Wonderland Reader

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...