ashleynoelle's reviews
765 reviews

*Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions remain my own.*

“Recuérdalo siempre, hijo mío: Roma eres tú.”

When no Roman citizen is willing to prosecute the corrupt Senator Dolabella, Julius Caesar steps in. The Jury has been bribed and Dolabella's lawyer has inside information, but Caesar is determined to do what he feels is right and defend Rome. Spanning from his childhood to the trial where he is a young twenty-three years old, we follow Julius as he becomes the man we all know from the history books. 

I did read the translated version of this, but I almost wish I had read the original. I always wonder if I am missing a little something with translations. With that said, this was kind of okay...but not my favorite. While this was an interesting and well researched take on the life of a young Caesar, I also found it very long and the time jumps to be slightly jarring. If ancient history is your thing, you might enjoy this. 

“Just because something seems impossible doesn´t mean that you shouldn´t try.”

Autumn and Finn have known each other their entire lives, but have drifted apart with time. Their mothers are best friends, but they no longer are. Navigating high school, in completely different social circles, while still having to see each other is not easy, but they manage. Until one night, Finn has an argument with his girlfriend Sylvie and everything changes. 

I didn't like this at all. Tthere was literally nothing about this that did anything for me. It read like a literal high schooler wrote it, which might have been something I could handle when I was in high school....but it made me insane now. Maybe I felt a little something for the mothers, but these kids mostly just needed a swift kick in the butt and a reminder that their life is really not that bad. I know that sounds insensitive, because this book really tried to play on the whole mental health thing, but as someone who suffers from depression and did as a teenager also, this still rubbed me the wrong way and did not feel authentic at all!

“Sometimes I’m scared that I imagined you. Sometimes I think you’re only in my head.”

Mallory gave up chess after it tore her family apart and has shifted her focus on caring for her ill mother and younger sisters. When she agrees to one last charity tournament, she finds herself going against the current world champion Nolan and inadvertently wins. Nolan is eager for a rematch, but Mallory is adamant that was her last game. After losing her job, which is the majority of her household's income, she can't fight the pull into the competitive chess world any longer, the prize money alone will change her family's lives. She fights to keep her chess career separate from the family it tore apart, all the while fighting the pull she feels toward Nolan and this game she is learning to love again. 

This book was okay most of the time. I liked the chess element, that felt fun and interesting and definitely gave off some "Queen's Gambit" vibes. The characters felt their age, the lack of communication skills, the cluelessness, the awkwardness, the immaturity, all of this felt pretty true to the age range we were experiencing through them. This book had the potential to be great, but it just didn't make it there. My biggest peeve, and yes it bothered me so much that parts of the book were ruined for me, was that this doesn't feel like a YA romance. Sure, it had a fade to black moment, but does that even matter when it is literally talked about in detail throughout the book anyway? This felt like a failed attempt at writing in the YA space and in my opinion, this is one of the few moments where I feel the author should have just aged up the characters and written the scene out the way it seemed like she wanted to and marketed this as an Adult novel.

“I wouldn’t hate it, you know? I wouldn’t hate it if you were the one slaying my dragons for me.”

Adalyn has spent her entire life trying to be the perfect daughter for her father, owner of the Miami MLS team, in hopes of inheriting someday. When a video of her and the team mascot engaging in an altercation goes viral, he sends her off to North Carolina to create a comeback story of the girl's little league team there, while he tries to clean up the PR mess. Cameron is a retired goalie just looking for a bit of peace in the Appalachian Mountains when he quite literally gets hit by Adalyn's car. After this he is intent on getting this massive chore of a woman out of his town, too bad he's coaching the team she is here to rally. 

I really enjoyed this one, and I don't know if it was because it had a soccer angle to it, or if I just really loved Cam's grumpiness. The fun part was Adalyn, also totally a grump and I was weirdly here for the grumpy x grumpy collaboration. It's not a secret that soccer is life in my household, so I also really loved getting a little bit of that in my romance novel. The slow burn was done well, I felt the tension the entire time and it was delightful!

“No oath is worth your life. No amount of vengeance is worth your happiness. I'll let the past burn to ash, Freya, because you are my present. My future. My destiny."

Freya is trapped in a fishing village, trapped into a loveless marriage to a horrible man. When her husband betrays her to the jarl she finds herself in a fight to the death with Bjorn, exposing her biggest secret, she has goddess blood within her. Freya's magic can empower a shield to withstand anything and the foretelling's of one with this magic say that she will reunite the kingdom under the one who holds her fate. The power hungry fanatic of a jarl takes her and binds her to him with a blood oath to ensure he is the one to control her fate. Freya has to train to become a warrior, learn how to control her magic, and attempt to resist the persistent draw she feels to Bjorn all while trying to navigate through new politics and people trying to kill her. 

I really enjoyed this one, the mythology was a ton of fun to dig into! I loved the banter between Freya and Bjorn, but for some reason I couldn't stop thinking their story kind of felt familiar, and don't hate me for the comparison, but it felt like FBAA. Which also let me to predicting who the spy in their midst was pretty early on, which made me roll my eyes just a tad. So had to knock off a star for that, but everything else was beautifully done. The world building was amazing, as well as the angst between the two main characters. Can't wait to see where this goes in book two

“Every emotion pours through his kiss, and this is what finally convinces me that he's real."

