I have realized that friends to lovers is a trope I struggle to get on board with and this unfortunately became another case with reading this book. I thought the writing was just fine and I did like the characters, I didn’t love the plot choices though.
There was too much focus on Miles and the girl that everyone thought he was supposed to be with even if there wasn’t any legs for that plot line to stand on. I was tired of hearing about Lisette and how forceful Jemma and others were about the situation. I didn’t mind the dating lessons and thought those provided good opportunity for some closeness.
I’m not going to keep going on here, this one wasn’t for me, and that’s okay.
I love a good story set out on the sea and this was another amazing book from Arlem Hawks. I enjoy her historical stories so much and she’s a must read author in this genre.
I adored May and Elias. I loved that May had to work through a complicated past and learn from mistakes and she grew and took in new information about life aboard a boat. And sweet Elias who wanted to be loved for him. All of the soft and quiet things he did for May had me melting.
And getting to see the Peyton’s too!! I’m so happy they were included in this story and I loved being back on this ship. It’s a short and heartfelt romance. Y’all know I’m a fan of forced proximity and maybe that’s why I loved ocean stories so much?? They get to be together all the time and you get to see a genuine slow burn romance bloom in the best ways. Combined with action and the thrill of wondering what ship was on the horizon this isn’t a book to be missed.
Overall audience notes: - Historical Romance - Language: none - Romance: kisses - Violence: moderate - Content Warnings: life threatening injuries, skirmishes on a boat, loss of life...more
Oooo y’all know I’m a sucker for arranged marriages and I adored this one so dang much. I loved Konstantin and Suzana. They were incredible on their own and the chemistry between them was palpable.
I loved how strong Suzana was. And that all of the terrible hands she had been dealt didn’t deter her from being open to the softness and joy of a new path before her. I loved her ability to work with others and her resilient and tender nature was incredibly endearing.
And Konstantin?? A cinnamon roll of a Zupan who is also obsessed with his wife? Say less. I loved how he was balanced. Showing up to take down enemies when needed, and also working hard to show Suzana that he was a safe place to land. And when they both found comfort in each other I was a goner.
I love clearly well researched historicals and this was amazing. I felt like I was a part of this world, and learned a lot more about the time period and battles between vassals. There were betrayals and twists, perfectly scripted action scenes, and quiet moments of forgiveness and love. I loved all of the themes and care that went into the beautifully crafting of this story. I can’t wait for book two!
Overall audience notes: - Historical Fiction + Romance - Language: none - Romance: closed door between a married couple - Violence: moderate-high - Content Warnings: mentions of rape (recounted, not in detail, but definitely mentioned), miscarriage, loss of life, battle/war themes
Merged review:
Thank you to the author and publisher for the gifted copy.
Oooo y’all know I’m a sucker for arranged marriages and I adored this one so dang much. I loved Konstantin and Suzana. They were incredible on their own and the chemistry between them was palpable.
I loved how strong Suzana was. And that all of the terrible hands she had been dealt didn’t deter her from being open to the softness and joy of a new path before her. I loved her ability to work with others and her resilient and tender nature was incredibly endearing.
And Konstantin?? A cinnamon roll of a Zupan who is also obsessed with his wife? Say less. I loved how he was balanced. Showing up to take down enemies when needed, and also working hard to show Suzana that he was a safe place to land. And when they both found comfort in each other I was a goner.
I love clearly well researched historicals and this was amazing. I felt like I was a part of this world, and learned a lot more about the time period and battles between vassals. There were betrayals and twists, perfectly scripted action scenes, and quiet moments of forgiveness and love. I loved all of the themes and care that went into the beautifully crafting of this story. I can’t wait for book two!
Overall audience notes: - Historical Fiction + Romance - Language: none - Romance: closed door between a married couple - Violence: moderate-high - Content Warnings: mentions of rape (recounted, not in detail, but definitely mentioned), miscarriage, loss of life, battle/war themes...more
First of all, this is much more historical fiction than anything else. Which is FINE. But since I didn’t read the synopsis I didn’t know so I’m passing a long that information to you. I enjoyed seeing these people in history through this lens. It was a bit dramatic (as expected for a KM book) and held my attention well. I didn’t have a hard time picking up and continuing the story.
NOW. If you’re like me and only have a vague memory of who ends up with who, who dies, etc. you will spoil yourself by going doing historical deep dives online (aka what I did because my history nerd side came out). This didn’t turn me off from reading it and I think it added to the flair of where the story is going. I am curious how this will be pulled into a series. It’s not ROMANTIC but there is romance. There’s some sweet moments and cute things, I wish there would have been more development involved though.
