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Title: Bloodlust Author: Sandra Brown Series: stand alone but shares characters with Blood Moon Much thanks to Sandra Brown, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I won’t lie, I was sucked in. Read this in about 24 hours. Brown knows how to keep the pace fast and the tension high. But if you’ve read Brown’s work before, you’ll find this is pretty much cut and paste. • …
Title: Crown of War and Shadow Author: J.R. Ward Series: Kingdoms of the Compass #1 Thank you to J.R. Ward, Tor, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I’ve heard good things about J.R. Ward for years, saw she was hopping on the romantasy trend, and figured that’d be as good an introduction to her as any. But then I decided to try her famed vampire series (Black Dagger Brotherhood) before …
A roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Winter 2025-2026. Beware of spoilers! Title: 100 Days of Sunlight Author: Abbie Emmons Series: Tessa and Weston #1 This author has a “writing how-to” YouTube channel that I’ve watched a few times, and when I learned she’s published a book with an interesting premise and it was available at my library, I wanted to check it out and see if Emmons can walk the walk or just talk the talk. DNF 19%. …
Title: You Can Scream Author: Rebecca Zanetti Series: Laurel Snow #5 Much thanks to Rebecca Zanetti, Kensington, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. I read the first couple books in this series and greatly enjoyed them, but One Cursed Rose was so awful it completely turned me off Zanetti for a couple years. I wish I’d continued this series where I left off instead of skipping to Book 5, because while …
Title: Great Big Beautiful Life Author: Emily Henry Series: n/a I could have been okay with the unbalanced narrative. But I hated the climax and resolution. I went into this book so arrogant, thinking I knew exactly how it would unfold. Alice and Hayden would “audition” for the first half, their attraction sparking as they slowly got to know one another as friendly rivals; the midway point would be a twist where instead of choosing one or the other, Margaret …
Title: The King’s Ransom Author: Janet Evanovich Series: Recovery Agent/Gabriela Rose #2 Much thanks to Janet Evanovich, Atria Books, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Ironically, I’m surprised it’s only been four years since Gabriela’s first book came out—it feels like longer. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes, but man; it changed release date several times, co-authors came and went. But here it finally is! And it’s okay. Released at …
Title: The Lost Author: Sarah Beth Durst Series: not anymore PSA: If you’re furious about the ending and came looking for answers, check the copyright of the copy you just read. If it says 2014 and only 2014, find a copy of the updated 2025 version, stat! Read the last two or three chapters, then come back if you need to. 😉 —————– Initial Post: Wow. I haven’t felt fucked up by a book like this in a while. I …
A roundup of several smaller reviews I wrote in Fall 2025. Beware of spoilers! Title: Dead Wrong Author: Kate Allenton Series: Cree Blue Psychic Eye Mystery #1 Not great. Very simplistic and superficial storytelling. Too short to include much detail or character development. The MC, Cree*, is more foolishly headstrong than spunky, and waaayyy overpowered: clairvoyant, psychometric, knows when people are lying, and she can see and communicate with ghosts? She must also be rich, because she’s entirely unbothered by the …
Title: Mixing Magics Author: Clare Edge Series: Accidental Demons #2 Much thanks to Clare Edge, HarperCollins, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Unfortunately, I was greatly disappointed by book 2. It felt like a hot mess of a first draft. It also felt like the author had no idea what to do with any of her own lore. Book 1 was fantastic, and the two things it did extra well …
Title: 7 Figure Fiction: How to Use Universal Fantasy to Sell Your Books to Anyone Author: T. Taylor Series: Universal Fantasy #1 First, I blinked the sales-pitch dazzle out of my eyes. Second, I sneered at and moved past the fact that this entire book is a humble brag. Third, I processed. And processed. And processed. And finally made sense of this mess of a book. Universal Fantasy is real. Taylor just does the worst job of explaining what it …