mweis's reviews
1249 reviews

*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Like many readers, I was initially drawn in by this gorgeous cover, but then I shied away from it because I have had more misses than hits when it comes to more healing fiction/magical realism/cozy stories, such as Before the Coffee Gets Cold. Then I saw the audiobook narrated by Cindy Kay, and I knew I had to at least try it. I do think this has more of a plot than the typical book in this style, which definitely worked for me. I've also seen it described as Ghibli-esque and I think that is a fair comparison. We follow a young girl who is forced into a portal world when he father disappears. The world was immersive and imaginative and I felt compelled to continue reading pretty much from the start. I'm not entirely sure the ending fully came together for me but I still found this to be a really interesting story and would highly recommend.

*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I have absolutely adored the first two books in this series, so I was very excited to get an advanced copy of this finale, especially after I realized Apollo was going to be Aurora's love interest. Here we follow Aurora, a Caribbean doctor who is in Paris running an underground women's clinic, and Apollo, who we saw in the first book get revenge on his father and is now trying to navigating being a Black duke in English society. I think this is exactly the kind of book we need in 2025 and I highly recommend this book and series. I love what Herrera has done with this series, highlighting the diversity of a time and place that are typically very whitewashed and conservative. That being said, I think this was my least favorite in the series and I can't really put my finger on why. I think part of it is the trope set. I generally like FWB and antagonists to more but I think I struggled slightly with this combination and buying into the relationship because of that. Though it could have also just been my mood so I fully expect to like this more upon reread. Overall, a very solid series and I cannot wait to see what Herrera writes next!

*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I had the opportunity to hear Amalie Howard speak on a panel last fall and she spoke about this book and it sounded interesting and she spoke very passionately about it, but unfortunately, I didn’t really work for me and I’m sad.

I think Howard has a very voicey writing style, and in the one historical that I’ve read from her it didn’t bother me because it was very clearly a historical with modern sensibilities like it was a take on 90s romcom movies but make it Regency. Here, though it felt too Not Fantasy so I struggled to care about the fantasy elements and the world wasn’t explained enough for me to really care about the fantasy elements, but I also didn’t really care about the characters enough to care about the romance. 

To be completely honest I finished this book 2 days ago and I don’t really remember much of what happened. Ultimately very sad that it didn’t work for me, but I think it will work for the romantasy fans who don’t really care about the fantasy part. And in the meantime, I will finish her Taming of the Dukes series, and maybe check out some of her other historicals.

*I received an audio review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

The first line of this blurb on Goodreads says it’s for fans of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes films and honestly yes, that. This is very Sherlockian in that the narration comes from the Watson character, who in this case is shy Chinese academic, and he’s recounting in the story of this “larger than life“ judge. There are so many hallmarks and throwbacks to the Conan Doyle books that it honestly made me want to go back and read those. 

I also think this does an interesting job of showing 1920s London in a way that’s probably true or to what 1920s London looked like then what we traditionally think. Often when we see historical fiction it’s very white, but the 1920s was peak British empire so there were non-white people in the capital of the empire, so I thought this was a fun take on classic British story through that lens. That being said, I did struggle with some aspects that felt like they were too caracature-ish as writing, but might have come across less so in film. As a whole, I think it was an interesting project, but I’m not sure if it was totally memorable or if it was interesting enough for me to continue in the sequel.

*I received an audio review copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Julian Winters has been on my radar as an author for a really long time, but young adult romances have been hit or miss for me lately. So when I saw that this was his adult debut, and that the audiobook was narrated by Andre Santana, who I’ve grown absolutely adore as a narrator, I knew I had to pick this up.

I don’t think this was a perfect book and there is some suspension of disbelief in regards to the premise because yes, it’s a family business but there’s a huge jump in the level of responsibility from being social media manager/event planner to CEO. After my experience struggling with that in The Truth According to Ember earlier this year, I was hesitant, but this was absolutely a case of right book right time for me.

