Before I Let Go

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I read this as part of a book club and I’m thankful for having a few chapters to read each day. The content did get heavy at times and taking a break was welcomed.

Yasmen and Josiah are a divorced couple who suffered a loss of a child and also a very close Aunty in quick succession. Yasmen went through a deep depression, whilst Josiah didn’t take the time to grieve. Josiah didn’t believe in therapy and talking to a professional, burying any trauma he’s ever experienced deep within. Yasmen and Josiah are still in each others lives as they have 2 children and also run a restaurant business together. As Josiah attempts to move on with someone new, are they both really ready to depart the love they once had or will old feelings start to resurface?

This book was a beautiful read for me. I can understand why some may not like this read, as the couple in the story could have worked things out with proper communication, having their own time to grieve and also needed the tools to work through their grief.

My heart broke reading about the loss of a child that Yasmen had to experience. I especially liked the research the author did with those who had this experience and even sought therapists out who may have helped those with such a significant loss.

Everyone wants to hate Josiah because he thought therapy was bollocks. My friend told me that this stigma is held for black men (something I didn’t know), so it makes sense that he thought it wasn’t going to help him nor Yasmen. He only thought her meds did the job, but when he eventually goes himself, he has such a profound experience and realises he was wrong.

I think Yas definitely wanted Josiah to express himself. He didn't know how and that stemmed from when his parents died. He buries it deep and didn't have the tools to cope or grieve properly. If Josiah didn’t hold the stigma surrounding therapy, used a therapist to digest his parents death when he was younger, he wouldn’t have held the "life moves on" mentality. So it was the same application to the loss of Byrd and Henry.

I think what drove Yas for divorce was also that Josiah kept tiptoeing around her and treating her like she was precious. She didn't know their business was not going smoothly and they had no money in the bank to pay for lawn mowing. I felt as if he threw her depression back in her face by painting over that nursery wall. Josiah felt like it wasn't productive sitting there every day, day in day out. I think he felt like she needed to stop and come back to reality. He didn't understand depression, so therefore had judgement from a practical point of view. Yasmen was all emotional. So really he lacked emotional intelligence. They were two opposite people at the time. They weren't going to work out if they continued that way, so I think Yas thought divorce was the only solution for self healing from such a devastating loss.

Kaseem was such a sweetheart and the whole time I was thinking “what is Deja’s problem?”. I knew it wouldn’t come easily and we got our answer towards the end of the book. I think a child can hold anger when they don’t really understand fully what’s going on. If you only hold a certain piece of information, it’s easy to jump to conclusions and can be very confusing for the child. Overall, I thought for how well Yasmen and Josiah were co-parenting, they had pretty decent children. Deja holding attitude was within her own reasoning.

I think this book is really raw and emotional. It embraces a topic that maybe not many people would know about or relate to, but is as real as it gets for those suffering loss and depression. I would recommend not reading this book if those are triggers for you.

The Clan of Mist

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Thank you to the authors for my ARC :)

Thessalia is a siren destined to take over as clan leader from her mother. It’s not the exact life she wants as she just wants to explore the world. Her clan possess a water amulet that they battle against other sirens to be the protectors of every 25 years. There are 7 amulets that exist in the world and if combined unleash a demon into the world. When Thessalia decides one day to leave her village to explore she gets lost but a halcyon shifter Dromie navigates her home and they become friends.

Dromie’s uncle owns a night club for magical beings and one night out, Thessalia spots him! What’s is it about this man? She feels all kinds of things inside, but in an instant he’s gone. It’s not long before Dromie organises a double date of sorts and it involves this mysterious stranger. Next minute, Thessalia has passed out and been kidnapped. This dark mysterious stranger named Kage has kidnapped her for the amulet, but her mother won’t ever give it up. But why does she continue to feel attraction for him when he’s entrapped her without water to fuel her magic?

This book was easy to read that I read it in one go! It’s fast paced, we never get lost in the world building and the characters are loveable. Was definitely a great opening novel to the series and I definitely was left wanting more. I felt like Thessalia was relatable because when you’re young, you want to break free of any restrictions your parents place on you.

I wasn’t expecting the spicy scenes when they came along, so that was a nice surprise when I got to those pages. It’s a small dose in there and fun!

I loved the idea of crocodile shifters as it’s not something I personally have come across in my readings, so that was refreshing. Kage has lived a rough life and he has got to have layers right? Will be interesting to see if we get to know him more in the series.

This book has a mix of fated mates, enemies to lovers, magic, shifters, romance and kidnapping trope. If you’re a lover of any of these, then you will enjoy this start to a series!

Last Tang Standing

⭐️⭐️

I really wanted to like this book and was actually going to DNF, though reading through the mixed reviews, I thought I’d proceed anyway. There may have been moments I skimmed read.

