"If I can't stand you, then why has my only thought of every minute of every day for the last week been me wondering what it wou3 ⭐️ It had its moment
"If I can't stand you, then why has my only thought of every minute of every day for the last week been me wondering what it would feel like to fuck you?"
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ contemporary romance ✨ he's a cocky, hockey player superstar ✨ she's a flight attendant on his team’ private plane ✨ forced proximity ✨ insta lust ✨ hate to love ✨ forbidden romance ✨ "one night only" ✨ he falls first and hard ✨ height difference ✨ 3/5 spice (open door and explicit) ✨ entertaining banter ✨ curvy FMC ✨ family drama ✨ found family ✨ POC rep ✨ TW: body image issues, emotionally abusive ex, panic attacks, mommy and daddy issues, abandonment issues
My Thoughts:
I like the writing, the banter, and the smut. It wasn’t a bad story. But it felt like a never ending therapy session. ...more
"I am the thing that exists on the other side of the dark. I'm the thing that puts the fear of the gods 4.75 ⭐️ Trust me, this book is worth the hype!
"I am the thing that exists on the other side of the dark. I'm the thing that puts the fear of the gods into the monsters who would eat you bones and all."
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ gritty romantasy ✨ humans, fae, vampires, gods, magic, fates ✨ she's a human with a secret gift ✨ he's a tattooed, damaged and dangerous fae shadow daddy ✨ bargains and oaths ✨ hate to love ✨ forced proximity ✨ delicious banter ✨ lots of lust and sexual tension ✨ 3.5/5 spice (open door, explicit) ✨ "she's mine" ✨ badass FMC ✨ grumpy MMC ✨ found family ✨ shocking twists and turns ✨ minor cliffhanger that sets up for book 2 ✨ TW: war, violence, gore, torture, mentions of SA ✨ single POV
My Thoughts:
I have not enjoyed a lot of of the popular romantasy book recommendations lately, so I am pleased to say that this was fucking fantastic!
Okay, so what did I like about this story???
The world-building and magic system is intriguing. It all felt familiar in the sense that if you dabble in the fantasy or paranormal genres, you've probably read plenty of stories with fae, vampires, gods, portal magic, etc. However, this was done in a unique way so it felt like a fresh concept. I don't want to say anything more because it would spoil things, but I am curious to learn more about the Quicksilver and dive deeper into the politics of these worlds and other forms of magic.
Saeris Fane is a breath of fresh air. She is strong-willed, scrappy, straight-forward, and persistent: a survivor. Since Saeris is the main character in a world with magic, she does have a secret gift that gets explored throughout the story, but it's developed in a realistic way. Yes, Saeris is unique, special, and powerful, but not in the obnoxious 'Chosen One' sort of way that's been repeatedly done. I also liked how she can be snarky and sassy at times without coming off as immature. Saeris is definitely one of my favorite FMCs and I'm so excited to see how her character develops in book 2!
Kingfisher. Powerful, intimidating, dangerous, and, of course, sexy. At first, I really hated him. ...more
“Look, I don’t know what you want from me, but—” “Anything.” Black eyes looked down on her, and he took a sh5 fucking stars ⭐️ Julie Soto’s best work!
“Look, I don’t know what you want from me, but—” “Anything.” Black eyes looked down on her, and he took a shaking breath. “Everything.”
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ contemporary romance ✨ musicians falling in love ✨ he’s an arrogant, superstar cellist ✨ she’s a wallflower and talented violinist ✨ rivals to lovers ✨ he falls first ✨ insane sexual tension ✨ 3/5 ...more
3 ⭐️ I love this premise but it didn't live up to my expectations
A) I was in the imaginary town of my favorite romance series. Or... B) I had hydropla3 ⭐️ I love this premise but it didn't live up to my expectations
A) I was in the imaginary town of my favorite romance series. Or... B) I had hydroplaned off the road and was currently dying in some ditch in nowhere New York.
