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jacquelynsbookshelf's Reviews (334)
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Thank you to the author @llgrayauthor for my free copy of this book.
It’s close to Valentine’s Day and Harper is feeling the blahs. After the excitement of New Years, Harper was hoping for a bit more excitement. But be careful what you wish for. Harper decides to throw an event at the Heartwood tree. But when her and Bella find the tree something is wrong. It looks to be dying. And then the trees guardian puts a curse on Harper and the town, find the missing heart or else everyone will lose love. Harper and her friends must figure out who stole it and why. All before the wild magic takes over.
This was super cute. It was such a fun Valentine’s Day themed book, though I wish it had a bit more romance for me. The mystery was interesting. We learned more about the magic system and how it works. I love learning more about this town. I can’t wait to see what else will happen in Havenwood!
It’s close to Valentine’s Day and Harper is feeling the blahs. After the excitement of New Years, Harper was hoping for a bit more excitement. But be careful what you wish for. Harper decides to throw an event at the Heartwood tree. But when her and Bella find the tree something is wrong. It looks to be dying. And then the trees guardian puts a curse on Harper and the town, find the missing heart or else everyone will lose love. Harper and her friends must figure out who stole it and why. All before the wild magic takes over.
This was super cute. It was such a fun Valentine’s Day themed book, though I wish it had a bit more romance for me. The mystery was interesting. We learned more about the magic system and how it works. I love learning more about this town. I can’t wait to see what else will happen in Havenwood!
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
📚 ARC Review 📚
Release Date April 15, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for my free copy of this book.
Loulie, Mazen, and Rijah have made it to the realm of the jinn. On the run from Omar, they thought they would find sanctuary there, a place to regroup and make a plan to save their friends Qadir and Aisha. But instead they find the jinn realm in turmoil. It is slowly collapsing beneath the Sandsea. On one side you have a queen trying to saving the kingdom by protecting the bindings. In the other a pirate who wants them destroyed to bring the world back to the surface. The only one who can break them is Loulie. Her and Mazen will have to decide what side to be on. Their adventure is just beginning.
This has been a long awaited sequel for a book I loved! The world building is fantastic and I was excited that this book went into the jinn realm. Learning more about the world made for a dynamic book. The book is told from three POVs which for me makes it better storytelling, especially when characters are not together. This was a great follow up and the ending was so good and I can’t wait for the third book!
Release Date April 15, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for my free copy of this book.
Loulie, Mazen, and Rijah have made it to the realm of the jinn. On the run from Omar, they thought they would find sanctuary there, a place to regroup and make a plan to save their friends Qadir and Aisha. But instead they find the jinn realm in turmoil. It is slowly collapsing beneath the Sandsea. On one side you have a queen trying to saving the kingdom by protecting the bindings. In the other a pirate who wants them destroyed to bring the world back to the surface. The only one who can break them is Loulie. Her and Mazen will have to decide what side to be on. Their adventure is just beginning.
This has been a long awaited sequel for a book I loved! The world building is fantastic and I was excited that this book went into the jinn realm. Learning more about the world made for a dynamic book. The book is told from three POVs which for me makes it better storytelling, especially when characters are not together. This was a great follow up and the ending was so good and I can’t wait for the third book!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
✨ ARC Review ✨
Release Date April 29, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my free copy of this book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
1821, Positano, Italy
Mari DeLuca hates the water. It took so much from her but she will do what she must as the strongest streghe she is meant to take over for her mother. But soon she won’t be there because she is planning to leave. But that changes when the Mazza brothers show up and kidnap some of their own. Now she must do everything in her power to find her friends and end the reign of the Mazza’s.
Present Day, Positano, Italy
Haven Ambrose, nautical archaeologist, is ready to head her first large scale expedition looking and recording shipwreck off the coast of Positano. But she is also looking for gems her father saw on his last dive. Until strange occurrences start happening in the water that make people leave in droves. Her search will take her through archives, dives, and a history she never expected.
I loved this book! The author, @sarah_penner_author has done it again with this mix of modern and historical aspects. I absolutely loved this book so much. I almost went into archaeology and thought about underwater to focus on, so to have that in a book is a positive from me. She also includes witchcraft which I am focusing on this year. She melded these stories very well. I enjoy books that can do this well. This was a great book if you love a mix of historical and modern.
