Tag: romance

Review: Blue Willow by Ki Stephens

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Blue Willow rests on a bookshelf next to a pumpkin

Alexis:

I’m happy that I got to read a digital ARC of Blue Willow, a magical realism romance that arrives on December 5, 2025.

Synopsis:

Coming home was never part of the plan.

Leaving again might be even harder.

When Elsie Hart returns to Blue Willow for the first time in eight years, it’s only to settle her grandmother’s estate—not to rekindle old memories or untangle the magic she’s worked hard to forget. But the inn she once loved is more stubborn than it looks. So is the man who’s been keeping it alive.

Wells Rourke never wants to leave. He’s spent the last few years patching the inn back together with his own two hands and the quiet certainty that Elspeth Hart didn’t just pour her heart into the walls; she left something behind. Something that’s worth keeping alive.

Elsie wants a clean break and a fast sale. Wells wants her gone before she can rip apart what’s left. But the house has other plans. As winter deepens and long-dormant feelings surface, the two of them are drawn into a tug-of-war not just over the keys to the inn, but over the pieces of themselves they thought they’d long buried.

In a town where quiet magic lingers, some people—and some places—will never stop waiting for you to come home.

Review:

Blue Willow is steeped in winter imagery and winter vibes. The setting perfectly captures the cold yet coziness of many winter nights, and it made me look forward to the holidays.

And a magic inn? I’m a sucker for semi-sentient houses. The magic of the inn was cozy and present without being over the top, and I really enjoyed it. While I wish we almost got even more about the magical town itself, I really loved what we did learn about the setting (can you tell I’m a sucker for small town romances and a sprinkle of magic?).

The story is told in dual POVs and switches between Elsie and Wells. I enjoyed both of their perspectives, and the romance between them was sweet. I also appreciated how they’re both dealing with realistic situations and feelings. 

While I was reading this, my own grandma passed away. The theme of grief, as Elsie deals with the death of her grandma, ended up being very personal and poignant, so this book hit me a little harder than it would’ve otherwise. 

VERDICT: ❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️/5

Thanks so much to author Ki Stephens for my ARC in exchange for a review!

Review: The Demon and the Light by Axie Oh

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The Demon and the LIght on a Kindle and a matcha latte rest on a marble table

Alexis:

Happy Pub Day! 

Final Fantasy meets Shadow and Bone in The Demon and the Light, the hotly anticipated follow-up to Axie Oh’s The Floating World.

The battle is over, but the war is just beginning…

The Demon and the Light is the sequel to The Floating World, which I read an ARC of in early 2025 and really enjoyed. I’m happy to say that The Demon and the Light was an explosive sequel. 

It has plenty of light vs darkness imagery. It explores themes of love, grief, responsibility, and more. Its main plot twist threw me for a loop. At first, I wasn’t sure if it would work, but Oh did a great job of making it believable and fit into the world.

This is an action-packed sequel, and the vibes were immaculate. There’s a lot of flying. There are sword fights. There are battles. There are demons and monsters. I flew through the story (quite literally, too, because I read it on a plane).

What I especially loved were the characters. While I liked the characters in the first book, I grew to love them even more—and it helped that their character ARCs were done perfectly. Ren and Sunho, the main characters, are often perfect foils for each other and complement each other so well. 

Jaeil, a side character in the first book, plays a more important role in the sequel, and I loved his character progression, as well. The characters definitely give me found family and Six of Crows vibes. 

My only main con was the same issue I had with the first book: the pacing in some of the critical scenes was a little off, and I think Oh could’ve lingered longer on them a lot more, especially the climatic final battle. 

Overall, without giving anything away, I definitely recommend this duology if you’re looking for a fast-paced, action-filled YA fantasy with dynamic characters, Korean mythology/steampunk worldbuilding, romance, and magic. 

Check out my review of The Floating World here!

VERDICT: ⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️⛰️/5 

Thanks so much to Netgalley and Macmillian for my ARC in exchange for a review. 

The Summers Between Us by Noreen Nanja

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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: A Fire in the Sky by Sophie Jordan

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A TV with a fireplace video

Alexis:

Happy fall! 🍂🎃

I returned home from a trip yesterday, which of course means that I read a book (another ARC!) on the plane.

A Fire in the Sky follows three POVs: Tamsyn, the whipping girl of the royal family, Fell, the ruler of the Borderlands, and Stig, the Captain of the Guard and Tamsyn’s friend.

I’ll start off by saying I haven’t read the Firelight series, and this book is set in the same world. However, I found this a classic and interesting fantasy world, where dragons and witches have mostly died off due to being hunted and persecuted. The majority of this book is set on a road through the countryside and wilderness, and I love a good travel story.

Overall, this is a solid read. I can tell a lot more is going to happen in the sequel, so this first book definitely feels like the setup for the rest of the series. I really enjoyed the second half especially, as the pacing picked up and more events began happening to spur the plot along. While the romance lacked some depth, with the events at the end, I definitely think the romance will have more depth as the series continues! 

