"Find the mask that fits best, never perfectly. The acceptable version. It will make it easier on them and eventually it will become your second foreign skin."

GENRE: YA Contemp/Coming of Age with Romance
RATING: 5/5
FORMAT: eBook ARC

Overall Impression: What a book! Everything Comes back to You is a book I wish I had read like when I was a teenager, lost in this world. Reading it as an adult feels like healing a part of me that was so lost when I was young and for that, I know I'm going to remember this book for a long time to come.

Review:
Okay this was my first book by Jackie Khalilieh and I'm not going to need to read everything she writes because WHAT A BOOK!!!!

Reading this and following the book through Lennon's perspective was very emotional for me and struck close to home a lot of times. I related a lot to so many aspects of it, to Lennon and how she views herself, how she faces the world as an autistic individual and I related so much to Georgie too.

And in so many ways, Everything Comes Back to You is about learning to love yourself and learning to deal with generational trauma. Now, in my late 20s, I can read this and remember how it was growing up and dealing with a lot of things that Lennon deals with. As an eldest daughter though, I did want to tell her to follow Georgie's advice of putting herself first.

Truly, this book took me on an emotional journey. I felt sad, happy and just so emotional for Lennon and her sister. I related SO much to learning to mask and trying to be the perfect daughter, sister, person...etc. to everyone around you that you forget who you truly are. To me, the teenage years were HARD and I think this book represented why it was hard. It's like trying to fit in a world that isn't meant for you and you dont understand WHY you can't fit in.

Jackie's writing was so captivating, I read through this so QUICKLY and I couldnt sleep as I really wanted to finish it. I loved that we get to follow Lennon's journey from the beginning of high school till the end of it as well. She changes so much through the seasons and so does everyone around her.

And finally, as an Arab, reading this and seeing how the generational trauma carries on and the gaps between Georgie & Lennon with their parents was sad and healing in many ways. A lot of our culture is set in its ways, in not talking about the taboo topics and avoiding the painful things.

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

"...Acceptance that this palce can exist. I hate it all. I hate the politeness of this country. I hate having a stiff upper lip and pretending these systems are acceptable. that we can't all agree that removal centres should not exist, and are neither discussion-worthy nor vote-dependent, but stand as lessons that humanity should never put in place again."

GENRE: Historical/Lit Fiction
RATING: 5/5
FORMAT: physical ARC

Review:

What a book. Smallie is a Historical/Lit Fic and is inspired by the Windrush Scandal. It was an emotional read and a fast paced one as I was reading so quickly after you get into it from the first few pages.

We mainly get two POVs and it's a dual timeline, with the focus on Lucinda from her younger days and her in the present plus Patrick. We see the dynamic of the whole family through Patrick's POV and eventually, we get to see it from Lucinda's too.

Essentially, Smallie is a story about what it means to leave behind a home and find a new place that eventually becomes your home. It's a dive into what it means to build a new community, only to lose everything again. It's a story that shows the cycle of moving, the way it changes things in ourselves.

Most importantly, it's a story showing the experience of the Windrush Scandal that has happened in the UK in the late 2010s. It's a story that shows the impact of where we are today politically and how this hurts on an individual and familial level to the people harmed by politics.

As for the writing, I thought it was done in a lyrical way. The prose flowed and it was a book that left me flipping the pages and thinking about it as soon as I put it down. I would have loved to know what happened to a few things in the story in a bit more details but I do recognise that leaving it as a mystery means I'll be thinking about the few unresolved things for a long time to come.

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

“By touching objects, she could speak with them to understand their purposes and convince them to do small things for her.”

GENRE: Cozy Fantasy
RATING: 4.5/5
FORMAT: eBook
Overall Impression: This is definitely a wholesome Cozy Fantasy, in which we realise that happiness is found in the small things and in the mundane tasks or magical abilities

Review:

What a cute, lovely story! I loved The Teller of Small Fortunes and I have been meaning to read The Keeper of Magical things, which did not disappoint

The Keeper of Magical Things was about exploring who we are in the world and seeing our worth in it. It was also about finding your place in it and wanting to do good for the people around you.

With it being set in Shpelling, which has suffered due to its history with magic, we begin the journey of how a magical power that seems mundane and how the story shows you that this can change the world in a different and unexpected way.

I thought that this was very reflective of real life. Certainty struggles in the Guild because she can’t become a Mage with how she can do magic. It’s very reflective of how in real life, structures are set and there isn’t much room for adjustment so that each person can become the best they are and help others in their own way.

I think ultimately, this feels like a cozy fantasy that makes you realise there is beauty in the small things and it is in the small, mundane moments that awe can find happiness, relief and work to change things for the better.

“You were always waiting for something to happen, after all. Life was a series of waits, of moments in between. You couldn’t cram all your happiness and meaning into only the big moments, or you’d miss everything else that mattered along the way.”

"Are you scared, Keiran?" she taunted. "Terrified, actually." And not for the reasons she believed. Because you're everything that I want and can't have."

GENRE: Romance
RATING: 4/5
FORMAT: eBook
Tropes: Wedding related fun, enemies to lovers, Baker x Music Producer

Review:

What a fun story that shares two people finally coming together after years of being on opposing ends and hating each other!

