The Plus-One List - Amy Ewing

Eloise, who struggles with anxiety, strongly prefers the company of her senior rescue dogs to people. But when her best friend announces she’s getting married in Mexico City and every guest must have a date, the pressure is on. Using an exclusive “plus-one list,” Eloise winds up with Agustín, a charming journalist and immigrant who recently moved to New York City from Mexico.

Agustín is on a mission to write the article of his career, but to do that, he’ll need to snag an interview with a man who’s proven impossible to track down. His only chance is to catch the source unaware at the upcoming “wedding of the century.” At first, being Eloise’s plus-one seems like the perfect solution, a purely transactional arrangement. Eloise is not looking for romance, and Agustín sees no need to tell her about his true motives for coming to the wedding.

As they play tourists in Agustín’s hometown, sampling smoky cocktails and delicious street food and meeting his family, Eloise slowly comes out of her shell. Suddenly, her blossoming trust in Agustín starts to grow into something deeper. But if Agustín wants to keep that trust, he’ll need to come clean—before their fragile connection is broken forever.

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

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I was provided with an advance copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I remember reading The Jewel by Amy Ewing way back when, so I was interested to see what a rom-com from the author might look like. As with most romance books I pick up, the premise sounded just unique enough to make for a cute story, so I went in with my hopes high. 

Sadly, I didn't love it. It was easy to read and I liked the way the characters meet - that unique premise sets up the characters meeting in a fun way. Yet the further I got into the story, the more I struggled with the main character. Eloise overcomes a lot of personal challenges throughout the story, which I always love to see, but she also struck me as pretty selfish, and once I felt it, I really struggled to root for her. 

Rating: ✫✫

Beneath These Cursed Stars - Lexi Ryan

Princess Jasalyn has a secret. Armed with an enchanted ring that gives her death’s kiss, Jas has been sneaking away from the palace at night to assassinate her enemies.

Shape-shifter Felicity needs a miracle. Fated to kill her magical father, she’s been using her unique ability to evade a fatal prophecy.

When rumors of evil king Mordeus’s resurrection spread through the shadow court, Jasalyn decides to end him once and for all. Felicity agrees to take the form of the princess, allowing Jas to covertly hunt Mordeus—and starting Felicity on the path that could finally take her home.

While Jasalyn teams up with the charming and handsome Kendrick, Felicity sets out to get closer to the Wild Fae king, Misha. Kendrick helps Jasalyn feel something other than anger for the first time in three years, and Misha makes Felicity wish for a world where she’s free to be her true self. Soon, the girls’ missions are at risk right alongside their hearts.

The future of the human and fae realms hangs in the balance as fates intertwine. Between perilous tasks, grim secrets, and forbidden romances, Jasalyn and Felicity find that perhaps their stars are the most cursed of all.

Blurb taken from Goodreads.

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I was provided with an advance copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I started reading this book and quickly got lost, wasn’t keen, and ultimately wasn’t sure what was going on. I went back and picked up the original duology, These Hollow Vows and These Twisted Bonds, and then revisited this book. That made such a difference and I would urge any other readers to do the same - I’ve seen this is considered a series that can be read independently of This Hollow Vows, but I think I would strongly disagree.

But then we had a new issue. I loved These Hollow Vows and Brie so much that I think I spent a lot of time wishing to go back.

Beneath These Cursed Stars is very enjoyable if you’ve enjoyed the world Lexi Ryan has created. It has the same style, the same energy, and a lot of the same characters. To me, it just didn’t fall in love with it quite as much. Still good, but not as great as These Hollow Vows in my personal opinions.


Rating: ✫✫✫✫

Long Live Evil - Sarah Rees Brennan

 

A TALE FOR EVERYONE WHO’S EVER FALLEN FOR THE VILLAIN…

When her whole life collapsed, Rae still had books. Dying, she seizes a second chance at living: a magical bargain that lets her enter the world of her favourite fantasy series.

She wakes in a castle on the edge of a hellish chasm, in a kingdom on the brink of war. Home to dangerous monsters, scheming courtiers and her favourite fictional character: the Once and Forever Emperor. He’s impossibly alluring, as only fiction can be. And in this fantasy world, she discovers she's not the heroine, but the villainess in the Emperor's tale.

So be it. The wicked are better dressed, with better one-liners, even if they're doomed to bad ends. She assembles the wildly disparate villains of the story under her evil leadership, plotting to change their fate. But as the body count rises and the Emperor's fury increases, it seems Rae and her allies may not survive to see the final page.

This adult epic fantasy debut from Sarah Rees Brennan puts the reader in the villain's shoes, for an adventure that is both 'brilliant' (Holly Black) and 'supremely satisfying' (Leigh Bardugo). Expect a rogue's gallery of villains including an axe wielding maid, a shining knight with dark moods, a homicidal bodyguard, and a playboy spymaster with a golden heart and a filthy reputation.

Blurb  taken from Goodreads.

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I was gifted an advance copy of this book by the publisher. 

The blurb for Long Live Evil made me so excited to read it. It's the dream of every bookworm to be dropped right into their favourite fantasy world, and the possibilities for the plot are endless. 

Which is why I was a little disappointed when I finished this one and didn't love it. I think the difficulty lay in the fact that to make this work, the reader has to be prepared to come into a new fantasy world halfway through a story, and pick up the pieces and map them all together themselves. It was a bit of a stretch for me, so it wasn't one I ended up really connecting with. 

Rating: ✫✫✫