It's Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2) by Jenny Han Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Summer I Turned Pretty on my blog now!

I decided to dabble in the world of audiobooks, and with It's Not Summer Without You being only six hours long, I figured now was as good a time as any to test out this format. From the very first chapter, Belly is going on and on about her love for Conrad and how much she thinks about him. It is so incredibly obvious that Belly clearly likes one brother more than the other, and despite what all of these Jeremiah girls say, I will be a Conrad defender until the day I die.

Once again I want to preface this review by noting that I have seen both seasons of The Summer I Turned Pretty on Amazon Prime, so there were a few plot points in this book was a surprise to me. There are definitely a decent amount of changes comparing the book to the television series. A lot of chapters in this book were essentially Belly describing a number of parties that she and Taylor attended, and it became repetitive pretty fast.

While the flashback chapters were a nice reminder of the memories Belly and everyone has of the summer house, most of the stories were lowkey describing moments where Belly was getting in trouble or Jeremiah and Conrad were being yelled at by their annoying dad who seemed to care more about a blender than his own children.

Suffering through the Jeremiah perspective chapters... I feel like I have been held hostage. His chapters truly felt as though he was giving an exact play by play of even single interaction he had -- I could not feel the emotion behind his thoughts. For the majority of his chapters, he was throwing himself a pity party because every single time he looked at Belly, she was looking at Conrad, and vice versa. Jeremiah is so focused on the fact that Belly and Conrad are totally not over one another that he is completely blind to the fact that he will always be second place to his brother.

Belly is immature to say the least, and her constant whining about Conrad (though I would be crying over him too) was incredibly annoying. She was basically judging everyone's decisions in this book and did not see any issues with herself, always painting herself in the right. When she argues with a number of characters, she somehow always ends up as the victim and is angry with anyone who tries to make her see straight. I understand that she was going through a lot, but she definitely needs to have some more compassion for other characters.

There really was not too much side character involvement in this book compared to the first one -- we see Belly's mom and Mr. Fisher, and Taylor through a few interactions and phone calls, but it truly centers around Belly and to my dismay, Jeremiah. Belly's chapters are the majority perspective, with Jeremiah's making a few guest appearances throughout this installment. I do wish there was more of an ensemble feel to the story -- I found myself missing Steven, and as annoying as she was, it would have been nice to see Taylor more often if she got her attitude in check.

This series still holds true to me that it reads on the younger side of young adult -- Belly is definitely growing and learning to understand her feelings, but she continues to make me agitated when it comes to her decision making. Also, why do they not have cell phones? These books were definitely published when teenagers had cell phones, so the constant Conrad calling Belly on the house phone was not my favorite detail.

The weather has been getting nicer and now that flowers are starting to bloom, this was a great choice to get me into the spring and summer spirit. Overall, the general message of the story is prominent and the reader certainly does not forget why all of these characters are acting out of their normal personalities, and hopefully character growth is upon them all for the final book. Even with the qualms I have with the characters, this series is quick to move through and while this installment is certainly a little darker than the first, it has that nice summer feel to it that makes you want to go on a walk.

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The Lost Sisters (The Folk of the Air, #1.5) by Holly Black Review

This review contains minor spoilers if you have not read The Cruel Prince - no major plot points are revealed. You can read reviews for The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, and The Queen of Nothing on my blog now!

As many of my reader friends know, I am Taryn's Number One Hater and will be until the end of time. I will never forgive her for what she did to Jude, and while I understand that there are two sides to every story and she was a teenager, I cannot bring myself to even begin to come to terms with her reasoning. Nevertheless, it was high time I made my way through the novellas before embarking on The Stolen Heir.

Let me say this... Taryn is living in delulu land right from the start of this novella. Every other page I was reminding myself that she is a teenager and that teenagers do not always make the right choices, but my word, she sure knows how to make wrong choice after wrong choice like it is a competition. She definitely should have clocked the Locke situation from the bat -- it was painfully obvious when I was reading The Cruel Prince, and arguably even more clear in this novella.

