Review: After All by Karina Halle

After All by Karina Halle

Series: Standalone

Published: July 2nd, 2017

Publisher: Metal Blonde Books

310 pages (ebook)

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Acquired this book: Bought

Rating: 4 stars

Warning: May contain spoilers

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Emmett Hill is a perfect gentleman.

At least that's what his PR team wants the world to think.

Tall, handsome, and wickedly charming, Emmett is in the midst of a career comeback, having landed the role of a villain in a popular TV show. The only problem is, Emmett has come a long way from the "nice guy" characters he used to play and his old squeaky clean image is quickly being tarnished by bar fights, womanizing and bad boy behaviour. Considering he's two years shy of forty, it's an act he needs to drop. And fast.

Enter Alyssa Martin.

At twenty-eight, Alyssa is tired and ready for a change. Her job as office manager has grown stagnant and unfulfilling, while she's become continuously frustrated with Vancouver's lackluster dating scene, always searching for Mr. Right in a city of Mr. Wrongs.

When Emmett and Alyssa's paths cross at a mutual friend's wedding, their chemistry is off-the-charts hot, culminating in a steamy one-night stand.

What neither expected was for the media catch wind of their coupling - and run with it.

Now Emmett has to convince Alyssa to date him for the sake of his image. Her curvy, cute and "normal" persona is just the ticket to smoothing out his reputation, while Emmett provides Alyssa with the excitement and change her life has been lacking.

The only problem is, the two fight like cats and dogs outside of the bedroom.

And considering their arrangement is just for show, they shouldn't be in the bedroom with each other anyway.

Right?

Try telling them that.

After All is written by a Canadian, set in Canada, and features Canadian characters. Hallelujah! This is way too rare. Around Canada Day, I saw Karina Halle mention on Twitter that After All (and possibly her next few book?) was set in Canada, and honestly that’s what made me buy this one. I’d also just read and enjoyed Racing the Sun, which helped, but without even reading the synopsis, I bought After All the day it came out solely because I knew it was set in Canada.

After All features a sexy, dirty-talking TV star, Emmett Hill, and a sassy, prickly, independent ‘regular’ girl, Alyssa Martin. Both Emmett and Alyssa were well fleshed-out, and I appreciated that we got to learn about their backgrounds because it helped explain their motives for a lot of things. Their sexual chemistry was off the charts, and their banter was a lot of fun to read. Things were never easy for them, but because they were so obviously right for each other, it was easy to root for them. I also appreciated that while there was a bit of drama and some misunderstandings, the story was overall fairly low on the angst. These are the types of books I’m drawn to lately - light, funny, and sexy.

With several familiar and fun tropes at play, complex characters, and a great blend of humour, emotion, and romance, After All is a quick and enjoyable contemporary romance.

  

Have you read After All? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Have you read any of Halle's other books?

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Review: The Crowns of Croswald by DE Night

My review copy of Crowns of Croswald came from the publicist with all these amazing extras. Hands down one of the coolest packages I've ever received! I'm obsessed with the Glanagerie bottle, and after reading the book and finding out their purpose, I love it even more! Thank you JKS Communications!

The Crowns of Croswald by DE Night
Series: Croswald #1
Published: July 21st, 2017
Publisher: Stories Untold Press
310 pages (ARC)
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Acquired this book: From the publicist in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
Rating: 4 stars
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In Croswald, the only thing more powerful than dark magic is one secret…

For sixteen years Ivy Lovely has been hidden behind an enchanted boundary that separates the mundane from the magical. When Ivy crosses the border, her powers awaken. Curiosity leads her crashing through a series of adventures at the Halls of Ivy, a school where students learn to master their magical blood and the power of Croswald’s mysterious gems. When Ivy’s magic––and her life––is threatened by the Dark Queen, she scrambles to unearth her history and save Croswald before the truth is swept away forever.

 

The Crowns of Croswald is a fun, fresh fantasy from debut author DE Night. Despite some similarities to Harry Potter, Night has managed to take the familiar ‘orphaned child sent to magical boarding school, destined for greatness’ premise and create a different, compelling world.

