Review: High Hopes by Ki Stephens

About the Book

BIRDIE Collins has a plan: finish her junior year in Dayton U’s competitive 3D4M program and secure a coveted arts fellowship. But since a car accident left her battling anxiety and chronic pain, keeping it together has become an uphill climb. The very last thing she needs? A distraction—especially not from a loudmouthed, overly-charming soccer player.

LIAM Donovan is the carefree jokester everyone assumes he is. As a star right winger on Dayton’s D1 soccer team, he’s always ready with a sarcastic remark or teasing grin. But the nonstop banter? It’s a cover for the heavy weight of family expectations he struggles to bear. He doesn’t have time for a complicated artist who sees straight through his defenses.

When Birdie and Liam’s paths collide, what starts as a reluctant partnership quickly turns into something deeper. Late-night study sessions melt into midnight confessions, and they find themselves drawn into each other’s worlds in ways they never expected.

As the final stretch of soccer season heats up and Birdie’s fellowship deadline looms, they’ll have to decide if they’re willing to take a chance on each other. Because sometimes, leaning on someone else isn’t a sign of weakness—it’s a leap of faith.

Review

I have read all but one of Ki Stephens’ books. I’ve learned what to expect from her; colossal disappointment is never it. All the books have a certain feel to them. It feels soft, intimate, and quiet—which can sometimes cause the books to hit a low point. The romance is always cute and fluffy—lovable main characters with a natural progression. They feel nice, safe, and soft. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Stephens is a great writer, and I’d like her to try something new and not-so-safe.

With all that being said, High Hopes is my favorite of hers. It’s a standard Ki Stephens contempt romance; however, Birdie and Liam felt elevated. Both have several layers and are trying the best they can. Birdie is a dedicated and passionate ceramist who wants peace and a break. Birdie’s dealing with PTSD and grief while trying to earn a spot at a fellowship as her finances deplete. She’s isolated herself, and her old friends have abandoned her because they didn’t understand what she was going through after her car crash. She truly has no one. Spoiler alert--  she and her roommate become closer, and their friendship is beautiful, adorable, and fun.

Liam is a pathological people-pleaser whose parents make him feel like he’s not enough and try to dictate his life. He wants to play professional soccer, though that isn’t what his parents want for him. In a way, both have hidden their true selves from the world. They are silently suffering, and only when they find each other does someone finally see them. They have a genuine, comfortable friendship that turns into a sweet, endearing romance. There are so many small and thoughtful moments between them that really helped elevate them as a couple. Stephens built an emotional connection with them that met my expectations.

Final Thoughts

High Hopes has the classic soft love romance that one can expect from a Ki Stephens book. This is an art that she has mastered. Birdie and Liam are wonderful characters who deserve a big hug.

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Review: Tell Me What You Did by Carter Wilson

In this chilling and thought-provoking thriller, Poe Webb, a true crime podcaster who thrives on evoking anonymous confessions, finds herself at the center of the kind of story she usually tells. When a stranger claims he is responsible for the death of her mother, Poe becomes unsettled not just by what he says but also because she knows he’s not telling the truth. With her own secrets, she knows because she killed the person who took her mother’s life.

From its chilling premise to its continuous tension, this novel blurs the line between justice and crime. Poe is faced with the moral dilemma of how to expose a lie when she knows the truth has its own consequences. As the pace of the book quickens with anticipation, the novel keeps you engaged as Poe unravels information that threatens to uncover a secret from her past.

As Poe’s past collides with her present, the story brings unexpected twists and reveals that keep the reader hooked until the end.

This book was extremely addicting. The pace of the book made you not want to put it down. It felt like every time something happened, you needed to know what was coming next and it wasn’t what you thought. The way this book was written keeps you completely zoned in with an unsettling grip, especially the interactions between Poe and Ian. 

The alternating from the beginning of the story unfolding and the podcast transcripts of Poe and Ian really set the book on edge for me. I honestly didn’t like Poe until that bomb drop of who her guest was then my perspective stuck in conflict. What’s interesting is the perspective dilemma of the protagonist from this moment on. Considering her perspective on the criminals who confessed to her and the disdain she had for their actions, were her actions in the same category as the people who confessed to her? Was her punishment justified? This sat in the back of my mind as it spun trying to justify rooting for her but in the end it was worth it. 

