“Elena, careers and hobbies and dreams can be discovered whenever. What makes you interesting isn’t any one thing. You’re so many small beautiful things put together.” – 4.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: promenades, high school, idols, community centers, relentless paparazzi, online haters, screaming fans and corsages.

What would you do if the world’s biggest K-pop star asked you to prom? Perfect for fans of Jenny Han and Sandhya Menon, this hilarious and heartfelt novel brings the glamour and drama of the K-pop world straight to high school.

Elena Soo has always felt overshadowed. Whether by her more successful older sisters, her more popular twin brother, or her more outgoing best friend, everyone except Elena seems to know exactly who they are and what they want. But she is certain about one thing – she has no interest in going to prom. While the rest of the school is giddy over corsages and dresses, Elena would rather spend her time working to save the local community center, the one place that’s always made her feel like she belonged.

So when international K-pop superstar Robbie Choi shows up at her house to ask her to prom, Elena is more confused than ever. Because the one person who always accepted Elena as she is? Her childhood best friend, Robbie Choi. And the one thing she maybe, possibly, secretly wants more than anything? For the two of them to keep the promise they made each other as kids: to go to prom together. But that was seven years ago, and with this new K-pop persona, pink hair, and stylish clothes, Robbie is nothing like the sweet, goofy boy she remembers. The boy she shared all her secrets with. The boy she used to love.

Besides, prom with a guy who comes with hordes of screaming fans, online haters, and relentless paparazzi is the last thing Elena wants – even if she can’t stop thinking about Robbie’s smile…right?

Awn this was such a fun book! This story follows a teenager named Elana and her childhood best friend, Robbie. They were friends when they were little, but then lost contact when Robbie moved to Korea to start the idol training. At that time, they promised each other they would go to prom together. Still, Elena was shocked when Robbie was at her door looking completely different: looking like a true K-Pop idol! And with that new persona, Elena doesn’t recognize the only person who accepted her as she was. 

It was a very fun book to read, and will hold a special place in my heart since I’ve become a K-Pop lover over the last few years. I’m slowly digging deeper on K-Pop/K-Drama themed books, and I’m having the time of my life.

The characters were sweet. I liked Elena, but her resistance to Robbie was a little annoying at times. I understand how she was always overshadowed by others and is not used to the spotlight – so when Robbie appeared and constantly put her on the spot she was uncomfortable. 

The romance was slowburn, but it was also incredibly sweet. The writing was nice and pleasant. It was easy to read and swoony, but there was still some depth to it as well so it wasn’t a fully superficial read.

It was a cute and fluffy romance, exactly what I was needing! Definitely recommend this one if you like K-Pop/K-Drama books or if you just like a childhood best friend trope.

“As of now
And for always,
You’ll both be
Each other’s base
Life is better
With a best friend,
For home is a person
And not just a place.” – 3.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: new siblings, love cute poems and beautiful illustrations.

“A book so tender and sweet . . . readers will feel the love as they read the beautiful rhyming prose.” — San Francisco Book Review “Lyrical . . . gorgeous . . . It introduced an element of enchantment I didn’t realize I’d forgotten.” — Robin Goodfellow, BookSirens

How much love can a heart hold? As parents, can we provide the same unconditional love to a new family member? Siblings might wonder, Is there enough love to go around? With compassionate words and sweet illustrations, this book addresses the uncertainty children may feel when confronted with a new brother or sister and changing family dynamics. It provides reassurance that they will always be cherished and helps cultivate their joy in welcoming a new best friend.

“My love for you can never be less,
for the heart expands like a flourishing tree;
no matter how big our family gets,
you’ll always be loved as deeply by me.”

This short book was so cute and sweet! This is a wholesome children’s book that talks about love and welcoming new siblings through lyrical poetry – and is paired with beautiful illustrations!
I was so happy when I saw the illustrations thinking it was original work – but then I read in the beginning of the book that they’re from Canva. I wish this had original art because it would make this book more special, but with that said: I still think the book is put together very nicely!
And I know this is a children’s book, but reading this as a grown woman made me think a lot about my older sister and how much I love her. I believe she was one of those kids that struggled a little with having a new younger sibling, but her love for me was quick to come since the day she first saw me and we’ve had a close bond since then. She’s a blessing in my life and I can’t imagine my life without her!

This would be the perfect gift for an older sibling (child) that is preparing to welcome a new sibling in the family. Still, I would probably recommend this book to older children (probably above 6 /7) since this has a lot of big words most children wouldn’t understand.