Cherisse and Keiran have that dynamic of being in the same childhood friends group but not liking each other and that all changes with their current situation, being the maid/man of honour for the bride and groom

One of my favourite part is the character development or more accurately, how we watch Cherissa learn to accept her qualities, especially those that others have put down throughout the story. I also really enjoyed the dynamic between the two of them as they get to know each other properly and learn to be okay with displaying their vulnerabilities! I would have liked to dive a bit deeper into some of the things that were brought up but overall the book was super sweet and cute, with baking and tasty food mentioned! It's also a perfect book to read during summer too

I'm really excited to continue the series and find out more about everyone else 👀

"How could she say that her greatest love - the ocean - had almost killed her and that she didn't know if she could ever trust it again?"

GENRE: Romance
RATING: 4.75/5
FORMAT: eBook ARC
Tropes: Olympic surfer FMC x Accountant MMC, Burnout, Spanish x Welsh, Cinnamon Roll MMC, Found Family, Life Altering Injury

Review:

After reading and loving Salacia Project, I was so excited to read Above Water and dive into Alejandra's story and what a journey it was🥹

Both books are perfect to read for summer, with the setting and the vibes! Above Water is different than Salacia Project though, in that it tackles other themes and the dynamic between Alejandra and Callum was different than Sofia & Ilias (which definitely makes sense given how different Sofia and Alejandra are)

Above Water takes us on a journey of what it means to lose the thing you centre your identity around and how you learn to love yourself again after the loss. It's a different kind of grief, one that is about finding who you are and understanding that you are you, no matter what you do or where you live. This is mainly through Alejandra's POV but we get it with Callum too.

At the same time, it takes us on a journey to see how important our family are to us and what it means to have people surrounding you that love you unconditionally. I feel like both Callum and Alejandra's chapter dive into these themes and give us insight into how things change. We also get to focus on burn out and feeling like the thing you enjoyed doing as work no longer fits you through Callum's POV.

And their dynamic is SO cute and wholesome. Callum shows Alejandra that she can be loved just the way she is and Alejandra fully accepts Callum for who he is without wanting to change him. They both help each other mend old wounds and build a new life

I can't wait to read more in this universe and find out more about the other characters👀 I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

"It hurt, craving something so badly, especially when you didn't know if you'd never get it."

GENRE: Contemp. Romance with Magical Realism
RATING: 4.25/5
FORMAT: eBook ARC
Tropes: Set in Ireland, Strangers to Lovers, Age Gap, Forced Proximity, He Falls First

Review:

In Every Possible Way is for the dreamers because it's such a cute, wholesome story about how two people find each other and love with the help of a little magic

I was really excited to read this book as I'm new to Magical Realism in Comtep. Romance and it was such a fun read! Jess is a dreamer and that is the best way to describe her. She grapples with the fact that she is one and wants to stop hoping for things she has no control over (very relatable Jess, it's a common dilemma we all share).

And as soon as she decides to be realistic, life hits her in a strange way. Enter Eamonn, and oh what a journey that was. They get to know each other in a slow and fast way simultaneously as they both know they only have so much time together (they do both think it's for different reasons)

And somehow, the way they get to know each other kind of feels like they've spent a lifetime getting to discover who their soulmate are. It's a beautiful, tender journey and you know it's the start of something beautiful. And while both Jess and Eamonn do have a different perspective in life, they share the same mentality of wanting to appreciate the smaller moments and finding beauty in it.

I do wish we got to dive a bit deeper into some of the things that we read from both Jess and Eamonn as they both brought up a lot of heavier things from their past. I know that they only had 48 hours together and so we get the version of them starting together and if they were a real couple, we'd know they'd be happy together

I will say that even though I did know this was a Romance and HEA are granted, I was SO scared they wouldn't work out and that we wouldnt get a happily ever after for both Jess and Eamonn but perhaps I should take a page out of Jess's dreamer book and learn to be a bit more hopeful as it all worked out🥹

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

"I was a woman, a psychic and fortune teller. I had to face my fear, the feeling. I wanted to. The Spark was a tantalizing possibility of what I could be and do. It was like recovering a lost piece of myself. My affinity, whole. Me, complete."

GENRE: Historical Fantasy & Mystery
RATING: 4.75/5
FORMAT: eBook & physical ARC

Review:

Olseya Salnikova Gilmore never fails to enchant me magically with her books and this one is no exception. I am a huge fan of her debut, The Witch and the Tsar and so when I heard she had a new release this year, I was super excited for it.

The Fortune Tellers of Rue Daru is a beautiful tale that mixes Fantasy, Historical Fiction and Mystery while adding touch of magic throughout the book. I had a specific tab annotated to all the auras that Zina could see and the magical moments we get throughout the book. I think the strongest strength of the book is how beautifully Olseya writes, in a way that blends all different parts and makes you feel that you're in Paris with Zina, Baba Valya and everyone else.

We do get a deep dive into the story of immigrants, leaving your own home country and growing up somewhere else. Zina's POV shows us what it means to be from two different cultures as she is both from Paris and Russia. She describes this as one foot in each culture and the way that you see her go from one area in Paris to another based on where she felt she needed to be shows how so many of us are a blend of different cultures now.

We also get other character's POV and Baba Valya is a beautiful POV, with her role shifting from being a mother to a grandmother. She truly reminded me of my own grandmother, wanting to serve traditional tea, desserts and always prioritising family.

Oh and the twists and mysteries in the story? It does take you on an adventure, one that is filled with all the themes I've mentioned above and still focusing on solving the mystery of it all.

I can't wait to read Olseya's future releases and dive into the beautiful worlds she always creates.

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.