Queen Bee (The Diamonds, #1) by Amalie Howard Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have been trying to expand further into the regency era romance genre - so far, I have just touched the surface with the first three books in the Bridgertons series by Julia Quinn. When I came across Queen Bee on Libby, not only did the cover catch my attention, but the premise of Ela Dalvi seeking revenge against her ex-best friend over a boy truly had me intrigued. Not too often do we see revenge playing a leading factor in historical romances, and with somewhat of a modern feel to Ela's story, I was expecting a Mean Girls vibe to this romance.

Years later, Ela returns to society on a mission - to finally get revenge on her ex-best friend, Poppy, who betrayed her when they were younger over a boy. Now, with a new identity and fueled with rage, Ela - presenting herself as Lyra Whitley - makes her way back into society with a few cards up her sleeve. With the help of some new friends, she embarks on a series of plans to make sure everyone gets what is coming to them.

Coming face to face with the boy who lays at the center of her revenge plot is something Ela was not prepared for - her first love, but also her first betrayal. She knew she would have to face Poppy in order for everything to fall into place, but when Keston appears before her at a ball, she certainly is thrown off her game. I was surprised that no one from Ela's past recognized her - sure, it had been a few years since they all last saw each other, but could she have truly changed that much that she was unrecognizable to those who she used to be closest to?

Poppy had such a nasty personality, and it was evident even when she and Ela were still friends that she had ulterior motives in being friends with her. I liked how the author would switch perspectives between Ela and "Lyra" that included the past and present - it made the path to Ela's revenge plot much easier to understand where she was coming from, and provided some much needed background on the way Poppy treated Ela and what the moment of betrayal was in the past.

There were definitely some moments in this book that has me laughing, but for the most part it was set on Ela's determination to get justice for how Poppy treated her in the past. Keston's presence was a great addition, and readers can tell that even though he did not recognize her form all those years ago, there was an instant connection when they were reunited at that first ball. I do wish Keston had some more character development, as he felt a little two-dimensional to me at times - his background was probably the most interesting thing about him.

If you are looking for a fun book to get you eased in regency romance, this is a great starting point. There were times that I found myself a little bored - while there were romantic aspects to this book, it felt as though it did take the backseat at times and I wish it was expanded on more. Whether you are looking for a touch of romance or a revenge-seeking plot, Queen Bee has a lot in store for its readers.

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The Stolen Heir (The Stolen Heir Duology, #1) by Holly Black Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of The Cruel Prince, The Lost Sisters, The Wicked King, The Queen of Nothing, and How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories on my blog, now!

Going into this spin-off, I thought that we would be getting the story from Oak's perspective - imagine my surprise when it was Wren that we were following. It certainly made things interesting, and honestly resembled Jude's perspective throughout the original trilogy. I absolutely know that Jude would be proud of how secretive Wren can be, and Cardan so pleased with how cunning Oak has become. Wren has this feral, ferocious behavior that comes from essentially being treated like a wild animal, but she uses it to her advantage and is able to channel that energy into achieving her goals.

The adventure in this book takes a different route compared to the original trilogy, as we see Oak and Wren on a journey together and face a number of obstacles, so much so that it felt like every turn had them encountering a new danger. This really pulled me into a new perspective of the world - sure, we saw our fair share of obstacles that Jude and Cardan experienced, but it truly felt as though as soon as Oak and Wren tackled one monster, three more appeared.

Reading this right after finishing A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon gave me some whiplash, as going from adult high fantasy to young adult fantasy certainly is disorienting - reading about modern day inventions felt foreign to me. I personally have never been a major fan of fantasy books that reference modern things, but it plays well into this world considering they interact between the mortal world and Faerie. There was not a ton of modern items mentioned in this book compared to others, so it was easy to overcome and move on with the fantasy aspect of the world.

The ending low-key had me gagged - I actually audibly gasped. I knew things were starting to take a certain turn, but to actually see it come to fruition was so fun. Holly Black truly utilizes every aspect of Faerie, and with that comes the manipulative tendencies of the characters. Seeing a few betrayals and a number of omissions to characters in order to advance their own agenda, The Stolen Heir maintains reader interest as the story moves forward. I cannot wait to see what is in store for this chaotic duo.

