A Pirate's Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you!

4/5 stars

This was super cute and fun and I still really enjoyed it but slightly less than book one.

For a start I missed their friends back at the tea shop. For another although I was glad the thing with the dragons was solved, at the same time it kind of wasn't. I also thought that the "dethroning" of a certain ruler was a little abrupt in the end. And I wasn't entirely sold on the "meet your heroes" part of the storyline. I don't know if they added enough value as a character.

All that being said, I loved Bobbie and Serina's relationship and their growth as characters. I eagerly await the next book. Also 5/5 for the anniversary short! IYKYK 👀🫦🥵

The book comes out next month! October 3rd to be specific. Go buy it!

Steff Out x 

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne

 

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you!

5/5 stars

This is super cute and I loved it! The acknowledgements state that she was inspired by "Legends and Lattes" and I can see it and I am here for it!

Reyna is sick of her Queensguard life so decides to follow her secret Mage girlfriend's wishes to abscond to the middle of nowhere and set up a combined tea room and bookshop.

Life isn't simple though. Kianth is basically the boss of the Mages, the most powerful one, and some feel that she's shirking her responsibilities. Their new town also has problems: bandits,dragons and town leaders at loggerheads.

I loved the characters in this and the way everything developed, the pacing was perfect as well.

Steff Out x 

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

 

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

3/5 stars

Like the title this book was very slow paced and at one point I did debate whether to continue. I was really not a fan of Shiloh initially, her attitude in the younger sections annoyed me and I hated the way she kept messing with Cary and that part didn't quit.

Cary himself was bland. He had a fairly well-developed family. I really wanted a big blow-out fight between him and his "sister" about all the lies, and a proper conversation with his "mum" about it all. Otherwise his personality was the Navy, he had no interests.

Despite all that something drew me in to their story and I was rooting for them as a couple. I liked the flashbacks but it was a little annoying the way they jumped around time so much. It also felt like not enough time was dedicated to certain parts like Shiloh's first marriage. On the whole I felt that the ending was very rushed. There was no mention of navigating the new relationship within the context of Shiloh's ex and the book just stopped. It felt very anti-climactic.

Steff Out x 

Sing Like No-One's Listening by Vanessa Jones

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

4/5 stars 

Nettie Delaney is the daughter of a star ballerina, however her mum has recently died and she's due to audition at Duke's Performing Arts school, the same one her mum attended. But then a bizarre technical glitch on the day throws her off and she flunks her audition.

Miraculously she manages to get in but Nettie has lost her voice and must rediscover it before she's kicked out of school. All under the watchful eye of headmistress Mrs Duke herself who was a friend of her mother, and whilst trying to avoid her cruel ballet teacher who was apparently an enemy, creating a new mystery for Nettie about her mother's past, something she never spoke about.

This was an easy super cute read. I can't say personally how accurate it was to the real life performing arts school experience but it read well although content warning for disordered eating which is depressingly predictable for this sort of setting.

I loved the characters but I was disappointed that we didn't get the story about Nettie's mum although apparently there is a sequel so hopefully that covers it.

Steff Out x 

The Wilderness Retreat by Jennifer Moore

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

2/5 stars

Bella's only son Asher has just started university so her sister has treated her to a holiday in Sweden at a Wilderness Retreat to help with the "empty nest".

Being so far from her son Bella is on edge from the start, especially when the retreat is declared phone free. Things aren't helped by a note pushed under her door shortly after her arrival: "I know what you did." Tension grows with the arrival of someone from Bella's past...

Honestly this book was 70% of Bella's apparently baseless paranoia and nothing to move the story along. There wasn't enough tension and I can't say I learned enough about Bella as a character (beyond her almost obsessive mother side) to really care about her.

The "payoff" if you can call it that was disappointing and you put if the blue. Also the initial setup of getting Bella there seemed highly implausible and ridiculous.

Overall a disappointing read with bland characters and not enough use of the setting. A change of location would not have affected the story one bit.

Steff Out x 

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

3/5 stars

This was a strange book. April May is a graphic designer working in New York, living with by not "living with" her girlfriend Maya when she suddenly comes across something late at night. A giant robot that she dubs Carl. April calls her best mate Andy out to film a YouTube video about the discovery.

The video goes viral and now April is the unofficial spokesperson for the Carls - one in every major city - and fame and notoriety come flooding in. Then there are the clues, and later the dreams. What does it mean and what is the origin of the Carls?

I loved that at it's heart this is a study on humanity and the power of working together. The story didn't necessarily go where I was expecting but I did enjoy that.

It was let down by a lack of characterisation, due to April's selfish nature we didn't learn a lot about the other characters. I also thought that the middle section was a little slow and repetitive and the ending was a little abrupt and unclear but apparently there is a sequel so I don't know if that would bring more clarity?

Stef Out x 

Fat Witch Summer by Lizzy Ives

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you!

4/5 stars 

Thrash lives in a world where witches are given one of three main Gifts when they show their Knack/magical potential. Glamour, Sight or Growth. Her mom is a top ranked Glamour witch, her late mum had Sight. Osmarra wants Thrash to have Glamour like her even if it's just so she can "fix" her imperfections aka her fatness. Thrash however is drawn to Sight.

An opportunity arises when Cresca, one of the cool girls at school, witnesses the manifestation on Thrash's Knack and invites her on a road trip with her and her friends Saki and Em to get Gifts of their own.

Thrash is understandably worried, she doesn't know these girls, how are they going to get along? There are a few false starts but eventually everything comes together.

I loved the story but I would have liked a little more world-building in story although there is a handy brief history at the end of the book. I also would have liked a bit more character development, it felt like we didn't really get to know Em and Saki as much.

Also petty thing but I loved that Thrash was a fat character and she was OK with that up until the same old anti-swimwear vibe that just feels old.

Stef Out x