Dark Succession (The O'Malleys #1) by Katee Robert

 
Dark Succession by Katee Robert
My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from Forever through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ever since her brother died, Callie Sheridan has felt the effects of the loss everywhere. Including who she marries. The loss of her first fiancée selected for her didn’t prepare her for who her next fiancée would be: Teague O’Malley. Callie appears to be going from one bad arrangement to another until she realizes she really likes Teague… a man from another opposing mob family. Meanwhile, Teague despises being associated with the O’Malley empire. It’s why he was irritated about being married off as part of a business arrangement. At least that’s how he felt before he met Callie and discovered that she made him feel things he didn’t know existed. Too bad he’s determined to solve a mystery that might prevent a war, which just happens to be Callie’s explosive secret.

I’ve been reading and enjoying the Dark Olympus series, so I decided to start checking out Katee’s other books! We follow Callie and Teague through their rotating perspectives, but we periodically read from the perspective of characters other than them. I actually liked seeing things from the view of supporting characters despite the story mainly following Callie and Teague. I also think it makes things a little more interesting because I know some of these characters will eventually have their own book. It was a nice glimpse into what their books may look like.

As far as the story goes, I thought it was pretty good. Much of the book is about Callie and Teague and their respective family woes. Both come from major families in the mob world and wish to escape that life. For Callie, that dream moved further from reality than ever when her older brother died. As the sole living Sheridan heir, she’s next in line and hopes to completely move the family out of the business when her time comes. Meanwhile, Teague has always dreamt of taking his brothers and sisters and getting the hell out of town. Now that he’s due to marry an heiress, his own dreams have flown right out the window, but it doesn’t matter since he’s more than hot for Callie.

This book sets up the tone for the rest of the series as the Sheridan and O’Malley families prepare to go to war with the Hallorans. Since Brendan Halloran was originally due to marry Callie, the fact that she’s been set to marry someone new so fast is a slap in the face. However, Brendan’s awful reputation precedes him, and anyone who knew of the engagement before its announcement agrees that Callie dodged a bullet. Now the Sheridans and O’Malley’s have to make the appearance of an alliance become reality, which is something that Calle and Teague hope to prevent the war from starting to save countless lives. As I get further and further into the series, it’ll be interesting to see how far things go and how much the Sheridans and O’Malleys are able to form a united front and continue to interact from book to book.

As far as the romance goes, I found it believable that Callie and Teague really fell for each other. I think they’re a good match, but I was initially put off by how Teague was on the possessive side, but I felt better about the two of them when the possessiveness faded over time after she put her foot down. I don’t think their romance was sizzling, but I think that was partially caused by me being taken out of the story every time Teague referred to her as Angel. That just really bugged me because he started calling Callie that right away, so I kept getting taken out of the story every single time he said it. That said, I really do think they’re a good match and find how drawn they are to each other to be very believable.

Overall, I enjoyed the story. I do think that there are some things that don’t make sense, like how Callie makes some decisions without an ounce of common sense but expects her dad to take her capabilities more seriously at a faster rate. There’s also a plot running with Teague that makes me wonder how he truly expected his expectations to become reality for long given how realistic he generally is. Otherwise, I think it’s a great story and I’m really interested in checking out the following book in the series.

One Cup at a Time: A Cat's Café Collection (Cat's Cafe #2) by Matt Tarpley

 
One Cup at a Time: A Cat's Café Collection by Matt Tarpley

My Rating: ★★★★★

At Cat’s Café, everyone is accepted as they are! This is the second book in a series that features a collection of adorable, funny, and occasionally serious comics. Like the previous collection, we follow a cast of characters who own, work at, or frequent the Cat’s Café. This time around, there’s a little bit of a different feel to the comics, and some indicate that they were drawn during the earlier days of the pandemic. Those comics reference the things that were happening as people were going stir crazy while in a shutdown, like cutting their own hair or taking on new hobbies. There’s even one that references a zoom meeting with family!

Like before, many of the comics bring uplifting and positive messages as well as making sure to represent anyone who is struggling. We see various characters having different struggles, and we see other characters doing their best to support them at times. I love that there’s a good balance between the serious and the goofy. You can feel uplifted by any one of these comics. For me, I keep thinking about the swole Kiwi drawings and cracking up. It seriously made my day!

