Tag: publication day

The Summers Between Us by Noreen Nanja

Anna and AlexisLeave a comment
Coffee shop with an iced London Fog and a Kindle with The Summers Between Us

Alexis:

I’ve been in the mood to read my ARCs lately!

Happy publication day to The Summers Between Us! This is the perfect romance read for this summer if you’re looking for:

  • Childhood friends to lovers
  • Second chance romance
  • Dual timelines 
  • Summer romance 

The Summers Between Us follows Lia. As a teenager, her family vacations in a cabin on a lake, where Lia meets Wes, the next-door neighbor. Over several summers, Lia and Wes grow closer and fall in love. Meanwhile, in the present timeline, 28-year-old Lia is a workaholic lawyer determined to fix her family and live up to her dad’s expectations, even after his death. But when she finds herself back in the cabin of her teenage years, she’s forced to face Wes and her past once more.

Nanja’s writing style is lovely, and it really put me in the mood for summer! The lakeside cabin was a great setting, and it contrasted well with Toronto. I also appreciated how the main characters are both likeable yet realistically flawed. 

This was the perfect blend of a sweet, first love romance with more serious themes. Lia struggles with the cultural differences between her parents and Wes, and the theme of self-identity plays a big role. Family, friendship, and the idea of the perfect daughter all come into play in the story. 

This was a great read, and I definitely recommend it! Just be sure to check out the author’s note below for any trigger warnings. 

VERDICT: ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️/5

Thanks to Random House Canada for providing me a copy for review! 

Author’s Note:

The Summers Between Us is a story that aims to represent the messiness of life. This book contains discussion of divorce, homophobia, pregnancy loss, grief over the loss of a parent as an adult and coping with family illness.

Review: The Enemy’s Daughter by Melissa Poet

Anna and AlexisLeave a comment
Matcha latte with The Enemy's Daughter in a coffee shop

Alexis:

Happy Pub Day to The Enemy’s Daughter! 🎉

The Enemy’s Daughter has two enemy settlements in a post-apocalyptic world. It follows Isadora, a healer, and Tristan, a boy from Isadora’s opposing settlement. When Isadora almost dies, Tristan does the unimaginable: he offers to save her life using a rare magic. Now, they find themselves bound together, and Isadora finds herself questioning everything she’s ever known. 

My main critique was that I think this could’ve dug even deeper into the themes it presented. The first half was also a little repetitive, as Isadora tends to have the same thinking pattern over and over again.

However, I enjoyed Poet’s writing style and the tension. The Enemy’s Daughter is a fun read that moved quickly overall and was easy to binge! ⁣The vibes remind me a lot of the 2010’s dystopian era, so if you’re feeling nostalgic for that, you might like this one. 

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Description: ⁣

𝐀 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐝𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐰𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜. 𝐀𝐧 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐘𝐀 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐬-𝐭𝐨-𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐬𝐲—𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐡 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐓𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬, 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐞 𝗪𝐚𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐚. ⁣

Thank you to HarperCollins for providing me with a copy for review!

Review: The Devourer by Alison Ames

Anna and AlexisLeave a comment
Alexis holds a Kindle with The Devourer cover over snow

Alexis:

Happy Pub Day to The Devourer! 

The Devourer is a YA fantasy with pirates, revenge, a monster sinking ships, and magic leaking into the world. It follows Adra, a young pirate captain. When her half-brother Cameron attacks their father and robs him of a priceless treasure map, he leaves him a shell of the pirate captain he once was. Now Adra’s only aim in life is to kill Cameron, retrieve her father’s map, and claim the treasure herself.

But her plans are thwarted by a young pirate captain named Quinn, as well as a monster called The Devourer that’s sinking ships. Now, she must strike a deal with the monster.

What I Liked:

Adra was a morally grey and well-rounded main character, and her relationship with her crew was interesting to read about. Diana, a girl who was turned into an osprey by bad magic, was my favorite character, and I wanted even more of her!

I also really vibed with Ames’ writing style, and I loved her descriptions. 

The story also has sapphic and disability representation. 

I don’t want to give anything away, but the overall plot and premise feels fresh and different, which I really appreciated in a YA read. The atmosphere of the book is fairly dark, but with enough humor to balance it out.

What I Didn’t Like As Much:

However, I found myself wanting even more monsters and mayhem. The premise of the book doesn’t really happen until halfway through the story, so the first half felt a little slow and the plot didn’t feel quite as urgent as I wanted it to. The ending also felt a little abrupt to me; I wanted more scenes with Cameron.

Verdict:

That being said, overall, this was a solid and enjoyable read. I was in the mood for a pirate story, so this hit the spot.

🌊🌊🌊🌊/5 

Thank you to Netgalley and Page Street Publishing for my ARC in exchange for a review!

Review: Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long

Anna and AlexisLeave a comment
A Kindle ARC copy of Dark Water Daughter lays on a desk on 2 notebooks and next to a pair of pinkish-clear glasses and a candle

Alexis:

Happy Publication Day to Dark Water Daughter!

Synopsis

Dark Water Daughter is an adult historical pirate fantasy. It follows two main characters: Mary is a Stormsinger, a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Samuel is an ex-naval officer who now works as a pirate hunter—with a unique power of his own. Both Mary and Samuel must come face to face with pirate lord Silvanus Lirr as he hunts down Mary for reasons yet unknown while also coming to terms with their pasts.

Worldbuilding 

The thing I love most about this book is the worldbuilding and magic systems. At the beginning of each chapter is a tidbit from a guidebook that details an aspect of the world. I love how this feeds us information about the world without it feeling forced and without having to info dump.

As for the worldbuilding itself, we have ghistings, or spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of Mary’s homeland and the figureheads of ships. I absolutely loved how unique and ghostly ghistings feel! 

On top of that, we have Stormsingers, as mentioned above, but there are also people who can see into a world called the Other, and yet other people who can influence others. The world and magic is so rich and vibrant, and I loved reading about it.

Atmosphere and Characters 

The atmosphere is great: think forest/sea/winter. Think Pirates of the Caribbean but darker. I love both Mary and Sam’s backstories. There’s a whole host of side characters, but they never feel flat. And there is an amazing twist in the second half that really gets the story moving and gives it another edge. 

Critiques 

My only main critique is that the middle of this book lags a bit, especially when Mary and Samuel set off on separate adventures—I kept waiting for their storylines to cross again! This book is also in first person perspective, and sometimes I wanted to hear more thoughts and feelings from both Mary and Samuel. (However, this is a common critique I have of adult fantasy books, so it could totally just be me who feels this way!)

Why you should read it!

If you’re looking for an adventurous and dark pirate story with a unique magic system, a complicated plot with a great twist, and plenty of forest, sea, and winter vibes, definitely give Dark Water Daughter a shot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for providing me with an ARC for review! 

VERDICT: ☠️☠️☠️☠️.5/5 

Also, Happy Publication Day to A Song of Salvation by Alechia Dow! You can check out my review of this heartfelt YA space opera here.