“If I loved you as much as he claims to love you, nothing would’ve stopped me from keeping you.”
oh we love a seven deadly sins inspired series for
“If I loved you as much as he claims to love you, nothing would’ve stopped me from keeping you.”
oh we love a seven deadly sins inspired series forever and ever. friends, this just really worked for me. maybe the best romance i’ve read all year. this is a story involving a lot of rich people in new york and an arranged marriage, which is a setting and set up i feel like all romance readers have read in bulk at this point, but this really felt different and felt like it was done a lot better. also, this story has a constant theme of jealousy, but the author didn’t need a love triangle or miscommunication for this, and that felt so good to read. and the first sex scene in this book? the best i’ve read in a long, long while. i read it twice it was so good hahaha!
but i really am a simple romance girl, and if a guy gave me dumplings from 34 different restaurants, so that i could find a new favorite, that would be it for me. But also, him giving her these star gazing dates? like, dante is just built a little different, i fear. i ate this romance up with a spoon and i am happily begging for seconds.
have any of you tried soy sauce on vanilla ice cream? i am going to - and then i will report back.
trigger + content warnings: anxiety, blackmail, panic attacks, not great parents, abandonment, loss of a loved one in the past (grandpa), mention of heart attack in past, blood, assault, armed robbery, unwanted photos being taken without consent, stalking, and talk of trauma.
“If I loved you as much as he claims to love you, nothing would’ve stopped me from keeping you.”
oh we love a seven deadly sins inspired series forever and ever. friends, this just really worked for me. maybe the best romance i’ve read all year. this is a story involving a lot of rich people in new york and an arranged marriage, which is a setting and set up i feel like all romance readers have read in bulk at this point, but this really felt different and felt like it was done a lot better. also, this story has a constant theme of jealousy, but the author didn’t need a love triangle or miscommunication for this, and that felt so good to read. and the first sex scene in this book? the best i’ve read in a long, long while. i read it twice it was so good hahaha!
but i really am a simple romance girl, and if a guy gave me dumplings from 34 different restaurants, so that i could find a new favorite, that would be it for me. But also, him giving her these star gazing dates? like, dante is just built a little different, i fear. i ate this romance up with a spoon and i am happily begging for seconds.
have any of you tried soy sauce on vanilla ice cream? i am going to - and then i will report back.
trigger + content warnings: anxiety, blackmail, panic attacks, not great parents, abandonment, loss of a loved one in the past (grandpa), mention of heart attack in past, blood, assault, armed robbery, unwanted photos being taken without consent, stalking, and talk of trauma.
“If I loved you as much as he claims to love you, nothing would’ve stopped me from keeping you.”
oh we love a seven deadly sins inspired series forever and ever. friends, this just really worked for me. maybe the best romance i’ve read all year. this is a story involving a lot of rich people in new york and an arranged marriage, which is a setting and set up i feel like all romance readers have read in bulk at this point, but this really felt different and felt like it was done a lot better. also, this story has a constant theme of jealousy, but the author didn’t need a love triangle or miscommunication for this, and that felt so good to read. and the first sex scene in this book? the best i’ve read in a long, long while. i read it twice it was so good hahaha!
but i really am a simple romance girl, and if a guy gave me dumplings from 34 different restaurants, so that i could find a new favorite, that would be it for me. But also, him giving her these star gazing dates? like, dante is just built a little different, i fear. i ate this romance up with a spoon and i am happily begging for seconds.
have any of you tried soy sauce on vanilla ice cream? i am going to - and then i will report back.
trigger + content warnings: anxiety, blackmail, panic attacks, not great parents, abandonment, loss of a loved one in the past (grandpa), mention of heart attack in past, blood, assault, armed robbery, unwanted photos being taken without consent, stalking, and talk of trauma.
