Dirty Lying Faeries

Dirty Lying Faeries

by Sabrina Blackburry

 

After getting into an exclusive party with the help of her best friend, Thea has been exposed to a little too much fae influence, which causes her to start the change into a fae changeling. Her change was a mistake, but she's taking to it pretty well for someone who didn't even know that the fae really existed.

It helps that she's bonded to the Lord of the Winter Court, Devin, and he's going to do everything he can to make sure her accidental change works out well, especially because she is now his Lady.

But someone out there is not fine with Thea's change and has been actively shutting down all similar changes and opportunities for hundreds of years. Thea, Devin, and other friends (and enemies) must work together to stop the "rotting one" from destroying all fae forever.

Final thoughts: There are some great moments here but the whole story is pretty disjointed and incomplete. The world building is nice and fairly well-done, but that building comes at the sacrifice of a fuller story. Additionally, the title just doesn't match the content of the book itself. It just doesn't fit. 

Rating: 3/5

Me and Banksy

Me and Banksy

by Tanya Lloyd Kyi

Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born

Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born:

How Buffy Staked Our Hearts

by Evan Ross Katz

Uberfan Katz has written an amazing background book about Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Just over half of the book goes into depth on each season of Buffy, followed by the rest of the book breaking down the relationships both on and off of the set, accusations about Whedon, and (most importantly) the show's impact on individuals and culture as a whole.

There are a number of real issues in television culture that are covered from LGBTQ+ issues to the lack of POC. Those issues are discussed in both the positive as in Tara and Willow's relationship to the negative as with the "bury your gays" trope.  There is an entire section devoted to the depiction of POC in the show and the lack of representation there. 

But most of the book is about the positive impacts of this show on the people who watched it when it first came out, the people who are watching it now, television as a whole, and what it all means to people. 

Rating: 4/5

When Life Gives You Vampires

When Life Gives You Vampires

by Gloria Duke

After a night that she doesn't remember, Lily awakens to discover that she's now a vampire. Apparently made undead by accident, Lily and her maker, Tristan, must navigate vampire politics and try to avoid being killed permanently.

Between her BFF and font of all fiction vampire lore giving her advice, a work colleague who suddenly seems to really hate her, a backstory that Tristan refuses to share, and a master vampire threatening her, Lily has quite a bit to learn and she must learn it in just a few days.

Final thoughts: Messy. No chemistry and the constant use of the phrase "obvi" is extremely frustrating by the end. This could have been cute but it just doesn't gel.

Rating: 2/5

Big Bad

Big Bad

by Lily Anderson

In an alternate dimension Sunnydale, the skies over the town are permanently dark and the vampires and demons rule the newly named "Demondale". As the Trio work together to try and help Warren ascend, a teen girl appears and Warren ends up in pieces around the room.

The teen girl is Buffy and she's determined to destroy all demons in all dimensions.

It's up to Jonathan, Andrew, Anya, Angelus, Spike, and Drusilla to try and save their dimension and all the demons and vamps who live there. 

With all of the various characters from the Buffyverse making appearances, they must work together to stop the slayer.

Final thoughts: This is mediocre fanfic that's jammed up reference after reference, which takes away from actual storytelling. Pretty much every demon and vamp who Buffy fought over seven seasons are at least mentioned in this novel. The ending doesn't feel like it fits in with the character who we've grown to love over seven seasons. Those who don't know the Buffyverse and/or aren't fans won't get into this and those who are fans may just be distracted by the references without being able to enjoy the plot.

Rating: 2/5

Bring Me Their Hearts

Bring Me Their Hearts

by Sara Wolf

Three years before, Zera was killed by bandits who also killed her parents. A witch who was near took Zera's heart from her and then reanimated her as a Heartless. After avenging her parents' deaths, Zera stays as the servant of the witch her "saved" her, unable to go far from her heart in the witch's lair.

For the past three years, Zera and two other Heartless have served the witch and been her thralls.

