koistyfishy's reviews
362 reviews

4 Missing Name Tag Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5

THIS IS NOT A WHY CHOOSE - which was the first very quick realisation I made and I was initially disappointed because I might have gone into this thinking it was RH and not Love Triangle, and I do not like Love Triangles...

Actually, I hate them - WHICH IS WHY THIS IS SUCH A SHOCKER because I was legitimately ADVOCATING to get my friends (who also dislike the Love Triangle trope) to give this a try because it was so much fun and the trope was done really well!

This book is a three-person POV following Eliza, Tom and Oscar (Harvey) but most of the book is spent in Eliza's perspective. She is running away from her life and problems in the UK for 6 months, while she joins a crew onboard a Carribean luxury cruise liner as part of the entertainment staff. There is nothing for her in England so she sets on this journey to find herself, with one rule -DO NOT MIX BUSINESS WITH PLEASURE! She will let nothing distract her from her goal of doing a good job, but soon finds not one, but two very pleasurable-looking distractions in the crew that will make her rule VERY HARD TO FOLLOW!

I am sure the advert she applied for read:
Wanted:
ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴏᴏᴋɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ʀᴜɴ ᴀᴡᴀʏ ꜰʀᴏᴍ ᴀʟʟ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ᴀᴛ ʜᴏᴍᴇ?
ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ʜᴏᴛ ꜱɪɴɢʟᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴀʟᴇɴᴛᴇᴅ?
ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴍꜰᴏʀᴛᴀʙʟᴇ ʙᴇɪɴɢ ᴘᴜᴛ ɪɴ ᴍᴜʟᴛɪᴘʟᴇ ꜱɪᴛᴜᴀᴛɪᴏɴꜱ ᴏꜰ ᴀʟᴍᴏꜱᴛ ɴᴀᴋᴇᴅɴᴇꜱꜱ ᴡɪᴛʜ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴄᴏᴡᴏʀᴋᴇʀꜱ ᴡʜɪʟᴇ ᴡᴏʀᴋɪɴɢ ᴏɴ ᴀ ᴄʀᴜɪꜱᴇ ꜱᴇᴇɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀꜰᴜʟ ᴄᴀʀʀɪʙᴇᴀɴ???
ᴡᴇʟʟ ᴀᴘᴘʟʏ ɴᴏᴡ!!!!!

The plot of this is very much Eliza figuring out who she would want to see herself with, with both men having their pros and cons for why they would be a good choice. I am glad that her choices led her to who she ended up with, as he was very much my frontrunner right from the start. For me, his relationship with Eliza had more substance and foundation than just overt sexual attraction. I loved how much he cared for her, looked out for her and noticed those little things. It was really sweet to see how each and every day he and she fell more in love with each other.

Eliza is very hard on herself, and her self-esteem and worth is basically shot to shit. Having been rejected by multiple drama schools for "not being good enough", with all of her English friends having moved on, becoming famous and leaving her behind, she feels very worthless and untalented, when the opposite is very much true. She is a BEACON of energy and light that everyone cannot help but be drawn into. She is fantastic with the guests as she has a hypnotizing likeability that makes everyone want to know her - which is perfect if your job is entertaining new strangers every week.

I liked that each guy, both Tom and Oscar had their own deep backstory to explain who they were and why they behaved like they did.
Tom is instantly likeable as he is very much the funny guy, being an amateur standup comedian he brings a lot of joy and laughter to the table, but underneath he is hiding his grief as he struggles with personal loss and how that has impacted his life.
Oscar is a reformed "bad boy", with the reputation of currently being the most "unfun" person due to how serious he is. But he has a fantastic quality of making Eliza see what she is good at and rebuild that lack of self-esteem while also giving her that safety of being spontaneous, while also allowing her to open up and get out of her comfort zone.

The one thing that I found annoying about Eliza's character is that she runs away from her problems. But this is very much an intentional annoyance placed on the reader as it is a theme of who she is and how she has to learn to overcome this issue. I think why it felt a little annoying is that it dragged on very long and occurred VERY OFTEN before she learnt to work through it. Every time that she had an issue with one of the boys, she tended to run away from that confrontation and shut them out. This would just lead to drama and no communication while she spirals on assumptions. She almost always leaves it up to the boys to push her into a literal corner and confront her before she would deal with it. I DIDN'T let this annoyance influence me toooooo much because you're not going to have perfect characters who learn everything in a book. The whole point I believe is to have realistic people, and I know for a fact that almost everybody chooses to run away from their problems instead of facing them head-on - even if we say the opposite!

Something to note is that even though this is a slow-burn romance - it takes a while for actual P in V action and a "relationship" to form, there is A LOT OF STEAM!!!! Imagine the type of vibes you would get for a bunch of horny "early adults" living in a coed dorm, with drinking allowed and almost everyone is single. Basically, every time there is alcohol in their system, someone is TAKING THEIR CLOTHES OFF... (Well maybe not fully). BUT there are rowdy games, and kissing, and touching and fondling in the dark. A literal STEAM FEST that will satisfy your little smut heart as it makes you feel like you're reading something really dirty and explicit but it's not fully there yet.

