I‘m definitely the target demographic for this, even moreso than I am for a lot of the books I love, but all I‘ve got it “meh.” It‘s too highfalutin, and not ultimately about very much—especially because the catalyzing event feels a lot less damning than how the characters view it.

This was surprisingly fun and quirky, while also being a little bit sad. To be honest, I‘m not sure cozy mystery is the right genre for this, since it honestly felt more like literary fiction that just happens to involve a murder.

Loved it. 11/10. No notes except for this: my reading of this duology was heavily informed by having already read the Shadow and Bone trilogy, and while I love the crows on their own merit I am also confident I would have enjoyed their adventures a lot less if I didn‘t already know the universe and recurring characters.

What a delightful, weird end to my 2024 reading adventures. Absolutely a fever dream, and not something I would‘ve picked if my partner hadn‘t told me to read it, but great nonetheless. P.S. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This fun #jolabokaflodswap book was a very nice end to my “only silly holiday books in December” tradition for this year, and I‘d recommend it to anyone who loves a bit of spice in the romance. That being said, I did find the narrator inserts and the bits in verse a little jarring.

10000/10. This is so cute and quirky, and exactly how I remember Colfer‘s writing style from 20 (eeek) years ago.

This looks like it‘ll be a fun read, and I do love me some Andes! I just wish I knew who my #Jolabokaflodswap was so I could thank both them and @MaleficentBookDragon who did a fantastic job organizing!

This was pretty cute, and a nice break from all the other holiday romance books where it feels like the only plot point is whether the romantic leads will get together.

Hobson (and I) are wondering if this might be my #JolabokaflodSwap package?! It‘s got no markings to indicate that it is, but I didn‘t order anything and my name isn‘t spelled like a family member would. I suppose we shall see on Christmas Eve!

This was pretty cute, while also feeling like an exercise in how smutty you can make something that essentially feels like a cheesy no-plot-but-cozy holiday film.

This one didn‘t really do a lot for me, probably because it never managed to convince me that the presented problems were actually worth worrying about, given that each important character has some sort of “other option” the whole time anyways.

If a Hallmark movie was R-rated and very, very queer, this would be it! It could‘ve been funnier, and the cast of characters felt a bit too large for 350ish pages, but overall I enjoyed it.

The #JolabokaflodSwap package is all put together and ready to get mailed tomorrow! Thanks again, @MaleficentBookDragon for organizing this super fun swap!

This was fun! It‘s super modest, despite some outlets calling it spicy, but what it lacks in intimacy it makes up for in twists and genre homages. The whole “Marcie” thing is also just so deliciously mortifying, so it gets a bonus point for that.

This was fun! Could it be scarier? Sure! Could it make more sense? Sure! But none of that matters if you take it for what it is: a silly little holiday horror that pokes some fun at both the publishing industry and horror genre tropes.

Eh. It‘s fine. It‘s cute and light, but the shifting perspectives do nothing for me, since every voice feels exactly the same. It also doesn‘t quite manage feeling cozy or wintry enough to work for me as a “holiday episode,” but if you‘re into ACOTAR I‘d still encourage giving it a read.

There‘s some important meditation on grief and family here, which makes it a worthwhile read notwithstanding the absolutely BONKERS decisions made by both the FMC and love interest in the last 150 or so pages. Weirdly, it might have been better as a plain ol‘ fiction story rather than a romance.

This one was so good I had to buy a paperback when I forgot my BOTM copy at work on Friday! I liked all of the characters and the ending was cool, but I do think the twist of Tao‘s vision (all I can say without spoiling) went a touch dark for a cozy fantasy.

I just signed up for my first swap, the #JólabókaflóðSwap hosted by @MaleficentBookDragon , and I‘m very excited to see how it goes!

Overall, the story in this one‘s pretty interesting as a sort of “middle of the tale” part of the larger plot, but a touch on the inconsistent side. Also, I wish people who are 100+ years old would make decisions that reflect the weight of their lived experienced, even if they are immortal and/or young for their race.

I mean…it‘s Dracula and it takes 6 months. But Dracula in chronological order and with fun accompanying content (as above) in the margins is obviously far superior to just plain ol‘ Dracula. My only issue was with the weight of the book, which is very pretty but far too heavy to read comfortably in bed. Note: you can sign up for Dracula Daily as an email newsletter, but then you miss out on the extras.

The actual plot of this one‘s pretty interesting, and I didn‘t see the twist coming, but the intimacy is just so awkward it was tough to muster the will to keep reading.

There‘s a lot of cool stuff in this one, but ultimately it all felt half-baked. The denouement didn‘t hit very hard, and everything after felt rushed.

Not quite as funny as “My Roommate‘s a Vampire,” but a very close second! I especially loved the inclusion of bullet journaling moms and the overarching themes of consent.

Highly entertaining for an easy, 8-hour airplane ride, read, but honestly without much substance.

This one‘s a super quick, fun, lil‘ read! I liked the characters and the story ended in a gratifying way, but I could‘ve done with the sister-in-law subplot.

This was really fun, although a bit rushed—I would‘ve loved at least 100 pages more!

