Review: The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton

April 5, 2023April 4, 2023 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton book cover

The League of Gentlewomen Witches
India Holton
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication Date: March 15, 2022
Series or Standalone:Dangerous Damsels #2
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Child abuse; emotional abuse; violence; fire

I absolutely adored the unique writing style of India Holton in The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels and could not wait to start book two in the Dangerous Damsels series! This book was bonkers, chaotic, over-the-top, and so, so, so much fun. I didn’t think it was possible, but I loved it even more than book one, as the romance really shines in this!

Blog Tour – Review & Excerpt: A Tempest at Sea by Sherry Thomas

March 14, 2023March 14, 2023 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

A Tempest at Sea
Sherry Thomas
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: March 14, 2023
Series or Standalone: Lady Sherlock #7
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: murder; blood; suicidal ideation

I’ve been a huge Lady Sherlock fan for years now as it falls perfectly into my favorite (made-up) genre – lady detectives in Victorian England. Truly, we are so blessed that Berkley gave us a new Veronica Speedwell and a new Lady Holmes story within a week of each other.

A Tempest at Sea marks the seventh entry in Sherry Thomas’ incredibly smart spin on Sherlock Holmes. This book, more so than the previous few books in the series, feels like a lighter adventure – if you could say murder is light. In many ways, this feels like a classic detective story in the vein of Christie’s Death on the Nile. The stakes are lower as the threat from Moriarty has lessened after the events of Miss Moriarty, I Presume?, so it’s a nice change of pace to have a self-contained murder mystery aboard the RMS Provence. Now, that’s not to say the threat from Moriarty is gone entirely – he’s still lingering out there, but it’s nice that he’s not at the center of the mystery this time.

ARC Review: A Sinister Revenge by Deanna Raybourn

February 22, 2023February 22, 2023 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

A Sinister Revenge
Deanna Raybourn
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication Date: March 7, 2023
Series or Standalone: Veronica Speedwell #8
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: murder; death; violence; infidelity

I was so giddy reading A Sinister Revenge – and I’m still giddy thinking about this book. I read this whole book with a smile as it was everything I wanted and more, especially after everything that happened in An Impossible Impostor. Deanna Raybourn seamlessly blends the humor, wit, and emotions you’ve come to know yet makes it feel new and exciting in the eighth installment of the Veronica Speedwell series.

This book gives over major A Dangerous Collaboration vibes. That book just happens to be one of my favorites in the Veronica Speedwell series, so I knew early on that I would be a fan of A Sinister Revenge, and I was not wrong. I was seriously smitten with this book within the first chapter. What is not to love as we have some delicious tension between Veronica and Stoker, time with my favorite Templeton-Vane brother and DINOSAURS?

Audiobook Review: Delilah Green Doesn’t Care by Ashley Herring Blake

January 30, 2023February 5, 2023 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

Delilah Green Doesn’t Care
Ashley Herring Blake
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: February 22, 2022
Series or Standalone: Bright Falls #1
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph
Overall Rating:

Performance Rating:

Story Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: death of parents (past); grief; teenage pregnancy (past); strained relationship with stepfamily; abandonment; references to infidelity (past)

Dani doesn’t really care for this book. I was so excited to finally get to read this as I heard so many people rave about it, but finishing this book proved to be a bit of a struggle. I think this book was returned to the library about five times before I finally finished it.

Review: The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton

December 20, 2022December 21, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels
India Holton
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: June 15, 2021
Series or Standalone: Dangerous Damsels #1
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Gun violence; murder; death of parent; sexism

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels is unlike any book I’ve ever read. It’s absurd and over the top, yet I loved every second of reading it! This book combines a fantastic romance with an incredibly unique premise, badass female characters, and razor-sharp wit. I don’t think I’ve had this much fun reading a book in ages!

Audiobook Review: The Siren of Sussex by Mimi Matthews

December 5, 2022December 4, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

The Siren of Sussex
Mimi Matthews
Narrators: Vidish Athavale & Lydia Hanman
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: January 11, 2022
Series or Standalone: Belles of London
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads – StoryGraph
Overall Rating:

Performance Rating:

Story Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Racism/racial slurs; misogyny/sexism; sexual harrasment; colonization; death of parent; references to suicide, pregnancy, abandonment

The Siren of Sussex was not as tempting as I hoped it would be. First, it should be said that while this is marketed as a romance, it is a closed-door romance. Second, it felt much more like historical fiction than historical romance. And third, listening to this as an audiobook was not the right move.

Review: Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

October 24, 2022October 24, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing Shelf1 Comment

Love on the Brain
Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley Book
Publication Date: August 23, 2022
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: Gun violence; misogyny; cheating

Going into this book, I knew we would likely not be friends. I truly hated The Love Hypothesis, and Love on the Brain follows nearly the exact same formula. So why did I read it, you may ask?

Well, I’m apparently a sucker for punishment, and I wanted to understand the hype. Plus, I felt like I had to give Ali Hazelwood another chance as she’s still a relatively new author. But I won’t fall for that again as this book 100% confirmed that Hazelwood’s writing and stories just aren’t for me.

Before diving into everything I didn’t like, I will say that up until around the 90% mark, I liked this marginally more than The Love Hypothesis. I thought it was going to be a 2.5-star read for me. And then the ending happened, and I completely lost all patience for this book (we will get into that below).

So without further ado, here’s why this book didn’t work for me:

Review: The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

April 7, 2022October 23, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing Shelf2 Comments

The Love Hypothesis
Ali Hazelwood
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication Date: September 14, 2021
Series or Standalone: Standalone
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
Rating:

MY REVIEW

CW: sexual harassament/assualt

Did I read the same book as everyone else? Because this book was a big fat NO from me. I know a lot of people love The Love Hypothesis, but everything about it – from the writing to the characters, to the plot and even the romance – did not work for me. If this wasn’t a hyped book, I would have put it down after the first chapter and marked it as Did Not Finish.

I honestly don’t know where to start with this review.

To try to make this digestible, I’m going to structure this a little bit differently than my normal review with sections:

ARC Review: An Impossible Impostor by Deanna Raybourn

February 14, 2022February 13, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing ShelfLeave a comment

An Impossible Impostor
Deanna Raybourn
Publisher: Berkley Books
Publication Date: February 15, 2022
Series or Standalone: Veronica Speedwell #7
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
Rating:

MY REVIEW

Starting a new Veronica Speedwell book is like being welcomed with a warm hug from an old friend or family member. It’s so comforting and soothing to be spending time with Veronica and Stoker again and getting wrapped up in their latest unexpected mystery and adventure.

Review: A Swift and Savage Tide by Chloe Neill

January 11, 2022January 11, 2022 Dani @ Overflowing Shelf1 Comment

A Swift and Savage Tide
Chloe Neill
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: November 30, 2021
Series or Standalone: Captain Kit Brightling #2
Links: Amazon – Barnes & Noble – Goodreads
Rating:

MY REVIEW

After reading The Bright and Breaking Sea, did you want more romance, swashbuckling, magic, and intrigue? Well, Chloe Neill delivered in its sequel A Swift and Savage Tide! This book was everything I wanted it to be and more. Neill takes the readers on an unforgettable adventure, and I cannot wait to see where the story goes next.