Dance All Night by Alexis Daria

Broadway hotshot Nik Kovalenko is a confirmed bachelor.

Ballroom champion Jess Davenport is a bona fide Scrooge.

Last year, they shared a midnight kiss at a New Year’s Eve party that made both of them believe—briefly—in the magic of the holiday season. The magic was cut short when Nik went on tour the next day, but he never stopped thinking about that kiss—or Jess.

When the holidays roll back around, Nik runs into Jess again. He doesn’t want to spend another year pining for the Scrooge who got away, so he tells Jess he’ll stay if she’ll give him a shot at being her Christmas Present.

Jess thinks he’s full of it, but she agrees to three dates. If Nik can make her believe in holiday magic in a place as un-wintery as Los Angeles—and convince her that he’s ready to stick around—she’ll give him a chance. But he won’t know until New Year’s Eve. If she kisses him at midnight, he’ll have his answer…


If you're looking for a christmassy, adorable and beautiful romance to spend the holidays with, this might be the one you're looking for. It has a hero who loves Christmas and who's trying to get the heroine to feel the joy of it with him with three dates before New Years Eve, when she decides if she wants to be with him or not. Every time I read one of her books, I remember that Alexis Daria is an incredible writer. She has a wonderful way of portraying realistic and relatable characters that you root for but who have to have a lot of growing up to do during the duration of the book. The dynamics that they had especially during their first date when you can see them together bantering back and forward and dancing and enjoying what they do were gorgeous and I think the beginning of their story contributes a lot to those dynamics. The fact that they meet during New Years and then meet again next December but stayed following each other's social media and career was adorable. 

The main thing that kept me rooting for this couple is how the hero wasn't playing games. He wanted to show her his change during the past year and knew how to do it. He was honest and direct and he also was rooting for her and themselves even though she wasn't in the best place mentally to do the same yet. This is exactly what you would want if you're looking for fluff and something inspiring for Christmas. It's full of joy and the desire that you have to connect with people during the holidays. It's realistic and charming. It's a New Years kiss, a Christmas cookie, a romance that you look for. All in one. 

An ARC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!



Blanca & Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore

The biggest lie of all is the story you think you already know.

The del Cisne girls have never just been sisters; they’re also rivals, Blanca as obedient and graceful as Roja is vicious and manipulative. They know that, because of a generations-old spell, their family is bound to a bevy of swans deep in the woods. They know that, one day, the swans will pull them into a dangerous game that will leave one of them a girl, and trap the other in the body of a swan.

But when two local boys become drawn into the game, the swans’ spell intertwines with the strange and unpredictable magic lacing the woods, and all four of their fates depend on facing truths that could either save or destroy them. Blanca & Roja is the captivating story of sisters, friendship, love, hatred, and the price we pay to protect our hearts.





If you know anything about me, you know Anna-Marie McLemore is one of my all time favourite authors. Her books have inspired me to do so many things, to think outside of my comfort zone, to look inside myself and reconcile with a lot of parts of me that I thought would never be healed and for that I will always be thankful. This book is up there with my new favourites ever. It touched on so many topics that were powerfully important to me and that demanded my full attention and comprehension and feelings. The reimagining of a classic tale in the voice of these two sisters who were highly complex and deep and multi-layered was well done and constructed. They were extremely flawed in their quest of learning how to survive and be their own persons and I saw my sister and myself in them a lot. This book impacted me in so many ways because it talked about raw and angered emotions that were trying to come out to the light and two main characters who were fighting and finding those emotions in every turn. The rivalry that were trusted upon these girls was the center of the plot but the thing that attracted me the most were the relationships that were formed and strengthened throughout the book. 

I obviously adored how Anna-Marie McLemore wrote this book. With light-skinned and dark-skinned latinx sisters, with a transboy who uses he/she pronouns, with a boy who is trying to get over domestic abuse and trying to escape his family and  his name. All those complexities were so beautifully explained and expanded. You could feel everyone's stories and were rooting for everyone's happiness. All their paths' cross with one another as they look for their salvation, for their meaning and their self-discovery. It's about two romantic love stories but it's mostly about the complicated love of these two sisters. No one writes like her. No one crafts like her. 