When all signs point to the king preparing for a new war against the witches, a plan is hatched to give Zera the ability to leave her small home, travel to the city, and try to capture the heart of the young prince, Lucien.

Literally.

If Zera can kill him, take his heart, and help to turn him into a Heartless, her heart and the hearts of the two other current thralls will be returned to her, allowing her to be human once more.

Getting to the city is easy. Convincing everyone that she's not a monster will be much harder. Capturing the heart of the prince, could be the most dangerous thing Zera has ever tried to do.

Final thoughts: This one had a nice concept but was a slow build. I almost gave up a few times at the start because I was struggling to get into it. However, once I was in I was all in. Zera is fascinating and many of the other characters are fleshed out well. Lucien was great and I felt for him by the end. There was an obvious twist early on but it actually was revealed to all of the characters early so it didn't bring down the book much. My biggest complaint was the cliffhanger so I'm off to read the next book.

Rating: 4/5

Becoming a Queen

 

Becoming a Queen

by Dan Clay

 

Mark has always been sure of two things: he is gay and his older brother loves him no matter what.

What Mark isn't sure of is how he will feel wearing a dress. He feels like he will love it with all of his heart but he's not sure that anyone else will. 

Luckily, Mark's brother supports him 1000% with the encouragement to, "Be yourself! Your full sequin-y self.”

Just as Mark is starting to find his footing and figure out who he may be, tragedy strikes and he must start to find himself all over again.

Final thoughts: Poignant, sad, sometimes depressing, and sometimes frenetic, this book has a real 'voice' and is a solid story. Some of the moments were a little odd and others just didn't always read well, but the overall story is well done. This book can be very raw and real and there should be some trigger warnings somewhere, but it's worth the read.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Not Here to Stay Friends

 

Not Here to Stay Friends

by Kaitlyn Hill

Sloane and Liam have been BFFs since their early childhood but they were physically separated after Liam's parents got divorced and he was forced to move from Tennessee to Los Angeles. Even with the miles between them, they have still been super close. They talk/text/Facetime daily and live for the teen soap, The Cove.

Five years after their physical separation, Sloane is invited to spend the summer with Liam and his dad in Los Angeles and she has plans to do the whole touristy thing while there.

When Liam picks her up from the airport, they both realize the difference that five years can make on their besties. While trying to adjust to their new realities in that sense, they must also adjust to the fact that Liam has been roped into working as a production assistant (PA) for a reality show based on The Cove.

What's worse is that one of the girls scheduled to be one of the dates on this reality show has dropped out and Liam's dad bribes Sloane to be the replacement.

Now Liam and Sloane must not only deal with their own changing views of each other, but also with the fact that Sloane seems to be the one person that star Aspen Woods wants to see win at the end. 

Final thoughts: There are some cute moments here and it's full of tropes but it doesn't always come together well. The thoughts of the characters end up being repeated on a loop as if the author has almost copy/pasted them and then changed the order of the sentences. Some of the ideas are good but they never come off as great.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

A Hard Day for a Hangover

A Hard Day for a Hangover

by Darynda Jones

Just a week after her daughter survived a murderer, Sun is back on the job and trying to solve a series of crimes in her small town. These crimes run from a single break-in to an attempted murder. 

As Sunshine works to get the town back to the calm it was before she ever took the job as sheriff, her daughter is once again trying to help out by doing research and asking questions that put her in the sights of someone dangerous. 

In the middle of all of this is the changing relationship between Sun and her eternal crush, Levi, who she finally remembered saved her from her own kidnapping and attempted murder fifteen years before. 

With everything both coming together and falling apart, Sun and her somewhat crazy colleagues and family members must solve the mysteries and protect the teens who both help and hinder their investigations.