Tessa is stranded in another country mourning her losses and desperate to find a way back to Kandala. Corrick and Lachlan are being held captive by Oren Crane, Rian's largest and most dangerous threat, they will have to work together to make it through. All the while King Harristan has been dethroned by his consuls and accused of poisoning his people. He is in hiding, trying to find a way to hold his kingdom together. 

This conclusion hit me hard! This whole series was a pleasant surprise in how much I loved it. I don't know why but for whatever reason, I just didn't think it would live up to her previous series, which I also loved. The last few chapters had me sobbing and hurting, and even though I hoped the ending would turn out the way it did, I wasn't super confident I was right and I was so happy when it all happened! I don't get very emotionally invested in YA fantasy anymore, but this was done so well!!!

“You are so full of rage for someone so small and cute,”

Anastasia is determined to make it to the Olympics and getting a scholarship and a spot on the University of California - Maple Hills skating team seems to be a huge step in that direction and something she has worked her whole life towards. Nate's focus as Captain of the Hockey team has always been to keep his team on the ice and keep winning, he's already been drafted but wants to finish his education and the commitment he made to his team. When the hockey team's ice rink is vandalized they are all forced to share ice time with the skating team. Anastasia can't stand having her schedule messed with and a bunch of sweaty hockey players are now invading her ice time. After her skating partner gets injured and Nate gets benched, he decides to fill in as her partner for practices. 

This was fine, it definitely gave me some Elle Kennedy vibes, but didn't hit me in my emotions like her books do. I love Nate, he's adorable and lovable and determined. Anastasia, made me want to scream. I get she is the grump in this grumpy/sunshine situation, but the fact that she was being abused and manipulated by Aaron the entire time they were friends and she couldn't see it makes me batty. I get this happens, but she goes on and on and on about how much therapy has helped her and is regularly seeing her therapist...how has this relationship NOT come up in therapy??? I also really like a fun friend group situation, but this one seemed so big I couldn't keep up with all of the side characters, which was frustrating, because I think I could have really liked that piece if it was scaled back a tad. Otherwise, I did like this book, Nate's balance of persistence and giving her space, knowing she wasn't ready, and his ability to read that was heartwarming. 

*This book was received free of charge via Goodreads giveaway! All opinions remain my own.*
 
“We only die if we are forgotten. Burn bright. Burn brief. But burn.”

Gabriel has saved Dior but the adventure is not over, somehow along the way, they have built an uneasy alliance with beasts and monsters that Gabriel once swore to rid the world of, but they are the only hope he has of deciphering how to end Daysdeath without ending the Grail herself. With their enemies coming from all directions, Gabriel will do anything to keep his promises to Dior and stay at her side, even if it means landing himself in the middle of a war. 

I took a really long time with this one...only because of my own mental health and needing to be ready for the heartbreak this would inevitably wreck me with. It's no secret that I am a huge Jay Kristoff fan but being one has also taught me that his books are going to hurt at some point. So this one had to get put down for a bit while I sorted out my real-life mental state. With that said, this was AMAZING! I wasn't entirely sure how it could hurt more than the first one, but somehow he made it just as painful and sometimes more so. This book is dark and gruesome but also full of heartwarming relationships and love sometimes getting a win, albeit a small one. Waiting on the next one will be painful. 

*Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for a honest review. All opinions remain my own.*

“So instead of committing robbery, I made tea.”

A strange murder has occurred and Ana is called in to investigate. Ana is known not only for her brilliance but also her quirks and with her is her new assistant Din, an engraver with his own secrets. Din's job is quite literally to observe and report, as Ana insists on wearing a blindfold and avoids leaving her home. As an engraver, Din has been magically altered to possess perfect recall of the things he observes, suiting Ana's purposes perfectly. The two utilize their unique skills to work toward uncovering a scheme that could threaten the entire empire. 

I really enjoyed this one. It was a tad difficult for me to get into in the beginning, but once I was in it, I began to appreciate it's uniqueness and became very curious to see how it all played out. This book mixed a murder mystery with a fantasy world with a splash of Sherlock Holmes level detective work. Bennett has always had a knack for building a unique and fascinating world to be immersed in and I found he did the same here. I am surprisingly satisfied with this novel and excited for the next one. 

“He allows everyone to think the worst of him, and all the while, he sacrifices everything he wants for the betterment of others.”

The kingdom is still trying to curb the revolution, the king seeking a new way to lead while Corrick tries to negotiate between the rebels and the consuls. The Consuls don't want to budge on their moonflower costs and the only solution seems to come in the form of an emissary from a neighboring nation hoping to trade the medicine he has for steel to help his own country. The catch is that Corrick and Tessa will have to embark on a mission to negotiate with their king face to face, but a lot can happen at sea. 

I didn't like this one quite as much as the first one, but I am still loving this series! Took me way to long to finish, but that wasn't the book's fault, that was just real life getting in the way of my reading life. The cliffhanger ending had me wanting to jump immediately into the next one, so that is what I am trying to do as soon as I get my hands on it.