Book Review: Merry Kissmas To You by Jenni Jennings

Book: Merry Kissmas To You
Author: Jenni Jennings
Age & Genre: YA contemporary

(I was sent a free copy of this book by the publisher for review)

Milly, Robert and Sam usually love Christmas. But this year, they’re all out of joy. Milly is worried about her dad. Sam is desperately trying to avoid her ex, Nadia. And Robert is convinced he’s destined to always fall for girls who don’t like him back. As their high-school’s Christmas Snow Ball approaches, they are all out of festive fun. But as the snow starts falling and the sleigh bells ring, maybe it’s not too late for a sprinkling of Christmas sparkle after all… Will each of them get their magic moment under the mistletoe?

My Rating: 4 STARS

My Review:

Merry Kissmas To You is such a cosy festive filled book that I really enjoyed reading. This book is centred on three friends on the build up to Christmas as they each try to deal with their own problems.

There are multiple povs in this book as it focuses on Milly, Robert, Sam and Laurence and I feel like the multiple povs made this book feel like such a quick read and also gave each character more depth. I also thought it was interesting that we get Laurence’s pov too since he isn’t a part of the group of friends initially.

The characters felt so real and I loved how Milly, Robert and Sam all got along and I enjoyed reading about them video calling each other when they needed to update each other on what happened that day. You can really feel how close they are as friends through the writing.

I liked how the book discussed the financial worries that people have like Milly and her family and how it shows the other side with Laurence who has a lot of money but is also having a rough time of his own. I liked their romance and how they each try to open up to each other but also find it hard to open up since they fear the judgement of other people. I also really enjoyed Sam and Robert’s povs and how they each have their own things they are focused on too.

Overall I really enjoyed Merry Kissmas To You. I liked how real the characters felt and I loved the Christmas backdrop of the story and the cosy festive feelings it gave off. It’s definitely a perfect book to get you in the Christmas spirit as it describes the Christmas holidays so well.

October Wrap Up 2021

What I Read In October:

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas – YA PARANORMAL – 5 STARS

I loved Cemetery Boys, it was the perfect read for October. It has such an autumnal feeling as it features ghosts and I really liked the characters. I liked how Yadriel and Julian interacted with each other and I thought their romance was well developed. This book also had some great themes and I would highly recommend reading it.

Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach – YA CONTEMPORARY – 4 STARS (I was sent a free copy of this book by the publisher after winning a giveaway)

I really liked this book and liked how it discusses feminism. I liked how Eliza realises different things about herself and others throughout the book and I enjoyed reading about her friendship with Len.

Crave (Crave #1) by Tracy Wolff – YA PARANORMAL – 4 STARS

I’ve heard a lot of hype surrounding this book series and a lot of people’s views on it seem to be mixed. This book is about a school full of different paranormal creatures and the main character who is thrown into the world without any clue of what’s going on. I did really enjoy this book and thought the writing had an addictive quality to it. It didn’t feel as long as it was and I’m interested to see what happens next in the story.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow – YA HISTORICAL FANTASY – 4 STARS

I liked this book and the talk of women’s rights and how it mixes that with witches. It was a really interesting read and I enjoyed reading about the sister relationships in it. It was a bit slow at times but I enjoyed it none the less.

Merry Kissmas To You by Jenni Jennings – YA CONTEMPORARY – 4 STARS – (I was sent a free copy of this book by the publisher for review)

I really liked Merry Kissmas To You and thought it was a great festive filled story. The characters all felt very real and I liked how this book has multiple povs because it gave each character more depth as you read from their pov. This is a great book to get you in the Christmas spirit.

Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw – YA PARANORMAL – 3 STARS

This book is about vampires, which I love, is set in the 90s and talks about horror movies and I really wanted to love it but I didn’t. I thought it was an okay book but I didn’t feel an attachment to any of the characters and I found their reaction to things a bit unbelievable. I also thought the romance was very quick but the book does have a nice spooky feeling to it which I liked.

The Ex Hex (Ex Hex #1) by Erin Sterling – ADULT PARANORMAL – 3 STARS

This was a fun witchy book and I liked the setting and atmosphere of it but I thought the romance was just okay. I also thought the story and romance were predictable but still it was a fun quick read.

Blog Posts I Did In October:

Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach Book Review

A Void of Magic by Sandy Williams Book Review

Book Covers That Have A Spooky Aesthetic

Book Recommendations for the Halloween Season

My Favourite Vampire Books

Most Anticipated Book Releases for October

My October TBR 2021

September Wrap Up 2021

What books did you read in October?

