Review of With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

With stories like this, I may just become a convert to contemporary YA! Well, at least an Elizabeth Acevedo fan. I’m hoping to get Clap When You Land next month too. From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award-winning title The Poet Xcomes a dazzling novel in prose about a girl with talent, pride,...

Review and Blog Tour for Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow by Jessica Redland

Any day I have Jessica on my blog, is a happy day. Welcome to my stop for the Finding Love at Hedgehog Hollow Blog Tour. Hint: I loved it! Can love really be found when you stop looking for it...?As Samantha Wishaw watches the love of her life marry another woman, she’s ready to give...

Review of Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

Book 2 in the Shadow and Bone trilogy was just as immersive, imaginative and enticing as Book 1. Enter the Grishaverse with Book Two of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy by the #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom.Soldier. Summoner. Saint. Alina Starkov’s power has grown, but not without a price. She is the Sun Summoner—hunted...

Review of When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton

In 1960s Florida, a young Cuban exile will risk her life—and heart—to take back her country in this exhilarating historical novel from the author of The Last Train to Key West and Next Year in Havana, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.Beautiful. Daring. Deadly. The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez—her family, her people, her country. Recruited...

My Favourite 19 Books of 2019

Goodreads tells me that I've had a very enjoyable year in reading. In fact, I gave 21 books out of 119 a five star rating; and gave an average rating of 4.1 overall. Once a story brings me joy and provides intriguing characters, I'm fairly generous with my stars (espresso shots on this blog). However,...

Review of A Charm of Finches by Suanne Laqueur

Ex-escort Javier Landes is asking for his third chance at love. And the third time is the charm. He meets an art therapist named Steffen Finch and what starts as casual deepens into a passionate relationship—everything Jav has ever wanted, and everything he fears losing. Stef’s business card reads Curator & Sailor. His creativity and insightful...

Review of Bat Wings, Rings & Apron Strings by Erin Johnson

A delicious wedding. A sour and supernatural curse. Will this baker's next bite be her last? With her wedding to Hank fast approaching, Imogen Banks has come a long way from the magical contest that brought her to Bijou Mer. But when conspirators seek to sabotage the witch's big day, she fears her latest recipe for...

Review of Grimoires, Spas & Chocolate Straws by Erin Johnson

Sandy slaughter. An enchanting suspect. Can a magical baker protect her friends from a dangerous paradise? Stranded on Badlands Island, Imogen Banks is driving herself crazy looking for her brother. So when the spell-casting baker's friends suggest they escape for a luxurious dragon spa treatment, she doesn't need a second invitation. But her hopes for coastal...

My 15 Favourite Reads of 2018

2018 brought me lots of lovely reads, I'm happy to say. Out of the 102 books I read, I rated quite a few 5 stars... 18, according to Goodreads. When I looked through that list though, I dropped off three as I couldn't really see myself re-visiting them. These top 15 are the ones I'd...

Review of Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

After the death of her beloved grandmother, a Cuban-American woman travels to Havana, where she discovers the roots of her identity--and unearths a family secret hidden since the revolution...Havana, 1958. The daughter of a sugar baron, nineteen-year-old Elisa Perez is part of Cuba's high society, where she is largely sheltered from the country's growing political...