A big thank you to BookSirens for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“And what’s more beautiful and precious than gold? Love, my son. The only treasure that cannot be buried in a pot.” – 2.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: rainbows, leprechauns, the plague, wars, cloud girls and famous scientists.

As the plague rages through England, Hayden Springworth is busy trying to find hidden treasure at the end of a rainbow. But an encounter with Isaac Newton will shatter the young lord’s antiquated beliefs. Sent to the southwest of France as a spy, Hayden continues his research on rainbows in secret. That is until he meets a strange young girl who seemingly has the power to bring rain with her wherever she goes…

I’ve gotten a copy of this short graphic novel through NetGalley and Europe Comics. I would describe this story as a fantasy book, but more on the magical realism side.
In essence, it’s a story about science and curiosity. The main character Hayden is a curious boy living in England (during the plague and war), who tries to understand the phenomenon behind rainbows.
I feel like there’s a lot going on in this book, and if the story was simplified a little it would benefit the book as a whole. The story was inconsistent and fragmented into bits that didn’t connect well in my opinion. Also, I just couldn’t connect or care too much about the story and characters. Just as a side note, I thought it was fun that Isaac Newton was a character here! Unexpected, but a fun addiction.
For me, the artwork was the star here! This book was beautifully illustrated and colored. I loved how each chapter had a monochromatic color palette and a different color title – this was definitely my favorite part of this book. It was very unique and detailed.
In conclusion: the artwork is worth it, but the story was a little too all over the place for my own taste.

A big thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“A small smile touched Rhys’s lips. “I always knew you would make a great queen.”
“I’m not queen yet.”
“You don’t need a crown to be queen, princess.” – 3.75/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: forbidden romances, animal shelters, surprise trips to Costa Rica, royal duties, tough bodyguards and sweet princesses.

She can never be his…but he’s taking her anyway.

Stoic, broody, and arrogant, elite bodyguard Rhys Larsen has two rules: 1) Protect his clients at all costs 2) Do not become emotionally involved. Ever.

He has never once been tempted to break those rules…until her.

Bridget von Ascheberg. A princess with a stubborn streak that matches his own and a hidden fire that reduces his rules to ash. She’s nothing he expected and everything he never knew he needed.

Day by day, inch by inch, she breaks down his defenses until he’s faced with a truth he can no longer deny: he swore an oath to protect her, but all he wants is to ruin her. Take her.

Because she’s his.

His princess.
His forbidden fruit.
His every depraved fantasy.

***

Regal, strong-willed, and bound by the chains of duty, Princess Bridget dreams of the freedom to live and love as she chooses.

But when her brother abdicates, she’s suddenly faced with the prospect of a loveless, politically expedient marriage and a throne she never wanted.

And as she navigates the intricacies—and treacheries—of her new role, she must also hide her desire for a man she can’t have.

Her bodyguard.
Her protector.
Her ultimate ruin.

Unexpected and forbidden, theirs is a love that could destroy a kingdom…and doom them both.

Twisted Games is a slow to medium burn contemporary royal bodyguard romance. It’s book two of the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.

Warning: This book contains a possessive alpha hero, explicit sexual content, and profanity.

I had really high hopes for this book. When I first saw that this book was about Bridget and Rhys, I immediately thought this would be my favorite book from the series. A romance between a modern princess and her bodyguard? Sign me up!

Well, the truth is that I didn’t love this as much as I thought I would. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the characters and the forbidden romance between them, but the second half of the book was focused on Bridget and her new role as a royal. Most people like this aspect since it gives the book more depth and purpose, but the pace slows down a little during this part. The book is good, but as a romance junkie I wished this was focused on the romance – a slow-burn would be the cherry on top!

Keep in mind this is only a personal preference, so don’t let that influence your view of the book, because I still think it’s a good one – I just really like romance books!

It was a fun and entertaining read, but not quite what I was expecting. Definitely recommend it if you like royal romances. Off to the next book I go!

“If you wanted, I would burn down the world for you.” – 4.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: icy hearts, nightmares, red velvet cookies, emotions, forced cohabitation, vengeance and carpool rides.

He has a heart of ice…but for her, he’d burn the world.

Alex Volkov is a devil blessed with the face of an angel and cursed with a past he can’t escape.

Driven by a tragedy that has haunted him for most of his life, his ruthless pursuits for success and vengeance leave little room for matters of the heart.

But when he’s forced to look after his best friend’s sister, he starts to feel something in his chest:

A crack.
A melt.
A fire that could end his world as he knew it.

