TagFamily Issues

Book Review: Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

B

The Gist: Starling House artfully employs dark academia and an enigmatic haunted house to delve into the racism, sexism and classism that plague a small town.

Series: Standalone

Release Date: October 3, 2023

Synopsis
A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can’t stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Ending
HFN
Representation
• Bisexual main character
• Mexican Biracial Supporting Character
• Lesbian supporting characters
• Sapphic side relationship
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Grief (Heroine’s and the Hero’s parents died before the book starts)
• PTSD from near-death experience
• Sword violence
• Homelessness
• Incest recounted (by a side character)
• Racism
• Homophobia
Safety Rating: Safe
No cheating
No OM/OW drama
Does have the Hero pushing the Heroine away
Does have a brief separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 4.25-stars

(more…)

Book Review: Weyward by Emilia Hart

B

The Gist: A whimsical historical fiction that explores feminist resistance to patriarchy over five centuries through magic and reclaiming autonomy.

Series: Standalone

Release Date: February 2, 2023

Synopsis
I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family’s grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives––and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word weyward scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart’s Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Ending
HFN
Representation
• wlw main character
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Intimate partner violence
• R@pe
• Sexism
• Attempted murder
• Murder
• Abortion
Mature Themes
• Alcohol abuse
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Hardcover

Rating: 5-stars

(more…)

Review: Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

R

The Gist: A lush and romantic young adult fantasy about how far a daughter will go to save her mom.

Series: The Celestial Kingdom, #1

Release Date: January 11, 2022

Synopsis
Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dream—striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magic—where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

Ending
HFN regarding the plot but the love triangle is not resolved.
Representation
• Chinese-coded main character
• Chinese-coded supporting characters
• Chinese-coded side characters
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Death
• Knife violence
• Arrow violence
• Attempted murder
• Non-consensual mind manipulation/compulsion
• Abduction
• Imprisonment
Mature Themes
• Sexual content doesn’t surpass kissing
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Paperback

Rating: 5-stars

(more…)

Review: Following Maggie by Melanie Moreland

R

The Gist: A sweet romance that romanticizes the mundane and explores belonging through a found family trope, small-town life and an only-in-the-movies meet-cute.

Series: Insta-Spark Collection, #7*

Release Date: April 7, 2022

Synopsis
A snowstorm, an unexpected delay, and a caring stranger are all it takes for Sebastian Ruggers to change the course of his life. Instead of pushing paper and living a life he dreads, he follows his heart and the girl he meets to a new city. A different life.

Maggie Andrews is heading back to the only town that ever felt like home. When she meets Sebastian, somehow she knows, together, they’ll find a life together sweeter than the ones they are leaving behind. She can help him find his future. He can be the person she needs. They only have to say yes.

Sometimes you discover home isn’t only a location on a map—but the person you share it with.

Ending
HEA
Representation
No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Death of Heroine’s parents and Hero’s mother
• Parental neglect
Safety Rating: Safe
No cheating
No OW/OM drama
No pushing away
No separation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 4.25-stars

*Each book in the series is Standalone

(more…)

Moving and Intimate: Age of Ava by Melanie Moreland

M

The Gist: A moving and intimate opposites-attract romance with a perfectly grumpy Hero and badass Heroine that explores family and the rewards of vulnerability.

Series: ABC Corp, #4*

Release Date: August 26, 2021

Synopsis
AVA CALLAGHAN
A woman working in a male-dominated field.
Organized, strong, and tenacious.
That’s how she has to be to succeed.

HUNTER OWENS
A loner.
He needs no one, has no ties, and his future is an unanswered question mark.
It’s all he knows.
Until the day their lives intersect.

He sees the woman she hides from the world.
She nurtures the part of him he lost long ago.
But they both agree—their connection is temporary.
They are only for now.

Can their stubborn natures allow them to bend and accept that maybe, just maybe, there is more to life than they believed?
That love can heal.
That happiness can exist.
That for now can be forever.

Ending
HEA
Representation
• Side character with a congenital amputation of one of her arms (her right arm is only partially formed)

Possible Triggers: YES
• Death of Hero’s grandparents and mother
• Parental neglect and abandonment
• Verbal abuse (described, in the past)
• Medical trauma
Safety Rating: Safe with Exceptions
No cheating
No OW/OM drama
Does have the Hero (majorly) pushing the Heroine away
No separation
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 5-stars

*Each book in the series is Standalone

Note: I received Age of Ava from Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

(more…)

Delightful and Loving: Finding Ronan’s Heart by Melanie Moreland

D

The Gist: A delightful and loving sweet contemporary romance that explores independence, family and meaningful connection suffered from repetitive and cliche scenes.

Series: ABC Corp, #2*

Release Date: June 24, 2021

Synopsis
“The boys.”
“The Callaghan Triplets.”
“Three of a kind.”

All his life, Ronan Callaghan has been part of a group. Always looking out for his brothers. Never seen as an individual or judged on his own merits.
When his brothers veer onto their own path, he finds himself alone. Restless.

Then he meets her.
Beth.
A waitress who sees him just for himself. None of the trappings of his wealth or family.
A woman who only wants to know him—Ronan.

She captures his heart, but how will she feel when she discovers the truth he’s holding back?
Can he show her the man he really is?
That he would be rather be hers than anything else?

