My Favorite Quotes From Savor It by Tarah DeWitt

This book was so unexpectedly cozy! While I loved the story of a small town hobby farmer showing a popular chef and his orphaned niece around the town, showing them the best of small town life and watching them fall in love with the town and the people, I loved these quotes more!

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Cue the spaghetti western ocarina. I chime in before either woman calls for a showdown at high noon.

“Besides, it’s a football field away from me.” Quite literally. I measured the meadow that sits between our houses the summer after seventh grade. It’d been an especially unexciting year.

I am categorically not threatening right now. I’m recovering from an existential crisis over a vacuum.

“Wait. How’d you distract her?”

“I handed her my goose.” She says this like it’s in any way a normal sentence.

“Ah, I see,” she says, nodding seriously. “The one-armed felon. He’s notorious around here. He traps all his victims by convincing them to lie down in a field.”

OH MY GOD. I really did that, didn’t I? I just talked about nipples and ejaculating back-to-back.

“Fisher, I’ll be happy to listen to your origin story later, but right now, we’re discussing canoes.”

“What if I don’t like it quick, Sage?” I ask, rapt on her reaction. “What if I prefer to savor things. Want it good and slow and drawn out?”

He seems to be all business at the moment, so I try to match that energy rather than telling him I’d drink this from a dirty boot just to get more of it.

“I’m going to kiss you and show you affection now.”

“What?!” I balk.

“I’ve always said that nothing screams romance like being submerged in the icy Pacific before 7:00 A.M.”

Before I know it, while I’m knee-deep in the drama of timber wars, Sage reaches across the desk and runs her finger up my arm. My hair stands on end in its wake.

“Good boy,” she tells me. And I don’t think studying together will ever be a problem again. She gets up and starts sliding our books into her bag, and I follow suit. I can’t wipe off the dumb look I know I have on my face, and if I had a tail, I know it’d be wagging.

“I’m sorry,” I tell him again. “My brain and I are fighting, I think.” I offer him an apologetic shrug.

“Yeah? What’s that bitch trying to say?” he replies.

“I talked a big game about staying focused.” He lets out a sigh. “And it’s made it so the tiniest things you do feel fucking erotic to me, and it is torture. I’m hanging on by a damn thread and trying to stick to that, but it’s so much harder than I’d thought.”

My face breaks into a happy beam that his shines right back at me.

“Glad you’re still enjoying my pain,” he adds.

I’ve also discovered I can make him blush when I say Yes, Chef, just right, and I’m delighting in abusing this power.

“Why are you here?” he says.

“Um,” I reply with blatant annoyance, breaking his hold. “Our brother lit himself on fire?”

“I think finding your people is what makes the difference,” she says with another heartbreaking cry.

“Or finding your bird?” I offer. Her shoulders fall, and she wails again.

The bird and his girl collide in the distance, Indy falling to her knees with an unrepentant cry.

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There were so many good moments in Savor It, and still so many I didn’t include in this selection of my favorite quotes! If you’d like to read more, check out Savor It by Tara DeWitt!

Summer won’t last forever.

Sage Byrd has lived in the coastal town of Spunes, Oregon (not to be confused with Forks, Washington) her entire life. She’s learned to love her small world, with the misfit animals on her hobby farm, and her friendships with the town’s inhabitants. But when her 5-year relationship ends and her ex, town-golden-boy Ian, suddenly gets engaged, Sage needs a win―something that will convince everyone to stop pitying her all the time, and to put Ian in his place. The Festival of Spunes, the town’s annual summer competition, would be the perfect opportunity. She just needs a partner.

Fisher Lange was a hotshot chef in New York City until the loss of his sister left him numb, grieving, and responsible for his teenage niece Indy. When Fisher loses his Michelin star along with his love of cooking, his boss sends him and Indy to Spunes on a much-needed summer sabbatical to consult on a restaurant opening. But when clashes with the townspeople threaten his last chance to redeem himself and a kiss with his new neighbor Sage leads to dating rumors, a strategic alliance might just be the best way to turn things around.

