House of Hearts by Skyla Arndt ARC Review

This is a spoiler-free review! House of Hearts will be available on September 2, 2025.

I would first like to thank NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group / Viking Books for Young Readers for providing me a copy in exchange for an honest review. I have been itching for a gothic dark academia book, and when this standalone popped up, I knew I had to dive in. With Violet searching for answers after her best friend passes away at an exclusive school, she is determined to attend and finally set the record straight - was her friend murdered, or was there something more at play?

As Violet assimilates herself into the school environment and meets the students she believes played a role in her friend's passing, she soon discovers that there is much more than what meets the eye when it comes to the secret society's true intentions. She forms an unusual yet enticing bond with Clavin Lockwood - the brother of the very boy she believes killed her friend or at least had a hand to play in the "freak accident" that lead to her demise. As Calvin and Violet interact, it is clear that their relationship will certainly have an interesting course.

The "intermission" chapters from Anastasia definitely added an extra element to the story that allowed readers to take a step back from the story at hand and look at the origins of what is driving this society's interests. As Violet's journey progresses, the information that we learn from these interlude chapters sheds light on information Violet uncovers and leaves little clues on where her story is headed and what revelations she will make as she works with Calvin. It would have been interesting to see even more development on Anastasia and Helen's sisterly relationship and what caused such a riff between the two - while we do get brief glances, more interactions would have beneficial for the significance of what plays out.

This book was a lot shorter than I expected, and I honestly wish it was longer - to no fault to the author, the plot moved very quickly, and I would have loved to see the background lore expanded upon, along with Calvin and Violet's banter and back-and-forth to develop as a more will-they-won't-they situation. That being said, I flew through this book in just about two hours, and the writing did have me locked into the story. I do think that the side characters, while important, did take up a lot of story space that could have been dedicated to more intriguing plot points.

This book has the same vibes as Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell and We Are Villains by Kacen Callender but with a touch of paranormal whimsy that is seen in Bunny by Mona Awad and Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo. I had a fun time reading this and truly enjoyed the paranormal aspects that the author added it to the story - it made the stakes higher and drew me in to understand how everything would turn out for Violet, Calvin, and the rest of the Lockwoods.

You can add House of Hearts on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Our Fault (Culpables, #3) by Mercedes Ron Review

This is a spoiler-free review! This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of My Fault (Culpa Mía) and Your Fault (Culpa Tuya) on my blog, now. My Fault,Your Fault, and My Fault: London are now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

My favorite toxic forbidden couple is back in the final installment of the Culpables series. This series certainly is something, and with some of the most out of pocket plot devices coming into play, it is no surprise why it was a Wattpad sensation. Sure, there is a major trope in here that drives the story forward that just so happens to be one of my least favorite tropes, but for the sake of the drama I endured it. Nick and Noah are working through their own issues while apart, and with a number of life events changing their paths, they are forced to reconnect and truly take a look at their relationship - both past and possible future.

Noah's characterization in this book was a definite improvement, and Nick's development was still at his playboy lifestyle. I was hoping to see Nick become more mature, but it seems that his character is somewhat stuck at a certain stage, despite his need for control and the immense amount of responsibility he has in this book. Noah's life is still full of ups and downs, and she just never seems to catch a break when it comes to complicated individuals sneaking into her life. Just once, it would have been nice to see her happy - it truly felt as though she spent the entire book on edge or being confronted with yet another life-altering event that surely would send her over the edge.

Jenna and Lion are still just as present as ever, with Jenna taking on a much larger role of the two when it came to page presence and being there for Noah. She is super supportive of Noah and is always urging her to be honest, but there were times where Jenna seemed to be pushing Noah back to Nick only for her benefit in order to make their friend group whole again. Lion was only present for a few chapters here and there - Nick did not seem to have a support system in place, unless you count his driver slash bodyguard, Steve. I think the fact that Nick was somewhat of a lone wolf in this book contributed to his development stalling.

The twists and turns in this book actually had me locked in - compared to My Fault, I found that Your Fault lacked that intensity from the first book, but Our Fault certainly brought it all back. There were times where I had to re-read some paragraphs because I could not believe how quickly things were escalating from calm to borderline insane. The author definitely wanted to go out with a bang, because the last 25% of this book felt like I was being flung around in tornado with the amount of nonsense that ensued. 

I am glad that I was able to read this final installment before the movie is released later this year - I cannot begin to imagine what my thoughts would be if I watched this unfold on screen without some warning. This series was a wild ride and I would definitely recommend these books to readers looking for a touch of toxicity with their forbidden romance.