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A Day of Fallen Night (The Roots of Chaos, #0) by Samantha Shannon Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Priory of the Orange Tree on my blog, here.

Samantha Shannon has done it again - thrown back into the world of The Priory of the Orange Tree, she takes us back to the events leading up to the very rise of the wyrms nearly five centuries before the events of Shannon's first work. A Day of Fallen Night can be read as a prequel standalone, but I highly recommend reading The Priory of the Orange Tree before diving into this installment. I absolutely adored the first work in this interconnected series and have been sitting on this prequel for some time - I decided it was finally the moment to see it through.

Politically complex and emotionally drawing, Shannon is able to bring readers right back into the fold of The Roots of Chaos with four new leading ladies as their tales are told and we are taken on a journey to see just how generations of fearless women would be impacted. Much like its companion, this installment is broken up into parts, marking significant turns in their stories and the eventful merge of their journeys. With chapters designated once again to the North, South, East, and West, readers follow characters as their lives are turned around or they embark on their destinies. Having the background knowledge of what happens nearly five hundred years in the future definitely was an advantage, and I found myself easily sliding back into this world - when I first read The Priory of the Orange Tree, I will admit it was a bit of a struggle to wrap my head around the extensive world-building.

I was never bored with any of the leading characters or their journeys - each was unique and intricate, with supporting characters that truly added to the story without being overbearing or useless. You could see the internal struggles of every character, and when faced with a number of difficult and often life-defining decisions, readers could see it was no easy choice for any character to make. With a number of queens, opposing opinions of wyrms, and mistrust around every corner, Shannon ensures readers will be entertained and on the edge of their seat. Much like Priory, this prequel eases the reader into the story while still maintaining a fast pace right from the first chapter.

Relationships are both establish and slow-building, as characters learn more about themselves and where they come from as the story goes on. I really enjoyed this aspect - while we knew information about certain characters right from the beginning, there were a number of characters that were more of a mystery to readers, and as information slowly became available, we were able to piece together characters' backstories. Watching as the characters moved towards the same destination by the end of the book was fascinating, and with differing opinions on wyrms, we see the characters appreciate them in one chapter and then others determined to end them in the next.

I cannot wait to see what Shannon has in store for readers next, and with a short prequel set two years before the events of The Priory of the Orange Tree being published at the end of 2025, I am sure she will have readers in the palm of her hand. An epic high fantasy filled with political moves, friendships, self-discovery, action, and realizations, The Roots of Chaos series truly is an experience any fantasy reader should embark on.

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Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This book contains detailed descriptions of disordered eating, depression, and dissociation.

Elise and her boyfriend, Tom, take off to Minnesota for the sugar beet harvest, with Elise hoping that the money she earns from the harvest will hold off the never-ending bills and rent payments that come with living in Brooklyn. As she and Tom arrive to the harvest, strange occurrences haunt her journey and Elise begins to question the things she is seeing, hearing, and even herself. From strange and threatening text messages to the slow disappearance of her fellow harvesters, her trip to earn a paycheck quickly transforms into something much more sinister.

When Tom begins to form a close friendship with another sugar beet harvester, Elise becomes consumed with their relationship, sending her backwards into a spiral of depression, relapsing in her eating disorder, and questioning everything around her. With each passing day, Elise's paranoia takes a new turn, and her dissociation dives deeper as the sugar beet harvest calls to her in a way she never expected. The consumption industry's dark side takes root in Elise, and the sugar beets call to her, luring her further into their world of growth and destruction just as Elise is falling apart.

Sarsfield creates such a unique premise with this novel - both horror and caution, Beta Vulgaris takes a jarring turn as Elise and Tom's seemingly mundane journey is suddenly filled with vanishing coworkers and the allure of the beet pile. Even prior to arriving to the harvest location, the author pulls the readers into unknown territory along with her main characters, leaving us just as lost as they are. Unprepared for the drastic turns their story will take, Tom and Elise's relationship begins to fall to shambles the longer they become one with the beets. As they dig deeper to harvest, they are thrust deeper into madness.

