en-US Thu, 09 Jan 2025 05:31:11 -0800 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 33998348 333 Ariel Lawhon 0385541694 kay! 4 This fed my Anastasia-obsessed soul

This book was presented in such a unique way and at first I was confused, but in the end, it worked so well.

I loved seeing the layers that Ariel Lawhon put on Anna Anderson's story and you start to see Anna in a different light.

Not going to lie, I was more interested in Anastasia's chapters but I still enjoyed Anna's story.]]> 3.72 2018
author: Ariel Lawhon
name: kay!
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2018
rating: 4
read at: 2019/01/20
date added: 2025/01/09
shelves:
review:
This fed my Anastasia-obsessed soul

This book was presented in such a unique way and at first I was confused, but in the end, it worked so well.

I loved seeing the layers that Ariel Lawhon put on Anna Anderson's story and you start to see Anna in a different light.

Not going to lie, I was more interested in Anastasia's chapters but I still enjoyed Anna's story.
]]> 58885776 Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780593336489.

Florence Day is the ghostwriter for one of the most prolific romance authors in the industry, and she has a problem—after a terrible breakup, she no longer believes in love. It’s as good as dead.

When her new editor, a too-handsome mountain of a man, won’t give her an extension on her book deadline, Florence prepares to kiss her career goodbye. But then she gets a phone call she never wanted to receive, and she must return home for the first time in a decade to help her family bury her beloved father.

For ten years, she’s run from the town that never understood her, and even though she misses the sound of a warm Southern night and her eccentric, loving family and their funeral parlor, she ������’t bring herself to stay. Even with her father gone, it feels like nothing in this town has changed. And she hates it.

Until she finds a ghost standing at the funeral parlor’s front door, just as broad and infuriatingly handsome as ever, and he’s just as confused about why he’s there as she is.

Romance is most certainly dead... but so is her new editor, and his unfinished business will have her second-guessing everything she’s ever known about love stories.

A disillusioned millennial ghostwriter who, quite literally, has some ghosts of her own, has to find her way back home in this sparkling adult debut from national bestselling author Ashley Poston.]]> 368 Ashley Poston kay! 5 favorite-books really loved this.

i really need to stop reading romance books because all they do is just make me sad!]]> 3.90 2022
author: Ashley Poston
name: kay!
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/29
date added: 2024/12/14
shelves: favorite-books
review:
i just really really really loved this.

i really need to stop reading romance books because all they do is just make me sad!
]]> 200110301
My enemy doesn’t make the rules��

Even if he’s my boss.

Cade Armanelli might be an infamous hacker with billionaire status who operates better alone, but I earned my spot working alongside him...

Whether he likes it or not.

It’s precisely why I’m on the first plane to an undisclosed location for our cybersecurity team retreat. I’m ready to prove to our company that I can handle anything��

Except sharing a cabin and a bed with my meticulous, elusive boss.

He’s antisocial.

Ruthless.

Enemy number one.

Unfortunately, he’s also number one in tatted, dark, and dangerous. I quickly come to find that not only are his hacking skills perfection, but so is his performance in the bedroom.

Not that it matters. I have a job to keep, a heart to protect, and our nation’s data to secure.

Cade ������’t help me with any of that.

He’s a distraction, one I have to avoid��

Even if it means I’m spray painting a red line down our bed and keeping my boss on his side.]]> 368 Shain Rose kay! 0 currently-reading 3.72 2022
author: Shain Rose
name: kay!
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/12/05
shelves: currently-reading
review:

]]> 59348609
Romance is the last thing on my mind when I meet Tyler at a wedding.

Yes, he’s gorgeous. Yes, we have instant chemistry.

But I ������’t go there with him. I’m too busy convincing my skeptical parents I’m ready to run our family farm to give Tyler’s smoldering smile a passing glance.

Fine. I glanced. And possibly . . . kissed.

But then I went home all the way in a different state. See? Crisis averted.

Until Tyler shows up in North Carolina looking for a job. Of course, I give him one. We’ve already established I’m terrible at resisting his charm.

It’s a disaster waiting to happen, really. Tyler doing manual labor within easy sight of my office window. Me trying NOT to randomly tumble into his arms. But no matter how cute he looks holding a baby goat (or how much I wish I was that baby goat), he’s off-limits until I earn my dad’s trust.

The trouble is, there’s always a risk when you push away something good. If you push too hard, you just might lose it forever.

Love Off-Limits is a stand-alone novel in a connected series. Enjoy the charming small-town appeal of a mountain farm, characters with closed-door but still sizzling chemistry, and of course, a baby goat named Penelope to tug on all your heartstrings.]]> 293 Jenny Proctor kay! 3
the book's rather cookie cutter with no depth but it was cute nontheless]]> 4.11
author: Jenny Proctor
name: kay!
average rating: 4.11
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves:
review:
first half didn't have me,,, second half did.

the book's rather cookie cutter with no depth but it was cute nontheless
]]> 60099660 actually invisible.
��
When her parents drop the news that they can no longer afford her tuition, even with the scholarship, Alice hatches a plan to monetize her strange new power—she’ll discover the scandalous secrets her classmates want to know, for a price.
��
But as the tasks escalate from petty scandals to actual crimes, Alice must decide if it’s worth losing her conscience—or even her life.

In this genre-bending YA debut, a Chinese American girl monetizes her strange new invisibility powers by discovering and selling her wealthy classmates�� most scandalous secrets.]]> 346 Ann Liang 1335915842 kay! 5 favorite-books
i just really love this book man

1st Read 2023:

I don't think I've ever read a book this fast... one sitting. I am in awe.

]]> 4.01 2022
author: Ann Liang
name: kay!
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2024/09/28
date added: 2024/09/28
shelves: favorite-books
review:
2nd Read 2024:

i just really love this book man

1st Read 2023:

I don't think I've ever read a book this fast... one sitting. I am in awe.


]]> 199797582
Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.

Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents �� his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.

But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.]]> 352 Christina Lauren 1668017725 kay! 0 to-read 4.07 2024
author: Christina Lauren
name: kay!
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 42201431
Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs.

Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of... lucky.

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9781501128035.]]> 432 Christina Lauren 1501128035 kay! 0 to-read 3.88 2019
author: Christina Lauren
name: kay!
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2019
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 195790535 Two best friends who haven’t spoken in ten years pretend to date after break-ups with their respective exes go viral, in this delightfully fun and deeply emotional novel.

June and Levi were best friends as teenagers—until the day they weren’t. Now June is struggling to make rent on her beachside tea shop, Levi is living a New York cliché as a disillusioned hedge fund manager and failed novelist, and they've barely spoken in years.

But after they both experience public, humiliating break-ups with their exes that spread like wildfire across TikTok rabbit holes and daytime talk shows alike, they accidentally make some juicy gossip of their own—a photo of them together has the internet convinced they're a couple. With so many people rooting for them, they decide to put aside their rocky past and make a pact to fuel the fire. Pretending to date will help June’s shop get back on its feet and make Levi’s ex realize that she made a mistake. All they have to do is convince the world they're in love, one swoon-worthy photo opp at a time.

Two viral break-ups. One fake relationship. Five sparkling, heart-pounding dates. June and Levi can definitely pull this off without their hearts getting involved. Because everyone knows fake dating doesn’t come with real feelings. Right?]]> 320 Emma Lord kay! 0 to-read 3.33 2024
author: Emma Lord
name: kay!
average rating: 3.33
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199252912 Two opposites decide to test their chemistry with one steamy night together. But will once be enough?

Nova Porter isn’t looking for love, and she certainly has no explanation for her attraction to buttoned-up, three-piece-suit-wearing investment banker Charlie Milford. Maybe it’s his charm? Or maybe it’s his determination to help her fledgling business however he can. Either way, she’s distracted every time he’s around. With her new tattoo studio set to open in her hometown of Inglewild, she doesn’t have time for frivolous flirtations.��

In an effort to get Charlie out of her system once and for all, Nova offers a proposition. One night. No strings. They’ll kick their uncomfortable attraction to the curb and return to their respective responsibilities.��But their explosive night together scatters their expectations like fallen leaves. And with Charlie in town as the temporary head of Lovelight Farms, Nova ������’t quite avoid him.��

And Charlie? Well, Charlie knows a good investment when he sees one. He’s hoping he can convince Nova he’s worth some of her time.]]> 384 B.K. Borison 0593641175 kay! 0 to-read 4.10 2024
author: B.K. Borison
name: kay!
average rating: 4.10
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 121764710
She’s waded through all of the fish in the sea, each one more disappointing than the last. Apparently owning the bakery at Inglewild’s most romantic destination does not help one’s love life—despite her best efforts. All she wants is a partner who gives her butterflies, not someone who ghosts her at dinner and leaves her with the check.

Good thing Caleb Alvarez has the perfect solution.

After saving Layla from another date gone bad, he has a simple proposition: One month of no-strings dating. He’ll do his best to renew her faith in men while she rates his dating game. It’s a win-win situation. All the benefits of dating, without the added pressure of feelings and unmet expectations.

But there’s one ingredient they haven’t considered. The chemistry between them is red hot and the urge to take things to the next level is more tempting than Layla’s double fudge mocha brownies.

Will the heat between them boil over? Or will it be another case of mixed signals?

Mixed Signals is a sweet and steamy small-town romance. Our story features a bashful man who can rock a Hawaiian shirt, a hopeful and dreamy bakery owner, enough sweets to give you a cavity, and your favorite Inglewild residents. Mixed Signals is a standalone romance and the third book in the Lovelight series, a collection of interconnected novels.]]> 335 B.K. Borison 0593641167 kay! 0 to-read 3.90 2022
author: B.K. Borison
name: kay!
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 122494718
Beckett Porter certainly hasn’t. One incredible weekend in Maine, and he’s officially a man distracted. He’s not unfamiliar with hot and heavy flings. He knows how it goes. But Evie wove some sort of magic over him during their tumble in the sheets. He ������’t stop thinking about her laugh. Her hand pressed flat against his chest. Her smiling mouth at his neck.

Also, her eyes. And her legs.

So when she suddenly appears on his farm as part of a social media contest, he is �� confused. He had no idea that the sweet and sexy woman he met at a bar is actually a global phenomenon: social media influencer Evelyn St. James. When she disappears again, Beckett resolves to finally forget her and move on.

But Evelyn St. James has a problem.

Feeling disconnected from her work and increasingly unhappy, she’s trying to find her way back to something real. She returns to the last place she was happy, Lovelight Farms and the tiny town of Inglewild.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the hot farmer she spent two incredible nights with.

Nothing at all.

In The Weeds is a sweet and steamy second-chance romance about finding your happiness. It features a grumpy farmer, a no-nonsense social media influencer, a small town of busybodies, and four very cute kittens. In The Weeds is a standalone romance and is part of the Lovelight series.]]> 334 B.K. Borison 0593641140 kay! 0 to-read 3.74 2022
author: B.K. Borison
name: kay!
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 203572092
Matthew Flanagan is in the mud, literally. Not only has he been fired from his job, but also the tires of his car are stuck in the muck after taking a wrong turn as he enters Green Oak, North Carolina. So, he grabs a duffel with his essentials and goes in search of a place to crash until he gets his life back on track. But instead, he finds his best friend’s sister, Josie, greeting him as her fiancé.

What starts as a big messy misunderstanding quickly turns into an arrangement with Matthew playing a new role as doting fiancé. A fifth engagement—and a stunt, at that—makes Josie’s stomach turn, but every dilemma requires a choice between equally undesirable alternatives, and Matthew doesn’t seem to mind becoming one more number in a colorful list of grooms-that-never-were. Despite the ring on her finger, Josie knows this is only temporary, even if the rest of the small town believes that the fifth time’s the charm.]]> 432 Elena Armas 1668011344 kay! 0 to-read 3.63 2024
author: Elena Armas
name: kay!
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 101144869 A disgraced soccer exec reluctantly enlists the help of a retired soccer star in coaching a children’s team in this smalltown love story in the vein of Ted Lasso and It Happened One Summer —from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spanish Love Deception.

Adalyn Reyes has spent years perfecting her daily routine: wake up at dawn, drive to the Miami Flames FC offices, try her hardest to leave a mark, go home, and repeat.

But her routine is disrupted when a video of her in an altercation with the team’s mascot goes viral. Rather than fire her, the team’s owner—who happens to be her father—sends Adalyn to middle-of-nowhere North Carolina, where she’s tasked with turning around the struggling local soccer team, the Green Warriors, as a way to redeem herself. Her plans crumble upon discovering that the players wear tutus to practice (impractical), keep pet goats (messy), and are terrified of Adalyn (counterproductive), and are nine-year-old kids.

To make things worse, also in town is Cameron Caldani, goalkeeping prodigy whose presence is somewhat of a mystery. Cam is the perfect candidate to help Adalyn, but after one very unfortunate first encounter involving a rooster, Cam’s leg, and Adalyn’s bumper, he’s also set on running her out of town. But banishment is not an option for Adalyn. Not again. Helping this ragtag children’s team is her road to redemption, and she is playing the long game. With or without Cam’s help.]]> 373 Elena Armas 1668011301 kay! 0 to-read 3.54 2023
author: Elena Armas
name: kay!
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 202922060 146 Macy T. Riosa kay! 1 3.44
author: Macy T. Riosa
name: kay!
average rating: 3.44
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/05
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves:
review:
leave minors alone: a challenge
]]> 201145400 Rafael
Ellie Sinclair is a hopeless romantic who writes love songs.
I’m a struggling workaholic who could inspire a hundred breakup albums.
On paper, we have nothing in common except for my son.
For eight months, I avoid her until our summer trip.
Fourteen days. Two islands. And one nanny I shouldn’t be attracted to.
Spending time with Ellie is expected, but enjoying her company?
That isn’t part of our travel plans.
After my divorce, I swore to protect my heart at all costs.
Even if it means breaking hers in the process.
Ellie
What’s worse than working for a grumpy single dad?
Admitting that I once had a secret crush on him in high school.
Thankfully, Rafael Lopez and I have changed since we graduated from Wisteria High.
He is a billionaire with a company to run and a child to take care of.
I’m an unemployed songwriter he hired to watch his son and teach music.
We coexist without any issues until a vacation changes everything.
Lines blur and old feelings for Rafael return with vengeance as I face a new dilemma.
Being his son’s nanny is one thing, but wishing for more?
Sounds like a heartbreak song waiting to be written.]]> 551 Lauren Asher kay! 0 to-read 4.09 2024
author: Lauren Asher
name: kay!
average rating: 4.09
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199070596 Julian
If I ever caught on fire, Dahlia Muñoz would fan the flames with a smile.
So, when she returns to Lake Wisteria, I fully intend to avoid the interior designer.
At least until my meddling mother exploits my savior complex.
The faster I help Dahlia find her creative spark, the sooner she will leave town.
But while I was busy getting rid of Dahlia, I overlooked one potential issue.
What happens if I want her to stay?

Dahlia
People say the devil has many faces, but I know only one.
Julian Lopez—my childhood rival and family frenemy.
I vow to steer clear of him while recovering from my broken engagement, but then the billionaire makes an irresistible offer.
Renovate a historic house together and triple our profits.
Our temporary truce becomes compromised as we face years�� worth of denied attraction and mixed emotions.
Giving into our desire is inevitable…but falling in love?
That isn’t part of the plan.

Love Redesigned is a steamy, small town romance about two family friends-turned-childhood rivals. It is the first book in the standalone Lakefront Billionaires series and has a happy ending.]]> 530 Lauren Asher kay! 0 to-read 4.01 2023
author: Lauren Asher
name: kay!
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61681786 Callahan
I’m the Kane brother everyone gossips about behind closed doors.
Trust fund brat. Washed-up athlete. High-functioning alcoholic.
No one knows the real me but her.
Lana Castillo—my childhood best friend and the only woman I ever loved.
When I broke her heart six years ago, I promised to never return to Lake Wisteria.
I kept my word until my grandfather’s will changed everything.
To receive my inheritance, I was tasked with spending a summer at the family lake house before selling it.
The request was simple in theory until my entire plan blew up on the very first day.
Turns out Lana doesn’t just live at the house, but she claims to own it, too.

Alana
Falling in love with Callahan Kane was a mistake.
He told me so before destroying my heart and our friendship six summers ago.
When he promised never to come back, I foolishly believed him.
But then Cal showed up again, intending to sell his grandfather’s lake house.
The biggest flaw in his plan?
My name is on the deed.]]> 583 Lauren Asher 172827222X kay! 0 to-read 4.18 2023
author: Lauren Asher
name: kay!
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 199798652
When his procrastination lands him in a difficult class with his least favorite professor, Henry Turner knows he’s going to have to work extra hard to survive his junior year of college. And now with his new title of captain for the hockey team—which he didn’t even want—Henry absolutely cannot fail. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow junior who finds herself befriended by Henry when he accidentally crashes her book club.

Halle may not have the romantic pursuits of her favorite fictional leads, but she’s an academic superstar, and as soon as she hears about Henry’s problems with his class reading material, she offers to help. Too bad being a private tutor isn’t exactly ideal given her own studies, job, book club, and the novel she’s trying to write. But new experiences are the key to beating her writer’s block, and Henry’s promising to be the one to give them to her.

They just need to stick to their rule book.

Oh, and not fall in love.]]> 433 Hannah Grace 1668026252 kay! 0 to-read 3.92 2024
author: Hannah Grace
name: kay!
average rating: 3.92
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 101145836
Maple Hills students Russ Callaghan and Aurora Roberts cross paths at a party celebrating the end of the academic year, where a drinking game results in them having a passionate one-night stand. Never one to overstay her welcome (or expect much from a man), Aurora slips away before Russ even has the chance to ask for her full name.

