bookishvicky's reviews
173 reviews

“Caleb kisses me like I’m the perfect harmony to every melody he’s written”

Thanks so much to @berkleypub @berkleyromance or @acebookspub for the free book!

For One Night Only was a refreshing romance read with a male main character who actually has a unique personality and is the one finding himself strung along intol love by his confident, messy female counterpart. Caleb Sloane, eyeliner-wearing icon that you are… just perfect. No notes.

Every member of Glitter Bats felt distinct to me, and their careers post-breakup all felt reminiscent of bands in real life; in fact, while reading about their early career, I could taste the indie music sleaze, the 2014 vinyls, Urban Outfitters flooded with beanies and Arctic Monkeys fans. It was nostalgic for me and made the reunion plotline all the more exciting.

Valerie was kind of annoying and fame hungry, and I don’t think we got enough of her mom in-scene to justify why she is the way she is. I still thought her redemption was handled well, and her chemistry with Caleb was electric. 

Overall, a cute romance with actual stakes and complex characters that addresses the toxicity of the music industry and how it can ruin our favorite artists. I did feel like the pacing was a touch slow at first, but the climax was worth the uphill trek.

I really liked this one! From the beautiful cover to the vicious opening scene, MISTRESS OF LIES immediately drew me in and kept my attention. Shan LeClaire, your clawed hand in marriage please. 

Such a cool world, magic system, and unique villain— though it’s odd the back of the book says “vampire” explicitly when the concept is only kinda alluded to in the story itself. Still love the lore, though, and the vivid language makes this a fantasy book you shouldn’t overlook. 

My only complaints is that I wish we could see blood working in action more vs. passing mentions of it. Also, the reveal of the murderer didn’t make much sense to me? Excited for book 2 !!

Cute Christmas sapphic romance! I liked both the FMCs and I wouldn’t mind returning to Colorado to see Sloan’s and Wes’s romance or to see more of Adele and Ampersand. Nothing groundbreaking but sometimes romance books can just be cozy with a good dose of drama (and spice). 

This is so clearly a rehash of The Lost Boys but modern and unique. I really enjoyed this one and would love a prequel! 

“‘Being the champion was all you ever wanted.’

‘It was…Until I found something better.’”

Huge thank you to the author for providing me a digital ARC for review! 

As a longtime pro wrestling fan, this was such a fun read. Knowing all the terms, I was able to breeze through this, and never felt like it was dumbed down or written by someone who’d only seen a few episodes of RAW. Queen’s vivid and witty writing is indicative of a shared love of pro wrestling, and the fact it wasn’t bogged down with millions of references was refreshing. 

This is definitely an enemies to lovers romance done right. I HATED Theo, but his romance with Aurora evolved into something sweet and genuine. 

“‘I’d knock out a tooth for ya, though’.” (Seriously, what a charmer!)

The spice was there and the dialogue was. Oh my god. Wow. Just all the hot peppers for this one. 

My only complaints was about the pacing. While the romance did feel natural and genuine, things moved wayyy too fast in the romance and wrestling storylines. Plus, we don’t get much wrestling action with Aurora. I know it’s realistic to have a new woman wrestler be an accessory for a guy, but as a writer you have the power to make that not the norm. She could have been like Sasha Banks or Asuka, kicking ass and staying away from the lingering Diva division influence. 

Overall, I absolutely recommend this to wrestling and non wrestling fans wanting a cute enemies to lovers with an HEA and quality spice scenes. 

I liked the magic system, and the writing was well-paced and vivid. 

But holy shit what??

I was so confused for so much of this book. Like, what did Willow want? Who was she? She’s so passive and I don’t know much about her or any other character aside from Gray. 

Also, this book is too horny, and that’s from someone who doesn’t mind a little spice. Like, not 100 pages in and the characters who’ve known each other for days act like they’ve been in sexual tension for months. Gray could have been so interesting, the twist was fun! But when he. Broke into her room. To tear her pants off while she slept. What. 

Just. Creepy dude. Too gaudily sexual and not enough plot. A shame such a cool magic system and villain was wasted. 

