After having such an incredible reading month in January, I’m not surprised my number of books read took a hit in February. Not only is the month shorter, but I also had what I can only describe as a ‘book hangover’. I ended up having two DNFs last month and only a few high rated reads. Here’s to hoping March is much better.
Unlock the Dark by Sasa Hawk
Read: 24/1/25 – 2/2/25
*I was sent a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
This book had a ton of potential and probably would have benefited from being a duology. There’s a good amount of worldbuilding and the magic system was interesting – I just wanted to learn more. Also, the romance needed more development. I wasn’t fully invested.
ARC Review: Unlock the Dark by Sasa Hawk
Synopsis: Elia Tallis’s key conjuring abilities, when used with her father’s magic, allow her to open a path to any location. But Papa is dying, and Elia has been forced to painfully tether him to life so she can siphon his magic to provide for her siblings. The god of death, angry to be denied his due, punishes her by claiming her youngest brother as a servant.
Desperate to save her brother, Elia accepts a potentially deadly commission from Trys, a kindhearted prince with his nose stuck in a book. Trys wants Elia to help him find a legendary scroll. In exchange, he’ll give her his hand in marriage, securing her and her siblings’ futures and allowing her to release Papa to the afterlife.
Despite the danger of their quest, Elia and Trys find themselves increasingly drawn to each other. But when Trys finally reads the scroll, it transforms him into a monster beyond comprehension. Elia will have to wield her power in ways she never thought possible, braving a world of endless darkness and the nightmares dwelling within it to bring home the prince she’s growing to love.
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Read: 2/2/25 – 3/2/25
It took me a while to get into this book but I did end up loving it. As a coffee lover this is a dream of a book. Having the whole process described but with the equipment being, for lack of a better term, ‘ye olde coffee machine’ was so cool.
Synopsis: After a lifetime of bounties and bloodshed, Viv is hanging up her sword for the last time.
The battle-weary orc aims to start fresh, opening the first ever coffee shop in the city of Thune. But old and new rivals stand in the way of success — not to mention the fact that no one has the faintest idea what coffee actually is.
If Viv wants to put the blade behind her and make her plans a reality, she won’t be able to go it alone.
But the true rewards of the uncharted path are the travelers you meet along the way. And whether drawn together by ancient magic, flaky pastry, or a freshly brewed cup, they may become partners, family, and something deeper than she ever could have dreamed.
The Glitch by Leeanne Slade
Read: 26/2/25 – 6/2/25
I love an audiobook with more than one narrator and this one has Sam Claflin as a love interest so that’s an instant high rating from me. I would say this is way longer than it needed to be but the narration was really well done and the story had a magic realism twist that was pretty cool.
Synopsis: What would you change if you could start all over again? From Leeanne Slade, the bestselling author of The Rebound and Told You So, and narrated by Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People) and Sam Claflin (Me Before You), this summer, fall in love with Henry and Grace.
Five Years Earlier
Henry Dunne knows three things: that agreeing to host this raucous house party was a terrible idea, that he absolutely cannot show up to his nursing shift tomorrow with a hangover, and that the beautiful redhead in the corner will be sleeping in his bed tonight.
But what he doesn’t know is that Grace Monroe, the ambitious and fiercely independent chef catering this party, is about to walk a tray of cream cheese appetisers straight into his chest and turn his world upside down. Now, the work-a-holic with a reputation for keeping things casual is planning romantic dates and meeting the family. Utterly smitten, Henry now knows something else: that Grace is the one and that absolutely nothing could come between them. . .
Present Day
Grace Monroe is one day away from thirty, her restaurant has just been declared bankrupt, her beloved grandmother has been rushed to hospital, and she’s now sobbing in a packed train station. The only way life could get worse is having Henry Dunne – the man who showed her what true love and heartbreak feels like – see her like this.
And there he is, wordlessly watching her from the opposite escalator.
A bottle of wine and an erratic wish later, Grace wakes up to one hell of a life glitch: it’s five years earlier, her twenty-fifth birthday, and she’s got picture-perfect memory of the missing years. Grace’s plan is clear: save her doomed career and prevent the worst heartache she’s ever known. All she needs to do is stop history repeating. . .