Apart from all the technical and critical aspects of this book that touched me and made me feel that this book was objectively one of the best books of the year, I want to get sappy and tell you what it meant to me. I'm a sister. I have a complicated relationship with her but she's the most constant thing in my life and she's my best friend and has been my best friend since she was born. We're both latinas and have been compared to each other throughout our entire lives. This book felt like it put a lot of the feelings that we both shared into words. I know it's a book about rage and anger but it's also about those relationships that are unique and unbreakable when you live like we live. Like Blanca, I put my sister above everything and I protect her from the world and that doesn't mean she hasn't suffered but being the bigger sister I put myself in that role that I never left even now that we're both adults. It was so validating seeing that dynamic in these characters in how even though they were put against each other at so many points they still came together and fought for one another and that meant everything to me. 




Not Another Family Wedding by Jackie Lau

Natalie Chin-Williams might be a cranky professor of climatology who thinks the world is doomed, but she believes in lasting love…just not for herself. She has a long history of failed relationships, plus the men she dates inevitably want children and she doesn’t.

Now thirty-six and single, Natalie expects endless comments about her love life when she attends her baby sister's wedding. Worse, weddings are always drama-filled disasters in her family. She needs emotional support to get through the weekend, so she enlists the help of her friend Connor Douglas, the dependable family doctor.

The wedding reception goes south when a drunk aunt announces a family secret that sends Natalie reeling and shakes her faith in love. Luckily, she has her long-time friend to lean on—a man she somehow ends up kissing. But there’s no way this could turn into anything lasting, is there? That’s impossible for her, especially now…



There hasn't been a book by Jackie Lau that I haven't loved. She's one of my favourite authors at writing comedic situations that are also romantic and emotional. In this book, we have a main character that truly might be one of the characters that's closest to my heart now. She's in her 30s and doesn't want children. She lives within a family that's constantly asking her questions about when she's going to have them and that really affects her. I related a lot to her since I'm sure I don't want children and I've had a very similar journey with a lot of my relatives. She has to accept throughout the book that there are some members of her family that are trying to accept her and love her and who are fighting for her and some members that aren't worth caring for. Also, even though there were some tense moments and some sad moments, everything was so funny surrounding the problems with the weddings and I appreciated the sister relationship and that was also very relatable since I also have a younger sister who's my best friend and who's going to get married before me. 

I absolutely adored that Jackie Lau doesn't shy away from talking about important issues that affect the everyday life of her characters. In this book, there was a lot of talk about racism and especially internalised racism because Natalie is biracial with an Asian dad and a white mother. Additionally, it discussed problems and decisions surrounding pregnancies, abortion and postpartum depression. It was talked about in such a caring and tender way. It described how it also affects the people who surrounds the person who's suffering especially the children of the mother who's suffering of the postpartum depression and how they understood her as they got older. I'm so happy it discussed Natalie's abortion in a way that didn't diminished the way she felt but it wasn't this traumatic event that she was going to regret. I appreciated all those talks so so much. 

Connor was a fantastic hero. We didn't know everything about him since the beginning but I rooted for his happiness because he was obviously a good person who cared a lot about Natalie even if he wouldn't admit it. As we knew more about him, I began to love him and ship them as a couple and not only caring for Natalie and her happiness. What I adored the most about them is how different they were and how much they understood each other as well. Especially since she was such a pessimist about the world and he was a ray of sunshine. The gradual realisation that they cared for each other as more than friends was the best thing to read about. What I have to say is I'm aromantic and there were a lot of arophobic things as the phrase "just friends" was constantly used and it was implied that even though she didn't want kids she had to want romance otherwise she would be REALLY weird. I know those things weren't on purpose because there were a lot of discussions on prejudice and what other people think about your life and I know the author wouldn't do that to other people but it would be nice not to see those things in romance anymore. Other than that I have nothing bad to say, I loved every minute!



Make Me Fall by Sara Rider

Enemies make the worst neighbors, but the best lovers

After losing her job, her home, and her friends in her divorce, Nora Pitts is determined not to make the same mistakes when she starts over in the small town of Shadow Creek, Washington. No more slaving away in the lab at the expense of her social life, and definitely no more men. Ever. But making friends in her thirties is so much harder than she anticipated. And when it comes to her gorgeous yet obnoxious neighbor, it’s a whole lot easier to make enemies.