A deal is struck. Sage will improve Fisher’s image in the eyes of the town and remove the roadblocks he is facing with the restaurant, and Fisher will be Sage’s partner for the competition. But as their pact quickly turns into steamy rendezvous, emotional wounds begin to heal, and the pair tries to savor every moment, they start to realize that summer is racing by much faster than they would like…

This Isn’t What It Said It Was | A review of One Last Shot by Betty Cayouette

From the moment Emerson and Theo met as teenagers, they were inseparable. But just when they finally expressed their feelings to one another, they were torn apart.

Now, supermodel Emerson is nearing her twenty-eighth birthday, and she’s tired of looking for love in all the wrong places. When the calendar reminder for the marriage pact she and Theo made as teens goes off on her phone, she realizes this is it―her chance to rekindle the only romance that ever really made sense. Emerson convinces her grumpy agent to book her as the face of the fashion campaign that Theo, now a fashion photographer, is shooting. The good the campaign is being shot in ridiculously romantic Cinque Terre, Italy. The bad news? Theo might not be as happy to see her as she’d hoped.

The two embark on a four-day campaign that tests not only their feelings, but their ability to keep their hands off one another. But as roadblock after roadblock keeps them apart, Emerson starts to will this photoshoot be the key to getting one last shot at love, or will it be a final goodbye?

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for this review. All thoughts on One Last Shot are my own.

Did Not Finish at 6% (21 pages)

I want you to go ahead and read that book description again. Particularly the line “Theo might not be as happy to see her as she’d hoped.” Maybe even read it a third time. Because that is a complete and utter lie.

It didn’t take me long to realize that this book’s description promised something it wasn’t going to fulfill. Because as our two main characters get the notification on their phones that they made a pact to get married on their 28th birthdays, they also both decide to reach out and find the other after a ten year separation.

Go ahead and read that again too, while we’re at it. They BOTH reach out. The second they get the notification.

Now, its one thing for me to misunderstand a book’s description and realize I’ve made a mistake once I hop into it. I’ve done it before, and I’m sure the possibility to do it again is in my future. But if I can misunderstand a book’s intentions and then go back and find the exact line in the book’s description that states very clearly the same thought process I had?

I went into this book with the understanding that Theo didn’t want to see Emerson again, only to immediately be smacked in the face with his very obvious want to reconnect with her. Paired alongside a very stilted writing style and two characters who were weirdly obsessed with each other, I didn’t even want to give this book a chance to wow me despite its lies.

What Can I Say? She’s Got Some Good… Salami | A review of Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon

Ellie Greco wishes she weren’t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career—designing beautiful, elaborate costumes for theater—until her father’s death five years ago called her home to run the family’s decades-old deli. Yes, she loves the place, but she’d always thought she was meant for more exciting things than stocking the right tinned fish. But when Ellie hears that a local landlord is planning to rent to Mangia, the glitzy gourmet food department store, Greco’s Deli’s very existence is suddenly in jeopardy.

She tries to plead her case to Theo Taylor, scion of the property management firm about to put her out of business, but their meeting goes from bad (it’s not her fault he’s infuriating) to worse (no one expects the ceiling to literally fall in).

With Theo out cold, Ellie panics and claims to be his fiancée… and almost passes out herself when amnesia means Theo seems to actually believe her. Soon, the effects of the head injury wear off, but Theo proposes that their “engagement” stick around. If they manage to convince enough people they might both get what they an end to the Mangia deal. Ellie doesn’t trust him (after all, if Theo Taylor wants it, how can it be good for her?) but seeing no other option, reluctantly agrees.

And miraculously, the fake engagement seems to be working—even Ted, Theo’s shrewd, cold father seems convinced—that is until Sam, Theo’s ex-fiance, reappears on the scene. Not only does she see through their ruse, she proposes an arrangement of her own, forcing Ellie to decide between blossoming friendship, her family legacy, and the burgeoning romance she frankly never asked for.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for this review. All thoughts on Love You, Mean It are my own.

