A quick little roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Summer 2024. Beware of spoilers!
Title: Thieves’ Gambit
Author: Kayvion Lewis
Series: Thieves’ Gambit #1
Thank you to Kayvion Lewis, Penguin Young Readers Group, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
I liked this book! I saw the twist coming from the start, though. I found little to relate to in Ross, except perhaps in wanting to pursue to her own interests in life, but I liked and admired her. She was mature and intelligent. I struggled to keep track of who was who among the contestants, but I liked the friends Ross made. I didn’t like Devroe, the apparent love interest, not just because he [spoiler] but he just didn’t seem like a strong person. No self-confidence. Ross can totally do better.
Did we ever find out if the contestant who got shot survived? The narrative had to have said and I just wasn’t paying attention.
Overall, I’m not super into thieving and heists, but I can get behind a strong character who’ll pull me through the plot. Add a bit more humor to book two and I’m there.
Title: A New Lease on Death
Author: Olivia Blacke
Series: Supernatural Mysteries #1
Thank you to Olivia Blacke, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Sara Beth Haring for the email invite.
I liked this book. I’m ashamed to say the mystery stumped me; I really should have been able to guess whodunit. The crime is obvious once it’s revealed, but Blacke excelled at false leads and red herrings. I was far more interested in what happened to Cordelia than Jake, but alas, we don’t find that out in this book.
This is touted as similar to Darynda Jones’s Charley Davidson series, but if you go in expecting that, you’ll be disappointed. One of the protags has ADHD, though she doesn’t appear to know it, and the setting is urban, but that’s about where the similarities end. This book’s humor is subtle, there’s no love interest, they aren’t working with law enforcement, and it deals only with ghosts, and very few ghosts at that. And communication between ghost and “breather” is not easy.
Which is one of the issues I had. The co-leads can’t talk to each other. They struggle to find ways to communicate, and I got exasperated with them because they weren’t trying very hard! Get a Scrabble game! Whiteboard! Alphabet beads! USE the methods and tricks you’ve come up with. I realize it’s a conflict for the narrative, but conflicts can be overcome! Gah!
But aside from the frustration, the communication issue resulted in a LOT of exposition/inner monologue, since they couldn’t exchange dialogue. The excessive exposition/inner monologue dulled the narrative and reduced the pace to a trudge. By 60% I was checking my progress every few minutes, wishing I was at 95%.
That was the biggest thing. Smaller frustrations included Cordelia’s unsolved mystery and the rather sloppy investigative work. E.g., it’s mentioned at one point that Jake could have driven somewhere, but no one searches a vehicle. Did he actually have a car or were they just spitballing? But of course, Ruby and Cordelia were amateur sleuths, so naturally some stones went unturned.
I liked Ruby a lot, but the more I learned about Cordelia the less I liked her.
Overall, an interesting if at times frustrating ghost story. I’ll check out book 2 if I come across it, but I’m not super eager for it.
Title: Ghost Mother
Author: Kelly Dwyer
Series: n/a
Thank you to Kelly Dwyer, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Meh. Didn’t care for it. I didn’t like Lily, who was the flakiest flake ever. Her difficulties with pregnancy were sympathetic, and that was the only thing sympathetic about her. Her husband, while ostensibly nice, patient, and considerate, was truly an egoist with a savior complex, and when trying to “save” Lily became expensive and difficult, he gave up on her. Didn’t like him much either. Some of the horror parts were good, but because everything is filtered through Lily, whom I couldn’t stand, I’m afraid the narrative in general irritated me. I wanted to DNF but pushed through. Overall, this book left a bad taste in my mouth, and I was so glad when it was done.
Title: Phantasma
Author: Kaylie Smith
Series: n/a
Thank you to Kaylie Smith, Bookouture Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I got such Kingdom of the Wicked vibes from this. The devils, the sins, the sex. I’d describe this as Kingdom of the Wicked meets any YA trials/competition fantasy. I didn’t get into it right away, but I did enjoy it overall. Ophelia was likeable enough, though I’m not sure I completely understood her power set. And having Blackwell help her so much hampered my respect for her some; what was the point of a competition plot if she, and her sister for that matter, could just coast through? Lowered the stakes, the tension. Blackwell didn’t make much of an impression on me; because of the mystery surrounding him, he couldn’t be properly developed, so his personality amounted to “sexy” and “jealous.” The world building was a bit murky; I didn’t entirely understand the relationship between normal humans and the paranormal/fantasy. Some people seemed to know necromancers were a thing, others didn’t. Phantasma had been around for 500 years, and must happen pretty frequently, yet people thought it was a myth? Yeah, I was left with some questions. Overall, though, this book was entertaining, if not enthralling.