To read about a main character that truly seems to have no appreciation for herself and just has genuine distaste for how her life is going is something I have not come across. My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh is the closest I can think of, but even that lead did not harbor dislike towards herself, but rather the idea of doing tasks and living every single day. Elise is so focused on just getting to payday that she neglects herself and instead places sole focus on why Tom is drawn to another harvester, Cee. She is consumed by anxiety and obsession with this development, and in turn is thrown back into her own past self-destruction. Every internal thought that consumed Elise's mind was boggling, and while I could not relate to her struggles, witnessing her thought processes felt like I was living them.

The entire concept of the sugar beets luring the harvesters into the beet pile was incredibly surreal and I felt as though I was slowly descending into madness as the beets called to the characters like sirens to sailors. Sarsfield's ability to turn these inanimate objects into things of power and persuasion illustrates her capabilities to entrance not only her characters, but the readers as well. I was left questioning the story as a whole, mostly because I felt as though I was sent through the looking glass and experienced an entirely different dimension.

For fans of Bunny by Mona Awad, Sarsfield's debut novel takes you on a journey of transformation, uncertainty, and the horrors of consumption. Literary fiction and horror intertwine in this consuming tale of self-destruction and fall into madness - I highly recommend picking this up if you are looking for something completely out of your element and willing to be thrown into Elise's compelling journey.

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Finale (Caraval, #3) by Stephanie Garber Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my reviews of Caraval and Legendary on my blog, now!

I wanted to enjoy this as much as I enjoyed Caraval and Legendary - but there was just something about this book that made it feel as though it was dragging on for the majority of the story until we reached the two-thirds point. Scarlet still grinds my gears, and even with her presence in this book being more tolerable than her minimal presence in the previous book, I still found myself rolling my eyes every single time she showed up. Tella continues to be the superior sister, and while she now finds herself placing trust in someone she did not expect to, she still holds true to herself.

With everyone's relationships seemingly on the rocks since the end of Legendary, the characters are now working towards mending those bonds and deciding if who they thought they loved truly are the ones they want to end up with. There is a lot of back and forth between the couples of Tella and Legend and Scarlett and Julian, which does create an interesting dynamic as perspectives switch throughout the book. Julian's character somewhat stays on the back burner until his true purpose comes into play, so his and Scarlett's relationship became less interesting to me as not nearly as much time is spent on them compared to Legend and Tella.

The actual plot of this plot felt like it was a little all over the place - at times it felt as though the story was dragging for chapters on end, and then suddenly everything was happening all at once and so much information was being thrown at the reader. The last third of the book definitely saved the plot - I was pretty locked in at the end, and was glad to see that actual moves were being made in order to accomplish the main goal. The Fates storyline was definitely the most intriguing part of the book, and to be quite honest, one of the best aspects of the series in general.

I wish there was more tension throughout this installment - while you could tell that the stakes were high in terms of the fantasy plot, the romances seemed to take a back seat and I felt disconnected from them at times. That being said, Tella's pull between Legend and Jacks was really enjoyable and I am such a huge fan of Jacks - to be upfront, the main motivation for me to finish this series to to be able to read Once Upon a Broken Heart, and now I am only one novella away from diving in. Jacks and his general mysterious aura really pulled me in, and the way he interacts with Tella makes the story more juicy and gives it a bit of a bite.

Even though the game of Caraval is over, you can definitely feel its impact on the characters in this book - they are still reeling from the consequences of the game, and the characters must make decisions that affect everyone around them. It was a different type of thrill compared to the game, but I did enjoy the difference and how it felt like a final chapter closing on both Tella and Scarlett's stories that allowed them both to have a proper conclusion. If you are looking for an entrance into the world of fantasy, the Caraval series may be the perfect books to pick up.

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An Offer from a Gentleman (Bridgertons, #3) by Julia Quinn Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Viscount Who Loved Me on my Goodreads, now!

I am not the biggest fan of Cinderella retellings, but Sophie and Benedict's story has calling to me ever since they had officially renewed Bridgerton for season four, and with the teaser trailers making their way around, I figured now was a good time to finally dive into this book. I loved The Duke and I and The Viscount Who Loved Me so much, so I was surprised that my overall feelings towards this third installment was that of mediocracy. Sophie's background was definitely the highlight of the book - she is an interesting character and so much more different compared to the other love interests in the sense that she is not technically a part of society.

