Tag Archives: Romance

Review: Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , , , ,
Edgewood by Kristen Ciccarelli

Edgewood
Kristen Ciccarelli
Wednesday Books
Published March 1, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Edgewood

No matter how far she runs, the forest of Edgewood always comes for Emeline Lark. The scent of damp earth curls into her nose when she sings and moss creeps across the stage. It’s as if the woods of her childhood, shrouded in folklore and tall tales, are trying to reclaim her. But Emeline has no patience for silly superstitions.

When her grandfather disappears, leaving only a mysterious orb in his wake, the stories Emeline has always scoffed at suddenly seem less foolish. She enters the forest she has spent years trying to escape, only to have Hawthorne Fell, a handsome and brooding tithe collector, try to dissuade her from searching.

Refusing to be deterred, Emeline finds herself drawn to the court of the fabled Wood King himself. She makes a deal—her voice for her grandfather’s freedom. Little does she know, she’s stumbled into the middle of a curse much bigger than herself, one that threatens the existence of this eerie world she’s trapped in, along with the devastating boy who feels so familiar.

With the help of Hawthorne—an enemy turned reluctant ally who she grows closer to each day—Emeline sets out to not only save her grandfather’s life, but to right past wrongs, and in the process, discover her true voice.

My Review

I always love reading about musicians and magical woods, and EDGEWOOD is loaded with both those things. Emmeline’s struggle for her career and her conflict about her home and the weird things her neighbors believe about the woods drew me into the story. I loved the cast of characters from the woods, too– Rook, Sable, and Hawthorne. This is the kind of story that sets itself up perfectly for fan fiction to be written about those characters. I would absolutely read that.

There were a couple of things that felt weird to me about the book, though. I guess Emmeline had to be older in order to be on her own, but the fact that she was nineteen but paired with other story elements and writing that felt definitively YA left me feeling a little off-step or something.

I also thought it was kind of weird that no one else in the woods knew who Emmeline was. Because of some other circumstances, it seemed like at least somebody would have put two and two together before she did. (Trying to avoid spoilers, sorry.)

At any rate, I liked the woods and its magic and the mystery of the curse. Overall, I’m not sorry I read the book. I think I was expecting something more like INTO THE HEARTLESS WOOD by Joanna Ruth Meyer, and it’s a different kind of story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 16 up.

Representation
Main human characters are white. Two minor characters are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. A couple of scenes show explicit sex. Several scenes show nudity, sometimes for the purpose of studying drawing.

Spiritual Content
A powerful curse spreads through the forest. Magical creatures fill the woods, some intent on killing anyone they encounter. Others are shapeshifters or other magical creatures.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some battle violence. The king has a long history of executing those who do not please him.

Drug Content
One character is known for putting unwanted spells in the drinks of others. She spikes Emmeline’s drink at one point.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of EDGEWOOD in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Full Flight by Ashley Schumacher

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Full Flight
Ashley Schumacher
Wednesday Books
Published February 22, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Full Flight

Everyone else in the tiny town of Enfield, Texas calls fall football season, but for the forty-three members of the Fighting Enfield Marching Band, it’s contest season. And for new saxophonist Anna James, it’s her first chance to prove herself as the great musician she’s trying hard to be.

When she’s assigned a duet with mellophone player Weston Ryan, the boy her small-minded town thinks of as nothing but trouble, she’s equal parts thrilled and intimidated. But as he helps her with the duet, and she sees the smile he seems to save just for her, she can’t help but feel like she’s helping him with something too.

After her strict parents find out she’s been secretly seeing him and keep them apart, together they learn what it truly means to fight for something they love. With the marching contest nearing, and the two falling hard for one another, the unthinkable happens, and Anna is left grappling for a way forward without Weston.

A heartbreaking novel about finding your first love and what happens when it’s over too soon. Ashley Schumacher’s FULL FLIGHT is about how first love shapes us—even after it’s gone.

