Title: You’d Be Mine

Author: Erin Hahn

Pub. Date: April 2, 2019

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

---

Annie Mathers is America’s sweetheart and heir to a country music legacy full of all the things her Gran warned her about. Superstar Clay Coolidge is most definitely going to end up one of those things.

But unfortunately for Clay, if he can’t convince Annie to join his summer tour, his music label is going to drop him. That’s what happens when your bad boy image turns into bad boy reality. Annie has been avoiding the spotlight after her parents’ tragic death, except on her skyrocketing YouTube channel. Clay’s label wants to land Annie, and Clay has to make it happen.

Swayed by Clay’s undeniable charm and good looks, Annie and her band agree to join the tour. From the start fans want them to be more than just tour mates, and Annie and Clay can’t help but wonder if the fans are right. But if there’s one part of fame Annie wants nothing to do with, it’s a high-profile relationship. She had a front row seat to her parents’ volatile marriage and isn’t interested in repeating history. If only she could convince her heart that Clay, with his painful past and head over heels inducing tenor, isn’t worth the risk.

---

This will be a spoiler free review.

This time last year, I went into my local Barnes & Noble and bought this book on release day. Honestly, it hadn’t been on my radar, but the week/week and a half leading up to its release, my Twitter feed was filled with posts about this book. So, Twitter made me buy it.

I’m kicking myself for waiting a year to read this book.

Idk why I waited so long. I have no idea. But I really should have picked up this book earlier.

Now that I’ve read it, I wish I could wipe it from my mind, just so I can relive it again for the first time.

I went into this book fully expecting to enjoy it. I didn’t expect to fall head over heels with it. I read it in one sitting and I just fell in love with Annie and Clay. You’d Be Mine is my favorite kind of contemporary to read. Still a relatively light/fluffy story, but the characters are so real and so complex. While the characters might have their flaws and their baggage, you know that by the end of the book, things will be better. You know by the end of the book that the characters have made it past their darkest moments or faced their fears and some of those nearly debilitating emotions.

I loved how visceral and vivid this book was. It came to life in my mind and I was transported. I’m a country music fan, so I really loved this. I could see the concerts in my mind, and I could feel the electric atmosphere. It was like I was there, watching it, experiencing it. It felt so real, like something that I could actually go buy tickets for and go see. My ONLY complaint is that I can’t actually listen to the songs. While I love these kinds of books that follow singers, I do think that they end up lacking something. While the songs that Erin has created are excellent and evoke emotions, I desperately wish they were real, that I could listen to them the way she probably hears them in her head. Even though I couldn’t truly hear the songs, I knew without a doubt how Clay and Annie sounded – the way he puts on a show and the kind of music, and the sound of her band. I can image just how incredible they sound together.

I really need these characters to be real, because I think I’m forming an unhealthy obsession. I get why my Twitter feed was filled with this book a year ago. This book hook, line and sinks you faster than you can comprehend. It’s been days, and I’m suddenly in a frenzy about my love for this book, and I’ve never wanted something to be so real, so badly.

I loved the character relationships, the budding tension, romantic and otherwise. I loved the chemistry between everyone, especially Annie and Clay. I loved how she didn’t put up with his shit and gave it as much as she got it. Despite everything she’d gone through, she saw the light in things, in opportunities, in life. She has her own fears and demons, but she doesn’t allow them to hold her back. She just channels everything she’s experienced and felt into her passion, her music. It’s admirable.

I loved Clay’s journey as well. He’s basically country music’s Number One Heartthrob, but he has some major issues. He kind of embodies what fame can do to a person at a young age, and he doesn’t handle the spotlight as well as Annie. He knows how to push it all down until he can’t anymore, he knows how to flip the switch to turn on the Heartthrob personality, but he doesn’t know how to live, he basically just exists.

Together, Annie and Clay throwback to some of the greats, and they even emulate them. Heidi Newfield’s – Johnny And June instantly came to mind while reading this book. Listen to it and tell me that it doesn’t make you want something epic, and Annie and Clay are epic.

Shit, I’m in love with this book. I’m going to be shoving this at people for a long time. This book just makes you feel everything.

I’m easily an Erin Hahn fan now, and I cannot wait to read her next book More Than Maybe and I’m thrilled I have an eARC of it. I’m already planning on reading it next month. I can’t wait, and I have a friend legit yelling at me to read it as soon as possible…though if she had her way, I think she would take my current read, toss it, and put More Than Maybe into my hands. I’m also really excited because Annie and Clay are mentioned and I’m assuming the characters from You’d Be Mine and More Than Maybe will carry over to her 2021 publication Never Saw You Coming. That title alone makes me so excited it’s ridiculous.

