Category Archives: Reading Challenges

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Fantasy RomCom Review: Assistant to the Villain

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Thank you to Red Tower for the review copy! 

Assistant to the Villain
By Hannah Nicole Maehrer
🎧 Narrated by: Em Eldridge
Series: Assistant to the Villain, Book 1
Book 45 of 2024

You know how there are DNFs and NFNs? (Did Not Finish / Not For Now) I started this book back when it came out and the humor was not for me in the mindset I was in. Fast forward to March, and suddenly it was PERFECT for the mood that I was in! That’s the trickiest part about getting review copies for me – sometimes my mood just doesn’t match a book until the right time, but I feel so bad for being late when the publisher is kind enough to send me a review copy!

Assistant to the Villain started as a series of TikTok skits, but the novel is fully developed into a cohesive storyline. 

I binge listened to the audiobook in a day, and had so much fun! I’m excited that more publishers are publishing these fantasy romcoms, where the world building is pretty light but you still get the elements you love in a romcom! 

I can’t wait for book 2!

🎧 This was perfect audiobook vibes for me. Fantasy can be hard for me on audio, all the worldbuilding tends to get muddled. Since the worldbuilding was light, I thought this was a lot of fun! Since I tend to listen to audiobooks while doing things around the house or playing games, this book was PERFECT -fast paced and light – and really kept me entertained. 

Once Upon a Time meets The Office in Hannah Maehrer’s laugh-out-loud viral TikTok series turned novel, about the sunshine assistant to an Evil Villain…and their unexpected romance.

ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage’s employment status isn’t just important, it’s vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer—naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain—and his entire nefarious empire—out.

Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work…and ensure he makes them pay.

After all, a good job is hard to find.

.    .   .   .   .   .    .  Let’s Play a Game!   .   .   .   .    .   .   .   .  

Based on your first initial of your first name + your battery percentage, you’re reading a hybrid book – how excited are you for your hybrid? Have you read any books like that before? (If you get two of the same, just tell me the genre!)

A-E / 81-100% : Romance

F-J / 61-80%: Mystery / Thriller / Suspense

K-O / 41-60%: Fantasy

P-T / 21-40%: Historical fiction

U-Z / 1-20%: Science Fiction  

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Black Fantasy Authors I Love

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I forgot to post this and one more during Black History Month, but I know we all read Black authors all year long!

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

This post feels a little silly because my favorites are all extremely popular and well known titles…but if you’re a fantasy reader and you haven’t read them yet, consider this your sign!! This is absolutely not an exhaustive list, but are just some of my most favorites. And of course, these are amazing books to read all year long! 

🖋 = received an arc or pub gift, review on goodreads

The Legendborn Quartet by Tracy Deon – These were two of my absolute favorite books in 2022, and I cannot wait for the next book to come out next year! (🖋 Bloodmarked) 

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin – You’re not going to know what’s going on for most of the first book, but it’s absolutely worth the ride. 

Parable of the Sower & Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler – Of all the dystopians I’ve read, this one seems the most likely to come true and the most terrifying. I probably need to reread it. 

Even More Fantasy: Each of these 4 books have some stand out elements that I enjoyed.
Wildblood 🖋 – set in Jamaica, sentient forest
A Song of Wraiths and Ruin 🖋 – amazing cast of characters & romance (YA) 
Dread Nation – elite female zombie fighters
Crowned 🖋 – Folk & Fairy tales – gorgeous photography & storytelling 

My top TBR: Faebound, Skin of the Sea, & The Gilded Ones

QotD: Do you mostly read new releases or backlist books? 

I think about half of my reads are published within the past year, and half are older. Lately I’ve been wondering what I’m doing when I post a review of a book that was written in like…2002…but it’s still fun to get my thoughts down!

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Embracing Audiobooks

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A couple weeks ago, I talked about my very unhelpful 2019 reading resolutions. One of them was to read less by audiobook. I thought that, since it took more time to read books via audiobook than with my eyes, if I just read more with my eyes I would obviously read more books!

What I didn’t factor into this equation was that audiobooks helped me to read when I was too busy or too tired to read with my eyes. 