My Review

This book broke me. Like. I’ve read lots of books where you know the love is doomed and someone is going to die. Sometimes, like with FULL FLIGHT, I know it before I pick up the book because it’s in the cover copy or the title (looking at you, THEY BOTH DIE AT THE END).

But I’ve never read a book like that and had the experience I had with this one. I had so much anxiety about Weston’s death. I knew it was coming. I’d breathe a huge sigh when the next chapter was his point-of-view. I’d panic when it was Anna’s perspective, and skim ahead until I saw him mentioned and still alive.

This one hit me really hard. And it was more than just liking both characters and finding their romance so sweet and adorable. Y’all. The writing here. Wow. I felt completely immersed. Marching band. The friendships. Music. Emotions. It all blew me away.

I loved Schumacher’s debut, AMELIA UNABRIDGED, and to be honest, I was excited about reading another book by her. I was also really nervous because I knew from the outset I was signing up for some heartbreak. It seemed impossible that I could like another book as much as AMELIA, and they’re not the same. But I loved this one, too.

All in all, I loved FULL FLIGHT. I loved the story (the cleverness of skipping chapter 25!), the characters, and how emotionally immersive it all was. Fans looking for laugh-out-loud great friendships, gorgeous romance and total heartbreak– I think I cried for like 30 minutes– definitely need this one on their lists.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Major characters are white. Anna is fat.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently. Both Anna and Weston’s best friend Ratio don’t like him to curse.

Romance/Sexual Content
Mention of a kiss between two girls. Kissing between a boy and girl. They undress and it’s stated that they have sex, but no description of the event.

Spiritual Content
Weston and Anna live in a small town where most of the kids go to youth group and church as a social activity. Anna talks about how she’s been taught not to have premarital sex and to keep her thoughts pure.

Violent Content
Weston received some bullying text messages from drunk classmates a year earlier. He tells Anna about them.

Drug Content
Reference to teens drinking alcohol.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of FULL FLIGHT in exchange for my honest review.

Review: You’d Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow

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You’d Be Home Now
Kathleen Glasgow
Delacorte Press
Published September 28, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About You’d Be Home Now

For all of Emory’s life she’s been told who she is. In town she’s the rich one–the great-great-granddaughter of the mill’s founder. At school she’s hot Maddie Ward’s younger sister. And at home, she’s the good one, her stoner older brother Joey’s babysitter. Everything was turned on its head, though, when she and Joey were in the car accident that killed Candy MontClaire. The car accident that revealed just how bad Joey’s drug habit was.

Four months later, Emmy’s junior year is starting, Joey is home from rehab, and the entire town of Mill Haven is still reeling from the accident. Everyone’s telling Emmy who she is, but so much has changed, how can she be the same person? Or was she ever that person at all?

Mill Haven wants everyone to live one story, but Emmy’s beginning to see that people are more than they appear. Her brother, who might not be cured, the popular guy who lives next door, and most of all, many ghostie addicts who haunt the edges of the town. People spend so much time telling her who she is–it might be time to decide for herself.

Inspired by the American classic Our Town, You’d Be Home Now is Kathleen Glasgow’s glorious modern story of a town and the secret lives people live there. And the story of a girl, figuring out life in all its pain and beauty and struggle and joy.

My Review

This book broke my heart. It’s so raw, so full of emotion. It’s desperate and tender. I love the relationship between Emory and her brother, Joey. Watching her family navigate this incredibly difficult moment made me feel like I couldn’t look away. I needed to know what would happen all the way until the last page.

It definitely captured some of the feel of OUR TOWN. The opioid use gave the story a completely different spin, though. And, oh my gosh. Emory’s mother. I had to pause my reading a couple of times because her control issues were so off the chart. I felt like I could feel Emory’s anxiety and Joey’s frustration and apathy myself when their mother was in the room sometimes. Yikes.

As a reader, I loved this book so much. It challenged me as a writer, too. Like, it’s definitely one of those books that I finish reading and then struggle not to quietly go and delete every project I’ve been working on because I can’t see how I’ll ever write something as compelling as this. (No manuscripts were harmed in the making of this book review.)