This also had a really sweet found family element to the story that given all the hardship and trauma these three main characters experienced prior to the start of this book, was sweet to see how they managed to find a family in their friends aboard the ship.

Other small little things I liked about the book:
✤ All the Pop Culture References
✤ The whole "Cloud 9"-Amy name tag thing where Oscar doesn't have his actual name on his tag
✤ ALLL THE SHOW TUNES and Musical Theatre References

The Tropes ▶ and Micro Tropes ▷ that can be found in this:
▶ Love Triangle
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Workplace Romance
▶ Slow Burn
▷ Good Girl
▷ Mine
▷ It Won't Fit
▷ Forehead Kisses
▷ Public Sex
▷ View is Amazing (While he looks at her)
▷ Lift your Hips for me
▷ Surnames for Nicknames

Overall, this was FUN - and made me rethink that I might not hate Love Triangles AFTERALL!!!!!

Thank you to Phillippa Young and Netgalley for my gifted copy!
All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

3 Hotshot and Angel Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5

My problem with this book is that it is EXTREMELY forgettable, from the plot to the characters to everything related to the story—it all just dwells in the realm of mediocrity.

Now I was a little sceptical starting this when almost EVERY review was mentioning Sloane and Lucian in the book about Nash and Lina... I couldn't understand why the couple from book 3 had so much attention... BUT THAT RIGHT THERE IS THE PROBLEM. They stood out more as a couple you wanted to watch and read about in a book that WASN'T EVEN ABOUT THEM!!!!

Please note this is Book 2 in a series that cannot be read as a standalone, as the overarching plot continues and it is important to understand the previous book's events going into this - even though it follows a different couple. As a result, there might be spoilers for Book 1 (Thing We Never Got Over) - so if you do not want to see those, I might advise not reading the rest of the review. I do strongly suggest you read the review from Book 1 first and come back here after you have read the first instalment

Nash Morgan , the current chief of police and a general "Studly-Do-Right" in the community, has lost himself after being shot. The near-death experience has drained all motivation from him. Then his brother's ex, Lina Solovita—a spirited firecracker with a "pixie cut" and strong "Grumpy Black Cat" vibes—moves in next door. Lina takes shit from no one, doesn't have many friends or people close to her and lives a very private life. She also has a secret for why she is in the town on "business". When she unexpectedly literally stumbles across Nash having a panic attack at the bottom of the stairs of their apartment building, she soon finds her life and self very quickly entwined with Nash. The thing is Lina is the first person in a long while who has actually made Nash "feel" something, and he doesn't want to let that feeling go.

The biggest issue and gripe I had with this is that the story is long and boring. The two of them spend an almost exceedingly agonizing amount of time-fighting the feelings that they have for each other. The whole "will they, won't they - you don't trust me so I won't open myself" got old VERY QUICKLY...

Now I understand Nash's story was not easy. The man was shot and has repressed memories of the night. Lina likewise also had a very traumatic childhood experience and while I do applaud Lucy Score for layering a very emotionally traumatic experience into both Nash and Lina's backstory and handling it with explicit care and respect, they both need therapy. Not in a throwaway blasé way of saying it, but seriously they should have earlier on found that safe outlet to discuss and work through their trauma, move on and progress - instead of being stuck in that rut the trauma created. It made the issue of why they weren't getting together as a couple and their eventual coming together feel boring and slow because nothing happened and the plot dragged on forever and ever and ever and ever and ever... AND FINALLY CULMINATED INTO SOMETHING AT THE END.

The only reason why I kept reading this was because of the sexual tension between Lucian and Sloane and their dynamic made me curious and WANT TO READ FURTHER.

I do prefer this one holistically more than Things We Never Got Over because Knox REALLY irritated me in book 1, Nash while moapy and sad, working through his issues (albeit slowly) was a gooey cute little cinnamon roll so he made up for his brother's bad attitude.

I do love the portrayal of friendship in these books, which is a deep theme through these books. How much a Found Family becomes your real family and how much these people of Knockemout crawl into each other's lives and make them better. It's cute and adorable how this unbreakable bond forms (or grows deeper in the case of the men, as they already had a bond) and the antics that the girls get up to especially will make you giggle! I loved how they would each stand up for each other, defend each other and just be there for each other when they needed it - especially when they didn't or couldn't ask for it.

I enjoyed that this ended with Knox and Naomi's wedding- it was like being treated to an extra-length bonus epilogue of their story. It was beautiful and a great continuation of that story.

Tropes in this include:
▶ Small Town Romance
▶ Neighbours (Forced Proximity)
▶ Brother's Ex Girlfriend
▶ Instalust
▶ He Fall's First
▶ Steamy Water Scene
▶ Lost Memory
▶ Dual POV
▶ Enemies to Lovers
▶ Mine
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Cinnamon Roll
▶ Mental Health Rep
▶ "Hold on to the..."

All in all, while boring - I am not sad I read it as it made me super excited to see the culmination in book three because of the tension between Lucifer and Sloan... OMG, I can't WAIT!!! (Spoiler Alert - I LOVED IT) 

3 Room-ance Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5

What do a romance-obsessed nurse bookstagrammer and a grumpy clean freak manwhore firefighter have in common? Yeah, nothing, except they share an apartment and a hot tub, which means they are OBVIOUSLY PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER...

