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so_brookeish's reviews
954 reviews
Perfect Little Monsters by Cindy R.X. He
5.0
This is an absolutely riveting ya thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat and gasping with each twist and turn!
Dawn Foster just transferred to Sierton High School from Santa Cruz, she's recovering from a horrific car accident that left her father disfigured, her mother paralyzed, and everyone needing to move in with her aunt. In an effort to prove to everyone she's doing okay Dawn tries out for the cheerleading squad where she falls in with the popular crowd. At a party one day the schools queen bee, Ella, is murdered and all eyes are on the popular clique, Dawn included. Someone at the party must have done it, but who? Between bullying, cattiness, backstabbing, and sleeping around, there's more than enough people who would have a good reason for wanting Ella dead, and all of them are willing to implicate Dawn. Dawn is determined to uncover all the secrets, to clear her name, and to keep this from happening again... At all costs.
OH MY GOODNESS.
I was hooked on this one from the very beginning and couldn't believe where I ended up by the end of the book! All im going to say is this- if you think you know what's going on, you don't. This book felt very reminiscent of many YA mystery thriller books at first and as a regular reader of the genre, I was so confident I had this one figured out really early on and boy am I happy to say that instead Cindy R.X. He took me on such a rollercoaster I couldn't be any happier that I didn't guess what was actually happening!
This book was twisty, exciting, engaging, and so smart! If you enjoy phycological thrillers that are fast paced and play out like an excellent movie or mini series in your head, this one is for you!!
Fair warning- it is YA but comes with some pretty hefty content warnings. Bullying, mental illness, eating disorder, and suicide are the most prevalent. I would only recommend this one to upper YA readers and more mature audiences!
Dawn Foster just transferred to Sierton High School from Santa Cruz, she's recovering from a horrific car accident that left her father disfigured, her mother paralyzed, and everyone needing to move in with her aunt. In an effort to prove to everyone she's doing okay Dawn tries out for the cheerleading squad where she falls in with the popular crowd. At a party one day the schools queen bee, Ella, is murdered and all eyes are on the popular clique, Dawn included. Someone at the party must have done it, but who? Between bullying, cattiness, backstabbing, and sleeping around, there's more than enough people who would have a good reason for wanting Ella dead, and all of them are willing to implicate Dawn. Dawn is determined to uncover all the secrets, to clear her name, and to keep this from happening again... At all costs.
OH MY GOODNESS.
I was hooked on this one from the very beginning and couldn't believe where I ended up by the end of the book! All im going to say is this- if you think you know what's going on, you don't. This book felt very reminiscent of many YA mystery thriller books at first and as a regular reader of the genre, I was so confident I had this one figured out really early on and boy am I happy to say that instead Cindy R.X. He took me on such a rollercoaster I couldn't be any happier that I didn't guess what was actually happening!
This book was twisty, exciting, engaging, and so smart! If you enjoy phycological thrillers that are fast paced and play out like an excellent movie or mini series in your head, this one is for you!!
Fair warning- it is YA but comes with some pretty hefty content warnings. Bullying, mental illness, eating disorder, and suicide are the most prevalent. I would only recommend this one to upper YA readers and more mature audiences!
Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings
4.0
An easy 4⭐️ for this sapphic romance!
This story is about Opal, an artist who wins the lottery and buys a flower farm to escape her floundering life and have room to let her creativity flourish, and Pepper the owner of the farm who didn’t know it was for sale!
Pepper and Opal were so chaotic, tender, and whimsical together- I loved it! Both characters are neurodivergent (the rep was amazing!), one character had chronic migraines, one character was Bi and the other was queer.. needless to say the rep in this story was A+ and all was handled exceptionally well in my opinion! Books like this make my heart swell, the feminism is always top notch, the communication and space holding makes me smile, and the side characters shine bright like the little found family they are!
Read this if you like:
-forced proximity
-opposites attract
-sapphic romance, bi + queer pairing
-neurodivergent rep
-migraine rep
-let’s just bang one out
-flower farm settings
-competition plots
-complicated mother/daughter interactions
-winning the lottery
All in all I really had fun with this one! If you get a chance to listen to the audio DO IT! The performance was FANTASTIC
This story is about Opal, an artist who wins the lottery and buys a flower farm to escape her floundering life and have room to let her creativity flourish, and Pepper the owner of the farm who didn’t know it was for sale!
Pepper and Opal were so chaotic, tender, and whimsical together- I loved it! Both characters are neurodivergent (the rep was amazing!), one character had chronic migraines, one character was Bi and the other was queer.. needless to say the rep in this story was A+ and all was handled exceptionally well in my opinion! Books like this make my heart swell, the feminism is always top notch, the communication and space holding makes me smile, and the side characters shine bright like the little found family they are!
