stephdaydreams's reviews
682 reviews

Slap Shot Surprise by Melanie Harlow

4.0

Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.5

Ridoc and Aaric, my MVPs, loved you both so much!

It took me a good while to get into this book, it was information overload, but I do blame myself because I should have reread Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. Don't be like me-- please go reread!

My engagement and enjoyment was initially hindered due to forgetting so much story-- story that is pertinent in immediately getting into the proper flow.

Eventually, it came back to me and I did get into the flow. The second half of the book is really what got me hook, line, and sinker. I was so zoned in and my pulse raced all throughout. It's the type of exhilarating feeling-- that arises both excitement and anxiety-- that you want in a fantasy read. And Onyx Storm absolutely delivered.

I loved how there was no miscommunication trope playing this time for Violet and Xaden. Their love is strengthened throughout the course of the narrative, and I'm glad it never wavered. Their romance is beautiful.

But I must admit, oftentimes my focus was less on them and more on the characters in the background. Aaric had an incredible arc in this one, Ridoc was a wonderfully impactful character, my love for Sawyer and Jesinia grew (but I needed more of them!), and I really came to embrace and enjoy Dain as both a character and his invaluable part of the team. Imogen shines in a pivotal moment! Oh and Bodhi! Keep your eyes on him too! This series has developed a supporting cast that adds life to the narrative, that raises the stakes, and that become as indispensable as the leads.

What a thriller-- best installment in the series!

4.5✨

Axe Backwards by Daphne Elliot

3.5

A Deal with the Bossy Devil by Kyra Parsi

4.0

Cross-Checked by Julia Connors

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

4.5

It took me less than 24 hours to complete Cross-Checked, I simply could not put this book down.

AJ and McCabe, my new beloveds! Watching their love story unfold was a thing of total beauty. It was a love so well earned, a journey so hard fought, and two leads who evolve so darn gorgeously. This is the type of book that leaves you swooning, leaves you breathless, leaves you triumphant, and leaves you smiling like mad. It worked perfectly for me.

Let me begin with my girl AJ.

It's so refreshing to see a heroine who is not only the older half of the couple, but also 40. A 40 that still feels young and thriving. A 40 where life is still full of lessons to be learned. AJ is a breath of fresh air to follow. My heart went out to her, life has dealt her some harsh blows, but she marches on. She held many cards close to her chest, some of which led McCabe to feel unwarranted animosity towards her. He, of course, feels it's quite warranted, but soon enough he and audience learn why those cards are held so closely. And the sacrifices AJ made to do so.

AJ is an inspiring figure, and I immediately rooted for her happily ever after. She deserves it above all else. And she sets herself on the very path thanks to McCabe's baby daughter.

The bond AJ forges with McCabe's daughter becomes the trigger that drives the two closer together, and suddenly cards loosen, walls falls, and truths are revealed. Leading the pair onto a new, unexpected yet wholly destined path.

Now to the man of the hour, McCabe. While he does hold animosity towards AJ at first, he is quick to recognize when it blinds him to certain truths. And none of it ever binds him from feeling deep respect for AJ, and trust-- trust to take care of his daughter when he has no one else. And she proves how right he is to place that trust in her hands. The domino effect of that decision allows their intertwining paths to blossom in a new direction. Repressed feelings emerge, attraction takes hold, and the heart grows bigger and bigger in love. Their relationship was simply divine. I was out there kicking my feet, curling my toes, twirling my hair, giggling like a schoolgirl. I loved how mature their love is, and how fiercely they come to protect one another-- and the family they come to form. They works together so beautifully-- and so lovingly.

This romance has it all, yearning, longing, angst, heartbreak, swoons, sweets, spice, and heart-warming triumphant.

Thank you Julia Connors for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily. 4.5✨

Give Me Butterflies by Jillian Meadows

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

5.0

Giving me butterflies, indeed! My first full 5 star read of the year is here.

I utterly adored Give Me Butterflies. It was perfect to me. Just perfect.

Millie and Finn are coworkers who initially don't initially get along, yet constantly gravitate towards (even if that means walking into) one another. After some initial misconception and temporary grumpiness from him, Millie soon sees Finn past his grumpy mask into a man who carries the heavy burden of a loved one's loss and his absolute determination to provide the best life for his whole world-- his nieces from whom he is sole guardian. Breaking that initial wall down between is the first true step into wanting to be in each other's orbit. However, as Finn is part of a judging panel that will decide a potential promotion for Millie, she draws a line that seeks nothing past friendship. But gravity is gravity-- and the pull can't be helped. Nor can it be helped how the most beautiful love story can blossom when we just let ourselves fly.