All in all, this is an excellent follow-up collection of comics that range from adorable to funny and serious. The artwork is downright adorable and vibrant when it needs to be while displaying a lot of emotion through the change of color palettes. I highly recommend reading this series of comics because they are really uplifting.

Queen Charlotte (Bridgertons) by Julia Quinn, Shonda Rhimes

 
Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn, Shonda Rhimes
My Rating: ★★★★

When Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz’s brother informed her that she was to marry King George III, she was furious. This was a king she had never once met nor would ever expect would want to marry her. Sharp as ever, Charlotte knew something was up. Why would the king have his people travel to Germany and form an alliance with her brother in exchange for her hand in marriage? Upon Charlotte’s arrival, her suspicions appear to be confirmed when no one will tell her anything about the king. Then she meets him and it’s love… or so she thought, because the king has his secrets and the palace will not share them with her.

I was extremely excited when I saw the book covering Bridgerton’s mini- series was coming out because I absolutely loved the show. I know that the king and queen are inspired by real people and that this is an extremely fictional account of their lives, but it was still a little weird remembering who they were in reality. I don’t often read historical fiction inspired by real royals, so it was an interesting experience! However, I absolutely loved the book and how it expands on the show.

Unlike the other books in the series, we follow four characters: Queen Charlotte, King George III, Bartholomew Brimsley, and Lady Agatha Danbury through their rotating perspectives. I really thought we’d get to see a lot more through Agatha’s point of view, but instead, we saw less of her than we do in the show! That was disappointing, especially since she’s my favorite character. The lack of chapters from her perspective is my only complaint, especially because she serves a smaller role with a smaller storyline compared to the show.

However, I absolutely loved Charlotte and Brimsley. George’s chapters were great, but nothing compares to Charlotte and Brimsley’s chapters! I love the relationship they form and the loyalty they have to each other. I particularly enjoyed seeing that Charlotte was more open to learning about Brimsley’s life than in the show long before we get to the ending of the book. I think the dynamic between these two characters are absolutely golden, which makes their interactions my favorite interactions.

The romance between Charlotte and George is both sweet and sad, especially knowing how it ends for them. If you’ve seen the mini series, you’ll notice that the book expands on their lives as royals, especially the crash course Charlotte goes through as a new queen who was never prepared to be queen one day. The friendship and romance between Charlotte and George is very sweet and cute, and it was also fun to see that the pair has a smidge of a goofy side in the book. The story also expands on George’s struggles, as we see his fears and what he’s dealing with from his perspective many times.

All in all, I love the book, but I wish that Agatha’s storyline was bigger than it was. I was really looking forward to seeing things from her perspective and discovered that there was a lack of chapters from her, which is rather sad. That said, I enjoyed the book, so that’s really the only complaint I have.

Beyond by Georgia Springate

Beyond by Georgia Springate
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Burning Chair Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Alex Duncan is just your average teenager concerned about his friends, getting bullied, and whether or not the girl he likes feels the same way. Then his older sister, Jenna, finds out that she has ovarian cancer. When she’s informed that it’s terminal, everyone starts cracking, and Alex begins having terrible nightmares about her death. Alex realizes these dreams may be trying to tell him something. He needs to know where Jenna will go when she passes away because it’ll make them both feel less scared about the future. It’s the least he can do for his sister even if his nightmares stick around. The only problem? No one seems to know the answer, but Alex and his friends are determined to find out where we all go when we die.

I’m not sure what possessed me to pick up this book when I’m very sensitive to stories where there’s a character dying from cancer. However, I’m glad I did because it’s an incredible book that’s well written and captures how difficult it is when a loved one is dying from cancer. We follow Alex, a 14-year-old who has been struggling ever since his sister was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It only gets worse when it turns out it’s terminal, and he doesn’t really know what to do with himself. Alex feels out of place everywhere. At school, he’s a moving target in the eyes of the school bully, but he’s also dealing with the whispers about him being the kid with the dying sister. At home, his parents are struggling and trying not to let Jenna know that they are having a very difficult time coming to terms with the fact that the cancer is there to stay. The only person who is bothering to check in on Alex is Jenna, and she’s the one person he doesn’t want to bother with his feelings.