Title: But He’s My Grumpy Neighbor
Author: Annah Conwell
Series: But He’s a Carter Brother #1
Thank you to Annah Conwell, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was a cute story, and overall I enjoyed it. But I gotta get a little rant out of my system.
What I did not enjoy is how much Adrian’s family and friends harangued him about being taciturn and internalized. Yeah, it’s good to open up if something’s bothering you, otherwise leave the poor man alone! It’s OKAY to not be extroverted, outgoing, and heart-on-sleeve. All you’re doing is giving him a complex, making him feel guilty for just being himself, which will only lead to a lifetime of inadequacy, anxiety, resentment, and more. Let him know you’re a safe zone, then leave it up to him. You don’t have to tease him or comment on his “flaw” every time you open your mouth. Gah!
Adrian and Juliet were great characters, down to earth and relatable. I don’t feel Juliet’s conflict came full circle, though; she needed an opportunity to confront her parents and reconcile with her past trauma. It’s obvious Conwell was having more fun writing about the Carters. 😉
Grayson was fun, but the worst culprit of guilting Adrian. Learning he has panic attacks didn’t feel right for his character; I needed to learn more about him for that to make sense, but he wasn’t the focus here so we’re left wondering. The rest of the gang was also great to be around, though this has to be a spin off of another series—it was alluded to again ad again. (*investigates* Yes, Adrian’s sister MJ starred in One Last Play.)
I appreciated Conwell highlighting anxiety disorders, but it was a tad heavy-handed. And am I the only one getting sick of romances paying homage to Jane Austen? If the characters are fans, fine, but I’m sick of all the references and comparisons. I get it, she’s one of the beloved pioneers of romantic fiction, I’ve enjoyed her work, too, but stop beating me over the head with it.
Overall, this is a sweet, heart-warming romance, and I’m looking forward to the other Carter brothers books.
Title: Spells of Iron and Bone
Author: Sarah Piper
Series: Tarot Academy #1
Strike 1 – Too much cryptic, pointless dream sex. Dream sex in the middle of jail. Dream sex in the middle of class. Dream sex while she’s dying. Possibly more than I’m not remembering. One, fine, I’ll roll my eyes and carry on. Two, an exasperated sigh. Now this third—I’m currently at 60% of the audiobook—yes, three dream sex scenes all in the first half—and if I wasn’t so intrigued by wtf is going on world-wise, I’d DNF. There’s spice, and then there’s wasting my time.
No one likes a tease.
Strike 2 – Everyone and their chihuahua is not only attracted to Stevie, but half in love with her. Yes, that’s hyperbole, but three men and counting. She’s not even limited to one type; the older professor’s into her, the bad boy’s into her, the sweet nerd’s into her. And honestly I can’t tell which Stevie’s serious about, she’s having fun jerking all of them around while trying to act like she’s not. Either there’s going to be a foursome/reverse harem sort of thing, or she’s going to die in the end. All or none, ya know?
Strike 3 – Headhopping. God sakes, the headhopping. Stevie, Ani, Cas, Baz, and Kieren (excuse the spelling, I’ve listening to audio). That is way too many points of view. And the names, jesus. Cas and Baz sound too similar, I had to listen close or I’d confuse the two. Then the headmistress is Anna, and one of the guys is Ani, which wouldn’t be too bad except the narrators kept pronouncing Ani differently, and for a while I thought Stevie had a friend named Annie.
Sigh. Onward.
*finishes*
Okay, none of it got better. Makes a teensy bit more sense, but isn’t better. Still got a reverse harem thing going on, to which I say no thank you; still too many points of view, to which I say no thank you. There was kind of a reason for the dreams, but not for the sex in them, so still too much gratuitous cock teasing. No thank you. The world building and lore were pretty fascinating, though I’m not at all familiar with tarot, but the “interpersonal issues,” as Stevie puts it, get in the way of it. I won’t be finishing this series.
