Book Review | A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin

Title: A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting
Author: Sophie Irwin
Genre: Adult Historical Romance / Fiction
Publication Date: July 12th, 2022
Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books
Rating: 4.5 stars

“Kitty Talbot needs a fortune. Or rather, she needs a husband who has a fortune. Left with her father’s massive debts, she has only twelve weeks to save her family from ruin.
Kitty has never been one to back down from a challenge, so she leaves home and heads toward the most dangerous battleground in all of England: the London season.
Kitty may be neither accomplished nor especially genteel—but she is utterly single-minded; imbued with cunning and ingenuity, she knows that risk is just part of the game.
The only thing she doesn’t anticipate is Lord Radcliffe. The worldly Radcliffe sees Kitty for the mercenary fortune-hunter that she really is and is determined to scotch her plans at all costs, until their parrying takes a completely different turn…
This is a frothy pleasure, full of brilliant repartee and enticing wit—one that readers will find an irresistible delight.” (Goodreads)

I’ve had this one on my tbr. My sister had asked me for some recs and I figured why not have her read some on my tbr to tell me if it’s worth it or not. 😂 She loved this one so I figured it was time to give it a go!

The book is told from two point-of-views and they come from Kitty Talbot and Lord Radcliffe. They both come from different backgrounds and it does come into play a lot during the book as it has to do with social class. I liked reading about Kitty’s struggles with class and how her and her family dealt with it. Scandal is not for from their name!

Both characters were not what I was expecting but in a good way. They are both stubborn and will play a mean game of chicken, haha. They get under each other’s skin and it’s hard not to see the chemistry brewing. I definitely got a lot of The Viscount Who Loved Me vibes. I think that is why I liked it so much.

The plot was a bit slow in the beginning but when it takes off I flew through the audiobook. I could have finished it in one day if I had wanted but life got in the way, haha. There were a lot of plot twists and they kept me engaged throughout. Some had me dying from the hilariousness of them. Kitty is something else!

Overall, this was a fun read and I really enjoyed the audiobook. I would highly recommend this one, especially if you love Julia Quinn’s novels.

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Book Review | French Kissing in New York by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau

Title: French Kissing in New York
Author: Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau
Genre: YA Contemporary / Romance
Publication Date: January 3rd, 2023
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Rating: ⭐⭐✨

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a complimentary earc to review! All opinions are my own.

“Welcome to New York. . . . He’s been waiting for you.

Margot hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Zach, the dreamy American boy she met one magical night in Paris. In an instant, they fell head over heels in love and spent the perfect evening ensemble—sealed with a kiss and a promise: if the universe wants them to be together, fate will find a way.
Flash forward one year later: Margot has finished high school and is newly arrived in New York, ready to roll up her chef’s-coat sleeves in Manhattan’s bustling restaurant scene, celebrate her father’s upcoming wedding . . . and reconnect with Zach.
But a lot can happen in a year, and promises made in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower look different in the neon glow of the Big Apple. Margot spends the summer desperate to find Zach and enlists the help of Ben, the sweet line cook at her restaurant. Margot is convinced she found her soul mate that night in Paris . . . but what if the universe has a different plan?

Anything’s possible in New York City. Especially l’amour, American-style.” (Goodreads)

I enjoyed her book Kisses and Croissants but this latest one just missed the mark for me.

P.S. The Review will have some spoilers!

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Margot who has recently moved to New York to live with her dad and take on the big city in the restaurant industry as well as find a guy she had one romantic night with in Paris. It was a super interesting premise and one that I was really fascinated by.

Margot is a very driven young woman. It doesn’t feel like no is in her vocabulary. I wouldn’t say that her attitude is well received by those around her because she can seem to come off as pretentious, one character even calls her this. It’s not bad to feel the way she does and want to chase her dreams with no brakes but sometimes she doesn’t see what is right in front of her. I feel like she wanted it all without realizing there would be consequences.

She isn’t the only character that I felt like rolling my eyes at often either. Cue the spoilers here! Ben, a love interest but also not the right one at the time, wants to help her find the guy she had met in Paris. I think this was nice of him to do but also why would he if he doesn’t even know her? I guess it is to spend time with her but kind of a weird way to go about it. Anyways, when she does end up finding the guy, Zach, she completely ditches Ben and still wants him to go to her dad’s wedding with her but also with Zach. Ben gets upset by this and also the fact that she found him but he should have figured it would be a possibility. I think that they were both kind of dumb in their feelings. End of the spoilers!

There is a lot of drama surrounding secrets and it just goes to show that secrets don’t make friends. The consequences for the secrets were also very brief so it kind of felt very lackluster.

Although I had a lot of issues with certain parts of the book, I still think that Ben and Margot had cute moments together. I was rooting for them from the beginning, even when they were being dumb about it. This book also made me very hungry with all of the food talk!

