is looking for magical artifacts for a noble, if misguided, reason, & Tamsyn is the acquirer he hires (& pretty much immediately falls for). Despite the fact that their mutual falling is apparent to the reader from their first meeting, there’s still a great sense of anticipation with this one. It doesn’t lose its zest. With amusing family dynamics, a heist plan, a time travel twist, & a cariad reference or two, this fun & hot witchy romance delights . 4.5⭐️. Out 10/08.Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. This blog post includes affiliate links.Fall for Him by Andie Burke delivered a delicious & much-appreciated palate cleanser for me after the last few longer books I’ve been reading. Warm, sometimes funny/sad/inspirational/& relatable, sexy…this book feels like it has it all, & it read so quickly for me. The book opens with Dylan falling through the ceiling of his belowstairs housemate, Derek. Derek has apparently hated Dylan since the beginning of time, something Dylan is confused by. Forced to live together during renovation, the two develop an appreciation for the other despite their occasional misunderstandings, questions, etc. This book got to my heart & I was cheering at some moments, like when Derek defends Dylan with his family (! Love that moment!). The last lines are so cute & perfectly wrap up this winning story about two lonely people appreciating each other for what & who they are & making a home together. Maybe check out content warnings before you start bc this book does cover a lot of tough topics, but it’s still an uplifting book that I enjoyed so much. 4.5⭐️. Out 9/03. CWs: ADHD rep; intrusive thoughts; anxiety; panic attack; grief.
 Hi and welcome to my blog tour stop for The Art of Catching Feelings* by Alicia Thompson! I've been so excited to read this one--With Love, From Cold World was one of my fave reads of 2023 and my anticipation was huge. Read on for a summary and my review. |
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