The Holiday Switch

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I read this book as part of a read along. It’s very much YA and innocent love.

For me, I didn’t overly connect with this book to begin with, but then I had to embody my 13 year old self, to appreciate the story. I did feel like Lila’s POV did seem younger than 18, as she spoke more like a 13-15 year old, rather than someone going off to college. This could have been attributed to the restrictive nature of her family, but Teddy also seemed younger, rather than someone already in college.

I liked the idea of Lila having a book blog. That was fun and interesting. The vibes of the town was cute with their most famous bookstore being part of an iconic (made up) movie attracting tourists to their quaint town. The BIPOC representation was good allowing us to be part of some cultural elements that we may not be exposed to. It also highlighted how expectations can be placed upon us, but sometimes we just want to go our own way.

This was definitely a sweet, high school romance with some cute interactions between the MCs. There was a strong influence of how family is important and keeping secrets from them aren’t necessarily a good thing.

Let it Snow

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This was a short romance and great for those that love the forced proximity trope.

Nia and Andrew are snowed in at an airport together. Nia wants to get away from her family for Christmas, yearning for her Jamaican holiday whilst Andrew isn't overly looking forward to an awkward Christmas with his family, when his ex is now with his brother. All passengers are stuck at the airport Christmas Eve, but they try to make the most of it for not only the children but for themselves.

Everyone learns a bit more about themselves as the passengers interact with one another, giving each other support in various ways. Nia and Andrew can't believe they've somehow stumbled upon their next love interest, whilst also wanting to be better people in their own lives.

I enjoyed the spirit of people making the most out of an unexpected situation. People can always come together to make light when things go wrong. The Christmas spirit was definitely high for the characters and it highlighted how random acts of kindness goes a long way.

I think there was one part where I cringed a little when Andrew said "you're not vegan are you?" - it was as if this was a bad thing and a deciding factor on whether Nia was good enough to be on the date with him. I just found it odd - like who cares about people's lifestyle choices?

I thought it was an okay read... Just my opinion. The MCs grew at the end after getting to know each other, giving life advice that helped them want to be better and that was good. I didn't overly connect with them and it was their love for Boyz II Men that brought them together in the end, which I can totally relate to. Boyz II Men are awesome!

Bloodmarked

I had the pleasure of reading this as part of a read along. Thank you Tandem Collective, the publisher and Tracy Deonn for having this copy available for me.

This book has me reeling…

So, the story continues from the massive bombshell of Legendborn. It’s action from the get go with this book. The Order doesn’t want to reveal that Bree is Arthur’s descendant. She has to tackle prejudice and dismantling a traditional magical order mostly full of white people. On top of this she can’t control her powers and needs to not only learn fast, but still has to come to terms with who she is… or what she is.

There’s a few poor choices on her part. Bree does not seem to understand how her decisions actually impact those around her. She seems to think all they care about is the blood lines but it’s so much more than that. I guess she really shows her age in those moments. With Nick gone, she’s determined more than ever to find him, even if that means placing others at risk.

A lot of the book is her on the run from the Order who had previously locked her up, but she’s in hiding so they can’t suppress her powers. With her loyal friends, Sel, William and Alice, she’s in most part protected, and puts herself in danger a lot.

What I really enjoyed, was her time understanding the root craft at Volition and the sense of community they provided. It was clear throughout the book that Bree had so much support even though the Order was oppressing her. Valec was an fun character and how they linked in the story was interesting.

I am and always will be Team Sel. With his sacrifice, i am intrigued to find out how he comes along in book three. Has he gone past a point of no return?

The last part had me like WTF! What has Bree done? Guess we all have to wait to find out!

Legendborn

I’d seen so many people mentioning on TikTok how awesome this read is and I managed to see spoiler free reviews. Bought it off Amazon and did this as a buddy read, which was awesome because I could chat to someone about this amazing book after we read each part.

I cannot even begin to describe how much I loved this read! To have the author’s notes at the end explaining her own grief and how Bree was created, really gave this story so much of a personal touch. I loved the integration of King Arthur legends with the rootcraft Tracy created for this story. The interwoven history of one of the greatest western legends and black history is nothing I have ever read before. It’s so unique!

The book was well paced to really build the magical system which had a long standing history since King Arthur, Merlin and the knights of the round table. Bree is basically thrust into this world of magic as her mum kept it from her, whilst she battles her own grieving process after losing her mum. I liked that through her lineage, there was various aspects of magic that coursed through her veins - a lot of it having a dark history, though I really feel that she can change it all for the better. Bree just needed to be in the right place at the right time to be awakened. She has the power to really shake things up.

Now, I thought her growing love for Nick was cute, but I was secretly hoping that her and Sel would be together. I’m still hoping for it! Just from that first touch and the moment she can feel his stare on her. It seems more intriguing than her bond with Nick. Unless she ends up loving them both? That scene in Sel’s room was raw and real. When Sel broke down, I really felt his pain in that moment and in turn when Bree finds out the “truth” about her mother and Sel wants to comfort her… That’s got to count for something!

I’m excited for the next book! I can’t wait for it! It’s going to be an awesome read! I just know it!

The Stand-In

This book was all over audible when I first joined. It is also available now in written format in paperback or e-book. I was flipping between the two to see how each would fare and thought either one works well.

We are introduced to Gracie who is sexually harassed by her boss Todd and takes a sick day to seek a lawyer for advice. The lawyer asks why she didn’t approach HR first and she mentions that she didn’t think it was a good avenue to explore. After the meeting she grabs a coffee at a local cafe and notices photographers snapping her photo. She doesn’t think too much of it.

Gracie gets to work the next day and Todd knows she wasn’t really sick, showing her the photos of her from the paparazzi mistaking her for international famous actress Wei Fangli. She gets fired and this starts some stress and worry. Gracie is wanting to get her mum into a good nursing home as she is being cared for her Alzheimers. In comes Wei Fangli with an offer of a lifetime. Can Gracie stand-in for Fangli at public events? Since the paparazzi already mistook her, it could work. Fangli’s closest friend and pretend boyfriend Sam Yao (also internally famous for acting) thinks it’s a bad idea. Gracie really wants the money to help her mum and decides what’s the harm in pretending to be famous for awhile?

I loved that we had representation in this book. The MC is biracial and so is the author. The concept of the book was funny and I don’t know that I could fake being someone famous as Gracie put in a lot of hard work to pull it off. It wouldn’t be the easiest job and there were moments that she could have easily been caught out.

What I loved about this book was that the characters didn’t realise they needed each other until they crossed paths. They each had a hand in each others growth and that to me was special. I didn’t love Sam at first and thought he was a bit of a rude d%*k to Gracie, but when they had their truce, they started to really understand one another. Recognising similar traits in herself, I liked how Gracie was able to assist Fangli get the help she needed for her depression.

There was a twist towards the end that I didn’t see coming, because I just wasn’t expecting it and it worked so well in the story. It was a sweet ending where everyone got something unexpected out of this bizarre set up.