booksare42's reviews
602 reviews

Skyfleet: March of the Mutabugs by Victoria Williamson

adventurous

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

This review was originally posted on https://booksare42.com/

Thank you to the Write Reads for organizing this blog tour and for providing me with the materials for it. Thank you to the publisher (Tiny Tree Press) for providing me with a copy of this book for the blog tour. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

 

Skyfleet: March of the Mutabugs is a fun, fast-paced, middle-grade adventure with some great representation in it.

The Mutabugs are attacking the New World and are destroying everything. The Skyfleet base isn’t sure how much longer they’ll be able to hold on. Amberley, with the help of her best friend Ricardo, are determined to repair her parents’ plane to help save the New World and to prove that they can be valuable to the base.

Skyfleet had some disability rep in it, Amberley is a wheelchair user and Ric is not able to see without his Opti-Kit. These two characters were likeable and easy to root for. Skyfleet was fast paced and full of thrilling and intense moments.

I liked the different planes and their technology. I thought the world-building was creative. I hope there are more books set in this world because I would love to read more adventures featuring Amberley and Ric. 

Only Santas in the Building by Alexis Daria

3.5

This review was originally posted on https://booksare42.com/
 

I decided to start the Under the Mistletoe Collection with Only Santas in the Building because I’m a fan of Alexis Daria.

This was a cute little festive story. Even though the story was only 65 pages, I got a good sense of Evie and Theo and I liked both of them. I liked that I was able to get a feel for what the community in the apartment building was like and who some of the different residents were.

I thought this story had a good balance of spice and Christmas cheer. I appreciated the theme of the Christmas party and Evie and Theo’s costume attempts. There were a few slightly awkward moments during the spicier scenes, but most spicy scenes have a slight hint of awkwardness.

Overall, this was an enjoyable story. It wasn’t the most memorable, but it was a nice and quick read that got me feeling a bit more festive. 

Merriment and Mayhem by Alexandria Bellefleur

3.0

This review was originally posted on https://booksare42.com/
 

This was my first time reading anything by Alexandria Bellefleur and the second novella I’ve picked up in the Under the Mistletoe Collection.

The blurb for this novella describes the plot quite well. Everleigh Dangerfield (of course her last name is Dangerfield) has had a few holiday mishaps which has led the fire department, including Griffin Brantley, to her door. Things start to heat up between them, sparks fly, and there’s a decent amount of steam.

I found this novella to be on the cheesier side, but it was what I expected. It had a decent mix of banter and spice. I appreciated the banter and some of the comments that the two main characters exchanged. While there weren’t any laugh-out-loud moments, I did smirk a few times. There were a few cringy moments, but I find that most spicy scenes have a few cringy moments.

I’m not a fan of firefighter romances, but I think this would be a great novella for people who are fans of that trope.

While this novella took place at Christmastime, it didn’t feel as Christmasy as Only Santas in the Building.

 

All by My Elf by Olivia Dade

1.0

This review was originally posted on https://booksare42.com/

Based on what I mentioned in my post intro, it’s safe to say that I did not love All By My Elf. I went into this novella with low expectations because the average rating on Goodreads and Amazon isn’t that great, but I wasn’t expecting to dislike it as much as I did.

The first thing I want to mention is that this was not a Christmas novella. Yes, it took place at Christmas, but Christmas was not relevant to the story. It took place in winter and the dates happened to be around Christmas.

Despite not enjoying the novella, I didn’t hate the romance. I didn’t hate the awkward miscommunication and mixed signals that were going on. I can appreciate that people are awkward and might not realize that there’s some mutual pining going on. I also appreciated that the male main character tells the female main character that he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want her to feel forced or uncomfortable since they were working in close proximity.

My main issue with All By My Elf is the refurbished wienermobile. Firstly, why? Secondly, WHY?! Thirdly, why did they have to do that in the back of the wienermobile? I don’t want to get into details about what happened in the back of the refurbished wienermobile while it was stuck on the highway in the middle of the snowstorm, but it’s a romance novel so you can probably fill in the blanks. A lot of the dialogue during this scene was more cringy than usual.