Imagine their surprise when they bump into each other on the first day of the summer camp where they are both counselors, hoping to escape their complicated home lives by spending the summer working. Russ hopes if he gets far enough away from Maple Hills, he can avoid dealing with the repercussions of his father’s gambling addiction, while Aurora is tired of craving attention from everyone around her, and wants to go back to the last place she truly felt at home.

Russ knows breaking the camp’s strict “no staff fraternizing�� rule will have him heading back to Maple Hills before the summer is over, but unfortunately for him, Aurora has never been very good at caring about the rules. Will the two learn to peacefully coexist? Or did their one night together start a fire they ������’t put out?]]> 387 Hannah Grace 1668026279 kay! 0 to-read 3.82 2023
author: Hannah Grace
name: kay!
average rating: 3.82
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59207852 A famous boss. A secret identity. And a hilarious road trip to love.

Yes. Yes, Rosie does have a crush on Isaac, her YouTube-famous boss.
Does she ever talk to him?
Absolutely not. Crippling social anxiety can do that.

But Rosie is nothing if not tenacious. Ignoring her friends�� advice to just talk to him already (Nope, that’s way too hard), she instead opts to pursue a virtual relationship with Isaac using a secret identity.

The plan is genius. Online, Rosie has social skills she’d never dream of having in person. She’s possibly even cool. If Isaac can just get to know her, he’ll see how amazing she is.

But then a spontaneous road trip throws Rosie and Isaac together, and their virtual and in-person lives collide. (Eleven hundred miles in a seventy’s era VW hatchback? What could possibly go wrong?)

Much to Rosie’s surprise, she doesn’t constantly humiliate herself. Conversation is easy, and their chemistry? It’s pretty much off the charts.
But every road trip is bound to hit a speed bump or two.

Will Rosie’s secret identity be the thing that brings them together? Or the thing that tears them apart?]]> 269 Jenny Proctor kay! 0 to-read 4.01 2021
author: Jenny Proctor
name: kay!
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 59207439
Stepson to Dani’s former boss, Alex had good reasons for ghosting Dani, especially since she was still loyal to head designer Sasha Wellington—the woman trying to take his stepfather's company down. But when Dani reappears in his life, his feelings quickly reignite, complicating everything.

Despite their reservations, Alex and Dani find plenty of ways to spend time together. (A wedding dress heist? Why not?) As they unravel the real reasons why Alex left New York—and Dani—will they be able to rediscover the happily ever after they always hoped for?]]> 297 Jenny Proctor kay! 0 to-read 3.66
author: Jenny Proctor
name: kay!
average rating: 3.66
book published:
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 116536542
Lucian Rollins is a lean, mean vengeance-seeking mogul. On a quest to erase his father’s mark on the family name, he spends every waking minute pulling strings and building an indestructible empire. The more money and power he amasses, the safer he is from threats.

Except when it comes to the feisty small-town librarian that keeps him up at night��

Sloane Walton is a spitfire determined to carry on her father’s quest for justice. She’ll do that just as soon as she figures out exactly what the man she hates did to—or for—her family. Bonded by an old, dark secret from the past and the dislike they now share for each other, Sloane trusts Lucian about as far as she can throw his designer-suited body.

When bickering accidentally turns to foreplay, these two find themselves not quite regretting their steamy one-night stand. Once those flames are fanned, it seems impossible to put them out again. But with Sloane ready to start a family and Lucian refusing to even consider the idea of marriage and kids, these enemies-to-lovers are stuck at an impasse.

Broken men break women. It’s what Lucian believes, what he’s witnessed, and he’s not going to take that chance with Sloane. He’d rather live a life of solitude than put her in danger. But he learns the hard way that leaving her means leaving her unprotected from other threats.

It’s the second time he’s ruthlessly cut her out of his life. There’s no way she’s going to give him a third chance. He’s just going to have to make one for himself.]]> 698 Lucy Score kay! 0 to-read 4.41 2023
author: Lucy Score
name: kay!
average rating: 4.41
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62022434
Too bad Lina’s got secrets of her own, and if Nash finds out the real reason she’s in town, he’ll never forgive her. Besides, she doesn’t do relationships. Ever. A hot, short-term fling with a local cop? Absolutely. Sign her up. A relationship with a man who expects her to plant roots? No freaking way. Once she gets what she’s after, she has no intention of sticking around. But Knockemout has a way of getting under people’s skin. And once Nash decides to make Lina his, he’s not about to be dissuaded…even if it means facing the danger that nearly killed him.]]> 594 Lucy Score kay! 0 to-read 4.04 2023
author: Lucy Score
name: kay!
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 62926938 An overworked book publicist with a perfectly planned future hits a snag when she falls in love with her temporary roommate…only to discover he lives seven years in the past, in this witty and wise new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Dead Romantics.

Sometimes, the worst day of your life happens, and you have to figure out how to live after it.

So Clementine forms a plan to keep her heart safe: work hard, find someone decent to love, and try to remember to chase the moon. The last one is silly and obviously metaphorical, but her aunt always told her that you needed at least one big dream to keep going. And for the last year, that plan has gone off without a hitch. Mostly. The love part is hard because she doesn’t want to get too close to anyone—she isn’t sure her heart can take it.

And then she finds a strange man standing in the kitchen of her late aunt’s apartment. A man with kind eyes and a Southern drawl and a taste for lemon pies. The kind of man that, before it all, she would’ve fallen head-over-heels for. And she might again.

Except, he exists in the past. Seven years ago, to be exact. And she, quite literally, lives seven years in his future.

Her aunt always said the apartment was a pinch in time, a place where moments blended together like watercolors. And Clementine knows that if she lets her heart fall, she’ll be doomed.

After all, love is never a matter of time—but a matter of timing.]]> 336 Ashley Poston kay! 0 to-read 4.18 2023
author: Ashley Poston
name: kay!
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 195820807
Emma hadn't planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It's supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma's toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they're suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected--including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?]]> 432 Abby Jimenez 1538704439 kay! 0 to-read 4.35 2024
author: Abby Jimenez
name: kay!
average rating: 4.35
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61918816 A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match.

Dr. Briana Ortiz’s life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brother’s running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, that’s probably going to the new man-doctor who’s already registering eighty-friggin��-seven on Briana’s “pain in my ass�� scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game . . . by sending Briana a letter.

And it’s a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isn’t actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy who’s terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her “sob closet,�� and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginable—a kidney for her brother—she wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor . . . especially when he calls in a favor she ������’t refuse.]]> 416 Abby Jimenez 1538704390 kay! 0 to-read 4.29 2023
author: Abby Jimenez
name: kay!
average rating: 4.29
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 58684524
While her ultra-wealthy parents want her to carry on the family legacy of world-renowned surgeons, Alexis doesn’t need glory or fame. She’s fine with being a “mere�� ER doctor. And every minute she spends with Daniel and the tight-knit town where he lives, she’s discovering just what’s really important. Yet letting their relationship become anything more than a short-term fling would mean turning her back on her family and giving up the opportunity to help thousands of people.

Bringing Daniel into her world is impossible, and yet she ������’t just give up the joy she’s found with him either. With so many differences between them, how can Alexis possibly choose between her world and his?

The New York Times bestselling author of Life's Too Short delivers a refreshingly modern fairy tale perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Emily Henry.]]> 389 Abby Jimenez 1538704374 kay! 0 to-read 4.26 2022
author: Abby Jimenez
name: kay!
average rating: 4.26
book published: 2022
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 198716261 A forbidden, secret affair proves that all’s fair in love and science.

Rue Siebert might not have it all, but she has enough: a few friends she can always count on, the financial stability she yearned for as a kid, and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Kline, one of the most promising start-ups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant, and hard-fought. Until a hostile takeover and its offensively attractive front man threatens to bring it all crumbling down.

Eli Killgore and his business partners want Kline, period. Eli has his own reasons for pushing this deal through - and he's a man who gets what he wants. With one burning exception: Rue. The woman he can't stop thinking about. The woman who's off-limits to him.

Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction, Rue and Eli throw caution out the lab and the boardroom windows. Their affair is secret, no-strings-attached, and has a built-in deadline: the day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business - one that plays for keeps.]]> 384 Ali Hazelwood 1408728915 kay! 0 to-read 3.59 2024
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: kay!
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 63098427
Honestly, it’s a pretty sweet gig—until her carefully constructed Elsie-verse comes crashing down. Because Jack Smith, the annoyingly attractive and broody older brother of her favorite client, turns out to be the cold-hearted experimental physicist who ruined her mentor’s career and undermined the reputation of theorists everywhere. And that same Jack who now sits on the hiring committee at MIT, right between Elsie and her dream job.

Elsie is prepared for an all-out war of scholarly sabotage but…those long, penetrating looks? Not having to be anything other than her true self when she’s with him? Will falling into an experimentalist’s orbit finally tempt her to put her most guarded theories on love into practice?]]> 391 Ali Hazelwood 0593336860 kay! 0 to-read 4.22 2023
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: kay!
average rating: 4.22
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 194802722 A shimmering, joyful new novel about a pair of opposites with the wrong thing in common, from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Daphne always loved the way her fiancé, Peter, told their story. How they met (on a blustery day), fell in love (over an errant hat), and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it... right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend Petra.

Which is how Daphne begins her new story: stranded in beautiful Waning Bay, Michigan, without friends or family but with a dream job as a children’s librarian (that barely pays the bills), and proposing to be roommates with the only person who could possibly understand her predicament: Petra’s ex, Miles Nowak.

Scruffy and chaotic—with a penchant for taking solace in the sounds of heart break love ballads—Miles is exactly the opposite of practical, buttoned-up Daphne, whose coworkers know so little about her they have a running bet that she’s either FBI or in witness protection. The roommates mainly avoid one another, until one day, while drowning their sorrows, they form a tenuous friendship and a plan. If said plan also involves posting deliberately misleading photos of their summer adventures together, well, who could blame them?

But it’s all just for show, of course, because there’s no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé’s new fiancée’s ex... right?]]> 400 Emily Henry kay! 0 to-read 4.21 2024
author: Emily Henry
name: kay!
average rating: 4.21
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 61718053
They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They ������’t stand to break their friends�� hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week�� in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.]]> 400 Emily Henry 0593441273 kay! 0 to-read 3.95 2023
author: Emily Henry
name: kay!
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 112975158
Nathaniel is off limits—she knows this. A member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world and forbidden from dating, he isn’t any more of an option now than he was two years ago. Still, she ������’t forget that their whirlwind romance was the last time she remembers being really happy. Or that his family welcomed her into their home when she needed it most...

So when Nathaniel finds himself rocked by scandal, Sori offers him a hideaway with her. And back in close quarters, it’s hard to deny their old feelings. But when Sori gets an opportunity to break free from her parent’s expectations, she will have to decide: Is her future worth sacrificing for a second chance at love?

New York Times bestselling author Axie Oh's ASAP is the much anticipated companion novel to beloved romance XOXO, following fan favorites Sori, the wealthy daughter of a K-pop company owner, and Nathaniel, her K-pop star ex-boyfriend, in a swoon-worthy second chance love story.]]> 343 Axie Oh 0063299305 kay! 0 to-read 3.90 2024
author: Axie Oh
name: kay!
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 54618808
Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.

When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.]]> 352 Axie Oh 0063025019 kay! 0 to-read 3.79 2021
author: Axie Oh
name: kay!
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 124932739 I Hope This Doesn't Find You is Never Have I Ever meets To All the Boys if Lara Jean wrote hate emails instead of love letters.

Sadie Wen is perfect on paper: school captain, valedictorian, and a "pleasure to have in class." It’s not easy, but she has a trick to keep her model-student smile plastered on her face at all times: she channels all her frustrations into her email drafts. She'd never send them of course -- she'd rather die than hurt anyone's feelings -- but it's a relief to let loose on her power-hungry English teacher or a freeloading classmate taking credit for Sadie's work.

All her most vehemently worded emails are directed at her infuriating cocaptain, Julius Gong, whose arrogance and competitive streak have irked Sadie since they were kids. "You're attention starved and self-obsessed and unbearably vain . . . I really hope your comb breaks and you run out of whatever expensive hair products you've been using to make your hair appear deceptively soft..."

Sadie doesn't have to hold back in her emails, because nobody will ever read them... that is, until they're accidentally sent out.

Overnight, Sadie’s carefully crafted, conflict-free life is turned upside down. It's her worst nightmare -- now everyone at school knows what she really thinks of them, and they're not afraid to tell her what they really think of her either. But amidst the chaos, there's one person growing to appreciate the "real" Sadie -- Julius, the only boy she's sworn to hate...]]> 320 Ann Liang 1338827154 kay! 0 to-read 4.17 2024
author: Ann Liang
name: kay!
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2024
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 60759266 massive secret to keep.

Eliza made her essay up. She’s never been in a relationship before, let alone in love. All good writing is lying, right?

Desperate to hide the truth, Eliza strikes a deal with the famous actor in her class, the charming but aloof Caz Song. She’ll help him write his college applications if he poses as her boyfriend. Caz is a dream boyfriend -- he passes handwritten notes to her in class, makes her little sister laugh, and takes her out on motorcycle rides to the best snack stalls around the city.

But when her relationship with Caz starts feeling a little too convincing, all of Eliza’s carefully laid plans are threatened. Can she still follow her dreams if it means breaking her own heart?

Get ready to fall in love in this hilarious romcom about a girl who begins a fake relationship with the famous actor in her class, perfect for fans of Meg Cabot and Jenny Han.]]> 352 Ann Liang 1338827111 kay! 0 to-read 4.03 2023
author: Ann Liang
name: kay!
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2023
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> 51169341
The new season of Rachel's podcast has brought her to a small town being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. A local golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season 3 a success, Rachel throws herself into her investigation—but the mysterious letters keep coming. Someone is following her, and she won’t stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insist she was murdered—and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody in town wants to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases—and a revelation that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.

Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?]]> 341 Megan Goldin 125021968X kay! 3 4.02 2020
author: Megan Goldin
name: kay!
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2022/04/21
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves:
review:

]]> 54017953
In a world apart, 16-year-old STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara lives in an eco-city built for people who protected the planet―and now need protecting from it. With natural disasters on the rise due to climate change, eco-cities provide clean air, water, and shelter. Their residents, in exchange, must spend at least a third of their time in stasis pods, conducting business virtually whenever possible to reduce their environmental footprint. While Kasey, an introvert and loner, doesn’t mind the lifestyle, her sister Celia hated it. Popular and lovable, Celia much preferred the outside world. But no one could have predicted that Celia would take a boat out to sea, never to return.

Now it’s been three months since Celia’s disappearance, and Kasey has given up hope. Logic says that her sister must be dead. But nevertheless, she decides to retrace Celia’s last steps. Where they’ll lead her, she does not know. Her sister was full of secrets. But Kasey has a secret of her own.]]> 384 Joan He 1250258561 kay! 4 phenomenal.

I think I've found one of my favorite authors. I am in awe of Joan He's prose. She's truly one of the best authors I've come across in a long time.

This is a dual perceptive book between two sisters and the way He weaves their points of view together is magical. Not to mention, she does this while switching from first-person point of view to third person which I thought was incredibly clever. Both sister's voices were distinct and I was never once confused.

Now, I haven't read dystopian in a long while but this was just so refreshing. I loved the atmosphere and found the world so interesting. It's a world after the effects of climate change and global warming have sunk in and it's honestly kinda terrifying because you can see this happening in the future.

The characters- Cee and Kasey... I loved them both equally. I could see myself in both of them. Kasey's analytical brain and Cee's strength- I never once found myself wanting to go back to the other's point of view because they are both so wonderful.

It has been a long time since I've been engrossed by a book THIS much. At about the halfway mark, I couldn't physically put the book down, it was just that good.

So why not five stars? Alright. The ending. I can't say much because of spoilers but I just did not like how sudden it was. At all. It was like someone tore out the last few pages of the book. Just so abrupt. I think this was meant to be an open-ended ending but I am just- not a fan of those.

All in all, this was absolutely incredible and you need this on your shelves!!
]]> 3.52 2021
author: Joan He
name: kay!
average rating: 3.52
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/03
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves:
review:
This was phenomenal.

I think I've found one of my favorite authors. I am in awe of Joan He's prose. She's truly one of the best authors I've come across in a long time.

This is a dual perceptive book between two sisters and the way He weaves their points of view together is magical. Not to mention, she does this while switching from first-person point of view to third person which I thought was incredibly clever. Both sister's voices were distinct and I was never once confused.

Now, I haven't read dystopian in a long while but this was just so refreshing. I loved the atmosphere and found the world so interesting. It's a world after the effects of climate change and global warming have sunk in and it's honestly kinda terrifying because you can see this happening in the future.

The characters- Cee and Kasey... I loved them both equally. I could see myself in both of them. Kasey's analytical brain and Cee's strength- I never once found myself wanting to go back to the other's point of view because they are both so wonderful.

It has been a long time since I've been engrossed by a book THIS much. At about the halfway mark, I couldn't physically put the book down, it was just that good.

So why not five stars? Alright. The ending. I can't say much because of spoilers but I just did not like how sudden it was. At all. It was like someone tore out the last few pages of the book. Just so abrupt. I think this was meant to be an open-ended ending but I am just- not a fan of those.

All in all, this was absolutely incredible and you need this on your shelves!!

]]> 49291330 A sweet and funny debut novel about falling for someone when you least expect it . . . and finding out that real life romance is better than anything on screen.