Finn is doing his absolute best to take the best care of and raise his nieces with the love and dedication. After losing his sister (the girls' mother) to illness, Finn has taken the role of parent to his nieces. And he wants to ensure they remain his priority and he never lets them down, the way his cold parents did to him and his sister time and time again. The dedication is heartwarming, although the fear of a misstep in parenting does lead to misstep in his burgeoning romancing with Millie. However, this stumble is one that I believe will have the reader sympathize with Finn rather than be angry at him. He's a green flag man from beginning to ending.

Millie. Lovely Millie. It's no wonder Finn falls so easily in love with. She is empathetic, kind, warm, and a wonderful, contagious dreamer. After seeing the true Finn he slowly but steadily gets to know him better-- and his girls. Those Fridays at his place were the most fun to read. I also adored seeing the burgeoning relationship between Millie and the girls. Oh! how readily she became part of their world, and how welcoming she and her family were of the girls when they met. Finn takes such good care of them, but it's heartening watching those girls experience love from an extended family in a way they hadn't before.

It's also heartening to watch Millie learn to trust again. After surviving a toxic relationship, Millie has many good reasons to not want to cross any lines with Finn, but along the way his words and actions demonstrate to her that she should keep her heart open. That there are hands she can hold that are full of trust, of safety, of love.

And just as she learns to trust, Finn learns to live. To live fully. Millie becomes the sun he orbits, that his girls orbit. She lights their lives up with laughter, music, and some delicious food. She brings home and comfort with her and they fall into her open embrace oh so effortlessly. Like they were always meant to fit. I fell in love with the family they formed. The family they earned.

I also appreciated that amidst the beautiful love story and the bonding found family narrative, Finn doesn't forget his deceased sister and I loved how the narrative touched upon her character and I loved even more a very special way Millie chooses to honor her memory.

Love is the theme. Love of a good, healthy relationship. Love for self. Love for family. Love for true partners. It's a beautiful theme that teaches us our worth in having love in our lives, and how to always cherish it.

Millie and Finn are so deserving of their love and I'm thrilled to have read their story. It's a book I will be recommending to all!

Thank you Avon and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily.

Down For The Count by S. Marie & Victor Rahl

4.0

Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

Fable for the End of the World is a return of my golden age of adolescence, where my grand favored reading was YA dystopia. From Hunger Games to The Host to The Giver, to all the titles that are now a distant memory, but in their moment burned oh so bright. I adored this genre and this felt like a genuine return to home. And this is a title that will be one of the ones I remember.

There were tears and gasps. There was ice in my veins, and warmy glow in my heart. There were triumphs and losses. There was love, there was sorrow. And there was a journey so worthwhile, and so lasting in memory. I was riveted by this book from beginning to ending. Ava Reid's writing remains impactful, inspired, layered, and so poignant. The world she created came to life from the moment the first page was read.

Leads Inesa and Melinoë are from very different paths of life. They are true enemies, but these enemies soon are faced with a choice of allying with one another to survive, or keeping the line between them, even if it means mutual death, they choose an alliance. It’s meant to be a fraught, fragile, temporary tie. One loosely bound until they can survive their environment and face one another again, to an engrossed expectant public's cruel delight. But as they spend more time together, the tie tightens, an unexpected bond forms, new choices are on the horizon. And realizations are made, both against a system that is rigged against them, and the realization that perhaps they share far more in common then they once believed.

Inesa is a wonderfully layered, complex character that brings soft vulnerability, relatable edges, and brazen courage to the page. Every emotion that passed through her, I felt as well. Ava Reid did a tremendous job is allowing the reader to walk in Inesa’s shoes throughout her journey. I never knew quite what to expect with every turn of the road, but I knew I wanted to stay right alongside Inesa to the end, bitter or sweet. I needed to see her journey through. She is a heroine that will be cherished in my heart always.

*I also want to shout out Luka, Inesa’s slightly younger brother. He may initially be of few words and tense moments, but his love for his sister is obvious in his efforts to protect and guide her. He was a wonderful supporting character that further layered Inesa.

Then there's Melinoë.

