 Hi and welcome to my blog tour stop for Tori Anne Martin's This Spells Disaster! A big thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Summary.Morgan Greenwood may be an incredible potion maker, but she’s convinced she was hexed at birth. A self-proclaimed “messy witch,” it comes as no surprise when she finds herself drunkenly offering to fake date the woman of her dreams for the biennial New England Witches’ festival. Enter Rory Sandler, a spellcasting champion and brilliant elemental witch, who just so happens to accept the offer for reasons unbeknownst to Morgan. All those good luck spells must have worked after all! But as Morgan and Rory prepare to fool everyone at the festival, their relationship starts to feel very real—that is until Morgan realizes she might have screwed up the common relaxation potion she made for Rory and given her a love potion instead, breaking one of the most sacred Witch Council Laws. To fulfill her promise to Rory, Morgan must somehow keep playing pretend while under the watchful eyes of Rory’s family and legion of fans. But to break the love potion, she’ll also have to prove how incompatible she and Rory really are. For a screwup like herself, ruining their relationship should be easy—except every day, Morgan is becoming more bewitched by Rory herself.  [ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of a garden of zinnias. Trees & a yard are on the right side of the image.] My review.An unrequited crush, a coven, a newt festival, a fake dating situation, a love potion… Wait. Recently I posted about tropes I’m weird about & one of them is love potion—a plot point in This Spells Disaster. With that being said author Tori Anne Martin addresses the lack of consent with those in the author’s note & one FMC’s awareness of it prevents her from moving physically forward with the other lead so it worked a-okay for me. This sapphic witchy romance is ca—ute! (Is that how you spell it if you say it like that?) The book is set in a cozy town in Maine (never been but it makes such a great romance backdrop!), there’s queer rep, that aforementioned consideration of consent & love potions, a fun newt festival (can I go?). Morgan is a potions-witch at her family shop; Rory is a very well-known witch who abruptly left the spotlight to become a bartender at Morgan’s small town. When Rory’s parents try to pressure Rory to return to the spotlight, she & Morgan begin a fake dating situation that gets complicated by their real feelings & also the love potion Morgan accidentally made that she thinks Rory has ingested. On one hand I grew a bit frustrated with how lead Morgan was trying to “How to lose a guy in 10 days” Rory because of the accidental love potion she made & gave to Rory, but on the other the conflict kind of made sense given how everything was set up for & about the characters earlier in the book. Witchy reads are the bomb.com & this is a fun one. 4⭐️. Out now! Please read a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs. How do you feel about a love potion read? Let me know what you think about this one and thanks for stopping by! 
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 Hi and welcome to my blog tour stop for Raquel Vasquez Gilliland's Witch of Wild Things! A big thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Summary.Sage Flores has been running from her family—and their “gifts”—ever since her younger sister Sky died. Eight years later, Sage reluctantly returns to her hometown. Like slipping into an old, comforting sweater, Sage takes back her job at Cranberry Rose Company and uses her ability to communicate with plants to discover unusual heritage specimens in the surrounding lands. What should be a simple task is complicated by her partner in botany sleuthing: Tennessee Reyes. He broke her heart in high school, and she never fully recovered. Working together is reminding her of all their past tender, genuine moments—and new feelings for this mature sexy man are starting to take root in her heart. With rare plants to find, a dead sister who keeps bringing her coffee, and another sister whose anger fills the sky with lightning, Sage doesn’t have time for romance. But being with Tenn is like standing in the middle of a field on the cusp of a summer thunderstorm—supercharged and inevitable.  [ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of a mural of 3 flowers on a slate colored brick wall: a yellow sunflower, a yellow coneflower, & what might be a pink peony.]My review.Witch of Wild Things is one of those gorgeous witch stories. In it, family, home, friendship, love, *& the natural world* are celebrated & important to MC Sage’s well-being & happiness. They’re not things she’s been actively pursuing in the past though—she’s been running from most of them actually, ever since her sister died, leaving her & her remaining sister estranged & Sage with no desire to stay at home. When she’s forced to return, she has to eventually deal with all of it, including her past feelings for a teenage crush who left her broken-hearted. Witch of Wild Things is a lovely story of so many things: finding & choosing your person, being a good friend, taking responsibility, taking care of & respecting the environment & the natural world. I have a new affinity for mushrooms after reading this one. The writing is lyrical in moments but there’s also a striking romance arc including a moment where the MMC takes up for her with a pissy park ranger. Tennessee Reyes is a great balance of hot, understanding, & sensitive & I approve. This is one of those well-rounded witchy reads that will satisfy on the physical & emotional fronts. While a couple things with the plot left me with a bit of the “huh” feeling, overall this is such a sweet & wonderful & whimsical & earthy read that satisfied. 4⭐️. Out 09/12.CWs: Previous loss of sister. Parental abandonment. Loss of mom. A secondary character is outed as victim of abuse. Sage is fired after ending a physical relationship with her boss. Are you in the mood for a witchy read yet? Let me know what you think about this one and thanks for stopping by!  Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hard copy. All opinions provided are my own.A retelling of Beowulf, Shield Maiden by Sharon Emmerichs tells the story of what woke up the dragon. Fryda, a lord’s daughter, is the very resilient heroine of this fantasy. She survives *a lot* physically, so much so that I got some Daughter of the Forest vibes. Throughout Shield Maiden there’s also a sweet friends to lovers romance arc that’s set against a background of a power struggle, revenge, & parental coldness. Be advised that there are references to slavery & indentured servitude in Geatland—in fact, the love interest is called a slave & treated as if he is one by most of the people in positions of power for most of the book. The creativity of this story & the standout heroine make Shield Maiden a striking story. 4⭐️. Out now.CWs: Death; violence; dragon attacks & death. Betrayal. Sexual harassment. Whipping as punishment. Slavery & indentured servitude.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.If the title includes witches I’m down & Ava Morgyn’s The Witches of Bone Hill offers a sometimes darkly engrossing story that’s ultimately hopeful & sister-focused. Cordelia is facing a lot of problems when the book begins, including the end of her marriage to a man who exploited her & cheated on her & the imminent sale of her home so she can try to settle the debts he left her with. But wait, there’s even more trouble waiting for her & she hopes the house & inheritance that the family she never really knew left her will help. She goes to Bone Hill, owned by the aunt she didn’t know IRL, & reconnects with the sister she’s been largely estranged from in recent years. There she meets the groundskeeper Gordon & realizes there are lots of family secrets just waiting to be uncovered. There’s a good creepy factor to this book for those looking for thrills, & family secrets just keep pouring out of the woodwork. Betrayal & history & a house that shows she & her sister are part of a larger family even if their mother wanted to act like they weren’t. This one kept my attention & I liked how everything wrapped up so hopefully. 3.5⭐️. Out 09/26. CWs: Death of mother. Mutilation. Cancer. Mob threat. Reference to oppid addiction.
 Hi and welcome to my blog tour stop for Stacey Abrams' writing as Selena Montgomery The Art of Desire! A big thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Summary.Trouble comes in threes... One doomed love affair after another has made lovely Alex Walton swear off men. Now, she's determined to try something that maybe she can succeed at: a writing career. Little does she know that a chance meeting with a strikingly handsome stranger, a mysterious obelisk, and a lost kingdom will change her life forever. As Alex is about to discover, truth can be stranger—and far more dangerous—than fiction. ...but true love comes only once. After three years inside a terrorist organization, Phillip Turman is trying to rebuild his life. His first assignment is to pick up Alex Walton, the maid of honor for his best friend's wedding, at the airport. His second is to deal with his instant attraction to her. But his third may be the toughest: to keep Alex out of danger as his past—and her need to know about it—threaten to destroy their future.  [ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of a group of multicolored zinnias.] My review.A rereleased romantic suspense, The Art of Desire by Stacey Abrams writing as Selena Montgomery is action-packed & full throttle, with intriguing leads who are forced to spend more time together (yay!) as they attend a wedding, try to stay safe from various attacks, & realize that they’re both embroiled in the monarchic affairs of a country on the brink. The hardest thing about reviewing this book is that it definitely feels like a romantic suspense book that released in 2002, for better or for worse. I mean no shade whatsoever by that comment. But there are aspects of characters & books that I remember enjoying as a reader in 2002 that I wouldn’t appreciate nearly as much now. With that being said, the hero Phillip Turman is not always my fave, he also has a mustache (not my preferred facial hair accoutrement ), the shifts in perspective mid-chapter are a bit confusing, & the romantic suspense plot is kinda bonkers in moments. But there are lots of things to appreciate about this book too. Phillip & Alex are very passionate & while Phillip sometimes frustrates with his temper, his unwillingness to fully appreciate Alex, &/or his strategies in trying to dissuade her from possible harm, I adore how Alex stands up for herself. She doesn’t fade into the background, she knows her worth, & she’s talented in so many different ways. Though aspects of this book don’t always work for me I’d like to try another Selena Montgomery book in the future. Maybe it will work better for me. 3⭐️. Out now! Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.  About the author.Selena Montgomery is the nom de plume of Stacey Abrams—she is the three-time New York Times bestselling author of Our Time Is Now, Lead from the Outside, and While Justice Sleeps; an entrepreneur; and a political leader. As Selena Montgomery, she is an award-winning author of eight romantic suspense novels. Do you like romantic suspense? Do you have any Selena Montgomery books you would recommend? Let me know what you think about this one and thanks for stopping by!  Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. A mystery, an obscuring fog, a gay private investigator trying to find a new path in 1950s San Francisco…Lev AC Rosen’s The Bell in the Fog is an engrossing story replete with a noir setting that really satisfies. Andy Mills is a former WWII Navy man & a cop who was fired from the force after being caught in a raid targeting queer people. Now he’s trying to start a new life for himself, a task that’s more difficult with the arrival of an old love who just disappeared one day. In addition to solving a mystery surrounding said old love, Andy also has to reckon with his past as a police officer who is also queer when the police force was and is aggressive about targeting the queer community. If you like flawed characters who are put into difficult situations this is a great book for you. The consideration of queer people just trying to find joy & live their lives as they are & as they please is moving & also ties compellingly to the mystery itself. Add to all of this a budding romance & it’s even better. 