Final thoughts: Another solid entry from Jones, which is supposed to be the last for this trilogy but ends with a comment/question that left me hanging. I am truly hoping there is a short story from Levi's PoV that finishes this whole thing out. Speaking of Levi, I have a difficult time with some of the character shifts for him in this book. For the other two books (and much of this one) he has been pretty broody and uncommunicative. We've known that Sun has crushed on him for years, but it's been fairly one-sided. Jones has shown that Levi cares, but he just doesn't speak much. In this book, there are a couple of scenes where Levi is downright chatty in comparison but then goes back to practically silent again. It just feels like we need his PoV on something just to see how he feels since he's not expressive as a character.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Soul Taken

Soul Taken

by Patricia Briggs

When people start disappearing, the wolf pack of the Tri-Cities area takes it seriously. When vampires start disappearing, that wolf pack gets very serious about protecting those around them.

During a meeting to discuss one issue, the magic around them is broken and a damaged ally appears with an ultimatum for the pack, and especially for Mercy. Find the vampire, Wulfe, or be blamed for his demise.

On the hunt for the missing vampire and trying to make sense of the other disappearances, Mercy and her pack are introduced to the legend of the Soul Taker, a sickle that is possessed and possesses those who hold it. It needs souls to reach its goal of releasing an ancient god and Mercy's soul may just be the last one it needs.

With time running out and the people around them starting to blame the pack for the dangers, Mercy needs to solve yet another magical mystery before it's too late.

Final thoughts: I LOVE Mercy, but this one was a mess. It's choppy. It lacks direction. The characters are all just a little off from their normal state. Was this meant to be messy? Is this just a setup for the final book or two? There are issues with timing and timelines, as well as her just ignoring some issues that keep coming up like the phone calls that can't be tracked. It's possible that my re-read of the series before I read this one tainted my overall view of this story. There are so many better ones before this and this just felt like Patty was distracted as she wrote this.

Rating: 3/5

Grave Things Like Love

Grave Things Like Love

by Sara Bennett Wealer

 

All of her life, Elaine has been the good girl. She has given up many of the things that other juniors in high school get to do because of her parents' business. She is asked to pick up the slack and help out whenever things go wrong, which seems to happen often.

Elaine's parents run the local funeral home and Elaine is being groomed to take over just like her dad did before her and his dad did before him. Their home and their business have been in the family for generations and it's expected that Elaine will continue that tradition.

When new guy, Xander, shows up, it's a breath of fresh air for Elaine and a reminder that she might not want to just always do what's expected of her.

When she and her friends accidentally wake up a ghost in her home, things get even more weird... 

Final thoughts: While billed as a ghost story, this really isn't one. The ghost seems to only be there to help move the motivation of the main character along rather than do anything on her own. Xander's entrance to the group is a little confusing since he's only just arrived but some people act like they've known him for years. The love triangle goes through all of the typical trope points, which isn't necessarily bad but doesn't breathe any new life into it all.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Strictly No Heroics

Strictly No Heroics

by B.L. Radley

Riley has never had the best luck. Raised by a drunk and abusive mother who died in a fiery car crash that left Riley traumatized and her half-sister disabled, she is just trying to get survive a world of superheroes and villains who battle for supremacy in her city. 

When Riley offends the wrong supe at her job, she is suddenly unemployed and desperate to find something to pay for the therapy that she needs, as well as help her sister's dad take care of the three of them financially after he took the girls in. 

A flyer promising that they hire everyone comes her way and Riley discovers that she's hired herself out as a henchman for the Villain Council of the city through a group called HENCH. With just a few days of training, she's ready to fetch coffee, build lairs, and construct lasers shipped like IKEA furniture. 

It's difficult for her to admit to her family and friends that she's technically a bad guy now. It's also difficult for her to come out to those she cares about regarding her sexual orientation. How does one find the perfect girl to date when working for someone who may be trying to destroy the city you love?

