Acts of Forgiveness by Maura Cheeks

Publisher: Random House Publishing Book – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Date of publication: February 13th, 2024

Genre: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Race, Family, Adult, Historical Fiction, Literature

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this stirring, tender-hearted debut about ambition and inheritance, a family grapples with how much of their lineage they’re willing to unearth in order to participate in the nation’s first federal reparations program.

Every American waits with bated breath to see whether or not the country’s first female president will pass the Forgiveness Act. The bill would allow Black families to claim up to $175,000 if they can prove they are the descendants of slaves and for ambitious single mother Willie Revel the bill could be a long-awaited form of redemption. A decade ago, Willie gave up her burgeoning journalism career to help run her father’s struggling construction company in Philadelphia and she has reluctantly put family first without being able to forget who she might have become. Now, she’s back living with her parents and her young daughter while trying to keep her family from going into bankruptcy. Could the Forgiveness Act uncover her forgotten roots while also helping save their beloved home and her father’s life work?

In order to qualify, she must first prove that the Revels are descended from slaves, but the rest of the family isn’t as eager to dig up the past. Her mother is adopted; her father doesn’t trust the government and believes working with a morally corrupt employer is the better way to save their business; and her daughter is just trying to make it through the fifth grade at her elite private school without attracting unwanted attention. It’s up to Willie to verify their ancestry and save her family—but as she delves into their history, Willie begins to learn just how complicated family and forgiveness can be.

With powerful insight and moving prose, Acts of Forgiveness asks how history shapes who we become and to consider the weight of success when it is achieved despite incredible odds—and ultimately what leaving behind a legacy truly means.

First Line:

Marcus Revel was willing to trade the illusion of his sanity to keep his home.
Acts of Forgiveness by Maura Cheeks

Important things you need to know about Acts of Forgiveness:

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (Willie and Paloma).

Trigger Warnings: Acts of Forgiveness contains racism, medical content, classism, alcoholism, infidelity, rape, slavery, abandonment, and violence. If any of these trigger you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: There is moderate swearing in Acts of Forgiveness. There is also language used that might offend some people.

Setting: Acts of Forgiveness is set in Philadelphia and New York City. A few chapters are set in Mississippi when Willie researches her family’s past.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Struggling to keep her family’s business afloat and to keep her father from doing business with a morally corrupt company, Willie Revel is looking for a miracle. And she might have found it with the Forgiveness Act. This bill will allow African American families, who can prove they are descended from enslaved people, to claim up to $175,000 per household. Willie could use that money to keep the business from going under. Using the skills she honed in journalism college, Willie starts researching her history.

Meanwhile, her daughter, Paloma, struggles to stay under the radar at her elite private school. As one of the only African American children there, she is singled out by students and teachers alike. Can Willie trace her heritage back to slavery? Can Paloma keep herself under the radar? Will the backlash from the Forgiveness Act die down?

My review:

Acts of Forgiveness was one of the most challenging books I have read this year. I wasn’t surprised by what I read; I had expected the content from the blurb. But it still packed a punch. I found myself tearing up in parts and, in other parts, being unbelievably angry over what Willie found out and what she had to endure growing up. The casual racism shown throughout the book sickened me, but it was true. People still act like this (especially in the South, where I live).

Acts of Forgiveness’s main storyline centers around Willie, Paloma, and the Forgiveness Act. Willie wasn’t likable, but I stress she was shaped that way. The shaping began when her parents moved into an all-white neighborhood. So, I didn’t let her grouchiness get to me or affect my enjoyment of the book. On the other hand, Paloma was the sweetest thing. Reading what happened with the Forgiveness Act and its backlash from a child’s POV was interesting.

The main storyline itself was well-written. It was jumpy (going from past to present), but considering how unstable everything was, it fit in with the book. The backlash to the Forgiveness Act was what I expected, unfortunately. It was something I could see happening in real-time (not that the bill would be passed with the current people serving in both the Senate and the House).

Willie’s backstory and her search into her family’s background were a considerable part of the main storyline. The author detailed Willie’s life from when her family moved into that neighborhood to today. Willie did spend most of the book pining for what she once had. But, her research into her history and what she learned about her roots made her rethink how she lived her life. The Willie at the end of the book is different from Willie at the beginning of the book. It showed how much she grew throughout the book.

Several secondary storylines were exciting, and they did bolster the main storyline. I was happy to see Paloma finally getting the praise she deserved and needed (that play was terrific). I was also pleased that Willie came to terms with several things in her life.

Secondary characters also added to the storyline and strengthened it. All of Willie’s family (her mother, brother, and father), her best friend, her mentor, and even Paloma’s father added depth.

I loved the end of Acts of Forgiveness. I won’t get too much into it, but it was what Willie and Paloma deserved. I was happy that Paloma grew up to do what she loved. I also liked that Willie finally got some peace with everything.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books, NetGalley, and Maura Cheeks for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Acts of Forgiveness. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Acts of Forgiveness, then you will enjoy these books:

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron (Supernatural Singles: Book 3) by April Asher

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: February 13th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Paranormal, Witches, Contemporary, Adult, Magic, Fiction

Series: Supernatural Singles

Not the Witch You Wed—Book 1

Not Your Ex’s Hexes—Book 2 (review here)

Not Your Crush’s Cauldron—Book 3

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

In April Asher’s new Supernatural Singles novel, a witch takes a stroll on the wild-ish side, sparking an alert that saddles her with her very own Guardian Angel…who happens to be her secret crush―and new roommate.

Olive Maxwell much prefers teaching about the supernatural world to taking part in it and leaves the magical shenanigans to her two sisters―the Prima-Apparent and Bounty Hunter-In-Training. But after assigning her college students a project designed to nudge them outside their comfort zones, Olive realizes that she’s never once stepped a toe over her own…and it’s about time that changed. Her first
trip into the unknown? Moving in with her long-time crush―and friend…tattooed, motorcycle-riding, and pleasantly pierced, Baxter Donovan.

Bax Donovan, Guardian Angel not-so-extraordinaire, has acquired so many black marks on his record it looked like a scantron sheet. He’s given one last chance to keep his Guardian wings intact, a high-profile Assignment he knows all too well. Olive is usually as low-risk as it got. Hell, she wrote the safety manual. But something landed her on the Guardian Affairs radar and his guess was it had something to do with the heart-pounding stunts she’s determined to check off her Dare I Docket list.

Keeping Olive out of trouble is about to be his toughest assignment yet, and not because he’s forced to shake the dust off his feathers and embrace his inner aerialist. He’s at real risk of shattering the only Guardian Angel Code of Conduct Rule he’s yet to Don’t fall in love with your Assignment. And he isn’t so sure that’s a bad thing.

If love didn’t play by the rules, why should they?

First Line:

Committing a felony had never looked so appealing to Olive Maxwell.
Not Your Crush’s Cauldron by April Asher

Important things you need to know about Not Your Crush’s Cauldron:

Pace: Medium

POV: 3rd person (Olive and Bax).

Trigger Warnings: There are no trigger warnings in Not Your Crush’s Cauldron.

Language: There is moderate swearing in Not Your Crush’s Cauldron. There is also language used that might offend some people.

