Wow. This was an impulse purchase the day before I read it, and it turned out to be an instant 5 star read for me and one of my favourite books of theWow. This was an impulse purchase the day before I read it, and it turned out to be an instant 5 star read for me and one of my favourite books of the year so far. I shouldn’t be so surprised based on how much everyone else loves this, but I was so surprised! I listened to a specially curated Spotify playlist while reading and the atmosphere was perfect, I just devoured this book. It’s the perfect depiction of first love and falling in love and friends to lovers and the TENSION was off the charts. I was smiling the entire time. If you adore 2000s romcoms, PLEASE read this book, I’m begging you.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Wow, I really wasn't expecting to enjoy thThank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Wow, I really wasn't expecting to enjoy this as much as I did but it really worked for me! I was immediately transported into this world; it's kind of a Little Red Riding Hood retelling but with pirates, which made for a really unique retelling that felt completely fresh and compelling. I loved Mersey and Golde - they both felt distinctive and fierce, and I loved their dynamic together, While the plot felt a tad predictable, particularly in terms of who the villain was, it was easy to read and I had a great time!...more
This is incredibly beautiful - what a love story! Shane and Eva had insane chemistry and I just felt so much emotion whenever they were on page togethThis is incredibly beautiful - what a love story! Shane and Eva had insane chemistry and I just felt so much emotion whenever they were on page together? They come together fifteen years after first meeting, and they’re both in a much better place and it just goes to show how a person can truly be “right person, wrong time”, and I was just rooting for them the whole time. Both characters go through so much growth, even in just the seven days in present day, let alone the fifteen years that this book spans. This was full of emotion and hope and heartbreak and I loved it so so much.
The only reason this isn’t quite a 5 star read for me, was the character of Audre - she kept breaking me out of being immersed in the world, because I had to keep checking what age she was. Why was this 12-year-old acting 17 years old? It was just really jarring to me, because yeah you can have wise kids etc etc, but that is not how a 12-year-old behaves, I’m sorry :((
Other than that, absolutely gorgeous, stunning, I’m constantly thinking about it <3 ...more
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was very beautifully written and fastThank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was very beautifully written and fast-paced, connecting ancestral magic and historical fiction, but I really struggled to connect with the main character Jane. Despite being in her twenties, Jane read a lot younger, which was quite frustrating. I really liked the historical parts of the book, but the magical realism aspect wasn't really working for me. The research done on the historical fiction was really well done and clever, and I think the book would have worked much better for me without the fantasy aspect. I also struggled quite a bit to follow how the timeline was jumping around, but that might have just been me!...more
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Unfortunately I didn't like this as much aThank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Unfortunately I didn't like this as much as the first book - it just felt pretty average. The historical backdrop is fun and adds a deeper element to the story, but I didn't feel the connection between Isabel and Sirius - and the spicy scenes were honestly making me cringe, why was he talking like that ew. I also just found myself not caring about the plot that much either - but it might just be a me thing! There seems to be a lot of people who really liked this!...more
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The epitome of a great friends-to-lovers tThank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The epitome of a great friends-to-lovers trope! I always love Emma Lord's YA contemporaries and this was no exception. Riley and Tom have a plan to carry out all of these adventures together, when Riley visits him in New York after graduating from high school - and I loved following them around the city. The author has such a way of capturing exactly what it feels like to graduate and not really know what you're meant to do now, and the intense emotions that come with experiencing that time in your life.
While the romance is of course a big part in this story, there are two mother-child relationships that are extremely important and at the forefront too, and the complexities that abound as the child grows up into their own person.
All of these characters were so great, and I loved the found family aspect too. There was fantastic banter and all of these characters felt genuinely real. Tom and Riley had the most beautiful friendship and I was rooting for them the whole time (whether that be that they ended up together or just stayed best friends). It's just incredibly charming and I had a wonderful time (and all of the Taylor Swift references were a massive tick in my box too).
Merged review:
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
The epitome of a great friends-to-lovers trope! I always love Emma Lord's YA contemporaries and this was no exception. Riley and Tom have a plan to carry out all of these adventures together, when Riley visits him in New York after graduating from high school - and I loved following them around the city. The author has such a way of capturing exactly what it feels like to graduate and not really know what you're meant to do now, and the intense emotions that come with experiencing that time in your life.
While the romance is of course a big part in this story, there are two mother-child relationships that are extremely important and at the forefront too, and the complexities that abound as the child grows up into their own person.
All of these characters were so great, and I loved the found family aspect too. There was fantastic banter and all of these characters felt genuinely real. Tom and Riley had the most beautiful friendship and I was rooting for them the whole time (whether that be that they ended up together or just stayed best friends). It's just incredibly charming and I had a wonderful time (and all of the Taylor Swift references were a massive tick in my box too)....more
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I wish I had loved this more - I think I jThank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review!
I wish I had loved this more - I think I just had different expectations of it to what it turned out to be. I think I wanted a bit more spookiness? It was a lot lighter than I was expecting, but I just wanted a bit more of the "Haunted Places" that we're promised in the title. I think I really struggled to connect with the main character Lucky - I just couldn't bring myself to care all that much about her, and the romance fell completely flat for me - I didn't feel any chemistry between Lucky and Maverick, and I think it would've made for a far more interesting romance if Xander had been the love interest. Everything about this book just felt very surface-level and lackluster, although I did appreciate the conversations in here about asexuality, which isn't often depicted in romance books....more
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