Final thoughts: Nice complementary story to How to Date a Superhero by Christina Fernandez, though it's probably just completely coincidental. One is a college girl dating a supe and one is a girl just trying to survive the damage they do. While the story is decent, it lags from time to time and many of the characters stay flat throughout. The best part for me was the fact that many things just... were. Her LGBTQ status is acknowledged and then left alone with no one bullying or criticizing her. This had a diverse cast but that wasn't pointed out for each character as a direct statement; the author just hinted at diversity through physical descriptions.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Frogman's Response

Frogman's Response

by Heidi Voss

 

Matthew Shaw is an unintentional loner. He wants friends but friends mean inviting people to his house and his mom has made sure that he'll never do that. His mom is a hoarder and Matthew does everything he can to keep himself and his life in the house away from those outside the house.

After Matt's best friend moves out of state, Matt seeks solace in the idea of helping others. He contributes to the school's advice forum under the pseudonym of "Frogman". And while he thinks he may actually be helping, the school's counselor does not and ends up shutting down the forum. Now Matt has all this advice and nowhere to share it.

Matt enlists the help of the school anarchist and the girl who runs all the practical elements of the student body council. Together, they start their own blog and begin sharing ideas and advice with the students of Henry Blake High.

But not everyone likes Matt's advice. Some take it far too literally. Others get caught in the undertow of bad decisions. And the counselor wants to expel "Frogman" just as soon as he figures out who he really is.

Can Matt figure out how to manage his home life, his academic life, and his advice columnist persona?

Final thoughts: While there are some excellent realistic portrayals here of high school life, there are also quite a few stock characters who never seem to learn or grow. One of those is Matthew Shaw himself. There is a resolution to this story, but it feels rushed and incomplete and Matt never seems to actually change when it's all over. His life doesn't really get better. His mom is still hoarding. He's still an outcast to many. It just feels unfinished.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief

by A.F. Steadman

 

Ever since Skandar was born, his parents dreamed of him becoming a unicorn rider. Now that he's finally thirteen and can take the qualifying tests, his dream seems to be about to come true. While there are some issues with taking the test, Skandar makes it to the Island and realizes his dream; he's now bonded to a unicorn!

Unfortunately, it seems that he and his unicorn are part of a banned group and he shouldn't even exist. With the help of a small group of other new riders, Skandar is able to hide his true elemental nature and continue to train to master his gifts and keep his unicorn near.

As they train, there is danger outside that threatens all of the unicorns and their riders, as well as those on the mainland. While that danger is outside, the new riders continue to train inside and are kept away from the dangers as much as possible. However, Skandar soon realizes that he may be the key to stopping the danger. 

Can he and his new allies stop the enemy before all of the unicorns are taken or killed?

Final thoughts: Some great ideas and a few really good moments but this seems to pull from a number of sources. Steadman seems to be trying to achieve the magical discovery of J.K. Rowling while having the bonds between humans and the unicorns be similar to those of the dragons in McCaffrey's world and/or the Companions of Lackey's Valdemar series; it just doesn't all blend that well. I also wonder about things like sending kids who are just thirteen out to become nomads and live on their own if they don't qualify or reach certain milestones as they train. It feels like Steadman forgets the young ages of his own characters at times.

Rating: 3/5

Mr Perfect on Paper

Mr. Perfect on Paper

by Jean Meltzer

Dara Rabinowitz is a third generation matchmaker with a 21st century app that makes matchmaking an algorithm to be solved instead of gut feeling to be followed. Years of coding and spreadsheets has convinced her that marriage can be formulaic and romance isn't necessary.

Chris Steadfast lost his wife two years before and has been trying to keep things going for himself and his preteen daughter ever since. With his daily show about to get cancelled, he's looking for a miracle to keep things going.

When Dara and her grandmother come to the studio at the start of the High Holidays to promote her app "J-Mate" and celebrate her grandmother's near 90 years on this earth, the miracle Chris is looking for seems to happen, though Dara's not so happy about it. Grandmother Miriam announces to the audience and the cameras that Dara has a list for her perfect husband (written during a drunken rant with her sister a few weeks before) and then proceeds to read it on air. A simple short segment goes viral and Chris decides that he's going to use this to save his program.