Release Date April 29, 2025
Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for my free copy of this book.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
1821, Positano, Italy
Mari DeLuca hates the water. It took so much from her but she will do what she must as the strongest streghe she is meant to take over for her mother. But soon she won’t be there because she is planning to leave. But that changes when the Mazza brothers show up and kidnap some of their own. Now she must do everything in her power to find her friends and end the reign of the Mazza’s.
Present Day, Positano, Italy
Haven Ambrose, nautical archaeologist, is ready to head her first large scale expedition looking and recording shipwreck off the coast of Positano. But she is also looking for gems her father saw on his last dive. Until strange occurrences start happening in the water that make people leave in droves. Her search will take her through archives, dives, and a history she never expected.
I loved this book! The author, @sarah_penner_author has done it again with this mix of modern and historical aspects. I absolutely loved this book so much. I almost went into archaeology and thought about underwater to focus on, so to have that in a book is a positive from me. She also includes witchcraft which I am focusing on this year. She melded these stories very well. I enjoy books that can do this well. This was a great book if you love a mix of historical and modern.
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
🎅🏻 ARC Reciew 🤶🏻
Thank you to @sunnybabepr for my free copy of this book.
Morgan McCann is ready to chair the biggest even of the year, the Mr. And Ms. Mistletoe Fundraising event. After her stepmom had some health issues, Morgan stepped up to take over. The event is to help raise money for victims of the Colorado wildfires. She can’t wait to make it the best event ever. Until she learns who one of the nominees is, Jason Kinsella, her best friend’s brother who she shares a secret from when she was eighteen. But she will do whatever it takes to make this event worthy of her stepmom. Jason is back home after the traumatic event of losing his best friend in a fire. He doesn’t want to the competition but when Morgan ask him to because she knows how much he loves Christmas, he can’t really say no. So he agrees to bake, sing, and dance and hopefully make it through the season. But sparks start to fly between Morgan and Jason. Will they be able to keep apart or will they let the sparks fly.
I enjoyed this book. It was cute, fun, and a quick read. The characters were fun. The competition was fun too. I liked both Morgan and Jason and I thought their chemistry was great. I think my only complaint is that it wasn’t long enough. I think I wanted more competition than just three events, though it does make sense. Overall a fun Christmas read and great for the holidays.
Thank you to @sunnybabepr for my free copy of this book.
Morgan McCann is ready to chair the biggest even of the year, the Mr. And Ms. Mistletoe Fundraising event. After her stepmom had some health issues, Morgan stepped up to take over. The event is to help raise money for victims of the Colorado wildfires. She can’t wait to make it the best event ever. Until she learns who one of the nominees is, Jason Kinsella, her best friend’s brother who she shares a secret from when she was eighteen. But she will do whatever it takes to make this event worthy of her stepmom. Jason is back home after the traumatic event of losing his best friend in a fire. He doesn’t want to the competition but when Morgan ask him to because she knows how much he loves Christmas, he can’t really say no. So he agrees to bake, sing, and dance and hopefully make it through the season. But sparks start to fly between Morgan and Jason. Will they be able to keep apart or will they let the sparks fly.
I enjoyed this book. It was cute, fun, and a quick read. The characters were fun. The competition was fun too. I liked both Morgan and Jason and I thought their chemistry was great. I think my only complaint is that it wasn’t long enough. I think I wanted more competition than just three events, though it does make sense. Overall a fun Christmas read and great for the holidays.
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Thank you to @sunnybabepr for my free copy of both books.
Jill Northrup is smart and a hard worker and she needs control. She also needs to get far away from her life as possible. So when her job offers her an opportunity for a year long contract far away from Toronto, she takes it. What she wasn’t expecting was to work with the TA who made her first year of university miserable. Alex Campbell is disorganized, perpetually late, but wants to get his startup running. So he agrees with his business partner to hire Jill to help make it happen. And he isn’t the same person he was all those years ago. And Jill might find herself unwillingly falling for someone she never saw herself with.
I enjoyed this books. I thought it was cute. And from my understanding it seems like the author did a good job of depicting anxiety and panic attacks. And how a trauma can lead to a person needing control over their life. I loved the growing relationship between Jill and Alex. It was a great development. Their romance was also just fun to read. Overall it was a cute well thought out romance and if you want one that is a bit more in depth it is a good choice.
Jill Northrup is smart and a hard worker and she needs control. She also needs to get far away from her life as possible. So when her job offers her an opportunity for a year long contract far away from Toronto, she takes it. What she wasn’t expecting was to work with the TA who made her first year of university miserable. Alex Campbell is disorganized, perpetually late, but wants to get his startup running. So he agrees with his business partner to hire Jill to help make it happen. And he isn’t the same person he was all those years ago. And Jill might find herself unwillingly falling for someone she never saw herself with.
I enjoyed this books. I thought it was cute. And from my understanding it seems like the author did a good job of depicting anxiety and panic attacks. And how a trauma can lead to a person needing control over their life. I loved the growing relationship between Jill and Alex. It was a great development. Their romance was also just fun to read. Overall it was a cute well thought out romance and if you want one that is a bit more in depth it is a good choice.
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
Thank you to Sunny Babe PR for my free copy of this book.
SPOILERS BELOW FOR NOVELLA
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Alex and Jill are now engaged. But planning a wedding seems like it should be easy for his perpetually organized fiancé. But her narcissistic mother and meddling make that harder. Alex’s first job is to make sure to be there for Jill in any way she needs. Hopefully they can make it to their wedding without too much drama.
This was an ok little novella. It was fun to get it completely from Alex’s POV. It really showed how much he loves her and wouldn’t anything for her. I didn’t care too much about the focus on getting pregnant and the countdown for when she got her birth control removed. It felt a bit weird for me. Also way more spicy scenes in this than the full length book. Which threw me off. But overall a good short story to read if you enjoyed the first book.
SPOILERS BELOW FOR NOVELLA
*
*
*
*
*
Alex and Jill are now engaged. But planning a wedding seems like it should be easy for his perpetually organized fiancé. But her narcissistic mother and meddling make that harder. Alex’s first job is to make sure to be there for Jill in any way she needs. Hopefully they can make it to their wedding without too much drama.
This was an ok little novella. It was fun to get it completely from Alex’s POV. It really showed how much he loves her and wouldn’t anything for her. I didn’t care too much about the focus on getting pregnant and the countdown for when she got her birth control removed. It felt a bit weird for me. Also way more spicy scenes in this than the full length book. Which threw me off. But overall a good short story to read if you enjoyed the first book.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
ARC Review
Thank you to @kcastauthor for my free copy of this book.
Hannah’s life isn’t going so great. She bombed the promotion and found out her boyfriend didn’t have the same idea as she did. After visiting a woman and getting a weird tarot card, she isn’t sure what to do. Until she falls into another world. The Empress card apparently sent her to Towerfall and she doesn’t want to be there. After meeting Kane, she needs a way home and back into the palace and Kane needs a way in to help save the kingdom. So they agree to pretend to be a married couple. Can Hannah make people believe she is an aristocrat and find her way back home? Can she also ignore this growing attraction towards Kane?
I loved this book. The spice was great. The storyline was fun. I love tarot cards and find them fascinating. So the fact Kristin Cast was able to take that and make this story is amazing. Hannah is a quirky character who I feel for. Kane is a strong male lead and I wish we could have gotten his POV. Overall this is a fun first book into a new world. I can’t wait to see what the author and this world has in store.
Thank you to @kcastauthor for my free copy of this book.
Hannah’s life isn’t going so great. She bombed the promotion and found out her boyfriend didn’t have the same idea as she did. After visiting a woman and getting a weird tarot card, she isn’t sure what to do. Until she falls into another world. The Empress card apparently sent her to Towerfall and she doesn’t want to be there. After meeting Kane, she needs a way home and back into the palace and Kane needs a way in to help save the kingdom. So they agree to pretend to be a married couple. Can Hannah make people believe she is an aristocrat and find her way back home? Can she also ignore this growing attraction towards Kane?
I loved this book. The spice was great. The storyline was fun. I love tarot cards and find them fascinating. So the fact Kristin Cast was able to take that and make this story is amazing. Hannah is a quirky character who I feel for. Kane is a strong male lead and I wish we could have gotten his POV. Overall this is a fun first book into a new world. I can’t wait to see what the author and this world has in store.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Thank you to the author @llgrayauthor for my free copy of this book.
It’s New Year’s Eve in Havenwood and Harper is ready for the new year. She is helping her best friend Bella with her party at her parents BnB. While looking for decorations in her attic Harper discovers a photo and a journal of a young man from the 1920s. A young man that turns out was murdered. They all realize that maybe there is a speakeasy somewhere near the BnB and with the help of the man’s ghost they find it! But now the ghost is getting stronger, and angrier. Harper and her friends must figure out who murdered him before he causes irreparable damage. Follow along as Harper and her friends try to create a New Year’s Eve party to remember while also solving an almost century old murder.