Book Review: Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach

Book: Not Here To Be Liked
Author: Michelle Quach
Age & Genre: YA contemporary

(I was sent this book for free by the publisher after winning a giveaway)

Falling in love wasn’t part of the plan. Eliza Quan fully expects to be voted the next editor-in-chief of her school paper. She works hard, she respects the facts, and she has the most experience. Len DiMartile is an injured star baseball player who seems to have joined the paper just to have something to do. Naturally, the staff picks Len to be their next leader. Because while they may respect Eliza, they don’t particularly like her ­- but right now, Eliza is not here to be liked. She’s here to win. But someone does like Eliza. A lot. Shame it’s the boy standing in the way of her becoming editor-in-chief…

My Rating: 4 STARS

My Review:

Not Here To Be Liked is a YA contemporary about Eliza who ends up accidentally starting a feminist movement in school after one of the boys in her school gets picked as editor of the school’s newspaper instead of her despite her having more qualifications.

Eliza is described as an unlikable character but I didn’t find her unlikable at all, I thought she was just very focused on what she wanted which I think is obviously the point the novel is making. I really understood what Eliza was trying to do and I liked the realisations she makes throughout the book.

I enjoyed Not Here To Be Liked and I liked the messages it discusses. The main message being feminism and what it means to be a feminist. I liked how the whole school was involved and how each person had their own opinion on it. Eliza starts this feminist movement and ends up doubting herself as she starts to develop feelings for Len and we see how other people react to that with the book also discussing internalised misogyny.

I liked how Eliza and Len went from enemies to friends and I liked how they got to know each other more. I didn’t really care for their romance that much, I didn’t feel a connection for their romance as I did for their friendship.

Overall I liked Not Here To Be Liked and I liked the topics and messages discussed in it. Although I didn’t care much for the romance I still really enjoyed the development of Eliza and Len’s friendship.

Book Review: A Void of Magic (Kennedy Rain #1) by Sandy Williams

Book: A Void of Magic
Series: Kennedy Rain #1
Author: Sandy Williams
Age & Genre: NA/Adult urban fantasy

They trusted her to keep the peace between the paranorms. They made a mistake.

Kennedy escaped the family business when she turned eighteen. Now, an ill-timed vacation pulls her back to The Rain Hotel, the only known null zone on the planet. It’s a place where vampires can see the sun rise and werewolves can avoid the lure of the full moon. And it would be the perfect place for a paranormal wedding…if the bride wasn’t the local alpha’s daughter and the groom the scion of a vicious master vampire.

With a sexy werewolf determined to sabotage the wedding and dark forces threatening The Rain, Kennedy’s life is thrown out of balance when she’s forced to confront a past she swore to avoid. Ultimately she must choose: will she maintain the stability of the supernatural world…or will she destroy it.

My Rating: 4 STARS

My Review:

A Void of Magic is an urban fantasy about Kennedy Rain who is managing The Rain which is a sort of peace keeping hotel that is run by her family. There are all sorts of paranormal creatures in this book but the focus of it is on the vampires and werewolves who don’t get along well with each other but both need the hotel for different things.

I liked the set up of the world and I liked the description of the hotel and what it entails for the creatures that stay there. It has its on complex system which was interesting to read and even more interesting to read from a character caught in the middle of it.

Kennedy Rain is a human who manages the hotel and she has to deal with the paranorms who stay there. It took me a while to like Kennedy, she isn’t an unlikable character but she is very standoffish. We find out why that is as the book goes on but I feel I would’ve liked to have read more about her past with the hotel and her relationship with her parents.

I liked all the different character interactions and I was very intrigued by most of them. There is a mysterious quality to almost all of them that made me want to know more about them and theorise on their role in the overall story because their motivations are unclear.

Overall I really liked A Void of Magic, I liked the set up of the world and the description of the hotel. It took me a while to like Kennedy but I liked her interactions with the other characters and I’m excited to read more books in this series.

September Wrap Up 2021

What I Read In September:

The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen – ADULT/NEW ADULT FANTASY ROMANCE – 4 STARS
The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen – ADULT/NEW ADULT FANTASY ROMANCE – 4 STARS

I’ve heard so many good things about this series and I’m glad I enjoyed it too. I liked the characters and I thought the world and plot was very interesting. I was also really intrigued by the romance and how it progressed, I liked reading about Lara and Aren together and I also liked how we see both povs of their relationship.