Eli Hardin doesn’t have a lot of sympathy for his uptight neighbor, until he overhears her so-called new friends making fun of her un-datable status. Suddenly he finds himself volunteering for a date with a woman who’s been leaving angry hate-notes in his mailbox, and in way over his head. Because all it takes is one disastrous date with Nora for Eli to fall hard.

But falling for Eli isn’t something Nora’s ready for—not when he’s her complete opposite, and especially not when he turns out to be the best friend she’s made in Shadow Creek. But as her attraction and her feelings for Eli grow hotter, resisting him might just lead to heartbreak anyway.



A lot of what Sara Rider did with this book was absolutely amazing. It was such an enjoyable and beautiful romance with characters that had a lot of layers that they had to let go in order to be what they wanted to be and to be completely happy. I really enjoyed the first book, but this one topped it. I felt like everything was more complex and interesting and the situations felt like they had more dimensions and I was super happy to see that. I went into this book thinking that it was going to be something and it surprised me being something completely different. When you  begin the book, you think it's going to be rivals to lovers, because they're neighbors who hate each other. But then you realize that the real meat of the story is in their developing friendship, in seeing them accepting and caring about each other and then falling for each other. Normally, with friends to lovers you get friends that when the book starts they already know one another but here you get to see it grow from the beginning and it's wonderful. 

Like it happened with Real Kind of Love, the characters in this book felt like real people. The descriptions of their feelings and their interests made me care about their happiness and that's what you want in a romance. Also, the fact that they were complete opposites was so refreshing because they united in things that could complement them but also disagreed a lot and at the end worked things through and grew as people because of it. Additionally, I loved seeing a divorced heroine in her 30s struggling to make friends in a new town since that's a very real thing that people go through since they usually don't have the setting of a school or university to make long lasting friends. Nora has extreme germophobia and I loved that Eli always respects her feelings and boundaries and never questions what she has to do in order to feel ok. I thought that was very thoughtful of the author. 

I have to say that even though I liked a lot of things, I was still disappointed at the lack of representation. It was an entirely white, straight, cis, allo book without characters with marginalized identities and that never lets me like a book completely. There was a little LGBT+ rep coded and a lot of mental health coded but it was never talked about at all on text and I think this book would have been amazing if those things would have been included and talked about because Nora had a lot of reflections about her germophobia but it never went further than that, even when it got really bad.  But that is a choice that the author made for her character. Even though those things affected my overall enjoyment, I loved the plot and the characters! 


If I Loved You Less by Tamsen Parker

                                                 

Sunny, striking, and satisfied with her life in paradise, Theodosia Sullivan sees no need for marriage. She does, however, relish serving as matchmaker for everyone who crosses her path. As the manager of her family’s surf shop in Hanalei Bay, that includes locals and tourists alike.

One person she won’t be playing Cupid for is the equally happy bachelorette down the street. Baker Kini ʻŌpūnui has been the owner of Queen’s Sweet Shop since her parents passed away and her younger brother married Theo’s older sister and moved to Oahu. Kini’s ready smile, haupia shortbread, and lilikoi malasadas are staples of Hanalei’s main street.

However, Theo’s matchmaking machinations and social scheming soon become less charming—even hazardous—to everyone involved. And when she fails to heed Kini’s warnings about her meddling, she may be more successful than she ever intended. Theo has to face the prospect of Kini ending up with someone else, just as she realizes she’s loved Kini all along.

A modern retelling of Jane Austen's Emma.



This book was everything I've ever wanted from an Emma retelling. It was adorable, lovely, soothing and infuriating at times but it was also a deep exploration of human emotions and relationships and a look inside a very morally questionable main character who does things she thinks are right but everyone can see they don't always have the best results even if they have good intentions. I didn't want a main character who was perfect and proper and was presented as a good person. Theo is a brilliantly constructed character, she's annoying and irritating and she's never presented as being a role model. She's a work in progress who wants to be better and who's growing as a person throughout the book. I was rooting for her because I knew her potential but I know that she could come off as very annoying. Her relationship with Kini was my favourite thing ever. The chemistry between them wasn't over the moon but the dynamics that they had and their friendship was incredibly believable and that made me have confidence in them as a couple. Their little interactions that weren't supposed to mean anything but meant everything in the long run brought a smile to my face every time and Kini was always there for the teachable moments for Theo and I think that says a lot about her character. Also, she said "badly done" and I was DEAD. 