If you love stories featuring family drama, or books that explore first love and addiction, or complicated grief, those are all great reasons to pick up YOU’D BE HOME NOW.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Emory is the daughter of a wealthy white family in a small town. Her brother is recovering from opioid addiction.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used somewhat frequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. References to touching and masturbation. A girl allows a boy to take photos of her while she’s naked.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Emory’s brother comes home with a black eye and says another boy at school hit him.

Drug Content
Emory drinks alcohol at a party. Other kids smoke pot. Emory’s brother uses heroin and oxycontin (happens off-scene).

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.

Review: The Exiles by Katherine Barger

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

The Exiles (Exiled Trilogy #2)
Katherine Barger
Anaiah Press
Published November 2, 2021

Amazon  | Goodreads

About The Exiles

Nothing could have prepared Nyssa Ardelone for the treachery that lurks inside Fortune’s Fall. What began as a joyful reunion with her family soon plunges into chaos, with Nyssa at the center of misplaced accusations that could be catastrophic for everyone. Confused and still grief-stricken over the friends she’s lost, Nyssa begins to question whether her journey to Fortune’s Fall was worth the cost.

When she learns that President Omri has arrested the exiles and plans to send them to the most notorious prison in America, Nyssa’s convinced Omri’s punishing them for her sins, and she sinks into even deeper despair. But there might be a way to save them, and Nyssa jumps at the chance to remedy what she feels is her fault.

The task is dangerous, though, and if she fails, she’ll lose everything. If she succeeds, the people of Fortune’s Fall will embrace her at last, and the path will open for their ultimate return to Maren—the home Omri stole from them fifteen years ago. With the help of family and a few unlikely allies, Nyssa sets out to make things right. But the stakes are higher than before, and her newfound faith has grown shaky. When the mission doesn’t go as planned, Nyssa faces a choice unlike any she’s ever had: press on despite her doubts, or give up and leave the exiles—and everyone she loves—to their fate.

My Review

I think one of the things I liked about this book is that it balances Nyssa’s youth with her power, if that makes sense. Like, I had no trouble believing in her being a teenager. Sometimes when I read YA the characters feel really adult, and even though Nyssa’s an independent person who has been on her own for a long time, she still felt like a teenager. She still wrestled with a lot of becoming-an-adult types of things. While sometimes she took on a leadership role, other times, she was still kind of treated like a kid. That felt pretty true to what I’d imagine a teen in her position would experience.

I liked the moments when she took ownership of her situation and was the person coming up with the plan or idea. Sometimes that role went to other characters– her brother or other friends– and I wish I’d had a chance to see her in the driver’s seat more often.

Based on the way THE EXILES ends, I feel like Nyssa will have a lot more opportunity to be assertive and own her story in the last book in the trilogy. I’m interested to see how all that plays out.

This book hits a lot of the right notes with its dystopian story world and high stakes plot. I think fans of dystopian stories like The Safe Lands series by Jill Williamson or HEARTLESS HEIRS by MarcyCate Connolly will like this series. If you haven’t read FORTUNE’S FALL, the first book in the series, I would recommend starting with that one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Main characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kiss between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
Main characters believe in God even though it opposes the culture and rule of the country’s president.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some scenes showing torture.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE EXILES in exchange for my honest review.

Review: The Kindred by Alechia Dow

Book Review and Content, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

The Kindred
Alechia Dow
Inkyard Press
Published January 4, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Kindred

To save a galactic kingdom from revolution, Kindred mind-pairings were created to ensure each and every person would be seen and heard, no matter how rich or poor…

Joy Abara knows her place. A commoner from the lowly planet Hali, she lives a simple life—apart from the notoriety that being Kindred to the nobility’s most infamous playboy brings.

Duke Felix Hamdi has a plan. He will exasperate his noble family to the point that they agree to let him choose his own future and finally meet his Kindred face-to-face.

