I grabbed Fierce Fairytales from my local used book store because that cover was gorgeous. Unfortunately, there were only a few poems/stories inside that really resonated with me.
There were a few that even made me cringe – and not in a good way.
Overall this one is going back to the used book store and/or a local Little Free Library.
I absolutely devoured Murder and Mamon. This was such a cute, cozy mystery. Similar to Arsenic and Adobo, the Calendar Crew and Tita Rosie totally take the spotlight in every scene they are in.
I loved all the food descriptions in this! It made me want to get in the kitchen and cook and bake. (I love the writing by this author, but the food descriptions are absolutely what keep me coming back to this series!).
I did figure out the Whodunnit, thanks to a simple, throw away line (and I almost never figure it out!).
Murder and Mamon is the fourth book in the Tita Rosie Kitchen mysteries, however, I read this one without reading book two or three without much problem.
I have absolutely been in my cozy mystery era.
I absolutely adored Daisy and the Pies Before Guys crew when I listened to A Good Day to Pie, book two in the Pies Before Guys Mysteries series back in 2023. I knew I needed to read the first book in the series, Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies, to get to know the characters even better.
This series is definitely not about your typical vigilante serial killer, and I would definitely classify this as cozy mystery. This is another book that made me want to bake (not murder pies, obviously).
Although I listened to book two without having read the first one and didn’t feel like I missed anything, I did enjoy getting to know all of the characters better in this book.
The whodunnit I thought was done well and unique in this case, and the slower, character building parts culminate with a larger reveal in the end.
OH. MY. GOODNESS. I HAVE NO WORDS. Love on the Korlyan Moon was everything I didn’t know I wanted.
I have loved all of the Bubble Babes books by Petra Palerno, but this one absolutely took the cake (nuite fruit?) for me. Kitaico is an absolute cinnamon roll, and a loved so much of the sweet and swoony things that came out of his mouth.
Love on the Korlyan Moon was a quick read (or maybe just so good that I read it really quick?) with some steamy scenes. And, whew, The Brothers. 🥵
Thank you to the author, Petra Palerno, for having me on the ARC team!
It took me a little bit to get into A Fate Inked in Blood, but once I was hooked, I was HOOKED. Absolutely sucked in to this absolute page turner.
There was slow burn romance, marriage of convenience, adventure, action. I was frustrated by the prophecy that kept being mentioned but the reader was’t told much about it. At the same time, it felt like we were learning bits and pieces about the prophecy right along with Freya.
And that ending – sheesh! I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.
Samantha Irby is one of the funniest writers I’ve read. If you’ve read Irby’s other books, then you’ll enjoy this one too.
There were two chapters that did drag on and on and on for me – the chapter on Sex and the City and the one on Dave Matthews Band. I guess if you are into or know of either of these, these chapters wouldn’t be so bad. But I never really watched Sex and the City (honestly, I had to Google the characters other than Carrie) and I don’t know that I could name a DMB song – sing a chorus, hum a melody.
On the other hand, the QVC chapter had me chortling with laughter.
“”Find the people who support you to be what you want to be, who push you to be your very best, and if you find yourself in a room with someone who doesn’t make you feel that way, leave immediately.””
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I remember watching Drake and Josh in high school, and really enjoying the on screen relationship between Josh Peck and Drake Bell. I don’t like to “review” a memoir, but I will say, reading Josh Peck’s Happy People are Annoying was really eye opening.
He admits right up from that he was not one of the child/teen celebs that was abused while working in Hollywood. However, after wrapping the final episode of Drake and Josh, his life does spiral for a while.
It was interesting to read the highs and the lows, and hear about this celebrity who jumped on the social media influencer bandwagon early.
I haven’t seen Josh in anything since that Nickelodeon show – and in the final chapter (written in 2020/2021) he alludes to a new Disney+ show that he was cast for, so of course I had to IMDB him to see what it was (Hi! I don’t watch much television anymore!).
Peck writes like he is sitting down over coffee and talking to a friend, making the writing style comfortable and welcoming.
An adventure through Italy? Sign me up! Every time I Go on Vacation Someone Dies was such a fun and cozy mystery to listen to by audiobook on my commute to and from work.
Because I don’t read synopses before I start reading a book, I was a little surprised that the book was written from the POV of a best-selling author writing a mystery book. Definitely made me pause the audio and see if this was in the middle of a series.
That said, I really enjoyed this set up and the book within a book theme. Not to mention, the book tour through Italy was a fun romp. (I totally need to try a Lemon Spritz!)
I 1000 percent related to Eleanor (I might slightly be a hot mess, too) and I need a Harper in my life (that would be my husband, seriously, he’s a godsend).
The audiobook was narrated by Elizabeth Evans, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite narrators.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for the #gifted audiobook.
Another case of “I didn’t read the synopsis.” Ha! The cover of Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea looked like a cozy mystery, and it was only once I was a few chapters into this audiobook did I realize that it was a “cozy fantasy.”
This would be perfect for fans of Legends and Lattes or Bookshops and Bonedust.
The sapphic romance between Reyna and Kianthe was so sweet – seriously relationship goals. The fact that talking out issues is brought up multiple times is such a good lesson.
This really was a cozy read and made me want to curl up next to a fire with a cup of tea and a good book.
I enjoyed reading Prom Babies – it was definitely an interesting and unique story and the narrators for the audiobook – Andy Garcia, Imani Jade Powers, Krysta Gonzales, Matt Bridges, Victoria Connelly and Yinka Ladeinde, were unique for each character.
I found it interesting that the author chose to write in the current day for prom 2024, which meant that the parents were in their senior year in 2005. That was the year of my senior prom as well, and the I found I could relate to those three in both the 2005 and 2024 timeline. That could have been me trying to make that tough decision, but it also feel like me talking to my niece (who’s 16) now in 2024.
It was a little difficult at first for me to keep the names sorted, especially since I was listening to the audiobook, the individual narrators for each character did help a little.
While this is solidly YA fiction, it doesn’t have that typical YA feel and can easily be read and enjoyed by NA and older.
Thank you to Turn the Page Tours for the #gifted copy and to Spotify Audiobooks for the advanced audiobook version.
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SYNOPSIS:
A compelling, multi-generational novel from the Coretta Scott King and Printz Honor-winning author of How It Went Down, Light It Up, and The Minus-One Club, Prom Babies chronicles the stories of three teen girls who become pregnant on prom night. Eighteen years later, their three babies, now high school seniors, are headed to prom and facing their own set of complicated issues and questions.
Mina, Penny, and Sheryl have the typical expectations of prom night in 2005: dresses, dancing, and of course some coming of age moments. None of them plans to get pregnant, but when all three do, they band together as they face decisions that have the power to shape the rest of their lives. In 2024, their three children–Blossom, Amber, and Cole–are high school seniors, gearing up to go to prom and facing some big decisions of their own. As they seek to understand who they are and who they want to be, they grapple with issues that range from consent to virginity, gendered dress codes, and the many patriarchal, heteronormative expectations that still come along with prom. A generation later, will this prom night change lives too?
Leann Reads Books 