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ small town romance ✨ magical realism ✨ falling into your favorite story ✨ she’s an english professor ✨ he’s a bookstore owner with a cat ✨ blond MMC ✨ grumpy x sunshine (who lost her shine) ✨ a not so meet cute ✨ forced proximity ✨ banter ✨ .5/5 ...more
2 ⭐️ I can see the charm but to me, it was an unrealistic story with very delulu characters.
"You know what I hate the most about you, Ford?" "What's th2 ⭐️ I can see the charm but to me, it was an unrealistic story with very delulu characters.
"You know what I hate the most about you, Ford?" "What's that, Rosie?" "That hating you is downright impossible."
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ small-town setting ✨ billionaire romance ✨ brother's best friend ✨ childhood frenemies-to-lovers ✨ boss x employee ✨ forbidden romance ✨ forced proximity ✨ opposites attract ✨ snarky banter / shit talking ✨ he fell first (always loved her) ✨ 2.5/5 ...more
2.5 ⭐️ Cute but this story has absolutely nothing to do with Highland Games lol
"He wanted her smiles to belong to him. He wanted to kiss every freckle2.5 ⭐️ Cute but this story has absolutely nothing to do with Highland Games lol
"He wanted her smiles to belong to him. He wanted to kiss every freckle, name each one like a star."
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ rom-com ✨ scottish highland setting ✨ she's a city girl x accountant who inherited a run down cabin on a castle estate ✨ he's the local castle estate on-property manager determined to make her life hell so she leaves ✨ a not so meet cute ✨ insta lust ✨ denial of feelings/attraction ✨ dislike to love ✨ banter ✨ 2.5/5 ...more
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ ya romantasy ✨ fairytale with magic and curses ✨ finding happily ever after ✨ love triangle ✨ jealousy (OW/OM drama) ✨ ANGST ✨ pining/longing ✨ denial of feelings ✨ tending to wounds trope ✨ one bed ✨ mystery ✨ shocking cliffhanger
My Thoughts:
A super enjoyable and a quick read. I read this book in 4 hours because I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! The tension / angst between Evangeline and Jacks paired with the intriguing plot that slowly unfolded and that heart-stopping ending made this book one of the most enjoyable YA sequels I've ever read. I wouldn't say it's a perfect 5-stars, but it comes close, especially for a YA novel.
What I loved:
The expanded world building and background info we get on the characters. We learn so much more about the magic, curses, and history of the Magnificent North - this world is seriously so cool. Plus, we learn more about Jacks, Chaos, LaLa, and the Valors, which add a lot of depth to this story. And once again, Stephanie Garber introduces these new elements to the story in a simple, yet captivating way that only enhances the reader's understanding of the world and characters.
While book one was predictable, that wasn't the case in book two. In fact, there were plenty of times I was actually shocked by the plot twists and reveals! Especially the ending! I don't want to spoil anything about it, but damn, that was so good! Thank goodness I can start the next book immediately because I am DYING to find out what happens next!
Evangeline. I love her character growth. In book 1one, she's very naive but throughout the events of book two, she learns a lot about love, the kind of love she wants, and what it means to truly love someone. Also, I do admire that she likes to believe the best in people, even if they don't deserve it.
Jacks. Let's be honest, Jacks is a total ass 99% of the time, but that 1% of the time he actually shows feelings for Evangeline, makes me melt into a puddle. We all know it's just because he's afraid of getting his heart broken again, but damn, he's breaking my heart by holding back. ...more
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ small town romance ✨ Alaska setting ✨ she's a city girl visiting her estranged father ✨ he's a bush pilot w3 ⭐️ I wish I loved this more
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ small town romance ✨ Alaska setting ✨ she's a city girl visiting her estranged father ✨ he's a bush pilot who works for her dad ✨ grumpy x sunshine ✨ dislike to love ✨ cutting banter ✨ opposite attract ✨ forced proximity ✨ 1.5/5 ...more
4 ⭐️ Took me a second to get into but I enjoy this world and the fast-paced plot
"Always promise less than you can give, for Fates always take more. do4 ⭐️ Took me a second to get into but I enjoy this world and the fast-paced plot
"Always promise less than you can give, for Fates always take more. do not make bargains with more than one Fate. And, above all, never fall in love with a Fate."