Like I said, this is very well written. We see how much every person involved is affected, and that the truth is that there’s no right or wrong way to deal with things. Everyone is dealing with Jenna’s impending death differently, and sometimes people clash because they feel like no one is checking in on them or that the way they’re handling things is bad. We see Alex clashing with his mom and making up later, Alex and Jenna getting closer than ever, and this family being torn apart and coming back together over and over again.

Almost all of the characters are wonderful. I say almost all of them because there are some nasty folks. For example, there’s the school bullies, Bruce and his friends. While we never get to know Bruce, we do get a small glimpse at his own home life, and it’s clear that the author put a lot of work into planning the characters and how their lives intertwine with each other even if they only play a small part in the story. Otherwise, the majority of the characters are absolutely wonderful and many of them are very well developed.

It’s a truly incredible book that I think is very important because I think the target audience needs books like this. When a loved one is dying, it’s one of the most depressing and upsetting periods of your life. I know this from experience, and I can tell you that if you’ve experienced this yourself, you’re going to be crying from the opening chapter all the way to the final page. However, it’s important for books like this to be around, especially for young readers who will identify with Alex down to not always being told everything because of his age.

My Aunt Is a Monster by Reimena Yee

 
My Aunt Is a Monster by Reimena Yee
My Rating: ★★★★★

Safia has always had big dreams and loving parents, but everything comes crashing down when her parents perish in a fire. Now she’s living with her distant aunt, a retired adventurer, near an area that a monster is rumored to live, she gets a taste of that life by proxy. So when Walteranne Whimsy needs to come out of retirement and go on one last adventure, of course Safia is ready to head out and experience the adventures she thought she’d only ever go on through audiobooks. Once out and gaining the experiences of her dreams, she learns that the monster of the hill she’s heard about is none other than her own dear Aunty Whimsy!

I checked out a different book that I enjoyed from Reimena Yee, so when I saw this was available, I knew I had to pick it up. We follow Safia shortly after her parents perish in a terrible fire. She’s always dreamed of adventure, but she thinks she can only experience them with her audiobooks because she’s blind. However, when she finds herself living with her aunt, she learns that’s not the case. We get to follow Safia on her very first adventure where she’s thrilled to experience the world with a side of the supernatural.

Along the way, we see Safia get close to her aunt, Walteranne Whimsy. Now, Aunty Whimsy has been living in seclusion ever since she was cursed on what she thought was her final great adventure! However, Safia doesn’t know this until later since her aunt said she’s disfigured. I love that, together, they learn that they are capable of so much more than the world makes them believe.

One of the things I love about this book is that Safia is blind, but that it’s not presented in a negative way. I also love that Safia is a fully developed character rather than having her blindness being all that she is like many forms of media do. She’s curious, adventurous, caring, and thoughtful. She also makes friends easily, whether it’s with a ghost who lives on her aunt’s property or a self-conscious person on a boat. Safia also has dreams, and one of them is being a writer, which is why she’s so excited about going on her very first adventure. Now she can write a book about it!

We also have Aunty Whimsy, who brings a fantasy aspect to the table. She’s been cursed and lives in seclusion because she knows people will judge her based on her appearance. She fears how people will react when they see her, so she retired and let the world think that she disappeared on the very trip that led to her curse. I love the relationship that Aunty Whimsy has with Safia as well as Cathryn, who was once Aunty Whimsy’s nanny! The three of them are such wonderful characters in addition to making a great trio.

All in all, this is an absolutely wonderful book. Of course, the artwork is absolutely stunning, and I loved getting a glimpse at some of the concept art at the end of the book. However, the main draw is Safia and Aunty Whimsy’s stories as well as the friendships between the different characters. I’m excited to see what Reimena Yee publishes next!