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

While the premise of this book seemed like it would make for a fun and interesting read, the actual story left much to be desired.

Most of this is just because the book needed to be developed further. The first 40% of the book seemed solid, but it quickly began going downhill as we focused more on the characters and their relationship, rather than the setup.

For one, the relationship between Ellie and Theo felt very unfulfilling. Because it is based on a fake engagement, our main character spends a lot of time questioning whether any feelings involved are actually true, which puts a wall up in between what is actually happening and the emotional significance of it. Any “ship-y” scenes between the main characters felt lackluster and disappointing, solely because we as readers don’t get to treat them for what they are with the looming threat of the fake relationship getting in the way of things.

As well, the ending seemed to just fall into place, with our main character “just so happening” to get everything she wanted. Despite an entire novel’s worth of build up and worry over whether or not Ellie can save her family’s business, the book wraps up this conflict in about 30 pages or so, without the involvement of our main character at all!

I think that the idea behind this book would have made for an interesting read, but the actual execution needed to be done a bit better for me to enjoy this book.

My Favorite Quotes From Love You, Mean It

Another day, another selection of my favorite quotes from a book I’ve read recently!

Love You, Mean It was an interesting story about a woman trying to save her family’s business by pretending to be engaged to a man with amnesia. But nothing shows off the feeling of a book quite like a group of quotes from it, right?

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“A rich white man that doesn’t like being criticized? No.” I pulled a faux-shocked face.

“But I’m definitely better than you.”

Theo grinned widely.

“Sick burn on the head trauma patient.”

“Okay, the nurse is trying to enforce her fascist sleep regimen again.”

“That sounds suspiciously like an insult.”

“How could I ever dream of insulting my dear fiance here at his ancestral manse,” I sing-songed, fluttering my eyelashes Theo’s way for effect.

I decided to let that mollify me (there was a lot of coursed for you ahead of us, after all), then turned to the menu, losing myself in the details of the obscure foodstuffs that had been shaved, whipped, flash-fried, and sprinkled over the top of a protein so deeply heritage, so emphatically sourced, that I was half-surprised we didn’t get a list of hobbies alongside the details of the farm or coastline it had previously called home.

“So? We’re on a timeline, we should get started, right?”

“I love how we’ve never lost the romance,” he deadpanned as he trailed after me into the kitchen, laying the bread and cheese down to start searching for a cutting board.

“When people think of me, the first word that comes to mind is ‘romantic.'”

“Oh? For me it’s ‘salami.'”

“By the way, I love your dress.”

“Oh… thanks. I uh… I made it.”

“So now we’re best friends and as such you’re going to become my personal stylist and couturier. Awesome. I love that about us.”

“You’re the one who wants him as a father in law.”

Sam scrunched her nose in disgust.

“I suppose we all have to make sacrifices.”

“Let me sweeten the pot: I can pay you in salami. The good stuff.”

“Bonuses in dry goods, I’m assuming.”

“Obviously. We offer all the standard benefits at Greco’s.”

Don’t forget sexy arbor day

The most celebrated and sex-focused holiday obvs

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Enjoyed these quotes? You should try Love You, Mean It to see the full story!

Ellie Greco wishes she weren’t stuck in Milborough. For a few brief, shining years, she escaped her hometown to pursue her dream career—designing beautiful, elaborate costumes for theater—until her father’s death five years ago called her home to run the family’s decades-old deli. Yes, she loves the place, but she’d always thought she was meant for more exciting things than stocking the right tinned fish. But when Ellie hears that a local landlord is planning to rent to Mangia, the glitzy gourmet food department store, Greco’s Deli’s very existence is suddenly in jeopardy.

She tries to plead her case to Theo Taylor, scion of the property management firm about to put her out of business, but their meeting goes from bad (it’s not her fault he’s infuriating) to worse (no one expects the ceiling to literally fall in).