Sixteen-year-old Ivy has lived her entire life shut away as a servant for a royal family, with only a pack of scaldrons (dragons, whose job it is to cook food in their mouths) and a dwarf who turns up occasionally as companions. When she turns sixteen, an accident in the kitchen gets her thrown out of the castle, but she soon finds herself on her way to Croswald and the Halls of Ivy, where she’s set to learn to be a scrivenist, a magical record keeper. I loved the world of Croswald and the Halls of Ivy, the concept of magic and the roles of magical people, the magical creatures, and of course Ivy herself. She's strong, smart, brave, impetuous, and curious, and it was so much fun following along on her adventures.  

With lots of action and magical antics, plenty of mystery to keep you guessing, and a great cast of characters, The Crowns of Croswald is sure to be a hit with fans of fantasy. If you’re a teacher/parent/guardian who’s looking for something new and fun for your tween or teen, make sure to pick up The Crowns of Croswald. Ivy is sixteen, which automatically made my mind go ‘this is YA’ but it reads like a Middle Grade book, so I think it’ll have wide appeal, regardless of the readers’ age. I can’t wait to continue on with this series and see what’s next for Ivy and her friends.

 

 

Have you read The Crowns of Croswald? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Do you like fantasy?

 

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Review: Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee

Star-Crossed by Barbara Dee

Series: Standalone
Published: March 14th, 2017
Publisher: Aladdin
256 pages (eARC)
Genre: Contemporary Middle Grade/Retelling/LGBTQ
Acquired this book: Via Edelweiss in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
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Mattie, a star student and passionate reader, is delighted when her English teacher announces the eighth grade will be staging Romeo and Juliet. And she is even more excited when, after a series of events, she finds herself playing Romeo, opposite Gemma Braithwaite’s Juliet. Gemma, the new girl at school, is brilliant, pretty, outgoing—and, if all that wasn’t enough: British.

As the cast prepares for opening night, Mattie finds herself growing increasingly attracted to Gemma and confused, since, just days before, she had found herself crushing on a boy named Elijah. Is it possible to have a crush on both boys AND girls? If that wasn’t enough to deal with, things backstage at the production are starting to rival any Shakespearean drama! In this sweet and funny look at the complicated nature of middle school romance, Mattie learns how to be the lead player in her own life.

 

I’d just like to start out by saying I am so glad this book exists. When I first heard about Star-Crossed and discovered it was LGBTQ+ Middle Grade, I was over the moon. I tried to keep my expectations in check, but I was excited, and luckily this book exceeded my expectations.

When I was twelve I was obsessed with Romeo and Juliet. The Leo DiCaprio/Claire Danes movie version had just come out and I bought myself a copy of the play to read. While I see the story’s faults as an adult, I loved it back then, so I know I would have loved this book and its many creative parallels to Shakespeare’s story. I loved the way the author took a well-known story and made it something new and fresh not only with its middle school setting, but also by having the role of Romeo be a young girl, Mattie, who was questioning her budding feelings for Juliet, or in this case, Gemma. For so many reasons, I wish I’d had this book as a tween or young teen. It would have been nice to see a character like myself, uncertain and questioning.

It’s so important to have books like this in schools and libraries, where kids can seek them out and find characters like themselves - or like their friends or family - in the pages. I appreciated how it was completely age-appropriate and dealt with other real-life issues as well as Mattie’s growth, plus - my favourite part - the realization that it’s okay to like whoever you want, whether that’s boys or girls or both. I’ve read so few books with positive bisexual rep, and the fact a Middle Grade book not only did it, but did it so well makes me incredibly happy.

Star-Crossed is a sweet, funny, touching story with a relatable and memorable main character as well as a wonderful cast of side characters. It took me back to my own middle school days of obsessive, confusing, angsty, all-consuming crushes and navigating school and friends and family life. I loved that Mattie’s bisexuality wasn’t something for her to ‘overcome’ or this big, shameful thing - it was just another part of her, albeit a confusing part as she figured things out. I’d love to see books like this as required reading for tweens and young teens, whether they’re gay, straight, or anywhere in between, and I also think it’d be a great book for teachers and parents to read. I’ve been recommending Star-Crossed a lot since I read it and I’ll continue to do so!