***

Ava Chen is a free spirit trapped by nightmares of a childhood she can’t remember.

But despite her broken past, she’s never stopped seeing the beauty in the world…including the heart beneath the icy exterior of a man she shouldn’t want.

Her brother’s best friend.
Her neighbor.
Her savior and her downfall.

Theirs is a love that was never supposed to happen—but when it does, it unleashes secrets that could destroy them both…and everything they hold dear.

Twisted Love is a brother’s best friend/opposites attract romance with a hint of suspense. It’s book one in the Twisted series but can be read as a standalone.

WARNING: This book contains a possessive, morally gray alphahole; explicit sexual content, and profanity. No cheating or menage, but if you’re looking for a traditionally sweet, loveable hero, this is not the book for you. Recommended for 18+.

So I finally jumped on the hype and I started the “Twisted” series! 

The only reason why I didn’t read this book in one sitting is because I started it at night and I really needed some sleep – I devoured this book!

The characters were good, I just thought the girl was a little bland but it was bearable – and the guy is a true demon (can be a little extreme at times), but it works well here to be honest. The characters had chemistry and their grumpy/sunshine dynamics were perfect! I’m a huge fan of the enemies to lovers trope, and this was a great one! There’s also the brother’s best friend trope in this book, so you’re in for a treat if you like that one.

There’s a big plot behind this book and there’s a lot of drama and mystery, so this is not exactly just focused on the romance between the main characters. I personally liked the mystery behind the story and I was entertained the entire time. There’s also a plot twist here, but I thought it was a little predictable in my opinion… still entertaining though!

I personally really liked this book, and now I’m very excited to read Bridget’s story next! A love story between a princess and a bodyguard? Sign me up!

“The most important part of becoming better people, I’ll say yet again, is that we care about whether what we do is good or bad, and therefore try to do the right thing. If we love a problematic person or thing too much to part with it altogether, I think that means we have to keep two ideas in our head at the same time: I love this thing. The person who made it is troubling.” – 4.25/5 stars!

From the creator of The Good Place and the cocreator of Parks and Recreation, a hilarious, thought-provoking guide to living an ethical life, drawing on 2,500 years of deep thinking from around the world.

Most people think of themselves as “good,” but it’s not always easy to determine what’s “good” or “bad”—especially in a world filled with complicated choices and pitfalls and booby traps and bad advice. Fortunately, many smart philosophers have been pondering this conundrum for millennia and they have guidance for us. With bright wit and deep insight, How to Be Perfect explains concepts like deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism, ubuntu, and more so we can sound cool at parties and become better people.

Schur starts off with easy ethical questions like “Should I punch my friend in the face for no reason?” (No.) and works his way up to the most complex moral issues we all face. Such as: Can I still enjoy great art if it was created by terrible people? How much money should I give to charity? Why bother being good at all when there are no consequences for being bad? And much more. By the time the book is done, we’ll know exactly how to act in every conceivable situation, so as to produce a verifiably maximal amount of moral good. We will be perfect, and all our friends will be jealous. OK, not quite. Instead, we’ll gain fresh, funny, inspiring wisdom on the toughest issues we face every day.

There’s something so funny about thinking of Mose from “The Office” as an aspiring philosopher. If you’re wondering why the comparison, it’s because I recently found out through Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsley’s book “The Office BFFs” that Michael Schur plays the part of Dwight’s cousin Mose! I already knew he was one of the producers or writers, but I had no idea he was part of the cast so that was very surprising!

Anyways, I digress. This book was amazing! It turns out… being a good person is quite difficult. Fortunately for us, Michael Schur did a lot of research on philosophy from 2500 years ago to today’s age, and he’s now feeding us what he learned starting from simple questions such as “should I punch my friend in the face for no reason?” to more complex issues. He proceeds by adding his own commentary, a lot of examples and funny anecdotes to make the reading experience more pleasant. In the end, we conclude that every philosophy is far from perfect and impossible to fully implement – which means that it’s impossible to be a perfect person and it’s a bad idea to even attempt it.

Also, I love how in the end he mentions he wrote this book for his children, by telling them they should embrace their failures and try to be kinder. This was a touching moment that I’m sure they will appreciate when they read this book when they’re older.

I took a lot of ideas from this book and I kind of feel like I want to reread this book in the future. I really want to watch Parks and Recreation now, and maybe give The Good Place a try too!