And I had two big problems at the time:
1) I got all of my audiobooks through Audible
2) I didn’t speed them up

Now, this is not to say that Audible is not a great way to listen to audiobooks – my biggest complaint is that Audible Exclusives aren’t able to be purchased by libraries, which creates accessibility issues. (If you don’t want to support Amazon – Libro.fm is a great choice! LINK in bi0 with information about how to join.)

My issue was actually that I read too much too quickly and found myself burning through my audiobook credits. The solution? The Libby App! Libby connects to your local library so you can listen to audiobooks *for free.* 

Once I figured out Libby and no longer had to restrain my listening habits, I jumped from reading just under 50 books a year to just over 60 books…then 100…then 130…then 175 books last year! (Probably a bit of an anomaly because of Long Covid, but that’s not the point of the story.) 

I’ve heard from people that they “can’t do” audiobooks, so I wanted to share some tips because I think audiobooks are SUCH a game changer for reading. If you can listen to a podcast or talk on the phone, I think you can absolutely learn to love audiobooks.

1) I started by listening to old favorites at bedtime. It does help to listen to something that you’ve read before at first to train your brain.

2) Speed up the sound so it sounds more conversational and less sleepy. I started just bumping it up 0.1x at a time. (1.1x, 1.2x, etc) and am now comfortably listening between 1.75x-2x for most books.

This is especially helpful if you find yourself getting bored while listening or your mind is wandering!

3) Get a 2nd copy to read with your eyes. Some people call this immersive reading – reading with your eyes and ears at the same time. I’ve heard this is especially helpful for readers with ADHD. For me, I find that it’s helpful to read some of the early chapters with my eyes so I know what the names are – for some reason my brain struggles with processing names when I hear them. 

There are a lot of positive effects of audiobooks. I know that uneducated people like to say that it’s “not really reading” or “is cheating.” But that’s really not true. (Unless you are learning how to read with your eyes, in which case you do need to practice reading with your eyes.) 

Positive effects of listening to audiobooks:
• Make boring tasks like laundry, dishes, and commuting more fun
• Improve your listening skills – remember more details about conversations that you have
• Read more books!

A few years ago, Libro.fm came up with 8 mental and physical benefits of audiobooks – I put a link to that article in my bio if you’re curious! 

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3 for Thursday: 23 for ’23 Reviews

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For today’s 3 for Thursday, I wanted to give you 3 mini reviews for my last (non-holiday) 3 books that I read for the #23for23 challenge.

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Tastes Like Shakkar 
By Nisha Sharma
🎧 Narrated by: Soneela Nankani, Vikas Adam 
If Shakespeare Was an Auntie, Book 2
Book 174 of 2023

This is the follow up book to Dating Dr. Dil, which I loved. I would encourage people to read the books in order, because you meet the side characters and get some set up for each book. (Speaking of which – I cannot WAIT for the next book!!)

My one small complaint is about the enemies to lovers trope. And truly, I don’t know if it’s this book in particular or if I’m burnt out on the trope after reading 10 in October & November. There’s a fine line between too much hate and too little, and this had too little for me. I say I like when she hates him but he likes her, but I needed a little more tension, the relationship seemed too easy. This might be because a lot of the drama centered around familial obligations, which hasn’t been something I’ve had to deal with much in my life. 

Perfect for: When you’re in the mood for something cozy and spicy. 

🎧 Narration was fantastic! 

A Lot Like Adios
By Alexis Daria 
🎧 Narrated by: Seraphine Valentine 
Primas of Power, Book 2
Book 164 of 2023

This could be read out of order, but I absolutely LOVED Book 1, so don’t skip it entirely! (I’m a sucker for a romance on a tv/film set.) Our couple is off in their own little bubble for most of the book, so while our FMC checks in with her cousins, we don’t have a lot of focus on the events of book 1. 

Gabriel is opening a new location of his incredibly successful LA gym. He finds out his dream marketing expert for his campaign is actually his ex-best friend, Michelle. When he reaches out, she agrees to work on his campaign – but only if he’s willing to stay with her in New York. You know, normal business stuff if you’re in a rom com. 

I adored the characters but the plot dragged a little. I almost enjoyed them more when they were working on their business project and actually talking to each other. Which might say more about myself as a reader than the book itself, but that’s where we really saw the character growth. 