Emma is a die-hard romantic. She loves a meet-cute Netflix movie, her pet, Lady Catulet, and dreaming up the Gay Rom Com of her heart for the film festival competition she and her friends are entering. If only they’d listen to her ideas. . .

Sophia is pragmatic. She’s big into boycotts, namely 1) relationships, 2) teen boys and their BO (reason #2347683 she’s a lesbian), and 3) Emma’s nauseating ideas. Forget starry-eyed romance, Sophia knows what will win: an artistic film with a message.

Cue the drama. The movie is doomed before they even start shooting . . . until a real-life plot twist unfolds behind the camera when Emma and Sophia start seeing each other through a different lens. Suddenly their rivalry is starting to feel like an actual rom-com.]]> 320 Auriane Desombre 0593179765 kay! 4 sapphic �� advanced reader copy from netgalley ��

How do you write a review about a book that means the world to you?



When I finished this book, I was hyperventilating. I've never had a book hit me so close to home. It's like Desombre reached into my soul and wrote it out on paper. From Sophia's parental situation to Emma's bisexuality, the book just spoke to me on a level no other book has.

Sophia is just --- she's me. That's all I can say. Emma is perfect... Goodness, everything about this book was perfect. I can't even make coherent sentences.

I loved reading Sophia and Emma transform in this book. Their character development and their relationship development was perfect. They are both flawed but that's what makes them great characters.

Not to mention, this book was ADORABLE. I was practically smiling the entire novel. Sophie and Emma's development from rivals to friends to lovers was... ugh, I loved it.

In conclusion, this is a new favorite, please buy it, bye!]]> 3.40 2021
author: Auriane Desombre
name: kay!
average rating: 3.40
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/03/01
date added: 2024/09/27
shelves: sapphic
review:
�� advanced reader copy from netgalley ��

How do you write a review about a book that means the world to you?



When I finished this book, I was hyperventilating. I've never had a book hit me so close to home. It's like Desombre reached into my soul and wrote it out on paper. From Sophia's parental situation to Emma's bisexuality, the book just spoke to me on a level no other book has.

Sophia is just --- she's me. That's all I can say. Emma is perfect... Goodness, everything about this book was perfect. I can't even make coherent sentences.

I loved reading Sophia and Emma transform in this book. Their character development and their relationship development was perfect. They are both flawed but that's what makes them great characters.

Not to mention, this book was ADORABLE. I was practically smiling the entire novel. Sophie and Emma's development from rivals to friends to lovers was... ugh, I loved it.

In conclusion, this is a new favorite, please buy it, bye!
]]> 213234866 almost career-ending injury, she’s branded him as enemy number one. But when they're assigned to the same ICU team, Audrey can't avoid him.

Theo, known for his easy smiles and sunny disposition, has always been misunderstood. Behind his cheerful facade lies a man struggling with heavy responsibilities—he's been the main caretaker for his siblings ever since his mother's stroke. When he learns he'll be working alongside Audrey, he sees it as a chance to prove he's not the villain she thinks he is.

Forced proximity in the high-stakes environment of the ICU makes it impossible for Audrey to maintain her grudge. She discovers that Theo's life off the ice is as complex and demanding as her own, filled with sacrifices and care for those he loves. Theo starts to break through her defenses, where they start relying on each other for everything. But just as their relationship deepens, Audrey makes a decision to protect Theo by keeping a critical secret, which could unravel everything they've built.]]> 288 Jaqueline Snowe kay! 2
ps. this is not hate to love, it's literally one sided and she gets over it in one chapter. STOP CALLING EVERY BOOK A HATE TO LOVE BOOK P L E AASEEE]]> 3.72 2024
author: Jaqueline Snowe
name: kay!
average rating: 3.72
book published: 2024
rating: 2
read at: 2024/09/18
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves:
review:
honestly i was so put off by the horrible writing but the overall story was cute so we cool.

ps. this is not hate to love, it's literally one sided and she gets over it in one chapter. STOP CALLING EVERY BOOK A HATE TO LOVE BOOK P L E AASEEE
]]> 199420145
Maybe.

In my defense, it was Dante Reid—my crush, my first love, and the one I ended up pushing away.
Our paths split in opposite directions.
I went to college on one coast while he returned to work with the US Army on the other.
The end.
Or so I thought.

After graduating and attempting a bucket list of self-discovery, guess who I find standing outside the jail, bailing me out from a crime I didn’t commit?
Dante freaking Reid—this time with more muscles, more tattoos, and more demands.
One of which is to move in across the hall from him so he can keep me safe. Like I need protection after a little felony mix-up.

I don’t.
Unless it’s from him.
Because Dante has been my downfall before ��

And living next to the guy I gave my innocence to a long time ago may actually end in my complete devastation.]]> 352 Shain Rose kay! 1
it's like the author couldn't decide if she wanted a dark mafia romance or a cute fluffy one. like we're supposed to believe this dude is big and bad but aren't actually shown it until the last 20 pages or whatever.

and the casually grooming man IDK WHAT DID I JUST READ

also kids, a man isn't going to cure your depression. pls seek help :D]]> 3.49 2022
author: Shain Rose
name: kay!
average rating: 3.49
book published: 2022
rating: 1
read at: 2024/09/12
date added: 2024/09/18
shelves:
review:
i would write a 50 page essay on how bad this book is but right now i genuinely don't have the brain cells

it's like the author couldn't decide if she wanted a dark mafia romance or a cute fluffy one. like we're supposed to believe this dude is big and bad but aren't actually shown it until the last 20 pages or whatever.

and the casually grooming man IDK WHAT DID I JUST READ

also kids, a man isn't going to cure your depression. pls seek help :D
]]> 55200342 An emotionally complex portrayal of secrets, loss, and grief from Dante Medema, Indies Introduce author of the Indie Next Pick title The Truth Project.

Bailey and Vanessa shared everything: laughter, secrets, and packets of Pop Rocks to ward off bad days. But that all changed the night Vanessa left Bailey’s, headed for home, and ended up swerving off a cliff nowhere near her house. Now Bailey, who thought she knew Vanessa better than anyone in the world, is left with a million unanswered questions, and the only person with answers is gone.

To help grieve her loss, Bailey creates a chat bot of Vanessa using years�� worth of their shared text messages and emails. The more data she uploads to the bot, the more it feels like she’s really talking to her best friend. That is, until the bot starts dropping hints that there was more going on with Vanessa than Bailey realized—a secret so big, it may have contributed to Vanessa’s death.]]> 377 Dante Medema 0062954458 kay! 4 4.20 2022
author: Dante Medema
name: kay!
average rating: 4.20
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2022/04/18
date added: 2024/09/13
shelves:
review:

]]> 52766407 The Hating Game meets Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by way of Morgan Matson in this unforgettable romantic comedy about two rival overachievers whose relationship completely transforms over the course of twenty-four hours.

Today, she hates him.

It’s the last day of senior year. Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been bitter rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels, is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat her infuriating nemesis one last time.

Tonight, she puts up with him.

When Neil is named valedictorian, Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. But after learning a group of seniors is out to get them, she and Neil reluctantly decide to team up until they’re the last players left—and then they’ll destroy each other.

As Rowan spends more time with Neil, she realizes he’s much more than the awkward linguistics nerd she’s sparred with for the past four years. And, perhaps, this boy she claims to despise might actually be the boy of her dreams.

Tomorrow �� maybe she’s already fallen for him.]]> 364 Rachel Lynn Solomon 1534440240 kay! 3 4.04 2020
author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
name: kay!
average rating: 4.04
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/08
date added: 2024/09/02
shelves:
review:
this would be rated higher if rowan didn't rant abt how "she's not like other girls" by liking romance books every chapter. (i know that wasn't the impression the author was trying to give but it's the one i got)
]]> 17165932 320 Joelle Charbonneau 0547959206 kay! 3 3.94 2014
author: Joelle Charbonneau
name: kay!
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2014
rating: 3
read at: 2015/11/08
date added: 2024/08/07
shelves:
review:

]]> 215133893 When life gives you your enemy, you make a deal with him��

Leo Wells is the last person I want to be skating with.

He’s aloof, abrasive�� and stupidly attractive. Nevermind the fact that I had a lapse in judgment one night with him in the past.

We may not like each other, but I like winning more and if I want to do that, I need him.

We need each other.

Leo doesn’t like the idea anymore than I do, but we make a deal. We can put our differences aside and forget about our history so we can compete together.

It should be easy enough–after all, neither of us like the other.

But there’s a spark between us, one that reignites a burning fire we lit a long time ago.

The lines are blurring and melting like the ice around my heart.

Leo Wells is breaking through my walls, tearing them down one layer at a time.

And all I can do is tell him how I hate him��

Because I’m afraid I don’t hate him at all.]]> 348 Cali Melle kay! 1 3.66
author: Cali Melle
name: kay!
average rating: 3.66
book published:
rating: 1
read at: 2024/07/10
date added: 2024/07/10
shelves:
review:
so boring i fell asleep 4 times while reading it
]]> 59571699 From the New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis comes a new STEMinist rom-com in which a scientist is forced to work on a project with her nemesis—with explosive results.

Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project - a literal dream come true - Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school - archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas... devouring her with those eyes. The possibilities have all her neurons firing.

But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there's only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?]]> 368 Ali Hazelwood 1408725789 kay! 5 favorite-books
Pretty similar to The Hating Game, but in my opinion, way better. Levi, I love you, my favorite Hazelwood boy yet. I think Ali Hazelwood is an auto-read author for me now.
]]> 3.88 2022
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: kay!
average rating: 3.88
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/31
date added: 2024/07/10
shelves: favorite-books
review:
Not nearly as good as the love hypothesis but still adorable.

Pretty similar to The Hating Game, but in my opinion, way better. Levi, I love you, my favorite Hazelwood boy yet. I think Ali Hazelwood is an auto-read author for me now.

]]> 56732449
That man is none other than Adam Carlsen, a young hotshot professor--and well-known ass. Which is why Olive is positively floored when Stanford's reigning lab tyrant agrees to keep her charade a secret and be her fake boyfriend. But when a big science conference goes haywire, putting Olive's career on the Bunsen burner, Adam surprises her again with his unyielding support and even more unyielding... six-pack abs.

Suddenly their little experiment feels dangerously close to combustion. And Olive discovers that the only thing more complicated than a hypothesis on love is putting her own heart under the microscope.]]> 356 Ali Hazelwood 0593336828 kay! 5 favorite-books
ugh, adorable *vomits*]]> 4.11 2021
author: Ali Hazelwood
name: kay!
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2023/03/30
date added: 2024/07/10
shelves: favorite-books
review:
turned out my mother, cousin, and 50000000 other people were very much right when they said this book was good.

ugh, adorable *vomits*
]]> 210907723 He is her bodyguard. She is the bane of his existence.

Closed-off, brooding, and dominant, Samuel Ryves likes his privacy, his weapons, and his rules. Like the one about never letting anyone close to his heart again.

Until a mission forces him to work as a bodyguard for the most annoying, infuriating, and unfortunately also most alluring woman he ever met: Ruby Barron.

He can't afford to let anyone distract him. Especially not now, with higher-ups who demand results and a captain who is sure that he needs a break after all that has happened last year.

Ruby is everything he doesn’t want, everything he shouldn’t want, and still, she gets him to break his rules �� over and over.

****

Bold, clever, and born into a golden cage, Ruby Barron may have once been the perfect daughter, but that changed as soon as she stopped being a compliant puppet for her father.

Now, she’s living in a mansion that is nothing more than a pretty prison, guarded by frequently changing bodyguards who ensure she won’t try to run off and leave her father and his organization behind.

When her stern new bodyguard steps into her life, she is sure that she'll wrap him around her finger sooner or later.

Just to have a bit of fun.

The only problem: She's falling for him.

Wicked Little Game is a steamy forbidden bodyguard romance. It includes explicit content and profanity. Recommended for mature readers only.]]> 318 Ivy Porter kay! 3 3.86
author: Ivy Porter
name: kay!
average rating: 3.86
book published:
rating: 3
read at: 2024/07/04
date added: 2024/07/04
shelves:
review:

]]> 31076583 229 Sarah J. Maas 168119631X kay! 1
I read this to get me out of the slump that Ninth House was about to put me in and it did the trick.

Why oh why does this book switch from third to first person between chapters?? Just pick one? Please?]]> 3.77 2019
author: Sarah J. Maas
name: kay!
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2020/01/16
date added: 2024/07/02
shelves:
review:
so um, this was fun

I read this to get me out of the slump that Ninth House was about to put me in and it did the trick.

Why oh why does this book switch from third to first person between chapters?? Just pick one? Please?
]]> 58082223 Sleeping Beauty meets Indiana Jones in this thrilling fairytale retelling for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and All the Stars and Teeth.

Fi is a bookish treasure hunter with a knack for ruins and riddles, who definitely doesn't believe in true love.

Shane is a tough-as-dirt girl warrior from the north who likes cracking skulls, pretty girls, and doing things her own way.

Briar Rose is a prince under a sleeping curse, who's been waiting a hundred years for the kiss that will wake him.

Cursed princes are nothing but ancient history to Fi--until she pricks her finger on a bone spindle while exploring a long-lost ruin. Now she's stuck with the spirit of Briar Rose until she and Shane can break the century-old curse on his kingdom.

Dark magic, Witch Hunters, and bad exes all stand in her way--not to mention a mysterious witch who might wind up stealing Shane's heart, along with whatever else she's after. But nothing scares Fi more than the possibility of falling in love with Briar Rose.

Set in a lush world inspired by beloved fairytales, The Bone Spindle is a fast-paced young adult fantasy full of adventure, romance, found family, and snark.]]> 404 Leslie Vedder 0593325826 kay! 3 sapphic romance: m/f & f/f

3.5 Stars

Sleeping Beauty retelling but the girl has to save the prince >>>

I really enjoyed this even though it took me a while to get through. The characters were interesting but not that complex. I loved Fi. Something about her just connected so well with me. And her relationship with Briar. Grumpy x Sunshine done SO WELL, I'm obsessed with them. Usually, I'm not a fan of insta-love but it worked with them... and not so well with Shane and Red.

Shane was the character I had a hard time connecting with. She held no depth at all and everything about her was surface level. This includes her relationship with Red. AND THEY ARE THE F/F COUPLE. You'd think I loved them but that wasn't the case. Everything with them was so off and insta-lovey. Though, I think their dynamic will grow more in the sequel, especially after that ending.

I really wish there was more development in the friendship between Fi and Shane. They didn't get along at all, and then they suddenly did. Also, the excessive use of the word partner was definitely getting to me.

The best part of this book is the ending. I want nothing more than to dive into book two, but I guess I can wait a couple more weeks...

Will be in Fi and Briar withdraw until then!

]]> 3.79 2022
author: Leslie Vedder
name: kay!
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/01/19
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: lesbian mc
romance: m/f & f/f

3.5 Stars

Sleeping Beauty retelling but the girl has to save the prince >>>

I really enjoyed this even though it took me a while to get through. The characters were interesting but not that complex. I loved Fi. Something about her just connected so well with me. And her relationship with Briar. Grumpy x Sunshine done SO WELL, I'm obsessed with them. Usually, I'm not a fan of insta-love but it worked with them... and not so well with Shane and Red.

Shane was the character I had a hard time connecting with. She held no depth at all and everything about her was surface level. This includes her relationship with Red. AND THEY ARE THE F/F COUPLE. You'd think I loved them but that wasn't the case. Everything with them was so off and insta-lovey. Though, I think their dynamic will grow more in the sequel, especially after that ending.

I really wish there was more development in the friendship between Fi and Shane. They didn't get along at all, and then they suddenly did. Also, the excessive use of the word partner was definitely getting to me.

The best part of this book is the ending. I want nothing more than to dive into book two, but I guess I can wait a couple more weeks...

Will be in Fi and Briar withdraw until then!


]]> 57185776 The room is dark, except for the streetlights coming through the blinds. I can barely see her, but I feel her. She pushes me up against the wall and we kiss harder than we ever have before. I’ve been waiting so long for it to happen, and finally, it’s going to. Then the bedroom door flies open, and someone screams her name��

Britton Walsh has never had a home. After a lifetime in the care system, she doesn't expect she’ll ever find one. But beginning her senior year with new foster parents in a new city, means starting over yet again. Tom and Cate Cahill seem okay. The hitch? Their daughter, Avery.

Beautiful, popular and cool, Avery is everything Britton is not. She’s all Britton could ever ask for in a sister, or even a friend––but having survived without either for so long, Britton knows the way her heart races whenever Avery enters the room can only mean one thing��

But Avery has a secret. Something that is eating away at her and stopping her letting anyone in, least of all Britton. Will Avery’s insistence on punishing herself for a mistake in her past make Britton's last year of high school, and finding a place to call home, impossible? Can two such different people ever find common ground, friendship, or maybe even something more?]]> 288 Kristen Zimmer 1800195389 kay! 1 sapphic "anytime you have to say, "it's not incest, technically" that's not good, ryan."

To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. This book is by the same author who wrote "The Gravity Between Us" so I had high expectations. But alas, I was met with this.

Let me start out with the positives. This was enjoyable, I wasn't bored, no matter how dumb this story got. The family dynamic was really nice to read about and honestly was the only reason I didn't DNF this book.

Now said family dynamic is good... but then... oh dear.

Britton (our main character) is placed in a new foster home and guess what--- falls for her foster sister. Yes, very much The Fosters 2.0. All the while, Britton is convincing herself that it isn't incest. The whole thing was just... really uncomfortable. Not to mention Britton is sleeping in her foster sister's dead sister's bedroom. And guess what! They get caught having sex...by the parents.

