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fayesexpandingbookshelf's Reviews (97)
Emmette and Quinto’s story moved me so much. I’m always a fan of a good second chance romance trope and this book did it well. Dominic Lim crafted the perfect love story, and he did it while incorporating bits and pieces of Filipino culture throughout the entire book. Sometimes we meet the right people at the wrong time and if we’re lucky they come back around when the time is right.
This book gets a 5/5 from me.Though the spice is minimal id that’s your thing it’s at most a 1 ⁄ 5 on the spice scale. I absolutely loved Quinto’s story. I even found myself engrossed in the side character’s stories. I truly want to know more about Ujima and their journey to becoming the person they were born to be. This is a must read for your TBR, especially if you love queer love stories.
Just as a warning there are brief mentions of possible SA in part of the book but nothing graphic so keep that in mind before reading.
This book gets a 5/5 from me.Though the spice is minimal id that’s your thing it’s at most a 1 ⁄ 5 on the spice scale. I absolutely loved Quinto’s story. I even found myself engrossed in the side character’s stories. I truly want to know more about Ujima and their journey to becoming the person they were born to be. This is a must read for your TBR, especially if you love queer love stories.
Just as a warning there are brief mentions of possible SA in part of the book but nothing graphic so keep that in mind before reading.
A cozy bookshop, handcrafted teas, freshly baked bread, and love is all you need. At least that’s what the heroines of Can’t Spell Treason without Tea believe. Kianthe and Reyna run from all their responsibilities to create the life they’ve always dreamed of. In this sapphic cozy(?) fantasy you can lose yourself in the world of magic and mystery.
Now, let’s get into the real reason we’re here. Was it worth the read? In my personal opinion I loved it. It was cute. It was Sapphic. It was fantasy. All of these things are wonderful apart and even better together. Now, the book was marketed as a Cozy fantasy, and that might be a bit misleading. The stakes are a bit too high to be a cozy fantasy. People love to compare it to Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree and they’d be right to lump them together.
The thing is the similarities end at the cafe style shop that is opened in both worlds. I would point out that Baldree’s book also had conflict that was high stakes (their entire shop was threatened, and could have resulted in the MC’s death. Those are definitely high stakes). The real difference that I think pushes Thorne’s book out of the cozy fantasy genre is the world building aspect. In her book we don’t explore this bookshop turned library as something new and innovative, at least not in length. The idea was a single conversation between the two MCs. Comparing this to Baldree’s book where every concept from the coffee beans, the machine to make the coffee, to the names of the pastries they created were all new ideas in their world does give the two books two very different feels. Bladree focused on the building of the shop whereas Thorne rushed through the shop creation and focused instead on the side adventures.
This didn’t bother me too much but I get why some people are upset about being sold a Cozy fantasy and instead just getting a fantasy. Still this book is worth the read if you just want to read a high fantasy setting with sapphic love interests. I personally give the book 4/5 stars, but if you were hoping for spice you came to the wrong place.
Now, let’s get into the real reason we’re here. Was it worth the read? In my personal opinion I loved it. It was cute. It was Sapphic. It was fantasy. All of these things are wonderful apart and even better together. Now, the book was marketed as a Cozy fantasy, and that might be a bit misleading. The stakes are a bit too high to be a cozy fantasy. People love to compare it to Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree and they’d be right to lump them together.
The thing is the similarities end at the cafe style shop that is opened in both worlds. I would point out that Baldree’s book also had conflict that was high stakes (their entire shop was threatened, and could have resulted in the MC’s death. Those are definitely high stakes). The real difference that I think pushes Thorne’s book out of the cozy fantasy genre is the world building aspect. In her book we don’t explore this bookshop turned library as something new and innovative, at least not in length. The idea was a single conversation between the two MCs. Comparing this to Baldree’s book where every concept from the coffee beans, the machine to make the coffee, to the names of the pastries they created were all new ideas in their world does give the two books two very different feels. Bladree focused on the building of the shop whereas Thorne rushed through the shop creation and focused instead on the side adventures.
This didn’t bother me too much but I get why some people are upset about being sold a Cozy fantasy and instead just getting a fantasy. Still this book is worth the read if you just want to read a high fantasy setting with sapphic love interests. I personally give the book 4/5 stars, but if you were hoping for spice you came to the wrong place.
This novel was full of ups and downs. The characters were downright loveable, even when they weren’t. This novel has the "why choose" vibes we all love without actually being a why choose story.
The one thing about this novel that I did find a bit frustrating is that it seems as if the story is left unfinished, in my opinion. (I won’t go into too much detail, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you!) Still I give this a solid 4/5 stars and a 0/5 on the spice meter. The writing was done well, the main characters were done nicely (I do think some improvements could have been made but overall they were good), and it just made me want to read more about these characters within her world.
The one thing about this novel that I did find a bit frustrating is that it seems as if the story is left unfinished, in my opinion. (I won’t go into too much detail, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you!) Still I give this a solid 4/5 stars and a 0/5 on the spice meter. The writing was done well, the main characters were done nicely (I do think some improvements could have been made but overall they were good), and it just made me want to read more about these characters within her world.
Babes, we’re gonna need a good glass of wine to make it through this one!
I can NOT give enough love to this book. I love that it has a plus sized FMC who gets straight up railed by a big hot alien. The spice has been brought my darlings and it is spicy!
The romance has you wanting to smack both the main MC’s though, at least I did. They were just a bunch of blubbering dumbasses. If they’d get out of their own heads they’d have realized they were into each other WAY sooner. Thankfully miscommunication gets cleared up when a swallow of a foreign substance ( wink wink
I can NOT give enough love to this book. I love that it has a plus sized FMC who gets straight up railed by a big hot alien. The spice has been brought my darlings and it is spicy!
The romance has you wanting to smack both the main MC’s though, at least I did. They were just a bunch of blubbering dumbasses. If they’d get out of their own heads they’d have realized they were into each other WAY sooner. Thankfully miscommunication gets cleared up when a swallow of a foreign substance ( wink wink
Thank you netgalley and bold strokes books for the ARC copy of this book in wcchange for my honest opinion.
So I'll be honest, I thought I'd like this book but it just didn't do it for me.
Rating is a 2 start only because the writing wasn't completely horrible. It was a little annoying that the book jumped between POVs in the middle of chapters.
So I'll be honest, I thought I'd like this book but it just didn't do it for me.
Rating is a 2 start only because the writing wasn't completely horrible. It was a little annoying that the book jumped between POVs in the middle of chapters.
The spice! Omg the Spice! Also, we love a man who asks consent!
Had LGBTQ rep(Bi FMC) and BIPOC rep (side characters only so far)
This book is like 70%smut 30% plot BUT I was 100% hooked from the get go. I definitely recommend.
CW loss of a parent, kink, light bdsm,
Had LGBTQ rep(Bi FMC) and BIPOC rep (side characters only so far)
This book is like 70%smut 30% plot BUT I was 100% hooked from the get go. I definitely recommend.
CW loss of a parent, kink, light bdsm,
It was a cute romance, but it started a bit slow. It was a struggle to keep going at the beginning but I decided to push through and was pleasantly surprised.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I'll admit the first few were a bit rough to get through. I feel like hearing them performed would have made them easier to understand.
Still, other than that rough beginning the poetry here was raw and emotional. It was relatable is some of the worst ways even without the shared experience.
Still, other than that rough beginning the poetry here was raw and emotional. It was relatable is some of the worst ways even without the shared experience.