Title: One Cursed Rose
Author: Rebecca Zanetti
Series: Grimm Bargains #1
I got to 22% and had to stop. The book barfs celebrity, social media, violence, and patriarchy all over you, and before you can clean that off, it shoves in your face a psychotic, absurdly arrogant hero who kidnaps the heroine and within minutes is fingering her clit and telling her his rules. The narrative says she likes it, but it sure feels like assault to me. Jesus, Zanetti. No thank you.
And the narrators—James McAdams doesn’t do anything to help Thorn sound more personable, sounding like he doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the story; Felicity Munroe, while she sounded fine, pronounced Alexei “AL-ex-ay” with the stress on the first syllable, like the name Alex with “ay” tacked on. Not sure why, but I had a small stroke when I heard it, and I could no longer take her narration seriously. “uh-LEX-ee,” Ms. Munroe. “Uh-LEX-ee.”
Sigh.
Title: Hot Hex Boyfriend
Author: Carly Bloom
Series: n/a
Thank you to Carly Bloom, Hachette Audio, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I tried twice to get into this book, and it’s not happening. Both times I made it to 25%—the scene with the funeral food nonsense—and I can’t take it anymore.
There’s no plot! The uncle dude died and Max has come to settle his affairs, and that’s it. Otherwise it’s just characters dinking around doing nothing important, like eating funeral food and chitchatting about being Southern. There’s no tension, no stakes, except Max has to keep his true purpose secret. I believe the plot of the book was supposed to be about Delia accidentally breaking the hex on her family and giving them all powers, but there’s no sign of that happening. No inciting incident, which should have happened by now. This book is wasting my time, so I’m done. The characters had potential, I didn’t dislike any of them, but again, they’re just wandering around accomplishing nothing plot-wise, which doesn’t endear.
Zion Jang was fine as the narrator of Max’s POV, but I did not care for Laura Knight Keating’s narration of Delia’s POV. She didn’t sound natural; she sounded more like she was in public speaking class and being graded on how clearly she enunciated and how well she projected her voice—she was so much louder than Jang. Switching between the two was almost jarring. Keating sounds more suited to reading instruction manuals aloud or narrating how-to videos, or something like that.
Title: Beyond Ivy Walls
Author: Rachel Fordham
Series: n/a
Thank you to Rachel Fordham, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for allowing me to listen to a free eaudio ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Monti-CHELLO. CHELLO!
I know, it’s widely debated, but I (a native Iowan) have always heard it pronounced like the string instrument. So every time I heard Monti-sello in this audiobook, I winced. And it was said a lot. I probably looked like I was having a seizure. And it made me think of cellophane or Sellotape. So distracting! At least both narrators pronounced it the same way.
Then there was the pronunciation of Violet—Vee-oh-let. I think in Spanish and some European languages it’s pronounced like that, but to my knowledge in America it’s typically Vy-let. That’s how Mr. Beauregard said it in Wonka’s factory: “You’re turning violet, Violet!” Bahahaha…. Em Eldridge was guilty of Vee-oh-let; I don’t remember how Jason Keller said it.
Apologies if the book addressed the pronunciation of either of those names and I missed it.
Anywho, this book was sweet and heartwarming. It was waaaaaay too long ( ELEVEN hours), and I was bored around the 2/3 to 3/4 mark, but overall I enjoyed it. The influence of Beauty and the Beast was clear, and since that’s one of my favorite tropes, I had fun catching the parallels. The characters were all likeable, and relatable in emotion if not circumstances. Except that one bitch. The broom factory was unique, as was Otis’s alopecia. I was happy to find Elizabeth in a loving home, but sad that Otis had to give her up, as it were. I appreciated that the god talk was minimal, and that the cheese wasn’t overdone. It was the good chaste historical romance I expected from Fordham.
I have just one question—why didn’t they name the second boy Edward???
Side rant: There’s a very condescending, hypercritical review for this book on Goodreads. I can’t fault that, everyone’s entitled to their opinion and I’ve ripped new assholes in books myself from time to time, but this reviewer has restricted comments so only their followers can comment. That is what incenses me. If you’re going to cast such harsh judgments, have the backbone to invite discourse. Otherwise all you’re doing is trash talking within your little clique and excluding other viewpoints. It’s very narrow minded and arrogant.