Now, now, if you're a Cassandra Clare fan, you may not think that's a deal-breaker but oh my lord were these characters bland. Just so utterly flat. Britton had no personality besides being the stereotypical lesbian archetype. I actually did find Avery quite interesting and it's a shame that we didn't get to see her point of view in this story.

My favorite part of this book was the author's complete lack of knowledge on how teenagers talk. It was hilarious and definitely the most entertaining part of this book-

Anyways. This was a rant review, so if you want something dumb and short, I guess pick this up?? I don't know, whatever floats your boat.

]]> 4.16 2021
author: Kristen Zimmer
name: kay!
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2021
rating: 1
read at: 2021/04/30
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:
"anytime you have to say, "it's not incest, technically" that's not good, ryan."

To say I'm disappointed would be an understatement. This book is by the same author who wrote "The Gravity Between Us" so I had high expectations. But alas, I was met with this.

Let me start out with the positives. This was enjoyable, I wasn't bored, no matter how dumb this story got. The family dynamic was really nice to read about and honestly was the only reason I didn't DNF this book.

Now said family dynamic is good... but then... oh dear.

Britton (our main character) is placed in a new foster home and guess what--- falls for her foster sister. Yes, very much The Fosters 2.0. All the while, Britton is convincing herself that it isn't incest. The whole thing was just... really uncomfortable. Not to mention Britton is sleeping in her foster sister's dead sister's bedroom. And guess what! They get caught having sex...by the parents.

Now, now, if you're a Cassandra Clare fan, you may not think that's a deal-breaker but oh my lord were these characters bland. Just so utterly flat. Britton had no personality besides being the stereotypical lesbian archetype. I actually did find Avery quite interesting and it's a shame that we didn't get to see her point of view in this story.

My favorite part of this book was the author's complete lack of knowledge on how teenagers talk. It was hilarious and definitely the most entertaining part of this book-

Anyways. This was a rant review, so if you want something dumb and short, I guess pick this up?? I don't know, whatever floats your boat.


]]> 51182650 A captivating and utterly original fairy tale about a girl cursed to be poisonous to the touch, and who discovers what power might lie in such a curse...

There was and there was not, as all stories begin, a princess cursed to be poisonous to the touch. But for Soraya, who has lived her life hidden away, apart from her family, safe only in her gardens, it’s not just a story.

As the day of her twin brother’s wedding approaches, Soraya must decide if she’s willing to step outside of the shadows for the first time. Below in the dungeon is a demon who holds knowledge that she craves, the answer to her freedom. And above is a young man who isn’t afraid of her, whose eyes linger not with fear, but with an understanding of who she is beneath the poison.

Soraya thought she knew her place in the world, but when her choices lead to consequences she never imagined, she begins to question who she is and who she is becoming...human or demon. Princess or monster.]]> 322 Melissa Bashardoust 1250196140 kay! 5 sapphic I'm speechless. 3.66 2020
author: Melissa Bashardoust
name: kay!
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/07/17
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:
I'm speechless.
]]> 43558747
Lei, the naive country girl who became a royal courtesan, is now known as the Moonchosen, the commoner who managed to do what no one else could. But slaying the cruel Demon King wasn't the end of the plan---it's just the beginning. Now Lei and her warrior love Wren must travel the kingdom to gain support from the far-flung rebel clans. The journey is made even more treacherous thanks to a heavy bounty on Lei's head, as well as insidious doubts that threaten to tear Lei and Wren apart from within.

Meanwhile, an evil plot to eliminate the rebel uprising is taking shape, fueled by dark magic and vengeance. Will Lei succeed in her quest to overthrow the monarchy and protect her love for Wren, or will she fall victim to the sinister magic that seeks to destroy her?]]> 403 Natasha Ngan 0316528676 kay! 1 sapphic why 3.77 2019
author: Natasha Ngan
name: kay!
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2019
rating: 1
read at: 2020/07/25
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:
why
]]> 51591602
The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography. Nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. They’re artists first, best friends second. But that was before Mick. Delicate, lonely, magnetic the perfect subject, and Veronica’s dream girl. The days are long and hot―full of adventure―and soon they are falling in love. Falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. One fire. Two murders. Three drowning bodies. One suspect . . . one stalker. This is a summer they won’t survive.

Inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray , this sexy psychological thriller explores the intersections of love, art, danger, and power.

Christy Ottaviano Books]]> 336 Wendy Heard 125024675X kay! 4 sapphic 4.5 stars
this was incredible ]]> 3.63 2021
author: Wendy Heard
name: kay!
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/09/03
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:
4.5 stars
this was incredible
]]> 53341666 Choose your player.

The “ironborn�� half-fae outcast of her royal fae family.
A tempestuous Fury, exiled to earth from the Immortal Realm and hellbent on revenge.
A dutiful fae prince, determined to earn his place on the throne.
The prince’s brooding guardian, burdened with a terrible secret.

For centuries, the Eight Courts of Folk have lived among us, concealed by magic and bound by law to do no harm to humans. This arrangement has long kept peace in the Courts—until a series of gruesome and ritualistic murders rocks the city of Toronto and threatens to expose faeries to the human world.

Four queer teens, each who hold a key piece of the truth behind these murders, must form a tenuous alliance in their effort to track down the mysterious killer behind these crimes. If they fail, they risk the destruction of the faerie and human worlds alike. If that’s not bad enough, there’s a war brewing between the Mortal and Immortal Realms, and one of these teens is destined to tip the scales. The only question is: which way?

Wish them luck. They’re going to need it.]]> 512 Ashley Shuttleworth 1534453679 kay! 0 sapphic 3.78 2021
author: Ashley Shuttleworth
name: kay!
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:

]]> 55138170 Sunshine Girl needs math lessons��

Nineteen-year-old Tara Muvvala didn’t mean to lead a double life. But her bone-deep aversion to math + a soul-deep desire to please her mother = her failing math grade + exploding food vlog ‘this masala life��.

Enter her mother’s research intern and resident math genius Farah Ahmed. Tara makes a deal with Farah - help her pass the math course and she’ll welcome Farah into the local Bollywood Drama & Dance Society.

Grumpy girl gets life lessons��

After losing her mom to a heart attack, dumping her small-minded boyfriend (she’s bisexual, not confused) and reluctantly moving to the US to be near her dad - all in the span of eighteen months, twenty-three-year-old Farah has hit the full quota on LIFE. Two things keep her going - her internship with a brilliant statistics professor and the possibility of meeting her dancing idol through the Bollywood Drama & Dance Society. That is, if her new hot-mess housemate will let her.

Soon Tara and Farah are bonding over chicken biryani, dancing to Bollywood Beats at midnight and kissing... against all the odds. And maybe beginning to realize that while life’s even more complicated than math, love is the one variable that changes everything!

Will they realize that together they have the recipe for a Happily Ever After?]]> 181 Tara Pammi kay! 4 sapphic


I really loved this little novella and just everything about it. Tara Pammi manages to write an incredible and heart-wrenching love story in just 180 pages. That's heart-wrenching in a good way <3]]> 3.31 2021
author: Tara Pammi
name: kay!
average rating: 3.31
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/03/07
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:
This was ADORABLE, I want more



I really loved this little novella and just everything about it. Tara Pammi manages to write an incredible and heart-wrenching love story in just 180 pages. That's heart-wrenching in a good way <3
]]> 53034609
She’s my best friend.

She’s the center of attention.

She is, without fail, the hottest girl in the room. Anytime. Anyplace.

She has freckles and dimples and bright green eyes, and with someone else’s energy she’d be adorable. But there is nothing cute about Ivy. She is ice and hot metal and electricity.

She is the girl who every lesbian wants, but she has never been with the same person twice. She’s one-of-a-kind but also predictable, so I will always be Andie, her best friend, never Andie, her girlfriend.

Then she meets Dot, and Ivy does something even I would have never guessed—she sees Dot another day. And another. And another.

Now my world is slowly going up in smoke, and no matter what I do, the flames grow higher. She lit that match without knowing who or what it would burn.

Ivy K. Harlowe is a lot of things.

But falling in love wasn’t supposed to be one of them…unless it was with me.]]> Hannah Moskowitz kay! 0 sapphic 3.93 2021
author: Hannah Moskowitz
name: kay!
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:

]]> 52459864
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.��

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia��. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.]]> 394 Xiran Jay Zhao 0735269939 kay! 0 sapphic 4.03 2021
author: Xiran Jay Zhao
name: kay!
average rating: 4.03
book published: 2021
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:

]]> 49362138 A refreshingly timely and relatable debut novel about a young woman whose life plans fall apart when she meets her wife.

With her newly completed PhD in astronomy in hand, twenty-eight-year-old Grace Porter goes on a girls�� trip to Vegas to celebrate. She’s a straight A, work-through-the-summer certified high achiever. She is not the kind of person who goes to Vegas and gets drunkenly married to a woman whose name she doesn’t know…until she does exactly that.

This one moment of departure from her stern ex-military father’s plans for her life has Grace wondering why she doesn’t feel more fulfilled from completing her degree. Staggering under the weight of her father’s expectations, a struggling job market and feelings of burnout, Grace flees her home in Portland for a summer in New York with the wife she barely knows.

In New York, she’s able to ignore all the annoying questions about her future plans and falls hard for her creative and beautiful wife, Yuki Yamamoto. But when reality comes crashing in, Grace must face what she’s been running from all along—the fears that make us human, the family scars that need to heal and the longing for connection, especially when navigating the messiness of adulthood.]]> 352 Morgan Rogers 1488077509 kay! 2 sapphic 3.65 2021
author: Morgan Rogers
name: kay!
average rating: 3.65
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2021/08/23
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:
beautifully written, heartfelt novel about mental health and finding yourself... not heavy on the romance, at all which was surprising! i kinda wish we got more of it-
]]> 57188051 D’Vaughn and Kris have six weeks to plan their dream wedding.

Their whole relationship is fake.

Instant I Do��could be Kris Zavala’s big break. She’s right on the cusp of really making it as an influencer, so a stint on reality TV is the perfect chance to elevate her brand. And $100,000 wouldn’t hurt, either.

D’Vaughn Miller is just trying to break out of her shell. She’s sort of neglected to come out to her mom for years, so a big splashy fake wedding is just the excuse she needs.

All they have to do is convince their friends and family they’re getting married in six weeks. If anyone guesses they’re not for real, they’re out. Selling their chemistry on camera is surprisingly easy, and it’s still there when no one else is watching, which is an unexpected bonus. Winning this competition is going to be a piece of wedding cake. ����

But each week of the competition brings new challenges, and soon the prize money’s not the only thing at stake. A reality show isn’t the best place to create a solid foundation, and their fake wedding might just derail their relationship before it even starts.

Carina Adores is home to highly romantic contemporary love stories where LGBTQ+ characters find their happily-ever-afters.��Discover a new Carina Adores book every month!]]> 336 Chencia C. Higgins 1335534946 kay! 5 sapphic romance: f/f

Think Love is Blind but SAPPHIC

This is the most adorable romance ever. I eat sapphic fake dating UP. PLUS sapphic fake dating on a reality tv show?? Magical.

We love couples that communicate effectively. Even if D'Vaughn is absolutely clueless half of the time. It's okay, I support her.

Family dynamics!!! Kris's family is fantastic and so much fun to read about. They are insane, I love it. D'Vaughn's family was,,, something else. I think it is an accurate representation of coming out to a religious family, though. Accepting, but tentative. D'Vaughn's mother got on my nerves, and I'm glad that Kris called her out on multiple occasions.

Adorable, instant comfort read for sure.]]> 3.97 2022
author: Chencia C. Higgins
name: kay!
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/02/04
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: black lesbian mc and afro-latinx lesbian mc
romance: f/f

Think Love is Blind but SAPPHIC

This is the most adorable romance ever. I eat sapphic fake dating UP. PLUS sapphic fake dating on a reality tv show?? Magical.

We love couples that communicate effectively. Even if D'Vaughn is absolutely clueless half of the time. It's okay, I support her.

Family dynamics!!! Kris's family is fantastic and so much fun to read about. They are insane, I love it. D'Vaughn's family was,,, something else. I think it is an accurate representation of coming out to a religious family, though. Accepting, but tentative. D'Vaughn's mother got on my nerves, and I'm glad that Kris called her out on multiple occasions.

Adorable, instant comfort read for sure.
]]> 50999821
Perched in the Catskill mountains, the centuries-old, ivy-covered campus was home until the tragic death of her girlfriend. Now, after a year away, she’s returned to graduate. She even has her old room in Godwin House, the exclusive dormitory rumored to be haunted by the spirits of five Dalloway students—girls some say were witches. The Dalloway Five all died mysteriously, one after another, right on Godwin grounds.

Witchcraft is woven into Dalloway’s history. The school doesn’t talk about it, but the students do. In secret rooms and shadowy corners, girls convene. And before her girlfriend died, Felicity was drawn to the dark. She’s determined to leave that behind her now; all Felicity wants is to focus on her senior thesis and graduate. But it’s hard when Dalloway’s occult history is everywhere. And when the new girl won’t let her forget.

It’s Ellis Haley’s first year at Dalloway, and she’s already amassed a loyal following. A prodigy novelist at seventeen, Ellis is a so-called “method writer.�� She’s eccentric and brilliant, and Felicity ������’t shake the pull she feels to her. So when Ellis asks Felicity for help researching the Dalloway Five for her second book, Felicity ������’t say no. Given her history with the arcane, Felicity is the perfect resource.

And when history begins to repeat itself, Felicity will have to face the darkness in Dalloway–and in herself.]]> 369 Victoria Lee 0593305825 kay! 2 sapphic
a little disappointed]]> 3.54 2021
author: Victoria Lee
name: kay!
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2021
rating: 2
read at: 2021/09/02
date added: 2023/05/17
shelves: sapphic
review:
what a messed up little book

a little disappointed
]]> 63590066
But not because I like to lie...

because people don’t like the truth.

I did what I had to survive, but I made a promise once.

There was a single person on this earth

that I could never lie to.

My step-sister, Lillian.

The problem is that along the way

I began to lie to myself.

I’m a good person.

I am happy with my life.

And lastly... I am not in love with Lilian.

It has been nine years since I last saw her and twelve since I confessed my love.

This time will she finally believe me?]]> 292 Eden Emory kay! 4 sapphic 3.86 2023
author: Eden Emory
name: kay!
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/03/26
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
okay yeah i liked this one way more than book one
]]> 34433755
In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it's Lei they're after -- the girl with the golden eyes whose rumored beauty has piqued the king's interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learns the skills and charm that befit a king's consort. There, she does the unthinkable -- she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world's entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she's willing to go for justice and revenge.]]> 385 Natasha Ngan 0316561363 kay! 5 sapphic 3.80 2018
author: Natasha Ngan
name: kay!
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2018/08/29
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:

]]> 57203299 The Wicked Deep meets House of Salt and Sorrows in this new standalone YA fantasy set in a snow-cloaked kingdom where witches are burned, and two enchantresses secretly compete for the heart of a prince, only to discover that they might be falling for each other.

It's Karnawa? season in the snow-cloaked Kingdom of Lechia, and from now until midnight when the church bells ring an end to Devil's Tuesday time will be marked with wintry balls and glittery disguises, cavalcades of nightly torch-lit "kuligi" sleigh-parties.

Unbeknownst to the oblivious merrymakers, two monsters join the fun. Newfound friends and polar opposites, Zosia and Marynka seem destined to have a friendship that's stronger even than magic. But that's put to the test when they realize they both have their sights set on Lechia's pure-hearted prince. If a monster consumes a pure heart she'll gain immeasurable power and Marynka plans to bring the prince's back to her grandmother in order to prove herself. While Zosia is determined to take his heart and its power for her own.

When neither will sacrifice their ambitions for the other, the festivities spiral into a magical contest with both girls vying to keep the hapless prince out of the other's wicked grasp. But this isn't some remote forest village, where a stray enchantment or two might go unnoticed, Warszów is the icy capital of a kingdom that enjoys watching monsters burn, and if Zosia and Marynka's innocent disguises continue to slip, their escalating rivalry might cost them not just the love they might have for each other, but both their lives.]]> 293 Alicia Jasinska 172821002X kay! 3 sapphic 3.86 2021
author: Alicia Jasinska
name: kay!
average rating: 3.86
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2022/05/07
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:

]]> 44650326 if she hadn’t fallen in love first.��

Now Ayla has pledged her allegiance to Queen Junn, who can help accomplish the human rebellion’s ultimate goal: destroy the Iron Heart. Without its power, the Automae will be weakened to the point of extinction. Ayla wants to succeed, but ������’t shake the strong feelings she’s developed for Crier. And unbeknownst to her, Crier has also fled the palace, taking up among traveling rebels, determined to find and protect Ayla.

Even as their paths collide, nothing can prepare them for the dark secret underlying the Iron Heart.]]> 400 Nina Varela kay! 5 sapphic 4.23 2020
author: Nina Varela
name: kay!
average rating: 4.23
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2020/09/20
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
this is one of my favorite series now ��
]]> 54860443
But then, there’s this gorgeous girl on the train.

Jane. Dazzling, charming, mysterious, impossible Jane. Jane with her rough edges and swoopy hair and soft smile, showing up in a leather jacket to save August’s day when she needed it most. August’s subway crush becomes the best part of her day, but pretty soon, she discovers there’s one big problem: Jane doesn’t just look like an old school punk rocker. She’s literally displaced in time from the 1970s, and August is going to have to use everything she tried to leave in her own past to help her. Maybe it’s time to start believing in some things, after all.

