Harley Quinn:Reckoning (DC Icons: Harley Quinn,#1)

 

 

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

 4.5★  

When Harleen Quinzel scores an internship in a psych lab at Gotham University, she's more than ecstatic; she's desperate to make a Big Scientific Discovery that will land her a full-ride college scholarship and get her away from her abusive father. But when Harleen witnesses the way women are treated across STEM departments--and experiences harassment herself--she decides that revenge and justice are more important than her own dreams. 

Harleen finds her place in an intoxicating vigilante girl gang called the Reckoning, who creates chaos to inspire change. And when Harleen falls for another girl in the gang, it finally seems like she's found her true passions. But what starts off as pranks and mischief quickly turns deadly as one of the gang members is found murdered--and a terrifying conspiracy is uncovered that puts the life Harleen has worked so hard for at stake. Will she choose her future--or will she choose revenge?

 🌷

 
For as long as I can remember, Harley Quinn has been my favorite supervillain. Besides Superman, she's my favorite in the DC universe, but in a different way than Superman. There is something about Harley; you know that you shouldn't like her, but you do. I've been hearing about this book for a while but haven't had a chance to read it until recently. My only regret? Not reading it earlier. What a wild ride! Harley Quinn: Reckoning had so much happening, and I found myself unable to put the book down. I knew a little bit about Harley Quinn’s backstory from a comic book. However,  Harley Quinn: Reckoning gave a completely different backstory for Harley Quinn and gave me even more appreciation for Harley. 

I also loved that this featured women in STEM. I love anything involving science. I loved how dedicated Harley was to it. This is not the story that will be easy to put down once you start it. The only reason I put it down was school; otherwise, I would have been reading all day. I found myself cheering for her all through the book. The way that Rachael portrayed the characters and their relationships was incredible, and it helped me form a connection with most of the characters, but especially the ‘Reckoning’ crew. Every page has something going on, and I couldn’t seem to get enough of this story. 

I was cheering on Harley and the crew when they decided to take a step after seeing how women were treated in STEM. I just hoped that nobody would discover who was part of the ‘Reckoning’ group. The descriptions in this book were phenomenal, and I felt as if I was there with everyone. I loved most of the book, but the second half was when I had even more trouble putting it down. I can’t wait to pick up the next book and see what Harley is up to next—highly recommended for any Harley Quinn fans.

Deliah Green Doesn't Care (Bright Falls,#1)

 

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

 4.5★  

 

Delilah Green swore she would never go back to Bright Falls—nothing is there for her but memories of a lonely childhood where she was little more than a burden to her cold and distant stepfamily. Her life is in New York, with her photography career finally gaining steam and her bed never empty. Sure, it’s a different woman every night, but that’s just fine with her. 

When Delilah’s estranged stepsister, Astrid, pressures her into photographing her wedding with a guilt trip and a five-figure check, Delilah finds herself back in the godforsaken town that she used to call home. She plans to breeze in and out, but then she sees Claire Sutherland, one of Astrid’s stuck-up besties, and decides that maybe there’s some fun (and a little retribution) to be had in Bright Falls, after all. 

Having raised her eleven-year-old daughter mostly on her own while dealing with her unreliable ex and running a bookstore, Claire Sutherland depends upon a life without surprises. And Delilah Green is an unwelcome surprise…at first. Though they’ve known each other for years, they don’t really know each other—so Claire is unsettled when Delilah figures out exactly what buttons to push. When they’re forced together during a gauntlet of wedding preparations—including a plot to save Astrid from her horrible fiancé—Claire isn’t sure she has the strength to resist Delilah’s charms. Even worse, she’s starting to think she doesn’t want to...

 🌷

 
I’ve read a few books by Ashley Herring Blake, and I remember how much I had enjoyed them. When one of my best friends told me about this book, I couldn’t wait to read it. When she lent me her copy, I couldn’t start fast enough. Few chapters into Delilah Green Doesn’t Care , I knew that I was in trouble, because I didn’t want to put the book down; I needed to see what would happen with Delilah and Claire, and I was even curious about Astrid. I love the way that Ashley portrays the characters; it makes it impossible not to fall in love with them. I loved most of the characters, except for a couple of them. 

The connection between Delilah and Claire was bittersweet and felt so real. It didn’t feel too rushed or too slow. I understood why both were hesitant, but I hoped that they would see how much they meant to each other. I adored the way they were there for each other and took care of each other. How Delilah was willing to help with Astrid, despite hers and Astrid’s strained relationship. I have read a few bisexual and lesbian books, but this one is one of my favorites. This story will always hold a special place in my heart. 

