Wonderland Reader

  Better Hate than Never  by Chloe Liese The Wilmot Sisters #2 Published: 10th October 2023 by Piatkus I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. I've read one of Liese's other books before, If Only You  in her Bergman Brothers series, and I really enjoyed it, so I couldn't wait to read this one as it looked like the perfect Autumn romance, and it really was! I always appreciate how Liese writes neurodivergent characters, as it doesn't feel forced or that she's doing it for anything other than creating meaningful representation for people who may not have previously been able to see themselves in the characters of romance books, and Better Hate than Never  is no exception to this. It was so satisfying to see how people's misconceptions of Katerina changed once, especially Christopher's, as she was finally able to explain herself and the reasons behind her so-called flighty actions, and I felt it reall...

 I thought it would be nice to keep up this little end-of-year holiday romance round-up tradition (starting last year)! Wrapped with a Beau   by Lillie Vale Published: 12th October 2023   I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. I enjoyed this book so much! I do feel as though Christmas romances can become a bit oversaturated, especially in recent years as they have become a hit, but this one really stood out to me amongst them all (and kept my attention when I was quick to put down others!). The premise is as ridiculous as you would expect, about Elisha who works as a location scout for films and wants her cosy small-town to be used for an upcoming highly-anticipated sequel. I do enjoy film and book tie-ins, and it reminded me of the great Julie Murphy Christmas book A Merry Little Meet Cute  in the best way possible with this aspect. The chemistry between Elisha and the owner of the sought-after house Ves ...

A Power Unbound   by Freya Marske The Last Binding #3 Published: 9th November 2023 by Tor I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. What a great end to this trilogy! I'm really sad to see these characters go, but I think Marske portrayed a fitting ending for them, and I will definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever she writes next. I particularly enjoyed getting to meet Robin's sister Maud in the second book, A Restless Truth , and I was very excited to see her, and her partner Violet, return for this final installment. The group dynamics were so much fun to read, and while the overarching plotline of the Last Contract was at full force in this last book, I have to say I much preferred reading about everyone's interactions with one another, and the budding relationship between Jack and Alan. There were times where I got a bit confused, and when a lot of secondary characters were introduced I had to pay a lot of...

  Stay True: A Memoir   by Hua Hsu Published: 14th September 2023 by Picador I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. This has been quite an anticipated read for me, as I have heard nothing but great things about this memoir, and I really liked the sound of its focus on a blossoming friendship cut short in such a formative time of someone's life. Seeing that it has since won the Pulitzer Prize spurred me to finally pick this up, and I am so glad that I did. Hsu's narrative voice is so strong that it transports you to his time as a college student at Berkeley, and it feels as though you are fully immersed in his friendship group and his conversations with his friend Ken, talking about everything from films to philosophy and everything in between. The grief felt at losing his friend in such a brutal and unexpected way is palpable, and the ways in which he carried his friend with him in the years that followed was beauti...

  Sorcery of Thorns   by Margery Rogerson Published: 30th June 2020 by Simon and Schuster Children's I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. I have really been craving a solid Fantasy read now the weather's gotten colder, and I had heard good things about Rogerson's other book, An Enchantment of Ravens , so I thought I'd try this one, because I really liked the sound of the whole magical library plot, but this just really didn't work for me, sadly. I thought the beginning started off quite strong, and I really liked the idea of Elisabeth having grown up in the library and having some sort of special connection to the books, but the story soon became quite far-fetched and confusing. I feel like it was trying to do too many things at once, and I never really connected to the main characters or was particularly invested in their fates. The romance was severely underdeveloped and I didn't even particularly...

The Love Plot   by Samantha Young Published: 29th August 2023 by Piatkus I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. I had such a goofy little smile on my face when I was reading this! I had no idea what this would be like when I went into it, but I loved the New York setting and how Star and Race came from very clearly different worlds, and families, and yet still respected each other's differences without trying to change them, or let anyone else do so. I always love a good grumpy guy, but the way that Rafe became such a sweetheart once he started falling for Star was very endearing, and I really liked how much his protective nature came out around her, even against his family, when he felt her being judged at all. Star's found family were very sweet, and I think it felt authentic to see how she inadvertently distanced herself from them while building her relationship, and for them to feel neglected before finding a bal...

