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Outlaw Witch (Enchanted Bargains #1)
8.0
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In a city of magic users, I’m a freak—a sponge with the ability to absorb the powers of others....
Reverse Harem Why Choose? Cliffhanger Ending Paranormal Romance Forced Proximit
Murder by the Seashore
8.0
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Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams, Scarlett Gardner’s dream was to open a...
Merissa (13749 KP) rated It's a Match in Books
May 2, 2022 (Updated Jun 20, 2023)
IT'S A MATCH was an intriguing story from beginning to end, not going in the direction I thought it would, and oh-so-better for it!
Sarah is living in a world where AI is all around, reminding her of appointments and even advising her on what to wear. Her friends all use it to one degree or another. Her love life is not what she wants it to be so she comes up with the crazy idea of using her AI to sort out her matches for her. This opens a can of worms that deals with just how much is too much, whilst giving an insight into the various supporting and main characters.
There is a lot here about being part Chinese (and other nationalities) but all living together in London. It was an insight into how their lives may be and what the perfect qualities in a partner might be. I say might because I'm not Chinese and so don't know for sure! Some of it seemed quite picky but I'm positive that part is 100% true from what I've heard from friends.
Told mainly from Sarah's perspective, it did throw me slightly when I would get someone else start speaking. My review copy didn't have any headings on the chapters, so it only became clear who was 'speaking' as the chapter continued.
An intriguing story that will have you question what is right and wrong. How much morality exists in AI? Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have no hesitation in recommending it.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 26, 2022
Sarah is living in a world where AI is all around, reminding her of appointments and even advising her on what to wear. Her friends all use it to one degree or another. Her love life is not what she wants it to be so she comes up with the crazy idea of using her AI to sort out her matches for her. This opens a can of worms that deals with just how much is too much, whilst giving an insight into the various supporting and main characters.
There is a lot here about being part Chinese (and other nationalities) but all living together in London. It was an insight into how their lives may be and what the perfect qualities in a partner might be. I say might because I'm not Chinese and so don't know for sure! Some of it seemed quite picky but I'm positive that part is 100% true from what I've heard from friends.
Told mainly from Sarah's perspective, it did throw me slightly when I would get someone else start speaking. My review copy didn't have any headings on the chapters, so it only became clear who was 'speaking' as the chapter continued.
An intriguing story that will have you question what is right and wrong. How much morality exists in AI? Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed it and have no hesitation in recommending it.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Apr 26, 2022
Riving-Ton-Ton-Ton: The Letty Vargas Story
Book
Riving-Ton-Ton-Ton tells the story of Leticia “Letty” Cruz, a New Yorker who was born into a...
Biography
Town Bronze Box Set
8.0
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All three novellas in Ellie Thomas’ Regency Town Bronze series are gathered together in this box...
The Way Alex Sees Me (Aphrodite in Disguise #2)
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High school senior Rusty Finch is in a pickle. His grades are plummeting even though everyone...
Dark MM Contemporary Historical Paranormal Romance
Merissa (13749 KP) rated How to Chain Your Dragons in Books
Jun 2, 2025
HOW TO CHAIN YOUR DRAGONS appears to be a standalone, but could so easily be the first in a new series. In fact, I hope it is as I really want to see more of these Raptor Drakes and their True Mate fated females.
Jaz has learned how to fly under the radar as far as the Drakes, who run her part of 'town', are concerned. Unfortunately, that doesn't work for her half-brother or Kurt, his best friend. Females are in short supply, and Kurt has decided Jaz is his, whether she likes it or not. Luckily for her, their finding out she hasn't been tagged properly (yes, you read that right) means that she also gets injected with something that has an unexpected effect. During this time, she has met two of the three Raptor brothers, who will change her life.
This was a page-turner for me, and I loved every moment. The three Raptors - Zyair, Xandros, and Rhodes - were completely separate characters and personalities, making it easy to distinguish between the three. Jaz and Yani also had a wonderful relationship that thrived. This is not a galaxy for the weak, though, as some nasty characters are about. Those Manticores? Shudder!
