paperbacks_and_planners's reviews
1187 reviews

⭐⭐⭐.5 (rounded up)

Summary
Nova, a witch, hears reports of a white wolf wandering the town's woods. When she goes to investigate, she discovers that the wolf is actually her shapeshifting childhood friend, and crush, Tam Lang.
Tam has been wandering, haunted an unknown evil. Now, back in the one place they consider home, Tam turns to Nova and her two grandmothers for help. And old feelings between them quickly rekindle.

Overview
➸ Nova Huang - Queer, Chinese-American, Witch, Hard of hearing

➸ Tam Lang - Nonbinary, Chinese-American, Shapeshifter

➸ Content Warnings: Talk of parental abuse (off page), Death of a parent (off page)

My Thoughts
This was the cutest, most wholesome graphic novel I've read. And it gave me all the warm, fuzzy feelings I was hoping for. It is queer, magical, and a must read for the fall season.

This book is a representation dream. Not only are the main characters Chinese-American and in a relationship, but Nova lives with her 2 grandmothers, is hard of hearing, and Tam is non binary. But my favorite part was that none of it felt forced or heavy handed. The representation was so delicately and respectfully woven into the story. It was absolutely beautiful and made my heart so full.

At it's core, this story is about self-acceptance and discovering your own path. Both Nova and Tam are dealing with past traumas and trying to discover how to move forward, while also growing together. Both main characters grew up with difficult childhoods, for much different reasons, and they are trying to confront and cope with those traumas.

This was shy of a 5 star for me because I honestly wanted more backstory and connection to the characters. I enjoyed all of the characters on a surface level, but I never felt like I got to know them to the point of feeling an emotional connection. Nova and Tam become so quickly involved that I never got the chance to develop any strong feelings toward their relationship. I wish we had seen more of their friendship or backstory. I just wanted more depth and insight into the characters.

Overall I really enjoyed this queer, magical story. I will definitely read more from this duo in the future!

Review also shared on my blog!

This is a graphic novel anthology made up of 5 individual short stories, each an unconnected, horror story. Overall this was mixed bag for me. I absolutely loved 2 of these stories but hated/didn't understand the remaining three at all. Below is each of the five stories, from least to most favorite, with a short synopsis/review.

Our Neighbor's House ⭐

This follows 3 sisters who's father must leave and gives them instructions should he not return. I honestly have no idea what happened in this story it went so far over my head. It's really short and as far as I can tell literally nothing happened. I was very confused.

His Face All Red ⭐⭐

This is a story about brothers and jealousy. But this was another one I just didn't understand. 

My Friend Janna ⭐⭐

This follows two young women who pretend to speak to the dead for the villagers. Again.. this one made little sense to me. I was left confused in the end.

The Nesting Place ⭐⭐⭐⭐

This is about a young woman who goes to live her brother and his wife. But his wife may not be exactly who she says she is. THIS WAS SO CREEPY!! Holy cow the art in this freaked me out in the best way. I loved this story but the ending left me a little confused (a theme with this book) which is why I docked a star. 

A Lady's Hands are Cold ⭐⭐⭐⭐

My hands down (see what I did there) favorite!! This follows a new bride who is just moving into her new husbands home. She hears a whisper song every night that she can't ignore. Eventually the song leads her to a terrifying truth. This was so creepy, so eerie, and so poignant. I loved every inch of it. In my opinion this entire book is worth it for this one short story.

I received an arc copy of this from Simon & Schuster via Edelweiss+ in exchange for an honest review.

Summary
When Rowan accidentally stumbles upon an ad about a family in the highlands in search of a nanny, she jumps on the opportunity. When she arrives at Heatherbrae House, she immediately falls in love. The house is a stark combination of picturesque Victorian and modern "smart" luxuries. But things may not be as picturesque as the seem. And Rowan discovers she's entered a nightmare - one that puts her in prison.