You can add Our Fault on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Save Me (Maxton Hall, #1) by Mona Kasten Review

This is a spoiler-free review! Season One of Maxton Hall: The World Between Us is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

The day the season one of Maxton Hall: The World Between Us dropped, I binged the entire thing in one sitting and told all of my friends that they needed to watch it immediately. I was so excited to find out that the books would finally be receiving an English translation, and with the second season releasing this fall, I knew I had begin reading them as the translations are being published. There is always going to be a difference in the true words when translating a book, and I cannot tell if the translation was made in effort resemble Wattpad-style writing, or if it was the author's true intent. It truly had that After series aura to it in the sense that it was addicting to read, but not the best caliber of writing.

As someone who watched the show before reading the book - unfortunately I do not speak German, otherwise I definitely would have read it first - I found that while reading, the television adaptation is surprisingly very accurate to the events of the book. There are little details here and there that were omitted or altered, but the overall essence stays true. Looking at the book and television show as completely separate entities, I found that I enjoyed the characterization of James more in the show compared to his book counterpart. While he does have a decent amount of development in the book, the television show version certainly expands upon the author's original thoughts more in depth.

Ruby truly just wants to mind her own business but is constantly running into drama that she avoids like the plague. It was actually comically how much she was a witness to when she just wanted to get a good reference letter for her Oxford application. She really wanted to be left alone and yet everyone and their mother seemed to have their secrets spilled right in front of her. There were definitely moments when reading that I was getting some major second hand embarrassment from her actions, especially when it came to a certain outburst - I nearly had to put the book down and take a lap around the room. Overall, her character is very driven and knows exactly what she wants, almost to a fault. I do hope she becomes more care-free as the series goes on, because she certainly needs to be able to relax after everything she has been through.

The supporting characters helped move this story along, and Alister quickly became my favorite of the bunch. It was interesting to see his and Ruby's friendship / acquaintance grow throughout the book, considering it was unexpected and usually had James climbing up a wall that they were interacting with one another. Ruby's sister was not a major player in the game and her appearances in the book were nothing to write home about. Lin and Kieran served as Ruby's main friends, with Lin taking first place over Kieran's involvement. Seeing more into James and Lydia's home life really started to flesh them out as characters, and readers are able to understand why both of them have a stand-offish personality that they continue to guard.

For fans of My Fault / Culpa Mía by Mercedes Ron, Save Me opens a whole new world of enemies to lovers that is riddled with societal expectations, internal dilemmas, and the unsteadiness that comes with new love.

You can add Save Me on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Score (Off-Campus, #3) by Elle Kennedy Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of The Deal (Off-Campus, #1), The Mistake (Off-Campus, #2), and The Chase (Briar U, #1) on my blog, now! You do not have to read the Off-Campus series before the Briar U series, but it does include characters and relationships that may be spoiled for you.

With pictures flying around online of the filming of The Off-Campus television series for Amazon Prime, I wanted to continue on with this series and see where Kennedy took readers next with Allie and Dean. Considering everyone on BookTok raves about this couple, it was only a matter of time before I fell victim to this book. I remember enjoying Dean in the previous two books, but he somehow became unbearable at times in his own book? I understand that his past relationship caused a lot of emotional turmoil for him and that is why he is upfront about only hooking up, but good grief he feels so misogynistic at times it is insane. It always felt as though he spoke about girls like they were objects, and it does not help him that the author seems to love to incorporate that behavior in every single one of her male leads.

Allie and Dean have a crazy amount of chemistry, I will give them that. To no surprise of anyone, the friends with benefits turning into feelings for one another trope in this book is quick to develop for both parties, and we spend the remaining 75% of the book watching painfully as they dance around one another. They would speak to each other for about two minutes and then would climb each other like the monkey bars for hours on end and chapters on end - there were moments where I never thought it would end. Sure, that was their arrangement, but it got old after the first five times. The plot felt as though it was in a standstill when it actually came to their relationship - we saw them development in their own separate plots, but when they were together, it took a much longer time for their combined development to take shape.

The recurring characters from the prior books are fun, but honestly it felt as though they were having the same conversations over and over again. Allie's friends would warn Dean not to go near her, and Dean's friends would tell Dean not to go near her - I fear would could tell what kind of guy Dean was just from that fact alone. It was nice to see the relationships continuing on, but I felt as though I saw Hannah and Garrett more than I was seeing Allie and Dean at one point - they were everywhere. I did think that Dean's little side plot was much more interesting than Allie's side plot - Dean's engagement with the kids hockey team kept my attention longer than Allie's internal dilemma of auditioning for acting roles. We could actually see Dean go through a personality change, whereas with Allie, she was just going back and forth between theatre and silver screen.