Read this if you like:
-forced proximity
-opposites attract
-sapphic romance, bi + queer pairing
-neurodivergent rep
-migraine rep
-let’s just bang one out
-flower farm settings
-competition plots
-complicated mother/daughter interactions
-winning the lottery
All in all I really had fun with this one! If you get a chance to listen to the audio DO IT! The performance was FANTASTIC
Savor It by Tarah DeWitt
5.0
Holy moly, Tarah Dewitt can’t be stopped!
I fell in love with Tarah’s writing with her debut, indie published novel, Rootbound, the month it released (a nit so humble brag, im dang proud to have watched her career take off) and I haven’t been able to stop reading her words since! I've read all of her works multiple times and can say with absolute certainty that 'Savor it' is without a doubt my new favorite book of hers, and that’s saying something as I’ve loudly championed every other book written by Tarah!!
Its taken me a week to write this full review because my initial reaction was "No words, no notes, read the dang book everyone!" but i'll do my best to put out into the world how this book made me feel!
Let's start with the plot: Sage Byrd (my new fictional bestie) has lived in the costal town of Spunes, Oregon her entire life and quite frankly its a dang good life. She is beloved, she runs a quaint, if not eclectic hobby farm, and she has some beautiful friendships.. but after her relationship of 5 years with the town golden boy ends and he immediately gets engaged, Sage needs a win.
Spunes hosts an annual summer festival, a summer competition that is the perfect opportunity to prove to the town that she's doing great and they can all stop pitying her.. but first, she needs to find a partner.
Fisher Lange (my new fictional book boyfriend) was a hot-shot chef until the shocking loss of his sister left him numb, grieving, and responsible for a niece, Indy. With Fishers grief comes an apathy towards cooking and he looses his Michelin star as well as his job. Fisher finds himself in Spunes with Indy, taking a much needed sabbatical, and consulting on a new restaurant opening in the small town!
Unfortunately for Fisher, small towns can be hard to settle into as an outsider and after clashing with the townspeople and then kissing his new neighbor, dating rumors begin to fly. Sage sees and opportunity to fix Fishers image AND secure herself a partner for the competition.. what's a little mutually beneficial deal between new neighbors anway!?
This book is so heartwarming and I think might just be Tarah's softest book yet, in the best way! My heart was a tear stained puddle by the end of this story. Fisher and Sages love is healing, steamy, emotional, supportive, revelatory, and just plain lovely to read about! The puns are fantastic, the jokes and innuendos are hilarious and endless, the relationships all the way around are heartwarming, and the one lines had me dying to get my hands on my pre-ordered physical copy asap so I could annotate to my hearts content!
The characters are where this book shines! Sage is a homebody, she's grounded, settled, a little self deprecating, a bit of a people pleaser, and the one the everyone comes to for advice because she loves deeply, immensely, and she shows it. Fisher is on a mission to figure his life out, and as he is healing, and confronting the hard things he's incapable of falling in love with sage, with the town, and with his passions again. Fisher shows you over and over agin how much and how deeply he loves Sage, it so moving you feel it, their love literally leaps off the page and weaves its way into your chest!
All this to say- 5 stars and easily a top romance of the year for me (literally to no ones surprise!) its going on my forever favorite shelf as soon as it gets here. I believe what makes reading so lovely and unique is the way books can make you feel seen. Tarah did that for me with this one.
PS- the audio was FANTASTIC!! Karissa Vacker and Zachary Webber did a phenomenal job at this dual narration. I couldn't get enough of it!
Read this if you love:
-Forced Proximity
-mutually beneficial arrangement
-a "just for the summer" romance
-Single guardian
-hot chef
-quirky animals
-caretaking
-steamy romance with plenty of hot on page intimacy
-training for a competition
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins for for advanced ebook as well as Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!
I fell in love with Tarah’s writing with her debut, indie published novel, Rootbound, the month it released (a nit so humble brag, im dang proud to have watched her career take off) and I haven’t been able to stop reading her words since! I've read all of her works multiple times and can say with absolute certainty that 'Savor it' is without a doubt my new favorite book of hers, and that’s saying something as I’ve loudly championed every other book written by Tarah!!
Its taken me a week to write this full review because my initial reaction was "No words, no notes, read the dang book everyone!" but i'll do my best to put out into the world how this book made me feel!
