mountains

The Weaver Bride

by Lydia Gregovic

coming September 30, 2025

(4.5 / 5)

Thank you to Random House Children’s Books, Delacorte Press, and NetGalley for the free review copy of The Weaver Bride! All thoughts and opinions are completely my own.

I really enjoyed it this book! I was a bit unsure in the beginning but then got caught up into the story and didn’t want to put it down. The atmosphere of this book was incredibly immersive, with intricate writing and lots of detail. I enjoyed the characters, especially since so many were morally gray. I was constantly wondering who I could trust, especially with multiple betrayals along the way. Our protagonist, Lovett, had a lot of spark to her, and I enjoyed her determination. A forbidden romance brews, with a lot of intensity and tension between the characters. They really pushed each others’ buttons, but it just worked well. I think my favorite thing about this book was that it was filled with mysteries. I was constantly guessing and making theories, yet I was still shocked about how it ended. While most plot points were resolved by the end, it was open ended enough that I am not ready for this story to be over yet. I sure hope this book was the start of a series!

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

Wandering Wild

by Lynette Noni

coming May 20, 2025

(4.5 / 5)

I received a free review copy of this book through NetGalley, but all opinions are completely my own. Thank you to Blackstone Publishing for the opportunity!

Xander is a teenage actor who needs to improve his public image after a car accident involving a DUI. To help, he goes on a survivalist show with a fan. But there’s a problem – Charlie ends up on the show with him, but she is most definitely NOT a fan.

I was excited to get an ARC of this book since I really enjoyed the author’s The Prison Healer series. While this story is quite different from the fantasy series, I really enjoyed it. There are some aspects of the story that are obviously stretches of reality to increase the drama, but I enjoyed reading the authors comments about this at the end of the book.

At first the book felt a little slow while the characters and their situations were being introduced. There were a lot of references to events in the past that were vague, so we don’t find out the actual details until much later. That said, I managed to puzzle some of it together with the clues that were dropped, and it gave the opportunity to learn things when the characters reveal them to each other.

I genuinely liked both of the main characters. They were likable and had depth to them, plus the chemistry between them worked well. I could really feel their emotions throughout the book. I enjoyed the variety of side characters as well, though some of the adults had me pretty frustrated with them at certain points.

Once things got moving, this book had a lot of intensity to it in multiple ways. The characters are in a survivalist show, so that introduced adventure and exhilarating experiences along with the fear when things don’t go as planned. But almost equally, there was an intensity in a mental aspect as well, with both main characters dealing with past events and the associated grief. The story really kept me on the edge of my seat and I had such a hard time putting the book down.

March 15, 2025 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance Young Adult 0

The Encanto’s Curse

The Encanto’s Daughter #2

By Melissa de la Cruz

Coming March 4, 2025

(4 / 5)

The Encanto’s Curse is the 2nd book in the The Encanto’s Daughter duology and takes place a few months after the first book left off. I found this story had a similar feel to the first one, though it had more romance involved. I’m not sure if I was completely a fan of the love triangle aspect, but it added a bit of mystery about how who she would end up with (though I had a pretty good idea of how that would go). I thought the ties to Filipino folklore were interesting, with the manananggal sounding downright terrifying. The book definitely didn’t lack in action and excitement, so it kept me engaged and interested in the story. I was happy with how this series ended and liked that there were some directions the plot went that I didn’t see coming.

Thank you to Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for the free review copy of The Encanto’s Curse! All opinions are completely my own and voluntary.

February 7, 2025 by danimae1981 Fantasy Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

Penitence

By Kristin Koval

Coming January 28, 2025

(3 / 5)

This book starts with an interesting premise… a struggling family is thrown into turmoil when their 13-year-old daughter, Nora, shoots and kills their 14-year-old son, Nico. The parents, Angie and David, feel like they have no option but to ask the local lawyer, Martine, for help. This is extra complicated because Angie used to date Martine’s son, Julian, who has to help on the case because he has far more experience in criminal defense than his mother. This all dredges up memories of a terrible tragedy from Angie and Julian’s past.