With Theo out cold, Ellie panics and claims to be his fiancée… and almost passes out herself when amnesia means Theo seems to actually believe her. Soon, the effects of the head injury wear off, but Theo proposes that their “engagement” stick around. If they manage to convince enough people they might both get what they an end to the Mangia deal. Ellie doesn’t trust him (after all, if Theo Taylor wants it, how can it be good for her?) but seeing no other option, reluctantly agrees.

And miraculously, the fake engagement seems to be working—even Ted, Theo’s shrewd, cold father seems convinced—that is until Sam, Theo’s ex-fiance, reappears on the scene. Not only does she see through their ruse, she proposes an arrangement of her own, forcing Ellie to decide between blossoming friendship, her family legacy, and the burgeoning romance she frankly never asked for.

What A Disaster! A Flower Farm! | A Review Of Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings

Winning the lottery has ruined Opal Devlin’s’s life. After quitting her dead-end job where she’d earned minimum wage and even less respect, she’s bombarded by people knocking at her door for a handout the second they found out her bank account was overflowing with cash. And Opal can’t seem to stop saying yes.

With her tender heart thoroughly abused, Opal decides to protect herself by any means necessary, which to her translates to putting almost all her new money to buying a failing flower farm in Asheville, North Carolina to let the flowers live out their plant destiny while she uses the cabin on the property to start her painting business.

But her plans for isolation and self-preservation go hopelessly awry when an angry (albeit gorgeous) Pepper Smith is waiting for her at her new farm. Pepper states she’s the rightful owner of Thistle and Bloom Farms, and isn’t moving out. The unlikely pair strike up an agreement of co-habitation, and butt-heads at every turn. Can these opposites both live out their dreams and plant roots? Or will their combustible arguing (and growing attraction) burn the whole place down?

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for this review. All thoughts on Late Bloomer are my own.

Did Not Finish at page 87 (26%)

After reading and absolutely loving Mazey Eddings’ previous book, Tilly In Technicolor, I was excited to get into Late Bloomer and get more of this author’s writing!

Unfortunately, Late Bloomer just didn’t end up being for me.

My first clue that this book wouldn’t be for me came in the form of the characters themselves and their viewpoints on life. Our main character, Opal, wins the lottery and is immediately ambushed by a long list of people coming out of the woodwork to ask her for money. The love interest, Pepper, has recently had to deal with her grandma’s death and soon learns that her beloved flower farm has been sold right out from under her. Both of these characters are in rather low points in their lives and think life is terrible, making for a depressing opening to this book that I honestly wasn’t excited to read.

From this opening, however, a lot of this book seems to balance on a reader’s suspension of disbelief in order to tell it’s story. When Opal and Pepper realize what has happened, the two decide they’re just… going to live together. In the same house. Until Pepper can pay back what Opal paid for the farm. And while I think every genre deserves a certain level of suspension of disbelief in order to make it work, I don’t think contemporary romance can survive on quite this much willful ignorance.

Late Bloomer also relies on insta lust in order to get its characters together. Within pages of Opal and Pepper meeting each other, we’re getting descriptions of their attraction to each other, with longing looks and distractions as one is a little too focused on the others’ body. These two have barely had a conversation, yet they’re already holding themselves back from wanting to sleep with the other? Why is Pepper looking at Opal in that kinda way as Opal is saying “I promise I’m not a serial killer lol”??

I ended up not enjoying myself with the beginning of this book, but stuck with it until I was a quarter of the way through before deciding to say enough was enough and DNFed it.

Like A Sports Anime, But Gayer | The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman Review

Hope is familiar territory for Gene Ionescu. He has always loved baseball, a sport made for underdogs and optimists like him. He also loves his team, the minor league Beaverton Beavers, and, for the most part, he loves the career he’s built. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life.

