lastblossom's reviews
200 reviews

tl;dr
A fairly fast-paced read featuring several interwoven plots and a lot of pining. The secondary couple is very endearing.

About
Duke Tarleton Fanshawe (Tate) is in trouble. His father gambled away the family estate right before his death - at least, that's what the debtors claim. Tate isn't so sure, but he has no way to prove it. Meanwhile, the love of his life, Ianthe, might be married to another if he can't get his estate back. A chance meeting with a lookalike gives Tate an opportunity: Send the lookalike to London in his stead while he goes undercover to learn the truth about his father's dying words.

Thoughts
One of my favorite tropes (swapping places) meets one of my least favorite tropes (lack of communication), which puts this book squarely down the middle for me. I don't mind a little pining, but the fact that Tate wouldn't explain to Ianthe what was going on is... a struggle. The story got much more interesting once she was actively involved in it. As for the story, there's a lot in here - more than you might expect in most regency romances. Several plot threads are moving at once, with interconnected complications and a handful of mysteries along the way, all pushed along at a brisk pace by straightforward writing. Aside from the main couple, there are a few other romances going on as well, all very sweet, so if you love a story with many happy endings, this will probably be a bonus.

Thanks to NetGalley and Dragonblade Publishing for a review copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
More faerie intrigue, mystery, and romance in what is quickly shaping up to be my favorite series. Read it!

Thoughts
Got my hands on this book the same day I had an assignment due, so naturally I read the book first. I have no regrets. The first book in the series is one of my top ten, and this one is equally matched, with all the faerie lore, twists, and Emily/Wendell interaction I loved from the first. The amount of fae politics and court intrigue is bumped up from the first, and it is SO juicy! Ugh, the drama of it all is just so good. A handful of teasers dropped in the first book get some satisfying reveals here, and Emily and Wendell's relationship beats are so sweet.

The book does a great job of bringing back all the things I loved about the first installment, while adding new developments to keep the story moving. Two new major characters are added who initially had the potential to be very annoying, but I wound up really caring about both of them, and it was nice to see Emily's relationship with them grow as well.

I loved the first book so much, and now I love the second book. The ending implies we might get even more(???), and I am SO ready.

I am also, once again, requesting a special edition with handwritten notes and illustrations.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy!

tl;dr
Beautiful art and a straightforward adventure story about an out-of-place teen trying to get her family back.

About
Norah is a young witch with no magic, a tough place to be when your aunt is the world's most powerful witch. But when her aunt disappears, Norah might be the only one who can find her - with a little help from the devil Lucifer himself. A full color graphic novel.

Thoughts
This book moves at a fairly brisk pace with a lot of world-building explained as you go. The world itself is so vast that we only get surface-level information, but it's largely enough to keep track of the adventure that our wayward heroes are on. Norah is way in over her head, but her determination to get her aunt back keeps the story focused as well. Lucifer is an interesting amalgam of various trickster types, but the story is way less about him than it is about Norah. The art is highly detailed and expressive with a very soothing color palette, and the character designs are all very appealing.  Overall, a lovely oneshot for anyone looking for cozy witchy vibes.

Thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for a review copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
A charming lead fights to save her family business in a tale about food, magic, and finding your own identity.

About
Mila feels out of place in Coral Beach, a small city where being Filipino makes her stand out. The only place where she can be herself is the Banana Leaf, her father's Filipino-Indian fusion food truck. Unfortunately, a new celebrity chef restaurant might put the truck out of business, especially after she discovers they've stolen her family recipes. But what can one person even do about it?