The more I think about this, the more problems I find with it...

This book gives me vibes similar to the Anna Farris and Chris Pine movie, "What's Your Number." Unlike the main character in the movie, who believes her love MUST be one of her exes after being told she'll never find love if she dates more than 20 people, our MC here takes advice from her grandmother, who had a whirlwind second-chance romance. As her gran managed to find her new "one," maybe her "one" is in one of the exes she left along the way. HOWEVER, she also ends up in a forced proximity situation with her best friend's fiancé's old roommate, who is now her roommate. He keeps saving her from awful dates with her exes, leading to the possibility that maybe he might be the one she is looking for after all.

Their first interaction is "memorable" in that Tara walks in on Trevor naked and balls deep in his latest one-night stand. I mean, great relationship foundation right there... learning that your new roommate is basically a manwhore... JUST expected that they become the BEST OF FRIENDS.

On the surface, this is a "sweet" little rom-com, the type you think of when you think of a rom-com book. At the start, I found it funny, I giggled, and might have actually died from some of the second-hand embarrassment. It was pretty low angst but underpinned with a heartwarming, cute relationship that gave commentary on real issues real couples face.

Tara has been hurt by love. She is pretty discouraged by it, but she won't let that get her down or persuade her that love does not exist. She is literal sunshine, optimistic, and has such a positive outlook on life, even if life has burnt her. I also really loved that she is a bookstagrammer—seeing all the little nuggets and Easter eggs relating to the booksta community was cute and relatable. I saw myself in her a lot, especially as she gushed about book boyfriends, has piles and piles of books everywhere, and loves romance tropes as much as I do. She made me laugh, and if I knew her IRL, I would have loved to be friends with her.

Now, Trevor is VERY closed off emotionally and a total grump. He is not known to be open, talkative, or communicative, or just open to ANY communication really. He has not had very good role models in love and relationships, so he has decided to guard his heart and get his release through lust instead. He would rather avoid emotionally connecting with anyone to avoid getting his heart broken.

SO, you would think, given how OPPOSITE Trevor and Tara are, they would be the PERFECT opposites attract...and here is the issue... THIS BOOK IS IN FIRST PERSON, so there isn't really anything that screams WHY TREVOR would love her—and basically love her from the first moment he saw her (which he tells her)—REMEMBER WHEN HIS PENIS WAS DEEP IN SOMEONE ELSE. It made no sense where his love came from. You are never shown how he processes his emotions, how he turns from manwhore to loving only one person, and how he allows himself to love. Given you couldn't see his thinking, there was nothing he shared in common with Tara, besides the fact that they seem to live in the same building and both like to read (even though he reads thrillers and she reads romance)—they HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON; he is a complete neat freak and she is a walking tornado of mess!

Then there is the fact that if you look deeper into it, Tara might actually need to see a therapist. She is told by more than one of her exes that she is clingy, a little overbearing, and "too much." Now, I am not saying her exes are completely right, but sometimes you do have to ask—if multiple people are saying the same thing, it might have some merit to look into it a little more, do some self-reflection, and see if there might be some self-improvement that can be done. The theme of being called "crazy" is brought up quite a bit, and while it's demeaning and sexist, in the words of Rebecca Bunch:

She jumped to extremes with her Ex's from blasé comments - but going to "planning a wedding" because of one flippant comment IS NOT NORMAL...

There was one thing I liked and that was how it used miscommunication as a plot point, with the grandmother making a very valid comment that "Relationships are hard and not all problems can be solved with a single conversation" - It was the one-time the trope being present DID NOT ACTUALLY BOTHER ME....

SPEAKING OF TROPES:
▶ Roommates to Lovers
▶ Strangers to Lovers
▶ Reformed Manwhore
▶ She's a Bookstagrammer
▶ GrumpyXSunshine
▶ Steamy Hot Tub Scene
▶ Slow Burn
▶ Opposites Attract
▶ Miscommunication

Overall, if you want a fluffy sweet romcom, this might be for you - Just don't look into it too deeply or that amazingness of it will UNFIZZLE QUICKLY.... 

4 Rebel Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️.5/5

𝗦𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝟳𝟱% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. 𝗜𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝗸 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿.

This dual POV follows Emma (with the boring name) and Preston (Side note: who calls their children Prestin in this day and age? It sounds like such a "rich" boy name - and while Prestin IS a Billionaire, you would think it's from a Rich Boy from 1920 and not 2024)

See, Emma is a little lost. She doesn't know what she wants to do with her life or what she wants to achieve. She is just stuck. But Emma also has VERY RICH FRIENDS who help her on her journey to Self Actualisation by letting her stay the summer in their house in the Hamptons. Emma seized this opportunity (because let's face it, who wouldn't?) and gave herself the objective to use the time to figure out her life, focus on herself and where she sees herself going as well as relax. What she doesn't see herself doing is becoming Prestin's fake girlfriend. But after crashing into Prestin's sister's Wedding Arrival Party that's exactly what happens. As Prestin; intrigued by the blond spitfire who threw a shoe at him as an introduction, is trying to escape his sister's single friends... and what better way to do that than to appear already attached? The catch is Prestin has never brought anyone to meet the family before so his family latch onto his new girlfriend like a bunch of leeches - but like cute cuddly little leeches that are adorable and sweet and not the gross kind. if anyone knows anything else that latches on without being gross let me know so I can edit this

Emma was an interesting character as it almost felt like she didn't have a filter - she embraced her life to the fullest and always appeared to say directly what she was thinking or feeling - which is great because there is no room for miscommunication. She is also quite bold in her sexuality and embraces her attraction and sexual tension with Prestin quickly. She is a risk taker and I loved that she wasn't afraid to take those risks leaving her in the position of wondering what if later.