  Hex Education   by Maureen Kilmer Published: 19th September 2023 by Headline Accent Other works:  Suburban Hell Rating: 3.5 stars out of 5 I received a copy of this ebook from the publisher. This in no way affects my review. Synopsis A guilt-ridden former coven is forced to tap into the magic of their past to stop their lives going up in flames. Beauty, grace, and a resting witch face . . . TWENTY YEARS AGO Sarah, Katrina and Alicia were inseparable. In college, they discovered their affinity for magic and practiced in secret - until their most ambitious spell went horribly wrong, resulting in a catastrophic fire that burned down their college dorm building, and the coven scattered. NOW Sarah Nelson has built a life for herself. Working as a luxury realtor, with her doting husband and two children, she could be any other mother in the neighbourhood. Until now, her magic has lain dormant. Then the former coven reunites, and their magic no longer wants to stay hidden. And...

Crying in H Mart   by Michelle Zauner Published: 5th August 2021 by Picador I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. I have heard nothing but rave reviews for this since it came out a couple of years ago, so I hesitantly had quite high expectations for this, and it definitely did not disappoint. I always feel a bit weird reviewing memoirs, because who am I to be judging the way in which someone recounts their life experiences, but saying that, Zauner's writing was beautiful in its brutal rawness. The way she so adeptly wrote about her tricky relationship with her mother and reckoning with both the Korean and American sides of her identity felt very important, and I loved the value placed on food and cooking as a way of bonding that was shown from the very beginning of Crying in H Mart. Zauner's depiction of grief was heartbreaking but clearly cathartic, and I honestly think would be so helpful to people who have recen...

A Lady's Guide to Scandal   by Sophie Irwin A Lady's Guide #2 Published: 31st August 2023 by HarperCollins I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. I love a good Regency romance, and it seems as though everyone else does at the moment too! I had heard great things about the first book in this series, A Lady's Guide to Fortune Hunting , so I was excited to dip into this one. I've started to really enjoy a 'former flame' trope in romances, and this one certainly didn't disappoint! Although there were times when I couldn't decide whether I wanted Eliza to end up with Melville or Somerset, I appreciated that this love triangle didn't take over the story completely, and that we got to see Eliza as a fully-fleshed woman with passions and a mind of her own. I actually didn't see the twist in this book coming, which was a nice change for once, and I appreciated how it brought a deeper meaning to...

  Beach Rivals   by Georgie Tilney Published: 20th July 2023 by Penguin I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. I haven't really heard anyone talking about this book, but I thought the premise of an enemies-to-lovers romance set in an island bookshop sounded ideal, and I definitely enjoyed it! I wasn't convinced by Jack as a love interest in the beginning, as I didn't find him charming at all, and actually just felt he was unnecessarily rude, but this did change as he warmed up to Clare and her ideas for the bookshop. Even then, I did find their romance to come somewhat out of the blue if I hadn't been anticipating it from the start. The actual plot concerning the revival of the bookshop and the community that grew through their efforts was sweet, and the whole 3-month timeframe did allow momentum to build up throughout the course of the book. I enjoyed Adam and Celestina as secondary characters, and I wish th...

  Kala   by Colin Walsh Published: 6th July 2023 by Atlantic I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. After winning lots of awards for his short stories, I was excited to read Walsh's full-length debut, and Kala  as a tense summer mystery did not disappoint. The story lent itself to having multiple narratives, as Kala's disappearance 15 years prior shaped each of the narrators in varying ways, and continues to influence how they navigate life in coming back to (or having remained, in Mush's case) Kinlough. In their coming together I found it interesting just how quickly they all reverted back to the power dynamics of their friendship group as teenagers, and I did really enjoy this main plot of unearthing Kala's disappearance. However, I don't think enough time was spent on Aidan's death, and the subplot with Mush's cousins, while definitely adding to the tension, brought with it a whole host of olde...

You and Me on Vacation   by Emily Henry Published: 8th July 2021 by Penguin I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affects my review. I had very high expectations for this book, as I've heard such good things about all of Emily Henry's books - she's one of, if not the most, popular romance authors at the moment, and now I know why! She's become a firm favourite author in this genre and I'm so happy to say this didn't disappoint at all. I'm not normally the biggest fan of a friends-to-lovers romance over some of the other tropes, but I honestly couldn't have rooted for Alex and Poppy more. The love they had for each other was so strong and unwavering throughout all their years of friendship, and I really enjoyed the swapping between present-day and their friendship from the beginning before joining up together as it provided the context needed to prove just how much they were meant to be together. I thought the t...