Have you read Star-Crossed? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Have you read any other Middle Grade books with LGBTQ+ characters?

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Review: The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters by Jaimie Admans

The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters by Jaimie Admans

Series: Standalone

Published: June 7th, 2017

Publisher: HQ Digital

272 pages (eARC)

Genre: Contemporary Romantic Comedy

Acquired this book: Via NetGalley in exchange for honest consideration

Warning: May contain spoilers

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Where dreams come true...?

Wendy Clayton stopped believing in fairy tales a long time ago. Instead, she has a ‘nice’ life. Nice job. Nice flat. Absolutely no men. Until her life is turned upside-down when her elderly neighbour, Eulalie, passes away and leaves her the Château of Happily Ever Afters!

But there’s a catch: she must share the sprawling French castle with Eulalie’s long-lost nephew, Julian. And no matter how gorgeous he is, or how easily she finds herself falling head over heels, Wendy needs to find a way to get rid of him…

Because surely happily ever afters don’t happen in real life?

I’ve been a fan of Jaimie Admans’s books since her debut, Kismetology. The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters was a breath of fresh air. With Admans’ trademark humour, wisdom, and sass, plus a touch of magic, this book was a delight from beginning to end.

I connected quickly and easily with Wendy. Besides being the same age, we’re similar in other ways - she’s afraid to go outside her comfort zone or take chances, and she has trouble trusting people, and I related to those things. I think if I’d been placed in the same situation as hers (co-inheriting a French chateau with a hot Scot), I would have acted/reacted much differently than she did, but her pettiness and immaturity were fun to read and had me laughing myself silly. I was glad when she started to come around and formed a tentative friendship with Julian, because these two were perfect for each other. They were both complex characters with realistic issues and hang-ups about relationships, and I loved watching them turn from enemies to a tentative truce to friends to something more. I adored Julian, and I appreciated how he turned Wendy’s perceptions of him upside down - he had so much depth to him and was much more than just a pretty face and a hot body.

Hilarious, charming, and romantic, The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters is one of my new favourite romantic comedies. I was transported to Normandy and could easily picture myself living in the Chateau and experiencing life in the village. Read this book if you want to feel like you’ve been whisked away to the French countryside where you’ll laugh, swoon, fall in love, and be reminded what it’s like to believe in magic.

  

Have you read The Chateau of Happily Ever Afters? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Do you like romantic comedies? Have a favourite?

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Review: Get it Together, Delilah! by Erin Gough

Get it Together, Delilah! by Erin Gough
Series: Standalone
Published: April 4th, 2017
Publisher: Chronicle Books
336 pages (eARC)
Genre: Contemporary Young Adult/LGBTQ
Acquired this book: Via Edelweiss in exchange for honest consideration
Warning: May contain spoilers
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A story about falling in love, literally.

Seventeen-year-old Delilah Green wouldn’t have chosen to do her last year of school this way, but she figures it’s working fine. Her dad is on a trip to fix his broken heart after her mom left him for another man, so Del’s managing the family café in his absence. Easy, she thinks. But what about:
- homework and the nasty posse of mean girls making her life hell
- or how one of Del’s best friends won’t stop guilt-tripping her
- and her other best friend is so in love with his tutor he might go to jail for her if Del doesn’t do something

But who cares about any of that really, because above all else, she can’t stop thinking about beautiful Rosa who dances every night across the street until one day Rosa comes in the café door . . .

And if Rosa starts thinking about Del, too, then how in the name of caramel milkshakes will Del get the rest of it together?

 

 

Get it Together, Delilah! was absolutely delightful. It was different from a lot of the YA I’ve read over the past few years. It tackled a lot of big things in an honest way, which I loved.

