ARC, Books

Book 1,031: Speak of the Devil – Rose Wilding

OMFG. I can’t believe I waited as long as I did to read this. I accepted an ARC ages ago from the publisher, but then school and life got in the way and I blew past the publication date.* Then there were so many MM Holiday Romances I just had to read, and this is where we ended up me reading it in January 2024, six months after publication, and then finally getting the review posted almost a year to the date after publication (six months after I read it but back-scheduling). OH, THE SHAME.

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Book 1,027: Heartstopper, Vol. 5 (Hearstopper #5) – Alice Oseman

Where do I even start with this series. I’ve read the first four volumes multiple times. With each new release I hold my breath and cross my fingers that Oseman doesn’t somehow pull the rug out from under us. She definitely didn’t this time, it’s just more unadulterated queer joy and I am here for it.

In Volume 5, Nick and Charlie have to come to terms with the fact that Nick is wrapping up secondary school and has to start thinking about his future. And that future includes university options all over the country. What that means for their relationship has yet to be seen.

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Book 1,026: Snow Way in Hell (Snow Way in Hell #1) – Charlie Novak

I read this because Novak’s novel Up to Snow Good caught my attention and I realized this came first and introduced some of the characters in the second, so figured why not. Plus, when you add in it’s a short story/novella and it includes a protagonist of color, I grabbed it and blazed through it.

Snow Way in Hell is the story of Tarquin, a PhD pursuing academic, and his older brother, Max’s best friend, George, an Olympic snowboarder. Max drags them and a couple of asshat friends (thankfully they bail pretty quickly) on a three-day mess of a vacation.

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Book 1,019: The West – Naoíse Mac Sweeney

This was a fascinating read. Mac Sweeney takes what you think you know about “Western Civilization” and attempts to flip it on its head via fourteen mini-biographies about historical figures, only a few of which I knew immediately.

I feel horrible it’s taken me this long to push my response out. The publisher reached out in January 2023. I blew past the publication date in May 2023, and finally read it in December 2023. So, I’m hanging my head, because it’s now taken me another month and a half to actually publish my response.

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Book 1,006: Out of This World (Browerton University #5) – A.J. Truman

As I mentioned in my Out for the Night review, I think this is probably my second favorite of the series. I would say it has to do with the England setting, and that’s some of it, but most of it is just Rafe for me. It also might have something to do with the opening line being a Pride and Prejudice parody 😀

This book takes us away from the Browerton campus (as does the next one, which I had issues with) for a study abroad program. We still get to check in on Coop and Matty, but it’s pretty removed from the rest of the stories.

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