For reference, I want to say that Emma is one of my favourite books in the entire world and definitely my favourite classic. I think Tamsen Parker did it justice. I don't know how she did it but even though it was a complete different setting and a complete different era, she maintained the same feel and atmosphere that the original book has. And I would say that it was elevated with the f/f relationship and the construction of the secondary characters. Now, let me talk a little bit about them. If you read Emma or If I Loved You Less, you know there are a lot of secondary characters that you need to follow in order to understand the conflict. This happens because it's a small town and you need to get the feel that everyone really knows everything and is up in everyone's business. The characterization of all these people that you were meant to follow was completely wonderful. I felt like I knew all these characters, their personalities, their dreams, their motivations. I could picture them in my head so so clearly and normally I hate having to remember a lot of names and a lot of characters but in this book it came naturally to me. It was like I was so immersed in this book that I was there meeting them and getting to know them in real life. 

This took place in Hanalei, a small town in Hawaii and the cast was of a diverse background. Kini was implied to be Native Hawaiian but I don't think we get on page confirmation on that. I think we should have gotten more from that since the description felt a bit shallow. Of course, I can't talk about the representation and I would love to hear from someone with that heritage. Also, Theo identified as queer and I really liked how her identity was shown as something fluid and how she went on tangents about that because that's something I do as well with my sexuality. I think a lot of my enjoyment with this book was influenced with my enjoyment of the original because there were a lot of things in common. But I have to say that it was well written, it felt like Theo had a growth because she was an awful person at some points but she worked to be better and the descriptions of the settings and feelings were beautiful. Definitely one of my recent favourite books. 



Stripped by Zoey Castile

Skilled, sculpted, and sexy, the men of adult entertainment are the kind of guys a woman reserves for her fantasies, not her reality. But is there more to these professional hotties than meets the eye?…

The day Robyn Flores meets Zac Fallon is one of those days. You know, when you’re already late for work. Mostly because you haven’t really slept since your best friend abandoned you for her fiancé and her exponentially better life. The kind of day you drag yourself to the cleaners to pick up your laundry, only to discover you’ve got the wrong bag—Star Spangled sequined thong, anyone? So Robyn is definitely not ready for the ridiculously gorgeous guy at her front door, except that they have each other’s clothes. But then, is any woman ever ready to meet the love of her life?

There’s just one problem: Zac Fallon is not the love of Robyn’s life. Zac knows, despite the all-too-intimate dinner they share, he doesn’t have a shot at her. Because the next time Zac sees Robyn, he’s front and center of the male revue headlining her best friend’s bachelorette party. So much for wooing the pretty schoolteacher, much less impressing her old-fashioned family, with his upstanding lifestyle. Now he’s only got one way to win his dream girl. It’s gonna be the steamiest, most irresistible seduction she’s ever seen. And this time it will be no act…

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stripped-Happy-Endings-Zoey-Castile-ebook/dp/B077WYKSFB/

To start, I absolutely adored the premise of this book. A sexy romcom about a male stripper and a schoolteacher? Brilliant! What attracted me the most since the beginning of this book was how it was written. It was so light and easy to read that I hadn't noticed I had read 5 chapters in a small amount of time. It had an amazing comedic timing that laughed with the characters and not at the characters and that felt incredibly natural. It never undermined Zac's job or made it seem like it should be something to be ashamed about and he certainly was never ashamed about it and Robyn completely respected him and what he liked to do. Even though there were struggles between the couple, in general, it felt like a very low angst book. The characters had a lot to figure out before they could be together, but the moments of friendship and domesticity during their flirtation and the situations before they realized something was happening between them was so beautiful to read. I always love to read about two very different people putting those differences aside but not erasing them to be together. They accepted and loved each other the way they were. It was adorable all the way through.

I'm all for my latinx sisters writing wonderful and lovely romance I can get behind, with characters that feel real and situations that could happen in the everyday life but also with those moments that seem almost too incredible to be true. This book was all that and more. It was diverse and gorgeous and I rooted for the characters all the time. That's one of the things that I love the most about romance books, how in a few pages I'm already connected with these characters, wishing them to be happy and have everything they want and overcome the problems that they might have. I really enjoyed how easy it was for me to fall in love with this story. 