This was my first book read by this author and I’m beyond excited to read what he has coming in the future. This was written well, thought out and seamed together perfectly. If you are a fan of psychological thrillers, I recommend putting this on your reading list. 

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Review: Rookie Mistake by Maren Moore

About the Book

I won my brother’s rival in a Date the Player auction… and had the best night of my life.

Davis Guidry is Orleans University’s starting rookie pitcher.

He’s handsome, charming, and an all-around flirt.

After spending a hot, spontaneous night together, we can’t seem to keep our hands off each other.

But our no-strings fun comes crashing down when my overbearing brother, who happens to be Davis’s biggest rival, catches us in action.

Even that seems to only make the fire burn hotter when we’re together.

And suddenly, our secret fling starts to feel like something more than either of us bid on.

Are these casual hookups between us just a fun way to pass my freshman year…

Or have we made the ultimate rookie mistake and caught feelings?

Review

I went in with low expectations for Rookie Mistake. I’ve tried in the past to read books by Maren Moore, and I have rarely succeeded. I’m not a fan of her writing style and was willing to overlook it to at least be entertained and have fun with this one.

I could be overthinking this novella; however, I wasn’t entertained. There’s really no plot at all, and the character felt surface-level to me. They could be exchanged with any other characters in a hockey book and the story wouldn’t change. It was also pretty cringe when Davis proclaimed that Zara wasn’t like any other girl.

Final Thoughts

Rookie Mistake has no real substance. It feels like every other book with this same plot just condensed.

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Review: Echo by Tracy Clark

Tracy Clark’s Echo is the kind of psychological thriller that you will find yourself absorbed in. The perfect plot that piques your interest and keeps you engaged.

The latest installment in the Detective Harriet Foster series by Tracy Clark, Foster tackles the dark secrets of Belverton College’s Hardwicke House, home to the Minotaur Society. The novel begins with the discovery of Brice Collier’s body in a field that claimed the life of another thirty years ago in the same place. Due to Collier's family influence and the similarity to the previous incident, Detective Harriet Foster and her partner, Detective Vera Li, find themselves navigating through privilege, betrayal, and secrets as they attempt to link these decades-apart deaths.

Parallel to Detective Foster trying to solve this case, she is haunted from the death and dealing with the grief of her previous partner. Her journey adds another layer of depth to the narrative as she battles with trying to seek justice for her ex partner, with trying to solve this case. The partnership between her and Li brings a refreshing balance to the book that draws you in and makes you want to root for them to solve the case. On a side note, the supporting characters blend well creating some moments where their banter keeps the reader entertained.

Overall, a good read. Since this is my introduction to the Detective Harriet Foster series, I feel like this could be read as a standalone. This book definitely grabbed my interest to go back to reading the previous two books in the series. For those of you like me who will back read, the first two books in the series are called, Hide and Fall. For those following the series, it looks like we can anticipate the concluding book this fall. 

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Review: Nightshade: An Enemies to Lovers, Dark Academic Romance (Sorrowsong University) by Autumn Woods

About the Book

*Book one of a duet*

When Ophelia Winters accepts a scholarship at a prestigious Scottish university to prove that her parents' death was the fault of Cain Green, an American aviation tycoon, her plan is simple. Keep her grades up and her head down; the last thing she wants is to wind up in a mafia war or step on the toes of royalty.

Her plan gets off to a rocky start when the mysterious man that almost kills her on her first day turns out to be Cain's eldest son. As far as she’s concerned, Alex Corbeau-Green is a younger version of his billionaire father. A monster hiding beneath a beautiful facade.

Loneliness has been Ophelia’s only dependable companion for years, but when anonymous threats and mysterious occurrences start to haunt her time at Sorrowsong, she wonders if she really can survive there on her own.

Between being paired together for a project and ending up as each other’s alibi for a murder, avoiding Alex becomes increasingly impossible. She begins to fall for the soft heart that hides beneath his hard exterior.

Tormented by a malicious stalker and growing closer to Alex, Ophelia’s desperation for revenge wavers for the first time. Can she really bring herself to pull the trigger on Cain now that she knows the family it’ll split into two?

__________

Dark Academic Romance - Hate to Love - Slow Burn - University Setting - Murder and Mystery

This work is dark in places and contains several triggers throughout. Please heed the warnings before reading.

