Adult, ARC review, book review

Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev (ARC Review)

Chef Ashna Raje desperately needs a new strategy. How else can she save her beloved restaurant and prove to her estranged, overachieving mother that she isn’t a complete screw up? When she’s asked to join the cast of Cooking with the Stars, the latest hit reality show teaming chefs with celebrities, it seems like just the leap of faith she needs to put her restaurant back on the map. She’s a chef, what’s the worst that could happen? Rico Silva, that’s what. Being paired with a celebrity who was her first love, the man who ghosted her at the worst possible time in her life, only proves what Ashna has always believed: leaps of faith are a recipe for disaster… Read More Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev (ARC Review)

ARC review, book review, young adult

Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye (ARC Review)

Everyone knows about the dare: Each week, Bryson Keller must date someone new–the first person to ask him out on Monday morning. Few think Bryson can do it. He may be the king of Fairvale Academy, but he’s never really dated before. Until a boy asks him out, and everything changes. Kai Sheridan didn’t expect Bryson to say yes. So when Bryson agrees to secretly go out with him, Kai is thrown for a loop. But as the days go by, he discovers there’s more to Bryson beneath the surface, and dating him begins to feel less like an act and more like the real thing… Read More Date Me, Bryson Keller by Kevin van Whye (ARC Review)

ARC review, book review, young adult

Girls Save the World in This One by Ash Parsons (ARC Review)

June’s whole life has been leading up to this: ZombieCon, the fan convention celebrating all things zombies. She and her two best friends plan on hitting all the panels, photo ops, and meeting the heartthrob lead of their favorite zombie apocalypse show Human Wasteland. And when they arrive everything seems perfect, though June has to shrug off some weirdness from other fans—people shambling a little too much, and someone actually biting a cast member. Then all hell breaks loose and June and her friends discover the truth: real zombies are taking over the con. Now June must do whatever it takes to survive a horde of actual brain-eating zombies—and save the world… Read More Girls Save the World in This One by Ash Parsons (ARC Review)

ARC review, book review, young adult

Don’t Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross (ARC Review)

A fierce young queen, neither human nor lynx, who fights to protect a forest humans have long abandoned. An exhausted young soldier, last of his name, who searches for the brother who disappeared beneath those trees without a trace. A Golden Dragon, fearsome and vengeful, whose wingbeats haunt their nightmares and their steps. When these three paths cross at the fringes of a war between monsters and men, shapeshifter queen and reluctant hero strike a deal that may finally turn the tide against the rising hordes of darkness. Ren will help Lukasz find his brother…if Lukasz promises to slay the Dragon… Read More Don’t Call the Wolf by Aleksandra Ross (ARC Review)

Adult, ARC review, book review

The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez (ARC Review)

Two years after losing her fiancé, Sloan Monroe still can’t seem to get her life back on track. But one trouble-making pup with a “take me home” look in his eyes is about to change everything. With her new pet by her side, Sloan finally starts to feel more like herself. Then, after weeks of unanswered texts, Tucker’s owner reaches out. He’s a musician on tour in Australia. And bottom line: He wants Tucker back. Well, Sloan’s not about to give up her dog without a fight… Read More The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez (ARC Review)

ARC review, book review, comic/graphic novel

Therapy Game (Volume 1) by Meguru Hinohara (Review)

Shizuma only drank that night to forget his heartbreak. He didn’t intend to also forget Minato, the one-night stand who soothed his broken heart. And since Minato’s not one to be forgotten, he hatches a plan of seduction…and revenge. Recently dumped and very straight, Shizuma tries to drink his sorrow away, only to wake up being spooned by a man! When he explains to Minato, his drunken fling, that he doesn’t remember a thing about their night together, Minato secretly vows to seduce him again—and then dump him as revenge! But even the best-laid plans can go awry when Cupid has his way… Read More Therapy Game (Volume 1) by Meguru Hinohara (Review)

ARC review, book review, young adult

Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan (Review)

Note: This book is part of a series, so there may be spoilers for a previous book/books in the synopsis below.
Darkness never works alone…Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore. Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him. Malachiasz is at war with who–and what–he’s become. As their group is continually torn apart, the girl, the prince, and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined. They’re pieces on a board, being orchestrated by someone… or something. The voices that Serefin hears in the darkness, the ones that Nadya believes are her gods, the ones that Malachiasz is desperate to meet—those voices want a stake in the world, and they refuse to stay quiet any longer… Read More Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan (Review)

ARC review, book review, comic/graphic novel

Eat, and Love Yourself by Sweeney Boo (Review)

A story about Mindy, a woman living with an eating disorder who has to learn how to love herself again. In pursuit of the perfect body, Mindy buys the low-fat diet products and the glossy magazines which promise the secret to losing weight. One night, while perusing the aisles of the neighborhood convenience store for a midnight snack, she finds a new product. A chocolate bar called “Eat and Love Yourself”… Read More Eat, and Love Yourself by Sweeney Boo (Review)

ARC review, book review, young adult

The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte (ARC Review)

Seventeen-year-old Tempe was born into a world of water. When the Great Waves destroyed her planet, its people had to learn to survive living on the water, but the ruins of the cities below still called. Tempe dives daily, scavenging the ruins of a bygone era, searching for anything of value to trade for Notes. It isn’t food or clothing that she wants to buy, but her dead sister’s life. For a price, the research facility on the island of Palindromena will revive the dearly departed for twenty-four hours… Read More The Vanishing Deep by Astrid Scholte (ARC Review)