4.5⭐️. Out 10/10.CWs: Mention of "whites only" bar. Homophobia. Violence. Murder. Blackmail.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Adrienne Young has such a way with words & THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW really sucked me in one night when I flailed around looking for something to read. (The title alone gives me raptures.) This evocative & wistful book has a time slippage premise where the female Farrows have the ability to respond to two different times at once—it’s something that June finds herself struggling with at the beginning of the book as she hears music no one else can hear, sees a strange man lurking & then suddenly disappearing, etc. Then one day she chooses to walk through a door & she finds herself in the past with a ticked off man who says he is/was her husband who was summarily abandoned by her when she presumably went through the door again. So June must confront this man who she doesn’t really remember meeting, during a time she hasn’t been in yet, & meanwhile she has another life in the current time with people she loves. I’m guessing you can see the possible emotional implications of all of this. Despite the fact that I occasionally got confused by some of the time details, this is a moving story that made me wrestle with some of the emotional fallout of the characters’ choices & what it means to go through the door. There’s often a sadness that comes with time slippage / time travel books, I think, something lost for something gained, & this book definitely incorporates that into the story. Ultimately TUOJF is an emotion-driven story that asks the question what if you don’t go through a door: what if that is the risky thing to do. It’s not my personal fave Adrienne Young story but it is compelling & written in a lovely way—she is such a stylist—& I think it will grab many hearts. 4⭐️. Out 10/17.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. One of my fave *fave* romance things is when a lead finds a home by the end of the book & that journey for Ves in Wrapped With a Beau is so heartwarming. I’ve never actually watched a Hallmark holiday movie but the vibes of this book felt similar to what I imagine with the very welcome addition of steam. From Elisha & Ves’s inauspicious meet-cute when she assumes he’s a burglar & threatens him with a candy cane yard decoration to their fake dating / just for the holidays romance to his big gesture at the end, it’s charming & sweet. Not to mention Elisha’s adorable town which celebrates the holidays in a very big way. This book is just cute & also emotional in some ways, like when Ves contemplates his past & the found family he has now. Other things of note? A book-loving hero who is at times self conscious (very refreshing IMO), a heroine who gets things done , and a welcoming community. There’s at least one spot where it verges on being a bit too cutesy for my taste but overall, this is a lovely book that made me feel those warm & happy sensations. 4.25⭐️. Out 09/26.CWs: loss and grief; references to parental manipulation, parental fighting, parental emotional neglect, parental cheating.
 Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.An enemies to lovers space opera with an uptight hero?! Say less. Say more. Whatever, I want more details. Calamity by Constance Fay is such a fun ride & gave me those thrills of discovering a new author that I clicked with. Captain Temperance Reed has been banished from her family & from certain parts of space. But she’s offered a job she can’t refuse, as much as she would like to. She’s going on a scouting mission of a planet for a powerful family & she has to take their hot son, a prince named Arcadio Escajeda, with her. Now we’re talking. Also he’s their security & he’s uptight & he believes the mean rumors her brother started about her, something he learns are false pretty quickly. Now we’re talking again. With lots of action, a strong hero who “rumbles” a lot, some humor & , & those enemies to lovers dynamics I love so hard, Calamity is sure to please so many of you. 4.5⭐️. Out 11/14.Please reads the CWs of a trusted reviewer.
 Oops for taking this pic & then finishing my “now” book later on in the pm. So this pic was current at one point but is current no longer haha. Last-- Mary McMyne’s The Book of Gothel, out now. This is an intriguing Rapunzel retelling that foregrounds women & the ways they exert power & subvert the patriarchy. Most of the book is framed as a memoir written by a witch, & there are parts of Haelewise’s story that are striking & that feel like will stick with me for a while & other parts I was a bit confused about (this is probably just a me thing!). Romance readers, note that this fantasy has a love story throughout the book but this is not a romantasy. 3.5 ⭐️. (Thanks to @orbitbooks for the complimentary copy—all opinions mine.) Now-- Laura Griffin’s The Last Close Call. I’m such a fan of Laura Griffin’s romantic suspense so I treated myself to an early read of this ARC. This book features a genetic genealogist heroine & has a plot about using DNA and family trees to solve a murder which I think is really cool. Also an alpha hero . More thoughts on this one to come! Out 10/24. (Thanks to @berkleypub for the complimentary ARC—all opinions mine.) Next-- Maybe Gabriela Romero Lacruz’s The Sun & the Void, out now. This is a thick fantasy & I am loving those. The blurb says “Two women embark on an unforgettable quest into a world of dark gods & ancient magic” . I’m trying to read some of the books on my shelves & also trying to read some of my ARCs so we shall see what I end up picking up . (Thanks to @orbitbooks for the complimentary copy—all opinions mine.) what’s one of your last | now | nexts? [ID: the three books—two paperback, one ebook—are arranged on a square orange ottoman.] |
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