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The Second Chance Year

by Melissa Wiesner, Review 17 of 2023

The Second Chance Year is the ideal rom com for the upcoming holiday break if you’re looking for something light and heartwarming to end the year. We begin the story with Sadie, a down on her luck pastry chef, wishing to re-do her particularly terrible year on New Year’s Eve. Good news for Sadie because, unlike for the rest of us, there’s magic at play. When Sadie uses her unexpected fresh start to attempt to undo all the things she thought went wrong, it goes exactly as you, the reader may already expect. 

Will there be an almost unbearable amount of baking similes? Yes. Will you want to use magic to strangle her sometimes? Also, yes. Was this adorable and cute and simple and nice for those of us coming to the end of a challenging year? Yes! 

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!

Categories: Romance, Fiction, Humor, Magical Realism

Content Warning: Sexual Assault, Emotional Abuse

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Mountains Made of Glass

by Scarlett St. Clair, Review 9 of 2023

This unexpectedly spicy, little fairy tale retelling has left me with conflicted feelings. I laughed, I cringed, I blushed. It shares the problematic romantic origin of Beauty and the Beast but I loved that the female lead is definitely a force to be reckoned with. The narration was a little distracting at times because the narrators had very different accents. Overall though, I enjoyed the mystery aspect, the nods to multiple fairy tales, and the fast pace. I would recommend it to my spicy book loving friends.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!

Content warning: Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship

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The Lonely Hearts Book Club

by Lucy Gilmore, Review 6 of 2023

One word review: Heartwarming! Oh, you want more information? Okay, the story is told through the perspectives of multiple narrators but centers on Sloane, a librarian who becomes the unexpected heroine of her own life as she is empowered by the love of her found family. This book is about loneliness, love, and being open to connection and community. I loved the literary references, the intergenerational friendships, and the diversity of characters. The book navigates some heavy topics in a respectful way without drowning the reader. 

Would like to give it a 3.5 out of 5 but since I have to pick I’m giving it a 4. 

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!

Content Warnings: Grief, Death, Cancer

Categories: Fiction, Contemporary Fiction

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Hestia Strikes a Match

by Christine Grillo, Review 5 of 2023

The main character in this novel, Hestia, finds herself dating again in her early forties in the midst of a recently rekindled civil war. Her husband has fled to join the Union cause, her parents are fleeing to the Confederate south, and Hestia is looking for love and companionship at home. 

While I loved the absurdly mundane nature of the dystopian world and the found family Hestia fosters throughout the novel. I struggled with listening to some of the voice acting.The text is read word for word including “he said” and “she said” so excessively it was difficult to stick with.

I wanted to love this book but ended up just liking it. 

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for this ALC!

Content Warnings: War, Violence, Racism, Grief, Death

Categories: Fiction, Alternate History, Speculative fiction

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Blog Fiction

The Monsters We Defy

By Leslye Penelope, book 56 of 2022

This is a fun and spooky heist story set in the 1920’s. Clara Johnson, a young black woman with the power to commune with spirits, joins up with a group of talented friends to save their community from a mysterious force that causes folks to disappear. I don’t want to give away anything but I found the layers of this story to be really engaging and fun to uncover. It had high enough stakes to keep me interested but low enough not to be too stressful. A budding romance, feisty best friend, and a little magic, what’s not to like? 

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this ALC!

Content Warnings:  Racism, Police Violence, Slavery, Classism, Colorism, Abduction

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Blog Fiction

Big Girl

by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, book 51 of 2022

Cover of the book Big Girl, bright teal background with large gold block lettering with purple accents. Images of Harlem's street scape in the letters.

The heart of this book is Malaya, a funny and resilient young girl growing up in Harlem in the 1990’s. While the book covers hip hop, race, gentrification, and Malaya’s sexual awakening, the vast majority is about Malaya’s relationships with her parents, grandmother, friends and most of all food. This book was moving and wonderfully descriptive, but extremely stress inducing for me.

Warning, if you have any kind of eating, dietary, or body image issues, this book could be very triggering. I found myself disturbed by the way Malaya’s mother and grandmother talked about food, their bodies, and women’s bodies in general, though nothing surprised me considering the way society scrutinizes women’s appearance and choices. I will say the writing was great and the end was very moving and hopeful but it was a real challenge to enjoy the ride.

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this ALC!

Content Warnings: Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Addiction, Death of a family member, Statutory Rape

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The Body Guard

by Katherine Center, book 28 of 2022

This book is sweet, laugh out loud funny, and a great lower stakes read! I loved that it featured a gender swapped version of the bodyguard trope. It had enough substance, humor, and character development to keep me from wanting to hit the pause button. Felt like, once again, this was written to be adapted into a screenplay and missed some opportunities to be the best book it could be. I’ve felt this way about several books I’ve read lately and I am starting to wonder if this is a “me problem”. That being said, it would make an A+ PG-13 Rom Com and I would definitely watch it. 

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this ALC!

Content Warnings: Cancer, Death of a family member, Domestic Violence  
Categories: Fiction, Romance (not spicy)

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Blog Fiction

The Immortal King Rao

by Vauhini Vara, book 27 of 2022

I really enjoyed the premise of this book and won’t spoil it by sharing more than the book’s description already has. I’d consider it less science fiction and more dystopia or unconventional family saga. It includes all the thought-provoking and depressing social commentary I usually enjoy with interesting historical references and context. While I enjoyed the premise and writing of this book, I did find myself annoyed by the pacing. Lately I’ve read several books that felt more like the author was trying to write something that could be easily adapted as a mini series for tv instead of writing for the actual audience, the people reading the book. 

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this ALC.

Categories: Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Content Warnings: Death, Climate Change, Rape, Sexual content, Murder

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Blog Fiction

Nettle & Bone

by T. Kingfisher, book 21 of 2022

My take, this is a charming and fun fantasy novel for low stakes enjoyment and dark humor. The main character, Marra, is a wonderfully relatable princess on a quest to save her sister and family. I won’t give away the details but this book was worth the read just for the secondary characters, a lovely bunch of misfits. Kingfisher mixes worldbuilding similar to Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and characters similar to those in the House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, yet still creates something that feels special. Would absolutely recommend it. 

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this ALC.

Categories: Fiction, Fantasy 
Content Warnings: Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Death of a Child, Cannibalism

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Blog Fiction

Mecca

written by Susan Straight, book 17 of 2022

Mecca is a wild ride through California through the eyes of several interconnected narrators. Just as I was becoming invested in one storyline, the author pivoted to a new equally compelling perspective. I was kept on the edge of my seat waiting for some of the threads to be resolved. I would recommend this for anyone looking for a tremendously human and gritty depiction of the day to day life of some of southern California’s most overlooked populations. 

Thank you to the publisher, author and NetGalley for this ALC.