Setting: Not Your Crush’s Cauldron is set in New York City.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Olive is the youngest of the Maxwell triplets. After watching her sisters find true love and their true purpose in their lives (one is the Prima-Apparent and the other is a Bounty Hunter in Training), she is content to teach magic at her local college. But, when she assigns her students an assignment intended to make them go outside their comfort zone, she decides to do it with them. The first thing on her list is moving in with Bax, her longtime crush and friend.

Bax is a guardian angel who isn’t very good at his job. His record has more black marks than any other angels in the department. To keep his career, Bax is given a low-risk assignment. To his shock, his assignment is Olive. What Bax wasn’t counting on was Olive trying things outside her comfort zone. He soon begins accompanying her on different outings and fighting his growing attraction to her. One of the three rules of his department is not to get involved with their charge.

As Olive and Bax spend more time together, their attraction grows. But with Olive being Bax’s charge, he cannot make a move on her. Will Olive push Bax out of his comfort zone? Will Bax be able to control his feelings for Olive until his assignment is over? Or will he risk losing his wings for her?

Characters:

Olive Maxwell and Bax Donovan are the main characters in Not Your Crush’s Cauldron. Having been introduced to Olive in the previous book (I haven’t read the entire series, just book 2), I did think that she was pretty mellow and less low-key than her sisters. I felt there was nothing wrong with playing it safe, having outfits for certain days of the week, or having schedules for everything. That’s how she liked her life. I got grumpy during the college party scene where she overheard unkind remarks about her. But, it did get her thinking, and she decided to join the assignment with her students. Bax joining her was an enjoyable addition to the list.

Bax Donovan was an interesting character for me to read. At first, I thought I had him pegged as a slightly bad Guardian Angel who only went through the motions at his job. And I was partially right about that. Bax didn’t exactly put himself out there with his charges (the gargoyle wing scene did make me laugh and wince). But the more I read about him, the more I understood him. He liked Olive and maybe loved her early on in the book. But he had to put aside those feelings when assigned her (because of the rules). On top of that, he had to deal with a father who was borderline mentally and emotionally abusive to him. It was a lot, and he tended to deal with that by shutting down and internalizing it.

The characters from the other books do make an appearance in this one. I loved that they didn’t overtake Bax and Olive’s story. Instead, they added depth to the main storyline. There was one character (Harper) who I would love to see a book about. There were sparks between her and a certain werewolf, and I need to see if that will go anywhere (I hope!!)

My review:

I was excited when I got the widget for Not Your Crush’s Cauldron. I had enjoyed reading the previous book (Not Your Exes Hexes) and planned to read this one if/when it went on KU. So, to say I was excited is an understatement. I couldn’t wait to read this book.

The main storyline of Not Your Crush’s Cauldron centers around Olive and Bax, their romance, Bax’s assignment, Olive’s assignment, and Olive’s attempt to push her limits. It was a well-written, funny, and very hot storyline. I did get sad in spots because of different things that were brought up as the book went on. Examples are:

Bax’s father (who I couldn’t stand).
Olive’s fear of living outside her comfort zone.
The guardian angel conundrum.

But don’t let that stop you from reading this book!! The author interwove those themes throughout the book with tact.

The romance angle of the book was scorching hot. Now, the author did wait to have Olive and Bax have sex until well past the middle of the book. But, by then, the sexual tension had built up, and when they did have sex, it was explosive. I was surprised by Bax’s piercings (an angel with penile and nipple piercings?!?). I should have been because it was talked about up to them having sex. And, of course, the makeup sex was perfect (because each romance novel has hot makeup sex).

I loved the fantasy angle, too. The author did a great job creating a universe where all supernatural beings were out and accepted. The magic was used casually and wasn’t over the top. Even Bax’s guardian angel status (wings included) was treated normally. I loved it!!!

Several secondary storylines involved Olive’s sisters that were interwoven into her storyline. Instead of taking over (and I was afraid they would), the author kept them in the background. Each was wrapped up by the end of the book.

I do want to touch on Bax’s storyline with his father. Michael, his father, was a vast douchecanoe. I couldn’t believe what he said to Olive (at the college party or the Guardian Angels headquarters). He was such an asshat that he went out of his way to try and get Bax fired. Why? Because he couldn’t deal with his son being a guardian angel instead of a warrior. I did like how both Bax and Olive dealt with him. But I do wish that there was a resolution to that storyline. It was the only one that was left up in the air.

The end of Not Your Crush’s Cauldron was perfect. I loved how the author wrapped up Bax and Olive’s love story. I liked that Olive came to her senses and understood why Bax couldn’t tell her about his assignment. And I appreciated that Bax gave her space to do so. I hope there will be a book 4 (as mentioned at the top of this review). I would love to see Harper get her HEA.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and April Asher for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Not Your Crush’s Cauldron. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Not Your Crush’s Cauldron, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by April Asher

Suggested Playlist (feel free to add songs or remove songs)

“Good Days” – SZA
“Lost in the Fire” – Gesaffelstein & The Weeknd
“Watermelon Sugar” – Harry Styles
“Levitating” – Dua Lipa ft. DaBaby
“Electric Feel” – MGMT
“Sweater Weather” – The Neighbourhood
“Blinding Lights” – The Weeknd
“Golden” – Harry Styles
“Stay” – The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber
“Heat Waves” – Glass Animals
“Shut Up and Dance” – WALK THE MOON
“Deja Vu” – Olivia Rodrigo

The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: February 13th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Contemporary, Adult, Mystery, Fiction, Magical Realism, Magic, Crime, Paranormal Romance

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A magically gifted con artist must gather her estranged mother’s old crew for a once-in-a-lifetime heist, from the New York Times bestselling author of Stranger Suspicious Minds.

Dani Poissant is the daughter and former accomplice of the world’s most famous art thief, as well as being an expert forger in her own right. The secret to their success? A little thing called magic, kept rigorously secret from the non-magical world. Dani’s mother possesses the power of persuasion, able to bend people to her will, whereas Dani has the ability to make any forgery she undertakes feel like the genuine article.

At seventeen, concerned about the corrupting influence of her mother’s shadowy partner, Archer, Dani impulsively sold her mother out to the FBI—an act she has always regretted. Ten years later, Archer seeks her out, asking her to steal a particular painting for him, since her mother’s still in jail. In return, he will reconcile her with her mother and reunite her with her mother’s old gang—including her former best friend, Mia, and Elliott, the love of her life.

The problem is, it’s a nearly impossible job—even with the magical talents of the people she once considered family backing her up. The painting is in the never-before-viewed private collection of deceased billionaire William Hackworth—otherwise known as the Fortress of Art. It’s a job that needs a year to plan, and Dani has just over one week. Worse, she’s not exactly gotten a warm welcome from her former colleagues—especially not from Elliott, who has grown from a weedy teen to a smoking-hot adult. And then there is the biggest puzzle of why Archer wants her to steal a portrait of himself, which clearly dates from the 1890s, instead of the much more valuable works by Vermeer or Rothko. Who is her mother’s partner, really, and what does he want?

The more Dani learns, the more she understands she may be in way over her head—and that there is far more at stake in this job than she ever realized.

First Line

Dani was settled at a sticky back table in the empty dive bar, waiting, when the mark arrived.
The Frame-Up by Gwenda Bond

Important things you need to know about The Frame-Up:

Pace: Fast. The storyline of the book takes place over ten days.