I adore Denz with all of my heart, and this second chance of romance/fake dating your ex worked so well for me in a way that I could not have expected. It was cute. It was heartfelt. It had me giggling it had me tearing up. It was the perfect escape in a very stressful week. Yes I think there are legitimate critiques with the story, but I don’t want to them because I loved this book.

*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I have some mixed feelings about the conclusion to this series. I thought that The Final Strife was a really solid debut and I loved the way The Battle Drum opened up the world, but I'm not sure El-Arifi stuck the landing with this one. I think I mostly struggled because of the pacing. The first half of this book felt a little meandering as they set up for the "last battle" and while I appreciated structurally how that battle was written, I think some of the key moments felt a little anti-climatic and glossed over.

While this wasn't my favorite ending, I do think the trilogy as a whole is solid and would recommend it. I like the way El-Arifi tackles big themes like climate change and settler colonialism while creating a world and magic that feels fresh and exciting.

*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I remembered enjoying Fake It Till You Bake It when I read it a few years ago, so I was happy to read the follow up following August's romance. I love that August is a quiet "actions speak louder than words" sort of guy and I liked following his point of view. I also liked that Sloane was unwilling to take less than she felt she deserved. While I didn't necessarily fully buy into the romance, I think that might be more to do with the second chance nature of it. We get some flashbacks to 12 years prior and what happened between the two of them, but while I kept reading because I wanted to know what exactly caused them to fall apart, I never bought into the tension they had. I also found some of the plot beats related to opening the second location for Sugar Blitz a little forced.

That being said, I thought this was well-written and a fun way to pass an evening. If you like slow burn (ish? Their first kiss isn't until halfway through the book but it gets pretty steamy pretty quickly after that) and/or celebrity love interest and/or brother's best friend, I recommend this! And I am very much looking forward to a potential Nicholas book.

*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I was fully not prepared for an addition to the NeoG series, but I saw this compared to Die Hard and knew I loved the characters so I knew I had to read it. While this is marketed as a series of standalones and there are callbacks throughout that explain the events of the first three books, I think the books should be read in order for maximum impact. Personally, I don't know if the reader would feel the same emotions toward the crew if they hadn't seen them through the events that bonded them together.

That being said, I think Die Hard is the perfect comp for this story and I loved every minute of it. This is probably my favorite book in the series so far, followed closely by Hold Fast Through the Fire. The plot here starts on page one and it is tense and fast-paced through to the end. I also love how diverse Wagers makes this series. Yes, the phrasing of "the trans woman" or "the cis woman" can read a little awkward; however, I appreciate that they use the same phrasing regardless of if the character being referenced is cis or trans. All in all, I really enjoyed this surprise addition to the NeoG series and look forward to reading more from K.B. Wagers.

*I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I am forever amazed by Nnedi Okorafor's imagination and ability to cross genres. Death of the Author is at its core, a literary novel about the Nigerian American experience. Zelu, the main character, is American and while both of her parents are Nigerian immigrants, one is Igbo and the other is Yoruba. Zelu is also paraplegic, becoming paralyzed after an incident when she was 12, and she is an author struggling to get her book published. In a lot of ways, I think Okorafor's ability to create depth in Zelu was due to her own experiences as a disabled Nigerian American author.

The inciting incident of the story is Zelu getting fired from her teaching position. Post-firing, she writes a science fiction novel that goes viral and Okorafor includes chapters of her famous story throughout the book, which is fascinating because the novel parallels Zelu's story in a really interesting way. I also think that the inclusion of Zelu's novel is what makes this book so genre-defying and it highlights the power of the nature of storytelling and some of the terrors of fame and of the modern publishing.

From a pure craft perspective, I think this book is an easy 4.5 stars, but from a personal enjoyment perspective it was closer to a 3 star experience. That being said, I haven't been able to stop thinking about this book so maybe upon reread it'll become a full 4 star or higher experience.

I found the writing too distant to care about the characters, and despite the floweriness of the writing the setting and atmosphere felt bland and not very 1500s.

Also felt squeamish by the way some of the negative parts of life back then were left unchallenged by the text (“court oddities”, marital rape, etc.). Though they might be challenged later, nothing in the plot left me feeling compelled to get there.