Elizabeth Everett has such a vivid writing style that I was immediately transported to Victorian London as soon as I fell into this book. Lucy and Thorne have a wonderful relationship that truly allows the reader to encounter the a world of less gender equality than our own and highlight how special their relationship is because of that. There was a bit of biting my tongue and swallowing my objections to the way events and Lucy's story was presented, but this is not anything the author did wrong. Again, this is a reaction to the world that Lucy lives in, a world she was created by, and a world that is so different from our own. This is vital aspect of the novel and a key point for the reader to consider. There is are some non-Victorian era aspects to please the modern reader like the spicy scenes and the conflict at the heart of the book.

In a sentence a beautifully written, well researched, and delightful book!

This book is a complex and emotional read that will keep you thinking and feeling in ways that you would not have for seen at the start of reading.

I love a read that draws me in and makes me feel for every character. From Billie the adoption social worker trying to have her own child, to Tyler - Billie's husband- a lawyer who is being stalked, to Anne who as a very young teen gave her own child up for adoption, to all the side characters ALL these people have complex personalities and motivations as well their own aspects of bodily and reproductive rights that make this story one that anyone - man or woman, mother or child, husband or wife, innocent or victim - can learn from and feel for. Empathy - in one word that is what this book will leave you with after the mystery is solved.

This is a wonderfully written exploration of so many contemporary social issues and it is a work of fiction that is more than can be captured in a term like domestic thriller or suspense. This is women's fiction, but one that truly brings in the male perspective of infertility treatment, abu5e, vio1ence, adoption, family and psychology. I loved that each of the main characters got their chance to speak directly to me. And by allowing me to see how they each thought and felt directly, Ruskin made this book a gripping psychological drama!

The Keeper of Stars by Buck Turner was a good solid read that had many of the tropes that I annoy reading. If you find tropes like Tropes : He falls first, Second chance romance, a female main character who is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Professional, told via Multiple timelines and Dual POVor if you fell in love with Allie and Noah in Nicholas Spark's The Notebook, then this book will whisk you away in a sweet and touching story of love found and lost, hearts broken and mended, and the strength of Love and Souls to find their back to each other.

I really enjoyed the way that Ellie and Jack's story was kept alive through his written story and that his words were the ones that cause her to question what she thought she knew and begin her on a journey of exploration and reunion. Science meets art and the balance of that pairing creates change. I liked that message that love is that point.

My most unexpected read this year!

New, exciting, romantic, funny, snarky, and just plain delightfully fun, this book was a true holiday gift, no matter which holiday you are closest to.

I began this book expecting a cute, quick, fun holiday read that would entertain me and get me into the Spooky Season Spirit. I was not expecting a book that would captivate me with so many emotions and have every character in it, primary, secondary and background, all tug on my heart and make an impression on me. That is writing that is power and a writer that has skills! I literally was grinning ear to ear as I rooted for Coal and Hex to get their romantic happy ending, and cheered for them to step out of the shadows and claim their own futures as a couple and for their holidays. But do not worry that this is a drama of finding ones love in the face of family and duty, or the conflict of learning to embrace ones truest self, this was a perfect blend of that with all the snarky humour and banter between two amazing brothers and their very best friend in the face of unexpected news, complications and love, the discovery of new friends, lovers, and allies, and best of all a true happiness that only come from the truest love.

Beautifully written, vivid and comic, Sara Raasch has written an all encompassing romantic comedy with the perfect blend of pumpkin spice and gingerbread that will make any rom com lover swoon and giggle.

Coal and Hex will have me toasting Halloween with a hot cocoa and leaving a bat shaped cookies out for Santa this year! 😉

Thank you NetGalley, Bramble, and Tor Publishing Group for sharing the ARC with me. This review are my own thoughts after reading.

Looking for a great Witch Read for Spooky Season that has a strong story about family and sisters along with a good romance? Then this is a great choice to start October with. Cordelia, what better name can an Anne of Green Gables fan find that will pull them into a fall read than this 😁, is having money problems and is in a tough place in her life. Everything seems to be going wrong and then her quirky aunt passes away and when the aunt's lawyer calls and informs her of her inheritance, there is more than the Connecticut house at play. She must reconnect with her estranged sister Eustace and together decide what will happen next. With tensions high and stories to be shared, not to mention all the emotions that must be confronted. Its not just human conversation, memories, and living history for this pair of sisters to face. The aunt's house itself has ideas of its own along with spooky figures, witches, and magic that will have their say in Cordelia and Eustace's story. At first is may appear that money problems are over, but there is more than meets the eye to this inherited house. Secrets abound, mysteries need to solves, emotions will be confronted, and bonds of all types will be tested.

