Remarkably Bright Creatures.

 

  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, mopping floors and tidying up. Keeping busy has always helped her cope, which she's been doing since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat in Puget Sound over thirty years ago. 

Tova becomes acquainted with curmudgeonly Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium. Marcellus knows more than anyone can imagine but wouldn't dream of lifting one of his eight arms for his human captors--until he forms a remarkable friendship with Tova. 

Ever the detective, Marcellus deduces what happened the night Tova's son disappeared. And now Marcellus must use every trick his old invertebrate body can muster to unearth the truth for her before it's too late. 

  🌷

 
Remarkably Bright Creatures is unlike any book that I read before. It touched me in so many ways. I've been hearing about this book for a while. My friend and I finally decided to buddy read this book. I'm so glad that we did. It was interesting to read the book from the Octopus's perspective. I liked the way that he described everything, and I loved his view on humans. I knew that Octopuses are smart creatures, but I had no idea how much. I did my own research after finishing the book. Marcellus was one of my favorite characters in the book, and the way he bonded with Tova was so bittersweet. 

Tova was another character I adored, and I liked how much she cared about her job and Marcellus. The way those two communicated had me smile every time. You never think that an Octopus and a human could have that special bond, and they do. That was one of my favorite things about this book: the connection between Tova and Marcellus. Long after I turned the last page, I was still thinking about the two of them. Marcellus and Tova are the two characters that you won’t forget. I think friendship is just what the two of them needed. 

I liked the way Van Pelt intertwined Marcellus, Tova, and Cameron’s stories. I was also curious to find out what happened to Tova’s son, Erik. I was also eager to see if Cameron would be able to locate his father. There were a few slow parts, but I loved most of it. Now that I read the book, I’m excited for the movie to come out. Remarkably Bright Creatures is a book that will stay with you.

Then There Was You.

 

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

 Thank you to the author, S.L Scott and The Author Agency, for providing me with EARC,in exchange for honest review. All opinions are my own.

 

 

The time is now. 

I’d almost forgotten what it felt like to smile, to laugh, and to really live. Until I met him.
Heart-stoppingly handsome. Totally forbidden. Keats Matthews looked at me like I was something special. 

He was escaping his past. I wanted to escape my present. Together, we fell hard and fast and knew we had found forever. Or so we thought … 

Six years later, his shoulders are broader than I remembered, his charming smile thaws my frozen heart, and it’s so tempting to run my fingers through his hair like I did years ago. But it’s the tenderness and warmth in his brown eyes that remind me of the forever we almost shared.
It’s magic when we’re together again. Our chemistry has only magnified. Seeing him, confident and more irresistible than ever, has me falling for him all over again and hoping for a second chance.
But he still believes our timing was off before. He’s wrong. It was the secret I kept hidden that was our undoing. Time hasn’t healed old wounds, and not everything hidden has come to light. When it does, we’ll stand together or fall apart. Either way, we must find out.

 🌷

 
I loved Sosie and Keats’s story. Don’t you just love those names? They are so unique, just like the characters. Then There Was You is a story where you know that you are going to love the characters from the moment that you meet them. That’s the feeling I got from Sosie and Keats. This is the type of romance book that I love. I have read a lot of romance books, but this one… it was so raw and so beautiful, and I saw Keats and Sosie’s story play out like a movie in my mind. I rooted for them throughout the book; these two belong together. 

I liked how Sosie and Keats met, and it didn’t take long to see how powerful their connection was. The way S.L. Scott described their emotions and connection, I felt those emotions, as if I were part of the story. It was a beautifully written love story, and I couldn’t get enough. Then There Was You is the type of story that will have you turning the pages until the last page. This is the book that I read when I couldn’t sleep. I loved escaping into Sosie and Keats’s story. 

This was a very moving and emotional book, and I loved everything about it. I loved the way that the author described the setting; I pictured myself there. I loved both Sosie and Keats, but of the two, Sosie is the one who went the furthest. She had endured so much. I loved that Keats supported her every step of the way. Then There Was You is the story I wish I could give more than five stars to. I would highly recommend it for romance fans. This was my second book by S.L. Scott, and I can’t wait to check out her others.