Prestin is your typical reformed playboy who now takes life too seriously. A pro-football quarterback who is dealing with facing the announcement that the next season will be his last, so he can pursue other aspects of life. He is known for always being stern and hardly smiling. He also has technically never had a girlfriend (he is not a virgin but wasn't really the settling down type - iykwim). Let me just tell you this man is the MVP and TOP TIER BOOK BOYFRIEND MATERIAL (5/5 on the sexy man scale with the only thing wrong with him, being his archaic name). He is a sexy specimen of note who is tall and looks spectacular in a suit. AND HE HAS TATTOOS! He is tough on the outside but inside this man is a sticky gooey mess of sweet, thoughtful and caring; that you just want to lick his abs and his soul.

The family, specifically Gram and Peyton are also perfect. Their antics, meddling and depth of characterisation were so well done. Their utter love and generosity with their wholesome attitude that welcomed Emma into their unit warmed my heart. For Emma who has always had a very small family (she was raised by her aunt), to instantly be accepted, treated and treasured like one of the family was adorable. I also love that this connection went both ways and that Emma's spontaneity was able to create magical and nostalgic memories for Gram and Peyton for her special wedding week.

What stood out is that even though Prestin and Emma are immediately sexually attracted to each other and have wicked banter. The way you could feel his love growing for Emma based on how she interacted with the people he cared for, was so natural it climbed into my heart. It was those subtle glances while she would be dancing with his sister or him being drawn to her smile and laugh and him basking in her continual warmth. It felt like these two and their bond and relationship were soul mates from the start because they both were able to bring out the best version of the other while also growing themselves.

The SPICE - WHOA! 🥵️🥵️🥵️ She's sexy, hot, delicious and toe-curlingly good. Prestin has a delightfully dirty mouth and knows how to use it. 

There is a scene where he walks in on her with her BOB and instead of the second-hand embarrassment - stays and uses it on her

. There are steamy scenes and then there are steamy scenes in literal STEAM... Quite utterly spectacular smut.

NOW - what was my issue? To not go into too much detail on the end, my main concern was given the reasons for what happened; I wanted to see more of how things unfolded. And it very much turned into "I am just going to tell you and not show you" and I really dislike books that tell and don't show. 

This was an interesting dilemma I had with the last quarter. I was thinking about how these two fall for each other VERY FAST even if it was soppingly romantic - given how her whole purpose of the escape to the Hamptons was to "find" herself, she didn't do that. She just found herself under someone else... BUT Emma realises this herself. So breaks things off with Prestin to continue her self-actualisation journey with the plan to reconcile when she is in a better place mentally. We never see how she really achieves this. We see mutual pining for the other and one or two small glimpses into her final growth. But the end is just a culmination of that growth and her achievements given to her - we don't see her WORKING FOR THEM... For someone whose mission it is to grow, you should see the growth - not just say "Oh well I did it now"

𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀:
▶ Fake Dating
▶ Billionaire Romance
▶ Sports/Football Romance (but it's off-season so not too big influence on plot)
▶ Age Gap (MMC 36, FMC 25)
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Grumpy X Sunshine
▶ Nicknames
▶ Steamy Steam Scene (water scene)

▶ Third Act Breakup

𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘀:
▷ She throws him with her shoe
▷ He Loves her smile
▷ He brings her drinks and makes food for her
▷ Rope Play (but with a bath gown)
▷ It won't fit
▷ Lift your hips for me love
▷ Good Girl
▷ Chin Lift
▷ Forehead Kisses
I MEAN SERIOUSLY - these are just top tier make you squeal tropes

Overall my first Kat Singleton was an amazing experience and I loved the ride (even if it slowed down in the end). It was well written, entertaining, had character depth in multiple characters and was just sweet gooey sexy romcom bliss. This will not be the last Kat Singleton I read!

Thank you to Kat Singleton and Valentine PR for my gifted ARC copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

3 Poison Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️/5

This had SOOOOOOO MUCH POTENTIAL AND I AM MAD! It could have been brilliant and great but the more I kept reading the more I felt the story was going nowhere slowly. It has all the right tropes and everything!!! The potential is sitting there on the page waiting to be used, moulded and crafted into an excellent story. It is there!!! Waiting to be tapped in... and never was...

This is a dual POV that follows Calista and Azkiel. Azkiel is the God of Death and has returned in his human form to stop a prophecy. You see 150 years ago Azkiel placed his siblings into an enchanted sleep (although he has no memory of why, he just knows he has to stop them from waking). This prophecy states that a daughter of death will wake them, so to prevent this he vows to kill her. Calista is a witch who has to hide her power because she can wield death's ethereal power - something no mortal should be able to do. Essentially she has the power to touch someone and turn them to ash. She, her sister and her best friend have a problem, since they are of age they are required to put their names up for selection for the Harvest (basically a Hunger Games Competition) to find the next elder. The issue is all but one of the contestants die, and one of their names will get chosen.

My first warning was by 4% into the book, all I had read was the glossary to explain the Gods, their powers and the worldbuilding. Now, I love complex worldbuilding, but I like to be eased into it a little slowly. This just felt like it threw you into the deep end and said "Go have fun now". Now this wouldn't have annoyed me as much if the book didn't then go and SLOWLY explain the worldbuilding while the story evolved, making that glossary redundant.

Now, typically when I read an ARC, I do not let grammatical errors and issues with the spelling and grammar impact my reviews. However, there were so many instances of pronoun switching where she became he's and he's became she's that it became very difficult to follow along with the story. I had to read over multiple lines to try and figure out which character was actually being referred to, who they were, what their gender was or what their gender should have been in the text. So that just felt a little bit unclean and unpolished.

The other issue that I have with this is while I can deal with some poetical purple prose, there is a LIMIT. There was so much metaphorical and psychological processing in these characters' minds as they thought, felt and touched things. But it sometimes felt very overwhelmingly bulky in places and oftentimes would lead us in circles because they would be thinking the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over. Azkiel would constantly think about how he needs to stop his siblings from waking, how he has no siphoning power on the Island, how he cannot stand Calista but is so magnetically drawn to her and about the God Eater. Calista would constantly think about protecting her sister and Drake, how she needs to stop the Harvest from happening, how archaic the Harvest is... Like I GOT IT THE FIRST TIME - I did not need it mentioned 50 times after that. This caused two problems, one I was getting really irritated and annoyed at the repetition and second - that the plot moved at a snail's pace because the characters were stuck in their thoughts for so long! There was literally an instance of 2 pages of an internal monologue between 2 lines of spoken dialogue. NO-ONE THINKS THAT MUCH - EVEN IF YOU ARE BATTLING AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS!

But this is exactly why I say this book has so much potential, because if those two things were cleaned up - the pronouns and repetition this would have been excellent because the plot itself is actually pretty good, and was the one thing that kept me moving forward.

The tropes in this are literally my catnip tropes, and I so so wanted the story to be great because it had everything in it that I love and adore. But I just kept being drawn out of the story, and for a lot of it, it felt like it wasn't going anywhere.

I really liked the connection that Calista and Azkiel had between each other. They are both starved of some sort of love, touch or affection - both being rejected and ostracized by their family. They crave touch and with their magnetic attraction to each other, it felt like they found the missing puzzle piece that was missing from their lives.

Calista as a character is sometimes a little whiney and annoying at times because she feels overly confident in her ability to do things but time and time again in the story we are shown how she cannot cope and is not as good as she perceives herself to be. Azkiel has this air about him that he is this big all-powerful badass and that people should fear him, but he is all bark and no bite - because you never actually see this personality on the page (you are just told about it). His attraction to Calista verges on hate lust/instalust and throughout the book he just becomes whiney, spoilt, selfish and angry.

I also didn't like the constant use of "faded into darkness" as a plot device. Almost every action scene would end with someone fainting or falling asleep, meaning you are told the aftermath of what happened and never shown this in action. Now I don't really like tell don't show books because it makes me feel like it manipulates me into forming ideas and opinions of how the story should be and not how it actually is. It also just felt like too easy a plot device to skip scenes and pass the time.

I also found the love triangle annoying and the portrayal of Calista's sister strange. We are told constantly that she is seen as weak and gentle and unable to do anything, but again we were just told she was weak and had to believe she was weak. But on page, she seems pretty competent (except for one part which...seriously).

I also kind of called what was going to happen in my mind about 30% into the book, so I didn't feel like it was too much of a big shock when it was actually revealed.

Tropes in this include:
▶ Death Personification
▶ Dual POV
▶ Witches and Gods
▶ Enemies to Lovers
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Deadly Competition
▶ Lost Memory
▶ Slow Burn
▶ Love Triangle

▶ Reincarnation
▶ I will burn the world for you

But all that aside, the plot still intrigued me. The story still intrigued me, and I am invested enough in the story and interested enough in the story that I will definitely be picking up the sequel. Most of my issues are related to polish, and so I say take this review with a pinch of salt because I read an ARC and these things can still be edited out and fixed in the final version.

Thank you to Rebecca L. Garcia for my gifted ARC copy! All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

4 Moss Cake Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5

I enjoyed this one, now - it's not as good as Forged in Magic BUT had a good mix of romance, and plot and felt like an adventure. Think of the likes of "Indiana Jones" where our Heroes are on a Treasure hunting mission but add in a little bit of a "Hunger Games" competition without the killing.

This is a standalone dual POV. Astrid is a dwarf who has been cursed to never be allowed to leave her home. She's essentially trapped under the mountain but it's not as scary as what Feyre had to deal with. So she has made herself comfortable surrounding herself with cosy blankets, multiple plants and all the chocolate she can get her hands on - all the while searching for the mysterious Everstone. A magical crystal which is rumoured to have the power to lift her curse. It just so happens that the annual tournament "Fittest Under The Mountain" is in swing and much to her inconvenience someone (much akin to Harry in the Goblet of Fire) put her name up for the competition. She has no choice but to participate or risk the wrath of Thor, while also being forced to deal with another inconvenience in the form of a pesky shadow demon who loves nothing more than to push her buttons. See Tormund knows Astrid is the best person to speak to, to find the Everstone - because he needs it for his own problem.

The banter between Astrid and Tormund was actually adorable. I kept having to remind myself that even though Tormund is a sexy shadow demon... HE IS NOT MORALLY GREY and is nothing but the sweetest gooest cinnamon roll. He is funny, goofy, brave, honourable and just wholesome. His interactions with Astrid just make you want to go awww at his actions because he is just an adorable character.

Astrid is stubborn, determined and strong-willed, but she is also really hard on herself. She constantly shoots herself down and doesn't believe that she is extraordinary and unique. It takes her continuous banter and interactions with Tormund to realise (as he shows her) how impressive and special she is because she is kind, generous and self-sacrificing and can do whatever she sets her mind to. Tormand just makes her believe in herself as every good partner should.

Tropes in this include:
▶ Cosy Fantasy
▶ Dual POV
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Enemies Rivals to Lovers
▶ Treasure Hunting Vibes
▶ Dragons
▶ Interracial/Multicultural Romance
▶ Banter

This book is definitely more action-packed than the others, with racing minecarts, obstacle courses, and giant spiders who like chocolate and dragons. It was cute, lighthearted and fun and a perfect little cozy read to pick up and pass the time. 

4.5 Wicked Stars ⭐️
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5

It's no secret that The Little Mermaid is my favorite Disney Princess, and it's books like this that remind me why I love that story so much!

So this is obviously a Little Mermaid retelling, with a unique little spin. Our mermaid, Enna, is also part Siren and has essentially sold her soul to Odissa due to a life debt. Odissa has forced her to become a death-dealer, so Enna is a very morally grey stabby murderer. Odissa orders Enna to kill the Abyssal Princess so Odissa can impersonate her, with Enna as her handmaid, so that Odissa can marry Soren, the prince from the Kingdom of Coral, to take over the Kingdom. Soren has rejected multiple marriage prospects and is out of time, as his Kingdom needs him to marry. However, he longs for love, and when he mistakenly sees Enna basically naked on the beach and thinks she is his betrothed, he believes he might just have found a bride who can give him just that, only to realize that Enna is his betrothed handmaid.

This did not read like a debut. The writing was easy to follow and sophisticated, polished, and descriptive, containing a great balance of plot and characterization. While there was some purple prose, it didn't feel like an overabundance of metaphor blended into the storytelling, however, still giving the writing that lyrical quality. I felt like I was under the sea and in this world of sirens and mermaids. I cannot stress how fully polished and clean this felt as it did not read like an author's first book. It was an incredibly captivating and realistic portrayal of what mermaid life and lore are like. I want to commend Liesl on the amount of detail and clear research she did for this. You can see the care and precision given to the world-building to accurately portray the behavior, the nuances, the way the world is described, to how they would eat fish. It was probably one of the most robust portrayals of a mermaid/siren I have seen in literature.

Our little Enna is a badass. She is feisty and fierce. It is very clear she does not want a life of killing, but she is trapped in a bargain and wants nothing but to escape out of Odissa's clutches. She is put in awful situations, where her forced hand often causes her to battle her moral compass, but she is a fighter and uses that fight to be resourceful and smart. Her story is heartbreaking and sad, and while I could see the twists in her tale pretty clearly, I didn't mind that. At that point, I was so absorbed into the story and drawn in that I was just along for the ride.

Soren is a cinnamon roll and everything you would expect in a prince. He has his mind set on what he is looking for in a wife, and he doesn't want to just settle for anybody. He is honorable, noble, and cares for his people. He is quite strong-minded but has a totally wholesome character that also makes him a total romantic at heart.

My one issue is that the ending felt very rushed and a little bit too easy, so it was a small letdown compared to the climb towards the climax. I wanted to see it drawn out a little more, and...

I wanted Odissa to suffer a lot longer

Tropes in this include:
▶ Little Mermaid Retelling
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Badass Feisty FMC
▶ Hidden Identity
▶ Golden Retriever/Cinnamon Roll
▶ Political Intrigue
▶ She Stabs Him
▶ Cheating*
▶ Forbidden Romance
▶ He Falls First and Falls Hard
▶ Dual POV
▶ Amazing Worldbuilding

Overall, this was a satisfying romance and an excellent take on a Little Mermaid Retelling. If you love that trope or just like books featuring Mermaids, this one is for you!!!

Thank you to Liesl West for my gifted ARC copy!
All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

5 Apple Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️.5/5

This was an unexpected surprise that almost snuck up on me! But because of that, it made the experience so much more enjoyable!

We start off by meeting Lark, a reaper who is depressed in her life, not in the sense that she is sad, but more that she is listless and unsatisfied. She is stuck in a rut as she can't feel, taste, or experience anything. Nothing gives her joy or the motivation to be happy as a reaper. One day she is assigned to guide a soul, and she crosses paths with Gavriel. Something about him sparks something inside of her. So when his name comes up for reaping, she can't let that happen, she has to save him and so does everything she can to change his destiny, even if it means seeking help from the Underworld Witch. As saving the mortal was against the rules of being a reaper, Lark faces severe punishment. To escape this, she makes another deal with the witch to become human.

The first 100 pages of this are slow, and they can feel quite overwhelming and confusing because you are thrown right into the thick of it with the worldbuilding, the characters, and how everything works. Do not give up hope because soon the vines of the story will intricately integrate into your soul, wrap around your heart, and clutch you tight; forcing you to give the story your undivided attention. But this isn't a problem because you will be invested and enamoured by the story. Once I got past those 100 pages, I couldn't put this down. The book flew by as I was reading five chapters, then ten chapters, then 15 chapters. I seriously cannot explain properly how captivating and enticing this story was and how these characters dug into my heart.

The world-building is pretty intricate and diverse, pulling on inspiration from classical "celestial" mythology and traditional folk tales, specifically The Little Mermaid. This tale is a little less Disney and more similar to the Dark Hans Christian Andersen version. Lark's transition as a human is painful, and much like in the traditional story, she loses her voice and walking on her feet is excruciatingly painful (at least in this book, those aspects go away after a few days).

The prose of this is hauntingly beautiful, at times poetic and extremely emotive. It has been a long while since I have seen such pain and despair written about so well. C.A. Farran excellently managed to explain and infer the feeling of dissonance and emptiness Lark Feels. The text was beautiful. But not just with Lark, I could feel the characters suffering, I could experience their fear, and I could imagine myself in their painful shoes.

Lark has it rough. Her transition to human (as I mentioned) is not easy, and it doesn't get easier as time passes. She is pushed and pulled into brutal and traumatic experiences, taking her level of suffering to the extreme, and all I wanted to do was climb in the pages and hug her. I loved her determination to succeed and that her willpower was never broken, no matter what was thrown at her.

The vibes of this were also refreshing, it's been a while since I've ventured away from Romantasy back into the realm of traditional epic fantasy - but it's books like this that remind me why I love fantasy so much. The romance is there, but it's not at the forefront of the plot, it's a side aspect to everything that is happening - but frankly, I wouldn't change it a bit! It is an extremely slow burn. BUT is an excellent, excellent progression of enemies to lovers. In fact, I'd almost use this as the textbook example of how to do Enemies to Lovers well. To see how that hatred blossomed into those awkward stares, simple touches, and that magnetism to be near each other was PERFECTTION. Lark and Gavriel help each other grow to be better versions of themselves and it's just perfect how these two on opposite sides learn to work together, establish trust, and have that trust evolve into love. It was absolutely stunning.

The best part of this book was the found family. It was an exquisite depiction of how a band of people can be brought together in desperation and form that inexplicable unbreakable bond. Their "family" felt very similar to the vibes of the Crows from the Six of Crows, as the merry band in this story land up in some very exciting, peculiar, and dangerous positions while working through plans and heists. While it does feel like something always goes wrong in their plans, it was exciting. They felt like a "band of brothers", (metaphorical brothers because Lark and Dacianna are female). But they came together, each bringing their unique skills, quirks, characteristics, and tragic backstory. This family was a unit, they worked and banded together and their interaction and love for each other was beautiful.

Tropes in this include:
▶ Enemies to Lovers
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Found Family
▶ Little Mermaid Retelling with Reapers
▶ One Horse
▶ Heists
▶ Touch Her You Die
▶ Slow Burn
▶ Tending to Injuries

Overall, I really adored this once I got into it. It frankly blew me away, and I almost want to kick myself for taking so long to read this. This was number one on my TBR, meaning that it had been there for the longest and I feel bad that I didn't give this the opportunity it deserved sooner because it is an excellent piece of writing, a fantastic story, and an amazing fantasy. 

3 Missing Keg Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️/5

To brew ale takes chemistry...something that I felt was lacking in these two...
It's still cosy though....

It's been a long time since I directly jumped into a book's sequel after finishing the first one. So I had HIGH expectations for this one, given how much I adored Forged in Magic

This story gave us a standalone romance following Livia (The MMC's younger sister from book 1). I wanted to see her story unfold, she was a sweet and cute character before and I had HIGH Hopes... ANYWAY, she is a brewmaster, travelling to a town for the annual Yule festival. Along the way, she meets a stranger, Ragnar, and shares an ale he provides (which is NOT AS GOOD AS HER ALE) because he essentially helps her with the "fantasy" equivalent of changing a flat tyre - removing her wagon from a pothole. So the next morning he DISAPPEARS and it turns out...dum dum dum... he is a rival brewmaster who has sped to the festival before her to sneak into her spot to be the tavern of choice at the Festival. However, events quickly change and Livia and Ragnar's ale is stolen, so the two become little Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to try to track down the thief and save the Yule Festival.

