Reminders of Him

Author: Colleen Hoover

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Reminders of Him is a new contemporary romance which follows Kenna Rowan, a young woman desperately wanting to regain control of her life. After a tragic set of events and one fatal mistake, she is sentenced to five years in prison and we meet her at the end of her sentence. With little money, no friends, no family but a determined plan, she embarks on a difficult journey to the town where it all began. The only place which can connect her to the daughter she lost custody of. Kenna knows her practically impossible task – to regain trust she has broken, to mend wounds which will never heal, to rebuild bridges which are no longer there, however, her one and only goal is to finally meet her baby girl and become the mother she has always dreamed of. Upon arriving into the town, she bumps into a kind, young man – Ledger Ward, who might be the only person able to actually help her. Too bad they share common history and as soon as he discovers who she really is, things get extremely complicated.

I went into this story completely blind, with little expectations behind the meaning of the title. Reminders of Him is a book about loss, loneliness, despair and redemption where we are put in a very difficult situation trying to find out who has ‘right’ in a scenario with no ‘black and white’ sides. This book will make you think and feel helpless, not knowing who to root for or who to blame. It is needless to say that there will be lots of tears- happy, sad, angry but good news is that it has a happy ending!!

Colleen did an amazing job in building Kenna’s character – a broken, vulnerable and damaged heroine who doesn’t allow anything to stop her from going after what she believes in and proving that there is always light at the end of the tunnel even in the most hopeless situations.

Among Shadows

Author: Aline P. Mora

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

Among Shadows is a new fantasy series by Aline P. Mora following a young orphan girl who’s working as an assassin undercover in the King’s palace. Raised by the spy master, Aila has spent all her life learning how to lie, kill, betray and run impossible errands. On top of that, she has a very dangerous secret to keep – her true powers of controlling Darkness. Infiltrating the palace as the niece of the king’s trusted advisor, she receives the opportunity to get closer to the Prince of Niram. However, little does she expect to get attracted to him. This puts her in a very difficult situation as she is torn between keeping him out of her “uncle’s” plans or using him to achieve her end tasks. And to make her life even more complicated, a mysterious captain crosses her path. One unfortunate night she finds herself in the heart of a murder – at the wrong time and the wrong place, which destroys everything she has worked for and forces her on the run. As the story unfolds, we get to see Aila grow as a character and become an even stronger female protagonist ready to defend what she believes is rightful.

Fast-paced, engaging and well-developed plot with witty and relatable characters which will make you easily fall in love. The fantasy world is full of mystery, magic and a prophesy promising a saviour who wields both dark and light. The author tells the story in such a way that every chapter keeps you on your toes eager to find out what’s going to happen next. Secrets are uncovered, unexpected betrayals and a great banter between the two love interests which made me giggle the whole time. Enemies to lovers in the early stages – we love to see it!

I would highly recommend this new series by Aline P. Mora to those of you who love Throne of Glass, These Hollow Vows, Gild and even Game of Thrones. It is such a breath of fresh air in the fantasy genre and I am happy to say that it most definitely took me by surprise. Loved it.

The Plight Before Christmas

Author: Kate Stewart

Genre: Adult Romance

Rating: 5 / 5 stars

The Plight Before Christmas is a new holiday themed release by Kate Stewart which follows 38-year-old Whitney during her family Christmas holiday. After a series of unfortunate events – not getting a well-deserved promotion, her car breaking down and dumping her “boy toy”, she just wishes for some peace and uneventful 6 days at her grandparents old house. However, turns out Santa has other plans. And as if things can’t get any worse, her brother’s unexpected guest turns out to be none other than Whitney’s college ex-boyfriend and first true love. The last person she hopes to see after their unfortunate breakup 17 years ago.

Little does she know that Eli has his own agenda for crashing the family holiday and that Whitney is number one on his Santa wish-list. Eager to make amends for all his wrongs, Eli sets on an impossible journey to earn her forgiveness but to do so he must start with winning over her family.. Which happens to hold a grudge against the guy who broke Whitney’s heart.

I absolutely loved everything in this book. It fits just in time for the holiday season with an amazing heart-warming story that would make you laugh, love, dream and in typical Kate Stewart fashion – tear up a little. Eli and Whitney are the definition of right person wrong time and that it is never too late to fight for your one true love. I’m a sucker for second chance romances and it made me so so happy that Whitney made him work extra hard for her forgiveness. Not to mention the freaking SLOW-BURN.. but the payoff was astronomical after all that angst and banter.

“What are you missing? I think it’s me, and I think I’m missing you, and I think we’ve been missing each other for a long fucking time.”

An honourable mention goes to the family dynamic which was perfectly executed!! I laughed out loud every couple of pages and felt like I was there with the whole squad and screaming little kids. Cute romance, Christmas spirits, emotional backstory and characters you absolutely fall in love with the moment you meet them. Honestly from first to last chapter this book was fantastic and I can’t recommend it more.