Gene and Luis can’t manage a civil conversation off the field or a competent play on it, but in the close confines of dugout benches and roadie buses, they begrudgingly rediscover a comfortable rhythm. As the two grow closer, the tension between them turns electric, and their chemistry spills past the confines of the stadium. For every tight double play they execute, there’s also a glance at summer-tan shoulders or a secret shared, each one a breathless moment of possibility that ignites in Gene the visceral, terrifying kind of desire he’s never allowed himself. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis makes feel possible.

I received an ARC of The Prospects, which was published April 9, 2024.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

I don’t know if anyone out there has had the same anime-to-books experience I have, but I’m sure a few readers will understand the sort of vibes I mean when I say this book feels like a sports anime.

And for those who don’t, I’ll try to explain it the best I can:

Sports anime are typically very character-focused, rather than focused on the sport itself. Sure, there are bits and pieces of the sport (it’s what our plot is based on), but it’s mostly about the characters growing into their abilities as players and connecting with their teammates.

Sports anime are also, typically, a little bit gay.

The Prospects also fits this sort of description. It’s undoubtedly a book about sports, being centered around a minor league baseball team, but it’s not about the sports as much as you’d think it is. It’s about Gene and Luis and their teammates, and the personal problems they have alongside the season. Love and family and careers and, above all, sticking together no matter what.

I really loved the LGBT elements in The Prospects. For one, we have the relationship between Gene and Luis, which I immediately fell in love with. Despite the two being “rivals” playing the same position, it was easy to tell, even early on, that these two were there for each other. They supported each other, even if they didn’t want to admit it, and that made for a very wholesome read.

But I also loved the way this book treated Gene being trans. As a trans reader myself, I’ve complained in the past about books just not getting it. Making their trans characters have these totally awful, completely transphobic experiences like that’s the only sort of experience a trans character can have. It’s hard to find trans stories where the main character happens to be trans, rather than the entire story being about them being trans, but The Prospects ended up being the perfect example of what I want in a story like this! Gene is trans, and maybe sometimes he has to deal transphobia or has issues with just existing as a trans person, but ultimately, that’s not his story in it’s entirety.

The best example of this is a scene in which Gene has to use his government name in order to sign up for something. In the scene, another character is nearby and, respecting Gene, turns to look away as he types in his government name. At no point do readers learn what Gene’s birth name is, nor is the scene made into a big deal, but the way the author treats it and the idea that sometimes, trans people don’t officially change their name on governmental records really stood out to me!

In all, I really liked The Prospects and the way this author wrote the story! Meeting these characters and seeing the way they interacted with each other–whether in the main romance or in friendships–made for a very enjoyable read, and I’ll be looking forward to K.T. Hoffman’s other works in the future!

My Favorite Quotes From The Prospects

Here’s a new post type for y’all: a collection of my favorite quotes from books I’ve read.

I love being able to flip through a book and find the most unhinged sentences I can. Hopefully these will help you decide to pick up The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman as well!

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“You can’t be mean to me on my birthday.”

He’s the thorn in Gene’s side, the popcorn kernel stuck between his teeth, the crack in his ass–and still somehow the blandest man alive.

The team’s sturdy, steady outfielders are as sturdy and steady as they’ve always been

They’re good shoulders, if Gene is honest with himself, which he would really rather not be about this, but there’s the thought anyway, persistently gay: they’re good shoulders.

“Well, you know we want kids.”

“You and me? I don’t remember that conversation.”

Vince rolls his eyes.

“I hope you still like Kermit,” he says, setting the phone on the lip of the tub. “Rainbow Connection” strums its banjo introduction out, the volume as low as Gene can get it.

Luis glances over at him. Gene notes that Luis’s grip on his elbows has darkened from white-knuckled to a few shades closer to his usual brown. Progress.

“Oh, fuck you,” Luis says, and Gene can’t help but crack a smile about it.

“So you do still like Kermit?”

Luis sighs the kind of put-upon sigh, a little huff of annoyance, that betrays that he does find Gene at least mildly amusing. “I do not have a crush on a Muppet.”

Gene doesn’t smile a secret little smile. “Sure,” he says. “Totally. It’s just that, that’s exactly what a person who has a crush on a Muppet would say.”