This was a beautifully written and well plotted story that had me picking up the phone and characters king in with myself sister. This is a book that just calls out for pot of tea, cozy blanket, and quiet afternoon.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martins Press for the copy that I read. What a way to welcome in Spooky Season!

What a great debut novel from an author that I will definitely be watching out for!

This book is a perfect read for Spooky Season! Filled with a delightful blend of humor, romance, mixed together with fun "What's that noise in the closet?" vibes. This is exactly the book that I have been looking for, by an author I had never met before. I laughed so hard at the antics of all the characters in this book and was as taken by the secondary ones as well as the leads. This is one of the things I look for in a good author, someone who takes the time to make me care about all the characters not just the romantic leads and Marlow did that. The romance between Hallie and Haden was the perfect tonic for me after a long week and their chemistry just pulled me into the story and had me rooting for them by chapter two. If you are like me and grew up on The X-Files and Tales of the Unexplained, then you will love this quirky blend of storytelling and imagination mixed with an enemies to lovers romantic comedy. This book gave me everything I was hoping to find. Something different, fun, and just plain escapist reading.

As someone who always checks out the local Haunted Walking Tours and Candlelight Graveyard Walks when I am planning a vacation, this book just called out to me as soon as I read the summary. And what better time to read this than just at the beginning of Spooky Season because this book will give you all the best of those vibes no matter the temputure around you. This was a great blend of all the little chills and thrills that come from hearing about historical ghosts and hauntings mixed the with best romantic aspects of strangers thrown together for an enemies to lovers romance with the most delightful dusting of comedy to perfectly balance the sweet with the spice. But, what I enjoyed even more was the mystery that was at the heart of this story and that joined all the parts together. Jen De Luca has a great eye for a good a story and with a little more development of this mystery she could have easily marketed this book as a delightful Romantic Comedy Mystery. I can't wait to see what else this author has in store for me, because I will be looking for her blend of comedy and romance in the future.

This book took me through such an emotional journey and made me reflect on what has value in my life and the preciousness of old friendships and the power of discovering new friends. Although not what I had initially expected as a pure thriller, I thought an brilliantly written and plotted contemporary fiction. I would liken this more to a excellent Twilight Zone episode like Time Enough At Last that leaves you just sitting and thinking while the credits run. This book had wonderful tension and emotional suspense that left me holding my breath until the last moment for so many of the characters to see if they would live out their predictions or mark their own stories by rewriting Fate. With so many intertwined and interconnected stories I am really not sure what to say in fear of spoiling this amazing book for you, so My best review is this, read the book and let me know what you think of it.

Be aware though there are some Content Warnings I want everyone to be aware of because having gone through a recent loss the beautiful and frank and cathartic discussion of loss, suicide, fear of illness, fear of diagnosis is one that, although done with empathy, grace, and beauty, will have you reaching for multiple tissues You will be stronger for the reading of this if you are in a place to explore all of those feelings

Cat Shook has transported me to a world that I have always wanted to know more about with Humor Me. It was fun and enlightening to see a glimpse into the worlds of the late night talk shows that I grew up watching and seeing how comedy greats got their break. Although this is not a book I would put in the Romantic Comedy category that I have seen so many erroneously compare it to, this is a wonderfully written humorous Women's Fiction Novel. The difference between the two is that this is a human comedy of life, love, and finding your way in New York City and the adult world whereas the former is just a funny snapshot of one contrived moment there for a laugh.

Shook will draw you in and make you feel a full range of emotions for Presley Fry. You will root for her to get her promotion, feel for her as she finds her way in the world, and be drawn in with the compassion she feels for those she books and has in the circles of work and friendship. This is a beautiful exploration of not just growing up, but growing into yourself.

This is a story for anyone who wants to see what it is like to be young or r experience the world der and frustration of our early carrers!