🎧 Excellent on audio. 

Long Way Down
By Jason Reynolds
🎧 Narrated by: Jason Reynolds
Book 171 of 2023

Ok – something completely different! Lit fic, YA, and a novel in verse. I read this to complete the PopSugar Challenge, but it has been sitting on my shelf since it was published in 2017. 

After his brother is murdered, fifteen-year-old Will knows the rules: no crying, no snitching, revenge. The entire book takes place during his elevator ride down from his apartment. On the way down, he talks to the ghosts of victims of gun violence that he knew or knew of. It was beautiful, and powerful, and sad. 

🎧 I love listening to novels in verse by audio, and I loved listening to it read by the author so we got to hear how he wanted his work spoken. 

QotD: (pick one or both)
– Did you participate in the 23 for ‘23 challenge to read books by BIPOC authors with a BIPOC main character? If so, how did it go? 
– What was your most read genre last year? 

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PopSugar 2023 Wrap Up, 2024 Thoughts, and a Review

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What motivates you to read? Are you someone who likes to do challenges with prompts, like the PopSugar Reading Challenge? In previous years, I tried to keep track of my PopSugar Challenge progress on this blog, but always lost steam at some point in the year. I did finish the past 3 years! Each year, I entered December with a daunting list of prompts to fill: always the ones that I hadn’t found books that I was truly excited to read. And every year, it made reading feel like a chore. In 2023, I had just 3 prompts left to fill. But when the 2024 list was posted, I almost quit just because the 2024 is SO HARD for me primarily as a romance and fantasy reader.

Now, I’m not trying to tell y’all that PopSugar is terrible and we should all complain about the prompts. The Facebook group has been full of complaints all year that the prompts have been catering to us romance readers. So this year is just not our year, and I’m ok with that. 2024 will be my break year where I don’t have to worry about challenges with specific prompts! To see what goals I AM setting for 2024, see my post from the beginning of the year!

If you enjoy having prompts to help you pick which books you want to read, I applaud you (and may end up back with you by March, we’ll see!), and wish you the best of luck with your Challenge!

This is the second time I’ve used Nora Roberts to fulfill a reading prompt for a specific year/decade, and both were very much products of their time. While this book was kind of fun, there were some problematic elements that kept me from fully enjoying it. 

First – consent. Remember during the MeToo era when we were like “no means no” and that was like…revolutionary? Books like this is why that was revolutionary. If someone says stop and their partner does not IMMEDIATELY stop…ew.

Second – the male lead was Native American, which is cool for diversity and inclusion except when it was stereotypical and borderline racist. Now, maybe I’m stereotyping the 80s, but I was mostly pleasantly surprised by the representation with just a few throwaway lines that raised my eyebrows. I think the current rule of thumb is to include diverse characters but not write about the experience of being marginalized unless you have also experienced it. 

Have you read a Nora Roberts book that you loved? Please tell me so I can give her a fighting chance! So far, I have been suggested The Awakening series and Inheritance.

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Jan 23rd – Out this Week

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

I am so excited for this week’s new releases!! While a lot of people have an ebook, audiobook, and physical book going at the same time, I like to have a contemporary romance, historical romance, and fantasy going at the same time. 

🎁 The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka, Berkley Romance  
Contemporary RomCom | Pop Star

🎁 Into the Sunken City by Dinesh Thiru, HarperTeen
YA Fantasy Adventure | Twist on Treasure Island

🎁 The Bookbinder’s Guide to Love by Katherine Garbera, Harlequin 
Contemporary Romance 

🎁 Gothikana by RuNyx, Bramble
Romantasy | Reprint | Sprayed edges 

🎁 Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise, Forever 
Historical Romance

🎁 My Fair Brady by Brian D. Kennedy, Balzer + Bray
YA Contemporary romance | LGBTQ | Musical theater

🎁 The (Fake) Dating Game by Timothy Janovsky, Harlequin
Contemporary Romance | Fake Dating 

🎁 Diva by Daisy Goodwin, St. Martin’s Press
Historical fiction

🎁 ARC/ ALC / free publisher mail

Are any of these on your radar?