My heart wept for her. So much of her humanity has been stripped away. In a way she reminded me a bit of Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy, perhaps an odd choice to bring up, but I came to love Nebula in those movies and that’s because of the arc she had. From this man-made machine of destruction, to a fully, living being who asserted her own agency and forged her own destiny. Melinoë is faced with similar dilemmas and it had my heart hammering with every step she took. I sympathized so deeply with her plight. She is made to kill, to be a thing of greater purpose with no agency, only directives to follow through, but when that control is stripped away, she is left with only her reflection, and must decide what she wants that to mean to her.

I love how Inesa saw beyond the weapon that is Melinoë into the vulnerable human girl she is. Treating her as such encouraged Melinoë to reacquaint herself with her own humanity, her own fallibility, and her own courage. In turn, Melinoë shows Inesa a path of hope and love. A path where perhaps better days will come. A path they need not travel alone. If they take the chance, if they take that leap of faith.

I so adored the relationship and romance between Inesa and Melinoë. From enemies trying to kill the other, to reluctant, uneasy allies, to two young women who come to realize they aren’t so different. To something far more poignant…

Their slow burn romance is magnetic and heart-achingly breathtaking. What Inesa and Melinoë discover, achieve, and simply feel because of the other impacts their individual and intertwined arcs. Their romance comes with high stakes and it resonates and enacts consequence to the narrative. It's tightly wound to the overall plot and it left me fervent at times, scared at times, but so hopeful because of how much I desired seeing them find a way to be with one another. There is no guarantee in their triumph, but there is also no choice but to want to see it through. To cheer it on, to fight along with them against every obstacle set on their path. I do wish once that slow burn fully ignited we could have spent more time with the couple fully in love. I just needed more page time of that love. Nevertheless, that is honestly such a minor quibble, because the slow burn romance still has that massive impact upon the final act. And all I will say-- prepare the tissues. But please know-- it's so worth it.

So incredibly worth it.

If you love dystopia, high-stakes romance, evolving character arcs, and a plot that brings action and adventure-- and thrills and chills-- be sure to pick up Fable!

To Fable for the End of the World, I will absolutely remember you.

Thank you to Harper Collins and NetGalley for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily. 4.5✨

How the Heart Breaks by Stacey Marie Brown

emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.5

I have to admit, I am shocked by how much I loved this book.

I've become more and more cool on age gaps that feature one half of the pair in their late teens or early 20s, so I initially approached with trepidation. All of which is wiped away almost instantly.

It helps that our heroine, Emery, is quite young herself, 30 to the hero Mason's 19/20. It's still a number that gives me great pause, but the narrative really makes the "has an old soul" phrase work. Mason's emotional intelligence is absolutely on the same level as Emery, and that is what gave me the excitement to root for them. I wanted to see them make their relationship work. Both had suffered so greatly that it just seemed unfair to not allow them the chance to have this. But I commend the narrative for throwing the hurdles along the way-- especially the one accompanied by a very big twist.

It left me breathless.

So glad to have read this one! A new favorite I aim to purchase and place on the shelves. 4.5✨

Burn the Wild by Ava Hunter

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

Burn the Wild is deeply emotional read that finds two broken souls on a journey of healing once their paths intertwine.

I have long loved Ava Hunter's works, and one of the big reasons is how every couple she writes about stands out. They never feel like copies of one another, rather each lead, each couple, is multi-faceted, complex beings that come to life off the page. They feel real, and their vulnerabilities, fallibilities, and strife always resonate. Every character is always more than they appear, because Ava Hunter ensures they are three dimensional. And if very much the case with the leads in this story, Reese and Ford.

Even with her messy introduction, Reese is a character that immediately elicits sympathy. Her struggles made me instantly care for her, it's easy to spot right away she's far more than a troubled pop star. Then there's Ford, who is more than the typical grumpy male lead. He hides his pain just as Reese does, he hides his insecurities and his hesitation in reaching for what is his real dream. Both Reese and Ford are well versed in hiding their true selves, which is why once they meet and get to know each other, we see them blossom into their true selves. We see Reese encourage Ford to try for his dreams, and we see Ford acknowledge the true Reese and encourage her to embrace herself and reclaim her own agency.

Together, they fit so beautifully. And as swoony as all their spice scenes were, it was the scenes of emotional connection that stood out most for me. Reese and Ford brought the best out of each other, and it made rooting for their love effortless. This is is a couple you want to see make it to their happily ever after-- because it's well earned and well deserved.

I had the best time reading Burn the Wild, it's an honor to have met Reese and Ford.

Thank you kindly to Valentine PR for this advanced complimentary copy, I leave this honest review voluntarily. 4.5✨