“If I loved you as much as he claims to love you, nothing would’ve stopped me from keeping you.”
oh we love a seven deadly sins inspired series forever and ever. friends, this just really worked for me. maybe the best romance i’ve read all year. this is a story involving a lot of rich people in new york and an arranged marriage, which is a setting and set up i feel like all romance readers have read in bulk at this point, but this really felt different and felt like it was done a lot better. also, this story has a constant theme of jealousy, but the author didn’t need a love triangle or miscommunication for this, and that felt so good to read. and the first sex scene in this book? the best i’ve read in a long, long while. i read it twice it was so good hahaha!
but i really am a simple romance girl, and if a guy gave me dumplings from 34 different restaurants, so that i could find a new favorite, that would be it for me. But also, him giving her these star gazing dates? like, dante is just built a little different, i fear. i ate this romance up with a spoon and i am happily begging for seconds.
have any of you tried soy sauce on vanilla ice cream? i am going to - and then i will report back.
trigger + content warnings: anxiety, blackmail, panic attacks, not great parents, abandonment, loss of a loved one in the past (grandpa), mention of heart attack in past, blood, assault, armed robbery, unwanted photos being taken without consent, stalking, and talk of trauma.
“If I loved you as much as he claims to love you, nothing would’ve stopped me from keeping you.”
oh we love a seven deadly sins inspired series forever and ever. friends, this just really worked for me. maybe the best romance i’ve read all year. this is a story involving a lot of rich people in new york and an arranged marriage, which is a setting and set up i feel like all romance readers have read in bulk at this point, but this really felt different and felt like it was done a lot better. also, this story has a constant theme of jealousy, but the author didn’t need a love triangle or miscommunication for this, and that felt so good to read. and the first sex scene in this book? the best i’ve read in a long, long while. i read it twice it was so good hahaha!
but i really am a simple romance girl, and if a guy gave me dumplings from 34 different restaurants, so that i could find a new favorite, that would be it for me. But also, him giving her these star gazing dates? like, dante is just built a little different, i fear. i ate this romance up with a spoon and i am happily begging for seconds.
have any of you tried soy sauce on vanilla ice cream? i am going to - and then i will report back.
trigger + content warnings: anxiety, blackmail, panic attacks, not great parents, abandonment, loss of a loved one in the past (grandpa), mention of heart attack in past, blood, assault, armed robbery, unwanted photos being taken without consent, stalking, and talk of trauma.
I think reading this back to back to back just made them feel too formulaic, but I still enjoyed t1.) Only for a Night ★★★★★ 2.) Only For Your Touch ★★
I think reading this back to back to back just made them feel too formulaic, but I still enjoyed this series! <3
maybe cowboys were the secret sauce all along because... yikes at this new spin off series without them. i havent given a book a one star in a very lomaybe cowboys were the secret sauce all along because... yikes at this new spin off series without them. i havent given a book a one star in a very long time...
i dont really want to give this book too much more energy, but this will probably end up being my biggest disappointing read in 2024. the very basic premise is that this is a new series, and a new town, that is one province over from chestnut springs. this stars willa’s, from heartless, older brother, ford, and his best friend’s little sister, rosie, who was also his childhood friend. and let preface this with the fact that willa is my favorite heroine of the chestnut springs series, so this just really feels extra bad to me.
at the very start of the book, ford realizes that he has a twelve year old daughter who is going through a very difficult time currently and has no one else to turn to. cora (the daughter) really pulled at my heart and i really did enjoy reading about her finding this family and feeling loved and safe and accepted. i will say that her story might be a little emotionally manipulative, to make the reader feel something big considering the rest of this book is not so great, but for the sake of saying at least one nice thing - i really did like cora. but she doesn’t talk like a twelve year old, her actions are really not that of a twelve year old (even one who had to grow up extremely quickly), and some of the conversations she has with the adults do feel really weird. (i really recommend this review!)
ford has been a billionaire since birth, but he is more rich now, but he was kind of dorky in the past, and that’s his personality. rosie… i feel elsie read the words “bratty bottom” somewhere and was like “im gonna do that with rosie!” and truly failed miserably lol. i mean, she is bratty for sure, but just annoying and insufferable to read. especially when said brattyness shows up when he is literally taking his child to deal with some really sad and heavy shit. also, from talking about others' privilege when you have a family boat house to escape to when you have no income, from ruining macbooks during sex and ruining rooms with paint just for funsies, from calling others out but ignoring you have accepted a 100k signing bonus because you and your boss are starting a romance, like… it was just not fun to ever read about her or from her. there is a lot of bad in this book, but rosie was the worst for me to read.