Too long, the plot is everywhere and I’m overwhelmed. The romance is barely there and is so drawn out it doesn’t feel worth it anymore 

This book made me so happy. The rich, vivid writing made Caltry and its inhabitants come to life. There were also enough stakes that I didn’t feel like this was a Legends and Lattes situation where absolutely no conflict drove the story and ultimately made for a boring book. 

Kiela is a little bland, but she’s clever and her love of books is to a concerning point that I kinda love. I wish we knew a little more about her and her family, and why she forgot Larran and the island when she moved when she was eight? But it’s a small critique and Meep the cactus makes up for it. 

THE SPELLSHOP is rife with feel-good elements; new beginnings, second chances, falling in love— it’s all so charming. Durst’s writing horrified me in THE BONE MAKER and enchanted me in THE SPELLSHOP. I can’t wait to read the next book! 

Big thank you to NetGalley and Berkley for an advanced digital copy of Fan Service in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Rating:  ★ 3.75

Pub Date: 11 March 2025

“‘I’d like to spend the rest of my life howling at your door.’”

For starters, I definitely enjoyed Fan Service more than Rosie Danan’s previous book Do Your Worst. I connected with the female main character Alex a lot more than I expected. As a former Tumblr diehard, I understood the niches of fandom, even if I wasn’t in ones for Supernatural or Teen Wolf, which Devin’s show is definitely inspired by.

That being said, this is the type of romance book I love– the ones with silly setups that you don’t have to take too seriously. Oh, the actor from your favorite TV show you’ve had a crush on since you were a teen is turning into a werewolf and needs your help? And he’s super horny? Amazing! Give me 300 pages of this.

While I did struggle with the beginning half of this book, the rest made up for it. I thought Devin was an asshole, and Alex was a y/n (being hated by her town for no reason, calling the grown men harassing her “jocks,” etc.) but then I realized– this reads like fanfic! It’s okay to let it be iffy! That’s the fun of it all. 

Now I’m not trying to say Danan writes like bad fanfic– far from it. Her writing style always pulls me in and helps me feel for the characters, and she gives us banger lines like “I’m not going to–’ he lowered his voice– ‘“transform” in this Dunkin’ Donuts.’”

Lastly—everyone say thank you Rosie Danan for giving us a REAL WEREWOLF! I swear, some romance books say the character is a werewolf but it’s just occasional growling and fated mates tropes. Devin is a FERAL wolf and it was so fun. Kinda makes me want Danan to try her hand at a vampire romance now. 

Overall, it was what I expected. A cute, entertaining, smutty book that I got lost in. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing group for a digital copy of Blood Over Bright Haven for a fair and honest review. 

“It was a beautiful thought– for a different world that was just, kind, and not about to collapse.”

Today is November 7th, 2024. And I am sick reading this book. I had to skim read the final ten pages for how much I wanted to scream and cry and throw up. This was not the thrill of Maeve Fly throw up, but rather the raw, hopeless, pulling out your hair kind.

M.L. Wang– you are a genius. You have delivered us a beautiful book about imperialism, racism, capitalism, classism, sexism; and you’ve done so in such a realistic way I almost want to refuse to review this book. 

While the opening chapters were a touch slow and difficult to get through, the climax seemed to last half the book. I was sickened reading things I’ve seen on social media in wake of police brutiality and recently with the election. I don’t believe I can give this gorgeous book justice with my words. 

“The path to God wasn’t laid for women like her. It was laid on their backs.”

Blood Over Bright Haven is bleak. It’s horrible. It shows the cruelties of men in power, language of war and conflict that negate human life, dangerous ideas that men in power in my country tote in our helpless faces. This book is violent and disgusting. This book is a raw, horrifying, nauseating truth. 

This book is so important. I cannot recommend it enough. 

However-- the characters are one kind of dimensional, and I feel like at times Sciona was very much white feminism-ing her way through some of the book. The end was... i dont know. On one hand, how else would it end, on another, it's so bleak and a bit white savior-y. I'm undecided. Maybe this book is actually horrible. I don't know. It's. Wow.