arc

Codebreaker

by Jay Martel

coming July 22, 2025

(4 / 5)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All opinions and thoughts are completely my own.

Codebreaker was a fast-paced, high-stakes story full of puzzles, conspiracies, action, and excitement. I thought the book was a lot of fun to read. It’s full of puzzles and codes, and one thing that I especially liked was the inclusion of a symbol indicating when you could stop reading and attempt to solve the puzzle yourself. There was usually enough information that it wasn’t too difficult, and I had fun working out some of the puzzles on my own. The story also breaks it down with the characters solving the puzzle, so reader puzzle-solving isn’t a requirement, just a fun perk. I’ll admit, many of the scenarios in the story were a bit unbelievable, and the main character tended to solve the puzzles remarkably quickly, but there was plenty going on throughout the story that kept me invested and wanting to keep reading. I was pretty surprised with the directions things went a few times, so it kept me on my toes. I liked both of the main characters and their interactions with each other. I thought Logan provided great comic relief that lightened up some of the more intense scenes. I’ve seen some comparisons of this book to National Treasure and The Da Vinci Code, and I definitely got that vibe as well.

Roll for Romance

by Lenora Woods

coming July 15, 2025

(4 / 5)

Thank you to Ballantine, Dell, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All opinions and thoughts are completely my own.

This romance story is a little different from other books that I’ve read, focusing heavily on Dungeons & Dragons. Most of the characters in the book are new to the game, so I didn’t feel lost even though I’ve never played D&D myself. We end up with a story within the story, since we are following Sadie (FMC) in the real world, plus her character’s adventure in D&D. I liked that the “real world” was in first person while the “game world” was in third person, making it easy to differentiate between the 2 storylines. It’s not surprising that a lot of the more exciting and surprising parts are in the D&D storyline, but I still enjoyed Sadie’s real world story as well. It was nice to see how Sadie finds herself again after losing her job, rekindling old passions and making new friends. I thought it was an interesting take on how we all play different parts in different aspects of our lives. I liked all the characters we met along the way, and I thought the romance that developed was sweet and enjoyable. I’m impressed that this is the author’s debut book!

May 15, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Daedalus

The Nabukko Trilogy #2

by K.R. Gadeken

(4 / 5)

Thank you to BooksGoSocial and NetGalley for the free review copy of Daedalus. All opinions are completely my own.

Daedalus is the 2nd book in The Nabukko Trilogy and picks up pretty close to where the first book left off. I think I actually liked Daedalus even more than the first book. It continues the feeling of mystery, with a lot of questions still not answered by the end of the book. I definitely have some theories though, and there’s a lot of clues along the way, so it kept my interest well. This book adds in an element of adventure that I really enjoyed. There was plenty of action and drama leaving me on the edge of my seat. It made the book really hard to put down. I also enjoyed the relationships between characters. I’m looking forward to reading the next book and a bit bummed I’ll have to wait a while to see what happens next.

May 8, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Sci-Fi Young Adult 0

Nabukko

The Nabukko Trilogy #1

by K.R. Gadeken

(4 / 5)

I received a free review copy of this book from BooksGoSocial through NetGalley. All opinions are completely my own.

Eff has been on her own for the past three months, wandering around a strange planet. She hardly remembers anything from before. When she finds a colony, Nabukko, maybe she can finally get some answers.

I’ll admit, this book first caught my attention because of the gorgeous cover, though I’m glad I gave it a chance because I enjoyed reading it. There’s an air of mystery throughout this book since our narrator, Eff, is experiencing memory loss. I liked the detailed descriptions of the strange planet, plants, and animals. We meet a whole cast of characters, and the variety of relationships that Eff develops was interesting. At times the story felt like it was dragging a bit, but given this is the first book in a series, I expect it’s also setting up a foundation for the next books. There was still plenty of excitement though, especially toward the end. The book ended a bit abruptly, with most of my questions not answered yet. I’m excited to see what happens in the next book!

May 5, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Sci-Fi Young Adult 0

The Demon and the Light

The Floating World #2

by Axie Oh

coming October 21, 2025

(4.5 / 5)

Thank you to MacMillan Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for the free review copy of this book. All opinions are completely my own.

The Demon and the Light is the 2nd book in The Floating World duology and picks up shortly after the first book ends. I really enjoyed reading this book and continuing the story. Our main characters had some tough challenges to overcome, and I liked how they grew and evolved through it all. Ren and Sunho felt very relatable, and I loved the dynamic between them. It was great to see the return of many of the side characters, and I think I especially enjoyed getting to know Wook better. The story had a lot of action and excitement throughout it. I managed to find myself pretty surprised about things a few times too. My only complaint is that the ending seemed to happen very quickly and maybe not quite as dramatically as I thought it would. I think I would have liked to know a little more about what happens to the characters in the epilogue, but I’m happy enough with the way things ended and feel like most of my questions were answered. Maybe I just wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to these characters after enjoying the series so much. I really like the author’s writing and vivid descriptions, and I look forward to reading more of her books!