Now, I was a little bit disappointed in this one because I just felt that the two characters and their personalities felt weak, not in an underdeveloped way, but more... they had no backbone and were both so quick to want to avoid conflict than solve the mystery of the missing ale. Like Livia would rather brew more ale than make a fuss about getting HER PROPERTY BACK...

Also, it just didn't sit right with me that something in their relationship was lacking. They didn't have the same spark and pull (AKA CHEMISTRY) that I had seen with Rivelin and Daella. It was as if these two formed a relationship because they had similar interests, had a similar wonder for life, and happened to be in the same place at the same time.

Now don't get me wrong, individually the characters were okay. Livia is determined to make her own way. She is loved by everybody and she's very much a "wander the world" soul as she doesn't want to settle down. She hasn't yet found that connection to any place or person through all of her travels to put down roots into anything.

Ragnar is literally just a sweet, gooey cinnamon roll and an all-around nice guy. I TOTALLY put my eyebrows up when the whole "wagon pothole" situation happened because my mom and all the dark romances I have read have taught me about "Stranger Danger." BUT NO... he's just a generally nice, lovable guy.

Another one of my frustrations with this book is that it felt like the plot was going in circles. They would find something and then it would lead nowhere, and then they'd find something again and it would lead nowhere. And then they'd find something AGAIN and it would lead nowhere!!! Then when they DID FIND SOMETHING OF VALUE - Livia didn't want to inconvenience them my confronting them for stealing that she's just MAKE A WHOLE BATCH OF 12 barrels of ALE... if you're such a strong-willed "wonder and make my own way" woman? Why are you so pathetic?

Tropes in this include:
▶ Cosy Fantasy
▶ Dual POV
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Enemies Rivals to Lovers
▶ "Saving Christmas"
▶ Dragons and Dragon Shifters
▶ Forehead Kisses
▶ Sit on my face...

In the end, this was cute and fluffy and very VERY low stakes because they kept avoiding any stakes in the first place. Basically if you can imagine a fantasy Christmas Hallmark movie with ale, this would be it. 

 5 Salt in the Water Stars ⭐
Spicy Level: 🌶️🌶️.5/5

I love this book so much, that I made my phone background a picture of the cover art...

Reading this feels like you're wrapped up in a warm, fluffy blanket, with oversized socks and a cup of deliciously spiced tea while you're sitting by a roaring fire, watching the rain outside. If that doesn't give you the epitome of cosy vibes, then I don't know what you find cosy.

This was also a very unexpected surprise. I wasn't sure how this book ended up on my TBR, so went in with no expectations - and I am pretty happy I did. I was blown away by the story, the plot and the characters.

This is a dual POV - Daella, a half-Orc is a captive of a brutal tyrannical emperor who forces her to do his dirty work. She is also allergic to fresh water (not in the same way as Gremlin's where she multiplies into little evil versions of herself)... Instead, she ends up in giant boils and welts. Sent on a mission to track Dragon-Magic users her ship is attacked by a vicious storm. She ends up falling overboard - don't worry, salt water is fine - and washes up on the island of Fable in a little town where a gorgeous elf with long silver hair greets her with a sword to her throat. Rivelin strikes up a deal with Daella. She can return to the mainland in six weeks after she helps him win this year's Midsummer Games by being his assistant. Rivelin needs to win the games as the winner is granted a wish - and he wants to wish for the protection of his Island and home.

It was really sweet and charming to see how these two forged a bond. (This is funny because Rivelin is a blacksmith). At the start, they are very apprehensive of each other and have both built up walls around their hearts. But as more and more time goes along, the two start opening up to each other and start falling for each other as they learn to trust one another.

Daella was the complete opposite of my perceptions of a Half-Orc. I expected brutish, quick to anger and a brain one step above a Neanderthal. While she is stubborn, she is incredibly kind-hearted. She has a traumatic past and has been pushed to her limits by the Emperor, only doing his bidding as he will kill her if she doesn't with a magic ice shard embedded into her hip. Given her guarded actions, she comes off with a resting bitchface personality but as people slowly get to know her, they realize that she is incredibly self-sacrificing, honest, noble and gentle.

Rivelin is a grumpy, lonesome blacksmith who deeply cares for his family, his village and his home. All he wants is for that to remain safe. He's self-sacrificing, noble and incredibly generous - especially towards Daella. Underneath his grumpy persona lurks a spicy little cinnamon roll.

The world-building is easy to understand. The writing is captivating and gripping causing the book to be a perfect quick little romantasy palate cleanser.

Tropes in this include:
▶ Cosy Fantasy
▶ Dual POV
▶ Forced Proximity
▶ Enemies Rivals to Lovers
▶ Interracial/Multicultural Romance
▶ Found Family
▶ Dragons
▶ Who Did This To You
▶ Rolled Sleeves (and Forearms)
▶ Hold on to the...

If you are looking for a low angst fluffy read with a little bit of spice and maybe some dragons, I highly recommend this. The tropes were well executed and the characters were enjoyable and sweet.