Let's start with the plot: Sage Byrd (my new fictional bestie) has lived in the costal town of Spunes, Oregon her entire life and quite frankly its a dang good life. She is beloved, she runs a quaint, if not eclectic hobby farm, and she has some beautiful friendships.. but after her relationship of 5 years with the town golden boy ends and he immediately gets engaged, Sage needs a win.
Spunes hosts an annual summer festival, a summer competition that is the perfect opportunity to prove to the town that she's doing great and they can all stop pitying her.. but first, she needs to find a partner.
Fisher Lange (my new fictional book boyfriend) was a hot-shot chef until the shocking loss of his sister left him numb, grieving, and responsible for a niece, Indy. With Fishers grief comes an apathy towards cooking and he looses his Michelin star as well as his job. Fisher finds himself in Spunes with Indy, taking a much needed sabbatical, and consulting on a new restaurant opening in the small town!
Unfortunately for Fisher, small towns can be hard to settle into as an outsider and after clashing with the townspeople and then kissing his new neighbor, dating rumors begin to fly. Sage sees and opportunity to fix Fishers image AND secure herself a partner for the competition.. what's a little mutually beneficial deal between new neighbors anway!?
This book is so heartwarming and I think might just be Tarah's softest book yet, in the best way! My heart was a tear stained puddle by the end of this story. Fisher and Sages love is healing, steamy, emotional, supportive, revelatory, and just plain lovely to read about! The puns are fantastic, the jokes and innuendos are hilarious and endless, the relationships all the way around are heartwarming, and the one lines had me dying to get my hands on my pre-ordered physical copy asap so I could annotate to my hearts content!
The characters are where this book shines! Sage is a homebody, she's grounded, settled, a little self deprecating, a bit of a people pleaser, and the one the everyone comes to for advice because she loves deeply, immensely, and she shows it. Fisher is on a mission to figure his life out, and as he is healing, and confronting the hard things he's incapable of falling in love with sage, with the town, and with his passions again. Fisher shows you over and over agin how much and how deeply he loves Sage, it so moving you feel it, their love literally leaps off the page and weaves its way into your chest!
All this to say- 5 stars and easily a top romance of the year for me (literally to no ones surprise!) its going on my forever favorite shelf as soon as it gets here. I believe what makes reading so lovely and unique is the way books can make you feel seen. Tarah did that for me with this one.
PS- the audio was FANTASTIC!! Karissa Vacker and Zachary Webber did a phenomenal job at this dual narration. I couldn't get enough of it!
Read this if you love:
-Forced Proximity
-mutually beneficial arrangement
-a "just for the summer" romance
-Single guardian
-hot chef
-quirky animals
-caretaking
-steamy romance with plenty of hot on page intimacy
-training for a competition
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins for for advanced ebook as well as Macmillan Audio for the advanced listening copy!
Fragile Sanctuary by Catherine Cowles
5.0
Catherine Cowles can do no wrong, she has consistently blown me away time and time again, has become an auto-buy author for me, and Fragile Sanctuary might just be her best (and spiciest! 🔥) book yet!! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I had the immense honor of reading this book as an ARC for Catherine and was completely blown away by this story, what a fantastic way to start off her new Sparrow Falls series!
After Ashes of You I’ve been itching to get Anson’s story.. I knew I’d fall hard for this brooding and reclusive hero with a broken past and I’m not at all surprised that this man is one of my favorites Catherine has written! Rho was his perfect match, she is sunshine, and grief, and strength, and hope. She has so much goodness and light in her, in spite of all her heartache, that it pierced right through Ansons darkness. These two MCs saw each other and understood one another in the loveliest way. I had the biggest grin on my face as I read about them falling in love!
Read this if you love:
-Romantic suspense (Catherine is the queen of this subgenre!)
-Brothers best friend
-Age gap
-“Reckless” 💕
-Loathe to Love
-Grumpy/Sunshine ⛈️☀️
-Forced proximity
-Found family (I can’t wait to read all of their stories!)
-Serial Unaliver 💀
-Hilarious grandmas
-Scene (and sandwich) stealing dogs!
-Flowers 🌸
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
4.25
I read this one for the first time in 2009 when I was 19 and hadn’t picked it up sense! A couple of months ago I got the urge to reread it and I’m so happy I did! This series served all of the upper YA nostalgia I was hoping it would! I remember feeling flooded with emotions at 19 and this reread as an adult took me back to those overwhelming and all consuming feelings of love, heartache, joy, passion, and fear of the future looming!
I loved it! I also love it’s been long enough that some parts felt fresh and new because I had forgotten them! 😂
I loved it! I also love it’s been long enough that some parts felt fresh and new because I had forgotten them! 😂