The Sound That Found Me.

 

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

  4.5★

 Thank you to the author, Jillian Marie for providing me with E -ARC in exchange for honest review. All opinions are my own. 

 

 

At sixteen, Heather Brown meets a boy on vacation who changes the way the world sounds. One summer. One connection. And then it’s over—before either of them knows how to hold on. 

Fifteen years later, Heather’s life looks exactly the way it’s supposed to. She’s engaged. Her career is thriving. Her future is mapped out in sensible, adult decisions. What she doesn’t have is the feeling she’s spent years convincing herself she outgrew. 

Bradley Hart carried it with him. 

He turned that summer into music—and the music into a career. Now a rising star, Bradley’s songs are built on memory, longing, and the girl who taught him what it meant to feel something that deep for the first time. 

When Heather hears one of his songs, it doesn’t feel like nostalgia. It feels like a message. 

Reaching out reconnects them in a way that’s immediate, complicated, and impossible to ignore—but timing has teeth now. Heather isn’t free. Bradley isn’t just a memory. And choosing him would mean unraveling a life she’s already promised to someone else. 

This time, the question isn’t whether first love lasts. 

It’s whether telling the truth—about who you were, who you became, and who you still want to be—is worth everything it might cost.

 🌷

 
I'm in love. 

I shouldn't be surprised, since this isn't the first book I've read by the author. The Sound That Found Me had me going through so many different emotions, and I still cannot get the story out of my mind. Heather and Bradley’s story played in my mind like a favorite song. I loved how Jillian connected music to their love story in this book. I was rooting for the two of them from the moment that Heather heard Bradley’s song. Those two belonged together, and I hoped that they would find a way to be together. 

The Sound That Found Me is the type of book that I love when it comes to second-chance romance. I love that they found each other through music. I adored the connection between Bradley and Heather, and as a reader, you wanted them to end up together. Even though Heather was with someone else at the time, they didn’t seem to have the connection that Bradley and Heather did. I loved the character development in this story, especially for Heather; she went a long way from who she was at the beginning. I was so absorbed in this story that I felt as if I were there with Heather and Bradley. 

 

 I loved the friendship from Tory and Nico; they reminded me of my best friends. I’m so glad that Heather had them. In general, I was on edge of my seat for most of the book, and there was part of them that didn’t want to end. I’m already eager for Jillian’s next book.

Interception.

 

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

   Thank you to author,Emily Louise and Rattle The Stars PR, for opportunity to be part of  ARC Team!  

 

03.25.26   

 

 

Everything was just fine. Until he showed up. Then my world came crashing down around me. 

 
Jackson Bentford was something from my past, a mere memory of a love that I left behind in college. He was the picture-perfect boyfriend, and the reason I became the version of myself I always yearned for. We were madly in love, ready to commit to one another for a lifetime, but secrets managed to make everything fall apart at the seams. Five years later, I moved on to bigger and better things. I’m with a man I love and I’m advancing in my career at ESPN. My life was exactly the way it should have been. 

Then I was blindsided – Jackson strolling back into my life without any warning with his captivating smile, and body that looks like it was carved by the Greek Gods. I should have known that our first interaction after so many years apart would have been intense, but I didn’t realize how life altering his presence would become. 

I, Hillary Brown, knew he was trouble. I knew he would bring nothing but uncertainty into my life, but that didn’t stop me from accepting his friendship. Perhaps it’s for closure. Perhaps it was because my heart couldn’t say no to him, even after all this time. 

No matter how many times I reminded myself that he was simply a friend, it seems I was falling in love with him all over again. 

So what happens when I can’t contain my feelings for my ex-boyfriend, while maintaining a relationship with my current boyfriend? What happens when the secrets I buried five years ago resurrect? 

I should have listened to the warning bells. I should have never let Jackson Bentford back into my life.