I definitely, 100% recommend you read this book. Even if you’re not a country music fan, it’s about figuring out who you are, what you want, and learning that the world isn’t out to get you, that there are people who care about you. It’s about finding those who love you and who will be honest with you, who will be there through the good and the bad times. The backdrop of a summer country music tour is brilliant, fun and full of swoony moments, but this book is so much more than just that and you should reall, really read it. More Than Maybe comes out July 21, 2020 so you have time to read You’d Be Mine before its release!

Title: Curse Breaker

Author: Audrey Grey

Pub. Date: August 12, 2019

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

---

All magic has a price.

Haven survived the Devourers, but she isn’t any closer to breaking the curse. Meanwhile, her forbidden magic rages brighter and more dangerous every day.

To control her powers and stand a chance against the Shade Queen, Haven made a bargain with two enemy immortals. Now her waking hours are spent fighting alongside the Sun Lord, but her dreams belong to the Shade Lord.

Only the closer she ventures into the wicked Shadow Kingdom the more her magic shows itself—and the more she struggles with whom to trust. The golden but wounded Sun Lord or the darkly charismatic Shade Lord.

Both are off-limits.

And both have the ability to save her . . . or destroy her.

With the Shade Queen closing in and Bell’s time nearly up, Haven will sacrifice everything to break the curse—but will it be enough to stop the mortal realm from falling into darkness forever?

---

This will be a spoiler free review.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. It had everything, magic, secrets, steamy moments, friendship, heartache, loss and triumph. But for some reason I don’t feel that same intense desire to read the next one.

I’m definitely going to, without a doubt, I do need to know what happens next.

Plus, I want more Archeron, Haven and Stolas.

But something about this book has left me struggling to write this review.

I think I know what my main issue is, but it’s also a couple of little things.

And I just want to reiterate, again, that I did enjoy this book. I think it holds up comparatively to the first one, and the progression of the plot makes sense, and something much larger is bound to happen. I love this world that Grey has created, and I love the nod to Norse Mythology and the Gods. I love how I never have to struggle to picture and imagine the world she’s created. It just comes to life in my mind. I still love the cast of characters and their chemistry with each other. I love the sass, snark and sexual tension between Archeron, Haven and Stolas.

But with that being said, I’m also highly freaking annoyed at the sexual tension between Archeron, Haven and Solas. I’m also annoyed that I still don’t know much about Stolas. All part of the intrigue, I guess. Personally, I’m more interested in Stolas as a love interest, but I don’t know. I think he’s got better chemistry with Haven, understands her on a deeper level. Archeron feels more surface, like a first great love. The kind that burns hot and bright and ends in a wreck. Now, I could be totally wrong, and maybe he and Haven make it out to the other side. I don’t doubt their feelings for each other, but I think one of them harbors stronger feelings than the other. I know it’s basically two books of sexual tension between Archeron and Haven, but this book felt kind of lacking in it, despite the few steamier moments – I’ll touch on pacing in a moment. I don’t know, I guess I wish it had taken a little longer, more build up. What Archeron ends up doing, whether that was really his goal all along, almost feels like a girl belting “I love you” to her crush for the first time and her crush doesn’t even know she has feelings. Meaning, I think it felt rushed.

Also, I was kind of annoyed at Bell’s whole relationship in this book. It was very Beauty and the Beast, and the way it ended kind of pissed me off. Why did I have to care and then that happened. I get why, but I feel strung along. I mean, and maybe it has yet to be seen, but it kind of feels like it didn’t really add anything to the story, it was just a plot device.

Let me backtrack just a bit, I think my biggest issue is the pacing.

It just felt off in this book. Too much happened, too quickly. I was legit able to breeze through this book in like, 3.5 hours. The stakes were high, and yet, the group accomplished everything so quickly. I don’t want to say easily, since Haven risked her life for each time – which is another thing that kind of annoyed me, but I digress. A lot does happen in this book, and while I appreciate the quick read, I do kind of wish it had been a little longer, so the pace could have been a little slower. I wish it had been a little bit more difficult for the group to get the things they needed. While it wasn’t easy, and they had to face a lot, they managed to completely each task fairly promptly, though never unscathed.

I went ahead and read the synopsis for book 3, and I’m excited. I don’t know when I’ll be able to get it, seeing as how Amazon isn’t shipping books in any sort of expediate manner due to everything going on, but as soon as I can, I’ll be buying and diving into King Maker and I couldn’t be more excited.

