thebookishmama's reviews
377 reviews

Heat of the Everflame by Penn Cole

4.0

WHAT. Gahhhh okay okay, let me get my thoughts together here. This book was wild!!! The pacing is different than the other two, this one is definitely bulk of the storyline. There’s a lot that has to get done to set it up, I get that. At times it did start to lose me especially when it felt like the same stuff kept happening almost a little too similarly? But beyond that, I was on the rollercoaster of a lifetime with this one. Didnt know what to expect, didn’t know where it could go, didn’t know I was gonna survive. This book is a gosh darn beast filled with literally every aspect of a fantasy novel you could want. Secrets, drama, politics, love, friendship, magic, more secrets, betrayal, and so much badassery. I am baffled by that ending and idk how the heck this series is gonna end now but I can tell you right now I will not be breathing until book 4 is in my hands. And then I will not be breathing until it is done.

Seven Summers by Paige Toon

4.0

There is just some bring about Paige Toon’s writing that sucks me in. She makes me care for her characters so much. They have great depth and seem to go through journeys that read just like real life experiences. I knew early on this was gonna hurt, I just wasn’t sure how. And hurt me she did. I felt conflicting feelings reading this one. I kept changing my mind on what I wanted to happen. The journey she takes us on felt so real and filled with so much love and heartbreak. I really liked the idea of spreading the story across the summers, it felt familiar but I liked what Toon did with it. This story was beautiful and well written and makes me realize I need to read more of her books! 


Thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the gifted earc 

Only Love Can Hurt Like This ★★★★☆

Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood

2.0

A major no from me. Let it be clearly stated that I enjoy a steamy book, I am not shy when it comes to the books I read and the amount of steam they sometimes had. Heck, I don’t even mind when they’re not super connected before they entangle themselves together. So that isn’t my issue here at all. It started off okay. I liked the idea of the workplace rivals sort of situation, it’s worked before so why not do it again. Where this book starts and where it ends feels like two completely different books, I’m still a bit perplexed by it. I got on board with the two MCs and how they came together, but for the entire book they lacked any sort of chemistry or connection. And since it’s “so not normal” for both of them to have these bigger feelings I expected the chemistry to be off the charts. Maybe part of the problem is I just didn’t click with the fmc. At first I liked that she was different, but then I thought about it and she’s really not all that different than Hazelwood’s other fmcs. Her backstory intrigued me but the more I read from her pov the less I liked her. I even tried switching to the audio to see if I would like it better and I somehow liked it worse. I think the female narration made her even harder to like. But that could just be me. I have a lot more thoughts but don’t want to be too spoilery so I’ll wrap it up here. 

There were little pieces of the story I liked but overall it’s a big no from me and I am not sure I will be continuing with Ali’s books moving forward after back to back misses. 

Other AH books:
The Love Hypothesis ★★★★☆
Love on the Brain ★★★☆☆
Love Theoretically  ★★★★☆
Check & Mate (my fav)  ★★★★.5
Bride ★★★☆☆

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver

4.5

(4.5) Well, OKAY! The tropes in this were fan-freaking-tastic. I’ll list them below but I went into it blind and had a heck of a time being surprised. I enjoy Brynn’s writing so much. It’s funny and witty and just so enjoyable that I binged both of these books so quickly. While the story is a little bonkers, it was unique and packed with humor, emotions, and depth. It was so nice to get glimpses of the mcs from the first book. I didn’t think it was possible but I love Lark and Lochlan more than the mcs from the first book. Lochlan is so grumpy and growly, which I love in a fictional man. Lark is witty and fierce and I loved her instantly.  Their journey together was just so good. The steam… my goodness! I already cannot wait for book 3! 

And that bonus chapter? 👀 hello 


Tropes/themes:
-hate to love
-marriage of convenience 
-crawl 
-nickname 
-grumpy/sunshine

A Feather So Black by Lyra Selene

5.0

Holy smokes. Okay let’s see if I can get me thoughts together. From the get go I was hooked on this book. It took exactly the first page to convince me to buy it after seeing someone talking about it on booksta. I was immediately swept away with Lyra’s writing. It’s so beautiful, poetic, and entirely artistic. It stands out so far from so many of the fantasy books I’ve read but with micro tropes and teeny pieces that made it feel right up my alley. The folktale vibes in this story are so strong. It took a little bit to get used to some of the terms used, and at times I felt that they weren’t explained well if at all. But I was still able to devour this story no problem. It’s a story with love and heartbreak at its center but with so much going on around if that I was turning pages as quickly as humanly possible to figure out how Fia was going to handle everything. And my goodness did she had a lot to handle. There is SO much I want to say but I don’t want to spoil a gosh darn thing. So, I’ll say this. Go in blind, buckle up, and enjoy the ride. A piece of me is broken knowing I have to wait until January of 2025 for the next book but I’m sure it will be worth that wait. 