   🌷

 

In the past couple of years, I’ve fallen in love with sports romance. I read a few books. When I heard about Interception, I knew that I had to check it out. Just the blurb had me intrigued and wondering about what was going to happen with Hillary and Jackson. This story ended up being so much more than I expected. I was not prepared for the emotions that I would experience while reading this book. Interception is not a story I will forget. I adored Hillary and Jackson’s story, but my heart broke for the two of them on multiple occasions, and I also wanted them to find their way to each other. Their story was inspirational in so many ways. 

b> Interception was a breathtaking debut novel. Emily Louise did an outstanding job of describing everything, especially Hillary and Jackson’s emotions throughout. Even though I couldn’t even begin imagining what Hillary and Jackson went through, I felt as if I did. Interception had one of the best vivid imaginations I have read in a while. You could feel tension and attraction from the moment Jackson came back, and the two of them saw each other. Every scene between the two of them had me turning the pages because I was eager to see what would happen next. I was rooting for two of them from the beginning. 

Emily included some hard issues in this book, which made the story feel so much more realistic. I like how the story transitioned between the present and the past, giving us more insight into Hillary and Jackson’s story. There was part of me that couldn’t stop turning the pages, but there was also part of me that didn’t want the story to end. I’m so glad that I got the chance to read this story, and I’m eager to see what Emily Louise has in store for us next.

Daughter Of Egypt.

 

 

 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

  Thank you to publisher, St.Martin's Press for providing with complimentary E ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.  

 

03.24.26  

1920’s London was enthralled by the discovery of the treasure-filled tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun. Filled with priceless statues, jewels, and the gold-encased mummy of the boy Pharaoh himself, the burial site unleashed a fascination with the ancient world and revolutionized the world of archeology.
The discovery was made by Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle and his associate, famed archeologist Howard Carter. What no one knows is that without the pioneering spirit of Lady Evelyn Herbert, Carnarvon’s daughter, the tomb might never have been found. As a young woman, Evelyn was fascinated by the story of Hatshepsut, a woman who had to assume the guise of a man in order to rule Egypt. Although she brought peace and prosperity to Egypt, her male successors ruthlessly and thoroughly erased her name from history. 

Lady Evelyn’s ambition to find the tomb of Egypt’s first woman ruler exposes her to life-threatening danger and pits her against archeologists who refuse to believe the tomb can be found―and certainly not by a woman. Refusing to give up, Evelyn is on the verge of success when she is suddenly forced to make an agonizing choice between loyalty to her beloved father and Carter and realizing the dream of a lifetime.

 

  🌷

 
Be prepared for a wild ride! 

There is so much that I can say about this book; there are so many emotions that I am going through me right now. This book was amazing in so many ways. I feel like I shouldn’t be surprised since this isn’t the first book that I read by Marie Benedict, but this story exceeded my expectations. Daughter Of Egypt is a story of two strong women: Lady Evelyn and Pharaoh Hatshepsut. Even though they took place in different timelines, I loved how Evelyn's and Hatshepsut's stories connected. I enjoyed reading from both Evelyn and Hatshepsut’s perspectives; I admired their courage and their determination. Every page had me craving more, wondering if Evelyn and Hatshepsut would be able to accomplish their goals. 

Although I enjoyed both perspectives, I was more intrigued by Hatshepsut’s story. I admired everything that she accomplished, and the way that she didn’t give up on what else she wanted to accomplish. I had a feeling there was a reason Evelyn was so fascinated by her. I didn’t know much about Hatshepsut before reading the book. After reading the story and the author’s note, I wanted to do my own research to learn more. I was intrigued by Egypt’s history. All of the descriptions in Daughter Of Egypt made me wish I were there, although while reading the story, I felt as if I were. 

Both Evelyn and Hatshepsut were such incredible women; I’m still thinking about them. The descriptions in this book were outstanding and had me on the edge of my seat. It was the most atmospheric book that I have read. I have read a few books by Marie Benedict, and Daughter of Egypt is my new favorite. This is a must-read!