If you want to end your summer with all the feels of an Agatha Christie locked house party murder mystery, but you are craving something that is more contemporary then you have a brilliantly plotted choice here. If you are looking for something that has all the challenge and thought provoking cultural critique that comes with a carefully crafted world building that a strong fantasy gives you -- meet Concordia! If you love to watch a hero emerge out of his own shadow dispite the way his peers see him, may I present you with Dee! If you are looking for just enough YA MM romance to make you root for your couple to find their way to each other, if you want side characters who will steal your heart, if you want to feel and worry about characters, if you enjoy a book that makes you second guess yourself, and causes you hold your breath while reading....may I present you with THE VOYAGE OF THE DRAGON'S DAWN THAT IS BRINGING THE BLESSED OF CONCORDIA ON PILGRIMAGE, a journey not all will survive but one that will change them all...then may I suggest you gab a copy of 🌟VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED!🌟

Discovering Love: A Softly Sweet Romance

To say that this book took me by surpise will be the understatement of the year.

Lan and Vivi's story is an amazing intersection of Young Adult / New Adult Romance and Young Woman's Fiction (I don't even know if that category exists but if not, this is the founding book for that genera). Full disclosure I am a 50+ year old woman and reading this took me back to all those confusing emotions that I felt while in my very late teens and early twenties. What are my responsiblities to myself? To my family? To my present need to enjoy life now? To my future self and all that she will want to achieve through me? How do I fit in with my family now that I am no longer a child? And what do I need to do now that I am an adult!? And I was not facing the added conflict of how do I fit into American society, what does that mean when I am a hyphenated person? What will people think of me because I am the child of immigrants? All of this for Vivi. While Lan is facing the extra added conflicts of how do I take care of my widowed mother and my 'brother'? How can I chase my dreams when my time is needed to keep the money coming in? How do I go on when my father is no longer here? Add to this the beauty and confusion of first love for each of these amazing young women, and this becomes a story not just about finding love but more about accepting yourself. This is a book that anyone can read and put down being changed by.

I found myself, dispite my age difference, looking at the interaction of each women with their mother and seeing a wonderful portrayal the oddly curious and loving realationship that exists between mothers and daughters. I loved that this was not just and us and them discussion, but one that is clearly shown across generations. This is not just a single generational or gender issue between mother and child or child and mother but one that Vivi's own mom faces with her own mother as well.

Beyond the relationships between mothers and daughters, and between young lovers finding their way to each other, this book also head on brings the discussion to but the lasting impacts of war and trauma. Throughout this book there is a deep sadness beneath the beauty of Vivi and Lan's story regarding the Cultural History of Viet Nam and the many ages of their Colonial Opression. To not discuss this and acknowledge only the power of the cuisine and language of the Vietnaminese people would erase a beautiful subtext that framed the lives of all these characters and made me ask questions I had never thought of. This is handled with the same level of care an attention as the romance itself and with the same artful writing and detail as the food that Lan brings to life in her blog. Nguyen seamlessly brought to life the many layered dynamics that the city of Sài Gòn holds for both Vivi - the returning daughter - and Lan - the dutiful one. Beyond this, the vibrancy of the Vietnamese Langauge had me learning much about the culture by having the language included in the book.

A Bành Mì for Two not only made me hungry for a Bành Mì of my own, and excited to try a Moon Cake with Lotus Seed for the next Harvest Festival, but it made me hear the street sounds and feel the heavy air. Trinity Nguyen asked me to consider what my relationship with my mom is, consider what my own immigrant grandmother's experience was, and left me holding out my hand to starry night to feel the press of another's palm and feel the twinkle of the stars to remind me of those who have gone before me.

What more can you ask from a seemingly short book about Love.

Oh! I know! "Have you eaten?" The phrase "all Vietnamese mothers use interchanbly with I love you."

This book had such a beautifully sweet and touching storyline. I have always wondered about the notes left in the margins of books and the curious items that I have found used as bookmarks over the years. This book took that idea and added to some the fun, romance, expectation, and subtle longing of letter writing to build a mystery, tension, and the room for the characters to connect through. If you liked the classic movies Little Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Ole Summertime, and You've Got Mail then you love this book because it offers that same sense of connection, ironic humor, and a hidden identities. With that said, I found this book a little slow for me, but again all three of the films I compared this to, they all share that same character development, slow build-ups and burn romance. The author had a great writing style and the weaving in of classic literature gave this a connection to my own reading history that help me throughout the whole read.

Thank you Harlequin Trade Books and NetGalley for the ARC that I read.