For some reason I kept pulling reading this book off (mostly I think because I was afraid to be disappointed after hearing everyone rave about it), which I highly regret now… Legendborn exceeded all my high expectations and deserves all the praise in the world! It’s a contemporary fantasy with retold King Arthur legends, Southern Black Girl Magic, fully fleshed out characters and amazing gender fluid and LGBTQIA+ representation. It was absolutely spectacular, and so much more intense and gripping than I’d ever expected, and with so many layers. If you haven’t read this book yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up asap!

During her very first night on campus, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews witnesses a magical attack, which unlocks her own magic and hidden memories from the night her mother died. Wanting to learn the secrets of her mother’s dead, she stumbles upon a secret society of Legendborns. Bree recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth.

This book had such an amazing world building with the best mix of urban fantasy, old legends and southern mystic. It was also full of amazing and diverse characters, who were all so fleshed out and deeply human, so full of flaws and internal anger, and not clearly good or bad. I absolutely adored the badass, brave and strong-willed Bree, who just couldn’t stay away from danger but had to go look for it. And Nick was such a sweetheart, but I have to admit that the guy that I might be hoping for the romance part to take a somewhat other direction in the sequel… since there was a certain half-demon that might have stolen my heart…

All in all, this was a brilliant, addictive and unique urban YA fantasy that I recommend with all my heart! If you haven’t checked it out yet, please make sure to give it a try (even if fantasy isn’t your go to genre), I promise you won’t regret it!

Rating:
5 stars

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Tracy Deonn

Married to my Best Friend is exactly what the title says: a cute story about two childhood friends, one gay and one supposedly straight, realizing their love for each other after getting married in Vegas by mistake. It’s a very short and fast-paced novella with two lovely main characters, and with one of my favorite tropes (friends to lovers), but unfortunately it was a bit too cheesy for me.

It started off really well, with flashbacks to Caden and Alex’s childhood relationship and how Alex realized that he was gay. But after the drunken wedding in Vegas it all started to go downhill and the story felt so cheesy and unbelievable that I caught myself rolling my eyes and feeling secondhand embarrassment for the poor guys.

But it was a cute, heartwarming story that nevertheless kept me engaged the whole way through and made me smile (at the same time as I rolled my eyes), so 2.5 stars rounding up to 3.

Thank you to the author Riley Hart and Prolific Works for the free review copy! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
2.5 stars rounding up to 3

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Riley Hart

Running With Lions was such an adorable read! It’s a little bit a coming out story, but most of all it’s a story about self-image and struggling with living up to your own and others’ expectations. I loved the main characters and the diversity, and the amazing team spirit. This soccer team was like a supportive, bickering, found family that truly warmed my heart.

In this story we get to follow a soccer team called The Lions during a summer camp, but also with glimpses to previous events in school, through the main character Sebastian. Sebastian is bi, and pretty open with it with his friends, even though he’s not out to his family yet. On the team there are also two other gay boys, and there is such a wonderful openness and supportive spirit within the team. They bicker and tease each other a lot, but they always have each other’s backs. I loved how they were like a found family where everyone felt free to express their sexualities without judgment.

But even so, Sebastian struggles a lot with anxiety and a feeling of not being worthy of the trust and responsibilities everyone keeps giving him. Especially after being named captain of the team. Then there’s also the new addition to the team this year, Emir. Emir and Sebastian used to be best friends, but somewhere along the way their friendship went wrong. But seeing Emir again awakens feelings within Sebastian. So whilst struggling with his new role as captain and anxiety for the future, he also has to struggle with a new attraction to one of his team mates.

I really loved how this story dealt with so many other issues besides the romance part. Even though the romance part was super cute too… Sebastian and Emir were so sweet and I loved every moment of it, even the cheesy tropes parts.

What I didn’t enjoy though was the way the only female character, the coach’s daughter Grey, was treated. The way her crush, Mason, was so mean to her and how the others never called that out properly but made jokes about it, didn’t sit well with me. It felt like romanticized bullying and it really made me uncomfortable.

But all in all, this was such a cute and sweet and heartwarming feel-good book! Highly recommended!