Delilah was a fantastic character. She had a great voice, and I connected with her easily. She was flawed, she made mistakes, she had moments where I alternately wanted to smack her upside the head and hug her tight. Her emotions rang so true to me. It was largely because of her flaws that she felt like such a real character. She was a teenage girl and she had teenage girl reactions and emotions - anger, confusion, lust. It made her easy to root for and I wanted to see her succeed because she tried so damn hard, no matter what crap life threw at her - homophobic jerks, absent parents, struggles at school, issues with friends. While Delilah was well fleshed-out and had a great character arc, and we got to know other characters, particularly Charlie, more in depth, I wish we’d seen more of Rosa and gotten to know more about her other than the fact she was smart, beautiful, could dance, wanted to save the library, and Del was in love with her. I appreciated the struggles they faced and the fact the story dealt with one character who was openly gay and another who wasn’t, but I would have loved to see more of them together and learn more about Rosa as a person.

I wish there were more books like Get it Together, Delilah. While I’d love f/f that focuses more on the romance, I’m still grateful for books like this, with a normal teenager doing normal teen things, having a life, dealing with real problems, and also falling in love. It's cute and sweet and mostly uncomplicated, and leaves you feeling good. I understand there’s a need for coming out books and for honest discussions about homophobia, but I’m always happy to read a book where a gay teen is already out and they accept who they are. Delilah definitely had to deal with homophobic jerks, but the story was about so much more than that. 

There are other things I’d like to talk about, but I feel like I’d be getting into spoiler territory, so I’ll just say this: if you enjoy contemporary YA with realistic characters and real-life struggles, read Get it Together, Delilah! This book is charming, funny, sweet, and memorable. I look forward to more books from Erin Gough in the future.

Have you read Get it Together, Delilah? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Do you have a favourite f/f YA book?

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Review: Let it Shine by Alyssa Cole

Let it Shine by Alyssa Cole
Series: Standalone
Published: March 14th, 2016
Publisher: Seditious Sisters
134 pages (ebook)
Genre: Historical Romance
Acquired this book: Bought
Warning: May contain spoilers
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Sofronia Wallis knows that proper Black women don’t court trouble by upending the status quo, but it’s 1961 and the Civil Rights movement is in full swing. Sofie’s spent half her life being prim, proper, and reserved—as if that could bring her mother back—but the nonviolent protests happening across the South bring out her inner agitator.

Ivan Friedman has devoted his life to boxing, loving the finesse of a well-delivered punch and the penance of receiving one. His family escaped from Europe before the horrors of WWII, and Ivan decides to help fight injustice in their new country, even if it goes against all his instincts as a fighter.

When Ivan and Sofie meet, they realize that their pasts are intertwined and—with the sparks that fly between them—perhaps their futures will be too. With everything in their society lined up against them, will Sofie and Ivan be able to beat the odds? Or will their chance at love be destroyed by the tumultuous times they live in? 

 

Let it Shine is the first fictional story I’ve read set during the Civil Rights Movement. It was emotional and moving, while also being a painful and eye-opening read. The horrors people of colour (and allies), had to endure during that time were absolutely heartbreaking, not to mention rage-inducing. And despite being set over fifty years ago, the story is a sharp reminder that while many things have changed for people of colour, racism is still far too prevalent in our society. Despite its ‘historical’ setting, this story is timeless, and it’s as important now as it ever was.

Sofie and Ivan were great characters. I loved how well fleshed-out they were, especially considering Let it Shine is a novella. We saw glimpses of their individual and shared history, and the events that made them into the people they were. They were both strong and determined, and while they had been through and were going through difficult times, they remained strong. They faced so many obstacles - a painful shared history as children, and then as adults trying to forge a relationship in a world that was against them separately and together. 

One of the things I appreciated about this story was how things weren't sugarcoated. It showed the ugly, scary side of things, the uncomfortable and painful bits, the injustices people fought so hard against, often at the risk of their own safety. I also appreciated that we got to see the prejudices within groups of marginalized people. I think a lot of people are under the impression that those who have been oppressed or face racism or prejudice of any sort must stick together because they understand how it feels, but that’s not always true, and Let it Shine showed that. Sofie’s family was Black and her dad disliked Jews, and Ivan's family was Jewish and his dad disliked Black people. That element was woven into the story in a natural way; not only is it a fact of life for many people, but it also realistically added to the obstacles Sofie and Ivan faced. I admired Cole’s honesty and that she didn’t shy away from difficult, painful subject matter.