Benedict's characterization in this book felt surprisingly jarring - he was set on making Sophie is mistress throughout the entire book and it just felt off. The constant reminders from him that he just could not possibly marry her due to their social standing differences got old very fast. Sophie is basically just trying to live her life and wants to stop being treated like a servant, and here comes Benedict at every turn trying to corrupt her and make her do something that she never wanted to do. I low-key felt like I was being gaslight this entire book to make Benedict sound appealing, when in reality this man is a gigantic red flag - and as much as I love a red flag, I just could not get past it for some reason.

I did enjoy how often the Bridgerton sisters came into play throughout the story - it was nice to see how much they all adored Sophie, and how often they came to her aid when others were speaking down to her or dismissing her presence. Considering how she was being treated in her own home, it was a pleasant change to see those around her be so kind. The time jump really threw me off in this one, mainly because I did not expect it to be multiple years in between Sophie and Benedict first meeting one another to the present story. With all of these years between them, it felt like a major jump for Benedict to be demanding things of Sophie when he was still hung up on "the woman in silver" after all this time.

I wish we saw Benedict grow more - his character development felt stalled and I wanted to root for him so badly, but his choices basically made it impossible for me to end up on his side. He does have some redeeming qualities, but the cons definitely outweigh the pros for me, and while I do love show Benedict, book Benedict falls lower on the scale for me. You could tell there was angst and tension between Sophie and Benedict, but I found myself wanting more out of their relationship and more out of the story in general. I will likely continue on with this series every once in a while, but it does not have a strong enough hold on me to have me jumping into the next installment.

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Throttled (Dirty Air, #1) by Lauren Asher Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

Lauren Asher I forgive you for The Fine Print... I was hooked into this book by the second chapter and considering I have never read a F1 romance book before, I certainly did not know what I was getting myself into with this series. When Maya's brother, Santiago, announces that he has signed a contract with a major F1 team, she does not expect to form an unexpected bond with her brother's rival, Noah Slade. As Santiago and Noah continue to clash - mostly in a one-sided rivalry on Noah's part - Maya is slowly acclimating to the F1 lifestyle and traveling for races.

Temptation runs high as Noah's notorious playboy past haunts him at every turn, while Maya's innocence to the reality of F1 only draws him toward her more - at with much more at stake than winning races, they have to decide if getting together is worth the risk of angering Santiago or putting Noah's future on the line. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the will-they-won't-they foreplay they had going on, as it felt very natural and had a great comedic presence that alleviated some of the more heavier aspects of the story. The progression of their initial interest in one another, to the attempts to stay away, to having this forbidden friendship turned relationship felt well-paced at first, but I do have to say I think their romantic relationship felt much more rushed.

Not for nothing, while Santiago seems to be a very great older brother, I did start to feel as though he did not understand that Maya was more than just his sister following him around the world for races - she was making a name for herself and building an online presence with her videos. He continues to "talk down" to her throughout the book, and it honestly put a sour taste in my mouth when he would make small remarks about her needing to do more with her life than just "follow him around" and that she "needs to find a real career" when she was gaining hundreds of thousands of subscribers on her channel.

The backstory for Noah was interesting and truly added depth to his character - a lot of focus was placed on his past experiences and how they impacted his competitiveness and responsiveness to his father. Watching him set boundaries or open up to others throughout the book was refreshing, considering the majority of the time we see the male leads stay emotionally suppressed. With Maya, readers gain a first-hand account of what Noah has to go through, and as we learn information at the same time or right before Maya uncovers it, it puts us into the emotional setting that the characters are in.

Maya seemed a bit naive, and with her new to the world of F1, I could see how she had trouble navigating this new environment while being on her own - that being, with her brother by her side - could cause her to be unsure of herself. Her as a character grew on me, and as she found more self confidence, she started to blossom into a more mature version of herself. I do think the forbidden romance aspect with adults can be a little overboard at times, considering both Noah and Maya are perfectly capable of entering a relationship with anyone's insight, but I am a sucker for it anyway.

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