also elsie silvers beta readers must hate her (view spoiler)[because what do you mean there is a mini discussion on privilege with apparently the billionaire/nepo baby learning it for the first time, and then the next chapter is him immediately proceeding to go to a police station where him and his white friend are all happy and friendly with the cops? like... actually speechless. (hide spoiler)]
but yeah, i think that’s everything. the romance was forced, the talk of privilege was literally grating, and i didn’t care about anyone except for the twelve year old who didn’t read like a child. she is setting up a tea shop owner who i was kind of intrigued by, but this book left such a bad taste in my mouth that i do not think i will be continuing. also, i hope when rosie’s brother gets a book that the author and publishing team will actually hire sensitivity readers for rosie’s nephew, especially after reading so much carelessness with this book.
trigger + content warnings: sexual assault at work place (unwanted touching), mention of loss of father (als), grief, depression, child neglect, blood mention, harry potter mention, power imbalances, talk of periods, talk of cheating in past (not mcs), mention of off page misogyny, talking about someone's sa without their permission, unwanted photographs being taken (paparazzi), police station scene, one sentence mention of a school shooting very lightly in the epilogue (like… what)
i kept seeing everyone picking this up and really enjoying it, so i really went into this not knowing anything! but i instantly fell in love with the i kept seeing everyone picking this up and really enjoying it, so i really went into this not knowing anything! but i instantly fell in love with the world and our main character, rune, who is a witch in hiding. basically in the past, in rune’s country, there used to be witch queens who ruled over all, but after a revolution being a witch is a death sentence. also in this world, witches need blood as a component to cast spells, sometimes their own, sometimes others, but when you draw blood to use magic, the wound will heal silver, leaving a tattoo-like mark on your body. and in the present day, there are witch hunters who are constantly looking for these marks and other signs of witchcraft.
rune gets around this by saving and using the blood from her menstrual cycles - which i really loved. the blood isn’t as powerful, because it’s not as fresh because she is bottling it, but i just thought this was such a cool concept. i have read so many books, it is very rare that one surprises me with something i’ve never read before, and this one truly did. but rune is close with the witch hunters because she turned her grandmother in to the authorities years before, because of her grandmother’s wishes. this, and her not having the silver marks, makes it very easy for her to hide in plain sight and be able to get information to save other witches and get them out of the country before they are apprehended by the guard.
the guard is constantly looking for a vigilante that they named “the crimson moth” but no one suspects that it could possibly be rune.. except for gideon, the worst witch hunter of them all. gideon wants to get close to rune to see if she is a witch or knows the crimson moth that everyone is after, and rune wants to get close to gideon because one of her grandmother’s best friends was captured and is currently being held in captivity for being a witch. but maybe, just maybe, they kinda like each other.
i actually really enjoyed it, and never once did i want to stop reading. The setting and atmosphere is really good and instantly hooked me completely. i felt a lot of empathy for rune and gideon throughout and was really rooting for them by the end, but oh my gosh the angst - i cannot believe. the ending is very much a cliffhanger, with lots of twists and turns that i actually didn’t see coming. I actually really want to praise kristen ciccarelli, because she threw out some red herrings that had some mystery writers shaking in their boots truly. but yeah, i had a really good time with this one and i will for sure pick up book two!
trigger + content warnings: blood, self harm to get blood for magic, a lot of talking about menstrual cycles, murder, death, loss of parents in past, loss of grandparent in past, loss of siblings, mention of suicides in past, grief, depression, drugging, violence, torture in past, brief mention of child abuse, one sentence mention of loss of a child during childbirth, talk of sexual assault in past (nothing detailed on page, but it is a main theme of this story), i would also say sa for stripping people of their clothes to search for those silver marks, abusive relationship in past, drinking, talk of addiction, guns and gun violence, spiders, fire
i have been loving this series so very much, and after finishing the ashes & the star-cursed king i immediately wanted more, therefore i picked this up also assuming it would be a banger like the rest of this series. oh friends, i am experiencing heartbreak as i type this mini review.