BRB while I bully bookstagram to read this book!

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

4.5

 Addicting, fresh, and so well written. I was hooked on this from the start. The multiple POVs took a second to get a hold on but Corland does such a fantastic job making them all stand apart clearly that I was able to understand it easily. I really liked the premise of this. The thieves and the killers together means I spent the whole book not trusting any of them even though I desperately wanted to. I went into this blind, didn’t even read any reviews, so I didn’t know what to expect at all beyond the five main pieces. I do think it was a great way to go into this but for those that need a little more info here are some of my favorite (spoiler free) bits. There is a little bit of unexpected romance, a bit of found family, and we get different info about each character by bouncing between POVs. The way this story is told felt so organic and natural. I loved the way information was revealed and the way background was interwoven throughout the story. We get enough of each of the characters with a quick paced plot that left me eager to keep reading. And after that ending I’m dying for book 2. 

Thank you so much Red Tower for the physical arc and to NetGalley for the audio arc. 

Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto

3.5

This started so strong for me. I loved the voice and the writing immediately. Somewhere around 40% it started to lose me a bit. I was intrigued by the tension and the almost rivals aspect, loved the proximity but it started to feel like there was so much juggling going on. And I could tell early on it was going to blow up in a way that didn’t work for me. The flip from Xander being a complete jerk to basically a drooling dog over her was too quick for me. He almost read as two different characters, which yes I know he has his whole persona but idk it just didn’t work for me. Other than Jacob and Mei, I struggled to like any of the characters outside the two main ones. I think the writing was great, the premise was fun and unique, but I wish we could have had more of some bits and less of others to balance out the story more. Especially the last 15%, that pacing bothered me the most. I’ve heard such excellent things about her first novel so I’m excited to go back and read that one and I’m interested to see what she does next 

Throne of the Fallen by Kerri Maniscalco

medium-paced

4.0

Let’s take a moment for the cover, cause wow! I was excited to see this spin off book announced shortly after I finished the Kingdom of the Wicked series. I will say, this is for sure a step up in almost every way. The plot is more intense, the characters are more developed, and it’s definitely a lot more spicy. I can’t believe I’m saying this… but for me it was too smutty. That’s not to say it was all smut, but it for sure didn’t feel like it naturally fit into some of the plot points and just took me out of the reading experience. It’s good smut, just didn’t feel like it was necessary at times. It’s a pretty thick book but there was lots of intriguing characters and twists and turns that kept me wanting to read more. This is my 5th (?) book by Maniscalco and I always find her stories to be easily digestible and a good time. I’m not sure if she’s planning to do more spin offs about the other brothers of sin buuut if she is I will definitely be interested in reading them. 

Better by Far by Hazel Hayes

emotional inspiring reflective sad

Wow. I am once again blown away by Hazel Hayes writing. It is so rich and poetic and easy to get swept up in. Truly a beautiful writing voice and a beautiful story. As always, I went into this book blind and was pleasantly surprised by it. I mean, I knew I would enjoy it after absolutely adoring Out of Love for the last two years. A wonderfully raw story of grief, in more than one facet of life, this book took me through so many emotions. I could have really used this book a few years ago when I went through my first real heavy dose of grief and got lost in it. But reading it now has healed a piece of me and allowed for me to really think about the loss in a different way. Reading this also made me feel seen in some of the emotions and reactions I have felt in my own journey of walking through grief. There is so much to this story and I really enjoyed it all from the relationship to the friendship to the personal writing journey but especially the growth between Kate and her father. I don’t know how personal this story is to Hazel, but it sure reads like it’s an actual story of someone’s life. At times I forgot it was a work of fiction, that’s how real it feels. Not to sound like a broken record, but the writing in this is just truly amazing. 

Anyways, I’ll shush now but thank you so much Dutton for the early access and the finished copy and thank you Hazel for sharing this beautiful book with the world and for healing a part of my soul. 





*just a note but man the nightmares took me by surprise. That may have been the most surprising element to this and holy smokes did they freak me out at times.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Terminal illness

Learn My Lesson by Katee Robert

4.0

I know we don’t read these books for the plot but holy spice. Wasn’t expecting that much in such a small book. I’m here for it though. I also didn’t expect MMF but I am also here for that. Meg is one of my favorite Disney characters ever so I was so excited to read this one and I liked her character for the most part. I liked the tie in to book 1 and get little glimpses of those characters as this one went on. The bit of plot there was was good and intriguing but left much to be desired at the same time. Overall a great steamy time!