Review

I must give credit when due, and Autumn Woods deserves high praise for how atmospheric this felt. Nightshade felt how a dark academic story should feel. It’s very clear that she took her time establishing Sorrowsong University and wanted it to be this dark and mysterious place. I give her all the kudos for that.

She also had a strong setup for the story. Ophelia’s parents are killed in a plane crash, and she’s determined to figure out what happened to them—so determined that she’s willing to attend a university that she promised she’d never attend and do dangerous snooping. I unfortunately was not as keen on Ophelia had I had hoped. I sympathized with her and wanted her to find justice for her parents; however, she felt a little boring. She does have a decent back and front with the MMC—Alex, who has a tragic backstory as well. Though, he didn’t click for me either.

Alex’s father heads the company that produced the planes that Ophelia’s parents tragically died in. When she meets him, she’s oblivious to who he is. That felt a little odd, concerning that he is a public person. Anyway, she quickly learned his true identity and tried to stay away from him. That can only can only go on for so long. I enjoyed the lead-up to their relationship more than them being in a relationship. The book started to drag once they did eventually get together.

Final Thoughts

Nightshade has pretty words and amazing descriptions; however, it losing its steam in the middle. It felt as if the book took a pause for the romance, and then everything felt rushed at the end.

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Review: Anathema by Keri Lake

About the Book

From the author of Nocticadia comes a spellbinding gothic dark fantasy about a shunned woman who is forced beyond the mortal realm's forbidden boundary, into a terrifying world of cursed souls and grotesque creatures.

Only the banished know what lies beyond the woods ...

There are whispers about what lurks in Witch Knell—the forest where sinners go to die. The villagers call it The Eating Woods because what’s taken is never given back. Only those who’ve lost their senses would dare to go near it.

Or the banished.

Maevyth Bronwick knows better than to breach the misty labyrinth of trees, but a tragic turn of events compels her beyond the archway of bones, to a boundary no mortal has crossed before. One that cloaks a dark and fantastical world that’s as dangerous as it is alluring.

It’s there that he dwells, the cursed lord of Eidolon. The one tasked to keep her hidden from the magehood that seeks to crucify her in the name of an arcane prophesy. Zevander Rydainn, known to his prey as The Scorpion, is the coldest, most calculated assassin in all of Aethyria and he’d sooner toss his feisty ward to a pack of vicious fyredrakes than keep her safe.

If only he could.

Maevyth’s blood is the key to breaking his despised curse and vanquishing the slumbering evil in Witch Knell. Unfortunately for Lord Rydainn, fate has other plans for the irresistible little enchantress. And his growing obsession with her threatens to destroy everything.

Including himself.

Anathema is a full-length, gothic dark fantasy, the first book in The Eating Woods duology. Perfect for readers who enjoy a plot-heavy and atmospheric story with a unique magic system, a slow-burn romance and a touch of horror.

Review

Anathema was my first fantasy of the year, and it was a solid four stars. It put me in the fantasy mood, and I’m locked in to read the next installment. Straight from the beginning, Lake managed to capture my attention. The plot is unique, thrilling, and well-thought-out.

As for the characters—wow. Maevyth was incredible. She’s such a kind, compassionate, strong, resilient individual who has been dealt with awful cards. In the beginning, the only person that she had was her sister—Aleysia. And she’ll do anything to make sure that she is safe. The romance is super slow-burn, and they don’t meet until almost the middle half of the book. Maevyth and Aleysia’s relationship made up for the lack of romance. Sibling bonds are a major theme within the book.

Zevander—the brooding and tortured MMC— and his siblings’ relationship was one of my favorites as well. His sister—Rykaia—was a breakout character, and I’d love for Lake to dive more into her psyche. Zevander and his siblings have such a tortured and heartrending past. His behaviors are heavily influenced by the tragically, and it’s clear that Rykaia is still coping with what happened.

As mentioned previously, this is a severely slow burn. Zevander and Maevyth cross paths by fate, and instantly notice that something is different about each other. There’s an immediate hatred for each other—which is completely understandable for how they met. They are forced to be in close contact with each other. It’s difficult for them both; however, neither gives up nor do they let the other one win. I enjoyed their back and front, and their eventual coupling.

Final Thoughts

Anathema was a thrilling fantasy that captured my attention from the first page. From the world-building to the lore to the romance, everything was so rich. There was never a second when I was bored. Lake did not waste a single page and kicked off the series with a bang.

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