GENRE: Fantasy, Romance 
RATING: DNF

Get ready for a rant... here it comes. I had to DNF at 30% complete because it only got interesting as of CHP 8. I also want to say "interesting" is a loose term in this case. Honestly, it just felt like The Little Mermaid with extra useless steps. She starts off as a 25 year old in our modern time who is in the military. (Who by the way is in the airforce but is deathly afraid of flying, which is repeated, over and over again btw) Then she prays to a  random sea goddess while drunk on her birthday and NOTHING HAPPENS but like wind... then while on a flight the flight CRASHES, and she while drowning turns into a mermaid... but more of a freaky-friday body swap with a mermaid that makes her hotter? then the sea goddess tells her she can go to this land and if she can make a man fall in love with her then she can just stick to legs.... and then she ends up in a time period with medieval-prince-arthur-vibe people. Yeah it is alot and not in a good way. I cannot believe I got as far a I did to be quite honest. Maybe when I run out of audiobooks, I'll go back and  try and finish this but for now, its in my DNF pile. To boot, the narrator is super robotic and just... bad. I am shocked I didn't give up sooner. Like how did she get this paying job? I have been using audible for two years now, and she is by far the worst narrator I have ever had to listen to. I wont name names, I don't want to slander anyone's name, but I will be avoiding their future narrations because... omg. 

GENRE: CRIME, ROMANCE, FEMALE-LEAD, ENEMIES-TO-LOVERS
RATING: 2/5 ​

  I have never been more disappointed in a Tessa Bailey novel than this one. I am honestly so surprised that it was published. It was overall weird. Firstly, Miles’s narration was awful. I honestly think that if you cannot embody the voice of a man, it might be best to not write in that perspective. Like - show his side to ANY dude and they’ll tell you that this was way too off, and in no way believable. “clearly interpreting my silence as irritation, with her, Taylor turns on a heel in the sand and sashays towards the far side of the cove” No matter how much RuPaul a straight man watches, there is no way he says that.

  Another big issue with this novel was the relationship between Taylor and her brother, it honestly felt like really gross. No sister and brother (gay or not) would ever speak to each other like that - it really felt like this book was supposed to feature the “gay bestie trope” and last minute it was removed. No matter how close me and my brother are, I will NEVER… NEVER tell my brother that I am going to buy a dildo. And I sure as hell would never tell my brother details of my sex life…

   Now back to Miles, there are points where he made allusions to be jealous… OF HER BROTHER and basically seeing him as a threat… like wtf… Like on p.118 Miles would make a comment how annoyed he was at Taylor getting male attention and then in the same paragraph… makes comments about how her brother seems decent and then goes back to talking about the guys who are hitting on her. Like I said very weird.
Now, not only that but this novel is riddled with inconsistencies. So on page 118, Miles says that she is a suspect and that he hast to distance himself but then nothing happens really because he still in that same situation where he’s with her and then on page 121 says that she isn’t a suspect anymore because the time of death made it so their alibis were fine. He never received a call, he never left her side during those pages… but she’s suddenly not a suspect?

   Taylor’s character is also sort of annoying. I have friends who are elementary school teachers… and I swear not everything is about how your students related to this issue. She acts like she has no adult friends who she talks to and relates to. Not everything has to be “but my fourth grade students” or “if one of my fourth grade students acted like this I would…”

   I am only giving this 2/5 instead of 1/5 is because the sex scenes and the sexual tension were extremely well written.
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   Anyways, hope this helps… you can skip this book honestly… Booktok lied.

***This book has triggers, please check them if you need before reading this novel***
GENRE: Historical Fiction, Greek Mythology, Retelling
RATING: 4/5 

I absolutely love Circe, and that is something I never thought I would say after having watched Game of Thrones! (yes cringe joke, but back to the review)

I really liked this read a lot, especially because Circe although she is a Goddess, is very relatable to me, as someone who was always told to keep quiet and was very much ignored. There is so much in here that really just made me smile like turning men who r-word into pigs, as well as they tie-in to Song of Achilles (as within  the original myth, Circe meets Odysseus post Trojan war). I also love how we see her progress as a character and see her own worth and strength as the book progresses.

If you are someone who isn't afraid of a long story without a clear-cut plot, as this story very much follows the Greek style of not really having a specific climax and ending... If you are someone who loves Greek myths or historical fiction... If you love witches... then this is a read for you.

SPOILER WARNING BELOW
When Circe is pregnant, I found it interesting that none of her magic worked to help with her pain, that regardless of Goddess or human, child birth is hard and that if one experiences, they are just as powerful as Gods like Zeus. This was evident through the use of language to describe the pain. ex: dropped from the sky like a thunderbolt --- she literally uses Zeus's weapon to describe her pain and she overcomes without her magic regardless. 

There is also a moment in the novel where Athena threatens Circe, and the last thing she says is "You do not know what I can do" It gave me chills. So badass. 

GENRE: Mafia, Romance, Spicy, Erotic, Greek Mythology
RATING: 2/5
SPICE: 4/5

This was a decent read. It is important to note that the plot is meh, but like EVERY interaction between Kal and Elena ends in some sort of sexual encounter, so I give this 4/5 peppers in the spice category. If youre looking for something erotic without a crazy intense plot go for it.

Although... the amount of times Elena refers to herself as a "Mafia Princess" is way too many. 
The dark tones seem a little forced, but honestly fine. 

I feel like the underline language and allusions to Persephone and Hades could have been skipped and would have been way better tbh, the story stood better without them.