Astrid was one of the complex characters; the one character I wasn’t sure about, until midway through the story. Most of all, I couldn’t understand why she wanted to marry someone like Spencer. I liked the way that Ashley portrayed and developed Delilah’s and Astrid’s relationship. My feelings about Astrid changed through t the book, and I’m excited to read her book next. I was thinking about the story; long after I finished it. I’m glad that I finally got to check this story out.

Meant To Be-ish

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

  4.5★

 Thank you to author,Ashley Lynn East for EARC, and letting me be part of her team!

 

 10.23.26    

 

Chloe Harper has a plan. 

It just involves stopping a wedding. 

Ten years ago, during a booze-soaked night in med school, Chloe and her best friend James Carter made a pact. Born on the same day and convinced it meant something, they swore that if they were both still single at thirty-seven, they would marry each other. Simple. Foolproof. Slightly desperate? 

Now it’s their thirty-seventh birthday, and Chloe is finally ready to cash in. 

There’s just one problem. 

James doesn’t remember the pact… and he just got engaged to a woman he met only one month ago, Bianca Blake. Polished, perfect, effortlessly put together. The kind of woman with sleek blonde hair who somehow makes even ordering coffee look elegant. The exact opposite of Chloe, with her chaotic trauma surgeon shifts, sharp tongue, and fire-engine red curls. 

Oh, and the wedding is in a couple of weeks. 

Which means Chloe has only days to stop James from making the biggest mistake of his life. 

Enter Dr. Wes Monroe, Chloe’s infuriatingly cocky and devastatingly attractive coworker who somehow always shows up at the worst possible moment. When a desperate lie turns into a fake relationship, Chloe enlists Wes to help make James jealous. What could possibly go wrong? 

Except the chemistry with Wes is anything but fake. And the closer the wedding gets, the harder it is to ignore one inconvenient Chloe might not be trying to win James anymore. She might be trying to let him go. 

Maybe “meant to be” isn’t about a pact you made ten years ago. Maybe it’s about the person you never saw coming.

 🌷

 
Such a cute story! I couldn’t get enough of Chloe and Wes’s story. Not long after I started reading the book, I knew I was going to love it. Within the first few pages of the book, I was hooked and only put it down to study. There were even a couple of nights where I stayed up later than I should have, reading it. I could see that Wes fell for Chloe first, just from the way he acted around her. There was something about him, and I hoped that Chloe would come to her senses and see how much Wes cares about her. I just hoped that she would realize it before it was too late. 

James; he was the one character that I wasn’t sure about. It was as if he couldn’t make up his mind. I felt bad for Bianca. I hoped that he would figure out what he wanted. I loved Bianca, but then it was impossible not to like her; she was so energetic, and the way that she went out of her way to include Chloe. I liked Chloe; however, sometimes the decisions she made I didn’t agree with. I was curious to see how the story would end. 

In the last few pages, I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I liked that the story was told from Chloe and Wes’s perspectives, but there were times when I wondered what James was thinking throughout all of this. I read Ashley’s debut novel, The Nemesis Pact , last year and have been looking forward to this one since she announced it. I’m already eager to see what she has in store for us next.

Upstate.

 

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

Thank you to publisher, William Morrow for providing with eARC via Netgalley.  All opinions are my own. 

 

  10.27.26  

 

A grieving writer. An abandoned bookshop. A secret love story hidden in letters. 

From New York Times bestselling author Kim van Alkemade comes an unforgettable novel about found family, healing, and the power of the past to reshape the present.

 
Thirty-four-year-old writer Audrey Beacon is grieving alone during lockdown when a post about a bookshop for sale in upstate New York pops into her social media feed like a lifeline. Enthralled by the historic house and the massive barn bursting with books, Audrey impulsively makes an offer. Soon, she’s cashing out her savings, loading her possessions into her dead husband’s van, and fleeing Manhattan for the village of Schuywich, determined to outrun the ghosts of her past.

 
In 1956, it’s love at first sight when Schuywich librarian Hazel McIntyre meets dashing magazine writer Evelyn Cabot at a summer camp in Maine that discreetly promises a “different vacation for professional women.” By summer’s end, Evelyn has left Greenwich Village to move into an old farmhouse she’s bought in Hazel’s hometown. In her new column, “A Woman’s Place,” Evelyn writes about her adventures renovating a house, tending to sheep, and opening a bookshop in her barn with help from the woman readers know only as her “roommate.” Privately, Hazel chronicles their six-decade love story in a series of letters that abruptly end when they’re forced to abandon the bookshop in 2015. 