The respect that they had for each other and what they loved to do and how much they cared about each other's happiness is what constructed their chemistry for me, which was on fire the entire time. Zac was so nice and kind, he really left the pages and was a full rounded person, with flaws and virtues and a complexity that I wasn't expecting at first. Robyn was a representation of what a lot of us go through at some point in our lives. Where she  had a lot of her life planned and then things don't turn out the way she wanted. And that doesn't mean that the exact solution for her is to have another plan, there's nothing wrong with a not so planned life. Also, she was humorous and witty and so much fun to read. 

If you want an entertaining, adorable and wonderfully written book, you have to pick up Stripped! 

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Real Kind of Love by Sara Rider

What happens when a fake relationship turns into a real kind of love?

As an audiobook narrator, Clementine Cox has no trouble mastering the voices of space aliens, elven warriors, or even demon-possessed cats. But the moment she tries her hand at an erotic romance, she’s stumped. With her deadline looming, she books a week at a secluded cabin to restore her inner muse, telling her loving-but-overbearing family it’s a romantic getaway with her not-so-existent new boyfriend to keep them from worrying. She never expects them to invite themselves along to meet the new guy. Now, she has less than twenty-four hours to find a pretend boyfriend in order to save her job and, potentially, her sanity.

Workaholic Jake Donovan isn’t interested in a real relationship. After a broken engagement, all he wants to do is focus on keeping his brewpub, the Holy Grale, afloat. But when he finds out his favorite customer is in need of a fake boyfriend, and his business partners insist he take a much overdue vacation, he has no choice but to help Clem out. All he has to do is enjoy the sunshine, play nice with her family, and keep his hands to himself for the week.

But Jake’s not prepared to like waking up next to Clem every morning as much as he does. Or to feel so welcome by her quirky family. And as the line between real and fake starts to blur, he realizes one week

might never be enough.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39509019-real-kind-of-love
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Real-Kind-Love-Books-Brews-ebook/dp/B07BPFM113/

I can't explain how adorable this book was. It was everything I could ever ask for a weekend read: cute, lighthearted but it was also a book that didn't shy away from putting the characters through complications, especially relating to family dynamics and expectations. I adored the fact that the heroine, Clem, was an audiobook narrator, in particular she was reading a romance book with rough sex and the hero is "helping her" with her involvement with the book. It was all kind of cliche but in an amazing way, don't get me wrong. It had a humour that made me really happy and had me laughing out loud. At the same time, I was rooting for their relationship even though it was obvious that both of them had a lot of things that they had to get through. 

The family aspects were really relatable and I had so many reason to like the main characters and feel for them in relation to the situation that they were in. I thought this story would be very straightforward but it actually surprised me a lot of times. And of course, I adored the fake relationship, which is one of my favourite tropes ever and the one that made me want to read this book in the first place. It was written beautifully and made me want to keep reading. I connected with Clem's struggles especially and with her character and personality. And even though I know her family was too much, I adored reading about them. They gave me a lot of funny moments. 

As you can tell, I really enjoyed this book. I have a few complaints though. First, I would have liked more diversity because it felt super white and straight at some points. Also, I really disliked the fact that we were constantly being told that Clem wasn't that pretty, that she was "pleasantly average"  but she was a skinny, white girl with very stereotypically pretty features and everyone thought she was pretty. Apart from that, there's a passage where the guy said that "if he ever got a taste of her, there'd be no way he'd stop until he'd stripped down all her defenses". I know it's probably not intended as a literal thing, he was thinking that he was bad and he always hurt people and there was never a moment where he made unwanted advances but I just don't like that it said that there'd be no way he'd stop, it's part of the language that we have to change. 

This book was gorgeous, though. If you're looking for something cute and fun, this is the one for you! 

What Kind of Day by Mina V. Esguerra

“All right,” she said. “And you can call me Naya.”“I’m Ben. And if my presence makes you uncomfortable, you don’t need to call me anything. I will be quiet as a mouse.”“I don’t like mice.”“I will be as quiet as your favorite quiet thing.”
It's a bad day for Ben. After years of earnest work, he's been fired from his job as a speechwriter for a Philippine senator. Name tarnished and bridges burned, he steps into what he thinks is a shuttle ride home, and accidentally joins a tour of his own city.