POV: 3rd person (from Dani’s POV).

Trigger Warnings: There are scenes involving emotional abuse (on and off page), blood (mostly off page), fire (on page), gaslighting (on page), abandonment (off page and was done to and by Dani), injury & injury detail (on page), toxic relationship (on and off page), grief (on page), sexual assault (off-page but described in general terms via a journal Dani found written by her great-great-grandmother), suicide (off-page but described in general terms in the same journal mentioned previously), and murder (off-page). If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: There is moderate swearing in The Frame-Up. There is also language used that might offend some people.

Setting: The Frame-Up is set in Lexington, Kentucky. A brief chapter at the beginning shows Dani doing business in St. Louis, Missouri.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Growing up, Dani was molded into an expert forger by her art thief mother. But, at the age of seventeen and desperate to get her mother out of that lifestyle and away from her shadowy business partner, Archer, Dani contacted the FBI and arranged for her mother to be arrested. Dani didn’t expect backlash from the people who helped raise her.

That all changed when Archer hunted her down and asked her to forge a painting and steal the original for him. He promised that she would be able to make things right with her mother and with her mother’s gang if she did it. It wouldn’t be easy, though. The painting he wants stolen is in a private collection about to be sold at auction. That means Dani and her accomplices would need to infiltrate the auction. Dani is counting on her ace up her sleeve, her magical talent, and the magical talents of most of the gang to get the painting and get out.

But, with the clock ticking and rival gangs casing the joint, Dani needs to work fast. There is something bothering her about Archer and his reason for wanting the painting. Also, her mother has miraculously decided to talk to her again and shows great interest in the job. Can Dani figure everything out before the heist?

Characters:

The main characters in The Frame-Up are Dani and her border collie, Sunflower. She was a sympathetic character with a heartbreaking backstory. The only thing I was even a little “meh” about was her wanting to have a relationship with Maria (her mother). But I will get into that during the actual review.

The secondary characters (Maria, Rabbit, Mia, Elliot, Brad, and Archer) did add some oomph to the storyline. But I didn’t feel the connection that I did with Dani. I was a little grumpy with Rabbit because of how she treated Dani, but having read the book, I understand why she acted that way. Just remember that things aren’t what they seem with Maria’s gang.

My review:

When I started reading The Frame-Up, I expected it to be a rom-com centered around an art heist. I did think that the premise was strange, but I have read books that featured a jewel thief, so I went with it. Well, the blurb wasn’t exactly right about the book. The Frame-Up is more of a fantasy chick-lit crime book with a touch of romance. And again, I didn’t mind it. But some people do, so I want to give everyone a heads-up.

The main storyline of The Frame-Up centers around Dani, Archer, Maria (her mother), a plan to steal a painting, and Dani reconnecting with the only family she knew. The storyline was well written, but it did lag in spots (mainly at the end when everything went to hell). I found some situations unbelievable, but since this was a fantasy, I went with it. In the end, I did enjoy the book.

I liked how the author took an art heist and made it magical. Except for Mia, everyone had magic powers. Dani could accurately reproduce any painting, her mother had the gift of persuasion, and Rabbit was a whiz on technology. I also liked how the author kept the highest, generally, in shades of gray. Yes, stealing and replacing a painting was awful, but Dani did it for a reason. She wanted to reconnect with Maria. Yes, lying and pretending to be security consultants was terrible, but again, Dani was doing it to get to the painting, and she helped stop heists before they happened.

I was disappointed that the author didn’t explain Dani’s ability. There was one scene where she was reproducing Archer’s painting, and that was it. Otherwise, it was all about the finger tingles and memory of Monet when she was a child.

I liked that the author kept Dani and Elliott’s romance in the background. With everything going on, if the romance were more up in your face, it would have ruined the book. I also liked being kept guessing if Dani would go with Elliott or with Brad for most of the book. That pseudotriangle did keep me on my feet.

Other than the heist, the main focus of this book was the relationship between Dani and her mother. Dani did what she thought was right and turned Maria in. All she wanted was for her mother to be out of Archer’s control and back to being a somewhat normal parent. But, as the book went on and the more Dani interacted with Maria, the more I saw that Maria wasn’t nice.

Archer is the big elephant in the room. He was very mysterious in his dealings with Maria and with Dani. It was in the scene where Dani saw the painting where I thought something was up. And there was. The journal scenes explained so much and explained why he wanted the painting. It also changed Dani’s mind about helping Archer. He got what he deserved in the end.

The end of the book is chaos. There was so much going on and so much revealed that my head spun from processing it all. I was left with a headache and feeling that the book hadn’t ended (if that makes sense).

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Gwenda Bond for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Frame-Up. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Frame-Up, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Gwenda Bond

Suggested Playlist (feel free to add songs or remove songs)

“Paint It, Black” – The Rolling Stones
“Strange Mercy” – St. Vincent
“Pictures of You” – The Cure
“Shadowboxer” – Fiona Apple
“Canvas” – Imogen Heap
“The Gallery” – Murray Gold (from Doctor Who)
“The Suburbs” – Arcade Fire
“Portrait (He Knew)” – Kansas
“Colors” – Halsey
“Vincent” – Don McLean
“Starlight” – Muse
“Land of Confusion” – Genesis

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of Publication: February 13th, 2024

Genre: Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Adult, Paranormal, Historical Fantasy, Horror, World War I, Ghosts

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist from the New York Times bestselling author of The Bear and the Nightingale

January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, she receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital. Soon after arriving, she hears whispers about haunted trenches, and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?

November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two men form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.

As shells rain down on Flanders, and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.

First Line:

Freddie’s clothes ca me to Veith Street instead of Blackthorn House, and the telegram that ought to have preceded them didn’t reach Laura at all.
The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Slow to medium. Once the author explained the backstories, the pacing slowed way down, almost to a snail’s pace. That caused the storyline to drag in some spots. The pace did pick up to medium at the end of the book.

POV: 3rd person (told by Laura, Freddie, and occasionally Hans Winter).

Trigger Warnings: There are scenes involving war themes & military violence (on-page), death (on and off page), blood (on page), death of parents (off page but how Laura found her mother was on-page), violence (on page), medical content (on page), injury & injury detail (on and off page), gore (on page), grief (on page), medical trauma (on page), body horror (on page), panic attacks (on page), murder (on page), gaslighting (on page), gun violence (on page), confinement (on page), suicidal thoughts (on page), xenophobia (on and off page), fire and fire injury (on page), post traumatic stress disorder (on page), alcohol consumption (on page), dead bodies & body parts (on and off page), needles (on page), physical injuries (on and off page), scars (on page), disappearance of a loved one (on page), explosions (on page), knife violence (on page), chemical gassing & warfare (on and off page), and riot (on page). If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: There is little to no swearing used in The Warm Hands of Ghosts. There is language used that could be offensive to some people.