April 27, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

Notes on Infinity

by Austin Taylor

coming June 3, 2025

(3.5 / 5)

I received a free review copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions in my review are completely my own.

In Notes on Infinity, we follow Zoe and Jack, Harvard students who make a discovery that could be a cure for aging.

This book was a hard one to rate since I was a little mixed on how I felt about it. On one hand, it was very academic, diving into science that I don’t begin to understand. Even beyond the science, I often felt a bit out of the loop or just missing something. I think part of it might have been the nonlinear timeline, often looking at the past or revisiting things that happened from a different perspective, plus jumps in time in the present timeline. There were parts that were sad and tragic. But, all that said, the book still kept my interest well enough, and it went into some directions that I wasn’t expecting. The fast pace and high stakes of the biotech startup paired well with the ominous feeling I picked up right from the beginning. It was thought-provoking and I found myself conflicted over how I felt about multiple characters as I learned more about them and their motivations. This book was an interesting journey and felt different from other books I’ve been reading.

April 21, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction New Adult Paperback Women's Fiction 0

Love Unmasked

by Becky Dean

coming July 15, 2025

(4 / 5)

I received a free review copy of Love Unmasked from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions are completely my own and voluntary.

Evie is on a school trip to Venice, Italy, where she seeks out a secret nighttime club for fans of a popular fantasy book series. Meanwhile, she’s partnered with Gabriel, an antisocial new student, for a school project.

This one was a cute, quick read for me. There wasn’t anything all that surprising about the story, but I wasn’t really expecting it anyway. I liked both of the main characters (Evie and Gabriel) and enjoyed the dynamic between these two very different people. They really brought out a side in each other that helped them both grow. I think it was a great message about building self acceptance, trust, and being more assertive. The romance was a bit of a slow burn but also felt like a natural progression. The other part of the story took place at night, with hidden identities and a secret fan club. This part felt a bit too “over the top” to feel like something that actually exists in the real world, but it was also an interesting idea. There’s a lot of referencing to the fictional fantasy series that Evie is a fan of that I could see maybe losing some readers. Personally, I didn’t try to think too deeply about it and saw it more as a representation of something Evie was really passionate about. Bonus points for the beautiful setting in Venice! This was my second book by author, and I’ll definitely be reading more books by Becky Dean in the future.

April 14, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

Out of Air

by Rachel Reiss

coming May 13, 2025

(3.5 / 5)

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books, and NetGalley for the free review copy of Out of Air! All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own and voluntary.

Five scuba diving friends make a huge discovery while on a trip to Australia, but maybe some things are best left alone.

Out of Air brings us to the underwater world of scuba diving, which was captivating and different. There were some great descriptions of the diving experience and the sea life the characters encountered. The book had an eerie and mysterious atmosphere to it that also took on more of a horror feel as the story progressed. We’re actually following 2 different points in time: present day where the group discovers an underwater cave, and about 6 months prior when they made a different discovery. It was interesting how it all interconnected. I did sometimes feel like the main character, Phoebe, didn’t react to certain things in a way that matched the circumstances, which felt a bit off to me. The horror elements weren’t something I enjoyed a ton, but admittedly it’s not a genre I usually read. I felt like a lot of the questions I had weren’t answered by the end, though I suppose that adds to the intrigue and mystery of it all.

April 5, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Horror Kindle Thriller Young Adult 0

Friends with Benefits

by Marisa Kanter

coming May 6, 2025

(3 / 5)

Thank you to Celadon Books and NetGalley for the complimentary copy of Friends with Benefits; all opinions are completely my own.

Evie and Theo are best friends who enter a marriage of convenience so that Evie can have health insurance coverage and Theo can keep his apartment.

While this book was a romance, it had a sad undertone and dived into some very heavy topics such as chronic illness, parental issues, and death of a parent. I appreciate the difficulty of these experiences, but I think it got to be a bit much for me at times. The story seemed to move pretty slowly, and there’s a lot of repetition and revisiting past events. I found it frustrating how much the main characters were denying their feelings… for best friends, they seemed to avoid talking about things a lot. This was by no means a bad book, but I think it turned out to not quite be the right book for me, or at least not the light read I was expecting.

April 1, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle New Adult Romance 0

Come As You Are

by Dahlia Adler

coming May 27, 2025

(3.5 / 5)

I received a free review copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press and Wednesday Books through NetGalley. All opinions in my review are voluntary and completely my own.

Evie is a new student at a boarding school, looking for a change after a rough falling-out with people at home. Unfortunately, her new start begins with her being assigned to an all-male dorm building.

This book was a quick, cute read, though I’m definitely older than the target audience. It had teen angst and high school drama that was sometimes hard for me to relate to, especially when it felt like there was hardly any adult supervision. We follow Evie, who strikes an unlikely friendship with Salem. I enjoyed the relationship between the two, which had a lot of fun banter. I wasn’t really a fan of Evie trying to change her image and the rule-breaking that was involved, though I think the ultimate message from her journey is a positive one.

March 24, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0