It was supposed to be a good day for Naya. Her passion is traveling, her hobby is discovering cool things to see and do, and taking people on tours of Metro Manila is her only job right now. An extra person at the last minute isn't ideal, especially if the person is a former colleague and the subject of the day's hottest political trash fire. But work is work, and she decides to let him stay in the tour.

She's hoping she won't regret it. He's hoping his day turns around. What kind of day could it be? Maybe the best kind.


This was the most beautiful exploration of Manila. I felt like Mina V. Esguerra let me in in a love letter that she had made for the city. The wonderful love story made it even more exciting and I left the book wanting more from this couple and this tour. I adored reading about older characters who have nothing figured out and who felt incredibly relatable to me. I really appreciate how amazingly written they were. They felt realistic, fully-fledged and level headed. It had a maturity I don't see in a lot of books and I thought the discussions that they had were handled with a lot of care for the topic. I don't have the same interests as these characters but I could feel the love and passion that they had for what they liked. I also felt the attraction that they had and their dynamics were really well constructed. The characterization was amazing and I was constantly rooting for their happiness. 

The entire thing, from the start, felt so realistic. It didn't sell something that wouldn't happen in real life. Their personalities were so different but at the same time they fit together very well. Naya was strong and interesting and Ben was a sweetheart who had a lot of questions and almost no answers but who did the best he could to achieve what he wanted. The thing that I loved the most about this book was how optimistic it felt. I loved the message. How there are good days and bad days but you have the capacity to make good days happen. It talked about the balance of those things and also the balance of doing something you love and doing something that gets you paid, it's also about the balance between them, who were at different stages in their lives but who were still looking for the thing that would make them truly happy. It was so adorable and cute! 

Even though it started very slow for me and I had some problems with the pacing, in general this book made me incredibly happy in their own search for their happiness, which is something that a lot of us can relate to. Make good days by reading this book right now!! 

Making Up by Lucy Parker

"Her eyes lifted back to his, and that something passed between them again: thought-shifting, life-twisting, almost tangible."
Once upon a time, circus artist Trix Lane was the best around. Her spark vanished with her confidence, though, and reclaiming either has proved…difficult. So when the star of The Festival of Masks is nixed and Trix is unexpectedly thrust into the spotlight, it’s exactly the push she needs. But the joy over her sudden elevation in status is cut short by a new hire on the makeup team.

Leo Magasiva: disgraced wizard of special effects. He of the beautiful voice and impressive beard. Complete dickhead and—in an unexpected twist—an enragingly good kisser.

To Leo, something about Trix is…different. Lovely. Beautiful, even though the pint-size, pink-haired former bane of his existence still spends most of her waking hours working to annoy him. They’ve barely been able to spend two minutes together for years, and now he can’t get enough of her. On stage. At home. In his bed.

When it comes to commitment, Trix has been there, done that, never wants to do it again. Leo’s this close to the job of a lifetime, which would take him away from London—and from Trix. Their past is a constant barrier between them.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36533218-making-up
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Making-London-Celebrities-Lucy-Parker-ebook/dp/B078TK1FQ8

I haven't been able to stop thinking about this since I finished it. It was such an adorable and brilliantly written book that I'm so happy I got to read. I had never read anything by Lucy Parker but I'm thrilled that I started with this one because now I'm hooked for life. I'm going to read the other two books in the series and I know I'm going to love them because I already love the characters that I got to meet. Trix, who is our pink haired, anxious, aerial artist heroine is intelligent, short-tempered and snarky. She's recovering mentally after a previous very abusive relationship and if there's something I love is seeing a wonderful woman picking herself up, growing, thriving and getting better mentally, showing her strength and becoming fierce and unbreakable by herself. 

This showed such a healthy relationship with the hero and with Trix herself and the people around her, who gave her the space to heal from her wounds. The emotional support that Leo provides her is gorgeous to see. He knew his place and I loved the relationship that they had. We have an enemies to lovers dynamic but before that we have beautiful conversations and complex dynamics. They're both incredibly ambitious in their own careers but they know their limits or they understand them during this book. I adored the humorous tone in the writing and everything was well constructed and I was hooked since the first page. I wish we could get more romances like this one, with healthy and steamy relationships between two people who adore and worship the ground that the other person walks on. Beautiful book!