With Dara's agreement, Chris sets up blind dates for her for each of the High Holidays with men who meet the requirements of Mr. Perfect. Each date starts well and then ends in disaster. And with each date, Chris sees more and more that he'd much rather be dating Dara than setting her up.

But when Mr. Perfect on Paper shows up one day, will Chris be able to show Dara that her list is wrong?

Final thoughts: This is a checkbox romance with the author ticking off her list as she goes. It just doesn't feel organic. There are a few scenes where it seems Meltzer was having fun, but the rest was just her ticking off item after item on her rom-com must-haves list. It felt like she's pitching a story to Hallmark instead of writing a fun romance.

Rating: 2/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Not the Witch You Wed

Not the Witch You Wed

by April Asher

 

Violet Maxwell is the "Maxwell Dud". She's the first born of triplets in a magical family but she seems to have no magic. She's grown up to be pretty ok with this but it has affected her prospects within the supernatural community. Though she's supposedly magicless, she is still being told she must marry a supe by a certain point due to an archaic tradition.

Lincoln Thorne is the Alpha of the North American Pack and he has his own bonding deadline coming up. If he doesn't bond by his thirty-third birthday, he will have to withdraw as Alpha and also as being a member of the Council.

Violet and Lincoln have a rocky history, but they have a common goal. They need to get their respective supes off their backs and a fake dating arrangement would be just the thing. 

Unfortunately, Lincoln betrayed Violet years before so faking it may not lead to making it. 

Final thoughts: Completely formulaic and full of all the romance tropes that are out there, but still a fun ride. This is cotton candy from start to finish. The author seems to be having some fun with this and does a pretty good job working with the formula and tropes. Read it with the cotton candy mindset and you should have some fun.

Rating: 4/5

Lock the Doors

Lock the Doors

by Vincent Ralph

When Tom, his mother, his new stepfather, and his new stepsister move into their new home, he's the only one who notices or cares that there are tiny little holes on the doors to his and his stepsister's rooms. Confused about why they are there and certain it means something, Tom goes in search of answers to the mystery.

Not long after moving in, a new girl starts at his high school and he realizes that she and her family were the former owners of his house and that they just moved a few houses down the block. Their new home is bigger but they've also added walks, metal spikes, and a security gate. 

Are they keeping people out or in?

With Tom's history and his mother's dangerous ex-boyfriends haunting his thoughts, Tom is determined to make sure no one else should suffer like he has in the past.

What he doesn't realize is that solving this mystery could put more than just himself in danger.

Final thoughts: This is a mild psychological thriller that is more realistic than scary. This is a very slow burn that takes a while to get to the point. There are some logistical errors here and there (or I just missed the explanations for them). The primary narrator is Tom but about 20% of the novel is told from Amy's (the new student) point of view to fill in some blanks. If you like "safe" mysteries/thrillers that don't really cause too much stress, this may be a good pick.

Rating: 3/5

Go Hex Yourself

Go Hex Yourself

by Jessica Clare

When Reggie Johnson responds to an ad to be the assistant to a Spellcaster, she assumes that the person in question is someone who works for the company that creates and publishes her favorite card game. What shes doesn't know is that spellcasters are real and she has managed to find an enchanted ad that lead her to this dotty old woman and her grumpy nephew.

Now Reggie must start believing in witchcraft and curses while learning to be the familiar of one of the most renowned witches to have lived. The grumpy nephew isn't happy with her being there but Reggie will convince him, ignore him, or both.

However, when a mysterious curse hits the family, all thoughts of not working together go out the window because only together can they solve the mystery and get that dotty old woman back on her feet.

Final thoughts: Cute book with a nice progression in the relationship between Reggie and Ben. Some of the other parts of the book have issues that were not resolved well, but I always like a book that shows instead of tells when it comes to romance.

