Fiction

The Other Merlin (Emry Merlin, #1) by Robyn Schneider

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This is a fun YA Fantasy re-telling of Camelot. Arthur is an intelligent bookworm that isn’t much of a fighter. Lancelot is a gay castle guard that was demoted from a page (on track to becoming a knight) after a misunderstanding. Both we content bumbling along until Arthur accidentally pulls the sword from the stone, and now everyone thinks he’s some kind of hero. Emry Merlin poses as her twin brother at court to learn magic and serve Arthur. It’s supposed to be temporary, but nothing goes to plan and she’s there permanently. Princess Guinevere is betrothed to Arthur, but neither wants to marry the other.

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January 8, 2023 0

The Villa by Rachel Hawkins

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

This was a pretty good mystery/thriller that involves two best friends and their summer at a high-end holiday home in a small town in Italy. Emily is a successful author of a cozy mystery series going through a painful and expensive divorce. She has recently recovered from a mysterious illness and is going through a bad case of writer’s block. Her best friend Chess is a successful self-help author and influencer.

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January 2, 2023 0

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

This is a very good contemporary fiction/mystery/thriller set in India. Geeta’s dead-beat husband left her five years ago. She didn’t kill him, but everyone thinks she did. Since then, she’s taken out her nose ring (become a widow) and made a life for herself selling hand-made jewelry. The inhabitants of her small village scorn Geeta, gossip about her, and the children are afraid of her. While this would make some women sad, Geeta relishes in her freedom.

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January 2, 2023 0

Queen of Nothing (Reina del Cartel, #1) by Santana Knox

This is a good first book in the reverse harem, enemies to lovers, dark romance series. I haven’t read many dark romance books, or any cartel books, so this is all new to me. I enjoyed the author’s world building which made it easier for me to understand the setting and circumstances of the characters.

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December 30, 2022 0

Sabiha’s Dilemma by Amra Pajalic

This is a touching coming of age story about Sabiha, a 16 year old girl living in Australia with her mom. They moved to Australia from Bosnia and lived a typical life there until her grandfather joined them from Bosnia. After that, Sabiha’s mother decides to become a dutiful Muslim daughter and fit back into the Bosnian community and wants Sabiha to do the same. Sabiha doesn’t want to do that, and can’t understand why things can’t stay the same. At the beginning of the book Sabiha is a typical spoiled, rude, self-absorbed teenager and isn’t very likeable. She is struggling with the changing friendship with the best friend from her former school, fitting into a new school, her first crush, trying to care for her mother, and deal with her interfering family.

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December 30, 2022 0

The Stranded (Stranded #1) by Sarah Daniels

This is a good YA Dystopian Sci/Fi Thriller set on the Arcadia, a luxury liner that set sail 40 years ago after being driven from Europe by an apocalyptic war. Since that time, it’s been a refugee camp anchored off the coast of the Federated States. The story centers on Esther a loyal citizen, working to have the rare chance to live a normal life as a medic on dry land, and Nik, a rebel planning something big to liberate the Arcadia once and for all. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and the oppressors of the refugees acts despicably toward them, requiring the rebels to alter their plans.

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December 29, 2022 0

In The Moment Before (The Coyote and The Claw Companion Series, #1) by C.G. Coppola

This is a cute novella about two seniors in high school whose animosity for each other land them in detention together. Robin has hated Grayson since he pranked her in front of their class in grade school. She despises him, and he delights in teasing her and egging her on. When they finally stop taking digs at each other, they realize their enemy is actually a person and the ice begins to melt between them. But can Robin trust Grayson, or is he just running a long con on her?

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December 21, 2022 0

A Wicked Game (Ruthless Rivals #3) by Kate Bateman

This was a fun historical fiction romance set in the early 1800s in London. It’s an enemies to lovers, he falls first, romance with plenty of heat.

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December 20, 2022 0

A Dash of Salt and Pepper by Kosoko Jackson

This is a cute LGBT contemporary romance set in a small town in Maine. Xavier has been dumped and passed over for a prestigious fellowship. He slinks home to lick his wounds, but his family have other ideas. Trying to get him out of his funk, Xavier’s mother presses him to work as a prep chef at a trendy new restaurant in town owned and operated by hot dad Logan. Logan doesn’t want to hire Xavier, but he needs the help. The duo find they have an unexpected connection, but since they both want different things in life, their relationship may be doomed before it really starts.

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December 18, 2022 0