court4nier's reviews
25 reviews

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst

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hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

3.75

If you enjoyed Legends and Lattes or The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, wrap one of those into a very cozy Sherpa sweater and you have The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst.

In The Spellshop, we meet our main character Kiela, a semi agoraphobic librarian that prefers books over people. With her city near ruins, she and her assistant Caz (a sentient spider plant) flee with a crate of spellbooks to the only other place she’s ever called home. But the island is not what it once was with magic missing and Kiela- with the help of the sweetest cast of side characters- is determined to save it.

I wasn’t exactly sure what cottage core was, but this is it. Not only was The Spellshop heartwarming, but it was full of magic, friendship and a little bit of romance. Where could you go wrong? When all the action filled fantasy gets a bit too intense, nothing will calm the heart like reading The Spellshop.

Cue the Sun!: The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum

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informative relaxing medium-paced

4.5

If you, like myself, grew up in the 90s and early aughts, reality tv has been playing in the background on that chunky box of a television our entire lives. It’s the tv genre everyone loves to hate and hates to love.

In Cue the Sun! The Invention of Reality TV by Emily Nussbaum, we are walked through the history of reality television, from the Newlywed Game all the way to The Real Housewives of whatever city is currently on.

Throughout the book, Nussbaum dives into some of our most iconic reality shows chronologically to demonstrate not only how the genre came to be, but how each show shaped the future of television. (All while being the black sheep of the TV world.)

For myself, someone who has loved reality tv their whole life while also complaining about it (keeping up the kardashians irks me) this book is everything. Not only is Cue the Sun! packed with information, it’s told like a tell all full of industry gossip. Not only did I gobble this up, I found myself down memory lane watching old favorites like The Real World and Big Brother. Say what you will about reality tv, but it’s definitely a cultural time capsule that is readily available to everyone everywhere. It deserves its time in the sun, and luckily for us, Emily Nussbaum shined a light on it for us! 

10/10 would and will recommend
Book of Night by Holly Black

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.75

The Rom-Commers by Katherine Center

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Katherine Center! Come through!! I still have not lifted my jaw from the floor! I love The Rom-Commers and it is absolutely one of my favorites of Katherine Center’s thus far.

In this story, we follow screenwriter Emma Wheeler as she gets the amazing opportunity to work with (and help save the reputation of) one of her favorite writers, Charlie-Freaking-Yates. But like they say, never meet your heroes…
The Rom-Commers is full of love, family and awkward moments that will leave you laughing out loud.

I personally read this one via audiobook, and I cannot tell you how much I loved the voice of Emma in this story. Patty Muirin was phenomenal. Every inflection given to Emma’s dialogue was perfect and on point. If you have the choice I highly suggest you listen to the audiobook.

The Rom-Commers definitely gets a 5/5 stars from me and I will be recommending it to anyone and everyone in my path.
Everything We Never Said by Sloan Harlow

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

While Ella grieves the loss of her best friend Hayley, senior year is the last thing she wants to think about. The halls are full of pitying looks, judgemental stares and memories. The only bright light is her good friend Sawyer who is there to support her in more ways than one. 

But when Ella finds herself in possession of Hayleys diary, she finds herself questioning everything and everyone.

First and foremost, teenage me would EAT THIS UP. It has drama, angst, friendship, love, SPICE!, plus an ending that you don’t see coming. As an adult, however, I felt a liiiitle bit weird reading the spicy scenes between teenagers. But, I’m happy to see it in a YA novel because… well things are intense when you’re young and it's believable. 

My only real complaint with this entire book is the opening paragraph feels a little Edgar Allen Poe-y for a teenager's inner dialogue. But it doesn’t stay that way so keep going!