Casey McQuiston’s One Last Stop is a magical, sexy, big-hearted romance where the impossible becomes possible as August does everything in her power to save the girl lost in time.]]> 418 Casey McQuiston 1250244498 kay! 4 sapphic
At its core, this book is about finding yourself. It's a coming-of-age story at the age of 23. It's for the people who are almost out of college and don't know where the future leads or what you want to do with life. I'm grateful I read this when I did because I deeply related to August.

The strongest aspect of this book is the found family. The bonds August has with Myla, Niko, and Wes were just wonderful. And the bond August had with the people at Billy's. It was a joy to read. It was nice to read a book that focused on friendship just as much as romance.

That being said, Jane and August- adorable. The slow build of their relationship was endearing, and their tension was immaculate.

This is so different from Red White and Royal Blue, so don't count this out if you didn't like it!]]> 3.90 2021
author: Casey McQuiston
name: kay!
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/05/21
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
Casey McQuiston is a phenomenal author. This is so different from Red, White & Royal Blue, but not in a bad way! If you are looking for a sweet, low angst sapphic rom-com, this isn't it. The romance takes a big step back in this novel, and this is A LOT more science fiction like than I expected it to be.

At its core, this book is about finding yourself. It's a coming-of-age story at the age of 23. It's for the people who are almost out of college and don't know where the future leads or what you want to do with life. I'm grateful I read this when I did because I deeply related to August.

The strongest aspect of this book is the found family. The bonds August has with Myla, Niko, and Wes were just wonderful. And the bond August had with the people at Billy's. It was a joy to read. It was nice to read a book that focused on friendship just as much as romance.

That being said, Jane and August- adorable. The slow build of their relationship was endearing, and their tension was immaculate.

This is so different from Red White and Royal Blue, so don't count this out if you didn't like it!
]]> 41734205
Millie can't believe her luck when she's accepted into one of the world's most exclusive schools, located in the rolling highlands of Scotland. Everything about Scotland is different: the country is misty and green; the school is gorgeous, and the students think Americans are cute.

The only problem: Mille's roommate Flora is a total princess.

She's also an actual princess. Of Scotland.

At first, the girls can barely stand each other--Flora is both high-class and high-key--but before Millie knows it, she has another sort-of-best-friend/sort-of-girlfriend. Even though Princess Flora could be a new chapter in her love life, Millie knows the chances of happily ever afters are slim . . . after all, real life isn't a fairy tale . . . or is it?]]> 274 Rachel Hawkins 1524738263 kay! 3 sapphic 3.73 2019
author: Rachel Hawkins
name: kay!
average rating: 3.73
book published: 2019
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/22
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
This book is so ridiculous but so so so cute
]]> 43900612
Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she's tiny until the night she's sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball . are forfeit.

But Sophia doesn't want to be chosen - she's in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia's night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella's tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world.]]> 400 Kalynn Bayron 1547603887 kay! 3 sapphic 3.68 2020
author: Kalynn Bayron
name: kay!
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2021/04/09
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:

]]> 61102611
But secretly retreating to her online life is starting to catch up with Cass. For one, no one in her real life knows her secret roleplay addiction is the reason her grades have taken a big hit. Also? Cass has started catching feelings for Rowan Davies, her internet bestie…and Taylor might be catching on.

As Cass’s lies continue to build, so does her anxiety. Roleplaying used to be the one place she could escape to, but this double life and offline-online love triangle have only made things worse. Cass must decide what to do—be honest and risk losing her safe space or keep it a secret and put everything else on the line.]]> 384 Jenna Miller 0063243326 kay! 3 sapphic romance: f/f/f love triangle

Not going to lie, this did make me a bit emotional at times. My absolute favorite thing was Cass's relationship with her dad. He certainly is a "cool dad" because all the things Cass gets away with are beyond me. OH and Cass and Tate's friendship. Platonic m/f friendships make me giddy inside. They are the very definition of platonic soulmates. I need a Tate in my life, Jenna Miller please make a Tate book, I am begging.

Noowww I got to address the romance... I love love love the internet best friends to lovers pipeline, but this truly felt out of nowhere. I honestly only think these two have feelings for each other because the characters they roleplay are together. Not to mention the love triangle... Cass digs herself into a very large hole and everything explodes in her face at the end. Dating a girl just because she looks like your favorite character is ???? The entire time it was obvious she didn't like her, and just kept leading Taylor on simply because she thought Rowan (her online bff) was straight. Alas,,, miss rowan is not straight at all,,, Taylor deserves better!

ANYWAYS besides the love triangle thingy this was adorable.

oh and the roleplaying scenes made me cringe so hard I had to skip them, I am so sorry! ]]> 3.76 2023
author: Jenna Miller
name: kay!
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2023
rating: 3
read at: 2023/03/05
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: fat lesbian fmc
romance: f/f/f love triangle

Not going to lie, this did make me a bit emotional at times. My absolute favorite thing was Cass's relationship with her dad. He certainly is a "cool dad" because all the things Cass gets away with are beyond me. OH and Cass and Tate's friendship. Platonic m/f friendships make me giddy inside. They are the very definition of platonic soulmates. I need a Tate in my life, Jenna Miller please make a Tate book, I am begging.

Noowww I got to address the romance... I love love love the internet best friends to lovers pipeline, but this truly felt out of nowhere. I honestly only think these two have feelings for each other because the characters they roleplay are together. Not to mention the love triangle... Cass digs herself into a very large hole and everything explodes in her face at the end. Dating a girl just because she looks like your favorite character is ???? The entire time it was obvious she didn't like her, and just kept leading Taylor on simply because she thought Rowan (her online bff) was straight. Alas,,, miss rowan is not straight at all,,, Taylor deserves better!

ANYWAYS besides the love triangle thingy this was adorable.

oh and the roleplaying scenes made me cringe so hard I had to skip them, I am so sorry!
]]> 34732711
Fluffy Jewish f/f contemporary set in the author's childhood home of South Florida]]> 68 Shira Glassman kay! 3 sapphic this was short and sweet 3.77 2017
author: Shira Glassman
name: kay!
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2017
rating: 3
read at: 2020/05/29
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
this was short and sweet
]]> 53066661
But after a chance encounter at an end-of-term house party, Saoirse is about to break her own rules. For a girl with one blue freckle, an irresistible sense of mischief, and a passion for rom-coms.

Unbothered by Saoirse’s no-relationships rulebook, Ruby proposes a loophole: They don’t need true love to have one summer of fun, complete with every cliché, rom-com montage-worthy date they can dream up—and a binding agreement to end their romance come fall. It would be the perfect plan, if they weren’t forgetting one thing about the Falling in Love Montage: when it’s over, the characters actually fall in love�� for real.]]> 368 Ciara Smyth 0062957112 kay! 4 sapphic 3.80 2020
author: Ciara Smyth
name: kay!
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2020
rating: 4
read at: 2021/01/01
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:

]]> 55100346
But when Aideen stumbles on her nemesis, overachiever Meabh Kowalski, in the midst of a full-blown meltdown, she sees a problem that—unlike her own disaster of a life—seems refreshingly easy to solve. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help. By pushing Meabh down the stairs.

Problem? Solved. Meabh’s sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when another student learns about their little scheme and brings Aideen another “client�� who needs her “help,�� it kicks off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and an unexpected chance at love. Fixing other people’s problems won’t fix her own, but it might be the push she needs to start.]]> 368 Ciara Smyth 0062957147 kay! 5 sapphic wonderful

I came into this book with very high expectations because I loved Smyth's debut novel so so much. Somehow, this exceeded my expectations. Everything was just perfect.

May I just say, I have the fattest crush on Aideen. I have never loved a main character more than her. Her and Maebh work together so well. I loved their bickering dynamic very very much. They made this book adorable.

Another thing I want to mention! Aideen's character development was simply amazing. I loved watching her come into herself and fully face her own problems in her life.

The FRIEND GROUP. The friendship between Aideen, Kavi, and Maebh made my heart warm. It was hands-down my favorite part of this book.

I honestly have no qualms with this book. Only love-- ]]> 4.11 2021
author: Ciara Smyth
name: kay!
average rating: 4.11
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/26
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
This book was wonderful

I came into this book with very high expectations because I loved Smyth's debut novel so so much. Somehow, this exceeded my expectations. Everything was just perfect.

May I just say, I have the fattest crush on Aideen. I have never loved a main character more than her. Her and Maebh work together so well. I loved their bickering dynamic very very much. They made this book adorable.

Another thing I want to mention! Aideen's character development was simply amazing. I loved watching her come into herself and fully face her own problems in her life.

The FRIEND GROUP. The friendship between Aideen, Kavi, and Maebh made my heart warm. It was hands-down my favorite part of this book.

I honestly have no qualms with this book. Only love--
]]> 52516406 High school nemeses fall in love in this queer YA rom com perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Casey McQuiston.

After losing spectacularly to her ex-girlfriend in their first game since their break up, Scottie Zajac gets into a fender bender with the worst possible person: her nemesis, the incredibly beautiful and incredibly mean Irene Abraham. Things only get worse when their nosey, do-gooder moms get involved and the girls are forced to carpool together until Irene’s car gets out of the shop.

Their bumpy start only gets bumpier the more time they spend together. But when an opportunity presents itself for Scottie to get back at her toxic ex (and climb her school’s social ladder at the same time), she bribes Irene into playing along. Hijinks, heartbreak, and gay fake-dating scheme for the ages. From author Kelly Quindlen comes a new laugh-out-loud romp through the ups and downs of teen romance.]]> 288 Kelly Quindlen 1250209161 kay! 4 sapphic �� advanced reader copy from netgalley ��

This was an adorably cheesy little rom-com, and I loved every minute of it.



If you are looking for something original, this isn't it, but goodness gracious golly gee was it adorable.

Why should you read this, besides that gorgeous cover?
- enemies to lovers
- fake-dating trope
- and there was one bed!

I read this book in one day. I couldn't put it down! I loved how flawless the writing was and how easy the characters were to read. I adored our main characters Scottie and Irene. Their flaws were front and center to this novel, and it really made them real.

Scottie herself is just coming out of a horrific break-up and isn't completely over it. Her situation was handled terrifically. Kelly Quindlen showcases the hardships and heartbreaks of first love through Scottie. Her character development was one of the highlights of this novel.

I can't say much about Irene's character since that would be considered spoilers, but something about having an Indian cheer captain just makes my heart so happy. As the reader, you see Irene grow throughout the novel and I loved seeing how multi-layered she was.

The only reason this isn't a 5 star read was that there was one aspect of the fake-dating arrangement that irked me. Other than think sticking point, I really loved this book!

This definitely should be on your preorder list :)]]> 3.93 2021
author: Kelly Quindlen
name: kay!
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/02/18
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
�� advanced reader copy from netgalley ��

This was an adorably cheesy little rom-com, and I loved every minute of it.



If you are looking for something original, this isn't it, but goodness gracious golly gee was it adorable.

Why should you read this, besides that gorgeous cover?
- enemies to lovers
- fake-dating trope
- and there was one bed!

I read this book in one day. I couldn't put it down! I loved how flawless the writing was and how easy the characters were to read. I adored our main characters Scottie and Irene. Their flaws were front and center to this novel, and it really made them real.

Scottie herself is just coming out of a horrific break-up and isn't completely over it. Her situation was handled terrifically. Kelly Quindlen showcases the hardships and heartbreaks of first love through Scottie. Her character development was one of the highlights of this novel.

I can't say much about Irene's character since that would be considered spoilers, but something about having an Indian cheer captain just makes my heart so happy. As the reader, you see Irene grow throughout the novel and I loved seeing how multi-layered she was.

The only reason this isn't a 5 star read was that there was one aspect of the fake-dating arrangement that irked me. Other than think sticking point, I really loved this book!

This definitely should be on your preorder list :)
]]> 50266871
Despite their mutually beneficial pact, they start developing real feelings for each other. But relationships are complicated, and some people will do anything to stop two Bengali girls from achieving happily ever after.]]> 352 Adiba Jaigirdar kay! 5 sapphic
no words just love]]> 4.08 2021
author: Adiba Jaigirdar
name: kay!
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/24
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
An instant comfort read

no words just love
]]> 58756420 From the New York Times bestselling author of One Last Stop and Red, White & Royal Blue comes a debut YA romantic comedy about chasing down what you want, only to find what you need...

Chloe Green is so close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she’s spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical administration at Willowgrove Christian Academy. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler, the principal’s perfect progeny.

But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes.

On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith, Shara’s longtime quarterback sweetheart, and Rory, Shara’s bad boy neighbor with a crush. The three have nothing in common except Shara and the annoyingly cryptic notes she left behind, but together they must untangle Shara’s trail of clues and find her. It’ll be worth it, if Chloe can drag Shara back before graduation to beat her fair-and-square.

Thrown into an unlikely alliance, chasing a ghost through parties, break-ins, puzzles, and secrets revealed on monogrammed stationery, Chloe starts to suspect there might be more to this small town than she thought. And maybe—probably not, but maybe—more to Shara, too.

Fierce, funny, and frank, Casey McQuiston's I Kissed Shara Wheeler is about breaking the rules, getting messy, and finding love in unexpected places.]]> 356 Casey McQuiston 1250244455 kay! 5 sapphic romance: f/f
]]> 3.87 2022
author: Casey McQuiston
name: kay!
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2022/05/23
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: bi mc
romance: f/f

]]> 61030513 Six moments lead us to two girls, one kiss, and three little words that were maybe always true in this gorgeous novel perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Jenny Han.
��
Penny and Tate have always clashed. Unfortunately, their mothers are lifelong best friends, so the girls’��bickering has carried them through playdates, tragedy, and more than one rom-com marathon with the Moms.��When Penny’s mother decides to become a living donor to Tate’s mom, ending her wait for a liver transplant, things go from��clashing��to��cataclysmic.��Because in order to help their families recover physically, emotionally,��and financially, the Moms combine their households the summer before senior year.
��
So Penny and Tate make a pact: They’ll play nice. Be the drama-free daughters their mothers need through this scary and hopeful time.��There’s only one little hitch in their plan: Penny and Tate keep almost kissing.
��
It’s just this confusing thing that keeps happening. You know, from time to time. For basically their entire teenaged existence.
��
They’ve never talked about it. They’ve always ignored it in the aftermath. But now they’re living across the hall from each other. And some things—like their kisses—������’t be��almosts��forever.��]]> 384 Tess Sharpe 0316302791 kay! 4 sapphic romance: f/f

so. This is NOT a romcom. I don't know why the cover and title make it something it's not?? This is a book about trauma, grief, and very complicated mother-daughter relationships with a romantic subplot.

Two emotionally unavailable girls with shared trauma working their relationship out. Lots of messy untangling ensues.

Positive. Mental. Health. Reinforcement. Talking about the importance of therapy! Penny is dealing with the loss of her father, physical disability, survivors guilt, ocd, anxiety, an unavailable mother... She goes through a lot. It's a lot. Once she goes to therapy, she learns how to handle all of this and finds herself.

Tate. Tate is so selfless. Dealing with a sick mother with cancer and doing everything to make everyone else happy. I wish there was more emphasis on HER mental health and not just Penny's. Tate takes care of both of their mothers and Penny. She helps Penny to go to therapy. Tate cares for everyone except herself. She needed her own self-discovery that didn't revolve around Penny.

It's such a beautiful book. 90s movie vibes, but definitely not warm and fuzzy. A great read for sure!]]> 4.17 2023
author: Tess Sharpe
name: kay!
average rating: 4.17
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/02/11
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: bi mcs
romance: f/f

so. This is NOT a romcom. I don't know why the cover and title make it something it's not?? This is a book about trauma, grief, and very complicated mother-daughter relationships with a romantic subplot.

Two emotionally unavailable girls with shared trauma working their relationship out. Lots of messy untangling ensues.

Positive. Mental. Health. Reinforcement. Talking about the importance of therapy! Penny is dealing with the loss of her father, physical disability, survivors guilt, ocd, anxiety, an unavailable mother... She goes through a lot. It's a lot. Once she goes to therapy, she learns how to handle all of this and finds herself.

Tate. Tate is so selfless. Dealing with a sick mother with cancer and doing everything to make everyone else happy. I wish there was more emphasis on HER mental health and not just Penny's. Tate takes care of both of their mothers and Penny. She helps Penny to go to therapy. Tate cares for everyone except herself. She needed her own self-discovery that didn't revolve around Penny.

It's such a beautiful book. 90s movie vibes, but definitely not warm and fuzzy. A great read for sure!
]]> 61685991 An unputdownable queer coming-of-age rom-com about life and love in Hollywood.

For aspiring cinematographer Luna Roth, coming out as bisexual at twenty-four is proving more difficult than she anticipated. Sure, her best friend and fellow queer Romy is thrilled for her--but she has no interest in coming out to her backwards parents, she wouldn't know how to flirt with a girl if one fell at her feet, and she has no sexual history to build off. Not to mention she really needs to focus her energy on escaping her emotionally-abusive-but-that's-Hollywood talent manager boss and actually get working under a real director of photography anyway.

When she meets twenty-eight-year-old A-list actress Valeria Sullivan around the office, Luna thinks she's found her solution. She'll use Valeria's interest in her cinematography to get a PA job on the set of Valeria's directorial debut--and if Valeria is as gay as Luna suspects, and she happens to be Luna's route to losing her virginity, too . . . well, that's just an added bonus. Enlisting Romy's help, Luna starts the juggling act of her life--impress Valeria's DP to get another job after this one, get as close to Valeria as possible, and help Romy with her own career moves.