Rating: 3/5

Warning: this is NOT a kids' book

How to Date a Superhero

How to Date a Superhero
(and not die trying)

by Christina Fernandez

Astrid is in her sophomore year of college working on her premed courses to someday become a doctor. It's not that she really wants to be a doctor but more that she feels she needs to really do something with her life after she almost died in high school when a supervillain attacked her school bus. 

Yup. That's right. Supervillain. In this alternate universe New York, superheroes and villains are everywhere and just a part of life.

When Astrid is kidnapped by a villain from her dorm room, Kid Comet saves her from a fate worse than death and just admits that he's really Max Martin, her boyfriend and the clumsy guy she's known since high school.

Now Astrid must add in to her very busy schedule time for The Program, which is designed to teach the significant others of superheroes how to survive all things that may happen to them when (not if) they are kidnapped.

If she can't find some balance in her life, Astrid may not survive college let alone the murderous rage of a supervillain intent on revenge.

Final thoughts: The idea of this alternate universe is cool. I would love to see how people who are in the world of the Avengers deal with all of the new complications in life. Unfortunately, this story is more about Astrid's personal issues dealing with time, planning, and over-scheduling. Some interesting ideas but just not enough world building for me.

Rating: 3/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are

Come Out, Come Out, Whatever You Are

by Kathryn Foxfield

 

It's possibly the last episode of the reality show It's Behind You and the producer needs to it be amazing so she locks five teens into a series of "haunted" caves with a diary cam and one cameraman to try and survive a night with the "Puckered Maiden". Those who last the night without trying to escape will share a $10,000 prize. 

Lex is determined to be the sole survivor of the night and take that money to travel the world. She needs to figure out ways to scare the other four teens to leave the caves early to help guarantee her win. Being the skeptic that she is, she figures that she can handle anything that the producer can throw at her.

But things aren't what they seem when some of the contestants have a history with the caves, the producer is trying to save her career, and it's possible there is something in the caves that no one had predicted.

As the night goes on, things go more and more wrong and a simple scary night turns deadly. 

Can the teens survive a journey that was just meant to scare them?

Final thoughts: Upon looking into this book for this review, I discovered that this is the exact same book as It's Behind You published by the author just a year and a half before this release date. I can't understand why the re-release with a different title. With regards to the book itself, it's pretty light and empty. The edits and shifts can be very confusing and the story and characters are just incomplete. It's rushed and feels like the outline for a movie or series treatment, as if Foxfield is trying to sell the premise to Netflix or a movie company to create a franchise. I got through it quickly but that was mostly because I was speed reading to get to the end instead of really getting involved in the story.

Rating: 2 (ish) out of 5

ARC from NetGalley

The Facts of Midlife

 

The Facts of Midlife

by Robyn Peterman

 

Of Cages and Crowns

Of Cages and Crowns

by Brianna Joy Crump

 

Monroe Benson was born with the gift of fire. As a Goddess Touched girl, Monroe is bond for the capital of her country once the prince comes of age. It is her fate to fight to the death to become the next queen of Erydia.

As one of ten girls, she is destined to either be queen or be dead.

While Monroe has no desire to be queen, she has no choice but to go to the capital and fight to live. As one with the mark of the Goddess, she must go and fight for the hand of the prince.

But it's not just the other nine girls that Monroe has to fear. The current queen and mother of the prince has really enjoyed the power of being in charge. Her husband is so afraid of her and her power that he has let her take complete control of the kingdom. Queen Viera's power is poison and she uses it on anyone and everyone. While she may be allowing this tradition to start, there is no guarantee that she'll allow it end on anything but her terms.

There is palace intrigue, battles for power, and a rebellion stirring and Monroe is caught in the middle of it all.

Final thoughts: I actually was surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. It wasn't perfect but the characters are well done and it's almost all show and not tell, which is a rarity nowadays. There was some confusion with the physics of the world-building since it often felt like it was going back and forth between pre-tech and tech. It sometimes feel like everything is just candles and wagons, while there are also cars, trains, and they have electricity. Decent story and just kind of a fun read.

Rating: 4/5

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!