Overall, this was a mixed bag for me. I wish there would have been more I did like.

Arc Review: A Fire Endless (Elements of Cadence #2) by Rebecca Ross

Title: A Fire Endless (Elements of Cadence #2)
Author: Rebecca Ross
Genre: Adult Fantasy / Romance
Publication Date: December 6th, 2022
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Arc Review: A River Enchanted (Elements of Cadence #1) by Rebecca Ross

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a complimentary earc to review! All opinions are my own.

“East and West. Humans and Spirits. Breccans and Tamerlaines. The Isle of Cadence has always held itself and its residents in a tenuous balance. But now Bane, the spirit of the North Wind, has pushed everyone and everything in his path off-kilter in a bid to claim dominion over all.
In the West, Adaira struggles to adjust to the more brutal, bitter ways of life among the Breccans. Striving to find her place in the clan, she swiftly realizes that it just might be the last role she desires to hold. And while magic blooms effortlessly for the Breccans in the west, the spirits continue to suffer beneath Bane’s harsh power, felt in every gust of wind.
In the East, Jack is adrift without Adaira until he sings to the ember-weak fire spirits, acquiring a dangerous mission he never expected. One that is destined to lead him westward. Likewise, Torin and Sidra are consumed by a new mystery as sickness spreads first amongst the crops, and then to the people of the Tamerlaine clan. While Sidra desperately searches for a cure, Torin dares to strike a bargain with the spirits—a precarious folly anytime, but especially now as the days grow darker.
With the island falling further out of balance, humans and spirits alike will need to join together to face Bane, and Jack’s gift with the harp will be called upon once more. Yet no one can challenge the North Wind without paying a terrible price, and the sacrifice required this time may be more than Jack, Adaira, Torin, and Sidra can bear to pay.”

This was everything I wanted and more! This is my favorite duology to date and I will talk about it forever.

The book is told from multiple point-of-views just like in the first book. All of the characters are back and a few new ones also make their entrance and it was nice to get to know more about the spirits and their realm.

If you asked me who my favorite couple in this duology is I wouldn’t be able to tell you. Each pairing brings a different struggle to the table and a different sort of love. Each one melts your heart and also breaks it at the same time. It’s not even the romantic relationships either. The sibling bonds and parental ones are just as important. I cried tears of happiness and sadness, sometimes at the same time haha. It’s just so easy to get wrapped up and feel some sort of way towards what is happening to the characters. There is great character development!

I will say that, and maybe this is me picking haha, but I could see my personal relationship in Torin and Sidra’s. Through their struggles and not always seeing eye-to-eye and speaking out in anger. It made them very relatable and maybe that is why it hit so hard.

After the last book and the way that it ended I knew what one of the plot lines would be but I wasn’t expecting everything else that came with it. There were some wild moments and I was in utter disbelief at what I was reading! This is one of those books that you get anxious about and you have to continuously read because you have to know what will happen! My poor heart couldn’t take the suspense.

It’s really hard to put into words how this book made me feel. Usually five star reads are an easy review but this book was just so beautifully written and wonderful that it makes me at a loss for words.

Overall, this book was just amazing! No complaints at all. If you haven’t read this duology yet then get to it! You won’t be disappointed.

Arc Review: Well Traveled (Well Met #4) by Jen DeLuca

Title: Well Traveled (Well Met #4)
Author: Jen DeLuca
Genre: Adult Cointemporary / Romance
Publication Date: December 6th, 2022
Publisher: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a complimentary earc to review! All opinions are my own.

“A high-powered attorney from a success-oriented family, Louisa “Lulu” Malone lives to work, and everything seems to be going right, until the day she realizes it’s all wrong. Lulu’s cousin Mitch introduced her to the world of Renaissance Faires, and when she spies one at a time just when she needs an escape, she leaps into the welcoming environment of turkey legs, taverns, and tarot readers. The only drawback? Dex MacLean: a guitarist with a killer smile, the Casanova of the Faire… and her traveling companion for the summer.
Dex has never had to work for much in his life, and why should he? Touring with his brothers as The Dueling Kilts is going great, and he always finds a woman at every Faire. But when Lulu proves indifferent to his many plaid charms and a shake-up threatens the fate of the band, Dex must confront something he never has before: his future.
Forced to spend days and nights together on the road, Lulu’s interest in the kilted bad boy grows as he shows her a side of himself no one else has seen. The stresses of her old lifestyle fade away as she learns to trust her intuition and follow her heart instead of her head. But when her time on the road is over, will Lulu go with her gut, or are she and Dex destined for separate paths?” (Goodreads)

This one was hard to rate. One side, I did like it but on the other, it wasn’t a favorite which is really disappointing. Again, I did like it though! Close proximity, finding oneself, and kilts? Come on!

