Month: December 2023

The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic / Breanne Randall

/ Alisha Helms / Leave a comment 
The Unfortunate Side Effects of Heartbreak and Magic

By: Breanne Randall

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

Number of Pages: 322

Published: September 19, 2023

Publisher: Alcove Press

Dates Read: December 16, 2023 - December 20, 2023

Format: Library Book / Audiobook / Paperback

Ever since Sadie Revelare was told about her four heartbreak curse that accompanies her magic, she’s never doubted the price wouldn’t be worth it. But when Gigi, her grandmother, is diagnosed with cancer and only has weeks to live, and her first heartbreak, Jake, returns after being gone for a decade, Sadie’s life feels like it’s unraveling and her magic can’t fix it. Even more, upon hearing about Gigi’s diagnosis, Sadie’s estranged twin brother, Seth, returns as well, uncovering family secrets that will tear her world apart.

Gigi has been the backbone to the Revelare family for generations, and with her death, Sadie must try with everything she’s got, to not only keep her family together, but her magic as well. As her feelings for Jake begin to respark, Sadie must decide if love is more important than her magic.

I don’t actively go about reading romance books, but this had the tagline “for fans of Practical Magic and Gilmore Girls” and I decided to give this a shot. I absolutely called the ending pretty early into the book, especially once everything was established. Though I was a little confused about Sadie’s curse… I still am to be honest. Also – witches who go to a christian church? What?

Overall, the book was okay. The premise of it was excellent, but it fell short for me.

*Thank you Alcove Press and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Mall Goth / Kate Leah

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Mall Goth

By: Kate Leah

Genre: Graphic Novel

Number of Pages: 256

Published: September 26, 2023

Publisher: Simon & Schuster for Young Readers

Dates Read: December 15, 2023

Format: eBook

Trigger Warnings: Child Grooming

Liv Holme is starting over in a new town with her mom. And a new town means a new high school. If that’s not hard enough, Liv is a fifteen-year-old bisexual goth. As Liv tries to find her community, the only person who seems to make time for her is one of her teachers, Mr. Trent, but she’s not sure how she feels about the way he acts towards her sometimes. Thankfully, she finds solace in the mall, where she’s away from all her troubles. Now she must set off on a journey of self-acceptance and the ups and downs of life and high school.

I loved the art in this – that is one of the main reasons I wanted to read this.

Secondly, the storyline isn’t what I thought it would be and I really enjoyed it. 

I both feel like it could have been longer (more in depth), but then at the same time, the story fit in the page length that it was. There was just a lot going on – especially with stuff like her Dad and sometimes conversations with Liv’s mom, I felt like it could have been more elaborated on, but I still understood what was going on.

I’ve already recommended this to two friends, so this will be on my graphic novel list for sure.

North Woods / Daniel Mason

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North Woods

By: Daniel Mason

Genre: Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 384

Published: September 19, 2023

Publisher: Random House

Dates Read: December 12, 2023 - December 14, 2023

Format: Library Book / Audiobook

North Woods tells the story of a plot of land over centuries and its inhabitants. Ranging from spinster twin sisters, to beetles, to a painter, to many more.

You can argue that this book is just a collection of short nature stories that are all connected by this plot of land / cabin in the middle of the woods – you wouldn’t be wrong. Some stories were more catching to me than others, but they all still held my attention.

I ended up listening to this as an audiobook and first off – I had to move the speed up to 1.75 because of how slow the reading was. The prose were absolutely great and beautiful in the story, just so many words. This really makes it seem that I don’t like it, but I totally did, I just needed it sped read.

This novel has stories told through letters, journal entries, historical records, a true crime magazine, and poetry that showcase human’s beautiful connection with nature that involve forbidden love, enslavement, insecurity, mental health, and climate change.

Overall, this is a beautifully written novel filled with stories that will possibly make you think about your childhood home, or of the older buildings and houses around you, and all that they have witnessed. Those who love literary fiction with historical fiction will fall in love with this.

*Thank you Random House and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Beautiful and the Wild / Peggy Townsend

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The Beautiful and the Wild

By: Peggy Townsend

Genre: Thriller / Mystery

Number of Pages: 304

Published: November 7, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

Dates Read: December 5, 2023 - December 12, 2023

Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warning: murder, death, rape, wilderness survival

Following her husband into the Alaskan wilderness after he “died”, Liv Russo ends up in a shipping container-turned-storage shed by her husband and his new lover. She vows to do anything to protect her son and escape. Carrying her own secrets, Liv must navigate the tough(er) world around her with the extreme weather, one bad incident away from starvation, and the dangerous wildlife. With winter’s arrival knocking on the door, Liv knows she must face her past and be sneaky in order to make it out alive.

I originally wanted to read this title because I was trying to step outside my usual reading comfort zone and also I wanted a book set in Alaska. This was… okay. It’s marked as a mystery but I guess maybe I don’t read enough mystery to know the feeling of a mystery (if that makes sense). Definitely felt the thriller aspect of it though, especially when it dealt with the survivalist parts of the story.

This book also went back and forth in time, but would still sometimes be in “Present” when the chapter would be marked as “Then” and that kind of threw me off a little bit.

I have such mixed feelings about this overall though, and I’m not quite sure if I’m going to be able to explain why. I both liked and hated the story and its setup, but I enjoyed the ending and how it was finished. It felt more of a survivalist story, but we still didn’t have a lot of survival stuff. I would have loved to know more about Rudy and what all he knew and understood about what was happening…

Overall though, I’m glad I read it, and enjoyed it quite enough. I feel like I will end up recommending this as a survivalist story moreover than a mystery though.

*Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

All You Need to Do Is Call / Kerri Maher

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All You Have to Do Is Call

By: Kerri Maher

Genre: Historical Fiction

Number of Pages: 368

Published: September 19, 2023

Publisher: Berkley

Dates Read: November 25, 2023 - December 3, 2023

Format: Library Book / Hardcover

Trigger Warnings: women’s health care/reproductive rights

Who does a woman call when she needs help? Jane.

Jane is a women’s health organization composed entirely of women helping women with their reproductive needs – including illegal abortions. The women who run Jane lead double lives and All You Need to Do Is Call follows three of the members as they must make decisions that will change the course of all their lives.

I think nowadays it’s important to really know about our history and how we should try our hardest to not repeat it. But also, if stuff does get repeated, looking back and seeing how it was handled and managed before (usually in the underground).

This story is loosely based on the Jane Society from Chicago in the 1970’s and it was really nice to read about and learn how women were helping each other out as much as they could when society wasn’t. It was also nice to read about the different types of women that Jane brought together – both as in the members and the tidbits of information we got about those who used the service. We really got a look into the housewife’s role in a turning point of history.

Overall, I really enjoyed this historical fiction and will be recommending this to those who like historical fiction. This would also be a good book group read as it can bring up tons of discussion points for groups as well.

*Thank you Berkley and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review