“This is a novel idea, but we could try to catch the ball.”

“Well, then I’ll see you later if you haven’t killed each other,” he says.

“I’ll do my best.”

“To kill him or not to?”

Gene shrugs.

Luis smiles. Does he know what that smile does to a defenseless homosexual?

“Which mascot would you fuck if you had to fuck one of them?” Gene asks.

Luis rolls his eyes so hard his head tips back against the headrest. “That’s so gross, dude. You had that question ready.”

Gene wanted to let Luis set his discomfort aside for a moment. This gets the job done. “It’s gotta be the Philly Phanatic,” Gene says.

“Disgusting.”

“Why?”

“What even is he?”

“Doesn’t matter. It’s about the extendable tongue,” Gene says.

“Is he, like, your platonic sugar daddy or something?”

“F,” Luis starts, and Gene can think of a lot of words that start with that particular letter that he’d like to hear Luis say, “is for Nes having the fattest ass on the team.”

Gene possesses no thoughts whatsoever other than okay, but in all capitals, yelled with the most enthusiasm he has ever felt in his life.

“How do I say it?” he asks the dashboard.

“‘Hi, Ma. I like to touch men sexually. What are you cooking, you need any help?'”

“No.”

“You eat me out pretty enthusiastically for someone who isn’t into me.”

“I’ll stop teasing.”

“You won’t.”

“Probably not.”

Then Dodger shuffles past them and plops onto a dog bed, in the perfect outline of himself, before letting out a put-upon sigh.

“We’re up past his bedtime,” Luis says.

“Apparently.”

“Sorry, do you need more ambiance for me to blow you?”

Gene doesn’t bother trying not to feel smug about it. He will be smug about this until he dies, thanks very much.

“So, I fell apart because I imagined some problems. Which is very on brand for me.”

“Let’s get out of here.”

Gene, leaning against the bar, raises his eyebrows at Vince. “I’m going to tell your husband that you’re hitting on me.”

“I’m not hitting on you. I’m old and tired.”

“Any curves?”

“Only my ass.”

“If you tell me you love me, too, I’ll kill you.”

“Excuse me!” When Luis says it, it comes out undignified, perfect. “Who says I do?”

“No plans after that?”

“I think I want to not have a plan for the first time in my life.”

He’ll have a plan by the end of next week, but Gene loves him for it.

“Vibe check,” Gene says. The words come out 90 percent cracks.

Luis lets out a long, pursed puff of air, and Gene can imagine his eyes wide and staring up at the ceiling.

“That good?” he asks.

“Yep.”

Watching Luis slip his boots on, a curl falling onto his forehead and the early-afternoon sun bright through the windows, Gene knows–he will always want this lanky, anxious, beautiful dumbass.

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Want more? Check out The Prospects by K.T. Hoffman!

Hope is familiar territory for Gene Ionescu. He has always loved baseball, a sport made for underdogs and optimists like him. He also loves his team, the minor league Beaverton Beavers, and, for the most part, he loves the career he’s built. As the first openly trans player in professional baseball, Gene has nearly everything he’s ever let himself dream of—that is, until Luis Estrada, Gene’s former teammate and current rival, gets traded to the Beavers, destroying the careful equilibrium of Gene’s life.

Gene and Luis can’t manage a civil conversation off the field or a competent play on it, but in the close confines of dugout benches and roadie buses, they begrudgingly rediscover a comfortable rhythm. As the two grow closer, the tension between them turns electric, and their chemistry spills past the confines of the stadium. For every tight double play they execute, there’s also a glance at summer-tan shoulders or a secret shared, each one a breathless moment of possibility that ignites in Gene the visceral, terrifying kind of desire he’s never allowed himself. Soon, Gene has to reconcile the quiet, minor-league-sized life he used to find fulfilling with the major-league dreams Luis makes feel possible.

Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens review

Seventeen-year-old Ellery is a non-believer in a region where people swear the supernatural is real. Sure, they’ve been stuck in a five-year winter, but there’s got to be a scientific explanation. If goddesses were real, they wouldn’t abandon their charges like this, leaving farmers like Ellery’s family to scrape by.

Knox is a familiar from the Other World, a magical assistant sent to help humans who have made crossroads bargains. But it’s been years since he heard from his queen, and Knox is getting nervous about what he might find once he returns home. When the crossroads demons come to collect Knox, he panics and runs. A chance encounter down an alley finds Ellery coming to Knox’s rescue, successfully fending off his would-be abductors.

Ellery can’t quite believe what they’ve seen. And they definitely don’t believe the nonsense this unnervingly attractive guy spews about his paranormal origins. But Knox needs to make a deal with a human who can tether him to this realm, and Ellery needs to figure out how to stop this winter to help their family. Once their bargain is struck, there’s no backing out, and the growing connection between the two might just change everything.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

With this being my fourth F.T. Lukens book, its not a surprise to say that I enjoyed Otherworldly. But I was actually really surprised, upon the introduction of Knox–one of our main characters–with how much I immediately liked this book!

Otherworldly opens with Arabelle, a woman who wants to be immortal, leaving an offering at a crossroads for a goddess. When the goddess’ shades–minions, basically–comes to listen to her bargain, they gift her Knox, a magic familiar who can help her learn the secret to living forever.

With neither of our main characters being named Arabelle, I was actually a bit confused by this opening. I was expecting to read a story about Knox and Ellery, so who was this Arabelle? Why was she important to the plot?

Turns out, her story is the perfect place to start Knox and Ellery’s own adventure.

Immediately after this opening, I was left with a mystery that needed to be solved. As his goddess’ creation, Knox had access to his goddess through letters during his stay with Arabelle. But his goddess hadn’t responded to his letters in a while, and he became increasingly worried something was wrong.

So, in the first chance he got, he ran.

He soon runs into–literally–Ellery, our other main character. Ellery is the child of farmers, but a five year long winter has left their farm struggling. In order to help try and save the farm, Ellery moves to the city to get a job, but wishes they could figure out a way to stop winter for good.

Thus, a bargain: Knox will help Ellery stop the winter if Ellery helps Knox experience humanity.

I was really wowed by the setup for Otherworldly and how involved it was. It was obvious that there was a lot of thought put into this world and how the conflict would go, even from the beginning pages of this book, and I was excited to absolutely love this story!

Unfortunately, it did have its downsides.

I found this book to be a bit immature, and I wanted to get into the characters’ heads a bit more as they discussed the plot and how to survive the conflict. Maybe its part of growing up, but YA just hasn’t been hitting the way it should for me recently. While I’ve been loving the idea of YA books, I ultimately keep finding the characters a bit hard to relate to and their thought processes childish. For example, Ellery’s crush on Knox throughout this book felt very school-age and self-conscious, with jealousy and questions of “does he like me???” that had me rolling my eyes at times.

Inversely, while I could understand the reason why these characters took some of the actions they did, I felt as though there could have been more description into their thoughts than this book actually had. There was a bit of reading between the lines to follow their thought processes, while I would have preferred everything to be laid out within the pages of the book, even if it would end up veering into being over-explained instead.

While I still love F.T. Lukens’ writing and the worlds they create throughout these stories, it was obvious as I read Otherworldly that this was not going to be the five star book I had hoped it would be. I really loved the idea of the characters and this world, but the writing style (and possibly age rating, though that’s more my fault than the book’s fault) had me wishing this book was bigger than it was.

Midnight Mayhem (Clover Pack #3) by Savannah Lee review

Friends. Family. Mate.

After living most of my life on the run, I’ve finally found a place I belong. A place to call home, with a mate bond I never expected to have. I’d love nothing more than to enjoy it.

But Queen Tantaii won’t rest until she gets what she wants, the ancient ring that will give her the power to destroy the mortal realm, and everyone in it.

And I have it.