The book is told from one point-of-view and it comes from Lulu. We were introduced to her in the last book and I loved her! I couldn’t wait to see what her story would be about. She definitely goes through a lot of growth when it comes to her job, family, and love. I do wish that there would have been more when it came to her family but I understand, she was living off-the-grid. It’s just a shame we saw them in the last book with Mitch but not in this one. I think it would have added a bit more.

There are other characters that were present in other books come back for this one. Stacey and Daniel are one of my favorite couples! I am happy they are back and helping Lulu find her purpose. It was nice to see another side from them as well as the others in the Dueling Kilts, especially Dex. He is the definition of not judging a book by its cover and he gets judged a lot from those close to him as well as all of the other people putting on a show at the ren faire. He is hiding a softer interior and I loved getting to know him a whole lot better.

The romance between Dex and Lulu was cute. It involves close-proximity and not knowing what the future holds. They learn a lot about each other before ever getting into anything I liked that approach. The downside is that even though they were getting to know each other, it felt like a rapid stride from somewhat friends to lovers and it just didn’t work for me. Don’t get me wrong, there were cute moments between them and I still loved them but I just wanted more between them. You know what I mean?

Overall, I liked this one. Not a favorite but it was still a good read and I’m glad that Dex had a happy ending after meeting him in book two. I’m also glad we got to see Lulu and understand her better as well. She really is a great character.

WWW Wednesday | 11-9-22

Hello, My Lovely Bookworms!

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and is now hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

It consists of answering these three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My audiobook is Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, but really I am just letting my Kindle read it to me haha. I ran out of audiobooks to listen to and this one was voice over optional so I figured why not.

I will be starting Fake It Till You Bake It by Jamie Wesley. I borrowed it from the library last week and definitely need to get to it.

• Nowhere Better Than Here by Sarah Guillory (🎧) ⭐⭐⭐

I will be listening to Happy People Are Annoying by Josh Peck. On to another biography from a celebrity! I didn’t even know he wrote a book until today, ha.

My next couple of books will be The Marriage Jinx by Krista Noorman and Curse of Shadows by A.K. Wilder.

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT READ? ARE YOU LOVING IT? HAVE YOU READ OR WANT TO READ ANY THAT I HAVE LISTED? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!

Find me on Instagram / Goodreads

Manga Review: The King’s Beast Vol. 2-7 by Rei Toma

Title: The King’s Beast Vol. 2-7
Author: Rei Toma
Genre: YA Manga / Fantasy / Romance
Publication Date: May 4th, 2021 – August 2nd, 2022
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Ajin boys who show signs of special abilities are conscripted to serve in the imperial palace as beast-servants—status symbols and shields for their royal masters, to be kept or discarded on a whim. When they were children, Rangetsu’s twin brother Sogetsu was ripped from her arms and sent to the palace to attend Prince Tenyou as a beast-servant, where he quickly fell victim to bloody dynastic intrigues. Now in a world that promises only bitterness, Rangetsu’s one hope at avenging her brother is to disguise herself as a man and find a way into the palace!
Rangetsu knows she must keep a low profile in the palace if she’s to have any hope of tracking down her brother’s killer. But when an Ajin is wrongly accused of murder, can Rangetsu stand idly by knowing that Prince Tenyou has the power to prevent another horrible injustice?” (Goodreads)

This series just gets better and better!

I’m glad that my library had them all to borrow because I binged them all in one day, haha.

Rangetsu and Prince Tenyou are definitely great characters and I love how their development is going. It also has a great trope of secret identity which makes for some jaw dropping moments! One in particular wasn’t my favorite though because it had to do with taking advantage of someone which kind of just felt icky.

The solving of the murder has been slow going, but I understand why. It is very complex and Rangetsu must get to know the other princes since they are all suspects. Each of the princes are very different and so are their beast servants. She can get under their skin easily but I also think she makes them better in some ways as well since her view of the world is very different. She is committed to seeing her kind be treated differently and she won’t stop until it happens.

Their has been hints of romance with Tenyou being more forward. I wouldn’t say there is a love triangle but you can tell that one of the other princes wants more from Rangetsu. It adds a lot of jealousy!

Overall, this has been great so far. I love the illustrations and the development of the characters. There have been some major cliffhangers going on so I am looking forward to seeing where it all goes.

WWW Wednesday | 10-19-22

Hello, My Lovely Bookworms!

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and is now hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

It consists of answering these three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My audiobook is The Holiday Swap by Maggie Knox. I am still going strong with the Christmas book. 😂 I’m not far so I can’t comment on it yet.

I started A Wilderness of Stars by Shea Ernshaw last night. It has been fine so far but I’m not fully invested in it. We will see how it goes.

• Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter ⭐⭐⭐
• The Secrets We Keep by Cassie Gustafson (arc) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (🎧) ⭐⭐⭐

My next audiobook has not been picked yet, haha. I have nothing from the library at the moment so we will see!

The next books I will pick up will be Two Wrongs Make a Right by Chloe Liese (arc), Empire of Exiles by Erin M. Evans (arc), and Out of My League by Sarah Sutton (KU).

WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT READ? ARE YOU LOVING IT? HAVE YOU READ OR WANT TO READ ANY THAT I HAVE LISTED? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS!

Find me on Instagram / Goodreads

Manga Review: Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, Vol 1 by Fujita

Title: Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku, Vol 1
Author: Fujita
Genre: Manga / Romance / Humor
Publication Date: April 17th, 2018
Publisher: Kodansha Comics
Rating: ⭐⭐

“Narumi and Hirotaka are, by all appearances, a power couple. They’re young, good-looking professionals. But they have secrets from everyone but each other: They’re serious geeks! Narumi is a fujoshi, and Hirotaka’s a hardcore gamer. Their sweet, awkward love story started life as a webcomic before becoming a full-blown manga series by popular demand, and is about to become a major anime series!work.” (Goodreads)

I wanted to read this one because I have seen it pop up everywhere! The cover is very cute and I haven’t read much manga lately so why not?

Although the art and style of the manga was fun, I just didn’t like it as much as I wanted. Their relationship happens very fast and the story kind of starts from there with them trying to understand it. It’s not a bad way to do things but I also just didn’t connect with them or really understand their friendship beforehand.

Overall, it was fine but just not for me.

Arc Review: Kit McBride Gets a Wife by Amy Barry

Title: Kit McBride Gets a Wife
Author: Amy Barry
Genre: Adult Romance / Historical Fiction
Publication Date: August 23rd, 2022
Publisher: Berkley Books
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for a complimentary earc to review! All opinions are my own.

“The four McBride brothers have their worlds turned upside down when their precocious younger sister secretly places an advertisement for a mail-order bride.

Kit McBride knows that Buck’s Creek, Montana, is no place to find a wife. Between him and his three brothers–plus little Junebug–they manage all right on their own, thank you very much. But unbeknownst to Kit, his sister is sick to death of cleaning, cooking, and mending for her big brothers, so she places an ad in The Matrimonial News to get them hitched.
After Maddy Mooney emigrated from Ireland, she found employment with an eccentric but poor widow. When her mistress decides to answer an ad for a mail-order bride, Madd​y is dragged along for the ride to Montana. But en route to the West, Maddy is suddenly abandoned and left to assume the widow’s name, position, and matrimonial prospects….
With no other recourse in the wilderness, Maddy must convince Kit not only is she who she says she is, but she’s the wife he never knew he needed.” (Goodreads)

This isn’t my usual romance read as it is historical fiction, but I am always trying to branch out and find more books that I enjoy. Although this had a few hiccups for me, it was a light-hearted read that did have me laughing every once and awhile.

The book is told from two point-of-views and they come from Maddy and Kit. They have both grown up very differently and even now they are opposites. I liked getting to know each one before they had any interaction together, but it did take half the book for that to happen which felt too long!

I have read a book before with the mail-order bride trope so I am familiar with it. I did like this one, but it always seems that it involves mistaken identity so I did know what would eventually happen. Other than that, it was fun and Maddy had time to get to know all of the McBrides and finally felt like she belonged somewhere.

As previously mentioned, it does take awhile for Kit and Maddy to have scenes together and so it was hard to actually feel their romance. It did have some insta-love tendencies and although I do like a slow-burn, this was way too slow which is really what wrecked the book for me.

Overall, this was a nice historical romance but I do wish that there was more romance involved. I did like the setting and would definitely check out another book by this author, especially if there were more books for the brothers.

WWW Wednesday | 7-27-22

Hello, My Lovely Bookworms!

This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and is now hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

It consists of answering these three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

My audiobook is The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon. This has been great so far! So wild, but in a good way.

The arc I will be starting is The First Binding by R.R. Virdi. I am very excited for it.

I started a book from Kindle Unlimited called Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison. It has fake-dating and Christmas themes so I am looking forward to continuing on.

• Bronze Drum by Phong Nguyen (arc audiobook) ⭐⭐⭐⭐
• To Get to the Other Side by Kelly Ohlert (arc) ⭐⭐
• Just Another Love Song by Kerry Winfrey (arc) ⭐⭐

My next audiobook will most likely be The Darkening by Sunya Mara.

My next books will be more arcs, lol. I have so many! The first two will most likely be A Dreadful Splendor by B.R. Myers and Belladonna by Adalyn Grace.

What is your current read? Are you loving it? Have you read or want to read any that I have listed? Let me know in the comments!

Find me on Instagram / Goodreads