Setting: The Warm Hands of Ghosts is primarily set in WWI-era Belgium. There are several chapters set in Halifax, Nova Scotia. There are also stops in England and France.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Laura, a renowned WWI nurse, had been sent home when she sustained an injury to her leg. While she is recuperating, a horrific explosion of a ship kills and injures hundreds of people. Her mother was killed, and her father was presumed dead (he was at ground zero for the attack). Several days after the explosion, Laura receives a package containing her brother Wilfred’s (a.k .a. Freddie’s) personal effects. However, several things do not make sense or are missing. So Laura and her friend Pim travel to Belgium to help in a hospital in The Forbidden Zone. But Laura is also there to look into her brother’s death/disappearance. What she uncovers defies any sense of reason, and when she finds out that Freddie is caught up in that web, Laura will move heaven and earth to save him.

Characters:

The two main characters in The Warm Hands of Ghosts are the Iven siblings, Laura and Freddie. I liked that the author showcased their strong relationship on top of creating well-rounded, well-written characters. These characters were well fleshed out, and I was able to form a connection with both of them. I connected with Laura more than Freddie, but that was because she was in the book more.

Numerous other secondary characters added depth to the main storylines. But the ones that stood out the most to me were Pim, Winters, and Faland. Pim, because she was devastated and haunted by the death of her only son in this war. She was clinging to a fragile hope that he was still alive. Winters, because he was the strongest out of all the characters. His bond with Freddie transcended anything, and I liked that he saw Faland for who he was and was ready to move mountains to get Freddie back. And lastly, Faland. I will leave a minor spoiler here (because otherwise, my references wouldn’t make sense), but Faland was an aspect of the devil. He dealt with stealing souls and secrets. His entire character was contrasts.

My review:

I had eagerly waited for Katherine Arden to release her newest adult novel since The Winter of the Witch was published. I had read her middle-grade series, Small Spaces, and while it was good, it wasn’t what I wanted to read from her. So, when I saw that Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Del Rey had The Warm Hands of Ghosts as a wish on NetGalley, I immediately clicked that button. And I was thrilled when I saw that they had granted my wish. This book is one of my top choices for February.

The Warm Hands of Ghosts has dual storylines. Freddie’s storyline starts in November 1917 when he and Winters are trapped in a pillbox. Laura’s storyline begins in January 1918, right after the Halifax Explosion. Both storylines were well-written and well-fleshed out. The storyline did drag once Laura arrived in Belgium and went to The Forbidden Zone. But it picked back up when Winters connected with Laura. Once the storylines merged, the book flowed better but kept up that same medium-slow pace until the end.

I do have a trigger warning list above, but I want to reiterate that this book takes place on the battlefield. There are explosions, people dying, body parts, and people suffering from mental trauma portrayed in the book. This book also takes place during WWI, when chemical warfare was widely used and the effects from the chemicals were awful. It makes for a sad and often frightening background. I didn’t mind it and thought it only accentuated Freddie’s time with Faland and Laura’s quest to find him. But some people might be triggered. So, go into reading this book with care.

The fantasy angle of The Warm Hands of Ghosts was exciting and, at the same time, a little scary. Freddie got sucked into something that was beyond him, and when Winters left (unwillingly, might I add), his sense of time got hazy. I liked how the author connected music to the magic that Faland did and a mirror that showed your true heart’s desire. The haziness of Freddie’s recollections and the music make for an almost dreamlike state that Freddie lived in.

The end of The Warm Hands of Ghosts was bittersweet. I won’t get into it, but the damage that was done by the war was immense. That’s all I can say without giving away spoilers. I liked Laura’s spot of happiness on the last page.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Katherine Arden for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Warm Hands of Ghosts. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Warm Hands of Ghosts, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Katherine Arden

Suggested Playlist (feel free to add songs or remove songs)

“Holocene” – Bon Iver
“The Night We Met” – Lord Huron
“Wandering” – Radical Face
“To Build a Home” – The Cinematic Orchestra
“The Wolves (Act I and II)” – Bon Iver
“Samsa’s Song” – Agnes Obel
“The Lighthouse” – Patrick Watson
“Your Hand in Mine” – Explosions in the Sky
“Run Boy Run” – Woodkid
“Sorrow” – The National
“Black Flies” – Ben Howard
“From the Dining Table” – Harry Styles

Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead by Jenny Hollander

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: February 6th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Horror, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary, Psychological Thriller

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

What if everything you know about the worst night of your life turns out not to be true?

Nine years ago, with the world’s eyes on her, Charlie Colbert fled. The press and the police called Charlie a “witness” to the nightmarish events at her elite graduate school on Christmas Eve—events known to the public as “Scarlet Christmas”—though Charlie knows she was much more than that.

Now, Charlie has meticulously rebuilt her life: She’s the editor-in-chief of a major magazine, engaged to the golden child of the publishing industry, and hell-bent on never, ever letting her guard down again. But when a buzzy film made by one of Charlie’s former classmates threatens to shatter everything she’s worked for, Charlie realizes how much she’s changed in nine years. Now, she’s not going to let anything—not even the people she once loved most—get in her way.

First Line:

Everyone who was there, or pretends they were there, says the same thing: the tabloids got it wrong.
Everyone Who Can Forgive Me is Dead by Jenny Hollander

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Medium but does pick up to fast towards the end of the book. After the twist, it falls back to medium again.

POV: 1st person (told from Charlie’s POV in both past and present)

Trigger Warnings: There are scenes involving mental Illness (on page), murder (on and off page), alcohol (on and off page), suicidal thoughts (off page), violence (on page), blood (on page), grief (on and off page), injury and injury detail (on page), child death (off page), death (on and off page), drug use (on page for one scene and never mentioned again), self harm (on page), toxic relationship (on and off page), stalking (off and on page), and toxic friendship (on and off page). If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: Moderate swearing is used in Skater Boy. There is also language used that could be offensive to some people.

Setting: Everyone Who Can Forgive Now Is Dead is set mainly in New York City. There is a brief scene in Nantucket when Charlie tries on wedding dresses. Charlie also remembers growing up in England.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Charlie Cobert had lived through a horrific Christmas Eve massacre at her exclusive graduate school. Dubbed “Scarlet Christmas,” several of Charlie’s friends were killed that night. Charlie herself could not remember the events up to the massacre and the actual massacre itself. Determined to lose the victim label the press gave her, Charlie slowly got her life back. Now, nine years after those events, she is the editor-in-chief of a major magazine and is engaged to the heir of a huge publishing company. But, when the twin sister of her best friend (who was killed in the massacre) decides to make a film about that night, Charlie starts to unravel. What exactly happened that night? What isn’t Charlie remembering? Will it take Charlie completely falling apart to remember?

Characters:

The main character in Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead is Charlie. I am going to say this upfront: Charlie is not a reliable narrator. Let me repeat this louder for those in the back: CHARLIE IS NOT A RELIABLE NARRATOR.

I didn’t like Charlie, but I felt terrible for her. The trauma she experienced shaped her into the neurotic woman that is portrayed in the book. She kept people, including her fiancee, at arm’s length. She refused to discuss anything to do with that night with anyone. Hell, she even went as far as to get plastic surgery to change what she looked like. So, I wasn’t surprised when she began to spiral. When she started remembering the truth of that night, it broke her. It would have broken me, too.

The secondary characters weren’t as fleshed out as I would have liked them to be. They did add some extra depth to the storyline but that was it.