I know she’s lurking, biding her time in the shadows for the perfect moment to strike. She’s the mother from hell, and she knows exactly where to strike to hurt me the most.

But her plan won’t work.

I’m done running. I’m done hiding.

I’ll take the fight to her, and end this. Once and for all.

Midnight Mayhem gets released May 1st, 2024!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

One of the first notes I wrote down while reading this book is “if RowanXCallan has 100 fans, I’m one of them. If RowanXCallan has no fans, I’m dead”, and I feel like that’s a pretty good description of my feelings for this series in general.

I really enjoyed the characters in this series and watching them grow throughout! This author does a really good job at making you care for these characters, whether that’s because she’s about to rip your heart out by killing someone you love _{^{(*glares at Savannah Lee. She knows what she’s done.*)}} or because she’s somehow convinced you to have mixed feelings for someone you thought you hated ^(???).

I also really loved how the relationship between Rowan and Callan has developed throughout the books, surprising absolutely no one. This is not a constructive point to bring up in a book review (just me yelling into the void), but there’s a scene very early on in this book where Rowan’s packing a suitcase and Callan’s quietly staring at her ass that has me screaming every time I think of it. Just thinking of how far they’ve come since the first book, when they were attracted to each other but couldn’t do anything because they weren’t mates……………………….

^*yelling*

I also loved how this book called back to previous books in the series, which really helped show just how far these characters have come! Seeing the allies they’ve made along the way continuing to help, even when readers least expect them to show up? Showing how something seemingly small can amount to so much more??? 👌👌👌

That being said, I do think this book could have benefited from better pacing and a bit more length in general. With so much action going on, there’s no time for readers to take a breath and just enjoy seeing the characters in a way I wish we had gotten. We’re jumping from one major conflict to the next without any time between them, and that felt very overwhelming to read.

With as much as I loved the first two books in this series, I was quite disappointed to find that I felt more neutral about this final book’s plot. While I love the characters and world building Savannah Lee has done in this series, I needed a little more fluff and buildup to this grand final battle before I could absolutely adore this book.

The Sunshine Court (All For The Game #4) by Nora Sakavic review

My name is Jean Moreau. My place is at Evermore. I belong to the Moriyamas.

It is a truth Jean has built his life around, a reminder this is the best he can hope for and all he deserves. But when he is stolen from Edgar Allan University and sold to a more dangerous master, Jean is forced to contend with a life outside of the Nest for the first time in five years. The Foxes call his transfer to California a fresh start; Jean knows it is little more than a golden cage.

Captain Jeremy Knox is facing his final year with the USC Trojans and fifth straight year falling short of the championships trophy he desperately craves. Taking in the nation’s best defenseman is a no-brainer, even if that man is a Raven. But Jean is no monster, just a man with no hope or desire for a future, and when Evermore’s collapse starts dragging Jean’s hideous secrets to light, Jeremy is forced to contend with the cost of victory.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Listen. I haven’t been reading anything in the past month or so. But the second I heard The Sunshine Court was out and available to read?????

I read this entire book in one sitting.

It’s been ten years since The King’s Men, the third book in the All For The Game trilogy, was released, and coming back to this series felt like coming home to your favorite found family. It’s weirdly cozy, despite the fact that this series is known for having a long list of trigger warnings.

There’s not much conflict-wise to talk about in this book (in a general, nonspoilery way), but we didn’t need that after the events of the first three books. This book is about Jean Moreau healing. About him realizing that he has the space to heal, and that there are things in life to look forward to.

I also thought it was really fun to see a new team and the way they interact with some of the series-wide conflict we know. Unlike the Foxes, the Trojans don’t have the sort of background that makes them easily fit into and understand the things former Ravens have gone through. Them even learning the basic details of some of the events that went on is met with horror, and really helps to broaden our understanding of this world. We went through a lot in those first few books, but to the rest of the world, it was business as usual.

This book was a lot more casual, but definitely needed. I can’t wait to see more in this series and where Jean is eventually going to land in his journey!