Anger is a Gift by Mark Oshiro

"Anger is a gift.. Remember that." She stood. "You gotta grasp on to it, hold it tight and use it as ammunition. You use that anger to get things done instead of just stewing in it."
Six years ago, Moss Jefferies' father was murdered by an Oakland police officer. Along with losing a parent, the media's vilification of his father and lack of accountability has left Moss with near crippling panic attacks.

Now, in his sophomore year of high school, Moss and his fellow classmates find themselves increasingly treated like criminals by their own school. New rules. Random locker searches. Constant intimidation and Oakland Police Department stationed in their halls. Despite their youth, the students decide to organize and push back against the administration.

When tensions hit a fever pitch and tragedy strikes, Moss must face a difficult choice: give in to fear and hate or realize that anger can actually be a gift.


A powerful, heartbreaking and important book. Anger is a Gift was a gorgeously written book that depicted a realistic picture of what teenagers are dealing with in the United States right now. It had a strong description of systemic oppression and the power dynamics that surround black and queer identities. The narration was my favourite part. Moss had a very warm and kind personality and he valued the things that he had in his life, his mom, his friends, etc. It was so nice reading from his perspective but incredibly hard as well since he had PTSD from seeing his dad being shot by the police and had anxiety and panic attacks and sometimes I had to stop reading because of how well and realistic the depictions of his attacks were. It was also a story about intersections. Moss was black, latinx, gay and had anxiety. And all his identities were vital parts of his person. 

My other favourite part was the cast of characters. I felt like I could have read a book about any one of them because their characterization and their individual stories were fantastic, sometimes fun to read, sometimes they were super adorable, and sometimes it was very heartbreaking. And I was rooting for all of them. We had so many races, sexualities and disabilities and the intersections between them and they were all depicted in a very respectful and gracious way. The reality is that this book broke me. When I got to the 50% mark point I was in tears and didn't stop crying until the end. And it was so necessary for this story to be told. This book also blew me away, when I started to read it I didn't know I would be so invested in the characters and in their personal lives. I even want to cry writing this review. 

I adored that we had a black latinx queer character told by an own voices perspective. Mark's point of view is so important. This is also a story about family and all the different types that we encounter throughout life. In particular, Moss' mom was so supportive and I also would want to read a book about her because you could tell that she had a lot of issues that she was trying to put aside in order to be there for Moss and if that's not an important parent figure to have in young adult I don't know what is. This book was brilliant and one of my new favourites. Please be aware that this book depicts police brutality in a very hard way to read. Make sure to look at trigger warnings before reading! 

What it Seems by Sydney Blackburn


Hi everyone! I got this book from NetGalley in exchange for a review and it comes out today May 21st. At first glance, I requested it because it seemed super interesting, we have an m/m story with a demisexual and a bisexual character who meet while one of them is in drag! This story is about friendship, love, exploration and discovery and it's very adorable.
     

Darcy is ace and not interested in dating anyone, so he and Michael just hang out. A lot. When he needs to do an on-screen kissing scene, Michael is the best person to ask for help.

Michael soon discovers he isn’t as straight as he thought he was, and Darcy likes kissing him a little too much for someone certain he never would. Those are a lot of changes to accept, but they just might be worth it.

Michael’s straight and infatuated with a woman he worked with one day, over a year ago. But when he finally sees her again, he’s astounded that the woman of his dreams is a man in drag.


                                                
This was a short, sweet and lovely story about two characters who are figuring out a lot of things in their lives, mainly their sexuality and how it is expressed. We start with a guy who knows he's asexual but who is still trying to understand the spectrum and he's still discovering a lot of different aspects about himself. Later in the book he realizes he's demisexual and the way it's told is really gorgeous and validating. We also follow another guy who at the beginning of the book is identifying as straight but who has had a few m/m experiences with a good friend of his. Throughout his journey in this story, he starts noticing and accepting that things might not be black or white and that bisexuality is an important and integral part of himself. This realization specifically happens during the development of his relationship with Darcy. I also appreciated how they became good friends first and how their dynamics started to change towards a more romantic side but it seemed to flow and develop seamlessly. 