I feel like I’m going to be in the minority here, but this book wasn’t quite for me. I was already expecting it to be an intense read (which it was), and the writing did a good job at presenting a solemn feel to it. While it started with a sense of mystery about the shooting as well as Angie and Julian’s past, much of the book was slower paced and contemplative without providing direct answers and resolutions. A lot of the book felt like an internal monologue of the various characters, with not a lot of action or dialogue. Most of the characters were flawed, spending a lot of time reflecting on secrets and mistakes from the past. Personally, I felt like I could never completely connect with any of the characters. The book was thought-provoking, exploring topics of forgiveness and moving on, in addition to a critical look at the judiciary system, especially in relation to juveniles. One of the (intended) surprising moments in the book was something I had already been suspecting for a while, though there were still aspects of it that I hadn’t considered. In the end, I think the book just wasn’t quite what I was expecting, so it didn’t keep me as engaged as much as I hoped it would. For the right reader, though, I think the book holds a lot of promise.

Thank you to Celadon Books and BookishFirst for the free review copy of Penitence! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

December 6, 2024 by danimae1981 Fiction Literary Fiction Paperback 0

Hearts Overboard

By Becky Dean

Released today!

(4.5 / 5)

Summer break has just started for Savannah, but it came with her boyfriend, Caleb, breaking up with her, complaining she’s too boring. Now she’s leaving for an Alaskan cruise with her parents and their friends, stuck having to be around their son, Tanner, who also happens to be her nemesis. In an effort to seem less boring, she calls a truce with Tanner to help her try new things during the trip.

This was a really cute story with an amazing setting and a sense of adventure. At first Savannah struck me as a little self-centered and set in her ways, but as I got to know her, I started to understand her better. Plus, it gave a good opportunity for character growth, which we see a lot of over the course of the story. Despite Savannah’s negative feelings about him in the beginning, Tanner was a likable character who had a lot of depth too. It was interesting to watch the characters learn a lot about each other (maybe Savannah didn’t know as much about Tanner as she thought she did) while also learning a lot about themselves along the way. There was a lot of introspection about taking risks, trying new things, and facing fears. I enjoyed the romance aspect, even if I sometimes got a little frustrated with Savannah’s (admittedly understandable) denials along the way. The book was a quick read and kept me interested the whole time. I was a little sad to reach the ending of this one since I enjoyed it so much. I look forward to reading more books by this author!

Thank you to Random House Children’s | Delacorte Romance and NetGalley for the free review copy of Hearts Overboard! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

July 9, 2024 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Young Adult 0

A Wedding in the Sun

By Leonie Mack

Coming May 17, 2024

(4.5 / 5)

Jo and Adrián are on a flight to Spain to attend the wedding of their ex-spouses, not something either of them is looking forward to. When the plane has to make an emergency landing in France due to bad weather, the two “exes” end up traveling together, trying to get to their destination despite everything going wrong along the way.

A Wedding in the Sun was a quick and enjoyable read. I really liked both of the main characters, who felt so imperfectly human. While they are going through some incredibly difficult situations and are understandably stressed, over time they are both able to admit to their flaws and accept each other as they are. Both characters go through a lot of growth as they process the grief from their previous marriages ending. Despite so many things going wrong on their journey, there’s also a sense of optimism about the positive experiences they wouldn’t have had otherwise. I loved the adventure of the road trip, from the Pyrenees mountains to the beaches of Spain.

Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of A Wedding in the Sun! All opinions in my review are completely my own.

April 23, 2024 by danimae1981 Fiction Kindle Romance 0

Extinction

By Douglas Preston

Coming soon on April 23, 2024

(4.5 / 5)

At a resort in the mountains of Colorado, multiple prehistoric animals have been de-extincted. When a newlywed couple on their honeymoon go missing while camping at the resort, law enforcement is brought in to investigate.

Extinction is the first book I’ve read by Douglas Preston, but it definitely left me wanting to read more by the author. The story was complicated and told from the perspectives of several characters, so we could see it develop from multiple angles. I really loved all the descriptions of the scenes and characters, bringing the story to life. The book takes some really wild turns along the way and was full of action, excitement and mystery. While it mostly follows law enforcement and at its core is a crime thriller, the scientific premise of de-extinction was interesting and something that could be a reality in the near future.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group | Forge Books and NetGalley for the free review copy of Extinction! All opinions expressed in my review are completely my own.