My only cons were that Sig’s POV seemed unnecessary, and Fell was constantly described as big, to the point where it got to be a little much.

This was a fun and easy read. If you like dragons and romantasy, give it a shot!

VERDICT: 🔥🔥🔥🔥/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for sending me an ARC in exchange for a review.

Pub Date: A Fire in the Sky comes out tomorrow, September 24, 2024!

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Dragon fire no longer blisters the skies over Penterra, but inside the lavish palace, life is still perilous…especially for Tamsyn. Raised in the glittering court alongside the princesses, it’s her duty to be punished for their misdeeds. Treated as part of the royal family but also as the lowliest servant, Tamsyn fits nowhere. Her only friend is Stig, Captain of the Guard…though sometimes she thinks he wants more than friendship.

When Fell, the Beast of the Borderlands, descends on her home, Tamsyn’s world becomes even more dangerous. To save the pampered princesses from a fate worse than death, she is commanded to don a veil and marry the brutal warrior. She agrees to the deception even though it means leaving Stig, and the only life she’s ever known, behind.

The wedding night begins with unexpected passion—and ends in near violence when her trickery is exposed. Rather than start a war, Fell accepts Tamsyn as his bride…but can he accept the dark secrets she harbors—secrets buried so deep even she doesn’t know they exist? For Tamsyn is more than a royal whipping girl, more than the false wife of a man who now sees her as his enemy. And when those secrets emerge, they will ignite a flame bright enough to burn the entire kingdom to the bone.

Magic is not dead…it is only sleeping. And it will take one ordinary girl with an extraordinary destiny to awaken it.

Review: In The Weeds by B.K. Borison

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A Kindle rests on a desk flatlay with a cactus pillow, cloud wrist rest, and cactus print envelope.

Alexis:

Now that the weather is warming up, I’m reading more fun romance books. In The Weeds is the second book in the Lovelight series by B.K. Borison. I reread Lovelight Farms, the first book, this past Christtmastime, and I’m glad my library got the second book!

In The Weeds follows Beckett, a farmer on Lovelight Farms, and Evelyn, a woman he had a one-night stand with during a work trip and can’t stop thinking about. 

Romance books set in small towns with a fun cast of characters are my favorite. Lovelight Farms has become one of my fave romance books, and In The Weeds is such a cute sequel! The town is such a great setting, and I love the reccuring characters.

Beckett is grumpy and a man of few words, but he also has an army of cats and begrudgingly adopts an orphaned baby duck. Evelyn is described as a ray of sunshine. She’s bubbly and connects with everyone around her, and I liked their dynamic. 

Beckett also has a noise sensitivity/sensory issues, and I really appreciated the representation. 

While Lovelight Farms is still my favorite in the series, I enjoyed In The Weeds, and I’m looking forward to reading the third one—Mixed Signals!

Review: Ruthless Vows by Rebecca Ross

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Alexis' hand holds up the Barnes & Noble edition of Ruthless Vows above a lush line of mountains

Alexis:

Divine Rivals is one of my all-time faves, so it’s an understatement to say I was looking forward to its sequel, Ruthless Vows.

Rebecca Ross’s writing is always lyrical and gorgeous—and it was in Ruthless Vows, as well. I really loved reading this book, but my favorite was definitely the last 3/4. Without going into spoilers, it was heartbreaking, and I loved seeing Iris embrace her badass self.

I docked off a star for 1 main reason:

The pacing in the first half felt off. Certain parts felt too drawn out, and I expected this sequel to be faster paced and more action-packed than the first book, considering the buildup in Divine Rivals and the war.

It’s worth saying that I normally really despise the amnesia trope, but it’s a testimony to Ross’s writing skills that I think she 100% pulled it off.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and I’m glad it had a satisfying ending! I’m also grateful that I was able to read this book while I was on my winter vacation.

If you’re looking for a beautifully written upper-YA low fantasy book with WW1 vibes, a war between gods, magical letter writing, and romance, then I highly recommend this duology.

VERDICT: 📚📚📚📚/5 

Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

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Alexis:

Since I’m unfortunately recovering from lung surgery, I decided that continuing with my rom com binge and sticking to more lighthearted reads might be a good idea. 

I read The Love Hypothesis earlier this year and was pleasantly surprised. The writing was easy and accessible and the story was funny and heartwarming. 

Needless to say, I picked up Love on the Brain. And I have to admit…I’m a little baffled.

Was this fun to read? Yes. Like its predecessor, Love on the Brain contains so much interesting science talk (as well as a focus on neuroscience) and you can tell Hazelwood knows what she’s talking about. 

That being said, I got major déjà vu when reading this book. I kept thinking, “Have I read this before?” There were so, so many scenes, moments, and plot points that were almost the exact same as The Love Hypothesis. 