But when Valeria begins to reciprocate romantic interest in Luna, the act begins to crumble--straining her relationship with Romy and leaving her job prospects precarious. Now Luna has to figure out if she can she fulfill her dreams as a filmmaker, keep her best friend, and get the girl. . . or if she's destined to end up on the cutting room floor.]]> 336 Carlyn Greenwald 0593468198 kay! 1 sapphic romance: f/f + f/nb

okay. I understand (kinda) how the author wanted to present this book. It focuses on Luna who is completely a mess and questioning everything about her sexuality. This comes with a TON of internalized homophobia/biphobia/acephobia all that. Not even internalized, she openly expresses it with her VERY OUT & QUEER LESBIAN NONBINARY BEST FRIEND. The insensitivity is wild and isn't touched on until the end.

So what's the issue? It's the constant, and I mean CONSTANT conversation (internal and external) about how "you aren't gay unless you have gay sex", "you're not bi if you haven't had sex with a woman", "the only real sex is straight sex, gay sex doesn't count" blah blah blah. It's exhausting. I know Luna is struggling with the heteronormative structures of society but I promise you there is a better way to handle it. It's excruciating to have to dump all these homophobic/biphobic thoughts onto her non-binary best friend, Romy, and then immediately shut Romy down when she criticizes her. I don't think Luna actually ever acknowledges that her thoughts are wrong or hurtful, just accepts that her sex won't include penetration.

I wish I was joking.

Oh and the fact that she "wants to have sex like every other allosexual person on Earth." Essentially, "allosexual" is a controversial term used to describe people who are not asexual or people who don't experience sexual attraction. My problem with this is that it completely excludes people who fall under the asexual umbrella and DO experience sexual attraction (i.e. demisexuals). I understand the author's intentions with the sentence, but please do basic research on a term before you use it in a published book. Or even sensitivity readers!

Luna's whole quest in this book is to have sapphic sex to confirm her sexuality. That is it. It's not even a romance because all the romance that happens is in the last three chapters of the book. The book would work AMAZINGLY as an f/nb best friends to lovers book that it tried to be at the end.

I was so excited to read this book and just disappointed.

P.S. there is a very dramatic scene of public outing at the beginning. It comes out of nowhere, so please be aware of that before reading!

Regardless of my feelings, thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for the chance to read and review this early!]]> 3.09 2023
author: Carlyn Greenwald
name: kay!
average rating: 3.09
book published: 2023
rating: 1
read at: 2023/02/06
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: jewish bi mc
romance: f/f + f/nb

okay. I understand (kinda) how the author wanted to present this book. It focuses on Luna who is completely a mess and questioning everything about her sexuality. This comes with a TON of internalized homophobia/biphobia/acephobia all that. Not even internalized, she openly expresses it with her VERY OUT & QUEER LESBIAN NONBINARY BEST FRIEND. The insensitivity is wild and isn't touched on until the end.

So what's the issue? It's the constant, and I mean CONSTANT conversation (internal and external) about how "you aren't gay unless you have gay sex", "you're not bi if you haven't had sex with a woman", "the only real sex is straight sex, gay sex doesn't count" blah blah blah. It's exhausting. I know Luna is struggling with the heteronormative structures of society but I promise you there is a better way to handle it. It's excruciating to have to dump all these homophobic/biphobic thoughts onto her non-binary best friend, Romy, and then immediately shut Romy down when she criticizes her. I don't think Luna actually ever acknowledges that her thoughts are wrong or hurtful, just accepts that her sex won't include penetration.

I wish I was joking.

Oh and the fact that she "wants to have sex like every other allosexual person on Earth." Essentially, "allosexual" is a controversial term used to describe people who are not asexual or people who don't experience sexual attraction. My problem with this is that it completely excludes people who fall under the asexual umbrella and DO experience sexual attraction (i.e. demisexuals). I understand the author's intentions with the sentence, but please do basic research on a term before you use it in a published book. Or even sensitivity readers!

Luna's whole quest in this book is to have sapphic sex to confirm her sexuality. That is it. It's not even a romance because all the romance that happens is in the last three chapters of the book. The book would work AMAZINGLY as an f/nb best friends to lovers book that it tried to be at the end.

I was so excited to read this book and just disappointed.

P.S. there is a very dramatic scene of public outing at the beginning. It comes out of nowhere, so please be aware of that before reading!

Regardless of my feelings, thank you so much to the publisher and netgalley for the chance to read and review this early!
]]> 59639847 How do you face your fears when everything is terrifying?

Fifteen-year-old Brynn ������’t stop thinking about death. Her intrusive thoughts and severe anxiety leave her feeling helpless—and hopeless. So after her mom interprets one of Brynn’s blog posts as a suicide note, she takes extreme measures, confiscating Brynn’s phone, blocking her Internet access, and banishing her to stay with her father who lives “off the grid�� on a houseboat in the Florida mangroves. Isolated from her online friends—her only friends—Brynn resigns herself to a summer of mind-numbing boredom and loneliness�� until Skylar appears.

Skylar is everything Brynn isn’t—sultry, athletic, and confident. Yet Brynn feels at home around this fearless girl who pushes her to try new things and makes her belly flutter with nerves that have nothing to do with anxiety. When Brynn discovers that Skylar is trapped in the bayou and ������’t tell her why, she resolves to free her new crush from the dark waters, even if it means confronting all of her worst fears.

In the devastating but uplifting tradition of Adam Silvera and Nova Ren Suma comes a queer supernatural coming-of-age story from acclaimed author Maria Ingrande Mora.]]> 352 Maria Ingrande Mora 1682635422 kay! 2 sapphic advanced reader copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

rep: bisexual mc
romance: none

This is a tough one to rate. It's so deep but shallow at the same time. Deep in the mental health aspect but shallow everywhere else.

There are content warnings at the beginning of the book that I HIGHLY recommend checking before reading. I honestly wish I had listened, but curiosity got the best of me. Brynn has loads of intrusive thoughts stemming from her OCD. I loved the rep, but sometimes compounding someone else's intrusive thoughts on to your own is too much.

That being said, I still flew through this! The writing flowed so well, and oftentimes, I found myself lost in the story. It felt like I was watching a movie about angsty teens instead of reading.

Teenagers are complicated. Brynn is complicated. Brynn is spoiled and flawed, but still a good main character. She really did irk me a lot, but then again, she is 15. As in the "I am the center of the universe" kind of 15. She's impulsive and doesn't think about the consequences of her action. But that is the main focus of the book. Brynn grows in that aspect throughout the book.

What really tripped me up was the ending. I finished the book and said, "That's it?" The whole mystery plot wasn't even a mystery. The romance wasn't even a romance. This book never intended on being a romance, but still! If any of you have read "Wilder Girls," the ending of this gives you that same unsatisfied feeling.

Overall, this book is very enjoyable! Like I said before, read content warnings! They are there for a reason :)]]> 3.70 2023
author: Maria Ingrande Mora
name: kay!
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2023
rating: 2
read at: 2023/01/05
date added: 2023/05/16
shelves: sapphic
review:
advanced reader copy from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

rep: bisexual mc
romance: none

This is a tough one to rate. It's so deep but shallow at the same time. Deep in the mental health aspect but shallow everywhere else.

There are content warnings at the beginning of the book that I HIGHLY recommend checking before reading. I honestly wish I had listened, but curiosity got the best of me. Brynn has loads of intrusive thoughts stemming from her OCD. I loved the rep, but sometimes compounding someone else's intrusive thoughts on to your own is too much.

That being said, I still flew through this! The writing flowed so well, and oftentimes, I found myself lost in the story. It felt like I was watching a movie about angsty teens instead of reading.

Teenagers are complicated. Brynn is complicated. Brynn is spoiled and flawed, but still a good main character. She really did irk me a lot, but then again, she is 15. As in the "I am the center of the universe" kind of 15. She's impulsive and doesn't think about the consequences of her action. But that is the main focus of the book. Brynn grows in that aspect throughout the book.

What really tripped me up was the ending. I finished the book and said, "That's it?" The whole mystery plot wasn't even a mystery. The romance wasn't even a romance. This book never intended on being a romance, but still! If any of you have read "Wilder Girls," the ending of this gives you that same unsatisfied feeling.

Overall, this book is very enjoyable! Like I said before, read content warnings! They are there for a reason :)
]]> 58842731 A debut novel about a queer Mexican American girl navigating Catholic school, while falling in love and learning to celebrate her true self.

Sixteen-year-old Yamilet Flores prefers to be known for her killer eyeliner, not for being one of the only Mexican kids at her new, mostly white, very rich Catholic school. But at least here no one knows she's gay, and Yami intends to keep it that way.

After being outed by her crush and ex-best friend before transferring to Slayton Catholic, Yami has new priorities: keep her brother out of trouble, make her mom proud, and, most importantly, don't fall in love. Granted, she's never been great at any of those things, but that's a problem for Future Yami.

The thing is, it's hard to fake being straight when Bo, the only openly queer girl at school, is so annoyingly perfect. And smart. And talented. And cute. So cute. Either way, Yami isn't going to make the same mistake again. If word got back to her mom, she could face a lot worse than rejection. So she'll have to start asking, WWSGD: What would a straight girl do?]]> 385 Sonora Reyes 006306023X kay! 5 sapphic romance: f/f

Oh, this was great.

This story is incredibly raw and authentic. Yamilet is the most genuine main character I've read about. Her struggles and thoughts are so close to mine and seeing it in words on page was an experience.

You know what was also an experience? The last 100 ish pages. It was painful. Yamilet and Cesar's bond as siblings was by far the best part of the story. An actual realistic sibling relationship that isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

Another thing I enjoyed was Yamilet and Bo's relationship and how slow-building it was. I felt like I was holding my breath just waiting for them to kiss. It was great and torturous.

Such a beautiful, powerful story that definitely has reread potential.]]> 4.27 2022
author: Sonora Reyes
name: kay!
average rating: 4.27
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/01/22
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: mexican-american lesbian mc
romance: f/f

Oh, this was great.

This story is incredibly raw and authentic. Yamilet is the most genuine main character I've read about. Her struggles and thoughts are so close to mine and seeing it in words on page was an experience.

You know what was also an experience? The last 100 ish pages. It was painful. Yamilet and Cesar's bond as siblings was by far the best part of the story. An actual realistic sibling relationship that isn't all sunshine and rainbows.

Another thing I enjoyed was Yamilet and Bo's relationship and how slow-building it was. I felt like I was holding my breath just waiting for them to kiss. It was great and torturous.

Such a beautiful, powerful story that definitely has reread potential.
]]> 58079450 Following��Written in the Stars��and��Hang the Moon, national bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur pens another steamy queer rom-com about former best friends who might be each other's second chance at love��

Margot Cooper doesn’t do relationships. She tried and it blew up in her face, so she’ll stick with casual hookups,��thank you very much. But now her entire crew has found��"the one"��and she’s beginning to��feel like a fifth wheel. And then fate (the heartless bitch) intervenes. While touring a wedding venue with her engaged friends, Margot comes face-to-face with Olivia Grant—her childhood friend, her first love, her first�� well, everything. It’s been ten years, but the moment they lock eyes, Margot’s cold, dead heart thumps in her chest.

Olivia must be hallucinating. In the decade since she last saw Margot, her life hasn’t gone exactly as planned. At almost thirty, she’s been married... and divorced. However, a wedding planner job in Seattle means a fresh start and a chance to follow her dreams. Never in a million years did she expect her important new client’s Best Woman would be the one that got away.

When a series of unfortunate events leaves Olivia without a place to stay, Margot offers up her spare room because she’s a Very Good Person.��Obviously. It has nothing to do with the fact that Olivia is as beautiful as ever and the sparks between them still make Margot tingle. As they spend time in close quarters, Margot starts to question her no-strings stance. Olivia is everything she’s ever wanted, but Margot let her in once and it ended in disaster. Will history repeat itself or should she count her lucky stars that she gets a second chance with her first love?��]]> 384 Alexandria Bellefleur 0063000881 kay! 5 sapphic, favorite-books romance: f/f

Wow, I flew through this.

It's no secret that Alexandria Bellefleur is my romance author, and one of my favorite authors in general. This had everything I love:

Second chance sapphic romance? Yes.
Cats? Yes.
Grumpy x Sunshine? Yes.
Childhood best friends to lovers? Yes.
NO THIRD-ACT BREAKUP? YES

It's impossible for me to rank the books in this series. All of them are fantastic, I don't know which one I love more. Instant comfort reads. Margot and Olivia were great.

Have I mentioned that I love this?

Adore, adore, adore. First five-star read of 2023 too!!]]> 3.95 2022
author: Alexandria Bellefleur
name: kay!
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2022
rating: 5
read at: 2023/01/20
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic, favorite-books
review:
rep: pansexual mc, bi mc
romance: f/f

Wow, I flew through this.

It's no secret that Alexandria Bellefleur is my romance author, and one of my favorite authors in general. This had everything I love:

Second chance sapphic romance? Yes.
Cats? Yes.
Grumpy x Sunshine? Yes.
Childhood best friends to lovers? Yes.
NO THIRD-ACT BREAKUP? YES

It's impossible for me to rank the books in this series. All of them are fantastic, I don't know which one I love more. Instant comfort reads. Margot and Olivia were great.

Have I mentioned that I love this?

Adore, adore, adore. First five-star read of 2023 too!!
]]> 55348105
Attempted vehicular manslaughter was not part of Shani’s plan. She was supposed to be focusing on her month-long paleoichthyology internship. She was going to spend all her time thinking about dead fish and not at all about how she was unceremoniously dumped days before winter break.

It could be going better.

But when a dog-walking gig puts her back in May’s path, the fossils she’s meant to be diligently studying are pushed to the side—along with the breakup. Then they’re snowed in together on Christmas Eve. As things start to feel more serious, though, Shani’s hurt over her ex-girlfriend’s rejection comes rushing back. Is she ready to try a committed relationship again, or is she okay with this just being a passing winter fling?]]> 384 Jake Maia Arlow kay! 3 sapphic romance: f/f

Cute! I don't know why I thought this was older, but it's a cute young-adult romance!

Shani and May >>>> They are so genuine and authentic, they popped off the page. No crazy chemistry and pretty insta-lovey. But still enjoyable!

Dunno if I'd pitch this as enemies to lovers. It's more one-sided, "your mom hit me with your car so I'm mad at you" kind of deal. They resolve it in like 20 pages and then they are crushing on each other. BUT THEY ARE ADORABLE. I just really love May and I wish she had her own point of view. I want more May.

Also... Want more communication would be GREAT. Miscommunication trope again here folks. Honestly just one conversation, I am begging you. ]]> 3.78 2022
author: Jake Maia Arlow
name: kay!
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/02/01
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: jewish lesbian mc
romance: f/f

Cute! I don't know why I thought this was older, but it's a cute young-adult romance!

Shani and May >>>> They are so genuine and authentic, they popped off the page. No crazy chemistry and pretty insta-lovey. But still enjoyable!

Dunno if I'd pitch this as enemies to lovers. It's more one-sided, "your mom hit me with your car so I'm mad at you" kind of deal. They resolve it in like 20 pages and then they are crushing on each other. BUT THEY ARE ADORABLE. I just really love May and I wish she had her own point of view. I want more May.

Also... Want more communication would be GREAT. Miscommunication trope again here folks. Honestly just one conversation, I am begging you.
]]> 57730503 Fans of Casey McQuiston and Alexandria Bellefleur will adore this queer romcom that combines everything people love about Hallmark-style holiday romances with laugh-out-loud humor and a sweet and steamy love story between two women.

With her career as a Los Angeles event planner imploding after a tabloid blowup, Morgan Ross isn’t headed home for the holidays so much as in strategic retreat. Breathtaking mountain vistas, quirky townsfolk, and charming small businesses aside, her hometown of Fern Falls is built of one heartbreak on top of another . . .

Take her one-time best friend turned crush, Rachel Reed. The memory of their perfect, doomed first kiss is still fresh as new-fallen snow. Way fresher than the freezing mud Morgan ends up sprawled in on her very first day back, only to be hauled out via Rachel’s sexy new lumberjane muscles acquired from running her family tree farm.

When Morgan discovers that the Reeds�� struggling tree farm is the only thing standing between Fern Falls and corporate greed destroying the whole town’s livelihood, she decides she can put heartbreak aside to save the farm by planning her best fundraiser yet. She has all the inspiration for a spectacular event: delicious vanilla lattes, acoustic guitars under majestic pines, a cozy barn surrounded by brilliant stars. But she and Rachel will ABSOLUTELY NOT have a heartwarming holiday happy ending. That would be as unprofessional as it is unlikely. Right?

“Full of swoony steam, heartfelt charm, and laugh-out-loud moments, In the Event of Love is exactly the slow-burn, second-chance, friends-to-lovers romance I was craving. Treat yourself to the beautiful magic of Courtney Kae’s writing!�� ��Ali Hazelwood, New York Times bestselling author of The Love Hypothesis]]> 320 Courtney Kae 1496738950 kay! 4 sapphic romance: f/f

3.5 Stars

Think Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison but gay and that's this book. Yes it's cliche and unbearably cheesy but it's a fun time. The classic Hallmark "workaholic girl goes to a small town and finds love with that random lumberjack". Except this lumberjack is a tall, handsome woman. So basic but so enjoyable. It even has the classic third-act breakup over a topic that a simple conversation would fix.

Besides the miscommunication, this book was so cheesy it was honestly painful. I don't mind a little, but this was A LOT. I had to physically close the book, it was that bad. Everything else was great though! I really liked Morgan and Rachel and ADORED Morgan's relationship growth with her father. A big plus also was Ben and Morgan's bond too. I'm a sucker for close friend groups and this has it.