Every single time Locke would speak to Taryn, the red flag lights were going off in my head. It was actually somewhat infuriating to see Taryn essentially walk through everything that she and Locke did, and still not understand until the very end that she should not have done these things to her own sister. Obviously, Locke is definitely deserving of some blame, as he was the root of the issues, so I will give Taryn just a drop of understanding, but never forgiveness.

The writing choice to make this a letter/explanation to Jude was something that I did enjoy -- it was weird to read in this perspective, as it is something that I tend to avoid. However, once you reorient yourself and put yourself in Jude's shoes, it makes the novella's flow and structure easier to adapt to after about ten pages.

I would certainly recommend reading The Lost Sisters to get a deeper dive into one of the many betrayal's in The Cruel Prince. It sheds a light on Taryn's decisions and the manipulation Locke spun throughout the first installment.

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The Moonfire Bride (Of Candlelight and Shadows, #1) by Sylvia Mercedes Review

This is a spoiler-free review! The Moonfire Bride is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

Back on the fantasy grind to start out the month and my past Stuff Your Kindle Day downloads have once again provided me an exciting Persephone and Hades retelling romantasy to dive into. Valera has managed to get herself into quite the predicament, and to be completely honest, it sounds like a treat compared to how her life was going. I am a major marriage of convenience trope supporter, and this is hitting the spot on so many levels.

Erolas is giving major Phantom of the Opera vibes with this whole "cannot see my face" and I loved every second -- he is mysterious beyond words and yet has such a charm to him that from the very page of his introduction, you are drawn to him. Personally, and just hear me out, if I was told I had to spend a year and one day living in a palace to a fae lord and the only rule was to not see his face, I would be doing cartwheels across the room and having the time of my life. 

Their dynamic certainly takes it time, with cordial acknowledgements before Valera begins to open up to Erolas. On the other hand, Erolas is very open with information -- as long as it is not about the curse -- and is trying to make her year and one day as comfortable as possible. Throughout the story, we see the back-and-forth between the two, considerably more so from Valera as she fights against a growing attraction to Erolas. One could argue that her curiosity about him grew to something more, and she does not understand her feelings.

Knowing that Valera is only eighteen and essentially her sister's caregiver, I can certainly understand her anger at being taken away as a fae lord's wife, especially with how their father treats them and the money they earn. However, I will say that in terms of "who has it worse," I am going to side with the man who is literally cursed - shocking! This may be an inconvenience to Valera, but to Erolas, he has spent centuries living in a world that does not seem to be in his favor. I definitely think she matured throughout this book and will certainly grow more in the final installment, but I would like to give her the benefit of the doubt given her situation.

Brielle, Valera's younger sister, is basically Valera's responsibility, as their father is downright abusive and does not take care of either of his children. However, Brielle is certainly the more adventurous one when it comes to the sisters, which certainly causes a few issues along the way. With Valera being so concerned for her sister's wellbeing, she puts her own to the side, ultimately landing her as the promised wife to the fae lord.

The gang of side characters really tied together the environment of the story -- so often we see fantasy books gloss over magical creatures, so it was refreshing to see goblins and other creatures come into play. I absolutely loved the "shadow" aspect of this series, with characters presenting as shadows to other humans and creatures. It added a layer of mystery around the abilities the fae possess, as well as created a defining characteristic for this story.

For fans of The Cruel Prince by Holly Black, this first installment of a fae duology will certainly transport you to a new world. If you are looking for a new fantasy adventure that follows a retelling of Hades and Persephone, The Moonfire Bride will surely make an impression.

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Broken by Ashe Barker Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Broken is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

The day I decided I was finally going to dive into this book was the same day that I found out that the author was a grandmother, and from that moment on I knew I was in for a treat. As one of my many downloads from Stuff Your Kindle Day, you can only imagine why I decided this book was one that I needed in my library -- I am a sucker for anything involving a forbidden romance.