There really isn’t much I want to say about this novel, other than this is really an erotic piece of fiction with some light Hades and Persephone elements sprinkled in, in an awkward way. Every interaction between Elena and Kal ends in some sexual way. That or Kal just talks about how hard is dick is just seeing her exist. If you are looking for an erotic mafia vibe fiction with some Hades commentary thrown in, this is for you.

GENRE: Romance, Ennemis-to-Lovers, Plus Size
RATING: 5/5 
SPICE: 3/5

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I absolutely loved every second of reading this novel. Mary Warren’s A Highlander for Hannah is hands down one of my favorite novels of 2022. This is the third book this year I am giving 5 stars too, alongside Book Lovers and Dating Dr. Dil. While these books were all near perfect, AHFH is the only one to have the fat representation I have been craving for. This novel hits all the marks, its fat without trying too hard. It is effortless, real and relatable.

There were so many moments where I literally had to stop reading and hold my chest because my heart felt like it was going to implode. I wish I could comment more, but I really do not want to give anything away…

At one point in the novel, Hannah’s mother is shocked that sexy Graham is dating her and as a fat girl, I’ve had these same issues. I had such beautiful skinny friends dating mediocre men and I’ve dated Nigerian footballers, a 6”4’ boxer, and most recently a sexy-Tarzan looking real-estate broker and EVERY TIME there are people who are super shocked at how hot my boyfriends are and it’s annoying. Granted the long term friends have gotten used to it at this point, they know my boyfriends are always hot AF… but anyways there are so many instances where I found myself reading Hannah’s story and looking back at my own life and feeling seen, and understood.
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And not to say this book is only for fat girls, I am sure that Hannah’s words could be relatable to any woman growing up in this society but being the love interest… the leading lady as it were, is something I have never seen myself as and it was so refreshing to read Hannah’s story. This is also an amazing read if you’re a fan of Outlander. When this releases in September… get your hands on it. ASAP.

RATING: 5/5 Stars
GENRE: Romance, Ennemis-to-Lovers, Fake Dating​
SPICE RATING: 2/5
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I absolutely devoured this book. It was so cute and such a great way to break me out of my reading slump. I have been having such a hard time with Circe by Madeline Miller, that this was super refreshing and heartwarming. The characters funny and real, although there were times where I found myself wishing men spoke with their friends about their problems the same way this novel portrays it… It would save us a lot of heartache to be quite honest.

There were many themes that emphasized the immigrant-American experience in the Western world, and as someone from an immigrant family living in Canada I felt seen and understood. While Dating Dr. Dil is from a South Asian perspective, the themes do translate very well. For immigrants and children of immigrants, there is this concept that our parents do not have to tell us that they love us. That they show us everyday by taking care of us that there is love… but that is very hard. I constantly find myself needing reassurance, because I find that in my relationships, it isn’t something I get. I am used to understanding that actions are also a way of saying “I love you” but to be honest, reading this novel really made me feel okay with asking to have things said.

There is also this idea that we sacrifice our mental health and well-being for our family, and in order to keep them, and that is something I hold true to heart. I even have made the joke on multiple occasions about my living at home for free. It’s not free, I will joke, I pay with my mental health. It was the perfect novel at the perfect time for me. It gives me hope of change and bettering and overall the future being a happy one. I am not sure that was the goal of Nisha Sharma when she wrote this novel, but I am so glad she wrote it and that I picked up this novel.

RATING: 4/5 STARS
​GENRE: ROMANCE, LGBTQ, Historical Fiction
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​  This was a slow novel, but I really love how this novel progressed, although it was very slow. Most stories about the Trojan War, mainly focus on the perspective of Achilles. This novel follows Patroclus and his romance with Achilles.

  The narration really gives off Greek. Even the dialogue, it has that precise and straight forward quality that Greek has. I also appreciated the details that were included that most retellings tend to keep out (such as Achilles’s son). It was romantic in that classical way, not overly word and there weren’t those grand gestures… It really touched my heart. It gave an alternate view to a beloved story. I also appreciated the different types of love that were also presented in the story. For instance, the love between Patroclus and Briseis. While she had romantic feelings for him, Patroclus still loved her although it was not in the same way he adored Achilles. There were moments he pictured even a future with her, marriage and a child. Madeline Miller is a beautiful writer and she took a very familiar story (at least to me) and was able to give it new depth and dimension.

​  If you are a fan of Greek mythology, I do recommend this read. If you haven’t been able to read the classics, it is a somewhat lighter narration. If you would like to further your knowledge and read Homer’s The Odyssey translated by Emily Wilson.

RATING: 4/5 STARS
​GENRE: ROMANCE, LGBTQ, SAPPHIC

  I absolutely loved this novel. I have been wanting to read a sapphic novel with bi-representation and this one instantly caught my eye from the moment I saw the cover and immediately needed to pre-order it.

  It did not disappoint. While there was ONE trope that
​I CANNOT STAND that was included within the story, which is why I gave this novel a 4/5, it is still a great read. I just put this dislike as a personal preference.
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  It was hilarious, there were so many amazing characters, all relatable in their own way. I enjoyed the dynamic of Clare, the bisexual young mother and balancing her love-life, her friendships, her ex and their daughter. I also loved Delilah and her artistic style, her tattoos and the struggles of growing up feeling unloved. I didn’t like Astrid for the longest time, but even as "unlikeable" of a character as I thought she was, I grew to love her as the novel progressed, and I am very excited at the announcement of her own story progressing.

  Ashley Herring Blake is very aware of our modern issues regarding bodies, motherhood and sexuality and she includes it within the story beautifully. I recommend picking up this book on your next bookstore visit.