Highly recommend for a sweet, short, adorable sapphic romance]]> 3.54 2022
author: Courtney Kae
name: kay!
average rating: 3.54
book published: 2022
rating: 4
read at: 2023/01/31
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: bi mc
romance: f/f

3.5 Stars

Think Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison but gay and that's this book. Yes it's cliche and unbearably cheesy but it's a fun time. The classic Hallmark "workaholic girl goes to a small town and finds love with that random lumberjack". Except this lumberjack is a tall, handsome woman. So basic but so enjoyable. It even has the classic third-act breakup over a topic that a simple conversation would fix.

Besides the miscommunication, this book was so cheesy it was honestly painful. I don't mind a little, but this was A LOT. I had to physically close the book, it was that bad. Everything else was great though! I really liked Morgan and Rachel and ADORED Morgan's relationship growth with her father. A big plus also was Ben and Morgan's bond too. I'm a sucker for close friend groups and this has it.

Highly recommend for a sweet, short, adorable sapphic romance
]]> 58251897
Throughout the trip, they quickly learn they get under each other’s skin in more ways than one. When their sexual chemistry becomes too much to ignore, they decide to fan the flames. Sleeping with your enemy isn’t such a bad idea when you’re never going to see them again, right?

An enemies to friends-with-benefits to lovers romance that will have you swooning and fanning yourself all at once.]]> 191 Erica Lee kay! 1 sapphic 4.07 2021
author: Erica Lee
name: kay!
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2021
rating: 1
read at: 2021/06/25
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
i'm in a slump and this was a very nice light read.
]]> 41951626 Impossible love between two girls —one human, one Made.
A love that could birth a revolution.

After the War of Kinds ravaged the kingdom of Rabu, the Automae, Designed to be the playthings of royals, took over the estates of their owners and bent the human race to their will.

Now, Ayla, a human servant rising the ranks at the House of the Sovereign, dreams of avenging the death of her family�� by killing the Sovereign’s daughter, Lady Crier. Crier, who was Made to be beautiful, to be flawless. And to take over the work of her father.

Crier had been preparing to do just that—to inherit her father’s rule over the land. But that was before she was betrothed to Scyre Kinok, who seems to have a thousand secrets. That was before she discovered her father isn’t as benevolent as she thought. That was before she met Ayla.

Set in a richly-imagined fantasy world, Nina Varela’s debut novel is a sweepingly romantic tale of love, loss and revenge, that challenges what it really means to be human.]]> 464 Nina Varela 0062823965 kay! 5 favorite-books, sapphic 4.12 2019
author: Nina Varela
name: kay!
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2020/09/06
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: favorite-books, sapphic
review:

]]> 54467051 9780316542753

Touraine is a soldier. Stolen as a child and raised to kill and die for the empire, her only loyalty is to her fellow conscripts. But now, her company has been sent back to her homeland to stop a rebellion, and the ties of blood may be stronger than she thought.

Luca needs a turncoat. Someone desperate enough to tiptoe the bayonet's edge between treason and orders. Someone who can sway the rebels toward peace, while Luca focuses on what really matters: getting her uncle off her throne.

Through assassinations and massacres, in bedrooms and war rooms, Touraine and Luca will haggle over the price of a nation. But some things aren't for sale.]]> 464 C.L. Clark kay! 3 sapphic 3.83 2021
author: C.L. Clark
name: kay!
average rating: 3.83
book published: 2021
rating: 3
read at: 2021/04/03
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:

]]> 55643828 Set in a world on the edge of an apocalyptic flood, this heart-stoppingly romantic fantasy debut is perfect for fans of Rachel Hartman and Rae Carson.

In a world bound for an epic flood, only a chosen few are guaranteed safe passage into the new world once the waters recede. The Kostrovian royal court will be saved, of course, along with their guards. But the fate of the court's Royal Flyers, a lauded fleet of aerial silk performers, is less certain. Hell-bent on survival, Principal Flyer, Natasha Koskinen, will do anything to save the Flyers, who are the only family she's ever known. Even if anything means molding herself into the type of girl who could be courted by Prince Nikolai. But unbeknownst to Natasha, her newest recruit, Ella Neves, is driven less by her desire to survive the floods than her thirst for revenge. And Ella's mission could put everything Natasha has worked for in peril.

As the oceans rise, so too does an undeniable spark between the two flyers. With the end of the world looming, and dark secrets about the Kostrovian court coming to light, Ella and Natasha can either give in to despair . . . or find a new reason to live.]]> 416 Laura Brooke Robson 0525554033 kay! 5 sapphic �� advanced reader copy from edelweiss ��

Oh god, oh god, oh god



I'm going to try to reign in my feelings to write this review, but I can't make any promises... I had high expectations going into this, but those expectations were greatly surpassed.

The writing was GORGEOUS. I had a ton of quotes marked up, but I'm gonna hold until I get my hands on a final copy. Do you know how in some books with dual-perspectives you tend to get bored of one of them? Well, that isn't this one.

I'm going to have to limit myself here, but NATASHA AND ELLA. If you like Catra & Adora from She-Ra, Tasha and Ella have the same dynamic. That's all. They are perfect, and I love them.

This book was unputdownable. I read this in one sitting because I couldn't stop reading.

An automatic favorite <3

P.S. sequel soon? pls :(]]> 3.71 2021
author: Laura Brooke Robson
name: kay!
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/16
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
�� advanced reader copy from edelweiss ��

Oh god, oh god, oh god



I'm going to try to reign in my feelings to write this review, but I can't make any promises... I had high expectations going into this, but those expectations were greatly surpassed.

The writing was GORGEOUS. I had a ton of quotes marked up, but I'm gonna hold until I get my hands on a final copy. Do you know how in some books with dual-perspectives you tend to get bored of one of them? Well, that isn't this one.

I'm going to have to limit myself here, but NATASHA AND ELLA. If you like Catra & Adora from She-Ra, Tasha and Ella have the same dynamic. That's all. They are perfect, and I love them.

This book was unputdownable. I read this in one sitting because I couldn't stop reading.

An automatic favorite <3

P.S. sequel soon? pls :(
]]> 51179990 With nods to Bridget Jones and Pride and Prejudice, a charming #ownvoices queer rom-com debut about a free-spirited social media astrologer who agrees to fake a relationship with an uptight actuary until New Year’s Eve—with results not even the stars could predict!

After a disastrous blind date, Darcy Lowell is desperate to stop her well-meaning brother from playing matchmaker ever again. Love—and the inevitable heartbreak—is the last thing she wants. So she fibs and says her latest set up was a success. Darcy doesn’t expect her lie to bite her in the ass.

Elle Jones, one of the astrologers behind the popular Twitter account, Oh My Stars, dreams of finding her soul mate. But she knows it is most assuredly not Darcy... a no-nonsense stick-in-the-mud, who is way too analytical, punctual, and skeptical for someone as free-spirited as Elle. When Darcy’s brother—and Elle's new business partner—expresses how happy he is that they hit it off, Elle is baffled. Was Darcy on the same date? Because... awkward.

When Darcy begs Elle to play along, she agrees to pretend they’re dating to save face. But with a few conditions: Darcy must help Elle navigate her own overbearing family over the holidays and their arrangement expires on New Year’s Eve. The last thing they expect is to develop real feelings during a fake relationship.

But maybe opposites can attract when true love is written in the stars?]]> 370 Alexandria Bellefleur 0063000806 kay! 5 sapphic


I don't even know how to express my feelings because this was everything I wanted and more.

I loved Darcy and Elle so much , I love how well they complement each other. Both Darcy and Elle were so well developed and I loved watching them grow into themselves throughout the book.

It's nice to read a book where both of the characters are comfortable with their sexuality and that isn't a source of conflict in the book. In fact, one point that I adore in this book is that there is hardly any conflict. No miscommunication plot that leaves the two characters separated for 50 pages, none of that. Just the two of them learning from each other and growing together.

I loved this little hate-to-love, faking dating scenario Darcy and Elle had because it felt so real. I'm just- UGH. I love this book so so much, it's hard to form coherent sentences.

I'm glad I have an arc of Hang the Moon because I desperately need more of these characters.

Anyways umm..... please read this, I loved it so much I might positively combust :)]]> 3.85 2020
author: Alexandria Bellefleur
name: kay!
average rating: 3.85
book published: 2020
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/27
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
I'm in love



I don't even know how to express my feelings because this was everything I wanted and more.

I loved Darcy and Elle so much , I love how well they complement each other. Both Darcy and Elle were so well developed and I loved watching them grow into themselves throughout the book.

It's nice to read a book where both of the characters are comfortable with their sexuality and that isn't a source of conflict in the book. In fact, one point that I adore in this book is that there is hardly any conflict. No miscommunication plot that leaves the two characters separated for 50 pages, none of that. Just the two of them learning from each other and growing together.

I loved this little hate-to-love, faking dating scenario Darcy and Elle had because it felt so real. I'm just- UGH. I love this book so so much, it's hard to form coherent sentences.

I'm glad I have an arc of Hang the Moon because I desperately need more of these characters.

Anyways umm..... please read this, I loved it so much I might positively combust :)
]]> 48848254 A multiverse-hopping outsider discovers a secret that threatens her home world and her fragile place in it--a stunning sci-fi debut that's both a cross-dimensional adventure and a powerful examination of identity, privilege, and belonging.

CARA IS DEAD ON THREE HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR WORLDS.

The multiverse business is booming, but there's just one catch: no one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive.

Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying--from diseases, from turf wars, from vendettas they couldn't outrun.

But on this earth, Cara's survived. And she's reaping the benefits, thanks to the well-heeled Wiley City scientists who ID'd her as an outlier and plucked her from the dirt. Now she's got a new job collecting offworld data, a path to citizenship, and a near-perfect Wiley City accent. Now she can pretend she's always lived in the city she grew up staring at from the outside, even if she feels like a fraud on either side of its walls.

But when one of her eight remaining doppelgangers dies under mysterious circumstances, Cara is plunged into a new world with an old secret. What she discovers will connect her past and future in ways she never could have imagined--and reveal her own role in a plot that endangers not just her world, but the entire multiverse.]]> 329 Micaiah Johnson 0593135059 kay! 3 sapphic <b> 3.5 stars </b> 3.84 2020
author: Micaiah Johnson
name: kay!
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2020/09/13
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
3.5 stars
]]> 54509654
This wasn’t the life I was meant to live.

No, I should be working on solidifying my ladder of ascension.

No matter what the cost or what I had to give up.

No matter what they made me do.

Their little wildflower, that’s who I am. Quiet, meek, gullible.

Until I met the one person who changed all of it and became something more.

She’s my filthiest secret.

And one I intend on taking to the grave.

Ruby

Another night at the club I work at—Pandora’s Box.

Another dance, another tease, another round of shots and callously thrown dollar bills.

Until her.

Until the energy shifted and one moment became the only thing that mattered.

Because she changed everything, claiming my attention and making it hers.

My dangerous little mistake, my favorite enticing regret.

My Vibe Girl.

Trigger Warning: This book confronts several issues that could be potential triggers. It also contains sexual scenes written in explicit details. It is incredibly dark, please be aware when stepping into this world.]]> 467 Liza James kay! 3 sapphic 3.77 2020
author: Liza James
name: kay!
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2020
rating: 3
read at: 2021/05/17
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
this was,,,, surprisingly really good-
]]> 62069043 Smart. Beautiful. Passionate.
I became obsessed with her, or at least who I thought she was.
And then, she showed me her true colors, by showing up on my doorstep as my son's girlfriend.
She was off-limits.
But I couldn’t deny the part of me still wanted her and by the look in her eyes...
Neither could she.]]> 316 Eden Emory kay! 2 sapphic romance: f/f

First half was yes. Second half was messy but okay!]]> 3.75 2022
author: Eden Emory
name: kay!
average rating: 3.75
book published: 2022
rating: 2
read at: 2023/03/23
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: bi fmc
romance: f/f

First half was yes. Second half was messy but okay!
]]> 55004138 384 Alexandria Bellefleur 0063000849 kay! 5 favorite-books, sapphic �� advanced reader copy from netgalley ��

4.5 Stars

Alexandria Bellefleur is now on my auto-buy author list



While I may not have loved this book as much as "Written in the Stars", I still absolutely adored it. I flew through this and it was impossible to put down.

I loved seeing more of Darcy and Elle, but I also loved seeing Brendon's story unfold. We didn't know much about him from book 1, just the fact that he was Darcy's brother and Elle's friend, but his character still felt rather cookie-cutter. He didn't have much personality outside of his optimistic outlook on romance, but I didn't mind.

I was surprised at how much I adored Annie and I wish we got more of her. Her character felt like a copy of Darcy's from book 1, but with a few tweaks. I wish we got more of her backstory but that didn't stop me from loving her.

The fact that this book had very little conflict and little angst was a selling point for me. In romance, I despise miscommunication conflicts and third-act breakups. This book didn't have any of that. Just Brendon and Annie being adorable <3

I really really loved Bellefleur's second book and I can't wait to see what Margot's story has in store.]]> 3.78 2021
author: Alexandria Bellefleur
name: kay!
average rating: 3.78
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2021/01/27
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: favorite-books, sapphic
review:
�� advanced reader copy from netgalley ��

4.5 Stars

Alexandria Bellefleur is now on my auto-buy author list



While I may not have loved this book as much as "Written in the Stars", I still absolutely adored it. I flew through this and it was impossible to put down.

I loved seeing more of Darcy and Elle, but I also loved seeing Brendon's story unfold. We didn't know much about him from book 1, just the fact that he was Darcy's brother and Elle's friend, but his character still felt rather cookie-cutter. He didn't have much personality outside of his optimistic outlook on romance, but I didn't mind.

I was surprised at how much I adored Annie and I wish we got more of her. Her character felt like a copy of Darcy's from book 1, but with a few tweaks. I wish we got more of her backstory but that didn't stop me from loving her.

The fact that this book had very little conflict and little angst was a selling point for me. In romance, I despise miscommunication conflicts and third-act breakups. This book didn't have any of that. Just Brendon and Annie being adorable <3

I really really loved Bellefleur's second book and I can't wait to see what Margot's story has in store.
]]> 52757526 First serialized on the popular app and website WebToon, Always Human ran from 2015-2017 and amassed over 76,000 unique subscribers during its run. Now reformatted��for a print edition in sponsorship with GLAAD,��Always Human��is a beautifully drawn graphic novel about a developing relationship between two young women in a near-future, soft sci-fi setting. Always Human is drawn in a manga-influenced style and with an incredible color palette that leaps off the��page!

In the near-future,��people use technology to give the illusion of all kinds of body modifications—but some people have “Egan’s Syndrome,�� a highly sensitive immune system that rejects these “mods�� and are unable to use them. Those who are affected maintain a “natural�� appearance, reliant on cosmetics and hair dye at most to help them play with their looks.��

Sunati��is attracted to��Austen��the first time she sees her and is drawn to what she assumes is Austen’s bravery and confidence to live life unmodded. When Sunati learns the truth, she’s still attracted to Austen and asks her on a date. Gradually, their relationship unfolds as they deal with friends, family, and the emotional conflicts that come with every romance. Together, they will learn and grow in a story that reminds us no matter how technology evolves, we will remain . . . always human.

Rendered in beautiful detail and an extraordinary color palette,��Always Human��is a sweet love story told in a gentle sci-fi setting by a queer woman cartoonist, Ari North.]]> 256 Ari North 1499811098 kay! 5 sapphic ADORABLE 4.15 2015
author: Ari North
name: kay!
average rating: 4.15
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2021/06/19
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
ADORABLE
]]> 40778310
And she has no idea how much her life will change, the day she lends her notes to Cora McLaughlin.

A freelance writer and MBA student, Cora is just as career-driven as Elena. But over weeks in the library together, they discover that as strong as they are apart, they're stronger together. Through snowstorms and stolen moments, through loneliness and companionship, the two learn they can weather anything as long as they have each other--even a surprise visit from Elena's family.

From solitude to sweetness, there's nothing like falling in love. College may be strict...but when it comes to love, Cora and Elena are ahead of the learning curve.]]> 93 Ceillie Simkiss kay! 1 sapphic 3.51 2018
author: Ceillie Simkiss
name: kay!
average rating: 3.51
book published: 2018
rating: 1
read at: 2021/06/10
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:

]]> 52915426 A showrunner and her assistant give the world something to talk about when they accidentally fuel a ridiculous rumor in this debut romance.

Hollywood powerhouse Jo is photographed making her assistant Emma laugh on the red carpet, and just like that, the tabloids declare them a couple. The so-called scandal couldn't come at a worse time--threatening Emma's promotion and Jo's new movie.

As the gossip spreads, it starts to affect all areas of their lives. Paparazzi are following them outside the office, coworkers are treating them differently, and a "source" is feeding information to the media. But their only comment is "no comment".

With the launch of Jo's film project fast approaching, the two women begin to spend even more time together, getting along famously. Emma seems to have a sixth sense for knowing what Jo needs. And Jo, known for being aloof and outwardly cold, opens up to Emma in a way neither of them expects. They begin to realize the rumor might not be so off base after all...but is acting on the spark between them worth fanning the gossip flames?]]> 336 Meryl Wilsner 0593102525 kay! 2 sapphic


Was this book great? No. But was it cute? Yes.

1 thing to note: I hate power imbalances in relationships. And this is a boss and their assistant romance which threw me off at the beginning. However, I actually liked how the author handled their relationship and I liked the slow build of their romance.

