[19] A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
Fiction / Fantasy / Romance, part 4 after A Court of Frost and Starlight, Graphic Audio

Synopsis: (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!): It’s one year after the war and Nesta is in a terrible headspace from it – she drinks to oblivion every day and has a new partner every night. Feyre and Rhysand order her to leave the city and live in the House of Wind and train with Cassian and work in the library there.

Review: Gah, I loved this book so much once it got going and Nesta started training and taking care of herself a bit more. The bulk of the story is her forgiving herself (again, SPOILERS) for not saving her father during the war and for treating him and her family and everyone she knows like shit for all of her life. But there’s the love story between her and Cassian (holy cow, this book had so much sex, ha!), the threat from Queen Briallyn, the magical house she lives in (a character all its own!), the background story with Feyre and Rhysand, and my favorite  plotline – the friendships she forms with Gwyn (a priestess) and Emerie (Illyrian shop owner). Gah, I guess I’m just a big sucker for a good friendship story. I think I’d actually listen to this again – the graphic audio was so good!

Recommend? Yes

[20] Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera
Fiction / Mystery & Detective, green light from Jamie on The Popcast, audio

Synopsis: Lucy’s best friend was murdered five years ago, and everyone thinks Lucy did it. But she can’t remember that night at all. She’s moved away from her hometown where it happened and started a new life, but when the podcast Listen for the Lie features her story, she ends up going back, and trying to figure out what really happened.

Review: This was excellent and so engaging on audio – I loved how the podcast segments had intro/outro music and a different voice for the podcast host. Mystery is usually not my jam, but I was totally into this, and trying to figure out what happened. Of course, I couldn’t, since Lucy didn’t remember anything, but it was a fun ride!

Recommend? Yes, on audio if you can!

[21] You, with a View by Jessica Joyce
Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy, read about on Stephany’s blog, Kindle

Synopsis: Noelle is grieving the loss of her grandmother, and finds a box of hers with a love letter to a man she did NOT marry and never mentioned to Noelle. Noelle makes a TikTok about it and the man is revealed to be the grandparent of her arch nemesis from high school, Theo. Noelle meets with them and the three of them decide to go on the honeymoon trip to national parks and landmarks that her grandmother planned and never went on.

Review: What an enjoyable romance! I love how creative some authors are with putting depth (dealing with grieving, relationships with your grandparents, work stress, believing in yourself, loss of identity, etc.) into their romances. We still get our happy ending with some substance along the way! Here for it. And enemies-to-lovers is one of my favorite tropes, so big bonus. And gimme all the nature scenes and hiking! Woo hoo!

Recommend? Yes