the_castle_library's reviews
85 reviews

Lost in the Never Woods" by Aiden Thomas follows Wendy 5 years after she is found unconscious in the woods behind her house and brothers, John and Michael, nowhere to be found. She can't remember what happened, why they were in the woods, and where John and Michael were. Now children all over town are starting to go missing and an unexpected visitor shows up that needs her help and is possibly linked to the disappearances and finding her lost brothers. The ending was not how I had anticipated. If you don't know the Peter Pan lore, it could be rather upsetting. I was upset and I am aware of his lore.

A con artist is getting out of jail early on good behavior and rehabilitation, too bad it was all an act and he hasn't actually turned a new leaf. He has planned a heist to get his hidden gems and flea the country. He hid the gems in a tree just before he got caught and sent to jail and now that tree has been voted to be this year's famous Rockefeller Christmas tree 😆 Can he get to his gems before they move the tree and it becomes the center of attention in NYC? 🤔 It kept me on my toes and I would have finished it one sitting if I could have 😅

This is the sequel to "The Christmas Bookshop". It was just as quaint as the first book, followed the same characters, and added in a couple new ones. This one was more heavily based around Carmen and mentions less of her sister, Sofia, and her nieces and nephews than the first book as the dynamics change. Carmen does some shop remodeling to try to make more money because there's a new hot shot in town that's trying to buy up all the stores on the block and turn them into bulk tourist shops that sell stereotypical Scottish paraphernalia 🤢 She also trys to put herself back out into the world to feel more like her age. 

The part I wait for through the whole book happens at the very end, which left me feeling kind of unsatisfied. My rating for romance is 💖

This is a cute story about a woman, Carmen, who has found herself jobless just before the holidays and goes to live with her estranged sister, Sophia, after their Mother asked for Sophia to help Carmen find another job and give her a place to live.

Sophia is the successful older sister who is married with 3 children and another on the way. According to Carmen, everything works out for Sophia and comes to her so easily while Carmen has worked her butt off and has nothing and no one. 

Sophia gets Carmen a job at a local bookshop that's about to go belly up, but Sophia thinks Carmen can help the elderly owner turn it around before the end of the year. Carmen finds out that she quite enjoys her job there and does in fact turn it around and into a quaint Christmas bookshop, as the title describes! 

There's a little romance, but I wouldn't call it a romance novel. It took me on an emotional rollercoaster of feeling good and feeling not so good. My rating for romance is 💖💖

I am obsessed!! I had originally skipped over checking it out from the library because I thought it was a retelling of Snow White and I had just finished "Mirror, Mirror: A Twisted Tale", so I was looking for something different, which led me to "Gilded". It wasn't until I was in love with "Gilded" and started researching Marissa Meyer that I found out this is the Queen of Hearts backstory and needed to get my hand on it as soon as possible! ♥️🃏👑🐦‍⬛🎩
My rating for romance is 💖💖💖

Series 2 in Batman: The White Knight. I liked it just as much a the first. Very action packed, I give it 👊👊👊 for action.

Luce is in love with a fallen Angel, who she finds every time she incarnates, but this time is different and it threatens her from coming back again. She is caught in between an age old war between Angels and Demons.

I think it could have been a standalone book, but I do intend to follow it to the end.

This is book 1 of the Rumpelstiltskin retelling. It is one of my favorite duologies that I have read and listened to multiple times! Even the bad guys have their loveable moments, which is infuriating 😅 It is dark and twisty, but keeps a stream of light to keep you hoping the good guys will come out on top.

I love it as much as "Cinder" and "Fairest"! If you haven't read this series yet, I suggest getting your hands on "Stars Above" before starting this one so you can read "The Queen's Army" and "Carswal's Guide to Being Lucky" for some background information on some of the characters 😊 I decided to read them in chronological order, so I had the advantage 😅 My rating for romance is 💖💖

The Lunar Chronicles book 3. It did not disappoint and it was such a whirlwind!! My rating for romance is 💖💖