If you’re looking for an exciting fantasy series and you enjoy Sarah J. Maas, then you should definitely check out the Kingdom of Runes series – books 1 through 3 are currently out, so binge read away!

 

 

Title: The Bridge Kingdom

Author: Danielle L. Jensen

Pub. Date: August 13, 2019

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

---

What if you fell in love with the one person you’d sworn to destroy?

Lara has only one thought for her husband on their wedding day: I will bring your kingdom to its knees. A princess trained from childhood to be a lethal spy, Lara knows that the Bridge Kingdom represents both legendary evil – and legendary promise. The only route through a storm-ravaged world, the Bridge Kingdom controls all trade and travel between lands, allowing its ruler to enrich himself and deprive his enemies, including Lara’s homeland. So when she is sent as a bride under the guise of fulfilling a treaty of peace, Lara is prepared to do whatever it takes to fracture the defenses of the impenetrable Bridge Kingdom.

But as she infiltrates her new home – a lush paradise surrounded by tempest seas – and comes to know her new husband, Aren, Lara begins to question where the true evil resides. Around her, she sees a kingdom fighting for survival, and in Aren, a man fiercely protective of his people. As her mission drives her to deeper understanding of the fight to possess the bridge, Lara finds the simmering attraction between her and Aren impossible to ignore. Her goal nearly within reach, Lara will have to decide her own fate: Will she be the destroyer of a king or the savior of her people?

---

This will be a spoiler free review.

Rivals to lovers?

Check.

Contractual marriage that no one wants?

Check.

Falling for each other despite their plans?

Double check.

I’m kind of kicking myself for waiting to read this. I’ve been out on Audible for ages now, but for whatever reason, I refused to listen to it. I wanted a physical copy. I have one, but now I have to wait for September to read a physical copy of book 2…

Guess who is going to be downloading the Audible version?

Me.

It’s a good thing I have a bunch of free credits.

I loved every minute of this book. I could not put it down, and really hate the fact that I have to wait to find out next. I wish the whole series was already out.

I will say that I found it a bit predictable, but I didn’t mind. Enough happened that I wasn’t expecting, and enough happened that filled me with dread, excitement and giddiness, that it all kind of balanced out.

I also read a lot (if that’s not obvious) and I find reading plots to be easy a lot of the time. But if you read the synopsis, I’m sure you can piece together how this book plays out.

Though, with that being said, you could be like me, and not actually read the synopsis and just dive into the book, not knowing or expecting anything. I think the last time I read the synopsis, was probably when this book first came across my radar.

I loved this book. I loved the characters, and the world. Oh my god, the world. The only thing I had trouble picturing was the bridge. Like, I have this fuzzy image, but I’m still not 100% sure of what it’s supposed to look like. Everything else…oh boy. I kind of want to step inside this book and see it all. I can’t wait to explore more of it in the next books. We only get to see a small slice of it, and there is so much more I want to see.

I’m really excited to dive into book 2, next month. For sure, I’m listening to it. I can’t wait. The wait for book 3 is going to be torture.

The characters.

Ugh, I’m a sucker for rivals/enemies to lovers.

Give me that tension!

The chemistry between Lara and Aren is * chef’s kiss * perfect in my opinion. I loved how they played with each other and got on each other’s nerves. I also really loved how their relationship progressed. I love watching characters learn to trust one another.

Basically, the whole cast of characters were great, and I can’t wait to have more of them as well – especially with how this book ended. I’m so ready for that tension. If I didn’t have a few other books ahead on my TBR, I’d jump to book 2 right now. I’m anticipating it that much.

This was my first Danielle L. Jensen book, and I think I picked a good one. I’ve been dying to read Dark Shores and having read The Bridge Kingdom has amplified that. I like her writing style – full of snarky dialogue, gorgeous descriptions and some pretty steamy scenes. This is definitely Upper YA/New Adult – if you’re good with Sarah J. Maas, then you shouldn’t think that this is too scandalous.

I don’t think this book is indie or self pubbed, but it kind of feels like it is. I don’t mean that as a bad thing! Recently a lot of my favorite fantasy has been coming from self pubbed authors or indie pubbed. It doesn’t feel as mainstream or as formulaic. Yeah, I read the plot of this one, but it doesn’t feel like the standard YA fantasy and I love that. This book starts off with a bang – I wasn’t expecting it – and it just keeps going. You see this new world through Lara’s eyes, and watch her understanding change and grow. You see Aren’s world for what it is, and not what the world thinks it is. You get to be with these characters and go on their journey with them, feeling what they feel. This is definitely a new favorite – something I know I’m saying a lot in 2020 – and I’m so excited to see what happens next. I need to know what happens next.