I was really hoping this series was going to turn itself around for me, considering how I felt about The Mistake along with the fact that everyone and their mother seems to be obsessed with Allie and Dean's relationship. Most people are probably not reading these books for the plot, especially this installment, but boy oh boy I wish there was a more solid story going along with Allie and Dean's relationship as a whole. Dean did have some solid character development, but it took a long time and lots of mistakes on his part to turn himself around. If you are in search for a hockey romance that goes by quickly and is easy to read, the Off-Campus series could be calling to you.

You can add The Score on Goodreads now, and follow the author to stay up to date with releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

The Divine Comedy (La Divina Commedia, #1-3) by Dante Alighieri, Robin Kirkpatrick (translator) Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I have not read classic literature in some time and have had this collection on my shelf for a little over six months - it was time to dive into La Divina Commedia in its entirety. Inferno details Dante's descent into Hell, Purgatorio follows Dante as he finds his way back to Beatrice, and Paradiso finalizes the collection with Dante going to Heaven and beyond. The structure of Dante's canti in all three installations is easy to follow and creates a flow in which the reader is able to process information quickly and often without any difficulty. The addition of the translator's timeline and notes for specifics lines in the canti truly aids in the reader's understanding of both context and intent behind Dante's choice of words as well as his commentary throughout his journey.

Inferno's description of Dante's travels into the coldness of Hell with the guidance of Virgil speaks volumes to the picture of Hell the public had during Dante's time - freezing layers compiled and structured for specific sins and offenses, each one more torturous than the last. The way Dante is able to describe the horrors faced by sinning individuals as the circles of Hell are explored and assigned to a sin was intriguing - as someone who was raised Catholic, we never went in depth on this aspect of religion, rather focusing on life before and after the crucifixion. As Dante attempts to find salvation, these circles confront him with the consequences of committing sins and what may be in store for others.

Purgatorio continues Dante's journey as he begins the climb up the Mount of Purgatory after emerging from Hell. As he makes his way through the nine levels, he encounters and observes sinners as they too await their exit from Purgatory. Through these observations, Dante is able to become a better man and continue on in his journey as he takes what he has learned and enters the Garden of Eden. This second installment invites the reader to bear witness to redemption and self reflection through allegory. The canti are somewhat more complex than those found in Inferno, but once you are able to get your bearings, it moves along quickly. There is a much larger religious tone and commentary from Dante here, and with the knowledge that he was critical of how Christianity was being practiced, it is understandable that he aims to more extensive in his commentary.

Paradiso wraps up his venture as ascension to Heaven is complete, and Dante finds himself in the space beyond as he transcends. This final volume allows Dante to give his own interpretation of what the heavens reflect, as well detailing a transcend toward the Trinity. He is finally reunited with Beatrice and readers are exposed to detailed descriptions of astronomy and theology as Dante reaches his final place. I would say this is heaviest of the three to get through, as Dante's canti lean more into Beatrice's relationship to theology and the astronomical makeup of the heavens. Compared to the other two volumes, I would say Paradiso was not as drawing to me as a reader and fell in ranking when it comes to holding my interest.

The complete collection was a pleasure to read - as someone who does not engage in religious exploration often, it was interesting to see the expansion on stages of life, consequences, and influence it has on an individual. Dante's experiences as he makes his way through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven is enriching and thought-provoking. Kirkpatrick's incredibly detailed notes at the end of the three volumes was even more eye-opening, and it has further powered my interest in furthering my classical literature exploration and understanding.

You can add The Divine Comedy on Goodreads now.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Summer's Kiss (The Boys of Ocean Beach, #1) by Angel Lawson Review

This is a spoiler-free review!

I downloaded this from a Stuff Your Kindle day a long time ago, and now that the weather has decided to lighten up, I figured I needed to make a dent in my summer romance TBR. I do not read too much reverse haram or why choose romance books, but this one definitely took me by surprise. I thought that Summer would be drawn to one boy and the rest would become somewhat of background characters, but that is certainly not the case for this new adult romance. To be honest, I did not even realize it was a reveres harem - I thought she would pick one boy after multiple books and a five-way love triangle (love pentagon?). Personally, if I found out a group of described beach bums only hooked up with girls in the summer and had a pact, I would be running for the hills.

The boys - Justin, Whit, Pete, and Nick - are a little... forgettable. There was never a moment where I found myself more drawn to one of them and they were all pretty subpar in my eyes. You could easily tell that this book must have originally been written for Summer to end up with one single romantic interest, given the amount of page time one of the boys receives compared to the others. Lawson definitely should have done some more revisions with her editor since you almost start rooting for the other boys to just disappear and let Summer and who I imagine the original love interest was to go off into the sunset together.