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ ya romantasy ✨ fairytale with magic and curses ✨ finding happily ever after ✨ deals with the 'devil' ✨ love triangle ✨ slow burn ✨ dislike to love ✨ ANGST ✨ mystery ✨ take place in the world of Caraval but you do not need to read this series before to understand this story (I didn't)
What I liked:
The unique world. I haven’t read the Caraval series but found this easy to dive into. I was impressed that even though it’s a complicated and sometimes chaotic world, it was described and revealed in a way that was easy to understand. I also want to know more about the vampires and the Valors and what Jacks wants with the arch.
Evangeline. She’s a straight forward character - driven by love, a hopeless romantic - and oftentimes she makes mistakes because of it. And regardless of these mistakes, I liked her and understood the decisions she made. And even though Evangeline’s character is mostly concerned with love (and she’s had a few love interests by the end of this book), I found all her romance storylines interesting and I’ll be curious how each of them play out. I am also excited to learn more about her connection with the Valory Arch.
Jacks. He’s the villain you want to love. Broken. Desperate. Lonely. Hurt. And he channels all that into selfishness and getting what he wants, no matter the cost, even at the cost of others. I like how over time Evangeline humanized him but even so, he’s still the villain. So I’m curious how his character arc is going to play out.
LaLa. She's an interesting side character and I can't wait to learn more about her! I just hope she's actually going to stay friends with Evangeline because that girl really needs some allies.
Why this isn’t getting 5 stars:
It took a while to get into the story. The beginning was slow but it’s because the series is being set up so there's a lot of backstory with Evangeline and setting the stage for how she makes her way to the North. Once she finally gets there (around 25% of the way through) the story had a nice pace and kept me intrigued the entire time.
The plot twists or reveals weren’t very surprising. Maybe it’s because this is YA and I’m used to more complicated stories, but I saw most of the reveals coming. The story was still interesting and there were a few moments where I questioned some of my guesses but in the end, I ended up being right. Not a bad thing but I like being surprised.
The writing has a few sentences with lovely prose, but it’s mostly basic which didn’t impress me. But, it did make the story straightforward which I appreciated. There were also a few sentences that are descriptions or Evangeline's thoughts that are recycled throughout this story (edit: throughout this series), which I believe was done to reiterate certain points to the reader. But since I read these books back to back, it felt redundant and unnecessary. And I ended up skimming some spots.
Overall, it’s a unique story that I’m excited to keep reading. I’ve only heard amazing things about The Ballad of Never After so my expectations are high.
My Favorite Quotes:
"I believe there are far more possibilities than happily ever after or tragedy. Every story has the potential for infinite endings." _______
Not all loves happened at first; some took time to grow like seeds, or they might be like bulbs, dormant until the right season approached. _______
It was the last perfect moment before a dream ends, drops of sunshine falling like rain, lost wishes that had been found. _______
He looked like a bad decision some unfortunate person was about to make. _______
"It'd give you the world if I could. The moon, the stars, and all the suns in the universe. Anything for you, my heart." _______
3 ⭐️ Really interesting world but I wasn't THAT invested
"You're the only mortal who thinks she can go toe to toe with a god, aren't you?"
WHAT TO EXPEC3 ⭐️ Really interesting world but I wasn't THAT invested
"You're the only mortal who thinks she can go toe to toe with a god, aren't you?"
WHAT TO EXPECT: ✨ fantasy romance ✨ gods and mortals ✨ he's the god of battle and storms ✨ she's gets trapped in his world and becomes his human anchor ✨ dislike to love ✨ slow burn ✨ 3.5/5 ...more
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