Book Review: Bride by Ali Hazelwood

Title: Bride

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Series/Standalone: Bride Series (Book #1)

Genre: Romance, Paranormal, Adult Fiction

Pages: 410

Publisher: Berkley

Year Published: 2024

Format: Paperback (Library Copy)

"A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love, Theoretically and The Love Hypothesis.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast- again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange- again...

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It's clear from the way he tracks Misery's every movement that he doesn't trust her. If only he knew how right he was...

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and every to do with the only thing she's ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what's hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory... alone with the wolf."

My Rating: 3.5/5

This was very enjoyable. This author does beautifully when writing in a paranormal romance setting, as it remains in a sense of reality, but gives the sense of something more. Something fantastical. It allows the author to show her creativity in a structure that makes sense and doesn't model her other contemporary fiction works so closely. I look forward to continuing on the next book. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Title: Mockingjay

Author: Suzanne Collins

Series/Standalone: The Hunger Games Trilogy (Book #3)

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian

Pages: 390

Publisher: Scholastic Press Inc. 

Year Published: 2010

Format: Paperback (Own it)

"My name is Katniss Everdeen. 

Why am I not dead?

I should be dead.

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans- except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay- no matter what the personal cost."

My Rating: 3.75/5

I always have an issue with the end of the story. I'm rarely satisfied with how books end, and I find them hard to get through if I've enjoyed the story at all. This is no different. I enjoyed rereading it and finding new things that were mentioned in the two prequels. It does make you wonder if there will be a third prequel, and if so, what will it be about?

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Review: Lore Olympus Volume 8

Title: Lore Olympus Volume 8

Author: Rachel Smythe

Series/Standalone: Lore Olympus (Volume 8)

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, Romance, Mythology

Pages: 416

Publisher: Inklore

Year Published: 2025

Format: Paperback (Library Copy)

"You have no authority here'

Revelations rock Olympus as Persephone's trial ends, threatening to throw the gods into a new war.

Though Persephone and Hades become closer than ever after she opens up to him about all she has endured, their peace is shattered when another truth is revealed: Apollo is Zeus's son. The announcement shocks the pantheon, and the king of the gods realizes that the would-be usurper wants Persephone's power to take the throne. 

Zeus banishes Persephone to the Mortal Realm and, out of fear, cuts it off entirely from the rest of the gods. This decree succeeds in undercutting Apollo's plan, but also inadvertently begins a decade-long divine cold war when Hades strikes back by shuttering the Underworld. With the gods scattered and weakened, Kronos uses the ensuing bedlam to finally escape his imprisonment and begins staging his own coup. 

Persephone has only one choice when she discovers all the realms on the verge of collapes: Descend into the Underworld to try to defeat the power-hungry Titan, claim her rightful place as queen, and reunite with her one true love."

My Rating: 4.5/5

I enjoyed this installment of this series. The author does a magnificent job of keeping the readers' interest, even if they take a break between volumes. The art style is gorgeous and the slight comedy helps when the story gets too heavy. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

 

Title: Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Author: TJ Klune

Series/Standalone: Cerulean Chronicles (Book #2)

Genre: Fantasy, Adult Fiction, Cozy

Pages: 416

Publisher: Tor Books

Year Published: 2024

Format: Audiobook

"A magical house. A secret past. A summons that could change everything.

Arthur Parnassus lives a good life built on the ashes of a bad one.

He's the master of a strange orphanage on a distant and peculiar island, and he hopes to soon be the adoptive father to the six dangerous and magical children who live there.

Arthur works hard and loves with his whole heart so none of the children ever feel the neglect and pain he once felt as an orphan on that very same island so long ago. He is not alone: Joining him is the love of his life, Linus Baker, a former caseworker in the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. And there's the island's sprite, Zoe Chapelwhite and her girlfriend, Mayor Helen Webb. Together, they will do anything to protect the children. 

But when Arthur is summoned to make a public statement about his dark past, he finds himself at the helm of a fight for the future that his family, and all magical people, deserve.

And when a new magical child hopes to join them on their island home- one who finds power in calling himself monster, a name that Arthur worked so hard to protect his children from- Arthur knows they're at a breaking point: their family will either grow stronger than ever or fall apart. 

Welcome back to Marsyas Island. This is Arthur's story."

My Rating: 5/5

This story follows Arthur as he revisits his past and looks at how the past can truly shape one's future. For better or for worse. Exploring so many different elements of our current, far less magical world, and seeing how TJ Klune makes direct comparisons, is incredibly well done. While the content matter may feel heavy, the writing keeps it fast-paced and loving at its heart. Overall, I adored this book. I laughed, cried and gasped. For me, those are all signs of a great read. That and the ability to have those characters live with us as we remember the stories that help affirm who we are. 

Thank you for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead by Elle Cosimano

Title: Finlay Donovan Knocks 'Em Dead

Author: Elle Cosimano

Series/Standalone: Finlay Donovan Series (Book #2)

Genre: Adult Fiction, Mystery, Cozy

Pages: 357

Publisher: Minotaur 

Year Published: 2022

Format: Audiobook

"Finlay Donovan is- once again- struggling to finish her next novel and keep her head above water as a single mother of two. On the bright side, she had her live-in nanny and confidant Vero to rely on, and the only dead body she's dealt with lately is that of her daughter's pet goldfish. 

On the not-so-bright side, someone out there wants her ex-husband, Steven, out of the picture. Permanently. Whatever else Stevenmay be, he's a good father, but saving him will send her down a rabbit hole of hit-women disguised as soccer moms, and a little bit more involvement with the Russian mob than she'd like. 

Meanwhile, Vero's keeping secrets, and Detective Nick Anthony seems determined to get back into her life. He may be a hot cop, but Finlay's first priority is preventing her family from sleeping with the fishes... and if that means bending a few laws then so be it.

With her next book's deadline looming and an ex-husband to keep alive, Finlay is quickly coming to the end of her rope. She can only hope there isn't a noose at the end of it..."

My Rating: 4/5

This is a fun series. I love the concept of this cozy mystery. A romance suspense novelist gets tied up in a world she's never imagined being a part of herself. A love interest with spice, but not to much, and a mystery that is goofy in many ways but with real consequences. I loved the humour, the friendships and the writing. Overall, very fun. 

Thanks for reading,

Sidny

Book Review: Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Title: Daisy Jones & The Six

Author: Taylor Jenkins Reid

Series/Standalone: Standalone

Genre: Adult Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary

Pages: 368

Publisher: Ballantine Books

Year Published: 2019

Format: Audiobook

"Everyone knows DAISY JONES & THE SIX, but nobody knows the reason behind their split at the absolute height of their popularity... until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it's the rock 'n' roll she loves most. BY the time she's twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Also getting noticed is The Six, a band led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she's pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Bill goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes that the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend.

The making of that legend is chronicled in this riveting and unforgettable novel, written as an oral history of one of the biggest bands of the seventies. Taylor Jenkins Reid is a talented writer who takes her work to a new level with Daisy Jones & The Six, brilliantly, capturing a place and time in an utterly distinctive voice."

My Rating: 5/5

I listened to the audiobook of this novel, and it was absolutely excellent. I love Taylor Jenkins Reid's ability to pull you in and make you feel like you want to see all the things that the famous person has been in previously. I'm grateful that when reading this, the show had been produced (not that I'll watch the show), but this means that there are some songs that helped me fully immerse myself in the story. The twists, the turns, and the different voice actors make for a great atmosphere.

Can't wait to read more of her novels in the Reidverse.

Thanks for reading,

Sidny