I've never read anything by this author before but I adore how the relationship and the world in which they move were constructed, it felt like the narration was very gentle and sincere and it gave space for their characters to grow and learn about themselves and about each other. I think the fact that this book was so short almost did the story a disservice. There were so many parts that were skipped over and that I wanted to see explored more. Like Michael realizing his bisexuality, it seemed like we went from one point to another without exploring the middle of it or getting to see how he started to feel comfortable after denying it for a while. Not saying that this realization can't happen from one moment to the other, but it felt like every once in a while we lost a little bit of the story. I also have to add that one of the main characters acts in drag if you're interested! I enjoyed this book a lot and it's an adorable story that you can read in a couple of hours. 

Resort to Love by Priscilla Oliveras

Hi everyone, this is my first official review for my new blog. Do you like how it looks? I'm so happy that it's a book by Priscilla Oliveras, who is an author that I absolutely adore. I was kindly provided an ARC of this book by NetGalley and the author. Resort To Love comes out today, May 15th!! So I really encourage you to pick it up, especially if you're looking for something lighthearted and fun. It's the third book in the Paradise Key series, which is written by different authors and follows a group of best friends as they find love and accomplish their goals.
Sometimes, going back to the beginning is the only answer.

Paradise Key Resort holds the best and the worst of Sofía Vargas’s adolescent memories of love and heartbreak. Now, she hopes to wipe the slate clean and boost her career from resort manager to owner by winning a quirky town contest. But when an old flame throws his hat into the ring, Sofía realizes that protecting her heart will be the biggest challenge.

Nathan Patrick Hamilton III has played the part of the good son all his life with one exception—indulging in a secret on again-off again relationship with Sofia in high school and college, knowing that family duty would eventually tear them apart.

Years later, Nathan feels like he finally has a chance to win back the girl of his dreams and right the way he wronged her. But Sofía doesn’t trust or forgive easily and it’s going to take more than kooky town hall meetings, an emergency trip back to Key West, stolen kisses and a re-creation of their first date, for him to even be in the running. Is the ultimate prize the resort or winning back Sofía's heart?

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CQ77PTX
Resort to Love is a second chance romance between Nate and Sof, who were friends with benefits for years but decided to call it off. Now they meet again in circumstances that are affecting both of their lives. The first thing I have to say is that if you're in the Northern Hemisphere, you NEED to read this book during the summer. It has the perfect atmosphere to make you feel like you're in a paradise in this small town. Priscilla Oliveras is incredible at descriptions and here you're transported to wherever she wants you to go.

We also meet two very driven and ambitious characters, who come from very different backgrounds, who made mistakes but who, even after all these years, obviously love each other. We get to spend most of the book following their second opportunity at their love story and you feel like you're getting to see all of their past history and how it intertwines with the present and you're rooting for them the entire time. My favourite thing about this book is the Latinx heritage that so many of these characters have. I adore the sense of familia that is incorporated all through the book and how much it feels like it's true to Latinx sense of family, even if it's not the one you're born in, but mostly the one you choose... and choose again, even (and specially) through the difficult times. I adore the group of friends Sof has and that makes me want to immediately pick up the rest of the series! I loved how it felt realistic, how she sometimes spoke to all of them at once, but sometimes she had one on one because in real life you're not speaking with your entire group of friends all the time. You have different types of relationships with different people. And I specially adored how Nate fit into the group and how he slowly became part of Sof's familia again.

This book was so special to me. Though the thing that bothered me (and I know it's a very particular thing) is that sometimes the Spanish was translated literally. I like when Priscilla rephrases the sentence because otherwise in my head it sounds like I'm reading the same thing twice (I'm bilingual by the way). It's not something that I would particularly change, because I know it's good for non-Spanish speakers, but to me it stopped the flow of the narration. But other than that, I enjoyed this book a LOT and I gave it 4.25 stars!

First Post

Hi!

So... this is more terrifying than I thought it would be. This is my first official post on my new blog! If this is the first time you met me, let me present myself: I'm Mel, I have a booktube channel and I'm from Argentina.

This is mostly a place to keep my reviews of books, since doing it on Goodreads kind of feels fruitless. But hopefully I will make recommendations, TBRs and interesting things that you'll like too!

I'm mostly focusing on Romance books but you'll definitely see other genres as well.

These are my links in case you're interested: