sarahesterman's reviews
211 reviews

Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik

3.75

Tell Me You Need Me by Lucy Darling

3.5

The Deep Sky by Yume Kitasei

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Saved By My Alien Husband by Rachel H. Drake

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

Heads up: I received an advanced reader copy (ARC) of this book (thank you to NetGalley and Aria James Publishing). 

Umm how was I supposed to just pass by a cover on NetGalley that featured an alien with what looked to be a prehensile tail (if you know you know, and if you don’t… well, I will not be elaborating further) and cats with space helmets on??? 

Ok, so this book was generally fast-paced and pretty silly (in the good way), despite the end-of-the-world situation. 

I will say, though, that since Haven and Delphine already know each other by the time they meet irl—and they’re already in love and married, thanks to Haven’s peoples’ customs—there’s a lack of romantic tension in this story, to the point that it doesn’t feel like a genre romance at times, so much as it feels like a super cozy apocalyptic politics story with spice and a romance subplot. And because of that, the spice felt like it had less payoff because their relationship was a given from the start. 

Even so, I had a good time. 

This is a shortened version of my review. Read the full thing. Let’s be friends on threads, bluesky, and bookstagram. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Calamity by Constance Fay

adventurous emotional funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

That Time I Took Down A Cult by Rebel Carter

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

If you’re a reader who isn’t willing to suspend your disbelief indefinitely, this book probably isn’t for you. Lore enters the story as it goes, so you never have quite all of the info about the world the book’s set in, nor the magic that abounds. Because of that, I will admit I got lost a few times. (Like how exactly did Buffy end up married to Wrath? That’s still not clear to me and I reread the beginning a few times to try and figure it out.) 

I’ll also say that if you’re looking for a capital R romance where the story revolves around the characters meeting and falling in love—this isn’t that. It’s pretty instalove-y and while the physical intimacy evolves as the book progresses, the love between them doesn’t quite seem to. Which, imo, is fine, so long as you’re there for the cult revenge story and fine with the romance being a subplot. 

Ultimately the thing that kept this from being an “omg I loved it” book, though, was that the pacing is inconsistent. The beginning and end are very fast-paced, but the middle just sort of drags. I actually feel like there’s at least one scene that could have been cut to move things along to the climax of the story. 

All that said, this was still a really great time, and I look forward to reading more from Rebel Carter. 

website | threads | bluesky | booksta 

Star Crossed by Heather Guerre

4.0

Kissing the Hitman by Ella Goode

3.75

Whirlwind by Kayla Grosse

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Accidentally Kidnapping The Biker by Lizzie Quick

3.5