My review:

The main storyline in the book is split between Now (present-day) and Then (the months leading up to the massacre). The author also includes news articles about the massacre as buffers between the chapters. I was skipping over the articles until I realized that they did hold information in them. So, don’t skip them. You will miss out on stuff.

I wasn’t a fan of the dual storylines. Dual storylines and I have a love/hate relationship. Done right, they are lovely and done wrong, well, they suck. Thankfully, the author did them right in this book. There is a correlation between what Charlie was going through in the present day and what she experienced leading up to the murders. It made the transition between storylines easy, and I didn’t get lost when switching over.

As I stated above, Charlie is an unreliable narrator. Her memories of events leading up to the Scarlet Christmas were skewed. There were holes in them because of her drinking (minor spoiler: she is a blackout drunk). But, as the storyline went on, and the more Charlie’s therapy sessions uncovered the truth, I did begin to wonder if I was getting the whole, unvarnished truth. And now that I have finished the book, I still wonder that.

The mystery/thriller/suspense angle was well written. The author did a great job of building up what was going on with Charlie in the present and what was going on with her in the past. There is also a massive twist in the back half of the book that I did not see coming. Usually, there is a hint, a whisper of things to come, but not in this book. It came out of nowhere and surprised me.

The end of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead was interesting but not what I thought. I can only get into a little about what happened without spoilers, but I liked what I read. But, it was almost anti-climatic after everything that was revealed.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Jenny Hollander for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Everyone Who Can Forgive Me Is Dead, then you will enjoy these books:

Suggested Playlist (feel free to add songs or remove songs)

“Runaway” – Aurora
“All I Want” – Kodaline
“Breathe Me” – Sia
“Holocene” – Bon Iver
“The Night We Met” – Lord Huron
“Bleeding Out” – Imagine Dragons
“Youth” – Daughter
“Hurt” – Johnny Cash
“Wish You Were Here” – Pink Floyd
“Fix You” – Coldplay
“Demons” – Imagine Dragons
“Someone You Loved” – Lewis Capaldi

The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan: Book 1) by Robert Jackson Bennett

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: February 6th, 2024

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Thriller, Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy, Science Fiction Fantasy, Queer

Series: Shadow of the Leviathan

The Tainted Cup—Book 1

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

A Holmes and Watson-style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from the Edgar-winning, multiple Hugo-nominated Robert Jackson Bennett

In Daretana’s greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible.

Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.

At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.

As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.

By an “endlessly inventive” (Vulture) author with a “wicked sense of humor” (NPR), The Tainted Cup mixes the charms of detective fiction with brilliant world-building to deliver a fiendishly clever mystery that’s at once instantly recognizable and thrillingly new.

First Line:

The walls of the estate emerged from the morning fog before me, long and dark and rounded like the skin of some beached sea creature.
The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Medium but does increase to fast during crucial scenes.

POV: 1st person (told from Dinios Kol’s POV)

Series: The Tainted Cup is the first book in the Shadow of the Leviathan series.

Trigger Warnings: There are scenes of body horror, murder, death, gore, violence, injury and injury details, animal death, classism, chronic illness, medical content, death of a parent (off page), fire and fire injury, gaslighting, alcohol, pandemic/endemic, ableism, blood, war, bullying, genocide, physical abuse, grief, vomit, and drug use. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book.

Language: There is moderate swearing in The Tainted Cup. There is also language used that could be offensive to some people.

Setting: The Tainted Cup is set in and around the city of Talagray in the country of Tala.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When a high imperial officer is murdered by a tree erupting from his body, Investigator Ana Dolabra is called in to investigate. Instead, she sends her assistant, Dinios Kol (magically altered to take in and remember everything), to assess the crime scene. But, the murder of the imperial officer soon isn’t the only one. People of all classes are dying of trees erupting from their bodies. Called back to Talagray, Ana and Din are soon embroiled in an investigation that takes them from the front lines of a battle against sea leviathans to the gentry folk who run the city. With the death toll mounting, Ana and Din are in a race against the clock to find out who is killing these people and why. But the answers that they uncover will shock them.

Characters:

The main characters in The Tainted Cup are Ana Dolabra and Dinios Kol (Din). Several secondary characters regularly appear, but the author keeps Ana and Din as the book’s main focus. I found them interesting. I was fascinated with Din’s magical alteration—he can remember and recall anything he has heard, read, or seen (also called a Sublime). The deeper into the book I got, the author revealed more about both Din and Ana. I also loved the relationship that they had. It was one of mutual respect which shone the most at the end of the book.

The secondary characters were interesting, adding extra depth and insight to the storyline. I will warn everyone, though, that the author is not very attached to his secondary characters and does kill a bunch off. So keep that in mind when reading, and don’t get too attached to the secondary characters.

My review:

I was excited when I checked my email and saw I had gotten a widget for The Tainted Cup. I loved the author’s Foundryside series and wanted to know when he would publish a new book. In the past, I have been disappointed by books that I get my hopes up for, and because of that, I temper my excitement a little. But, once I got reading, I allowed my inner fantasy geek to scream with joy. Why? Because this book was excellent!!!

The storyline of The Tainted Cup was very intriguing. It starts with a gruesome murder and takes off after that. The author kept the murder (and soon, murders) in my focus. The storyline is very complex and has a ton of layers to it. Once one layer was peeled back, another was there. That multilayering of the storyline added to my enjoyment of it.

The mystery angle of The Tainted Cup was excellent. Not only did I not see who the killers (there were two) were, but I did not expect the book to go in the direction it did. That twist at the end threw me and turned everything upside down. And guess what, I loved it!!

The fantasy angle was terrific, too. I had questions about the sea monsters and why they were trying to get further inland. The author never explained it, but the explanation should appear in upcoming books. I am also sure it is something super simple (breeding grounds/intelligent creatures/who knows).

The end of The Tainted Cup was interesting. Again, the twist took me completely by surprise. The author did wrap up the murder storyline in a way that left me satisfied. But he left so much more open, and I look forward to seeing how he expands upon them in upcoming books.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Robert Jackson Bennett for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Tainted Cup. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Tainted Cup, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Robert Jackson Bennett

The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin

Date of publication: January 30th, 2024

Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Fiction, Adult, Adult Fiction, Chick Lit, Humor

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Sometimes, when you ask the universe for your soulmate, you wind up with your hate mate instead.

On Nami’s 30th birthday, she’s reminded at every turn that her life isn’t what she planned. She’s always excelled at everything – until now. Her fiancé blew up their engagement. Her pride and joy, the tech company she helped to found, is about to lose funding. And her sister, Sora, is getting married to the man of her dreams, Jack, and instead of being happy for her, as she knows she ought to be, she’s fighting off jealousy.

Frustrated with her life, she makes a wish on a birthday candle to find her soulmate. Instead, the universe delivers her hate mate, Nami’s old high school nemesis, Jae Lee, the most popular kid from high school, who also narrowly beat her out for valedictorian. More than a decade later, Jae is still as effortlessly cool, charming, and stylish as ever, and, to make matters worse, is planning a hostile take-over of her start-up. sharp elbows and even sharper banter as the two go head-to-head to see who’ll win this time. But when their rivalry ignites a different kind of passion, Nami starts to realize that it’s not just her company that’s in danger of being taken over, but her heart as well.

