booksbytheglass's reviews
850 reviews

the fact that I binged this in one night tells you everything you need to know about carola lovering’s novels - they’re so addicting! the fast-paced, heart-pounding scenarios are BACK 🫡

what I’ve noticed a lot about her books is that they’re often mis-marketed as thrillers due to one “thrilling” element (in this case, a child kidnapping), when really they’re more on the family drama side 🥲 I would definitely characterize this as a lit fic book with a side of mystery 

knowing that, however, I really enjoyed this twisty cat and mouse story!! I loved how it showcased the toxicity of friendship rather than relationships this time around, specifically how a friendship breakup can be almost worse than a romantic breakup at times (I know I’ve been there 🥲🥲) 

the characters were super unlikable and each had their moments where I wanted to scream - because I swear no one would ever do anything like this in real life… but from the way I was invested, I enjoyed the back and forth time skips and backstories of billie and cassie!!

thank you to netgalley and st martins press for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: sonoma coast chardonnay

it is absolutely no secret that I haven’t been the biggest fan of this series … while I adore romantic suspense, the romance elements between the characters were either too cringy or not enough true growth between them! however, I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong with the final installment!! 🥳

from the start, I was completely invested in hallie’s story! her backstory was gripping, something out of a true crime documentary, and had my heart pounding for her 🥲 I just wanted her to be able to rest 

and you know I’m a sucker for an age gap, so when daddy lawson was on the scene, I was ALL IN 🥵 they clearly have so much history together and the protective streak in them both was adorable - still, the romantic declarations and scenes were among my least favorite parts (like why does this series have the WORST pet names!!!!) 

lawson’s boys, however, were the heart and soul of this story 🥹🥹 the way that hallie was able to bring them all back to life and endure real emotions? please I was sobbing 😭

again, my favorite part was the thriller plot underlying throughout the entire story!! I’m so happy I finally found one I loved in this series!

rating: 4.5 stars
wine pairing: chile chardonnay

this is a book that I didn’t love - but I definitely think everyone in the world should read 💜 the racial and political commentary scattered throughout the entire book was brilliant 

spanning over a few decades, this story tackles the story of two twins, each so different, and their lives throughout the years. the drastic difference between stella and desiree was astounding, especially during that time period in history, and frankly quite selfish at times 

I was a bit disjointed at the time period jumps in between the parts - especially since they didn’t usually wrap up 🤪 the slow burn didn’t pay off in the long run, and I found myself more irritated by the characters’ actions long term than understanding

while the quotes, especially those fighting racial and LGTBQ+ inequality, were *chef kiss* and had me tearing up at times, I just couldn’t get around the selfishness that both sisters (and their daughters) exhibited when it came to each other’s happiness… 

this one was the product of my first TBR card set that my lovely bestie ashley got me (because everyone knows my physical TBR shelf needs a lot of help) - new to me author! 

rating: 3.5 stars
wine pairing: dry creek zinfandel 

did I expect to bawl my eyes out over this novel? not a chance, but I sure did in the best way possible 🥹 the characters that tia williams crafted in this magical realism romance were unforgettable (no pun intended)!!! 

by combining historical fiction with magical realism, tia williams created this gorgeous backdrop of a story in harlem spanning a hundred years, through the good and the ugly of black history. it was beautiful to read about both first-hand in the older timeline and in reflection in present day - and that alone created a sense of magic 💜

I absolutely adored all of the characters in this one - from MCs ricki and ezra, to childhood star best friend tuesday, and to my favorite grandmother della… I’ve never felt so connected so quickly to an entire group of characters before! I just want to give them all a huge hug thanks 🥹

and at the heart of the story, beyond the curses and magic, beyond the history of harlem, was the core of love - choosing who to love fully and wholly. I’m a firm believer of chosen family, rather than being loyal to your blood family who doesn’t respect or love you, and this just affirmed everything!!