i believe that this in-between story, set in this world at a different time period, was to help us learn more about the goddesses, in particular nyaxia and (view spoiler)[her cousin (hide spoiler)] arachessen. yet, that’s all it really did for me because i just could not get into this story, these characters, their romance, their dynamics with other characters, or anything really. this was ultimately just such a let down for me, but i will still be picking up the songbird & the heart of stone come fall!
content warnings mentioned in author’s note at beginning of this book: violence, war, drug addiction. Violence against children, explicit sexual situations
additional trigger + content warnings i wrote down while reading: loss of a loved one, loss of a friend, cult depiction, colonization, drowning, grief, murder, death, a lot of blood depictions, captivity, body control powers, drugging, talk of the subject of rape, power imbalance dynamics / child abuse, slavery mention, extreme drug withdrawal, talk of animal death, graphic detailed mentions of eating animals
this is the first book by ali that i haven't loved and i am really sad about it. i feel like everyone has beARC provided by the publisher via Libro.fm
this is the first book by ali that i haven't loved and i am really sad about it. i feel like everyone has been begging for her (and emily henry) to give us that dual point of view, but man oh man i wish ali never did. I think a lot of it is because one of our main character’s povs is 1st person, and then the other is 3rd person, and even though i did find a groove while reading, each time i picked up the book it was jarring getting to that groove again.
but the basic premise of the stem romance is that one of our main characters, rue, is a biotech engineer who has a passion for fermentation and extending the shelf life of foods because of immense poverty trauma in her past. she is currently working with a company she really loves and she is also working on her own patent for food preservation. after a night with an attempted app hookup that kind of goes really wrong (but also really right despite not hooking up), the next day she goes to work and realizes that this mystery guy, eli, is part of another tech company who is going to buy the loan contract of her current company and that leaves a lot of uncertainty for her and her coworkers/friend’s futures.
i see a lot of people disliking this one because of the more explicit sex, so please know that going in, but that truly didn’t bother me. well, maybe it did just because i didn’t love eli in this, so i always would want to be in rue’s head, even during the sex scenes. what i really didn't like (which i didn’t even talk about in the premise because it feels like the only time i was brought up was to further the mc’s love story), is a subplot with rue’s brother that just left a really bad taste in my mouth. i talk in a lot of reviews about how much my little brother means to me, so maybe i was just being extra sensitive, but it just felt really bad to read (and really bad to not really have a conclusion for). and honestly? i felt like the big storyline (view spoiler)[about mentor manipulation and lying (hide spoiler)] was done much better in love, theoretically, and felt a lot better for the reader, too.
i really enjoyed seeing rue realize that she doesn’t deserve bad things, and her healing and slowly feeling safe in her vulnerability, but besides that? i just couldn’t connect with the romance of this one, on top of the brother storyline not feeling good to read. I still will very much be picking up deep end , but i hope you all enjoy the reading experience of not in love more than i did.
content warnings from the author(please use caution for potential spoilers): I know genre definitions can be a bit blurry, but I consider Not in Love to be an erotic romance, so… lots of sex scenes, explicit and graphic. More than usual. An unnecessary amount, perhaps. It’s how these two emotionally constipated people communicate, at least at the start. Childhood poverty and food insecurity. Anxiety around food, mostly due to past food insecurity. Mentions of addiction (secondary characters). Social anxiety. Parental death (accidents, illness) (off page, in the past). Parental neglect. Power exchange (pre-negotiated, during sex. Attempted assault of the FMC by her brother (she is unharmed). Pregnancy of a secondary character. Cursing and vulgar language.
other trigger + content warnings i found while reading (ali's books really do have such good tws - i am always so thankful and impressed): grief, infidelity in past mentions (not mcs) but also a weird comment about cheating made my the mc once, childhood abandonment, one sentence mention of an animal dying during animal testing.
i mean, who doesn't want a god to teleport them to a snowy town, where you not only have magical powers, but you can create your very own bookshop cafi mean, who doesn't want a god to teleport them to a snowy town, where you not only have magical powers, but you can create your very own bookshop cafe in the forest? oh, and a hot book loving knight is your only regular customer? 11/10 living the dream imo lol. well, that's the very barebones premise of the start of this story, but the stakes are increased when another person who was teleported to this world is not only not doing their intended job, but abusing the power that was given to them. and i am sure our main character will intervene in the second installment.