Now: yes, I am aware that both books started out as Reylo fanfic (but I like to keep an open mind!). So I knew there would be some similarities. However, both of the main characters, Bee and Levi, were nearly carbon copies of the main characters in The Love Hypothesis, except Bee somehow managed to be a more unhinged version of Olive. 

At least I liked Levi’s character. But there was also a plot point at the end that was honestly so ridiculous that it made the story unredeemable for me. 

Final thoughts: It started off as a fun read, but I wasn’t able to enjoy or get sucked into the story because it was just a worse version of The Love Hypothesis.

Review: Love and Other Words by Christina Lauren

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A hand holds a yellow can of mango Bubbly sparkling water next to a Kindle, which rests on both a gray blanket and a black and whtie blanket.

Alexis:

I recently read The Unhoneymooners, which is undoubtedly the most popular of Christina Lauren’s books. And I really enjoyed it. It was the perfect beach read, and there were definitely a lot of actual laugh-out-loud moments.

So I decided to pick up Love and Other Words. And it’s definitely my favorite of the writing duo known as Christina and Lauren.

The story follows two different timelines. In modern day, Macy is a busy pediatrics resident stuck in a routine relationship. Back when she’s thirteen, Macy is struggling to deal with her mom’s recent death when she strikes a friendship with bookish Elliot. Eventually, their relationship becomes more. But in the present timeline, Macy has been estranged from Elliot for a decade, and when she unexpectedly runs into him, she has to face both him and her past.

The alternating timelines work really well for the story. Macy and Elliot’s characters already have a lot of tension between them, but the timelines and the mystery of what happened to their relationship ups the tension even more.

Part of why I loved this book was the past timeline. Reading about their growing friendship feels so realistic, sweet, and sometimes awkward, but true to their characters and to life. Their shared love of books and words makes for a solid foundation and a fun story to read.

As for the modern timeline, both Macy and Elliot are absolute messes, and it was both fun and heartbreaking to read. 

I only have two critiques, and one is relatively small. As a Greek American, I was excited to read about Elliot Petropoulos. I loved reading about his family’s dynamic, but I thought there was a missed chance to explore his Greek identity, even if it was just a little bit. His family didn’t even have spanakopita or baklava when they hosted Thanksgiving! There was a mention of peeling potatoes that I thought might have been a nod to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but I kept waiting for him or his family members to make a joke about being Greek.  

The other is the reveal/plot twist at the end, which was definitely an…interesting choice. The ending really needed to be expanded on in order to give both Elliot and Macy more time to unpack what happened and really deal with their trauma, especially Elliot.  

That being said, this story about childhood sweethearts made me feel all the feels. I found myself wholly engrossed in the writing and in Macy and Elliot’s story and relationship.

VERDICT: 5⭐s

Review: This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone

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Anna: What would you do for love?

This is How You Lose the Time War is the most imaginative book I’ve read in a long time. It reminded me why sci-fi  is such an amazing genre that I need to explore more. It also has LGBTQ+ rep!

Summary: Red and Blue are change agents who work for rival time traveling agencies–Blue for the Garden, a vast organic consciousness. Red works for the Agency, a Technotopia. While traveling to different “strands” of history and time to change history, they start to write each other letters and slowly fall in love.

The actual rules and word building in This is How You Lose the Time War is super confusing at first and very slowly revealed to the reader. I didn’t know what was going on for a while, but that’s okay. This book is more about the lyrical writing and the vivid, visceral images of time traveling and Red and Blue’s romance that literally stands the test of time. This is ultimately a “star-crossed” lovers narrative, but it’s not tropey at all. This book takes work to get through, but it’s rewarding and worth it.

I also think it’s so cool that this book was co-written! As a writer, I can’t imagine creating such a complex world and story in the first place, but also doing it so seamlessly with another writer.

Verdict: 4 stars

Review: Defy the Night by Brigid Kemmerer

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A hardcover copy of Defy the Night lays on tops of an orange, pumpkin printed blanket and a gray blanket. Alexis' hand holds an iced pumpkin black tea, while her dilute calico cat sniffs it. A purple candle rests behind the book.

Alexis:

Defy the Night is a classic upper YA fantasy, complete with political intrigue/court politics, a sickness ravishing a world, and a brewing rebellion. And romance, of course. 

I loved the dual POVs. The story follows Tessa, an apothecary who makes elixirs by night to give to the sick poor, and Corrick, the prince and the King’s Justice. I enjoyed reading from both of their perspectives, and I liked how their voices actually sounded distinguishable.

I loved how Kemmerer explores the brotherhood between Corrick and Harristan. And the romance is written well and doesn’t feel forced.

All that being said, the world itself feels pretty generic and doesn’t stand out from any other YA fantasy. There were some easy to guess plot twists. However, I still enjoyed the plot. The pacing is great and never too slow, the characters are engaging, and Kemmerer’s writing style feels immediate in a way that sucks you in.

I’m looking forward to the sequel to this one, too!

VERDICT: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