#chanelslibrary

🌙𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

Leather & Lark by Brynne Weaver

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

The sequel to Butcher & Blackbird follows Rowan’s brother Lachlan Kane, a leather worker (and side contract killer). Lachlan wants a quiet, simple life, but is haunted by his gruesome past through his debt to his eccentric boss. His only hope of paying it off? Marrying Lark Montague, daughter of a wealthy business partner, who he can’t stand.

Lark, sassy singer for an indie band, has had a silver spoon in her mouth and glitter on her hands her whole life. But now a dangerous threat is coming after her family and her, and the only way to protect them is to marry Lachlan Kane?! As Lark and Lachlan are forced together not just through their circle of friends/family, but also through marriage, they learn the hard way that dealing with death is tough, but a fake marriage is killer!

This book was a fun follow up to B&B! I love a fake marriage trope and like when the main pairing is forced together in an interesting way. This story had Weaver’s usual toxic/crazy trigger warnings (so I would advise everyone to read them before diving in) mixed with funny quips and sassy banter between Lark and Lachlan. My only hang up, and why I didn’t like it as much as B&B, was that I felt the relationship was rushed. Yes, it’s forced proximity/marriage of convenience but there still has to be a build up/slow burn for a random stranger!! It was a little insta-love…still a good romance book and definitely recommend the audio to hear Lachlan’s sexy Irish accent 😚

Read if you love:

💍Marriage of convenience

👥Dual POV

🌦️Grumpy/sunshine

🌶️Spice

🩸True crime/serial killers

🌙𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

In the sequel to ACOTAR, Feyre deals with the aftermath of her actions under the mountain including her new life as a High Fae. She confronts her new powers, haunting nightmares, and her bargain with Rhysand all while planning a wedding to Tamlin, and in the background a dark threat is heading to Prythian.

ACOMAF is a really good fantasy book! I certainly liked it more than ACOTAR lol. It was great getting to know more of Feyre’s character as well as her sisters. I also really loved seeing more of Prythian—the Summer and Night Courts—and their people and how they differed from the Spring Court! Although, my biggest pet peeve was the lack of diversity in this book. SJM definitely could have added more POC, and I felt like she “tried” to make the Illyrians racially diverse but in a half assed way. The adjectives used to describe their skin, hair, etc. was so vague *eyeroll*

Anyway, I think overall this book had great action that built on the foundation of ACOTAR and the romance was authentic. The background characters were well written that you were invested in their stories too—hello Azriel!😘 I will be continuing this series especially now that SJM announced another book soon

Read if you love:

⚔️Romantasy

🧚Faeries

🖤Enemies to lovers

🐾Fated mates

🌙𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰🌙

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

In 1920’s Shanghai, the city is caught between two feuding gangs who are out for blood. The Scarlets, ruthless criminals who are trying to keep control of their native city, and their vicious rivals the White Flowers, who having been grappling for power for generations since their immigration from Russia. At the helm of each side are teenage heirs, Juliette Cai and Roma Montagov, former lovers and now bitter enemies. But with a string of mysterious deaths (in both the Scarlets and Flowers) linked to a contagious madness, Juliette and Roma must band together to save their gangs and their city.

So…this book was just an OK 3 stars. I love Romeo and Juliet, and I was so excited for a retelling especially set in China with a roaring 20s twist but this fell a little flat. The actual plot with the madness/mystery was interesting, but the romance was boring!! Maybe it’ll pick up in book 2, but there was no sexual tension, no smut, barely any backstory…I needed something more than one kiss!

Anyway, I’ll eventually read book 2. But I was definitely disappointed. How did you guys feel after reading this book?

Read if you love:

🥀Romeo and juliet retelling

🇨🇳China setting

✊🏼AAPI rep

🔥Slow burn