First Line:

I hate birthdays like most people hate toilet paper hoarders.
The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pace of The Takeover is fast.

POV: The Takeover is told from Nami and Jae’s 1st person POV.

Trigger/Content Warning: The Takeover has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

Death of a parent (mentioned)
Bullying (adult and workplace)
Grief

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in The Takeover.

Language: There is moderate swearing in The Takeover. There is also language used that could be offensive to some people.

Setting: The Takeover is set in Chicago.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Nami is dreading her 30th birthday. Her life hasn’t gone the way that she planned. Her company, a tech company that she poured her blood, sweat, and tears into, is about to lose funding. Her ex-fiance has moved on quickly, getting engaged almost immediately after the breakup. And her sister, well, her sister, is planning her wedding to the man of her dreams. Nami wonders where she went wrong. So, on the night of her 30th birthday party, Nami makes a birthday wish for a soulmate.

Instead of the soulmate she wants, Nami renews a rivalry with her childhood nemesis, Jae Lee. She hadn’t seen Jae since high school, but he was the same annoying jerk who had one-upped her at everything. Now, he is part of the acquisitions company looking to buy her company. Desperate to save her company, Nami finds herself going head-to-head with Jae. No one is more surprised than Nami when their hatred turns to passion. And just when she dares to let herself believe that she could have love, it is smashed, leaving her heartbroken. It is up to Jae to show Nami that she is his forever. Can Jae do that? Can he win Nami over and have their happily ever after? Or will Jae’s actions (or inactions) hinder that?

Characters:

The main characters in The Takeover are Nami and Jae. I found them to be well-written, well-fleshed-out characters. Their interactions had me laughing out loud while reading. Their enemies-to-lovers trope was interesting, and I liked how much history Nami and Jae had together. The sparks were apparent from the beginning, and as I read the book, I couldn’t wait to see those sparks ignite.

I did go into The Takeover with a preconceived notion about Nami. In The Second Your Single, she is portrayed as a Bridezilla with control issues. It wasn’t until the end of the book, when Sora needed her, that I saw who she was. So, I was a little shocked by how much I initially liked her.

I wasn’t a massive fan of Jae. Honestly, he came across as super arrogant. I wouldn’t say I liked how he got enjoyment over taking over Nami’s company. But then he started hanging out with Nami and became more human (if that makes sense).

I loved the secondary characters in this book. They were excellent, and they had Nami’s back. There was an amusing secondary storyline involving Del (who was a dink), his costly office chair, and a chair napping by someone on staff. It was hilarious, and I loved how it ended (and everyone in the company got involved). The lesson learned from this: don’t piss off your employees because they will get you back.

My review:

As I stated above, I went into reading The Takeover gingerly. I remembered Nami from the previous book and was very interested in how the author would portray her. It took me about a chapter before it registered that this wasn’t the Bridezilla from The Second Your Single. I decided to drop anything I felt about Nami then and went into this book, determined not to hold her to the first impression I had of her. I am glad I did because Nami in this book was excellent.

The main storyline follows Nami and Jae as they battle it out over the acquisition of her company. I enjoyed the witty and often snappy dialogue between Nami and Jae. But I also liked the personal relationships that Nami had. She cared for her employees, and if that meant dipping into her savings to pay for Breakfast Monday to make them happy, she did it. Her reaction to Jae was what I thought it would be (big rival from high school). I was surprised, though, when she started having feelings for him. I shouldn’t have been because this is a romance, but I was.

The romance angle of the story was interesting. Like I said above, I was surprised at and by it. Mainly because Nami was so nasty to Jae and vice versa. But hate is often a cover for love, and that was the case here. I liked the gradual build-up in their relationship (it wasn’t sudden or a surprise). The same goes for when they started their sexual relationship. It wasn’t a surprise (I knew it was coming). I wasn’t a massive fan of the sex scenes. It didn’t do it for me, which is the only complaint I had for this book.

The end of The Takeover was interesting. I loved how the author resolved Nami’s company issues. It was something I should have seen coming (the reason was mentioned a few times), and it delighted me! I also liked the resolution to Nami and Jae’s relationship. I can’t say anything except they did get their HEA.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin, NetGalley, and Cara Tanamachi for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Takeover. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Takeover, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Cara Tanamachi

Playlist (generated by ChatGPT)

“Eye of the Tiger” – Survivor
“Power” – Kanye West
“Radioactive” – Imagine Dragons
“Stronger” – Kelly Clarkson
“Thunderstruck” – AC/DC
“Can’t Stop the Feeling!” – Justin Timberlake
“Uptown Funk” – Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars
“Lose Yourself” – Eminem
“Titanium” – David Guetta ft. Sia
“Believer” – Imagine Dragons
“Roar” – Katy Perry
“Happy” – Pharrell Williams

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands (Emily Wilde: Book 2) by Heather Fawcett

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Date of publication: January 16th, 2024

Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Adult, Fae, Fantasy Romance, Magic, Historical Fantasy

Series: Emily Wilde

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeires—Book 1 (review here)

Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands—Book 2

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | Kobo | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When mysterious faeries from other realms appear at her university, curmudgeonly professor Emily Wilde must uncover their secrets before it’s too late in this heartwarming, enchanting second installment of the Emily Wilde series.

Emily Wilde is a genius scholar of faerie folklore—she just wrote the world’s first comprehensive of encylopaedia of faeries. She’s learned many of the secrets of the Hidden Folk on her adventures . . . and also from her fellow scholar and former rival, Wendell Bambleby.

Because Bambleby is more than infuriatingly charming. He’s an exiled faerie king on the run from his murderous mother, and in search of a door back to his realm. So despite Emily’s feelings for Bambleby, she’s not ready to accept his proposal of marriage. Loving one of the Fair Folk comes with secrets and danger.

And she also has a new project to focus a map of the realms of faerie. While she is preparing her research, Bambleby lands her in trouble yet again, when assassins sent by Bambleby’s mother invade Cambridge. Now Bambleby and Emily are on another adventure, this time to the picturesque Austrian Alps, where Emily believes they may find the door to Bambley’s realm, and the key to freeing him from his family’s dark plans.

But with new relationships for the prickly Emily to navigate and dangerous Folk lurking in every forest and hollow, Emily must unravel the mysterious workings of faerie doors, and of her own heart.

First Line:

The foot would not fit in my briefcase, so I wrapped it in cloth and wrestled it into an old knapsack I sometimes carry with me on expeditions.
Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands has a medium to fast pace.

POV: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is told from two POVs. It is told from Emily’s (and, in one chapter, Wendell’s) 1st person POV. But, it is also told from a 2nd person POV (the entire book is journal entries.)

Series: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is the 2nd book in the Emily Wilde series. It would help to read Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries before reading this book.

Trigger/Content Warning: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

Violence
Injury/Injury Detail
Animal Death
Murder
Animal Cruelty
Gore
Blood
Body Horror
Chronic Illness
Poisoning

Sexual Content: There is very mild sexual content (mainly kissing, but there are hints of more) in Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands.

Language: There is mild swearing in Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands. There is also language used, while correct for the period, that could be considered offensive to some people.

Setting: Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands is set in various places. It starts in Cambridge, England, then shifts to a mountain village in Austria. Several journal entries also detail Emily’s time in The Borderlands and Wendell’s kingdom: Court of Silva Lupi in the Faerie Realms.