This was such a fun read for the end of the year. I am loving the characters and the town. I am hoping we won’t have the love triangleish happening for too long. But everyone is fun and the magic is interesting. Also Ignatius is back and I want more of him! Overall if you want a fun quick read to end the year or start it off this is a good pick!
It’s New Year’s Eve in Havenwood and Harper is ready for the new year. She is helping her best friend Bella with her party at her parents BnB. While looking for decorations in her attic Harper discovers a photo and a journal of a young man from the 1920s. A young man that turns out was murdered. They all realize that maybe there is a speakeasy somewhere near the BnB and with the help of the man’s ghost they find it! But now the ghost is getting stronger, and angrier. Harper and her friends must figure out who murdered him before he causes irreparable damage. Follow along as Harper and her friends try to create a New Year’s Eve party to remember while also solving an almost century old murder.
This was such a fun read for the end of the year. I am loving the characters and the town. I am hoping we won’t have the love triangleish happening for too long. But everyone is fun and the magic is interesting. Also Ignatius is back and I want more of him! Overall if you want a fun quick read to end the year or start it off this is a good pick!
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
🏠 Haunted House/Town 🏠
TW: Story contains talks about infertility.
Cassie Rutherford has just moved to the small coastal town of Boneyard Key, FL. She may have taken her friends getting married, having kids, and other such milestones a bit far. But hopefully this move will be for the better. When she runs to the local coffee shop because her laptop will not charge, she thinks maybe this won’t be so bad. The grumpy coffee shop owner might be just the friend she needs. And who cares that weird things are happening at her house. Everything is fine. Nick Royer, owner of Hallowed Grounds, loves his spooky town. He might not like all the tourists but it’s home. And when Cassie comes into the coffee shop maybe he is willing to open up again. But can he be with someone who doesn’t believe in ghosts? How will the ghosts play into their story?
This was adorable. I loved both the characters. The ghost storyline was well done and not too over the top. The town sounds super cute and I would definitely want to visit it. I am looking forward to seeing what other stories come up in this series.
TW: Story contains talks about infertility.
Cassie Rutherford has just moved to the small coastal town of Boneyard Key, FL. She may have taken her friends getting married, having kids, and other such milestones a bit far. But hopefully this move will be for the better. When she runs to the local coffee shop because her laptop will not charge, she thinks maybe this won’t be so bad. The grumpy coffee shop owner might be just the friend she needs. And who cares that weird things are happening at her house. Everything is fine. Nick Royer, owner of Hallowed Grounds, loves his spooky town. He might not like all the tourists but it’s home. And when Cassie comes into the coffee shop maybe he is willing to open up again. But can he be with someone who doesn’t believe in ghosts? How will the ghosts play into their story?
This was adorable. I loved both the characters. The ghost storyline was well done and not too over the top. The town sounds super cute and I would definitely want to visit it. I am looking forward to seeing what other stories come up in this series.
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Thank you to the author for my free copy of the book.
Harper Sullivan has been invited to the fanciest event of Havenwood, the Silverhorne Christmas Ball. She is excited to get a new dress, see the inside of Silverhorne mansion, and see the displays of magic that are sure to delight. And everyone gets a special piece of enchanted jewelry. During the entertainment the lights suddenly go out and when they turn back on, jewelry has been stolen. Now it’s a race against the clock, and the storm, to find the jewel thieves before they can leave the property. Can Harper and her group of old and new friends find the culprits in time?
This was such a fun and cozy Christmas book. I really want this town to be real so I can visit. The setting was whimsical and the mystery a good one. I loved the descriptions, especially of the dresses. It was nice to get more of the Silverhorne family too. I hope to see more of them. I did miss the little dragon in this one! Overall, if you need a fun, cozy Christmas book check this one out!
Harper Sullivan has been invited to the fanciest event of Havenwood, the Silverhorne Christmas Ball. She is excited to get a new dress, see the inside of Silverhorne mansion, and see the displays of magic that are sure to delight. And everyone gets a special piece of enchanted jewelry. During the entertainment the lights suddenly go out and when they turn back on, jewelry has been stolen. Now it’s a race against the clock, and the storm, to find the jewel thieves before they can leave the property. Can Harper and her group of old and new friends find the culprits in time?
This was such a fun and cozy Christmas book. I really want this town to be real so I can visit. The setting was whimsical and the mystery a good one. I loved the descriptions, especially of the dresses. It was nice to get more of the Silverhorne family too. I hope to see more of them. I did miss the little dragon in this one! Overall, if you need a fun, cozy Christmas book check this one out!