Love and Other Wicked Things by Philline Harms

 
Love and Other Wicked Things by Philline Harms
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Wattpad Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Oakriver is a quiet town that secretly houses a magical community. Rhia is from the latest generation of Greenbrook witches in town, and she is one of the many who are gifted with Earth magic. When her grandma has a vision about a dangerous unfamiliar witch coming to town, Rhia doesn’t think much about her warnings. Why would she hang out with whoever this dangerous witch is anyway? Then she meets Valerie Morgan, a fire witch who is reading Tarot and using magic out in the open. She’s going against every rule Rhia has grown up with, and it’s getting on her last nerve, but she can’t help but feel a connection to this new witch in town. By the time Valarie gets caught up in a dangerous web of magic while trying to get closer to her mom, Rhia is too invested to let Valarie or Oakriver go down in flames.

I absolutely loved this book. We follow Rhia and Valerie, who are both witches, but they are witches with very different backgrounds. Rhia has grown up in a family who openly practices magic and is very loving and accepting while Valerie’s dad is not accepting of her fire magic. At all. In fact, he won’t even call it what it is! To top things off, she really just wants to learn more about her mom, but her dad has spent her life acting like her mom never existed. The only thing she knows about her mom is that she died in her hometown: Oakriver.

We have an excellent cast of characters. Other than Rhia and Valerie, we have Rhia’s family and Valarie’s roommate. We mainly get to know Rhia’s sister, Sage, and her cousin, Holly. I absolutely love them. They’re such fun and sweet characters that I wish they were members of my own family. There’s also her longtime friend, Tristan, who is hilarious and doesn’t possess any magic of his own. Plus, Valarie’s roommate, Quinn. I loved them from the start and I wish we got to see a little more of them, but I’m happy with how much they appeared in the story. I love that each of these characters are so realistic that they could easily walk in through the door, but they also have a touch of magic for the story.

The story itself is fun. It’s a slow burn kind of story that is mainly carried by the characters. For some reason, I thought it was building up to something way bigger than what it was actually building up to after I read the summary, but that was my own fault. It turns out I took the saving the town part of the summary and built it up in my head somewhere between reading the first page and getting to the halfway point of the book! However, even then, I was very happy with the book and enjoyed every minute of it. I do think what happens with Valarie toward the end of the book and how that’s resolved could’ve been much bigger, but otherwise, I’m happy with how the story turns out.

All in all, this is an excellent story with a wonderful cast of characters. There’s magic, a little bit of mystery, and a lot of platonic and romantic love. The overall story is cute and fun, but there is a little bit of trauma and confusion along with a big secret hiding just around the corner. All in all, it was an excellent read and I’m looking forward to checking out the author’s other works.

All Our Hidden Gifts (All Our Hidden Gifts #1) by Caroline O'Donoghue

 

All Our Hidden Gifts by Caroline O'Donoghue

My Rating: ★★★★★

When Maeve Chambers finds herself punished with in-school suspension, she never expected that meant she’d be cleaning in her school’s creepy basement. However, Maeve quickly discovers that there’s some cool stuff hidden there, like an old Walkman that somehow still works and a deck of Tarot cards. In fact, she’s very drawn to the Tarot cards and spends that night learning how to read them. Her fun new hobby quickly goes south when she draws an eerie card that isn’t normally in the deck while doing a reading for her ex-best friend, Lily. When Lily disappears, Maeve becomes a moving target at school because it’s suspected she did something to Lily with that eerie Tarot card. However, Maeve quickly learns that it’s all somehow connected to that strange card, and now she’s determined to save her former best friend.

I absolutely loved this entire book. We follow Maeve, a student at a Catholic school who seems to never be good at anything. She’s the youngest in her family and born a while after her closest sibling, she struggles in school, and she doesn’t stand out in a crowd. When Maeve saw a chance at getting some popularity, she quickly dropped her best friend, which is a decision she still regrets. Things begin to get interesting when she becomes the new owner of a set of  Tarot cards left in the basement of her school. For the first time, Maeve has found something she’s a natural at! It’s all fun and games until her ex-best friend goes missing after a strange reading and a heated argument. Armed with her Tarot deck, Maeve dives face first into the supernatural world she never knew existed until she came across that Tarot deck.