It took me a year and a half to dive back into the Grishaverse, but I am so glad I did! Alina has my heart forever, because her story is nearly perfection from beginning to end, but the crows are pretty cool too. I do 100% think it resonates with early 30‘s me more than it would have with teen me, though, so that‘s perhaps noteworthy.

And this, right here, is why we read “Shadow and Bone” first.

This one‘s a really neat meditation on what it means to belong, with undercurrents of ecological horror and traditional southern gothic themes. To some extent, this delivers what V.E. Schwab‘s “Gallant” does not, and I loved it.

Each novella‘s fine, and overall the book works fine, but I spent the entire time thinking about how awkward it is to read a set of novellas in the middle of a series of “regular” novels, even though I can‘t defend the argument that it should be read first…because if you read it first, you‘ll know too much to be surprised about the ending of the 2nd book. So, in the wise words of my old lit professor, this book is [AWK].

Overall, this one‘s decent, yet the stages of reading went something like:
1) Ah yes, this is very good and will surely be engaging 2) Margaret is a feminist icon 3) Perhaps a bit heavy on the “filler episodes” in the middle here, boss 4) WILFRED OWEN 5) You really should‘ve told me this sooner… 6) The lady is the lady. Swell.

This one‘s cute, and plays with romance tropes in fun way, but I‘m ultimately not sure it needed to be 300+ pages. It still gets a pick though, mostly for being romantasy without the sort of spice that makes you go “oh, eeew, how does that even work?!”

I am REALLY struggling with taking the idea of cutthroat ornithologists seriously for some reason. Like give me a dragon, ghosts, portals or whatever and I‘m ALL IN, but for some reason “birdlovers being meanies” is beyond what my brain‘ll accept 😂

This one was a pleasant surprise! I got it from BOTM because it looked the most like a quick, mindless, read, and it is. What I didn‘t expect, though, was the very self-aware own voices OCD representation and the genuinely compelling plot.

This one‘s cute, and a lot of fun! That being said, it‘s definitely YA and takes itself a touch more seriously than McQuiston‘s other books, so I‘d recommend going into it expecting less laughter and more “religious trauma, but make it PG.”

We‘ve got it, folks: proof that SJM can write a compelling plot with fun-to-follow characters. This series is shaping up to be heaps better than ACOTAR, and I‘m excited to keep going.

The non-romance part of the plot is fine, though I couldn‘t decide whether the Collateral idea is ridiculous or genius in a very “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” way….the romance part manages to be both tedious and gross, sometimes at the same time.

This was a pretty fun conclusion to the Blake‘s “Buffyverse” trilogy, but I remain confused about the target audience. The trilogy—and especially this last one—definitely requires extensive familiarity with the 90‘s/00‘s show and I‘m not convinced that very many teens have that…

This was very funny, and very cute, and affirmed my belief that turkeys are evil creatures. 10/10.

This is essentially two short stories mushed into one novel, and neither one is particularly interesting.

I loved this! It‘s a really nice, smart conclusion to the duology, and packed with plenty of twists to keep readers engaged. My only gripe might be that the Dramatis Personae contains a couple of spoilers.

*Beware the lil‘ baby spoiler below*
Me, reading anything with a “shaddowdaddy” type love interest: yeah, I don‘t get this…nobody would ever date this sort of broody, self-loathing nightmare man in real life.
Me, reading anything with a “sad, sorta reanimated corpse boi (tm)” love interest: Ah yes, this is the height of romance. May I have some more, please?

I‘m not sure what that says about my brain, but I‘m not mad about it 😂

Everyone told me I‘d like this series better than ACOTAR, and they weren‘t wrong…that being said, it‘s definitely VERY YA.

The sci-fi twist on a pretty standard mystery was neat, and I loved the nod to “7 1/2 Deaths…!” I do wish, however, that Abi‘s motivations had been explored in greater detail. P.S. If you read the B&N exclusive, the short story at the back also has a callback to “7 1/2 Deaths,” but is otherwise pretty “meh.”

This one‘s a pretty alright fantasy, somewhat surprisingly (see my reviews for the other two…), but also VERY trope driven. I did like the nods to both Tolkien and Lewis, but could‘ve done without the weird Exodus (yes, the bible one) inspired parts. Overall, I think this originally-a-trilogy-now-a-hexalogy-to-be should‘ve been a duology with acotar and acomaf being one title, primarily focused on the acomaf events.

I gotta say: these religious undertones are getting a lil‘ heavy handed, my good pal.

It‘s ‘aight. I started this in January, thought I was going to DNF about 7 million different times, and then finally plowed through it in a weekend. It‘s not a hard read, or a bad read, it‘s just a little bit too erratic for my brain. NOTE: Litsy has an incorrect last name for the author, it‘s Lavery, not Ortberg.

I‘m not sure why it took me—a book professional—so long to realize this isn‘t more fae romance…but booooooy, did I buy it fast when I found out it‘s MECHS. IN. SPACE.

“Hope Rides Again” and it‘s predecessor “Hope Never Dies” are both fun reads that don‘t take themselves too seriously with a wise-cracking Joe Biden and a “comedy of errors” approach to crime solving.