Easy, right?
Damsel by Evelyn Skye
Read: 5/2/25 – 10/2/25
I really enjoyed this book, especially after watching the film as I could very vividly picture most scenes. This is different to the film in some ways and the lore is much deeper. It’s a fairly decent read so I’d recommend checking it out if you liked the film.
Synopsis: A damsel in distress takes on the dragon herself in this epic twist on classic fantasy—a groundbreaking collaboration between New York Times bestselling author Evelyn Skye and the team behind the upcoming Netflix film Damsel, starring Millie Bobby Brown.
Elodie never dreamed of a lavish palace or a handsome prince. Growing up in the famine-stricken realm of Inophe, her deepest wish was to help her people survive each winter. So when a representative from a rich, reclusive kingdom offers her family enough wealth to save Inophe in exchange for Elodie’s hand in marriage, she accepts without hesitation. Swept away to the glistening kingdom of Aurea, Elodie is quickly taken in by the beauty of the realm—and of her betrothed, Prince Henry.
But as Elodie undertakes the rituals to become an Aurean princess, doubts prick at her mind as cracks in the kingdom’s perfect veneer begin to show: A young woman who appears and vanishes from the castle tower. A parade of torches weaving through the mountains. Markings left behind in a mysterious “V.” Too late, she discovers that Aurea’s prosperity has been purchased at a heavy cost—each harvest season, the kingdom sacrifices its princesses to a hungry dragon. And Elodie is the next sacrifice.
This ancient arrangement has persisted for centuries, leading hundreds of women to their deaths. But the women who came before Elodie did not go quietly. Their blood pulses with power and memory, and their experiences hold the key to Elodie’s survival. Forced to fight for her life, this damsel must use her wits to defeat a dragon, uncover Aurea’s past, and save not only herself, but the future of her new kingdom as well.
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
DNF
This was honestly one of the most boring yet hilarious books I have ever encountered. When I say funny, I mean the author wrote some pretty ridiculous things (postgraduate study doesn’t exist in modern day America apparently but you can apply to and get into Cambridge within 24 hours).
Synopsis: A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them – setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course.
Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.
One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose – selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.
In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate – and not everyone will survive.
Dead Girls Talking by Megan Cooley Peterson
Read: 11/2/25 – 12/2/25
I’m surprised I actually saw this book through to the end. I’d started it off the back of an audiobook DNF so I think I was being stubborn. It had some good moments but the poor narration ruined it for me.
Synopsis: The town of Wolf Ridge calls him The Smiley Face Killer. Bettina Holland calls him her father.
Everyone knows Bettina’s father was the one who murdered her mother a decade ago. It’s the subject of podcasts, murder tours, and even a highly anticipated docuseries. But after growing up grappling with what that means, a string of copycat murders forces Bett to answer a harder What if he didn’t ?
Old-money Bett must team up with the only person willing to investigate alongside bookish goth girl Eugenia, the mortician’s daughter, who everyone says puts the makeup on corpses. Can this “true crime princess” unmask a murderer who’s much closer to home than she ever imagined?
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Read: 11/2/25 – 13/2/25
I can’t even really explain why I loved this book so much. I don’t even know how to play chess, but the tension between Mallory and Nolan was so good. I’d highly recommend checking this out. It’s a fairly clean romance, so nothing like Ali Hazelwood’s other books.
Synopsis: Mallory Greenleaf is done with chess. Every move counts nowadays; after the sport led to the destruction of her family four years earlier, Mallory’s focus is on her mom, her sisters, and the dead-end job that keeps the lights on. That is, until she begrudgingly agrees to play in one last charity tournament and inadvertently wipes the board with notorious “Kingkiller” Nolan Sawyer: current world champion and reigning Bad Boy of chess.
Nolan’s loss to an unknown rook-ie shocks everyone. What’s even more confusing? His desire to cross pawns again. What kind of gambit is Nolan playing? The smart move would be to walk away. Resign. Game over. But Mallory’s victory opens the door to sorely needed cash-prizes and despite everything, she can’t help feeling drawn to the enigmatic strategist….