I cannot thank netgalley and grand central publishing enough for this beautiful advanced copy in exchange for an honest review!! 

rating: 5 stars
wine pairing: south african pinotage 

I knew I would absolutely love malone and aurora’s story and I was so friggin right!!! my sapphic queens!!!

the tension between the two was so high throughout this series, and this was the perfect story to end on! seeing their want and desire play out through both heart to hearts and spicy scenes was *chef kiss* 🫡

aurora is a sweet baby with a burning fire inside of her - and she has become my favorite character in this entire series! her passion to protect her friends and family is so strong I would risk it all for her

finding out the story behind malone and aurora, and the origins of their hatred towards each other, was so well done! it didn’t feel rushed at all 💜 and having hades act as a protective dad towards aurora was just what she needed to get her life in order

this series was definitely hit or miss for me (I tend to enjoy more plot heavy than smutty editions like this one) - but the sapphic romance really hit the spot for me I love them your honor!!!

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: bordeaux red blend

based on my pattern of this series, I’d say my favorites are those less focused on the spice and more focused on the drama and plot - and sadly, this one was very focused on the smut 😅

don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adored zuri (what an innocent lil corrupted bean) and ursa (the QUEEN we must bow!!)… but I wasn’t a huge fun of alaric (a sad representation of my prince eric 🫡) 

he spent most of the book firmly in the “grass is greener on the other side” mentality, and it didn’t really improve unless he received validation back 🙃 basically he’s a fragile male who does everything to convince himself that he is not indeed fragile and ends up sabotaging 🥴 I would have enjoyed it much more if ursa and zuri were able to be in a relationship on their own 

BUT holy hell, katee robert knows how to write 🥵 while the lack of plot in this one, with a super rushed conflict conclusion, threw me off, I did really enjoy the characterization of ursa and zuri!!! and I cannot wait for aurora’s story finally!!! 

rating: 3 stars
wine pairing: paso robles cabernet sauvignon  

what a beautifully written, heart-wrenching debut novel!! I found myself in disbelief that this was vanessa chan’s first novel because the writing style was so prose-like it had me enraptured!! 

centered around a malaysian family during the japanese occupation in WWII, this novel is not for the faint of heart. it was full of grief, sadness, deception, and terror from start to finish - and I have to say that the ride was so heartbreaking I can’t wait to go through it all over again (the sign of a good book, me thinks) 😭

the characterization definitely could have been a bit deeper on some of the characters, as there’s 5 different POVs and it’s hard when you just start to connect with a character before it shifts to another. however, each POV was so different yet still traumatic from one another - I just wanted so much more!!

what I love most about historical fiction is learning about eras and time periods that I embarrassingly have a lack of knowledge of - and I am quite embarrassed to say that I knew next to nothing about malaysia during WWII. and now, especially after reading the extensive author’s note, I can’t believe this isn’t included in most education (although these days, I shouldn’t be surprised about the lack of historical education) 🙃

all of this to say that I cannot believe this is a debut novel, and I’m anxiously awaiting vanessa’s next novel! 

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: south africa pinotage 

freida mcfadden never fails to write the most guessable stories with a completely unguessable ending!! 😮‍💨🫡 and this one was no exception - I was here to find out what happened to all of these unlikable characters! 

I love when I’m so invested in a story with unlikable characters - I feel so satisfied at the end when I find out what happens to all of them! and boy, it kept me going until the very last paragraph 😳

centering around a very icky teacher-student relationship, the multiple POV switch between the student, the male teacher, and his wife was brilliant! they were all so corrupted by the grooming scenario that it was very satisfying to see how it all played out at the end 🤯 and in pure freida fashion, she STRUNG me along!!

while the ending completely threw me for a loop, the rest played out in a pretty predictable fashion. like her other books, this was a quick bingeable thriller - and I got to buddy read with my gal pal jordan again 🥳🥳

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: chile chardonnay 

if the spicy scenes were taken out of this one, it would have been an easy 5 stars from me!! as I typically go into books blind, I had absolutely no idea what to expect from this paranormal romantasy!! and let me tell you, I was so invested in the plot!!

ali hazelwood’s first dabble into the fantasy genre was such a success! she did a wonderful job world building in this magical realism world of humans, vampyres, and weres - and made it totally believable!! her writing style always combines characterization with plot in the best way possible, and BRIDE was no exception 

