ARC Review: Deceived // an average but enjoyable read

This review is unfortunately a week late. These past three weeks have been eventful, to say the least, with finals, Eid, and some family events all taking place right after another.

But I’m back and starting off the month with a review of a new mystery novel by Mary Keliikoa. This book started off a little weak, but by the end, I was pretty interested in the resolution and was curious as to who the true bad guy would end up being.

A couple of disclaimers: there are no spoilers in this review; I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a review, however, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

ARC Review: Queen of the Tiles // my most anticipated read of 2022 has become a new favorite

I am so so so happy that this book didn’t disappoint.

Y’all know I was completely freaking out when I found out that there was going to be a Malaysian Muslim main character solving a potential murder mystery. I was dying to get this book, and my friends and family can attest to that since they were subjected to my endless frantic screaming.

I actually contacted the publisher (my first time ever doing so btw! yay for new experiences!!) and very professionally, kindly, but totally begged asked them for an ARC of the book.

and I got it.

*cue intense hysterical laugh-crying, jumping up and down, and lots of squealing*

I’m not being extra nor am I exaggerating; that was my actual physical IRL reaction when they said yes. There are so many firsts tied to this book for me: first YA mystery book I’m seeing with a Muslim main character, set somewhere that’s not a US boarding/highschool, first time I directly contacted a publisher asking for an ARC, first time getting approved for a book that I personally requested, and also the first time that I actually literally freaked out and physically fangirled when I received the copy.

My family was staring at me in shock because I have never ever shown that much excitement for anything in my life. And once I calmed down enough to write a coherent and very professional reply, all the fear and doubt came crashing in.

What if after all this anticipation and excitement, I didn’t like the book?

So I didn’t read it. For two months. Partly because I was afraid of being disappointed, and partly because of my somewhat reading slump. Mostly though, I was so nervous I wouldn’t enjoy it.

But I did. And I am so thankful and so happy that I did.

Before I get into the full review, here are a couple of disclaimers: there are no spoilers in this review; I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a review, however, all opinions and thoughts are my own.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

ARC Review: The Half-Life of Ruby Fielding // a WWII historical fiction novel with a twist of mystery

The title of this post is kind of boring, but I’m not exactly sure how to describe my feelings regarding this book.

In summary, it was just good. I enjoyed the mystery aspect of this a lot, and it was interesting to see the complicated relationships between all the characters. However, I didn’t come away with strong feelings of either loving or disliking it. It’s just a decent, and interesting book.

I’m going to try and talk about what I enjoyed and didn’t when it came to the plot and characters, and maybe doing that will help me explain why it was just a good book overall, and not amazing/awesome as I’d been expecting.

Some disclaimers: All spoilers will be in dropdowns, so you may skip them if you like. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a review, however all opinions and thoughts are my own.

Without further ado, let’s get started.

ARC Review: Behind the Lie // an interesting and somewhat psychological mystery

I’m here with my first review of the year folks, and it’s an ARC one that is being published today!

Behind The Lie was an interesting read. It was different from expectations since I was thinking it would be a straight up private-investigator style of mystery (one of my favorite types to read) but half the story was PI-style, while the other half was similar to a psychological suspense novel.

Nevertheless, it was still a great book, and I love how the plot twists unfolded. Before I get into the details of what I liked, here’s a couple of disclaimers: all spoilers will be in dropdowns, so you may skip them if you like. I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a review, however all opinions and thoughts are my own.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

8000+ Words Ranty Spoilery Review of A Throne For Sisters // why instalove rarely ever works

This has truly been one of the most painful books I’ve read in a while.

It’s actually free for download on Kindle and Google Books, so I picked it up on a recommendation from a friend. My friend thought that the premise of the book was my kind of thing: it’s like historical fantasy, with politics and court drama. What’s not to love?

Everything.

Just everything.

A warning, there will be spoilers for the book. I thought about making this non-spoilery and keeping spoilers in skippable dropdowns because I want everyone to be able to read this (I wrote over 8000 words, okay), but that means pretty much all of the review will end up in spoiler dropdowns.

So I’m sorry. Maybe the synopsis won’t sound like your kind of book so you won’t care and will read the post anyway? And I can honestly give a non-spoilery review of this book in like 4 phrases: insta-love; flat and boring characters; i don’t get this plot or world; at the end, i just wanted to melt into a frustrated mess.

That is a very accurate summation of my entire experience with this book. But what’s the fun in a summary?

Without further ado, let’s get started.