Age Range: I recommend Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands to anyone over 16.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

Emily Wilde is off on another adventure. But this adventure has a sense of urgency. Wendell Bambleby, her former rival and exiled Fae king, is being targeted by Fae assains sent by his stepmother. One of the assassins succeeds in poisoning Wendell at a birthday party, and he is slowly dying. He needs to get back to his realm to heal and is having problems finding a door to the realm.

Meanwhile, Emily is trying her hardest to keep the head of her and Wendell’s department, Dr. Farris Rose, from expelling her and Wendell from the college. Everything comes to a head when assassins attack Wendell while lecturing, forcing him to use magic to defend himself. By doing that, he exposes himself as Fae, and Rose is livid. He wants Wendell and Emily gone but will forget everything if Emily takes him on her expedition to the Austrian mountains.

Emily, who doesn’t back down from anything, reluctantly agrees. She plans to complete her map and look for Wendell’s door; two extra people will hold her back. But Emily didn’t expect the village to be surrounded by the Fae or to start seeing apparitions of a discredited scholar and her friend while in the mountains. It will take all of Emily’s knowledge and resources to cure Wendell, find his door, figure out the mystery of what happened to the scholars, and complete her map. Can she do it?

Characters:

The primary and secondary characters were well-written and well-fleshed out. The author was able to keep surprising me by introducing different nuances into characters already introduced (mainly Wendell and his love for Emily).

Emily, who is the main character, is deliciously grumpy and cantankerous throughout the book. I did expect her several times during the book to whip out her umbrella and smack Rose with it (he deserved it). I also didn’t expect her to go to the lengths she did for Wendell.

My review:

It isn’t often that the sophomore book in a series blows me away. So, I was shocked when I ended up loving Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands. I could not read this book fast enough and had it finished within a day. I loved everything about it. I couldn’t get enough of Emily and Wendell’s relationship with the Fae, Emily’s relationship with people other than Wendell, and her absolute determination to save him.

The main storyline of Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands centers on Emily, Wendell, his sickness, her map, and the search for his door. I found the storyline to be well-written. As stated above, it captured my attention. The storyline had twists, turns, and a few surprises along the way.

My only quibble with this book is that I wished the author had stayed more in Wendell’s court: The Court of Silva Lupi. But, because of the duration of the visit (only a couple of journal entries), she was able to pique my interest. With what happened, I hope there is more of this court in future books.

The fantasy angle of the book was terrific. I liked how the author took fairytales and mythical creatures and put her spin on them (the satyrs will forever be etched into my memory…and not in a good way). Returning to the Faerie Realm, I was fascinated by every person/creature in that realm. There was so much lore and information that it was almost hard to process.

The romance angle was also interesting. I did think that Wendell’s affection was one-sided until halfway through the book. Then it started to spice up. But, when Emily talked to Wendell’s stepmother, his stepmother said something, making me wonder exactly why Wendell was with Emily. I hope it is addressed in the next book because it was disconcerting to read.

The book’s angle with the two missing scholars was interesting up to a point. After they came out of Faerie, I started to lose interest. And besides, I thought that the woman was a complete jerk to Emily (who had a bad case of hero worship up to that point).

I am also interested in seeing how Ariadne will figure into upcoming books. She was an absolute sweetheart in this book, and she was also fearless.

The end of Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands was interesting. I liked how the author wrapped up the main storyline. But there was so much kept open. I am eagerly looking forward to book 3!

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey, NetGalley, and Heather Fawcett for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Heather Fawcett

Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books

Date of publication: January 16th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Adult, Suspense, Crime, Adult Fiction

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, always the sidekick and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can’t say no—something daring, or starved, or maybe even envious.

And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, Lucy, the ringleader; Sloane, the sarcastic one; and Nicole, the nice one, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. It’s a year that finds Margot finally coming out of the shell she’s been in since the end of high school, when her best friend Eliza died three weeks after graduation. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered… and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.

A tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense.

First Line:

One day we were strangers and the next we were friends. That’s usually how it works with girls.
Only If You’re Lucky by Stacy Willingham

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: Only If You’re Lucky had a medium-fast pace.

POV: Only If You’re Lucky is told from Margot’s 1st person POV.

Trigger/Content Warning: Only If You’re Lucky has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

Death
Grief
Murder
Toxic Friendship
Infidelity
Vomit
Alcohol
Drug Use
Stalking
Gaslighting
Animal Death
Domestic Abuse
Eating Disorder
Emotional Abuse
Misogyny
Rape
Toxic Relationship
Injury/Injury Detail
Mental Illness
Physical Abuse
Sexual Assault
Violence
Blood

Sexual Content: There is moderate sexual content in Only If You’re Lucky.

Language: here is moderate swearing in Only If You’re Lucky. There is also language used that might make some readers uncomfortable or offend them.

Setting: Only If You’re Lucky is set in and around the college town of Rutledge, South Carolina. There are also some scenes set in The Outer Banks.

Age Range: I recommend Only If You’re Lucky to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When her best friend, Eliza, dies three weeks after graduation, Margot can barely function. She spends her freshman year hiding in her dorm, studying and playing it safe. That is until Lucy Sharpe bursts into Margot’s life. Loud, brash, and magnetic, Lucy demands attention wherever she goes. And for some reason, Lucy has honed in on Margot as a friend. Before she knows it, Margot starts coming out of her shell. Soon, she is best friends with Lucy and moves into the house Lucy rented with two other girls. But, things start to unravel when a member of the fraternity (who owns the house and shares a backyard) is murdered at the end of a week of pledging. Soon after, Lucy goes missing. What does Margot know? Why was the frat boy killed? Why did Lucy go missing? And who was Lucy?

Main Characters:

The main characters in Only If You’re Lucky are Margot and Lucy. I will offer advice about Margot (since the book is told from her POV): She is a very unreliable narrator. I couldn’t tell, throughout the book, if she was holding back the truth on certain things or just lying. Her grief (and guilt) over Eliza’s death colored her view of certain events and people.

Lucy, on the other hand, was an enigma. She was a whirlwind of activity and seemed to have her hand in everything. I was surprised by her background when it was revealed. But, in a way, it did make sense.

My review:

Only If You’re Lucky is the second book I have read by Stacy Willingham, and it has cemented her as a favorite for me in this genre. I enjoyed reading this book and was utterly surprised at the twists (and yes, there are several) that the author reveals at the end of the book.

The main storyline centers around Margot, her grief over Eliza’s death, her flashbacks to the events leading up to Eliza’s death, Lucy, and the events leading up to and past Lucy’s disappearance. The storyline was well-written and did keep me on my feet. The layers that it had was excellent. Once I peeled back one layer, the author revealed another.

The thriller/suspense angle of Only If You’re Lucky was terrific. The author didn’t hesitate to throw Margot into the thick of things when she started living with Lucy. There was a point where I did think that maybe she was a little crazy (because of her intense dislike of Levi). Let’s remember the twists. Those twists made the book. I figured out one, but the others took me completely by surprise. Like, my mouth dropped, and me saying, “No freaking way,” surprised.