I genuinely did not know what to expect with this storyline, and to be completely honest, the beginning really threw me for a loop. So much happened in a short amount of time, and with so many character introductions, it was a touch hard to keep track of who was who at times. Once you get into the swing of things, the plot moves quickly, and before you know it, our good sister Jenna has found herself in some real trouble... exactly the reason I downloaded this book.

Zafar is a man who knows what he wants and certainly has no limitations to stop him from getting anything, being the brother of the Crown Prince of Akram. The dynamic between Jenna and Zafar is at an all-time intensity from the moment they first interact, and it escalates to levels I have only seen by characters written by Shantel Tessier.

With an equal balance of plot and straight up spice, the author is able to create an enticing story between an unlikely pair. I really did not know what to expect when I first started reading, and was pleasantly surprised by the pacing and characterization throughout the story. A quick and steamy read, it would have been great if the book was longer - I would have loved to see what else was in store for them and how their relationship would progress beyond the ending. That being said, I was satisfied with the ending and did not feel rushed getting there.

The side characters definitely added a great layer to the story, and tied the plot together without taking away from Jenna and Zafar's budding relationship. Members of the royal family made a generous amount of appearances, and were characters that I enjoyed Jenna making them into her acquaintances. Looking at Melisa's storyline, it was unique and she played a much larger role than I anticipated for her character, which was a great choice by the author.

If you are looking for a standalone dark romance, Broken may very well be the introduction you need to enter the genre. And if you are already a long-time member of the dark romance club, this will fit right into your tastes.

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Stone Heart (Dark Olympus, #0.5) by Katee Robert Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Stone Heart is currently available for free on Kindle.

I have been meaning to get into the Dark Olympus series for years now, and since I am such a big fan of mythology retellings, I thought this would be a great novella to help me out of a reading slump and keep up with my reading goal. Medusa is working for Athena as essentially a human tool to take care of business, but the lines of her work begin to blur when she is tasked with getting rid of Calypso. The premise of the story is intriguing, but I was definitely hesitant to see how it would play out in such a short number of pages.

Reading this was basically a test to see how I would feel about Katee Robert's writing style, and while this was a short glimpse into her retellings, I found myself able to read quickly through this story without feeling like the plot was dragging. The pacing was faired pretty well given that this novella clocks in at just over one hundred pages, and it did not extremely rushed putting Medusa and Calypso together.

The side characters made their quick appearances and then disappeared for the remainder of the story with the exception of a mention here and a quick phone call there. I did not care for Athena -- she is on the more severe in her relationship with Medusa considering their mentioned past, and it just did not seem to flow well with how their dynamic was set up by the author. Maybe this was my fault for going in with assumptions, but I was under the impression that this series leaned more towards the dark romance or spicier side of reading, and I did not get any of that from this novella.

Robert's retelling had a lot to work with in terms of mythology, but seemed to fall a little flat when it came to incorporating unique aspects to the story. Medusa seemed to be very insecure, and it was hindering the reading experience in the sense that she was not developing at a rate that would project the story forward within the restricted number of pages. It really started to feel as though she was never going to make a breakthrough until we got to the very end of the novella, and even then I have my doubts that she makes any more progress after the story was over.

Their story is definitely skating the lines of insta-love, which is not my favorite trope, but I tend to throw away that bias when it comes to romantasy books. However, it really did feel out of the blue with Medusa, and took all of five pages before she was playing with the idea that she was in love with Calypso. If this novella was about fifty pages longer, it would have been great to see some more character development in Medusa or Calypso, but what was given to them fit their characterizations well. It was nice to see a little sneak peak into Neon Gods, and I may decide to return to this series later on.

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Trial of Thorns (Wicked Fae, #1) by Stacey Trombley Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Trial of Thorns is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

Throwing myself back into fantasy land since I have been settled down in dark romance town for nearly a month. I am basically a walking advertisement for Stuff Your Kindle Day at this rate, with the past nine books hailing from my favorite ebook sale. The description of Trial of Thorns caught my eye due to its similarities to Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, and I have been in desperate need to revisit an assassin-esque series.