Let’s start with what I liked… I thought the author’s writing was engaging, witty and fun. I liked her style and would love to check out her other work. The main reason why I bought this book was because it was set in Singapore and my heritage is there. I like to have representation and support BIPOC authors. The premise intrigued me - Andrea Tang being a 33 year old who is the last in her family to get married, so she’s the “Last Tang Standing”.

The book definitely explored the family and cultural pressures that some people face in todays world - where tradition outweighs personal needs and wants. The MC Andrea felt like a pariah because she is getting on in years, and in her family’s eyes, being unmarried was frowned upon. Though some of us in today’s day and age may not feel this pressure, there are still so many that have this idea of success being housed around having a good job and also marrying someone with a good job. Can we really judge this mentality? Andrea’s mum makes a point of why she acts the way she does and her sacrifices have always been to see her children succeed. With this in mind, you can start to (somewhat) forgive the harshness of her actions. I personally have only felt some of this expectation of having a good job though never felt like I had to meet someone with a good job also… however you define what a good job is.

So the main problem I had with the MC Andrea is her alcoholism. Honestly, she has a drinking problem and if she wasn’t drinking every day, she was drinking every other day. I don’t see how this is funny or entertaining… it’s a serious problem. Because of this, she lacks maturity. Andrea is a successful lawyer who is trying to make partner at her firm, but she goes into work so many times hung over and you’re telling me she’s supposed to be a professional? If you want to make partner, you might take your job more seriously or have more respect for yourself to be the best individual to make partner? Very frustrating to read.

I agree with other reviews how there’s topics which can cause an uncomfortable feeling amongst readers. There’s “casual racism” which I didn’t really feel was challenged enough by those that could educate others, there’s Chinese privilege (which by the way still exists in Singapore), there’s inappropriate comments surrounding weight and plastic surgery, the queer cousin won’t be accepted and disowned unless she marries a straight person, there’s ageism, there’s fat shaming, an inappropriate comment in reference to pedophiles on page 12 and did I mention how much alcoholic drinking is in this book by the MC and her friends?

The person Andrea ends up with, isn’t even a convincing romance. I didn’t really get the sense that much spark was there. They were colleagues and they were just getting to know one another. To me, it didn’t really scream out hot burning desire. It really felt short for me.

The reason I stayed until the end was to see if Andrea would grow as a person. We did see this towards the end where she quits her job, tries to stop drinking and truly think about what she wants to achieve in life. If you blink you may miss it as it’s only covered in very few pages.

The book is also long for not much character building. Since we get Andrea’s internal monologue, we get her judgemental commentary of those around her, but we don’t really get to know anyone in too much depth… or maybe that’s the point? Everyone in her life is so surface level, including the MC, so no one has any real substance to them? Not sure if intentional or not.

I am sitting here still with mixed feelings on the book but as I said I would still like to check out this author’s other work. It could just be that this book didn’t really hit, but that’s not to say her other work won’t. I feel like this story could have been really great and a missed opportunity.

Zodiac Academy - Ruthless Fae

This one is another 3.5 stars from me. It was slightly better than the first book.

The twins getting they’re revenge with their pranks was entertaining. Caleb showing a softer side was nice to read - like there is some decency underneath that exterior. The pool scene with Lance and Darcy was sad. I never tire of Tory’s sarcasm and quick witted comments. Darius’ circumstances with his betrothed cousin and abusive father are unfortunate. It’s clear he only bullies to keep his father happy but that one chapter with his POV clearly shows his affection for Tory. That scene with Tory and Caleb, I was thinking “yes girl go get some!”. I’m waiting for Tory to kiss Seth, so then she’s had a taste of all of them. The pack scenes with Seth opened us up to his sexuality and that was refreshing to read.

This book has so much happening in such a short amount of time. It’s still only just over a month in the timeline which I think is insane. Tory and Darcy continue to show how strong they are. They really know how to hold their own and it’s awesome to read them fighting back in their own way.

I rated this book slightly down because it was riddled with spelling errors, grammatical errors (which I’m not even an expert on, but if I noticed, then it’s bad) and I still find it annoying that they don’t study the hell out of Solaria’s history because if I were them, I’d spend every waking moment trying to figure what I’m up against. Also those end scenes with the nymphs just dragged on for me, but it gave us a little insight to how much Tory actually cares for Darius.

The Package

⭐️⭐️⭐️🌟

This one is a very quick read.

Forced proximity in an elevator.

Jules is having a bad run - lost her job and broke up with her boyfriend. She’s stuck in a lift with her soon to be boss Archer and they’re both instantly attracted to another. Archer has taken over his grandfather’s company and based on Jules’ not so subtle feedback, he does want to make it a better workplace for all.

I enjoyed it and would love more to the story because there was potential for it. Do like the representation of women of all sizes. It was lighthearted with a few funny moments.