Overview
➸ POV - This is told in letter format from Rowan who is writing letters to a potential solicitor, Mr. Wrexham, about the detailed events leading up to her arrest. This is a really cool format idea but this book is 330 pages long... that's a 330 page letter! And every time Rowan would stop relaying details, and address Mr. Wrexham, I was pulled out of the story and couldn't help thinking - who writes a letter this long?! And who would read it?!

➸ Rowan Caine - 27, Nanny, On trial for murder and writing to a defense advocate

➸ Content Warnings: Murder, Cheating, Sexual Harassment

My Thoughts
I actually don't have that many thoughts about this book and overall I just found this really underwhelming.

In standard Ruth Ware fashion, this book was atmospheric AF! I cannot get enough of Ware's settings and writing. She just creates such foreboding and tense scenes. And there were definitely times this book legitimately creeped me out! I loved how toed the line of - is this paranormal or not? I was definitely convinced at points that this house was actually haunted!

But sadly there just wasn't enough plot or twists and turns to keep me engaged. This is the epitome of a slow burn thriller, which rely on a strong ending. And I'm DEFINITELY in the minority here, but this ending just didn't work for me.

I thought the first (character related) twist was extremely obvious and I'm still surprised by how many people said they didn't see it coming.

Spoiler

I literally tabbed the first time she touched her necklace with a post-it saying "She's not who she says she is". So while I didn't have all the exact details worked out, the reveal was expected to me.

And the final twist was way, WAY too fast for my liking. Thriller twists are definitely personal to each reader, but I strongly disliked this one. It honestly felt like a copout ending and hated that it was explained in literally 3 pages. I wanted so much more from this.

Overall this gave me all the creepy vibes Ruth Ware always brings to her books but in the end it was a bit of a miss for me. I will forever read everything Ware releases though and can't wait for her next release.

Review also shared on my blog!

⭐⭐⭐.5

I received an arc copy of this from Atria Books via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary
Piper and Kyle had a life-changing, whirlwind romance 13 yeas ago when they were counselors at Camp Wawa. But after a terrible accident, Kyle mysteriously disappeared from Piper's life.
Now Piper is the Senior VP at her father's architecture company Calloway Group where she's struggling to enforce her authority and forced to work along side her obnoxious ex-fiancé. Things at work become even more complicated when Kyle suddenly reappears as the office's newest security guard. And he doesn't even remember her name.

Overview
➸ POV - This is told in 1st person in alternating timelines - Today and 2006 - from Piper's POV

➸ Piper Calloway - 29, Senior VP at Calloway Group being groomed to become President/CEO, Privileged, Counselor at Camp Wawa in 2006

➸ Kyle Stewart [Miller] - 30, Difficult family life, New security guard at Calloway Group, Counselor at Camp Wawa in 2006

➸ Content Warnings: Drug addiction, Divorce, I don't know how to word this without being spoilery- so read this at your own risk

Spoiler

Brain Injury due to accident

My Thoughts
I won't lie I had pretty low expectations going into this book after reading all of the early reviews. But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this! This story gave me The Proposal/Hallmark movie vibes and I was all for it.

Piper is in a position of authority at a very young age and struggles with sexism and a general lack of respect from her peers and employees. I appreciated that this was highlighted without feeling over the top. Sometimes I feel like this theme can be overdone to make a point but K.A. Tucker handled it with such finesse that it felt very true to life. I hurt for Piper during some of the interactions and unnecessary battles she had to wage to prove her worth.

I really loved the flashbacks! I know this was hot button topic when this book was released because a lot of people were saying that too many of the steamy scenes occurred while they were underage. But I personally felt like it was handled really well. 1) People under the age of 18 have sex and 2) all of the scenes were fade to black. So it's not like there was much explicit detail at any point.

While the tension and chemistry between Kyle and Piper was absolutely palpable, I did feel as though their relationship lacked substance. They essentially see each, meet, and immediately become involved and serious. It felt borderline insta-lovey in my opinion and despite the multiple chapters of backstory, I wanted more insight into why these 2 actually liked each other.

