Love on Paper - A YA romcom writers mystery

 Wowzaa!! An electrifying and poetic read for romcom lovers! Danielle Parker has spun a golden tale of broken kinship, loss, first loves and bonds in a fittingly bookish setting.

Macy and Caleb are overshadowed by their respective parents literary accolades, find themselves in a romantic book writing retreat. Their inner conflicts, meshed within a search for a lost manuscript, makes this a multi hued read, catering to a variety of genres.

I was able to complete the book in a day. Thank you Danielle for the beautiful tale and special thankyous to Netgalley and Joy Revolution for the ArC!!

Reign of Cinders and Glass - a goth inspired Cinderella retelling with Scandinavian feels and a commanding plot

For Cinderella fans far and near, if you are on the lookout of a strong heroine, a thirst for a coming to power tale, and a some spiciness to an enemies to lovers trope, look no further!
Veronica and Linsey have a drafted a truly exceptional plot where Ella Marquette goes in search of her sister Belle to the Vampire prince's castle - little does she know her magic will bloom there. And the reign of evil the commoners perceive royalty to be may not be all that meets the eyes. Add in some terrifying vampiric sisterhood, a wave of nature's magic and a shadowy triad - you've got yourself a true blue thriller!!

This book was a beautiful read, the plot is nuanced well and the ending was the cherry on top! A definite must read for fans of ACOTAR and Twilight! The authoress due have woven the elements of Cinderella seamlessly into their tale - you will not be disappointed, trust me!

Thank you Linsey and Veronica for the haunting read and special thanks to Netgalley and Magic Side Press, LLC for the ARC!

Spells, Strings and Forgotten Things - Lush and lyrical like the title!

 Breanne Randall has mastered the craft of telling a story which captures the small town charms, the coziness of family dinner rituals and threads that bind the found family and sisterhood amidst broken dreams and messed up magic systems, with a fiesty heroine and enemies to lovers vibes!! Phew!! Didn't think my first sentence would be a paragraph by itself...

Calliope Petridi. Eurydice and Thalia (named after Muses, of course!) guard the Dark Oak, a mysterious, magical and powerful plague, which is guarded generationally by three sisters, whose magical invocation reaps memories. With a missing mother and aunts, the threading binding the oak are fraying and it is upto Calliope to keep it together without sacrificing her memories such that she loses her sense of self.

Sparks and sizzling begin when Calliope binds herself to the powerful, enigmatic shadowcraft coven leader, Lucien. Armed with holes in her memory, a rift between the sisters, doubts as to her nemesis' true motives, Calliope grows as a witch, sister and becomes her own whole person, confronting her past and accepting grace for her misgivings.

Some stories leave you flustered, and other stories don't have mystery in them, this book is just right - you are left wondering and yet, when the curtains peel back, it is completely satisfying and you are left with a content feeling of having a read a nourishing tale.

A million thank yous to Breanne for the beautiful tale and special thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballentine and NetGalley for the magnificent ARC!

The Legend of Meneka - A laudable tale of Loyalty, Lust and Love

 Indian mythical Background: Kaushika has been one of my favorite of the seven Brahmarishis. One who was born as a prince and warrior, he was quelled by Vashishta, another Brahmarishi, who used his staff to absorb even the greatest weapon (Brahmastra) hurled at him by Kaushika, When Kaushika attempts the ascetic penance required to become a sage, he encounters Trisanku, and since Indra refuses Trisanku entry into heaven creates another heaven and loses his ascetic powers. He begins his penances all over to be thwarted by Meneka and spends 12 years with her, she falls in love with him and bears him a child - Sakuntala, before resuming his original task of becoming a Maharishi and the second time, Indra sends Rambha who gets cursed. Finally after many more years of dedicated penance, he finally becomes one of the saptarishis as Vishwamitra or 'Friend of the Universe'

I am a fan of Vaishnavi Patel's novels and was expecting a similar connected yet moving rendition of the tale. Kritika has surprised me, and in such a wonderful way! She's delved into the role of the Apsara and etched each of the divinities as flighty, devious and balanced within nature. The exploration of love as a theme in devotion was superbly executed and the duality of rage and love with shades of acceptance, loyalty and trust have been mellifluously depicted. 

The story begins with Meneka returning from a mission to seduce a devotee who strayed from the worship of Indra. Her inner dialogues and doubts that assail her, when she performs , form the crux of the story. She fancies herself in love with Rambha, the head apsara, and to earn her freedom, has to seduce Kaushika to whom 3 apsaras have already been lost. Meneka gets recruited as a yogi and must contend with the mortals and their beliefs and her own self doubt. 

You end up falling in love with Meneka, the immortal who is young at heart, and grows with her experience and survives her doubts. Her path to asceticism and acceptance of her emotions and status, the way she recovers from her fumbling and thrives in her newfound knowledge make this a beautiful and exulting read. Add in some spicy moments with sparks flying between the lead pair and my oh my - what a page turner she is!!!

A million thank yous to Kritika, Avon and Harper Voyager and NetGalley for this wonderful opportunity to revisit a well loved epic's retelling at the hands of a masterful storyteller!

Goddess of the River

 This lyrical ode to the origin of the Ganges is a wonderful read. Being a fan of mythical retellings, I stumbled across Vaishnavi Patel during her debut with Kaikeyi (a villain form the Ramayana epic). Vaishnavi builds Ganga as a river - ever moving, dynamic and powerful, unable to stop the approaching apocalypse and yet she is unable to keep away from the mortals. 

Ganga's role is built from interactions with Krishna (from his birth, which seemed inaccurate, given my nominal knowledge of the Mahabharata) - despite taking such poetic license with the timelines, the story flows. Definite must read for fans of Jennifer Saint and the modern Greek retellings. The story retains an honesty that is matched by the movement of the epic itself.

Thank you Vaishnavi Patel for this delightful tale!

The Viscount and the Thief - Bridgerton meets Oceans eleven

The Marquise of Wyverne is a truly deplorable and evil villain, the ringmaster for scandalous goings-on in the Wyverne mansion. His son, the staid Lord Drake, endeavors to be as different from his father as he can possibly be, and is no stranger to scandal. He has been abstinent to provide a role model for his step siblings and aid his gradmere, the Dowager Marchioness, in surviving this hellscape.

Enter Sophie Delavallois, the new companion to the ageing Dowager Marchioness, with a heart of gold and a thirst for vengence - against the Marquise who stole her inheritance, her childhood and her family! A grand scheme is concocted in unsavory back alleys that brings Sophie and Drake face to face. Sparks ensue and suspicions are aroused - what ensues is a steamy Victorian tale of revenge, most intense.

Will the aftermath of the scheme bring Sophie her heart's true desire or leave everything is more disrepair than ever before.

The only downside to the entire tale is there is no backstory as to why the Marquise is so dastardly! Thank you Emma Orchard for this diverting tale and Boldwood Books for sharing the ARC!