The author switches back and forth between the present day (during the police investigation into Lucy’s disappearance) and the events leading up to everything. I found it a whirlwind, but it worked. The author kept those two storylines apart until the end, when she merged them. And the way she combined them was pretty crafty.

The end of Only If You’re Lucky was terrific. I was surprised by the things that were revealed about Lucy and Margot. Things I didn’t even see coming and that I, like Margot, thought Levi did. I was also surprised at the very end events of the book, where the author explained Lucy’s disappearance. And that was the biggest surprise of them all.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, NetGalley, and Stacy Willingham for allowing me to read and review this ARC of Only If You’re Lucky. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to Only If You’re Lucky, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Stacy Willingham:

The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Date of publication: January 9th, 2024

Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Adult, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Gothic

Purchase Links: Kindle | Audible | B&N | AbeBooks | WorldCat

Goodreads Synopsis:

When Ruby McTavish Callahan Woodward Miller Kenmore dies, she’s not only North Carolina’s richest woman, she’s also its most notorious. The victim of a famous kidnapping as a child and a widow four times over, Ruby ruled the tiny town of Tavistock from Ashby House, her family’s estate high in the Blue Ridge mountains. In the aftermath of her death, that estate—along with a nine-figure fortune and the complicated legacy of being a McTavish—pass to her adopted son, Camden.

But to everyone’s surprise, Cam wants little to do with the house or the money—and even less to do with the surviving McTavishes. Instead, he rejects his inheritance, settling into a normal life as an English teacher in Colorado and marrying Jules, a woman just as eager to escape her own messy past.

Ten years later, Camden is a McTavish in name only, but a summons in the wake of his uncle’s death brings him and Jules back into the family fold at Ashby House. Its views are just as stunning as ever, its rooms just as elegant, but coming home reminds Cam why he was so quick to leave in the first place.

Jules, however, has other ideas, and the more she learns about Cam’s estranged family—and the twisted secrets they keep—the more determined she is for her husband to claim everything Ruby once intended for him to have.

But Ruby’s plans were always more complicated than they appeared. As Ashby House tightens its grip on Jules and Camden, questions about the infamous heiress come to light. Was there any truth to the persistent rumors following her disappearance as a girl? What really happened to those four husbands, who all died under mysterious circumstances? And why did she adopt Cam in the first place? Soon, Jules and Cam realize that an inheritance can entail far more than what’s written in a will—and that the bonds of family stretch far beyond the grave.

First Line:

There should be some kind of warning when your life is about to change forever.
The Heiress by Rachel Hawkins

Important things you need to know about the book:

Pace: The pace of The Heiress is fast.

POV: The Heiress is told from two POVs. It is told from 1st person POV through Jules and Camden’s chapters and 2nd person POV through Ruby’s letters to an unknown person. There are also snippets told from newspaper/magazine articles.

Trigger/Content Warning: The Heiress has trigger and content warnings. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading the book. They are:

Murder
Domestic Abuse
Death
Suicide
Kidnapping
Death of a parent
Classism
Alcoholism
Gun Violence
Physical Abuse
Toxic Relationship
Violence
Injury/Injury Detail
Bullying
Grief
Pregnancy
Child Abuse
Blood
Grief
Fire/Fire Injury
Gaslighting
Abandonment
Alcohol
Adoption
Anxiety & Anxiety Attacks
Boating Accident
Electrocution
Poisoning

Sexual Content: There is mild and implied sexual content in The Heiress.

Language: There is moderate swearing in The Heiress. There is also language that could be triggering to some people and considered offensive.

Setting: The Heiress is set in Tavistock, North Carolina. Some chapters are also in Denver, Colorado, Paris, and South Carolina.

Age Range: I recommend The Heiress to anyone over 21.

Plot Synopsis (as spoiler-free as I can get):

When his adoptive mother died, Camden McTavish became her sole heir, which angered his great-aunt, uncle, and cousins. But, to their surprise, he refused to do anything with the money, the house, or the town where he grew up. That all changes when he finds out that his uncle has died, and his cousin emails him and asks him to come home. With the support of his wife, Jules, Cam goes home. There, he is reminded of exactly why he left ten years earlier.

Jules, Cam’s wife, has her own mysterious and messy past that she must deal with. She is also determined for him to claim the inheritance he rejected. As she gets to know his cousins and great-aunt and uncovers secrets they would rather keep buried, Jules becomes even more determined for Cam to claim the inheritance. But Jules’s secrets and her past threaten her plan and her marriage.

On the other hand, Ruby remains the mysterious woman she was while alive. But her secrets threaten to be exposed by her nephew, great-nephew, and great-niece. What are these secrets, and how do they connect to Cam and Jules? Will Cam keep Ruby’s deepest secret? Will Jules’s past and secrets destroy her marriage? Will Ruby’s relatives get her inheritance?

Main Characters:

The main characters of The Heiress are Ruby, Cam, and Jules. These characters were either battling echoes of their pasts, were deeply flawed, or had secrets they could and would not let come out. They were each well-written and well-fleshed out.

My favorite character in the book was Ruby. The letters she wrote, explaining the situation around her kidnapping, the deaths of her four husbands, and her relationships with her family and Cam, were tabloid-worthy. She was smart, proved by how she made money and other things I can’t mention because of spoilers.

The secondary characters did flush out an already great storyline. I couldn’t stand them, but I could understand where they were coming from. Except for the hatred of Cam. That baffled me because he was the only true innocent (well, up until Ruby’s death) in this book.

My review:

I can’t even express how excited I was to read this book. Rachel Hawkins has been on my radar since I reviewed The Villa. So, when I saw The Heiress start showing up on blogs, I knew I wanted to read it. And when St. Martin’s Press sent me the widget, I was over the freaking moon. Now that I have read The Heiress, Rachel Hawkins has become one of my favorite authors.

There are two storylines in The Heiress. One takes place in the present day and features Cam, Jules, Cam’s family, and why Cam came back. The other storyline is letters Ruby wrote that explain everything from her kidnapping to events right before her death. Those two storylines were intertwined but kept separate (if that makes sense). They came together at the end of the book in a way that I didn’t see coming. It was a huge twist that surprised the heck out of me.

The mystery angle of the book was interesting. The author was upfront with everything that had happened (with Ruby) and what was going on (with Cam, Jules, and the family). It was unconventional, but I liked it. I saw everything with Ruby unfold as Cam dealt with the house and his treacherous relatives. A couple of twists in both storylines took me by surprise. One involved who the letters were to (and no, it is not who you think it is), and the other involved the events at the end of the book and what Cam and Jules did afterward.

I do want to mention Jules’s mystery. The author was sneaky about slipping Jules’s past and secrets into the storyline. I was surprised (but nothing like what I said in the above paragraph). But it did explain why Jules was so gung-ho about restoring the house and staying in North Carolina.

The end of The Heiress was jaw-dropping. The author revealed things that I did not see coming. Events also happened that I did not see coming. It was chaotic, and you know what, it suited the book perfectly. Of course, there was the colossal bombshell dropped about Ruby. I liked how the book ended when the dust settled from everything. The author wrapped everything up nicely.

Many thanks to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Rachel Hawkins for allowing me to read and review this ARC of The Heiress. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

If you enjoy reading books similar to The Heiress, then you will enjoy these books:

Other books by Rachel Hawkins

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