This may come across cold, but my least favorite part of this book was the final reveal/arc about their friend from camp. It felt like such a random addition to the book that honestly didn't bring much to the story or message in my opinion. I also became annoyed by the number of breakups/reconciliations the MCs went through.

Overall I thought this was a fun, lighthearted romance that absolutely screamed summer beach read. I love K.A. Tucker's writing and she crafts such flawed but intriguing characters. If you need a beach read or book to remind you of warmer weather this winter, definitely check this one out!

Review also shared on my blog!

⭐.5
Buckle up kids... I have a lot of thoughts.

I received an arc copy of this from the author via Social Butterfly PR in exchange for an honest review

Summary
Rory and Mal met and spent one amazing night together in Ireland. They made a promise that if they ever saw each other again, they would drop everything to be together.
But 8 years later, when they finally met again, things have changed between them. Mal is angry and callous and Rory has moved on. But they're stuck together for 2 months in the same town they first met. What promise is Rory going to keep - the one she made 8 years ago or the one she made to current boyfriend?

Overview
➸ POV - This is told is 1st person in alternating chapters from Mal and Rory's POVs. This also flashes between 8 years ago and present day.

➸ Content Warnings: Rape, Abuse, Cheating, Death

My Thoughts
This is a ranting review. I did not enjoy this at all and go into spoiler-y details of exactly why. Read at your own risk.

Spoiler

I'm going to start this off by saying this is one of my least favorite romances I've ever read. I found nothing about this romantic, funny, sexy, or heart-wrenching. This was just a collection of bad tropes executed poorly with lots of problematic content sprinkled in.

The entire foundation of this book is insta-love. The characters meet at 18 and 21 in Ireland and "fall in love". Personally, I cannot buy into a relationship that is based purely on instant attraction and sex. That's not love. And using that insta-love as the basis for a "second-chance romance" just didn't work for me. I never cared about the character's relationship or history because honestly there was none. They met, they slept together, they went their separate ways. That's not enough for me to latch onto in the way of romance and connection.

On top of that, all the resulting drama was based on miscommunication or a complete lack of communication. Rory's mom: lied. Rory's best friend: lied. Boyfriend: lied. Rory: lied. Mal: lied. Priest: lied. Literally everyone just lied their way through this whole story. It was so frustrating to wade through as a reader.

I am over reading about women hating on each other. Rory hated on her mother, Rory and her sister hated on each other, Rory and her "best friend" treated each other like garbage. I probably would have dropped dead of shock if one female in this story said something considerate to another woman.

I'm not opposed to reading about cheating in my romance - in fact some of my favorite romance's of all time contain cheating. But this cheating arc was so unnecessary. Rory spends the entire book not wanting to be with her boyfriend, Callum, but stays with him anyways. She berates herself when she eventually cheats after putting herself into the situation. In reality she was a bad girlfriend for stringing him along for 3 years, not just cheating. And then to turn around and villainize Callum simply to justify the female MC's bad behavior was so frustrating. Breaking up with someone simply because you don't feel the same way is 100% valid!

This one is going to hurt... These were some of the worst sex scenes I've ever read. That scene with the chocolate... I'm sorry but that is how you get an infection. And there nothing about that is sexy about that.

All those little quips from inanimate objects or side characters brought literally nothing to the story. They weren't funny or informative. They simply felt like a way to info dump.

The final reveal about why everyone knows and hates Rory was.. not good. The fact that an entire town literally ran out a mother and infant because they sided with an abusive, alcoholic father is BS. And the fact that they still hated her years later is absurd.

But my number 1 grip with this book was the way it handled rape. If something this serious is going to be tackled, it needs to be addressed in a respectful way. Not simply brushed under the rug because "at least he got a child out of it". I could not move past this and honestly began skim reading after the reveal because I was so upset by how it was handled and promptly ignored.

Overall this was massive miss for me.

My heart

Maybe more like 3.5 but I really enjoyed this! ❤

4.5 stars! I was not expecting that!

3.5 stars ❤ RTC