Reopening the bookshop in the summer of 2020 attracts a quirky community of villagers who continuously interrupt Audrey’s An unemployed Broadway set designer. An ambitious teenage entrepreneur. A story-telling Adirondack grandmother. Then there’s Sam Rensselaer, the distractingly handsome representative of the agriculture extension. Past and present begin to converge when Audrey finds “A Woman’s Place,” in a stack of old magazines, but it’s the discovery of Hazel’s letters that brings hidden love and long-buried family secrets to light. Will Audrey find the courage to heal the wounds of the past—including her own?

 

  🌷 

 
When I came across the book, it was the title and the blurb that caught my attention. I was also familiar with the publisher, William Morrow; I’ve read a lot of works from that publishing company. However, it was my first book by Kim van Alkemade , so I wasn’t sure what I would think of the story. It didn’t take me long to realize that I was going to like this book, but it wasn’t until a few chapters in that I realized that I was going to fall in love with this story. I fell in love with the story and the characters. When the story picked up the pace, I knew that I was in trouble, and once I reached the end, I had to think about it all. What a beautiful story. 

It didn’t take me long to get lost in Aubrey, Hazel, and Evelyn’s stories. I liked the way that Kim wrote about the women individually but also interconnected their stories. Aubrey, Evelyn and Hazel were all such strong women; even if they didn’t realize it at the time. This isn’t a love story, but a story about love, family, strength, and starting over. At some point I got so invested in the story that I didn’t even realize how much time had passed. Of course, I liked that it was told from dual timeline. Even though I enjoyed all the perspective, I loved reading Hazel’s letters to Evelyn the most. It didn’t take long to see how much Hazel loved Evelyn. The letters were filled with so much love and emotion that I found myself feeling them when I was reading them. 

I liked the way everyone made Aubrey feel welcome and tried to help her in any way they could. I can’t even begin to imagine making such a drastic change in my life. From the beginning of the book, Aubrey grew in so many ways, and although she was still healing, she changed as well. I think getting that bookstore is just what she needed. I’m so glad that I got a chance to read this book. I would highly recommend checking this book out.

A Love Like Mulled Wine(Wayward Hollow,#4)

 

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

  4.5★

 

Thank you to author,Hailey Frost for letting me be part of her ARC Team!   

 

  10.13.26   

  

Welcome to Wayward Hollow - Where everyone knows your name, your business, and usually your dog’s name before yours. 

I moved to Wayward Hollow, hoping to find a place to belong. And between small-town gossip, a chaotic friend group, and the cutest furry sidekick, I found it. 

Until Brooke. 

Brooke is my ex’s sister, the woman who looks at me like I’m a mistake she’s already decided to avoid. She runs the neighbor town's animal shelter, fights for every stray thing in town, and has zero interest in me being part of her world. Unfortunately for her, we keep colliding. When her shelter’s funding falls through, when I’m planning this year’s Christmas market… and by not so much coincidence, whenever I’m in town. 

Somewhere between Christmas cookies, snow-covered nights, and arguments that turn dangerously close to flirting, Brooke starts letting me in—and I realize I might actually have a shot with the one person I can’t stop wanting.

 🌷

 
Hailey Frost is officially one of my favorite authors. She knows how to write stories that tug at your heartstrings and connect you with all the characters. Wayward Hollow is a cozy small-town series that will stay with you; long after you turn the last page. There was part of me that didn’t want to turn the last page in A Love Like Mulled Wine because I didn’t want to say goodbye to all of these amazing characters, but at the same time, I wanted to see how it would end. 

Just like the other Wayward Hollow books, you can’t help but fall in love with the characters. One of my favorite aspects of the book is how they connect and are always there for their friends when they need them. The found family aspect in this series is one of the best. I loved the way that everyone was there for Kieran and Brooke, even if they didn’t know her as well, but they knew how important she was to Kieran. I think they knew before him; how much she meant to him. 

Wayward Hollow is one of those series; you want to jump in and just be there with everyone. One of my favorite aspects of A Love Like Mulled Wine was the addition of an animal shelter and sanctuary. I love stories that feature animals, especially if they include helping them. I couldn’t help but smile at how passionate Brooke was about the sanctuary. It melted my heart. Of course, I couldn’t get enough of Brooke and Kieran. Those two took care of each other, and I loved that about them. I can keep going with this book and this series. I would highly recommend checking out this series!