In The Solarium

4/5 ⭐ Meet Cassie Harris, photographer, and owner of Buxom Boudoir where she makes people look beautiful and feel empowered. After getting roped into helping a dear friend with her new lingerie line as the model, not the photographer. Oh no, that job went to her long-time rival in the photography scene Reid Montgomery. This story is filled with body positivity and very inclusive and I loved that. It’s still not as popular or a frequent thing to find as one would hope. The characters were fun and interesting. The romance itself was very fluffy and tropey I find that most modern romances tend to lean that way. Overall this was a solid romance and the ending absolutely made it worth it to finish. Thank you to the publisher for sending me the eARC in exchange for an honest review. 7/19/22 *This review was previously posted on my Google Site.

3.5/5 ⭐ Marked as an LGBTQ+ romcom meets 27 dresses, Queerly Beloved, is a fun quirky read. And it does hit the mark on the 27 Dresses aspect. Not much else though. I was really looking forward to this one and while I did enjoy it, it wasn’t all that I had wanted from it. The biggest thing for me I think was that it was marketed as a rom-com but it reads way more like fiction or a personal growth novel. And if you read it for that, it makes more sense. The romance felt like it was just there. Thrown in when it could help move the plot along. As for the characters, I actually liked them. I saw potential but they were not developed at all. Joel & Damien ended up just being the token gay best friends. I would have loved to have seen more of the found family aspect and that be built upon.  All in all, it was an okay read. 5/23/22 *This review was previously posted on my Google Site.

5/5 ⭐ A collogue of mine is the one that recommended this title to me, and boy was I not disappointed. If you’ve been around, you know that I am interested in sci-fi but have struggled to get into it for one reason or another. Finding something that wasn’t overwhelming, well balanced, and interesting enough to keep me hooked is hard to find. But I found it here. Where do I even begin? The dialogue. Let’s start there. It is so hecking hilarious, slightly over the top, but it never felt ingenuine to the characters. Or just there for shock value. It made them even more realistic and lovable. And boy, did I love those characters. Meeting the crew of the Wayfarer, Ashby, Kizzy, and Jenks, to name a few, were just the freaking best. I loved the characters, all of them. But I loved their relationships with each other even more. The love they shared for one another, familial and romantic, is heartwarming and touching. And so well done, I can't put it into words. All you really need to know...

  💜 Travis Baldree’s debut fantasy novel is not one to miss. I found this title through TikTok, from a fellow librarian I follow who couldn’t recommend it enough and I finally bit the bullet and ordered myself a copy. And let me just say, one of the best purchases I made. Ever. I saw one person describe this as a cozy fantasy and I couldn’t agree more. It is everything one could want in a low-stakes, slice-of-life fantasy story. It hits all the buttons and then some. The story follows Viv, a retired orc barbarian, tired of the adventurer life and looking to settle down and open a coffee shop in a little town that had never even heard of coffee. And while at first glance it looks like this will just be another coffee shop story with a fantasy background, it’s not. It is so much more. Baldree gives us elements of found family, the importance of old friendships, and building new relationships. And oof the relationships. I loved the quality of characters Baldree gave us. There weren’t...

3.5/5 ⭐ Alcohol and curses do not mix. A lesson learned the hard way by Vivienne Jones after a broken heart and one too many drinks. What was meant to be more of a nuisance curse turns dangerous when one thing after another strikes threatening not only the ex-boyfriends' life but the town as well. The Ex-Hex was a very light and fun fantasy romance. It didn’t let down on the rated R Practical Magic vibes. Not only did we get some powerful badass witches in Vivienne and the rest of the Jones Witches but we got a Welsh charmer who seemed more than willing to show his interest in Vivi. While the middle lagged for a bit the ending more than made up for it at the final climax. This is a great spooky, perfect for Halloween time read. 4/19/22 *This review was previously posted on my google site.