In Let it Shine, Alyssa Cole did a fantastic job of balancing the history and politics of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement with coming-of-age aspects and a believable romance. It was easy to connect with and root for both Sofie and Ivan, and satisfying to see them find love and a sense of safety in such a tumultuous time.

Have you read Let it Shine? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? Have you read any novels set during the Civil Rights Movement?

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Review: London Belongs to Me by Jacquelyn Middleton

 

It's no secret I'm obsessed with London. I always have been, and the obsession grew after my first visit in 2015. I love books, movies, and TV shows set in England, and as soon as I see the word 'London' or see an iconic London scene on a cover, I'm so there. I couldn't wait to read London Belongs to Me by Jacquelyn Middleton, and I had so much fun seeing London through Alex Sinclair's eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~

London Belongs to Me by Jacquelyn Middleton
Series: Standalone
Published: October 14th, 2016
Publisher: Kirkwall Books
394 pages (paperback)
Genre: Contemporary New Adult
Source: Won from Book Baristas
Warning: May contain spoilers
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A New City A New Start. Same Old Demons.

Your flight is now boarding! Join Alex Sinclair for a life-changing, trans-Atlantic journey. London Belongs to Me is a coming-of-age story about friendship, following your dreams, and learning when to let go … and when to hang on.

Meet Alex, a recent college graduate from Tallahassee, Florida in love with London, pop culture, and comic cons. It’s not easy being twenty-one-years-old, and Alex has never been the most popular girl. She’s an outsider, a geeky fangirl … with dreams of becoming a playwright in a city she’s loved from afar, but never visited. Fleeing America after a devastating betrayal, she believes London is where she’ll be understood, where she belongs. But Alex’s past of panic attacks and broken relationships is hard to escape. When her demons team up with a jealous rival determined to destroy her new British life, Alex begins to question everything: her life-long dream, her new friends, and whether London is where she truly belongs.
 

 

As an Anglophile, I was curious about London Belongs to Me from the moment I heard about it. Throw in the beautiful cover, and I didn’t even need to read the synopsis to know I needed this book. When a few friends read it and said it would be something I’d love, especially because of the nerdy fangirl references, I knew this book was written for people like me, and I was right. London Belongs to Me made my London-loving fangirl heart so happy.

I loved Alex and connected with her easily. Besides a mutual love of London, we’re both fangirls and writers. I’ve never had panic attacks *knocks on wood* but I do have anxiety, and I admired Alex’s strength and bravery taking off to London on her own to pursue her dreams. I appreciated that things weren’t all sunshine and roses for Alex. She had a lot of struggles, both internal and external, and faced plenty of obstacles on her journey. I was outraged on her behalf at some of the things she went through, and I rooted for her so hard, wanting to see her happy and successful. Middleton did a great job of drawing me in and making me care. I felt like Alex was a real person - like she could be a close friend, or even be me.

Besides Alex, London Belongs to Me was full of a wonderfully fleshed-out cast of characters. I adored Alex’s friends Lucy and Freddie and thought they added so much to the story. The three of them together were hilarious, and I liked that their interactions ranged from funny to touching and everything in between. They had disagreements and misunderstandings like normal friends, but they loved each other unconditionally and were always willing to work through any issues they had. I also loved that they were just as nerdy as Alex; all the Doctor Who and Sherlock references made me squee like the fangirl I am. I loved that Alex and Lucy met online and formed a really strong bond; this was just one of the many things I connected to since some of my closest friends are people I’ve met online. I also loved Mark, the hot Irish love interest (seriously, I feel like Ms Middleton peered inside my head and took everything I love and tied it all together in a book). I wish we’d seen more of him, and of him and Alex together, yet I understand why we didn’t. London Belongs to Me isn’t a Romance - it’s a coming-of-age story about self-discovery, and Alex needed to do a lot of things on her own to find her way and figure out her place in the world.

Fun, funny, and engaging, with fantastic characters, a great setting, and an interesting plot, London Belongs to Me sucked me in from beginning to end. This sparkling debut has me impressed with Middleton’s skill as a writer and as a storyteller, and I can’t wait to read more from her.

Have you read London Belongs to Me? What did you think? If you haven't read it, do you plan to? What do you fangirl/boy over? Do you have a city you love reading about?

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