Overall audience notes: - Historical Fiction + Romance - Language: low - Romance: vague open door - Violence: low...more
I think this was a good book overall and it does have its audience. I do think that the audience isn’t quite me. Some aspects didn’t work for me, but some did.
I liked most of the scenes involving the two main leads, Ami and Edmund. There’s a lot of moments for them to get to know each other and when a book only has one main kissing scene you want it to deliver and it does. I thought they had wonderful chemistry. I also thought the historical aspects were interesting too.
It is a standalone and wraps up most things well. There was one plot point that threw me off about closing part of the story, the rest was good though. The faith elements were fairly well woven in too. It is a more moderate theme throughout.
Joanna Barker is just my favorite. I love her books so much and this newest release was a gem too. I love the combination of historical romance + romantic suspense. There is the perfect air of mystery throughout that leaves you guessing and flipping the pages. Add in a lovely swoony romance and this is the ultimate combination.
I loved Verity! I loved how unique and dynamic she was. How clever and filled with a lot of tenacity to do things on her own and learning to let others in and find that trusting piece she had been missing. And of course I was smitten with Nathaniel. He melted me into a puddle and was protective and brave and wanted to be Verity’s partner. Not once trying to overstep. I loved the way the came together and the tender quiet moments they found along the way.
I enjoyed the side story that worked back into the plot (do I spy maybe a future story???). I loved the close friendships and getting to see Jack and Ginny again too.
I love the way India Holton writes stories. I love that they are wild and outlandish and combine historical and fantasy aspects into a spell binding story. I think the ornithologist plot line was really fun. The concept of all of these interesting birds with different powers and everyone trying to catch them? It led to some great scenes that had me chuckling.
I’m grateful this had the POV for both the FMC and MMC. There was a third and I don’t think that would have been necessary for the story so while I didn’t hate those chapters, I didn’t love them either. I did love the romance between Beth and Devon. The rival to lovers trope was well executed and there was a lot of soft and tender swoon. I loved the audiobook and just had a genuinely good time reading this book. I can’t wait for the series!
Overall audience notes: - Historical fantasy romance - Language: low, scattered throughout - Romance: 2-3 vague open door scenes - Violence: moderate...more
I adored the first book in this series so much I jumped at the chance to receive a copy of book two (these can be read as standalones with no issues!!). But then I feel like I struggled way more than I hoped for getting through it.
The Beauty and the Beast vibes were definitely woven into the story. I could see the nods to the original and how it was adapted for a historical romance setting. I loved the unique set up for the FMC and how she came to meet the MMC. They had some sweet moments throughout and there’s good themes too. I enjoyed the small faith elements too. The side characters were charming and added to the story too.
I had issues with the aura and writing style of the book. And it’s hard to explain but it came across as if it was written as if the main cast were younger characters and not fully grown adults. I had a disconnect and struggled to stay engaged reading.
The audiobook was fantastic though. I love having two narrators for both the male and female leads. I thought they did a great job and if you want to try this book, absolutely recommend this format.
I wanted to love this and I don’t know if it was totally a me issue or if I just had a disconnect with this book. A lot of the writing felt stagnant. It was missing an aura of romance and the characters didn’t have a lot of those crucial connection moments to build up to the kissing scenes I love.
I did like these characters. Lydia learned to stand on her own and I liked her personality and demeanor. I still don’t know how she was all of a sudden medically trained enough to perform stitches?? But I guess that’s a question for another day.
Lucas was good too. He was endearing and kind. I liked the effort he put into helping others and learning to let go of his guilt. His brother was sweet too and I loved the addition of Charles to the story.
I found the plot to be somewhat incohesive. It felt like two stories were happening and they didn’t smoothly come together. I found myself having a hard time picking this up to finish.
I was sucked in by an amazing cover and an interesting synopsis. And I liked it! I loved the combination of my favorite regency time period with some fantasy/paranormal aspects. The phantoms were creepy and brought in that haunted atmosphere well.
Merrick was a FMC I slowly learned to love. I liked that she had strong loyalty and was brave and kind. I wish some of the romantic aspects had been built out a little better. With so much focus on other pieces of the plot the romance got lost in the shuffle and was a tad predictable rather than swoony. BUT I do genuinely think this will be remedied in how book two has been set-up.
The politicking and betrayals were a great enigma and if you’re a fan of purple prose, this is definitely one to try out. I enjoyed it enough that I have plans to see this through and know where the next book is going.
Overall audience notes: - YA Historical Paranormal Romance - Language: low - Romance: kisses - Violence: moderate - Content Warnings: loss of a parent, murder, blood/gore depiction, creature attacks...more
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