Ending
HEA with epilogue and a bonus Epilogue from Evan’s (Beth’s younger brother) POV 😭 so sweet
Representation
• Side character with Congenital Amputation of one of her arms (she was born without a complete right arm)
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Sexual harassment
• Discussion/mentions of ableism (btw – the MCs and their family members are not ableist)
• Infidelity
• Hero was victim to a con operation between his ex-girlfriend and his at the time best friend
• Bullying
• Death of parents
Safety Rating: Safe
• No cheating
• No OW/OM drama
• Does have the Heroine pushing the Hero away
• Does have a brief separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: eARC

Rating: 4.75-stars

*Each book in the series is Standalone

Note: I received Finding Ronan’s Heart through Melanie Moreland’s team in exchange for an honest review.

(more…)

Suspenseful Yet Inconsistent: The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner

S

The Gist: A suspenseful novel told in two timelines, 1791 and 2020, explores the motives behind unsolved apothecary murders yet, unfortunately, suffers from inconsistent pacing.

Series: Standalone

Release Date: March 2, 2021

Synopsis
A female apothecary secretly dispenses poisons to liberate women from the men who have wronged them—setting three lives across centuries on a dangerous collision course. Rule #1: The poison must never be used to harm another woman.
Rule #2: The names of the murderer and her victim must be recorded in the apothecary’s register.

One cold February evening in 1791, at the back of a dark London alley in a hidden apothecary shop, Nella awaits her newest customer. Once a respected healer, Nella now uses her knowledge for a darker purpose—selling well-disguised poisons to desperate women who would kill to be free of the men in their lives. But when her new patron turns out to be a precocious twelve-year-old named Eliza Fanning, an unexpected friendship sets in motion a string of events that jeopardizes Nella’s world and threatens to expose the many women whose names are written in her register.

In present-day London, aspiring historian Caroline Parcewell spends her tenth wedding anniversary alone, reeling from the discovery of her husband’s infidelity. When she finds an old apothecary vial near the river Thames, she can’t resist investigating, only to realize she’s found a link to the unsolved “apothecary murders” that haunted London over two centuries ago. As she deepens her search, Caroline’s life collides with Nella’s and Eliza’s in a stunning twist of fate—and not everyone will survive.

Ending
HEA for Eliza and Caroline. Nella makes peace with her life and choices before passing for her illness (I imagine because her death wasn’t explicitly on-page).
Representation
No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Murder
• Allusion to pedophilia
• Description of past miscarriage
• Infidelity
• Self-harm — Caroline’s husband purposefully poisons himself to manipulate Caroline in the hopes of winning her back
• Discussion of suicide
Mature Themes: Yes
• the business of murder
• (im)morality of revenge and vengeance
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Paperback

Rating: 3.5-stars

(more…)

Book Review: Rent a Boyfriend by Gloria Chao

B

The Gist: A realistic exploration of the complex relationship between US immigrant parents and their American children, making the rom-com a heavier read than expected.

Series: Standalone

Release Date: November 10, 2020

Synopsis
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before meets The Farewell in this incisive romantic comedy about a college student who hires a fake boyfriend to appease her traditional Taiwanese parents, to disastrous results, from the acclaimed author of American Panda.

Chloe Wang is nervous to introduce her parents to her boyfriend, because the truth is, she hasn’t met him yet either. She hired him from Rent for Your ’Rents, a company specializing in providing fake boyfriends trained to impress even the most traditional Asian parents.

Drew Chan’s passion is art, but after his parents cut him off for dropping out of college to pursue his dreams, he became a Rent for Your ’Rents employee to keep a roof over his head. Luckily, learning protocols like “Type C parents prefer quiet, kind, zero-PDA gestures” comes naturally to him.

When Chloe rents Drew, the mission is simple: convince her parents fake Drew is worthy of their approval so they’ll stop pressuring her to accept a proposal from Hongbo, the wealthiest (and slimiest) young bachelor in their tight-knit Asian American community.

But when Chloe starts to fall for the real Drew—who, unlike his fake persona, is definitely not ’rent-worthy—her carefully curated life begins to unravel. Can she figure out what she wants before she loses everything?

Ending
HFN
Representation
• Taiwanese-American Heroine
• Taiwanese-American Hero
• Taiwanese-American Supporting Characters
Possible Triggers: Yes
• Parental abandonment (Hero was kicked out of his house ~18-years-old)
• Really difficult relationship with parents
• Strong themes of sexism
• Brief mentions of homophobia and racism
• Cancer
Safety Rating: Safe
No cheating
No OW drama
– But, the Hero does continue his fake boyfriend job, which the Heroine knows about.
Does have OM drama
– Heroine’s parents are trying to set her up with the extremely sexist only son of their elitist friends
Does have the Heroine pushing the Hero away
Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.

Format: Kindle

Rating: 3.5-stars

(more…)

Follow Me on Wordpress

Follow Talk Nerdy To Me on WordPress.com

Currently Reading

You Should See Me in a Crown
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
I Hope I Join the Band: Narrative, Affiliation, and Antiraciset Rhetoric


Sarah Anne's favorite books »

Archives

Upcoming Releases

Parade
The Art of Catching Feelings
A Novel Love Story


Sarah Anne's favorite books »