Anyway, their story takes time to tell, and that just made it better. There are hot and spicy times, but they fit with the story and aren't just there for gratuitous pleasure! Jaz is no pushover, and if she does roll over, it's on her terms.
A great read that I thoroughly enjoyed, and a world I hope to return to. Absolutely recommended by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 26, 2025
Jaz has learned how to fly under the radar as far as the Drakes, who run her part of 'town', are concerned. Unfortunately, that doesn't work for her half-brother or Kurt, his best friend. Females are in short supply, and Kurt has decided Jaz is his, whether she likes it or not. Luckily for her, their finding out she hasn't been tagged properly (yes, you read that right) means that she also gets injected with something that has an unexpected effect. During this time, she has met two of the three Raptor brothers, who will change her life.
This was a page-turner for me, and I loved every moment. The three Raptors - Zyair, Xandros, and Rhodes - were completely separate characters and personalities, making it easy to distinguish between the three. Jaz and Yani also had a wonderful relationship that thrived. This is not a galaxy for the weak, though, as some nasty characters are about. Those Manticores? Shudder!
Anyway, their story takes time to tell, and that just made it better. There are hot and spicy times, but they fit with the story and aren't just there for gratuitous pleasure! Jaz is no pushover, and if she does roll over, it's on her terms.
A great read that I thoroughly enjoyed, and a world I hope to return to. Absolutely recommended by me.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
May 26, 2025
Merissa (13749 KP) rated The Chase (Dangerous Games #3) in Books
Jan 16, 2026
THE CHASE is the third book in the Dangerous Games series, and although it said it could be read as a standalone, I do feel that reading the other books would have helped it just a little.
Elias works at a bodega and volunteers at an animal shelter. He is invisible to a lot of people. He has saved up his money and sent in a request to ForbiddenX to make his dark fantasy come real. It's one that will make him feel seen, which is something he lacks in his life. Andre is the one who makes his fantasy come true, in more ways than one. Andre reacts in certain ways because of his history, which I learnt about by reading the story. However, I still don't know the full brunt of what went on and how the men were affected.
There is a connection between Elias and Andre, but it is oh so fragile and easy to break. Both of them have reasons for who they are and what they do, but their personalities don't always allow for cool, calm explanations.
While I understand the connections with Elias and his father, I enjoyed the story more before that part. After Ernesto gets involved, I didn't enjoy it quite as much. This is where the prior knowledge would have come in handy.
All in all, a dark, obsessive story that I enjoyed, but I now want to read the rest in the series.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 15, 2026
Elias works at a bodega and volunteers at an animal shelter. He is invisible to a lot of people. He has saved up his money and sent in a request to ForbiddenX to make his dark fantasy come real. It's one that will make him feel seen, which is something he lacks in his life. Andre is the one who makes his fantasy come true, in more ways than one. Andre reacts in certain ways because of his history, which I learnt about by reading the story. However, I still don't know the full brunt of what went on and how the men were affected.
There is a connection between Elias and Andre, but it is oh so fragile and easy to break. Both of them have reasons for who they are and what they do, but their personalities don't always allow for cool, calm explanations.
While I understand the connections with Elias and his father, I enjoyed the story more before that part. After Ernesto gets involved, I didn't enjoy it quite as much. This is where the prior knowledge would have come in handy.
All in all, a dark, obsessive story that I enjoyed, but I now want to read the rest in the series.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 15, 2026
My Minotaur Daddy (Tales of the Arcane #1)
8.0
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What do you do when a beautiful hot mess walks into your bar? Recently separated from his...