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2024 Diverse Reading Challenge

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See all of the resources on my Instagram highlights “Read Diverse”.

It’s that time of year where Bookstagram starts thinking of our 2024 reading goals. I’ve really enjoyed taking part in the 23 for ‘23 challenge this year, and wanted to make a similar challenge for myself in 2024! If this sounds like something that you would find helpful, I would love to have you join me!

Four themes:

💖Read Diverse: Set your own goal for what reading diversely will mean for you

💖BIPOC Authors: Books written by authors who identify as Black, Indigenous, or Person of Color

💖LGBTQIA+: Books written by authors who identify as part of the LGBT spectrum. Read about several identities in the spectrum or choose one to focus in on!

💖Diversity of Mind, Body, and Spirit: Books that explore a range of diversities. This can include but is not limited to, neurodivergence, physical disabilities, chronic illness, size diversity, and religious diversity.

✨Own Voices: Books written by members of a community about that community. While not all authors are open about their many identities, I encourage reading own-voice books as much as possible for this challenge!

Pick your challenge size:
✨ 12 books: 1 book per month
✨ 24 books: 2 books per month
✨ 52 books: 1 book per week

See all of the resources on my Instagram highlights “Read Diverse”.

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Lore Olympus

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Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.

Do you enjoy reading graphic novels? Have you ever read an online comic or graphic novel? Lore Olympus is, so far, the only one I’ve gotten sucked into, but I love it so much!

Lore Olympus Volume 2 & 3
By Rachel Smythe
Book 168 & 169 of 2023

This is the last of my 2023 reviews! Unless I post out of order from my current plan, which could honestly happen.

I read Lore Olympus like 6 years ago on Webtoons. There were probably 100 episodes at the time? 50? I don’t know, there were a lot and I binged them all in one or two days. I *think* I ended up around Volume 2. For me, I couldn’t keep up with it once I had to read it on a weekly basis instead of a huge binge. I had a hard time keep track of the plot from week to week, and it seemed like such a small taste of the story to read just one episode!! I was so happy when I found out they were being published and I could go back to bingeing them 25 episodes at a time. Or in this case, 50, since I read Volumes 2 & 3 back to back. 

I do feel spoiled by all the romances I read – so this will they won’t they that I’m used to seeing on TV doesn’t do it for me quite the way it used to. But I cannot put these down! The artwork is so rich and gorgeous, and I love how Smythe characterizes all of the Greek gods and goddesses and plays with their traditional stories. 

If you haven’t read these yet, I highly recommend giving them a try! 

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2023 Reading Goals

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2022 Successes:
– Passed my goal of 50 books and read 130 (why I chose 50 books)
– Reached 7,500+ followers on instagram
– Finished the PopSugar 2022 Challenge
– continued reviewing for my favorite indie bookstore
– made it to 40%+ on Netgalley
– was accepted into audiobook influencer programs (Libro.fm, Harper Audio, Penguin Random House, and Macmillan)

1: Read 100 books

I read 100 books in both 2021 and 2022, so I think this is a pretty achievable goal. But, if the past few years have taught me anything, it’s that life has unexpected twists and turns. Maybe I’ll have an exciting opportunity that leads to less reading time, or maybe I’ll read a giant epic fantasy series and they take longer to read than a romcom binge. Just in case, I set my Goodreads goal to it’s lowest ever number this year – 25 books!

Am I going to read more than 25 books this year? Almost definitely! Since 2013 I have read more than 40 books a year. So why set the bar that low? Honestly, I am really used to my Goodreads Challenge saying I’m ahead of schedule and over 100% and I just can’t handle it saying I’m behind on my goal. Do I need to get stressed out by my Goodreads progress bar? No. But I do, so instead of fighting it, I’m just going to move my goal as I hit it!

If (when!) I hit 100 books read, I probably won’t increase my goal unless it really looks possible for me to hit 150 or 200. It’s not like I am going to stop reading because of an arbitrary number, but I will feel proud of myself if I have over 100% on Goodreads.