4/5 ⭐ This is a cute and refreshing YA LGBT+ romance that takes real, unforgettable characters and an even more interesting plot. Meet Eleanor, a recluse and firm disbeliever in witchcraft working in a witchy souvenir shop in downtown Salem. After a chance encounter with Pix, a real-life witch, and some tarot-inspired help Eleanor is forced to flee her comfort zone and face the hurts of her past. If there is only one thing you take away from this review it needs to be this... Kate Scelsa has created some of the most realistic, relatable, and unforgettable characters. And not only that, she makes them face their truths and admit their wrongs. And learn from them. Not just behind the scenes but on the page. And I loved that. At first glance, I thought that this would be a lighthearted fantasy-esque story but it is so much more. While not fantasy at all, this story is so much more complex and intricate. And yes, there is some romance but this is much more of a coming-of-age and learning t...

5/5 ⭐ This queer rom-com with its surprisingly on-point introspection on what a healthy relationship looks like and well-developed characters will leave readers' hearts a little more full than before. And swooning for their own Delilah Green. I loved this queer romance, it’s one of the most well-written ones I have read so far. The characters were so well developed, the usual tropes and aspects I am used to seeing in romance novels were not there at all or written so well that I couldn’t be annoyed they were used at all. Blake gives us two women both at very different points in their lives but both struggling with coming to terms with events from their pasts. I will say that for a romance it was quite emotional on all fronts. Familial, friendships, and romantically. But I think it just enriched the story and made it more relatable to the readers. It was well balanced throughout. All in all, a solid, well-developed queer romance that I recommend to anyone looking for something fresh...

5/5 ⭐ Filled with a fantastical description, feisty characters, and a devious plan concocted by three spurned witches, this book is hard to put down. I am notorious for being picky when it comes to fantasy and romance stories, so finding one that was a combination of both that I loved was thrilling. Emmy Harlow has finally returned home in order to fulfill a centuries-long tradition in her family. I don't know if it was just me but I could feel the struggles Emmy was facing from page one. Harper managed to make her feel alive and genuine, which I am coming to find appeals to me when reading. Emmy fled her hometown nearly 10 years earlier and the wounds are still hurting. She's a little lost, a little pissed, and a little in love. Her homecoming is something she struggles with throughout most of the main story. The longing for a home but not knowing if it is the place she grew up in, the magical and wonderful Thistle Grove. Or if it is magicless, solitary Chicago to which she fl...

5/5 ⭐ 💜   Possible Spoilers - Read with care Whatever I expected before picking this one up was thrown out the window and obliterated. I had known that TJ Klune was a popular and well-written author. I knew that this book was going to be good. I just didn't realize how good it would be. There is something reassuring about his writing that doesn't drag you down into it or anything like that. Rather it welcomes you in, offers you something comforting, and invites you to stay. And that is an invitation you can't turn down. Because you don't want to. You want to sit and stay and feel every emotion and feeling he writes, the happy and the sad. Because it feels genuine. This is a story that talks about death at length and at points in vivid detail. It walks you through the five stages of grief in such a way that you almost forget that it is essential to the story. Not that it becomes insignificant, rather it happens so fluidly and naturally. It's never choppy or overly i...

5/5 ⭐ Told completely from the female lead's POV, this one-of-a-kind romcom will leave you pleasantly satisfied. Olive is a third-year Ph.D. student who is desperate to convince her best friend that she is happily dating even though she doesn't believe in dating. Or relationships. Then in steps, the intimidating, scary, but still very attractive Dr. Adam Carlsen saves her from a mess of her own making. What happens between these two is nothing short of adorable and quirky with just a few spicy moments to tide you over. As for their budding romance, it is definitely among the opposites attract the line. He is grumpy and takes his coffee black. And she is sunshine and loves all things sweet. But it is the cutest. He is only sweet towards her and takes care of her and who doesn't love that in a fictional character. I was rooting for them from the very beginning. Like many others, I am a fan of the fake dating trope and even the professor-student relationship. Two very cliché a...