MM Fantasy Romance Daddy / boy
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated Along for the Ride in Books
Apr 27, 2018
Sarah Dessen caught me by the cover: I’m a bike rider. So I approached this book with eagerness, and it paid. The story was compelling, as Dessen’s novels always are, and they force you to read just one more chapter. I got to the end of the book, and wished there were more chapters. I re-read the last chapter a few times, just because it was so perfect. So so perfect. It solved all the problems in the book, didn’t leave you hanging, and made you smile and whisper to yourself “yes.”
She’s academically focused to the point that she runs to her studies when she’s afraid of choices, she’s developed a sleeping disorder from her parent’s fights before they divorced, and now she’s visiting her dad and his new wife and newborn baby for the summer, simply for lack of anything else to do. But Auden is named after a poet that nobody knows about, has forgotten how to ride a bike, and made a bad first impression with her new co-workers. She meets a quiet boy named Eli with too many secrets and all the right answers. She missed prom because her date was just like her—to school-centered to care about having fun in life. She never had a food fight, she never broke curfew, and she’s never been to a bar (“it’s a rite of passage!”). Eli is astonished that anyone could get through the first eighteen years of their life without going bowling at least once, and sets out to help her experience everything she missed. But now that she has the answers to the things she missed in life, and can see the next step and the decisions she has to make, she has to choose to “get back on that bike,” even when she falls down.
The characters in this story were so relatable. I understood exactly how Auden felt (even though I did build a tree-house in third grade) and could feel her confusion in this strange new social world of hers, the surprise of showing up at work one day and discovering “hey, whoa. How did this happen? I have friends now!” I was blown away when I found out Eli’s mysteries, and loved Maggie even more when she showed her true colors. All characters have their fatal flaws, and these ones do too, but it makes them real people, not just fairy-tales. Her father was a selfish jerk, but he had his commitments—he just needed to prioritize his family over his novel. Her mother was a hard shell—but she could learn to talk about her feelings, and open up. Leah looked like a snob until you got to know her. And Eli… well, I’ll let you discover Eli the way you need to discover him…
I will probably buy this book when it shows up at my little used book store (because I’m too broke to buy it full price) and put it on my bookshelf with my name in the cover, and read it again, and again, and again… because I truly loved it. Thank you, Sarah Dessen, for writing good YA fiction.
She’s academically focused to the point that she runs to her studies when she’s afraid of choices, she’s developed a sleeping disorder from her parent’s fights before they divorced, and now she’s visiting her dad and his new wife and newborn baby for the summer, simply for lack of anything else to do. But Auden is named after a poet that nobody knows about, has forgotten how to ride a bike, and made a bad first impression with her new co-workers. She meets a quiet boy named Eli with too many secrets and all the right answers. She missed prom because her date was just like her—to school-centered to care about having fun in life. She never had a food fight, she never broke curfew, and she’s never been to a bar (“it’s a rite of passage!”). Eli is astonished that anyone could get through the first eighteen years of their life without going bowling at least once, and sets out to help her experience everything she missed. But now that she has the answers to the things she missed in life, and can see the next step and the decisions she has to make, she has to choose to “get back on that bike,” even when she falls down.
The characters in this story were so relatable. I understood exactly how Auden felt (even though I did build a tree-house in third grade) and could feel her confusion in this strange new social world of hers, the surprise of showing up at work one day and discovering “hey, whoa. How did this happen? I have friends now!” I was blown away when I found out Eli’s mysteries, and loved Maggie even more when she showed her true colors. All characters have their fatal flaws, and these ones do too, but it makes them real people, not just fairy-tales. Her father was a selfish jerk, but he had his commitments—he just needed to prioritize his family over his novel. Her mother was a hard shell—but she could learn to talk about her feelings, and open up. Leah looked like a snob until you got to know her. And Eli… well, I’ll let you discover Eli the way you need to discover him…
I will probably buy this book when it shows up at my little used book store (because I’m too broke to buy it full price) and put it on my bookshelf with my name in the cover, and read it again, and again, and again… because I truly loved it. Thank you, Sarah Dessen, for writing good YA fiction.