At first, I really didn't like this book. The beginning was full of communication issues and the entire plot would be solved if the characters just talked . Not to mention the conflict was dumb, to begin with.

Another criticism I had was that the characters were very one dimensional, but honestly, in a romance book, I'm not looking for stellar character arcs, just a cute romance. And that's what I got, so I'm satisfied :)]]> 3.62 2020
author: Meryl Wilsner
name: kay!
average rating: 3.62
book published: 2020
rating: 2
read at: 2021/01/24
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
More mainstream wlw books, please! Especially ones with pretty covers like this one



Was this book great? No. But was it cute? Yes.

1 thing to note: I hate power imbalances in relationships. And this is a boss and their assistant romance which threw me off at the beginning. However, I actually liked how the author handled their relationship and I liked the slow build of their romance.

At first, I really didn't like this book. The beginning was full of communication issues and the entire plot would be solved if the characters just talked . Not to mention the conflict was dumb, to begin with.

Another criticism I had was that the characters were very one dimensional, but honestly, in a romance book, I'm not looking for stellar character arcs, just a cute romance. And that's what I got, so I'm satisfied :)
]]> 48727813 Two-time British Fantasy Award Winner
Astounding Award Winner
Lambda Literary Award Finalist
Hugo Award Finalist
Locus Award Finalist
Otherwise Award Finalist

"Magnificent in every way."—Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

"A dazzling new world of fate, war, love and betrayal."—Zen Cho, author of Black Water Sister

She Who Became the Sun reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor.

To possess the Mandate of Heaven, the female monk Zhu will do anything

“I refuse to be nothing…��

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty yellow plain, two children are given two fates. A boy, greatness. A girl, nothingness��

In 1345, China lies under harsh Mongol rule. For the starving peasants of the Central Plains, greatness is something found only in stories. When the Zhu family’s eighth-born son, Zhu Chongba, is given a fate of greatness, everyone is mystified as to how it will come to pass. The fate of nothingness received by the family’s clever and capable second daughter, on the other hand, is only as expected.

When a bandit attack orphans the two children, though, it is Zhu Chongba who succumbs to despair and dies. Desperate to escape her own fated death, the girl uses her brother's identity to enter a monastery as a young male novice. There, propelled by her burning desire to survive, Zhu learns she is capable of doing whatever it takes, no matter how callous, to stay hidden from her fate.

After her sanctuary is destroyed for supporting the rebellion against Mongol rule, Zhu takes the chance to claim another future her brother's abandoned greatness.

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.]]> 416 Shelley Parker-Chan 1250621798 kay! 4 sapphic 4.5 Stars

advanced reader copy provided by the publisher

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be masterful.

Parker-Chan crafts a beautiful, heart-wrenching, queer, and gender-bent retelling of the rise of Zhu Yuanzhang and the Ming Dynasty.

The story follows the sister of Zhu Chongba as she retakes her brother's name after her father and brother's death. A strong recurring theme in this novel is the concept of fate and how it shapes one's life. Zhu is told that her brother is destined for greatness and she is not. This set's Zhu motivation that follows her throughout her life: be great.

I can't believe this is the author's debut because of how gorgeous and intricate their writing is. Her writing is so lyrical and paints this beautiful, yet war-torn world so well, I felt I was in it. At about halfway, this book shifts from the comfortable life of a monk to a dense political fantasy. One would think that a big shift like that would make the book not flow well, but it did. Parker-Chan makes the jump seamless, AND all the while adding in a new perceptive.

Regarding the new perceptive- that is why i deducted a star. I didn't particularly enjoy Esen and Ouyang's chapters. I audibly groaned when his chapter came up because all I wanted was more Zhu.

I want to talk about how amazing Zhu is. She is easily the most fascinating character I have read about. I love how ambitious she is and how utterly driven she is. She doesn't let anything or anyone stop her on her quest for greatness. Even love won't stop her, which I love so much. In a lot of books, romance tends to deter or change the person's motives but it doesn't here. Zhu doesn't give up her dreams for love. She knows what she wants and she will do whatever it takes to get it.

One aspect I wasn't expecting but loved was Zhu's bond with Xu Da. Their growth throughout the years was just- so wholesome to read about. Their bond never weakened, no matter the circumstances. It brought a wonderful lightness to a dark book.

Another lightness to the book was the delightful romance between Zhu and her love interest. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll be brief. It was so wonderful to watch two people that have their differences but still love and support each other. Zhu's love interest keeps Zhu grounded.

I cannot wait to see how this story unfolds in the sequel. I'm sure a lot of shit is going to go down and I can't wait!]]> 3.87 2021
author: Shelley Parker-Chan
name: kay!
average rating: 3.87
book published: 2021
rating: 4
read at: 2021/04/09
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
4.5 Stars

advanced reader copy provided by the publisher

If I had to describe this book in one word, it would be masterful.

Parker-Chan crafts a beautiful, heart-wrenching, queer, and gender-bent retelling of the rise of Zhu Yuanzhang and the Ming Dynasty.

The story follows the sister of Zhu Chongba as she retakes her brother's name after her father and brother's death. A strong recurring theme in this novel is the concept of fate and how it shapes one's life. Zhu is told that her brother is destined for greatness and she is not. This set's Zhu motivation that follows her throughout her life: be great.

I can't believe this is the author's debut because of how gorgeous and intricate their writing is. Her writing is so lyrical and paints this beautiful, yet war-torn world so well, I felt I was in it. At about halfway, this book shifts from the comfortable life of a monk to a dense political fantasy. One would think that a big shift like that would make the book not flow well, but it did. Parker-Chan makes the jump seamless, AND all the while adding in a new perceptive.

Regarding the new perceptive- that is why i deducted a star. I didn't particularly enjoy Esen and Ouyang's chapters. I audibly groaned when his chapter came up because all I wanted was more Zhu.

I want to talk about how amazing Zhu is. She is easily the most fascinating character I have read about. I love how ambitious she is and how utterly driven she is. She doesn't let anything or anyone stop her on her quest for greatness. Even love won't stop her, which I love so much. In a lot of books, romance tends to deter or change the person's motives but it doesn't here. Zhu doesn't give up her dreams for love. She knows what she wants and she will do whatever it takes to get it.

One aspect I wasn't expecting but loved was Zhu's bond with Xu Da. Their growth throughout the years was just- so wholesome to read about. Their bond never weakened, no matter the circumstances. It brought a wonderful lightness to a dark book.

Another lightness to the book was the delightful romance between Zhu and her love interest. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll be brief. It was so wonderful to watch two people that have their differences but still love and support each other. Zhu's love interest keeps Zhu grounded.

I cannot wait to see how this story unfolds in the sequel. I'm sure a lot of shit is going to go down and I can't wait!
]]> 32620332
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ��80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story nears its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.]]> 389 Taylor Jenkins Reid 1501139231 kay! 4 sapphic 4.39 2017
author: Taylor Jenkins Reid
name: kay!
average rating: 4.39
book published: 2017
rating: 4
read at: 2019/10/15
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
would be great minus the racist plot point
]]> 50523477 Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash Tasha Suri's The Jasmine Throne, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess's traitor brother.

Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters �� but is now little more than a decaying ruin.

Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides.

But when Malini accidentally bears witness to Priya’s true nature, their destinies become irrevocably tangled. One is a vengeful princess seeking to depose her brother from his throne. The other is a priestess seeking to find her family. Together, they will change the fate of an empire.]]> 533 Tasha Suri 0356515648 kay! 5 sapphic romance: f/f

priya & malini <3

I love vicious sapphics.

Tasha Suri is already one of my favorite authors after reading Empire of Sand. Now I am convinced she can do no wrong. I would read her grocery list if I could.

You have never read characters like these before. Priya and Malini are just. I can't describe them in one word because they are so complex. I could write a character study essay, but I will spare you.

Priya. I can't believe I read 530 pages of Priya and still don't feel like I know her whole story. (I feel the same about Malini, actually). The temple daughter magic is unlike anything I've seen. Priya's development in the 2nd book is going to be insane, I can feel it.

Malini was my favorite POV to read from. The way she operates so subtly, and lets everyone underestimate her. She's the smartest one in the room, and she KNOWS it. Her strength is mesmerizing. She is mesmerizing.

I'll be honest. At first, I wasn't a big fan of the other POVs like Rao and Ashok, but in the end, I LOVED them. Watching events unfold through their eyes and being inside their head was delightful. Especially Rao. I adored his chapters. He's such a compelling character, I can't help it.

And obviously, we can't forget about the sapphic romance. A lovely little enemies to friends to enemies to lovers to ???? Their chemistry steams off the page, and the slow burn was immaculate. I love love love how Priya's strength is physical, and Malini's is her mind. Put those two together, and it's magic. Literally.

brb reading oleander sword rn]]> 4.12 2021
author: Tasha Suri
name: kay!
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2022/12/16
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
rep: lesbian mcs
romance: f/f

priya & malini <3

I love vicious sapphics.

Tasha Suri is already one of my favorite authors after reading Empire of Sand. Now I am convinced she can do no wrong. I would read her grocery list if I could.

You have never read characters like these before. Priya and Malini are just. I can't describe them in one word because they are so complex. I could write a character study essay, but I will spare you.

Priya. I can't believe I read 530 pages of Priya and still don't feel like I know her whole story. (I feel the same about Malini, actually). The temple daughter magic is unlike anything I've seen. Priya's development in the 2nd book is going to be insane, I can feel it.

Malini was my favorite POV to read from. The way she operates so subtly, and lets everyone underestimate her. She's the smartest one in the room, and she KNOWS it. Her strength is mesmerizing. She is mesmerizing.

I'll be honest. At first, I wasn't a big fan of the other POVs like Rao and Ashok, but in the end, I LOVED them. Watching events unfold through their eyes and being inside their head was delightful. Especially Rao. I adored his chapters. He's such a compelling character, I can't help it.

And obviously, we can't forget about the sapphic romance. A lovely little enemies to friends to enemies to lovers to ???? Their chemistry steams off the page, and the slow burn was immaculate. I love love love how Priya's strength is physical, and Malini's is her mind. Put those two together, and it's magic. Literally.

brb reading oleander sword rn
]]> 39863523 Melissa Bashardoust's acclaimed debut novel Girls Made of Snow and Glass is "Snow White as it's never been told before...a feminist fantasy fairy tale not to be missed" (BookPage)!

"Utterly superb." --ALA Booklist, starred review
"Dark, fantastical, hauntingly evocative." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"An empowering and progressive original retelling." --SLJ, starred review

Sixteen-year-old Mina is motherless, her magician father is vicious, and her silent heart has never beat with love for anyone--has never beat at all, in fact, but she'd always thought that fact normal. She never guessed that her father cut out her heart and replaced it with one of glass. When she moves to Whitespring Castle and sees its king for the first time, Mina forms a plan: win the king's heart with her beauty, become queen, and finally know love. The only catch is that she'll have to become a stepmother.

Fifteen-year-old Lynet looks just like her late mother, and one day she discovers why: a magician created her out of snow in the dead queen's image, at her father's order. But despite being the dead queen made flesh, Lynet would rather be like her fierce and regal stepmother, Mina. She gets her wish when her father makes Lynet queen of the southern territories, displacing Mina. Now Mina is starting to look at Lynet with something like hatred, and Lynet must decide what to do--and who to be--to win back the only mother she's ever known...or else defeat her once and for all.

Entwining the stories of both Lynet and Mina in the past and present, Girls Made of Snow and Glass traces the relationship of two young women doomed to be rivals from the start. Only one can win all, while the other must lose everything--unless both can find a way to reshape themselves and their story.]]> 370 Melissa Bashardoust 1250134692 kay! 1 sapphic
This book bore me to death and, frankly, I couldn't care less about the characters]]> 3.76 2017
author: Melissa Bashardoust
name: kay!
average rating: 3.76
book published: 2017
rating: 1
read at: 2021/01/08
date added: 2023/05/15
shelves: sapphic
review:
This is painful because Girl, Serpent, Thorn is one of my favorite books of all time.

This book bore me to death and, frankly, I couldn't care less about the characters
]]> 61331057 WANTED: One very fake date to a very real event.

Henry Dawson is many things—successful, charismatic, good-looking�� and, most recently, a liar. A stupid fib to his parents about bringing a date to their anniversary party is causing him to scramble, attempting to fix his mistake.

Emma Burns lives a double life. By day, she’s a Civil Rights attorney. By night, she’s the mastermind behind RB’s Companions. When hired, she platonically accompanies men to social events, whether it’s as a girlfriend, friend or business associate. She does her job well.

After receiving an inquiry from a desperate new client, she agrees to be his girlfriend. What she doesn’t account for is the mystery man to be Henry, the notorious playboy, fellow lawyer and coworker she’s known for years. Communicating under aliases to protect their identities, the pair find themselves captivated by one another, and are shocked when they finally meet face-to-face.

The two might be experts in the courtroom, but they’re hardly professionals when it comes to matters of the heart. Pretending to date is easy. When the lines between real and fake blur, getting what they want becomes way more complicated.


The Companion Project is a steamy romantic comedy featuring coworkers-to-lovers, forced proximity and fake dating. Told through dialogue, emails and text message conversations, you can expect plenty of banter, very spicy scenes, an unstoppable woman and a man willing to change for the person he adores. It is a standalone novel.]]> 462 Chelsea Curto kay! 3 thoughts

1. The concept? Amazing. I am a sucker for anonymous texting. It added another lair to the fake dating I never knew I needed.

2. Emma was great, Henry was great.

3. THE THIRD ACT CONFLICT?? what even was that? In short, an ex-girlfriend of his grabs Henry's hand and puts it on her shoulder. He promptly moves away bc duh, he got a girl. Emma sees this and FLIPS and needs some time to think because she doesn't think she can handle his 'playboy past'. Mind you, I think it was a build-up of comments made by Henry's friends and this situation was just the straw that broke the camel's back but still.

The worst part????????????????? everyone telling Henry he messed up when he did NOTHING WRONG and making him feel horrible. ALL his friends mess around and for them to berate Henry for messing around BEFORE liking Emma is insane and crazy hypocritical.

anyways. yeah. #justiceforhenry
]]> 3.71 2022
author: Chelsea Curto
name: kay!
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2022
rating: 3
read at: 2023/04/28
date added: 2023/05/02
shelves:
review:
I have lots of thoughts

1. The concept? Amazing. I am a sucker for anonymous texting. It added another lair to the fake dating I never knew I needed.

2. Emma was great, Henry was great.

3. THE THIRD ACT CONFLICT?? what even was that? In short, an ex-girlfriend of his grabs Henry's hand and puts it on her shoulder. He promptly moves away bc duh, he got a girl. Emma sees this and FLIPS and needs some time to think because she doesn't think she can handle his 'playboy past'. Mind you, I think it was a build-up of comments made by Henry's friends and this situation was just the straw that broke the camel's back but still.

The worst part????????????????? everyone telling Henry he messed up when he did NOTHING WRONG and making him feel horrible. ALL his friends mess around and for them to berate Henry for messing around BEFORE liking Emma is insane and crazy hypocritical.

anyways. yeah. #justiceforhenry

]]> 17072247 ��
Suspense, mysticism, and history encircle three separate but related narratives in this fantasy novel. Today, Sulis, a teenage girl with a mysterious past, arrives in Bath with a new identity, trailed by the person she's trying to outrun.�� In 1740, Zac is apprenticed to an architect obsessed with Druidic mysteries, but has his own secret—and destructive—agenda.�� In ancient England, a druid king discovers the healing waters of a magical spring, where he founds a great city, and the heart of Fisher’s story. Through each voice, the mysteries are revealed, linking Sulis, Zac, and��the��king��through the circles of time.]]> 298 Catherine Fisher 0803738196 kay! 2 3.25 2013
author: Catherine Fisher
name: kay!
average rating: 3.25
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at: 2016/06/19
date added: 2023/05/01
shelves:
review:

]]> 62010504
Still reeling from his fiancée’s death, he meets Winnifred Ashcroft, a struggling actress who lands a coveted role in a play at his theater�� and knows things about his late fiancée no one else does. The only problem? They ������’t stand each other.

Backstage at Arsène’s theater, Winnie begins to let down her guard around the tempestuous billionaire. She appreciates his wit and quirky affection for astronomy. And Arsène, jaded as he is, respects Winnie’s headstrong personality.

Tragedy and betrayal bring them together, but will their painful pasts hold them back—or fuel their desire?

From USA Today bestselling author L.J. Shen comes a breathtaking installment in the Cruel Castaways series about finding love in the wake of tragedy and betrayal.]]> 365 L.J. Shen 1542036356 kay! 4
I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I closely compare this one to Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher because I didn't particularly like the leading man in both of them, but I still enjoyed the book and the relationship. Arsene is the WORST without Winnie but with her, he is absolutely, mind-numbly adorable 85% of the time.

WINNIE absolutely carried both the book and Arsene on her back. Love that for her. Her and Arsene are p.e.r.f.e.c.t.]]> 3.79 2023
author: L.J. Shen
name: kay!
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2023
rating: 4
read at: 2023/04/18
date added: 2023/04/29
shelves:
review:
SO I jumped right into this after Ruthless Rival because I was already excited about Arsene's book.

I have a love-hate relationship with this book. I closely compare this one to Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher because I didn't particularly like the leading man in both of them, but I still enjoyed the book and the relationship. Arsene is the WORST without Winnie but with her, he is absolutely, mind-numbly adorable 85% of the time.

WINNIE absolutely carried both the book and Arsene on her back. Love that for her. Her and Arsene are p.e.r.f.e.c.t.
]]>