but i really loved this, and it really was the perfect cozy atmosphere with a set up that has left me really intrigued to read on. plus, you really can’t go wrong with a magical cafe and bookstore, therefore i really (and so very easily) recommend this to you all.
trigger + content warnings: bullying, abuse, magical compulsion, brief mention of loss of parents and grandparents in past
when i heard sapphic medusa reimagining with a dark academia setting, i knew i couldn’t resist reading this for tosalted pasta water is still crazy...
when i heard sapphic medusa reimagining with a dark academia setting, i knew i couldn’t resist reading this for too long. and this book is that! and i really loved the romance! and i will always love seeing women getting revenge and healing the way they want to heal against horrible acts committed against them!! but this is a dark book that really centers on sexual assault at this college, so please use caution and take care of yourselves while reading. (i would say just skip chapter 2 when the on page rape happens, but different assaults happen and are discussed throughout this entire story.)
after chapter two, we get to see lex almost a year later, back at the university that did nothing to protect her and everything to protect her rapist, and she is ready to get that revenge that she deserves. she is also ready, with the help of her sister, to take revenge for people who feel voiceless and put fear in the men who walk around campus feeling untouchable after making people feel voiceless. but when a girl who is supposed to be part of lex’s personal revenge starts to feel like something she has always wanted, things get a little more complicated.
i really liked the romance in this. going into this book, i was scared because i knew it had a revenge element, but i didn’t feel any weird power dynamics, there was no bullying towards one another, and i felt like both girls just truly liked each other from the very start. i also felt like luna’s journey in realizing she is bi was really thoughtfully done and realistic. and i also really respected and enjoyed lex’s portrayal for always knowing she is a lesbian. i know the salted pasta water is still crazy, but the sex scenes were actually extremely well done - maybe some of the best i've read. and i just really enjoyed watching this romance unfold.
i just really respected what this book and story is, and i wish we got more books like this. i wish we got more empowering books about women getting revenge on the people who have committed these acts that our broken systems don’t accurately punish them for. And i also wish we got more books of just girls falling in love, girls discovering their sexuality, and girls having all different kinds of relationships - some quiet, some loud, some slow, some fast, some light, some heavy. (i feel like some of the comments i am seeing about the romance/sex in this book… you all are not saying this to the 500 m/m romances we get every year. i really appreciate this story and what it is doing for so many reasons, but also the reason the baseline fact that we need more sapphic stories of all kinds.)
i also “enjoyed” (it feels weird to say that for this but…. i just think it's an important conversation) seeing the discussion on how men/society can treat lesbians because the world cannot fathom someone not being attracted to men in some shape or form or way. How people will say you're just confused, or you just haven't had a good experience with a man yet, because it is impossible for some people to wrap their minds around their own unimportance (and their misogyny). i am pan, but i really respected that being shown in this book, because i sadly do think that is a reality for so many people who aren’t interested in men romantically or sexually and it should be talked about (and unlearned) more.
overall, i just really am happy this book exists for many reasons. i loved the sapphic romance and seeing these two girls heal and realize that they deserve good and safe things, maybe even with the unconditional help and support from one another. and i also really respected what the author did with these darker themes and the helplessness people often feel. i'm not saying this was a perfect book by any means, but i am thankful for it and i really hope this author writes more sapphic romance in the future, because i will be preordering.
trigger + content warnings: rape and sexual assault (on page, many different depictions, and talked about through the entirety of this book), not being believed after sa, predatory behavior, drugging, vomit, misogyny, snakes, blood, bullying, child abuse mentions, abusive parents, graphic physical abuse, ptsd, nightmares, harry potter mentions, torture, gore, violence, homophobia (in a negative light always), use of slur for lesbians, suicidal thoughts in past, murder
this is such a hard book to rate and review, because i truly loved so much of it. the characters, the set up, the setting, the messages and themes, evthis is such a hard book to rate and review, because i truly loved so much of it. the characters, the set up, the setting, the messages and themes, even the writing was so perfect for me. But the plot of this? oh, friends, i was just unable to be captivated by it. i really found myself a bit bored while reading, and while waiting for these things i loved to make a plot that i equally loved, but sadly it just never happened.
