Review of The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake

This book was a jumble of things. The world and the magic system confused me. I am not sure if the magic system was ever properly explained in this book. Since the plot focuses heavily on this magic system, I would have liked it to be more thought-out/ explained.

This is a multiple split pov book with a whole bunch of characters. I started this book only liking one of the main characters and not caring for or disliking the others. These characters you love to hate. I felt that out of the 6 main pov/main characters, we got it really only focused on 4 of them. Some characters got lost or left behind, and then would randomly appear again.

Halfway through this book, I had no idea what was going on. There was a plot twist after a plot twist that kept me on my toes, but I just didn't really know what was going on. The big ending plot twist was predictable because most of the characters did a lot of telling/explaining rather than showing the reader what was going on.

I think this book could have been a standalone. The ending had everything come together, but was left on obvious cliffhanger just to get a another book in this series.

Review of A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

I went in excited about this book due to hearing a lot of great things about Ava Reid and her writing style. I usually am not much of a fae person, but I really enjoyed this book.

The setting and overall vibe of the book were very enchanting. This was a dark fantasy book with creepy vibes that had dark academia elements to it. The writing is what really brought this book together. It was cinematic how Reid described some of the settings. This book played out like a movie in my head while reading.

The female main character Effy, is what all ya female protagonists should be. She has strong morals and is very flawed, but she is not depending on a male to save her or make decisions for her. When she is introduced to us she has a lot of dark trauma that gets developed throughout the story. She really grows as a character and as a young woman.

When it comes to the romance subplot of this book, I ate it up! I really did love Preston. He is such a gentleman, and every chapter, you are just dying for them to admit their feelings to each other. I wouldn't really say it's an academic rivals to lovers because they become friends/companions pretty quickly in the story.

The mystery aspect of the plot was an intriguing part of the book. I did like the end of the book and was very happy with it. The only thing I would nitpick was that the lore dumping of the world all in one chapter was a bit confusing. Although, as you continue to read on, most of it comes together.

Review of The Secret Service of Tea and Treason by India Holton

I went into this book with expectations/wants that ultimately set me up for failure with this book. I watched The Artful Dodger and wanted a cute Regency fake dating book, but I was very disappointed with my choice.

I am not usually one for romance books, but I wanted to take my chance. I know I started on the third book in the series, although I was told this could be a standalone. The world to me was confusing, and I blame that on my jumping into this series.

The main character came out of the door with an annoying personality. She is supposed to be a strong female lead who is at the top of her league in her spy job. Although she comes across as illiterate at times, carrying a dictionary around with her and taking everything I mean everything literally. This ruined a lot of the dialogue because she would stop the flow of conversation by not getting simple analogies and innuendos. She is supposed to be book smart, yet she doesn't know basic dialogue??

To me, this relationship had no chemistry until the very end, when I started to actually picture this couple being together. There was only sexual tension which if that is want you want then you would love this book. Me on the other hand I wanted some build up with this rivals to lovers. Instead all these people wanted to do was have sex.

The plot of this book was lost to me halfway through. I forgot that they were supposed to be on a mission, which I feel was the actual plot of this book. The ending of this book was the best part to me, although getting engaged after a week of knowing each other... I don't know.

I learned not to buy a book based on a trope, and maybe this type of romance is just not my thing.