“Food was how my mother expressed her love. No matter how critical or cruel she could seem—constantly pushing me to meet her intractable expectations—I could always feel her affection radiating from the lunches she packed and the meals she prepared for me just the way I liked them.” – 4.25/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: bands, teenage years, comfort food, memories, healing, terminal cancer, identity and grief.

A memoir about growing up Korean American, losing her mother, and forging her own identity.

Michelle Zauner tells of growing up one of the few Asian American kids at her school in Eugene, Oregon; of struggling with her mother’s particular, high expectations of her; of a painful adolescence; of treasured months spent in her grandmother’s tiny apartment in Seoul, where she and her mother would bond, late at night, over heaping plates of food.

As she grew up, moving to the East Coast for college, finding work in the restaurant industry, and performing gigs with her fledgling band—and meeting the man who would become her husband—her Koreanness began to feel ever more distant, even as she found the life she wanted to live. It was her mother’s diagnosis of terminal cancer, when Michelle was twenty-five, that forced a reckoning with her identity and brought her to reclaim the gifts of taste, language, and history her mother had given her.

Wow, I loved this book! It was an emotional rollercoaster from beginning to end – and yes, I cried multiple times while reading this!

This book deserves all the hype. I personally had no idea who Michelle Zauner was, but her band “Japanese Breakfast” definitely sounded familiar! I’m glad she got out of her comfort zone and decided to write this book to share her story.

In essence this is mostly a memoir book, but the focus is the relationship between her and her mother. They had a very hard time connecting especially when she was a teenager, and she had a lot of resentment towards her mother. But when her mother got sick with terminal cancer, they became close and she was determined to heal their relationship. What Michelle realized later is that her mother showed her love through tough love, and she now appreciates what her mother did for her, the moments they shared and the lessons she taught her.

But this is not a book just about her and her mother. She also talks about her struggles with identity growing up. She felt like she didn’t fit in in America for being half-Korean, but also didn’t fit in South Korea because she is half-American. In this book, she shows us how she came to terms with her identity and got close to her Korean heritage and culture.

It’s a very honest and personal book, and I feel like it is a love letter to her mother. It made me emotional, but I’m very glad I read it. Definitely recommend this one!

“This is a moment I will remember for the entire rest of my life. No matter what happens after this, I will file tonight under Happiness.” – 4.5/5 stars!

Attention! This book contains: tough personal assistants, investigations, hotel rooms, flights, journalists, models, old friendships.

A one-night stand between two old childhood friends turns into something more, but when a scandal threatens to tear them apart, they must decide how hard to fight for love—a steamy romance written under the pseudonym Ivy Owens by Christina Lauren coauthor Lauren Billings.

Exhausted and on deadline with a story that could make or break her career, investigative journalist Georgia Ross is on the verge of a meltdown when a cancelled flight leaves her stuck in the airport overnight. But when a familiar face appears—the older brother of her childhood friend—and offers help, Gigi seems to have caught a break.

Alec Kim is handsome, humble, and kind—exactly the sort of man that Gigi has forgotten existed after her own painful heartbreaks. An evening of reconnection followed by a night of no-strings-attached passion with Alec feels like a gift—that is, until Gigi finally realizes that their childhood connection isn’t the only reason he seems so familiar to her.

Alec is determined to prove to Gigi that he is truly the man she thinks he is, even if it means coming clean about his fame—and his family’s connection to the story Gigi’s been working so hard to break. But as their feelings for each other grow deeper, Gigi and Alec must navigate a new reality…one where both of their hard-won careers are put directly in the path of an international scandal.

This book was really good! I admit I didn’t think too much about it before picking it up, but it ended up being a really nice surprise!

The first thing that I really need to advise you about this book is that the cover has nothing to do with the story. Oh you thought this was a cutesy YA romance? I know I did, but oh boy I was surprised because it was not. To clarify, I would describe this more of an adult/new adult (very) steamy romance.

The romance and the story were really good. Even though this is super steamy, it’s also incredibly sweet – also, if you’re a fan of the best friend’s brother trope, you are in for a treat! The romance is swoony and contrasts perfectly with the harshness of the investigation the main character Gigi is doing. This was a really nice addition to the story and gave it more depth and purpose.

Now let me hit you with a bomb! Ivy Owens is a pseudonym for Lauren… oh you know, the Lauren FROM CHRISTINA LAUREN! I was shocked when I found out… but not really, because this book was amazing.

To me this was kind of… a perfect romance? The characters had a lot of chemistry and I couldn’t put the book down! I’m planning on holding on to my physical copy to read it again in the future. Definitely try this one if you like steamy romances.