![]() 4-4.5/5 Man, February was a great month for book releases. Taking the Leap is number 3 in Kristen Ashley’s River Rain series and came out the same day as HOSAB. This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2022 because I absolutely LOVED Chasing Serenity (book 2) and the little pieces we had gotten of Rix and Alex were absolutely divine. Like I said in my review of Chasing Serenity, Taking the Leap feels very classic KA but with some more modern sensibilities. Alex and Rix are both taking on new, larger roles with the new charitable organization being run by Judge (from Chasing Serenity). Alex is pretty much the definition of an introvert, she’s outdoorsy and much more comfortable on her own than with people. Because of this, her massive crush on Rix causes her to act awkward around him and he comes to the mistaken conclusion that she doesn’t know how to act around physically disabled people, given that he’s a double amputee. This does not set them up for an easy flirtation, to say the least. Rix and Alex talk this out pretty quickly at the start of the novel and see that they actually have a lot in common. Circumstances arise that lead them to make the decision to fake-date for Alex’s sister’s wedding, but Rix isn’t really in a place where he thinks he can have a serious relationship. (This actually felt like a pretty reasonable reason to fake-date - not something I usually say about this trope, even though it’s one of my favourites). I’m not going to pretend to be an expert, but from what I know I think that Rix’s disability was handled very well. At the point where we meet him, he’s out of the most grueling stages of physical therapy and he’s able to use both a wheelchair and prosthetics. More than the physical aspects of his new reality, Rix is trying to navigate what it means for his friendships and relationships. After suffering such a traumatic accident, not everyone knows how to act around him and his perception of himself as a partner has changed. This difficult situation is only made worse by the fact that his fiance left him two days after he returned home from the hospital. So yeah - there’s a lot to unpack there. Alex didn’t know Rix before his accident, so to her this is just who he’s always been. She’s a steady presence in his life and the way that she stands by him and helps him grow into his new life just by being herself and treating the differences that come with his disability casually but with respect was refreshing. There was a great give and take to their relationship and I loved how they were protective over each other without it being unhealthy. Alex was a great partner and I liked how different she was to Chloe. She and Chloe are some of the most unique KA heroines in her entire catalogue and I’m loving the direction of this series. We got lots of cute cameos from Judge and Chloe, and it was very fun to see Alex and Chloe develop a friendship despite being so fundamentally different. I seriously cannot hype this series up enough, so just go read it now!
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![]() 4.5/5 Fair warning, there are going to be spoilers about the ending of HOSAB in this review, but I’ll clearly mark when they’re about to occur. I wasn’t going to do a spoiler-review but after the absolute ass-kicking I took from that ending, I simply have no other choice. Crescent City is quite possibly my favourite Sarah J Maas book, which feels blasphemous considering how much I love ACOMAF but there you have it. Hunt and Bryce are complete perfection in book one and that fact definitely does not change in HOSAB. As heavy as this book is, Hunt’s fawning over Bryce kept me smiling pretty much every page. I’m actually kind of happy that university kept me from gorging myself on this book in one day like I damn well wanted to, because baby is DENSE. We get even more narrators and characters, all of whom I loved. Cormac is a psychotic sweetie and as much as I loved Ruhn in book one, I love him even more now. It’s a very similar structure to Crescent City where there’s a lot going on but maybe not that much of importance ACTUALLY happening until the last 200 pages. Not to say that it isn’t enjoyable and thrilling, but it’s all build-up to yet another action packed finale. And what a 200 pages they were. SPOILERS BEGIN GO AWAY IF YOU DON’T WANT ‘EM! First off, I simply cannot handle that Hunt is a slave again. My brain cannot process it and I’m pretty sure my heart actually stopped. I was all prepared to say that this book didn’t have as many emotional highs and lows as CC, but apparently some higher power heard my thoughts and sent SJM to bitch-slap me because I’m utterly heartbroken and I don’t know if I’ll be able to handle book 3. Also, what’s up with all of Ruhn’s comments about Bryce being like their dad? That has to mean something, right? I really thought I knew wtf was going on with Agent Day and the Asteri but I didn’t know shit. I admit, I do feel slightly dumb for not figuring it out about the Hind but whatever. I figured out the ending before the big reveal, but only when it became absurdly obvious what was going to happen. I literally wrote in my notes “is Amren one of these people?” at page 758. Yeah, yeah, I’m a prize idiot, whatever. Sarah J Maas is a BUSINESSWOMAN people, the woman clearly knows how to keep us in a chokehold and I am freaking living for it. I’m sure that people will find this crossover controversial but I’m loving it - and really, didn’t we all see it coming, what with the talk of other worlds in ACOTAR? I always figured something like this was coming and I’m interested to see how it plays out. ![]() 3/5 Y’all, I’m officially a bookstagrammer. This is the first arc I’ve received via netgalley (still waiting for my Love on the Brain approval btw @netgalley), and this was also my first Sarah Bennett novel. Love Blooms in Mermaids Point is the third book in the Mermaids Point series but I personally think it’s fine to read it as a stand-alone. The other couples feature pretty heavily in the story and so I would definitely have had more appreciation for their cameos had I read the other books but I was by no means confused about the plot or who they were to each other and the community. This was a really lighthearted read, which seems like an odd thing to say considering we have one mc who’s dealing with the aftermath of her mother’s passing and another who is shaking off a disastrous divorce, but Bennett somehow manages to make the book charming and fun. It’s a very easy-going read and I LOVED the setting. Considering their mountains of baggage, Alex and Ivy decide that jumping into a serious relationship probably wouldn’t be a great idea. However, they’re very attracted to each other and are just entering into a joint business venture involving the local bookstore (you heard that right, a small-town bookstore complete with imperious cat), and so they decide to start a very ill-defined, friends with benefits but less casual relationship. Basically, they’re in a serious relationship but refuse to call it that. To be honest, Alex and Ivy (particularly Ivy) can both be prize idiots about the whole thing, but they’re both well-meaning and charming enough to pull it off. Considering their backgrounds I found it understandable why they would start their relationship this way when normally this kind of trope feels a little unrealistic. A little PSA: this book is very fade to black. I enjoy all variations of spice levels so I wasn’t let down by that but I thought I’d mention it for my smut-reader’s consideration. The ending definitely wraps up a little quickly - the big climax is brought up and then resolved within a couple of chapters, and well it felt a touch rushed, I think it fit with the feel of the story. The issues that Ivy and Alex are dealing with are big enough to move the story along and I don’t think it needed big drama throughout to be interesting, so it worked for me. Definitely a great book to read on a snowy day, Love Blooms in Mermaids point releases March 16! Thank you to netgalley and Boldwood Books for the arc! |
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