Summer's relationship with all of the boys is mostly on an individual basis - they are not really a "group" so to speak. She basically has four boyfriends but the boyfriends aren't boyfriends with each other, if that makes sense. I wish the author either stuck with the reverse harem trope or abandoned it, as it feels half-finished and not enough time was dedicated to develop their relationship as a full group. Outside of just being around one another, the boys really do not have a ton of interaction on page, and readers are basically only shown each boy having their little moments with Summer alone.

I think this would have worked a lot better if this was not a new adult/high school romance but rather a college romance - they all seem very immature, and considering Summer's most recent relationship, it definitely would have benefited from some maturity. The side plot with her author mother was interesting, but for a romance book, it took up a lot of page space when the author could have been deepening the relationship between Summer, Whit, Pete, Justin, and Nick. I will probably finish this series if I need something quick to read, but if you are looking for a fast read with lots of PG-13 moments, this could be the series for you. Much like the Summer Unplugged series by Amy Sparling, this romance book plays it safe when it comes to the actual romance portion of the plot.

You can add Summer's Kiss on Goodreads now, and follow the author for updates on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!

Iron Flame (The Empyrean, #2) by Rebecca Yarros Review

This is a spoiler-free review! You can read my review of Fourth Wing on my blog, now!

All of these characters were put through the ringer once again, and yet Iron Flame fails to make me care about any of them. Violet and Xaden's chemistry is certainly something, but with communication issues as horrendous as theirs, it is hard to become attached to their relationship. The side characters were given more development than our leading lady and my attention faded quickly - I read this book quickly not because it kept me captivated, but because I was desperate for it to be over.

Violet Sorrengail is about as perceptive as a rock, and that is giving her some grace. For a girl who is notoriously known for knowing everything and being excellent when training as a scribe, the girl cannot connect the dots to save her life unless someone is literally feeding her the information. Every revelation she had during this second installment was something so obvious and not at all shocking if you paid attention to anything in these books. Violet does not seem to understand that she actually needs to harness her signet in order to use it properly, and her throwing around lightning without a true purpose will get her nowhere except six feet under if she continues at this rate. I would ask someone to knock some sense into her, but as we all saw, people are constantly attempting that task at every turn.

Xaden's actions are arguably the most understandable out of every single character in this series. He seems to be the only one with a true purpose and actual goals set in mind - his secret keeping is literally required in order for things to play out in his favor, and with him and Violet constantly fighting the same fight months later, he still does not reveal anything to her without having her figure it out herself (or with his help). That being said, he really is great at not revealing information, whereas Violet has a mouth as big as Texas when it comes to giving up information to her squad members. I really need that girl to get her act together. Xaden and Violet's relationship feels like a nothing-ship, they basically screw each other and then fight the other 23 hours in a day.

Dain - they could never make me like you. The constant attempts to save his character and make him have a redemption arc was weak and ill-fitting of his character. It would have been much better to continue with his development as a character that Violet could channel her rage toward. He felt like a constant annoyance throughout this book, and I was begging the author to just make him disappear without explanation as it would be a mercy to my eyes to never have to read his name ever again. And yet, he continues to pop up at the most inconvenient times. Sure, he was able to explain himself to Violet at times, but boy oh boy the man is approaching levels of pick-me status that only Adam Kent from the Shatter Me series has achieved.

This book was way longer than it needed to be, and honestly a lot slower than it should have been. I have seen glaciers in Alaska move at a faster pace than the plot of this book. So many long and monologue-like paragraphs in this book, and yet it feels as though nothing of substance came out of it for the readers or for the characters. Sorry to all of my friends and coworkers that ate this book up, but I am so glad I borrowed this from the library and did not spend actual cash money to purchase this book. The actual realization that this is planned to be a five book series astounds me because what else could Yarros write about that she already did not explore in the first two books - Violet and Xaden fighting and keeping secrets? An obvious signet reveal? People thought to be dead are actually not dead? She needs to stop recycling plot points and produce some new ideas.

From someone who enjoyed Fourth Wing, this sequel was incredibly disappointing. I will likely continue on with this series to see it through as it is published, but I do not have any hopes for it to improve as the next installments are released unless Yarros does some serious improvements on her writing style and character development. With an ending that was predictable yet still a touch heartbreaking, The Empyrean series is desperate to hold onto readers at the cost of good storytelling.

You can add Iron Flame on Goodreads now, and follow the author for updates on releases and publications.

You can catch up with me and my current reads by friending me on Goodreads and following this blog, my Twitter (X), and my Instagram in order to stay up-to-date with any reviews, blog tours, and more!