2: Keep up with ARCs

ARC = Advanced Reader’s Copy | ALC = Advanced Listener’s Copy (audiobook)

I am so fortunate to get so many ARCs and ALCs…this year I need to focus on only requesting my TOP books and then actually reading and reviewing them. And then…I also need to catch up on my backlist.

My main goal is to hit 50% on Netgalley and stay there! (I’m really hoping I can bump that up to 60% in the second half of the year…we’ll see how it goes.)

3: Net Zero Unread Physical Books

This feels super awkwardly worded but here we go…I think my main personality trait is buying too many books. It gives me so much joy to research upcoming books and buy stacks of books, but my shelves are out of control. I just want to be able to fit all of my books onto my shelves!

So what do I mean by “net zero”? I know I’m going to buy books and bring in new review copies – but I want that number to match the number of total books that I read this year. I actually met this goal last year, and I feel a little less overwhelmed than in previous years!

4: Read Diverse Authors

This has been a continued goal since way back in 2015. I consider a read “diverse” if it represents a identities that are different than mine.

This year, I want to focus on Latinx authors across the diaspora, and read at least 6 books by Latinx authors. I chose Latinx authors because I realized I had read very few books by Latinx authors.

5: Complete 2 Reading Challenges

PopSugar Reading Challenge 2023

I finished the PopSugar Challenge in 2021 and 2022, and I want do it again this year! The PopSugar challenge has 40 prompts and 10 bonus prompts. My goal the past 2 years has been to complete around 4 prompts each month. However, each year I’ve started out doing this easily for the first few months, completing prompts that are easy for me to fill. By the summer I’ll only have 12 or so prompts – but they will be the ones that challenge me the most!

This year, I divided up the challenge, and came up with four categories:
1) Hard Prompts – books I would not choose to read for fun on my own (but all books I think would be interesting to read!)
examples: a book banned in any state in 2022, a book about an athlete or sport, a celebrity memoir
2) Prompts that might challenge me – these prompts are likely more specific, but I’m able to fill them with “fun reads”
examples: author with the same initials as you, book written during NaNoWriMo
3) Prompts I might have to think about – these are definitely in my wheelhouse, but kind of specific
examples: a book with a fat lead, a book with a love triangle
4) Prompts that require no effort (for me)
examples: a book published in the second half of 2023, a book you bought secondhand, a book by a first time author

Then, I made myself a 2023 reading TBR and used a randomizer app (wheelofnames.com) to assign 1 prompt from each category for each month. Did this whole process take over 2 hours? Yes. Don’t judge me this is how I have fun.

The Shelfie Chronicles Sweatpants & Spice Challenge

This challenge was SO much fun last year! I am fairly new to reading romance, but I’ve always loved reading about people falling in love so I don’t know why I took so long to get invested in the genre. This challenge uses tropes and subgenres that you find in a lot of romance novels, so if you read a lot of romance it is really fun!

This challenge does require you to join the private facebook group. Every two weeks, a prompt is pulled. You keep track of your reading on your own personal BINGO board, and the first one to complete a BINGO of pulled prompts gets a prize! There are lots of prizes for BINGOs, double BINGOs, and blackouts.

You can buy your own BINGO board here.

That’s it!

I view goals as intentions that may change depending on life circumstances, so these are all hopes and hopefully nothing that will feel stressful this year!

Did you set any reading goals or intentions? I’d love to hear about them!

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Homicide and Halo-Halo Review

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Amazon | Bookshop

Arsenic and Adobo introduced me to the world of cozy mysteries when I got it from Book of the Month last year. Homicide and Halo-Halo has a very similar tone – but this time takes place during a teen beauty pageant! 

I’ve taken up crochet during my new long Covid lifestyle, and this was the perfect book to put on while I was crocheting! 

My least favorite part of mystery series in general is that the lovers never get together. I read way too much romance to be strung along like this for multiple books. The romance plot line in this one felt very CW teen series circa 2004 – who will she choose? 

I actually guessed part of the who dunnit this time around – I’m very proud of myself!

I read this for the PopSugar Reading Challenge – a book by a Pacific Islander author. Check out my complete list of PopSugar recommendations! And stay tuned to see if I can finish my last 9 prompts by the end of the year…as of today that just means I need to finish a book every 5 days. Easy peasy. 😅