As she rockets up the ranks, Mallory struggles to keep her family safely separated from the game that wrecked it in the first place. And as her love for the sport she so desperately wanted to hate begins to rekindle, Mallory quickly realizes that the games aren’t only on the board, the spotlight is brighter than she imagined, and the competition can be fierce (-ly attractive. And intelligent… and infuriating… )
The Partner Plot by Kristina Forest
DNF
I have a full review coming for this, just like every book in this post, so all I’ll really say here is this was boring as hell. There’s basically no romance and the characters are extremely awkward with each other.
Synopsis: Two former high school sweethearts get a second chance in this marriage of convenience romance by Kristina Forest, author of The Neighbor Favor.
To Violet Greene, fashion is everything. As a successful celebrity stylist, she travels all over the world, living out her dreams. Professionally, she’s thriving, but her personal life is in shambles. After surviving a very public breakup with her ex-fiancé six months ago, Violet is now determined to focus on her career. But life hands her something—or rather, someone—that might derail everything…
Xavier Wright did not expect to run into his high school girlfriend Violet—the girl he once thought he’d marry—on a birthday trip to Vegas. As a high school teacher and basketball coach, he rarely leaves his New Jersey hometown, so what were the chances? But when the initial shock wears off, they decide to celebrate together. They feel young and reckless as they party the night away—and reckless they clearly were when the following morning, they wake up beside each other with rings on their fingers.
Their impulsive nuptials might be a blessing in disguise, though, when they realize that both of their careers could benefit from the marriage. So they play the part of a blissfully wedded couple. Yet when their passion comes hurling back, they realize their feelings are just as real as they were back when they were teens. But are their lives too different to stick it through or will they finally get a happy ending?
Bountiful Magic by Iris Beaglehole
Read: 14/2/25 – 20/2/25
I’d hoped this series would get better as it went on but in reality my ratings keep getting lower and my reviews harsher. This one wasn’t as bad as the previous instalment but there’s something very off about the later books in this series.
Synopsis: The autumn equinox is drawing near and the mystical town of Myrtlewood is plunged into a spellbinding adventure.
Rosemary’s chocolate shop is thriving with the help of Papa Jack, but it isn’t long before town is under attack by mysterious swampy monsters, and the local election reveals a dark side to the normally peaceful village.
Meanwhile, despite her mother’s reservations, Athena is determined to embark on a journey into the fae realm to uncover her heritage and play a role in forging a treaty between magical beings.
Join Rosemary and Athena as they navigate vampire politics, pesky pixies, complicated magical family dynamics and fiesty familiars!
Honeycraves by I.S. Belle
Read: 21/2/25 – 22/2/25
This was an okay way to end this series (I think this was supposed to be a finale) but it would have stood better if it wasn’t so short and the entire series was just one book. There were so many plot lines that could have been explored further and just spending more time with the characters would have benefited the rating so much.
Synopsis: What better way to celebrate spring break than another romantic murder road trip?
The search for Honey’s sire has finally heated up again, and Sadie and Honey have a foolproof track that sucker down so Honey can kill him and go back to her normal human life.
But what about Sadie? Can she follow Honey to college after senior year ends, or is she too dangerous to keep around?
Sadie is just as hungry as the day Honey turned her. Honey is keeping secrets. And their road trip is about to get an unwelcome tag-along who could change everything…
Onion Skin by Edgar Camacho
Read: 24/2/24
I really liked the art style of this graphic novel but the story was confusing and a little all over the place. I’m going to say that was a translation issue maybe and also the fact that time jumps were only noticeable by whether or not Rolando’s arm was in a sling.
Synopsis: Rolando’s job was crushing him… and then it literally crushed his hand. Now he can barely get out of the house, binging TV and struggling to find meaning. On a rare night out with friends, he meets Nera, a woman who lives only in the moment. Dazzled by her hedonistic attitude, Rolando sees a new life opening before him.
Together, these restless youths fix up an old food truck and hit the road for a wild journey. But have they truly found the spice of life? Or has Rolando bitten off more than he can chew?
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