this is a story about two elven sisters, one blessed with battle and one blessed with prophecy, and their journey discovering that the fae are real when they are banished from their elven homeland. we get to see the underground world of the fae, their bonded animal companions, a really cool tree of souls, and the different magic they are able to harness. And then a murder mystery plotline also comes about while these sisters are trying to survive and learn a history that has been hidden from them.
again, there was so much good in this. It truly breaks my heart to give this a three star. And i promise i will read more from this author in the future.
trigger + content warnings: battle, war, blood, children soldiers, talk of selling children / human trafficking, slavery, illness, a lot of talk of loss of a parent in past, graphic animal deaths also involving skinning, violence, gore, torture, captivity, brief hospital setting, murder, and death.
the honey witch is about a girl who is about to take up her grandmother’s legacy being, you guessed it, thARC provided by Orbit - thank you so much !!
the honey witch is about a girl who is about to take up her grandmother’s legacy being, you guessed it, the next honey witch on her island. every eldest daughter in her family had the potential to be a witch, if they so do choose it. we follow our main character (and the eldest daughter), marigold, as she is healing and figuring out what she wants her life to look like, versus the life that society has always told her life should look like. and we are alongside marigold as she is learning her new potion making abilities, while also trying to prove to someone that witchcraft is very real.
this is a really hard book to rate and talk about, because i just never felt connected to the story itself, or the characters, or anything going on with the plot, but i can also recognize that this book had a lot of good in it, that did really mean a lot to me. i mean, first off, sapphic cottagecore vibes, with a queer beekeeper who is learning things from spellbooks her grandmother left her, who is also healing from her past and trying to have a healthy relationship with her friends and family in the present. like, a lot of good! a lot of stuff i will always recommend to you guys!! I just wish i could have connected more with the actual story and plot and not just the themes and concepts.
i also really loved the queer representation in this book, and even though no titles are actually given, i personally feel like the representation of bi, pan, and lesbian was really beautifully done. also, there is a tattoo scene in this book that is truly one of the hottest things i’ve ever read in my entire life. ahhh, friends - i recommend this book just because i want it to succeed and i want more stories from sydney j. shields, and more chances to fall in love with her books completely.
cws from the author at the start of this book: Tattooing/Needles, Burns, Blood/Injuries, Sex, House fire, Bee stings, Loss of a grandparent, Death/Grief, Discussions of infertility, A woman seeks aid of the honey witch for treatment of her miscarriage
other tw/cw i wrote down: mention and talk of abusive and predatory relationship in past, caretaking for a loved one, loss of parents in past, abandonment, fire, blood, vomit
for december 2023, i really was trying to embrace my holiday book era! and lovelight farms was my favorite of them all. but i do want to preface this for december 2023, i really was trying to embrace my holiday book era! and lovelight farms was my favorite of them all. but i do want to preface this with the fact that this doesn’t really feel like a winter holiday book, but more of a autumn holiday book! but i still really just fell in love with this story, these people, and this small cozy town.
in this story, we follow stella who has recently purchased a farm and lives in the cottage on the property! she is really struggling financially, and decides to enter a competition held by a very famous social media person, but while she is applying she says that she is in a relationship and they both are renovating this old farm. so when she is picked for the final portion of the contest, where the host will visit the destinations, stella recruits her best friend, luka, to pretend to be her boyfriend.
this was truly the best friends to lovers i have ever read. it was so believable, so beautiful, and was truly a joy to read. Both of these characters always showing up and being there for each other during some of their darkest parts of life to some of the brightest joys of life was just so endearing to read. to see them prioritize their relationship platonically through the years was just very sweet, and i know these are fictional characters, but oh my gosh do i wish them just lifetimes of happiness together.
i really enjoyed this one and i can’t wait to continue on with this series and fall more in love with this community.
trigger + content warnings: storylines surround financial debt, loss of a parent in past, talk of cancer in past, talk of hospital settings in past, childhood abandonment in past, anxiety, grief, panic attacks, ptsd, a harry potter mention, a lot of alcohol consumption, mention of infidelity (not mcs)
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