Then the royal family is assassinated, putting Felix next in line for the throne…and accused of the murders. Someone will stop at nothing until he’s dead, which means they’ll target Joy, too. Meeting in person for the first time as they steal a spacecraft and flee amid chaos might not be ideal…and neither is crash-landing on the strange backward planet called Earth. But hiding might just be the perfect way to discover the true strength of the Kindred bond and expose a scandal—and a love—that may decide the future of a galaxy.

My Review

I really enjoyed Alechia Dow’s debut, THE SOUND OF STARS, so I was really excited about reading this book. The first chapter was a bit rough for me. I felt like there was a LOT of worldbuilding that kind of got squeezed into a busy scene, and I didn’t always feel like I understood the connections. Like, it outlined Felix’s connection with the ruling Qadin family, but at that point, I wasn’t sure what exactly that meant. By the end of the first chapter, I wasn’t sure about the book.

In the second chapter, we meet Joy, who is joined to Felix as his Kindred, and shares a connection to him through her mind. I immediately adored her. She’s a bright, determined girl raised on a planet where women’s primary worth comes from their ability to bear children. More than anything, Joy wanted to be seen and valued. I couldn’t help but identify with that.

The storytelling smoothed out a lot from there, too. Felix learns about the assassination just before realizing he’s the number one suspect. Immediately, he sets out to find Joy (whom the authorities will target for her ability to communicate with and locate him) and escape to a place he can set about proving his innocence.

Once that happened, I felt like the story picked up pace and the characters became all the more compelling. I liked their encounters on earth and the way those relationships shaped their decisions going forward.

All in all, I thought this was a super fun read, and I’m glad I had the chance to review it. I think readers who enjoyed WE LIGHT UP THE SKY by Lilliam Rivera will enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Both Joy and Felix have brown skin. Joy identifies as demi-ace. Felix is pansexual. One minor character is gay. Another is nonbinary.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Brief references to other things.

Spiritual Content
Most people in Felix and Joy’s worlds worship Indigo, a creator god, or Ozvios, a god of chaos.

Violent Content
Battle scenes and some brief descriptions of torture.

Drug Content
Felix drinks a lot of alcohol to numb his feelings. Later, at a party with a lot of teenagers, a girl announces that there’s beer.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of THE KINDRED in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Serendipity edited by Marissa Meyer

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Serendipity: Ten Romantic Tropes Transformed
Edited by Marissa Meyer
Feiwel & Friends
Published January 4, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Serendipity

Love is in the air in this is a collection of stories inspired by romantic tropes and edited by #1 New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

The secret admirer.
The fake relationship.
The matchmaker.

From stories of first love, unrequited love, love that surprises, love that’s been there all along, ten of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. Readers will swoon for this collection of stories that celebrate love at its most humorous, inclusive, heart-expanding, and serendipitous.

Contributors include Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Marissa Meyer, Sandhya Menon, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen.

My Review

One of the reasons I really wanted to review this book is that the idea of “tropes transformed” totally had me intrigued. I wasn’t totally sure what that meant, but definitely felt curious enough to explore it. Turns out, it’s a collection of stories centered around a specific trope but where the trope gets elevated into something bigger. For instance, one of my favorites is the story by Julie Murphy. In it, the main characters agree to fake a dating relationship. What transformed the story for me was the moment in which the boy realizes he’s been seeing himself as “the fat kid” and not as the funny, loyal, amazing guy he is. That moment felt so raw and sweet, and suddenly the story wasn’t about the fake dating and why it happened at all, but instead became about the way we see ourselves and how that can limit us.

I really enjoyed all the stories in the book, and I felt like they fit well together. It’s a great read for anyone who’s a fan of the authors represented in the collection or of romance and romance tropes in general. I felt like the book does a great job paying homage to tropes while adding some fresh, new sparkle to them.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Stories feature some POC and LGBTQ+ characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl, two boys, and two girls. In one story, two boys go swimming in their underwear. In another, a girl references the difference between romantic touches and touching intimate places as a function of complicated lifts and catches in dance.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of SERENDIPITY in exchange for my honest review.