Caelynn is unapologetically stubborn on the outside, and her characterization is one for the books. The exterior seen by Rev compared to her inner thoughts and development is a great example of her duality of vulnerability and power. As the story goes on, we learn so much more about her and what she has been through, and I gained a great appreciation for her character. I really have to echo my original statement of the resemblance to Throne of Glass, with the main characters having such strong self confidence and authority.

The prince has arm tattoos... I was a goner not even twenty pages in. And not even 20% into the book and I became completely enamored with the idea of a perfect enemies-to-lovers arc for Caelynn and Rev -- it was handed to readers on a silver platter and I ate it right up. I truly have not encountered an enemies-to-lovers scenario that I have loved this much since reading The Cruel Prince by Holly Black.

Rev has such a hardened view and deep hatred of Caelynn from the start, for obvious reasons, and as he learns more about her and the strategy she has going into the Trials, he begins to let his guard down. That being said, he continues to hold a strong distain towards her for the majority of the book, and their complex dynamic really has a fantastic groundwork laid out. They both are battling their own demons, and the more they discover about themselves and each other, the more they begin to realize that they may have more in common than they think.

The trials in this book were so interesting to read, and it was refreshing to see a number of creatures being included in the lore. The author utilized the side characters so well throughout this book, and it was such a strong choice to have them play major roles while not overshadowing the leads. Especially seeing them from Caelynn versus Rev's perspective -- she has her allies, and he has his, making their understanding of everyone involved in the trials even more complex.

I loved the complexity of the trials they competed in -- they did not resemble the typical trials seen in a number of fantasy series, and had an originality to them that made the story even more inviting to explore. Romance is definitely on the back burner for this first installment, but I loved the subtleness of it and how it did not overpower the story as a whole. There is certainly time for it in the rest of the series, and this book needed to focus on world building and character dynamics as a priority. I am so excited to continue on with this series and see where it takes these characters!

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Play the Part by Ebony Brewer Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Play the Part is currently available on Kindle Unlimited.

Once again, Stuff Your Kindle Day has overtaken my TBR pile and blinded me from reading a physical book. Sutton, our leading lady, certainly has some baggage packed far into the back of her mind, and it certainly is brought right back to the surface when her childhood friend, Thorn, shows up out of nowhere, after being believed to be dead for years.

Shantel Tessier has prepared me for dark college romance books, and while Play the Part is nowhere near the depravity that Tessier provides her readers, this book certainly starts out with a little bang and within the first six chapters some scandalous things are happening in a cemetery. If you are looking for a quick and spicy read, this certainly feels like a beginner's guide into dark romance border-lining on the taboo side. Brewer writes a great spicy scene, and she definitely fills this book with a fair share of them.

The pet names were killing me after reaching the halfway mark -- they are fun every once in a while, but when every other sentence ends in "angel," "little one," or "sinner," it begins to feel like overkill. I am genuinely perplexed on how Sutton just hopped on the masked man train and did not even seriously question it -- sure, she jokes about it with him, but if I was her, I would have ripped that mask off so fast to see what he looked like and to find out who he was.

I will admit, a little over halfway through this book, I was begging for something else to happen besides Duncan running around like a stalker or Sutton and Thorn going at it -- everything was starting to feel very repetitive. The mask really started to get old fast, and I did not really understand how Sutton just let him get away with that for as long as she did. For a 24-year-old, the way that Thorn spoke just did not feel organic, and every sentence out of his mouth sounded like he was trying to write an epic poem instead of rekindle a childhood flame.

That being said, Sutton and Thorn's chemistry was basically oozing off the pages and you could tell that Brewer put a lot of thought and energy into making their relationship take form. Both of them have a lot of things to work through, and I appreciated the author's attention to their own traumas and the way she addressed them in their own ways.

If you are looking to dabble in dark college romance, Play the Part may be the introduction you need before diving in. And if you find yourself teetering on the edge of entering the world of taboo romance, Brewer's book is just the tip of the iceberg.

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