Rating:
4 stars

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Julian Winters

This was such a cute, fast and addictive rom-com read, with a quirky main character, a brooding and intimidating love interest who is secretly a sweetheart, and wonderful friends. It had one of my favorite tropes, fake dating, and a lot of witty banter. But, unfortunately, it also had a little too much of silly misunderstandings, secondhand embarrassment and ridiculous situations.

The main character, Olive, is a third-year Ph.D. candidate, who wants her best friend, Ahn, to feel free to start dating Olive’s ex-boyfriend Malcolm. Olive therefore comes up with the brilliant (not really…) idea to kiss the first man she sees to make Ahn believe that she is over Malcolm and dating someone else. That man she kisses happens to be the Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor, and well-known ass. Surprisingly though, he doesn’t seem to mind, and even agrees to fake-date Olive to help her succeed in her plan to give Ahn and Malcolm their happy-ever-after. But when Olive gets to spend time with Adam, she soon learns that he’s not as bad as he seems, but actually very funny and sweet.

I really enjoyed the witty banter and the chemistry between Olive and Adam! I also truly adored Adam, who was such a sweetheart beneath all that grumpiness. I also liked Olive for her geekiness, but there were so many times that she just feels so childish, that I couldn’t fully root for her. And many of the situations she got herself into just felt too ridiculous at times. I wasn’t a fan of all the misunderstanding situations that often seemed forced just for the sake of the drama, rather than really adding any new plot twists.

But all in all, this was a quick, fun and cute read that I read in one sitting! Even though some things felt too silly or awkward, it was still a truly addictive story that pulled you right in. The Love Hypothesis is a perfect romcom when you are looking for something light and fluffy to read to cheer you up!

Rating:
3.5 stars rounding up to 4

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Ali Hazelwood

This was such a magical, romantic and emotional fantasy, with great humor, sweet friends-to-enemies-to-lovers and found family tropes and an amazing trans rep. It’s been a long time since I wanted to read a fantasy, but this book just pulled me in from the very first page and made me love this genre all over again! 

Let me start with the trigger warnings, because there are a lot of those – like violence, child abuse, suicide, misgendering, (fantasy) racism and sexual assault. But H.E. Edgmon has included such a wonderful note at the start of the book explaining how and why some content might have the potential to trigger some of the readers and why it’s important to go into the book prepared for what you might find. But still pointing out that The Witch King is not a queer pain narrative, but a story about queer hope and that it hopefully will offer the readers a bit of the same healing experience it gave H.E. Edgmon writing it.

The story follows trans witch Wyatt, who has run away from the fae kingdom to hide in the human world, but who is eventually found and has to face his traumatic past, his blood spelled destiny and the royal fiancé he left behind.

There were so many amazing characters in the story, who were all so fleshed out and deeply human, so full of flaws and internal anger, and not clearly good or bad. I really enjoyed the many grey characters and the plot twists that made you root for them, then despise them and then maybe root for them again… The main character, Wyatt, was so angry, bitter and selfish, but still managed to steal you heart. And the fiancé, Emyr, who was at first described as a fae monster (although a very hot one) soon turned into a completely sweetheart. I actually think that Emyr was my favorite character of them all, once I got to the real him. Wyatt’s found family was amazing at first and Briar was the supportive, fun and badass best friend we all want, but after learning some of their secrets I’m not sure what to think. Other than that I can’t wait to continue the series to find out more about it all!

I’m not sure how to describe the world building. It had a lot of the high fantasy parts, like faes, witches, blood spells, magic disguise and prophecies, but it still felt more like an urban fantasy somehow. Maybe because of the humor and all snarky banter, or because of the way modern technology, like laptops and cell phones, was included but didn’t ruin the magic. Either way, I loved it! I also really appreciated the way this story pinpointed topics like racism, colonialism and systematic oppression. Not to mention the amazing trans rep; it was so well done in the way it was interwoven into the story, and how Emyr immediately accepted to be engaged to a boy was really beautiful.

All in all, this was a magical fantasy romance that resonated with me on so many levels. I absolutely loved it and can’t wait to continue this series. Highly recommended!

Rating:
5 stars

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H.E. Edgmon

I absolutely loved this book! Surprisingly much actually! It had the same kind of vibes as The Charm Offensive, wonderful characters to root for, a slow burn romance (which is my favorite) and so much angst and pining! Extra plus for the ending that avoided the usual clichés and any potential cheesiness.