I’m a sucker for marriage of convenience and arranged relationships 😍 and having that arranged marriage be between a vampyre and a were was just the tension I needed!! misery was the perfect MC to be thrust into this situation - and her motivation behind everything was the perfect story to go along with the political plot of the universe!!

what really threw me off were the spicy scenes 😅 it was … a lot to take in. and while yes this felt a lot like twilight fanfiction, the spicy scenes (especially at the end) were borderline beastiality and gave me a huge ick

nonetheless, ali hazelwood’s grumpy sunshine duo prevails again, and I would love spin offs in this world! thank you to berkley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review 🥰

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: bordeaux zinfandel 

I'm still processing the events of this chonky book so expect a long rambling review!! 🤪 this series (and all of SJM's books) consume my every thought, and it's truly spectacular to watch a world come to life, especially as one as complex as crescent city!  that is one thing SJM knows how to do best: weaving complex storylines so easily!!

it's so hard to write a spoiler-free review since every little detail feels like a spoiler, so I'll say this before I go into more detail after the break: it felt like so much happened in the span of 900 pages, and yet, there was so much more I wanted to see.  it didn't feel like enough, and also too much all at the same time.  so clearly, I'm still conflicted at how much I enjoyed this one...

🛑 [SPOILERS BEHIND THIS POINT] 🛑






[TURN BACK NOW!!!!]






okay if you're still with me, I'm going to start with the gigantic elephant in the room that is the multiverse of ACOTAR, CC, and TOG.  I think I went in with too high expectations because the ACOTAR crossover felt... unimportant.  everything that bryce learned from nesta and bryce could have been told to her by aidas at any give time... so yes, it was a fan service moment, but it didn't hold a great impact to me 🫠 I wanted so much more from the multiverse - and maybe that's due to the fact that I love the ACOTAR and TOG characters so much more than the CC ones... but I was truly holding out hope for an avengers like crossover event at the end...

that being said, nesta's evolution and personality in this one showed SO MUCH growth since we last saw her in ACOSF 🥹🥹🥹 - she's grown, she's besties with azriel now, and she wields her powers (those silver flames though omfg!! ☠️) and weapons with beauty, grace, and warrior skill.  I teared up everytime I saw her on the page! 😭❤️

and that leads me to bryce because she was not it in this book.  the "hiding everything from everyone" trope didn't work for me 🫠 in TOG, aelin was the queen of keeping everything close to her chest and it worked for her, mostly because we saw her trauma and grief of what happens when she trusts people time and time again.  it fit.  with bryce, it just felt smug and selfish.  yes, she takes no shit which I love, but I didn't see the growth in her like I did in HOEAB...

once again, ruhn and lidia have my entire heart like they did in HOSAB! 🥵 I loved seeing them grow past their "day and night" personalities, but again, I wanted more.  this was a veryyyyyy plot heavy book, which means the characterization and growth potential of characters felt stifled.  I didn't feel as connected to them as I have with SJM's other series, and I think that's due to this series being very plot heavy and world building and less emphasis on who the characters truly are at their core.

the ending to me felt anticlimactic, and that's mostly due to the fact that SJM uses the same "dead but not really" trope on every main character in every one of her finales 😑🙄 it felt like a repeat of ACOWAR which took away the effect she was going for.  don't get me wrong, I love a happy ending, but you're telling me not a single person died fighting gods??? please 

I just think the book would have been cleaner if it focused more on the multiverse aspects and less on the side characters (tharion, your chapters made me want to stab my eyeballs, there's only so much self pity I can take 🫠) especially if a spin-off is happening with tharion and ithan.  I screamed every time a little tidbit was dropped about the ACOTAR and TOG connections though omg - and the way she set up ACOTAR 5? priceless 😮‍💨

at the end of the day, it was an entertaining and heart-pounding plot heavy read, and it did the fan service of loyal SJM readers well.  I just think some cuts of POVs with the addition of more multiverse connections would have made this a 5 star read for me...

rating: 4 stars
wine pairing: chianti red blend