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth – YA CONTEMPORARY – 4 STARS

I really enjoyed Not My Problem, I loved Aideen and her interactions with all the other characters. I loved how it focuses on friendships and I really enjoyed reading about all the different situations her and her friends found themselves in.

A Void of Magic (Kennedy Rain #1) by Sandy Williams – ADULT/NEW ADULT URBAN FANTASY – 4 STARS

I liked the premise of this book and how everything centres on a hotel called The Rain which is key in keeping the peace between supernatural enemies like werewolves and vampires. I didn’t really care much about Kennedy throughout this book because she is a bit standoffish and I feel like you don’t see many sides to her besides being caught in the middle of the supernatural things but I hope I’ll like her more as the series progresses.

Redemptor (Raybearer #2) by Jordan Ifueko – YA FANTASY – 5 STARS

I had such high expectations of Redemptor because I loved Raybearer so much and I’m so happy that Redemptor not only lived up to them but surpassed them. I loved Redemptor and thought it was an amazing ending to this duology, I loved the themes of justice and found family throughout this book. The writing is so beautiful as well and I can’t wait to read more books by this author.

The Crown of Gilded Bones (Blood and Ash #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout – ADULT/NEW ADULT FANTASY ROMANCE – 5 STARS

I loved this book just as much as I loved the second book in this series. I loved that we see what the shock ending of AKOFAF means for not just Poppy and Casteel but for Atlantia as well. There was a lot of shocking information unveiled throughout this book and I loved that I was never bored. I liked reading how the different turns changes things for the characters and their interactions with each other.

Blog Posts I Did In September:

My Autumn TBR 2021

Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth Book Review

Monstrous Design (Battalion of the Dead #2) by Kat Dunn Book Review

Books That Will Make You Smile

Books On My TBR With Numbers In The Title

August Wrap Up 2021

I participated in both the Magical Readathon and Becca’s Bookoplathon in September and only managed to read half the books on my tbr before I got distracted by reading The Crown of Gilded Bones (which wasn’t on my tbr).  I still ended up passing the Magical Readathon since you only needed to read two books to pass and I loved all the books I read in September so I’m not disappointed in my reading. 

What books did you read in September?  Did you participate in any readathons?

Book Review: Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth

Book: Not My Problem
Author: Ciara Smyth
Age & Genre: YA contemporary

Aideen has plenty of problems she can’t fix. Her best (and only) friend is pulling away. Her mother’s drinking problem is a constant concern. She’s even running out of outlandish diseases to fake so she can skip PE.

But when Aideen stumbles on her nemesis, overachiever Meabh Kowalski, in the midst of a full-blown meltdown, she sees a problem that—unlike her own disaster of a life—seems refreshingly easy to solve. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help. By pushing Meabh down the stairs.

Problem? Solved. Meabh’s sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when another student learns about their little scheme and brings Aideen another “client” who needs her “help,” it kicks off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and an unexpected chance at love. Fixing other people’s problems won’t fix her own, but it might be the push she needs to start.

My Rating: 4 STARS

My Review:

Not My Problem is a YA contemporary set in Ireland and about Aideen who is trying to manage her home life and school life while also trying to help other people by doing favours for them.

I really liked Not My Problem and I loved Aideen right away. She has such a funny and caring personality and I like how she got on with other people. She is the type of character you’d want to be best friends with and I liked that even though she had this carefree attitude she still had her own problems underneath that she struggled with.

There is a focus on friendships in this book and I loved that, I also liked the differences of the friendships. It was interesting to see Aideen come to her own conclusions about the friends she has and what they mean to her. I loved the new friendships she made and her interactions with Kavi and Meabh were so fun to read.

I liked the romance and how it came about. I loved that Aideen and Meabh had an enemies to lovers type of romance and I loved seeing that relationship blossom and grow into something more, I think they work well together.

I thought the plot was intriguing with Aideen helping people in her school with their own problems and how it got her and her friends into all sorts of trouble and I liked how helping people with their problems made her face her own problems.

Overall I really liked Not My Problem. I loved Aideen and the friendships she makes throughout the book. I also thought the plot was very entertaining and I loved the romance. I think this is a great contemporary with a focus on friendships and the struggles that come with it. It’s also a really funny book that I loved reading.