We have such a great cast of characters here. Maeve is relatable in the sense that she feels like she’ll never have anything going for her, so she’s just trying to fit in even though she chooses a super judgemental and less than nice crowd to run with. Lily has always marched to the beat of her own drum and appears to not care what others think of her. Fiona is an excellent friend with a heart of gold who is supportive while dealing with racist remarks and actions directed at her and her family. Roe, Lily’s older brother, is a sweet and thoughtful musician who is exploring his gender expression and possible identity in future books. And then we have Jo, Maeve’s older sister, who is dealing with the rising anti-LGBT+ movement as an open lesbian and college student.

I loved each and every one of these characters and how fleshed out they each were with Lily as the exception since she went missing. I am looking forward to seeing these characters again in the second novel, especially as they get closer (or further) apart from each other and slowly awaken to the hidden supernatural world. I know it seems like a lot of characters to be so well developed and heavily featured all in the first book, but Caroline O'Donoghue wrote these characters and how they each enter the story so well that I don’t think anyone can get overwhelmed.

Each of the plots and themes are absolutely phenomenal. I found myself not wanting to put the book down every time I picked it up. It’s so rich in characters, themes, plots, and overall storytelling that this has quickly become one of my favorite books that I’ve read. I’m also excited to check out the author’s other books outside of this series because they are a truly talented writer. Speaking of which, I’ve already picked up the next book in this series and am very excited to start it soon.

Death Comes to Marlow (The Marlow Murder Club #2) by Robert Thorogood

Death Comes to Marlow by Robert Thorogood
My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Poisoned Pen Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Judith has been enjoying her post-murder mystery life to the best of her ability. However, fate seems to have other plans for her. First she gets into a fight with a swan while on her morning swim, then she gets invited to Sir Peter Bailey’s pre-wedding party. Judith has never actually met Sir Peter, so it’s certainly a random invite, but she attends the party only to be one of the many guests out and about when he’s crushed by a cabinet. One thing leads to another and Judith finds herself on the hunt for the killer when she and her two friends, Suzie and Becks, are the only ones who think Sir Peter was murdered.

After reading the first book in the series, I was very excited when I saw that a second installment was on the way. We continue to follow Judith, a 77-year-old crossword setter and now amateur sleuth. Through her, we also follow her two new friends, Suzie and Becks. I really enjoyed Judith, Becks, and Tanika. The three are very different characters at a range of different ages who are extremely interesting in their own ways. I really hope to learn more about Tanika as the series goes on since she’s not in Judith’s friend group… yet! Though, I think that she is in a way and I love how Judith, Becks, and Suzie have grown protective over her.

However, I found that Suzie was pretty annoying this time around. I hope that Suzie finds her footing because it seemed that she rarely held even half of the shared brain cell, and not in a fun way. I thought she was funny in the first book, but she was grating on my nerves this time around. However, she was pretty cool on the radio show she volunteers at, so I hope that we see a little more of the Suzie that we got to know back in the first book as the series continues.

The mystery itself is a pretty interesting one. I wasn’t sure who the killer was for a while, and then once I had come to my own conclusions, I later learned I was half right. I was so sure the other party was a red herring, but all the signs were there all book long, so it all makes sense. I also loved seeing Judith and her friends run their investigation with Tanika’s support. There is one major detail in the murder mystery that makes absolutely no sense to me, but I don’t want to spoil the story, so I’m not going to go into details. However, it is the only detail that doesn’t make sense while everything else sounds plausible.

There is another mystery plot that was interesting, and that’s the secret messages in the crossword puzzles that Judith has noticed while solving. I think it was a fun storyline, but it was out of place in the book. I think it might’ve made more sense in a different book or if the details had something to do with the main mystery that Judith is working to solve. While I do think that the crossword puzzle mystery was ultimately pretty cute, it was sadly out of place and made me feel like I changed the channel mid-movie.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and had a lot of fun reading it. The story gets rolling right away and we get to know a little more about each of the core characters while learning a lot about the new characters that entered the picture. Suzie was getting on my last nerve at times and the crossword puzzle side plot was out of place, but otherwise, I enjoyed reading this and look forward to where the series goes next.