This is a story about the filming of a fictional literary classic (‘The Throne’) about a scandalous and tragical gay relationship during the Belle Epoque era (late 19th century). The filming takes place in Paris and stars the big Hollywood star Nicholas Madden (known as the ‘Big Bad Wolf’ for his short temper and arrogant ways) and the French influencer and model Chris Lavelle in his first real actor role.

For Nicholas, being a closeted gay, The Throne, means more to him than just another filming job and he wants it to pe perfect. Hence, he’s quite skeptical (to say the least) to the young and inexperienced Chris in the important role as his love interest. But the initial loathing soon turns into fascination and yearning, and the fictional and the real world risk getting mixed up, when the heat picks up both on set and off it. But is Nicholas willing to risk his career and let the world know the true him?

I really loved this story! It had the same kind of vibes as The Charm Offensive, which is one of my favorite reads so far this year. I loved the strong and fleshed-out characters. Not just the two main characters, but all of the characters in the book were so real and full of flaws, and so easy to root for. And I loved the bantering going on at the set and between the actors and the director, but of course especially the wonderful dialogues between Nicholas and Chris. I also loved the slow-burn romance. This was not a linear love story, but a romance with rather bumpy roads with up and downs, back and forths, and so much doubts and questioning, which made it much more relatable and gripping.

The story is told from dual POVs, which really added to the understanding for what the main characters were going through. It was so amazing to get to know Nicholas’ more vulnerable sides and see beyond his bad boy reputation, as well as to get to see Chris’ depths and learn about his family struggles. There was also almost a third POV in the way each chapter started with fictional blog posts, interviews or tweets. I enjoyed these external/social media posts for most parts, but sometimes they made the narrative feel a bit off track. But nothing too much to make this read any less enjoyable. And of course, Paris… who doesn’t love a story taking place in Paris and with croissants for breakfast?

All in all, this was an absolutely wonderful, sweet and heartwrenching gay romance story about daring to be vulnerable to get a chance of true love and happiness! Highly recommended!
​
Thank you to Carina Adores and Harlequin Publicity Team for the ARC and bookstagram tour invitation for this gem! All opinions are my own and I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.

Rating:
5 stars

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I loved Steven Salvatore’s first book, Can’t Take That Away, and had really high expectations for this one as well, especially after reading the synopsis. But unfortunately, I had so many issues with And They Lived. I understand that this is a very personal book for the author, almost like a memoir (or a wishful remake of the author’s own college time), which makes it very hard to criticize it. But nevertheless, I can’t give it more than a two star rating for the triggering content and the annoying or stereotype characters.

One of the things I loved most in Steven Salvatore’s first book was the wonderful, unique and loveable characters, which is why I was so surprised and disappointed by the characters in this book. The main character, Chase Arthur is starting his first year at college. He’s a hopeless romantic obsessed with finding his true love, but believes that he’s not enough for anyone, due to his body and gender dysmorphia. But when he meets Jack Reid, a writer student looking for a fresh start away from his hometown while struggling with his own sexuality, it might just be Chase’s time to finally live in a fairytale of his own.

At first, I loved Chase’s quirkiness and rooted for his struggles with gender-identity and body dysmorphia. But the further I read, the more annoyed I got with his selfishness, his inability to realize what his friends were going through and how he pushed Jack to come out when he clearly wasn’t ready. Jack was a sweetheart, but I felt like we never got to know him more than the stereotype closeted jock, and I never felt any real chemistry between him and Chase, sadly. Most of the other characters were either horrible (like Chase’s dad) or not fleshed out enough to make you fully root for them.

I really want to give Steven Salvatore kudos for addressing a lot of difficult issues, like eating disorders and fatphobia, depression and suicidal thoughts, homophobic parents, outings and gender identity struggles, but I wished it had been executed in a way that hadn’t made them feel as triggering. Sadly, the story now came across as fatphobic and queerphobic in itself. Additionally, there were some really cringy sex scenes. I usually love sex positivity, but here the sex scenes felt way too explicit for a YA book.

The best part was the note by Steven Salvatore at the end, which brought tears to my eyes when reading about their own struggles growing up. I wish so much that the actual book had made me feel the same way.

Rating:
2 stars

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Steven Salvatore