The most believable part of All By My Elf is that three people working in academia would have to take on an extra job promoting mincemeat pastries during the Christmas holidays to make ends meet. It also very believable that their manager would tell them they have to drive in terrible weather conditions and that it was non-negotiable.

Overall, All By My Elf just was not for me. The refurbished wienermobile was too much, but it did make this novella memorable. 

Clues To You by Claire Huston

5.0

Merry Ever After by Tessa Bailey

2.5

This review was originally posted on https://booksare42.com/
 

This is my third time reading Tessa Bailey and I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this novella.

While I found the story to be cute enough, it was not Christmasy. This story could have taken place any time of the year and it would not have changed the story. It wasn’t overly festive and when a Christmas tree was mentioned, it was pointed out that it didn’t have any decorations on it.

This is the spiciest novella in the Under the Mistletoe Collection so far, which isn’t necessarily surprising for Tessa Bailey. What was disappointing is I don’t enjoy how Tessa Bailey writes spicy scenes. I find some of the language she uses to be awkward and I found myself skimming a lot of the spicier scenes. This was a bit of an issue with this novella since so much of it was spice.

Taking the spice out of it, Merry Ever After was cute enough. The characters had some decent banter and I enjoyed the premise. I liked the female main character and I liked that she had hopes and goals. 

Madame Eldridge's Wayward Home for Unruly Boys by Benjamin Ryan

4.0

Cruel Winter with You by Ali Hazelwood

lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

This review was originally posted on https://booksare42.com/.
 

I’ve been a fan of Ali Hazelwood since I read The Love Hypothesis, so I intentionally saved Cruel Winter With You for last. I am so glad that I did that because Cruel Winter With You was so cute!

I would gladly read a full-length novel featuring Jamie and Marc. I loved the flashbacks to their childhood and some of the other moments they had together. I loved learning about their history and I was rooting for them. I also really liked that this novella had flashbacks to their history together, it made the story feel more complete.

I loved the setting of Cruel Winter With You. I loved the idea of Jamie and Marc being stuck together in a snow storm and finally having the conversation that they desperately had to have. The snow storm and being trapped inside by the Christmas tree and near the fire also made this story feel more Christmasy, which I appreciated.

I liked getting to know Jamie and Marc and I thought Ali Hazelwood did a great job developing these two characters in such a short novella. This novella felt like it really could be a full length novel.

As far as spice goes, this novella does have spice. Nothing overly graphic though. It does have one of Ali Hazelwood’s favourite tropes though, the “he’s so big” and “she’s so small” trope.

Overall, Cruel Winter With You was adorable and my favourite one in the Under the Mistletoe Collection. 

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret by Benjamin Stevenson

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

4.0

This review was originally posted on https://booksare42.com/
 

Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret is the third book featuring Ernest Cunningham, but it can be read as a standalone. There are a few minor references to the other books, but nothing spoilery. I read Everyone This Christmas Has a Secret before I picked up Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and nothing was spoiled for me.

This quick and festive murder mystery was clever and a lot of fun. One thing that stands out is that it has 24 chapters and the reader is given the option to treat the book like an advent calendar, reading one chapter a day until Christmas. I did not do this, but I thought the option was fun.

This was a mystery where all the suspects knew each other, which is something I love. I enjoyed learning about the dynamic between the characters and trying to figure out who was lying and why. I also liked that everyone worked together and piecing together company secrets.

I liked the main character in this book, I thought he was a good narrator and I loved the dramatic monologue at the end when he laid out all of the facts. I also appreciate that Ernest Cunningham loves and studies classic crime novels and appreciated the references to Christie and the format of these books. One thing to note though, this book does contain a major spoiler for Curtain by Agatha Christie.

I thought this book had a good balance of fun moments and tense moments, though I do wish it was a bit longer. 

Funny Story by Emily Henry

4.5