Thoughts
Growing up in the diaspora has some unique challenges, and I've read a lot of MG books lately that address this. This one in particular though really manages to hit it from multiple angles. It's difficult to try to shave off pieces of yourself to fit in, but it's also difficult when other people challenge your choices and make you feel "not enough." That being said, I think Mila's growth in learning to accept herself will resonate with any reader, and her own revelations really hit home. Ajay was also a great secondary character, with growing up and fitting in problems of his own, and their friendship over the course of the book was my favorite part. My second favorite part was, of course, all the descriptions of food. Filipino and Indian food are both excellent, and if there were a Banana Leaf food truck in my area, you can bet I'd be a regular customer. The ending is fun and hopeful, with all the loose ends tying up very neatly.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the advance copy.

tl;dr
A little too sweet for my tastes, but should land perfectly with anyone looking for soul mates and tales of undying love.

Thoughts
True believers would call this romance pure and sweet. Bitter cynics like myself would call it sappy. Things like "soul mates" and "love that transcends all other loves" don't typically do it for me, and it was pretty clear going in that this is exactly the kind of story this book was about to dish up. So why did I bite? Well, I'm a huge sucker for the "my love doesn't know it's me and I can't tell them" plot line, so I showed up to the party anyway. And for the most part, yeah, I'm glad I did. That plot played out well, with all the drama, angst, and uncertain feelings that I love. There's also a very tender and honest depiction of grief, and the various ways it can present itself, that I appreciated.

The rest is officially Not For Me. World building is loose, with little reasoning about how or why any of afterlife rules work, along with the absolutely wild fact that one of the characters is literally a medium, and we all just handle that super casually. But you didn't show up here to read philosophical musings about the afterlife - you showed up to read a story about undying love around a couple that you can cheer for. And if that's what you want on the menu tonight, then dig in.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
Recommended for anyone who wants gritty fantasy heists with high stakes and lots of backstabbing.

Thoughts
I've been looking forward to sinking my teeth into this sequel ever since I read the first book. There are a lot of stories that end on a "it's gonna be so big next time!" cliffhanger that don't always seem to quite hit the same highs, but this one very neatly ties a lot of the threads set up in the previous volume (BTW, these definitely need to be read in order). The blurb promises more gritty, and more gritty is what we get. Bigger fights, more drama, and a serious death toll. Just like the first book, expect lots of twists, conflicting intentions, and betrayal. There's definitely more relationship-building here, with a pairing that I've been cheering for actually getting their moment in the sun, which felt like a welcome bit of fresh air compared to how dark the rest of the book is. One of the new characters introduced is also a total badass delight. The ending is open-ended enough to leave room for future installments, but I'd also be satisfied to see the adventure end here.

Unfortunately, my favorite character

Ivan gets an utterly lousy deal. He makes terrible choices, everyone he cares about dies, and he's never even given a shot at redemption afterwards. I was really looking forward to seeing more of him after the first book, but alas, he was destined for tragedy.

Overall, follows through on the first book pretty solidly, but I can't help but be mad about [name redacted].

Thanks to NetGalley and Gallery books for an advance copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
Another great installment in the Wrexford & Sloane series with a well-researched historical mystery and a very strong cast.

Thoughts
The historical and scientific research that goes into this series has always impressed me, and this book is probably one of the best in the whole lot. I absolutely love Andrea Penrose's ability to build up the thrill of scientific discovery. With most of our mystery-solving crew now well established, the focus of this book manages to be the mystery instead of the relationships. Not that we don't get a touch of drama between Kit and Cordelia, and unfolding a bit more of Wrex's history is a welcome piece of storytelling, but it is nice to see everyone working together so efficiently to unravel what turns out to be a very cool mystery. This also feels like it might be the last "casual" story of the series, with even more international intrigue happening, along with my new favorite character (I've always had a soft spot for librarians). The Weasels are, as always, a delight, with Peregrine finally hitting one of the plot points I've always wondered about (in terms of recognizing art style), and I'm happy to see that they haven't been relegated to background characters over the course of the series.

Fans of the series will find this another solid book. Newcomers are welcome to start here if it's what you've got, but I do heartily recommend reading at least the first volume just to set the stage.

Thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for an advance copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
Lots of mixed mythologies and a relatable lead, but this reader found it incredibly difficult to follow along.

Thoughts
Ankoku is a likable lead, and I clicked with a lot of his feelings, but I had trouble keeping tabs on the story. There's a lot going on in here: werewolves, dragons, elves, vampires, time travel, 9/11 (???), and a grab bag of other world mythologies. Reading the other reviews, I feel like the odd one out here, because I felt the pacing to be really slow - stopping often to explain the various pieces of world building and describe settings in great detail before moving the plot forward. I think the stop-and-go nature of this made it hard for me to follow along, because I found myself losing the plot more than once. Anyone who likes heaps of world-building and mythology will probably find more in here than I did.

Thanks to NetGalley and Steely Co. Publishing for the review copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
An exciting conclusion to the series with lots more action than the previous installments, and a delightful central couple.

Thoughts
I discovered this series sometime last year, and tore through every available book with reckless abandon. By the time the fourth book started dropping hints about the final romance, I was already entirely on board with the proposed couple. And I am very pleased to report that it is everything that was promised. Móirín was already one of my favorites, so it's great to finally see her get the focus. Fitz hadn't gotten quite as much attention in previous volumes, so there was a bit of a rush to fill us in on his backstory in this volume, but nothing too egregious. Their banter was very cute, with enough gentle ribbing to be playful without getting mean. That being said, the romance definitely takes a back seat to the plot here, with threads from all of the previous books in the series finally coming together. There's a good chunk of action, some mystery, some blood, and a lot of little twisty plot things to keep readers guessing. As always, two extra stories of varying genres are included. They're both a fun read, although the comedy one can feel very jarring sitting between tense chapters of main story plot. Overall, this feels like a great conclusion to the series. Mysteries from the previous books are wrapped up nicely, and the central couple are exceptionally cute. I will miss reading DPS, but I am happy how it ended.

Thanks to NetGalley and Shadow Mountain Publishing for an advance copy! All thoughts in this review are my own.

tl;dr
A well-paced Victorian mystery that pays faithful homage to the Sherlock Holmes canon while introducing new characters. The young leads still have a lot to learn, leaving some of the solutions to feel more like luck than skill.

Thoughts
The author's notes briefly touch on the myriad Sherlock Holmes spinoffs that introduce new family members, include robot dinosaurs, or have him wake up in the 22nd century. To my pride/shame, I have seen all of those adaptations. And I am as surprised as the author that so few of them touch on the beloved Baker Street Irregulars (For completeness' sake, I will note I've seen the short-lived Netflix series "The Irregulars," but that one leaned very hard into supernatural elements and less into crime solving). And so I was delighted to see the start of a new series featuring Timothy Badger, a former irregular who was inspired to follow in Holmes' footsteps and become a private detective. His partner in crime solving is Benjamin Watson (no relation), a brilliant young man with a varied work history and the skills to show for it. Holmes believes in them enough that he's decided to sponsor them, and he's even sent them their first case - a complicated problem involving a man murdered in the dark of a seance.

This first book reads a lot like a pilot episode. The mystery is a tight one with a clean solution. Clues and reveals lead to more clues and reveals, with each piece fitting into the others very nicely. Our two leads still have the proverbial training wheels on, though. Holmes has to give them a hint more than once, and more reveals come from listening at the right time rather than the art of deduction. A few brief discussions about the racism, classism, and sexism common to this era don't come to any particular conclusion. The inclusion of a somewhat grating reporter (who's set up to maybe become a friend eventually) is also a point of frustration. The pilot-like feel of this book makes it a hard one to review on its own. There's a very purposeful "more to come" ending (despite it not being a cliffhanger), that makes this reader feel very dissatisfied. But it seems to be working, since I will definitely be tuning in for the next installment.

EDIT: I've read the second book now, and I like it. Check out my full review here.

Thanks to NetGalley and Severn House for an advance copy. All thoughts in this review are my own.