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The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses by Malka Older

TL;DR: Maybe the strongest in this series so far! Source: NetGalley , Thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Pleiti heads out on job on her own, and we see a fantastic challenge to an old Sherlockian trope. Characters: I loved the cast on this one, there was a great cast here and we see a lot of development with our primary characters Setting: As always I love this Jupiter settlement the…

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The Foreign Exchange by Veronica G. Henry

TL;DR: An intriguing second in a unique series. Source: NetGalley , Thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Mambo Reina is attempting to solve a client’s mystery and gets caught up in so much more. Characters: I liked the variety of the cast here and really was cheering for a lot of them. Not the copy boyfriend though, I am dying to see what happens there. Setting: While the people of New…

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The Gentleman and His Vowsmith by Rebecca Ide

TL;DR: A fantastic start with drag of a middle and end. Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Two families are locked in with a murderer on the loose – it’s less tense than you’d think. Characters: I liked most the characters here. They were quite well done! Setting: The crumbled estate had a great feel to it. Rebecca Ide did a fantastic job with the setting.…

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Stardust in Their Veins by Laura Sebastian

TL;DR: I wish I hadn’t waited so long on this one. Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: The sisters continue to fight both against their mothers and for the kingdoms. Characters: I mean. I liked them in the first book but there was a bit too much dragging out of inner thoughts in this one. Setting: Not the focus but a good enough setting to make it work. Fantasy: I did…

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Their Monstrous Hearts by Yigit Turhan

TL;DR: Quick and creepy! Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Ricardo discovers his grandmother’s life and discovers something terrifying. Characters: No one here was a nice person. Setting: We were confined to a manor and a memoir that kept us in Italy. It wasn’t great but also not the point of the novel. Horror: This was a tense horror novel with a slow build. If that…

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A Letter from the Lonesome Shore by Sylvie Cathrall

TL;DR: I am very disappointed, wow. Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: We finally see E. and Henerey and where they’ve ended up and then how their family reaches them. Characters: The characters I loved in book one were dialed up to 11 and were so much worse. Setting: This was intriguing but sadly we spent much more time on needless handholding to learn anything.…

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The Thrashers by Julie Soto

TL;DR: A surprisingly fast paced and gripping thriller. Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: One girl’s death rocks the It crowd clique. Characters: No one here was good, but you truly end up enjoying all of them. Setting: Not the strongest but it wasn’t necessarily needed with the strength of everything else. Mystery/Thriller: I genuinely liked this setup and…

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Brighter than Scale, Swifter than Flame by Neon Yang

TL;DR: While fun and well written, it lacked some ‘umph’ for me. Source: NetGalley – thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: Yeva is sent to investigate another kingdom for dragons and learns some hard truth. Characters: I’m not sure if it was the narrative structure or the writing but they felt rather flat. Setting: It was a lovely setting, that perhaps needed a bit more attention. Fantasy:…

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The Witch of Whispervale by R. A. Salvatore

TL;DR: Darker and more tense than the first book, but with a great payoff. Source: Netgalley and a purchase for myself! Thank you to Saga and Me! Plot: This one circles back to Keri, and her seeking life over death. Characters: Many of these were characters we met in the original DemonWars books but with new aspects and scars. Setting: Primarily in a small hamlet so this almost felt cozy before…

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A Fellowship of Bakers & Magic by J. Penner

TL;DR: Good bones with a terrible main character. Source: NetGalley, thank you to the publisher! Plot: Arleta wins entry into a famous baking competition but she’s magicless and scared. Characters: I’m going to be honest, Arleta ruined this for me. Setting: I actually really liked the setting on this one! Fantasy: A very light fantasy touch and I enjoyed that. Thoughts: A Fellowship of Bakers…

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The Price of Power by Michael Michel

TL;DR: A fantastic and intricate grimdark fantasy. Source: eArc via the author – I also purchased my own copies as well because I loved it so much! Plot: Our characters find their paths as conflict looms, each completely separate but tying together so well. Characters: Each character truly had their own strong unique voice, which was my favorite overall part of this. Setting: A dark and cold…

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Rose/House by Arkady Martine

TL;DR: I’m not smart enough for this story but I enjoyed it regardless. Source: NetGalley – Thank you so much to the publisher! Plot: A murder in an unbreachable house with it’s own AI personality. It’s a bit creepy and a lot weird. Characters: The characters, outside the house’s own, are fairly shallow but work well in their roles. No one to connect to too intensely. Setting: The inside of Rose…

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The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean

TL;DR: This is warm, feathered hug in a book and I adore it. Source: Netgalley! Thank you so much to the publisher Plot: An overly anxious zookeeper has to try to get her life and her phoenix charge in order to save a species. Characters: Oh my gosh – I started out not liking our main character, but I ended up loving everyone. Setting: A zoo! A ZOO! What a fun and amazing place for a book!…

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Daughter of Daring by Mallory O'Meara

TL;DR: Full of some interesting information but completely ruined for me because of the authorial voice Source: Netgalley! Thank you so much to the publisher Plot: This one primarily covers the rise of Hollywood and film with aspects of Helen Gibson. Characters: Helen is mentioned a lot and is in there, but it touches on so many folks they’ve kind of run together. Setting: If you like Hollywood…

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When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi

TL;DR: Another fun Scalzi, a sort of cheesey thought experiment. Source: Netgalley, thank you to the publisher!! Plot: This one bounces around as the moon turns to cheese and everyone looses their mind. Characters: We don’t really focus on the characters but I enjoyed the ones we saw, even for as briefly as we did. Setting: Again, we moved about but the settings were real and felt genuine in the…

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The Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson

TL;DR: A fun romantasy that fans of ACOTAR will enjoySource: NetGalley – Many thanks to the publisher!  Plot: A halfling girl is captured and on the brink of death is saved by the last person she expected.Characters: I liked them! I don’t think they were anything wild and new, but I enjoyed them nevertheless.Setting: A fantasy world where magic has been destroyed and surprise surprise the world…

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The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar

TL;DR: A beautifully written and imaginative fairy tale about sisters and being broken apart. Source: NetGalley, thank you so much to the publisher!! Plot: The Hawthorn sisters keep the willows between Faerie and the Mortal lands till a persistent suitor change everything. Characters: Lovely characters, though mostly used for the point of the story.Setting: The setting was beautiful, Amal…