Talland House by Maggie Humm My rating: 1 of 5 stars Thank you NetGalley and She Writes Press for providing me with an ARC of Talland House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Almost three years ago I took my mother on a holiday to England. We visited St. Ives for a few days and I became enchanted with Cornwall. It was beautiful, magnificent and charming. I had a wonderful time there. We were very lucky with the weather and ever since then I have used Cornwall as my mental happy place, especially during this terrible pandemic. So, when I received a copy…
-
-
The Code for Love and Heartbreak
The Code for Love and Heartbreak by Jillian Cantor My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with an ARC of The Code for Love and Heartbreak in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist So, I have been staring at the computer screen for a good 20 minutes. I checked my Facebook three times. Trust me, I don’t have enough friends to see new content every time I log in. And I have checked my email so many times, I’m starting to feel really sad and lonely. Still, I have no clue how to write this…
-
Kingdom of Sea and Stone
Kingdom of Sea and Stone by Mara Rutherford My rating: 4 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with an ARC of Kingdom of Sea and Stone in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist Can I tell you a secret? I truly struggle writing book reviews for sequels and Kingdom of Sea and Stone is no exception. There it is; I said it. I keep staring at my computer screen, wondering what I should include and what I should leave out. At the very least, this is still a review and not a summary or your Wednesday evening…
-
Confessions on the 7:45
Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger My rating: 3 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Park Row, for providing me with an ARC of Confessions on the 7:45 in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I have seen promotions for Confessions on the 7:45 quite a bit during the last month or so on various social media outlets. I’m always excited when I get to read an ARC that gets some publicity. Call it a bit of pride. On my wall calendar I noted all the book reviews that are part of the Fall Reads Blog Tour and the closer we…
-
Brightly Burning
Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Gist I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I am a sucker for space stories. Throw some young adult plots with a sprinkle of classic literature retelling and I’m a very happy reader. Brightly Burning is all that. It is a retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre…set in space with quite a bit of young adult drama. Yes, please! The Details As with the author’s other retelling (The Stars We Steal) I was excited trying to figure out what character was based on the characters in the original classic and also what changes were made to…
-
The Orphan of Cemetery Hill
The Orphan of Cemetery Hill by Hester Fox My rating: 5 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Graydon House, for providing me with an ARC of The Orphan of Cemetery Hill in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I had Fox’s first novel, The Witch of Willow Hall, on my to-read list ever since it came out in 2018. Being the hopeful optimist that I am, I kept making plans to read it any day now. Well, the road to hell is usually paved with good intentions. So, sadly, I hadn’t been introduced to her writing until the publisher was so kind…
-
Smash It!
Smash It! by Francina Simone My rating: 1 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with an ARC of Smash It! in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist A few months ago I saw a book promotion for the upcoming Fall publications and Smash It! got a lot of attention. I checked it out and hoped I would have enough time to read it once it was published. One could only imagine how lucky I felt when I found out Smash It! is one of the books included in the Fall Reads Blog Tour I’m participating in. Based…
-
Crown of Coral and Pearl
Crown of Coral and Pearl by Mara Rutherford My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Gist About a year ago I browsed through my local library and came across Crown of Coral and Pearl. I read the little blurb about the story and was convinced that I would enjoy this story a lot. I borrowed it, took it home, got really caught up in writing my graduate thesis and ended up having to return it without reading one page. When I tried to borrow it again the waitlist was super long. Fast forward to last month. I got an invitation to join the Harlequin Fall Reads Blog Tour. My first…
-
These Vengeful Hearts
These Vengeful Hearts by Katherine Laurin My rating: 2 of 5 stars Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with an ARC of These Vengeful Hearts in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist I was obsessed with the Pretty Little Liars TV show for its entire run. High school thriller, with lots of intrigue and conspiracy. Sign me up! I welcomed the possibility of high school being the exact opposite of what it was like for me. So, it’s a sort of nostalgic feeling I get when reading high school thrillers that offer me an alternative option for experiencing the good…
-
Haunted Nights
Haunted Nights by Ellen Datlow My rating: 4 of 5 stars Thank you NetGalley and Anchor Books for providing me with an ARC of Haunted Nights in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The Gist One can always tell when I have had enough of summer and I’m ready for the cozy autumn season. This usually happens around the beginning of August and takes the form of me watching spooky movies and reading Halloween stories. I had Haunted Nights on my NetGalley to-read shelf for an eternity and thought now was an excellent time to start getting into the Halloween spirit. Generally speaking, I find the…
