morganthebee's reviews
360 reviews

I’ve yet to read a book by Jasmin Joachims that I didn’t love, and Despite Doubt is no exception. Part two in the Sword of the Queen series, it picks up in the middle of an adventure. Pirate-ish Captain Elianorra Salazar and her crew are infiltrating an ICN base on a quest to track down her nemesis Thono, the King of Spades, who is intent on taking over the universe with some help from some nasty enemies once thought extinct. There’s just one big problem: they have the beautiful and vexing Captain Allen Haggerty, whose magnetism Elia can’t resist, dogging their every move. 

I love a good sci-fi adventure, and Joachims continues to expand on the world she built in Despite Duty, with more detail, more alien species, and more intrigue and adventure. The characters are awesome, from the two Captains, to Elia’s crew, and even the baddies and other supporting characters. We also get a bit of spice, with Salazar and Haggerty giving in to their attraction to each other, although things get...complicated. I can’t wait for the next book in the series! 

I received a free ARC from the author, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily. 

Coffee, Tea, or Me is a cute, NA book about college student Sasha, who works at a coffee shop and has been crushing on Jade, a fellow student and regular at the shop. When Jade applies for and lands a job at the coffee shop, it throws Sasha for a loop. She’s closed herself off after a bad relationship left her feeling insecure and emotionally raw, but she just can’t help herself. 

I found Sasha to be a really interesting character, and Jade was so sweet and supportive. I’m a big fan of respecting boundaries, and Jade does a great job of this. I do think that as the book got closer to the end and Sasha opened up the story got a bit more telling instead of showing than I would have liked, but overall it was a really enjoyable book and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re into sapphic NA. 

I received a free ARC from BookSirens, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

I Hated You in High School is a sort of second chance, sort of enemies-to-lovers graphic novel by Kathleen Gros. The art is great, in a monochromatic scheme, which was an interesting choice. The story has some back and forth between memories about high school experiences and the present-day situation, and I found myself wishing that Gros had chosen to differentiate the two visually somehow, perhaps with the present being in color and the past monochromatic. 

I enjoyed the story, but I felt like portions of it moved super quickly or glossed over issues, and the resolution came without fully addressing the past conflict and Tessa’s trauma as well as I would have liked. I found myself puzzled at how fast things were resolved without really addressing the behaviors that led to the estrangement from Olive in the first place. I recognize that it can be hard to do that well in graphic novels where the story is based more on emotions, as there’s not much room or place for exposition about what’s happening internally for the characters, so perhaps some of my feelings can be chalked up to that. Regardless, overall I Hated You in High School was an enjoyable read, and worth checking out. 

I received a free ARC from NetGalley, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily.

Undead No More is an interesting take on murder mystery, with a zombie twist. The story follows Lily, a zombie who has been forced to turn to theft to survive in a world that relegates them to the fringes of society. After witnessing a murder, she’s forced to go on the run and turn to her human ex-girlfriend, Tasha, who she’s still in love with, to survive. 

I enjoyed the story overall, although there were some pretty clearly telegraphed clues that Lily just doesn’t pick up on, which I found a bit unbelievable. I know, I know, a zombie story is inherently unbelievable, but considering how intelligent other characters seem to find Lily I thought it was a bit ridiculous that she didn’t pick up on it right away. 

That said, once she finally did the story picked up quickly and Lily became a bit more believable. As for the other characters, Tasha was fabulous, as was Sam, and I enjoyed the other side characters (some of whom are apparently from another series she’s written that I haven’t read, but I’m intrigued and may add to my TBR). The story itself was wrapped up nicely but obviously leaves things open for a sequel. I’ve read other Rachel Ford books, and I’m glad to see that the quality of her writing keeps improving, and I’ll definitely check out future installments of this series. 

I received a free ARC from StoryOrigin, but my review is unbiased and left voluntarily. 

I'm a big fan of Alyson Root, and this series in particular. I just adore all of the characters and the found family is amazing, which is critical in a character-focused series like this. If there was a way to give more than 5 stars, this book would have them.

I already loved Molly from the initial installment in this series, Finding Molly Parsons (read it first if you haven't yet, because it's just as fabulous and you really do need the back story to truly get everything that's happening here), but damn do I love her even more. She's just such a caring, supportive woman, and her strength in facing her own demons so that she can open herself up to love is just wonderful. It certainly doesn't hurt that I could listen to Sadie Provost's audiobook characterization of Molly all day long, either.

I really enjoyed getting more details and insight into Carmen's history. I don't want to get into it too much because then I'd be getting into spoiler territory, but Root handles some pretty serious subject matter with care, but also a healthy dose of levity through Enid. Oh, Enid. She may be the comic relief, but don't let that fool you. She's one of the biggest sources of support for Carmen, pushing her and being her biggest cheerleader, but also for the other characters, and she's just so surprising in unexpected ways—although maybe they shouldn't be so unexpected.

Faith is back, and she's grown so much from where she was at the start of the first book, and her relationship with Nathalie and their communication and openness with each other is inspiring. Really, I could go on and on about how wonderful everyone is, but you should just read or listen to it and see for yourself.