bookedwithbay's reviews
166 reviews

Only With Me by Brooke Montgomery

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐌𝐞 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐠𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐲

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙛𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙬𝙗𝙚𝙧𝙧𝙮.”

Let me start out by saying that Waylon and Harlow’s story was so much fun to read, but there is heavier topics involved, so please check the CW! 

Is this my new favorite Sugarland Creek book? I think so! They have so much in common, even with their age gap, that everything just felt authentic between them and didn’t seem rushed. 

The vulnerability they share with caring for a loved one with mental health struggles is written with so much sensitivity and has a relatable feel to it that shows personal experience! 

I love the humor and banter between the MC’s, especially through their texts! Harlow is a go getter, even though she’s inexperienced, she’s not afraid to ask for what she wants! And Waylon, he’s such a gentlemen! He talks her through her “dating” lessons and makes sure she always takes first place (IYKYK)! 

Brooke didn’t disappoint with this one and I can’t wait to see what else she has in store for the Sugarland Creek series! 

“𝘿𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙄 𝙜𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙞𝙣’ 𝙣𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙣𝙤𝙬?”

I received this book as an ARC. 

Undying Lands by Kara Douglas

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Lights Out by Navessa Allen

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Chase Our Forever by Kat Singleton

emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐧

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙎𝙝𝙚’𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙙𝙖𝙮, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙄 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙚. 𝙃𝙤𝙬 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙩…𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙝𝙚𝙧.

I LOVE THIS BOOK! It’s got the grumpy/sunshine, single dad/nanny tropes locked down perfectly! But what really sells this book is all of the emotion! I went into this book thinking it was going to be a cutesy single dad/nanny romance and while it is that, it’s SO. MUCH. MORE. 

The grief. The trauma. The loneliness. The self doubt. All of it packs an emotional punch that really create such a well rounded character that makes up Dean and why he is the way that he is.    

Then we have Liv. Our sunshine FMC, that has a sad and lonely upbringing just trying to make the most out of her new found freedom. The found family that she finds within her “quick pit stop” to Sutten Mountain is one of the best ‘found family’ plot lines I’ve ever read! 

The incorporation of Clara’s mom, Selena, in this story and how Liv keeps the memory of her alive is perfection. So many times you see “past partners” trying to be replaced but that’s definitely not the case with this book! This is a woman supporting and recognizing another and CELEBRATING what came before her! It’s beautifully written in my opinion! 

“𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙙𝙤 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨,”

I received this book as an ARC. 

Wild Eyes by Elsie Silver

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Falling for Finn by Brooke Fox

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

𝐅𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐞 𝐅𝐨𝐱

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙁𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙣 𝙬𝙖𝙨𝙣’𝙩 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙧 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙈𝙖𝙮𝙗𝙚 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙢𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣?

I ATE THIS BOOK UP! I had it glued to my hand in  every free moment I had. The banter, the pacing,  the will they won’t they vibes.. SO GOOD! 

When they first meet, Finn is an absolute jerk to Oakley. No manners.. one word answers.. just an all around grumpy guy! His character development is so good and it really did have me 𝘍𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘍𝘪𝘯𝘯! 🤭 

Oakley has SASS, I love her! She’s super smart and witty, always has a comeback locked and loaded, and treats everyone with kindness! 

This book is perfect for those who love Hallmark movies. It’s got the cozy, small town seasonal vibes with lots of spice! I read this after reading a few Romantasy books back to back and this is honestly the perfect kind of palette cleanser. 

I love all of the characters we meet in this story (minus one, iykyk) and I can’t wait to read the next book in the series to meet some new faces and to see a few familiar faces again! 

“𝘿𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙙𝙤.”

I received this book as an ARC. It releases on October 2nd, and is available for preorder now!

The Useless Witch by Savannah Lee

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐔𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐡 𝐋𝐞𝐞

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛 𝙞𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚.”

This was such an interesting read! I loved the whole concept of how the magic “came to be” and the explanation of how the Lightlace differ from the Darkwings. Those names alone had me intrigued from the very beginning! 

Vane is a burnt cinnamon roll MMC, or should I say, a barbaric meatball.. 😏 I loved getting to know his character more and seeing that softer side of him. And I love that he protects Saoirse from those who wish to harm her, but more importantly, I love that he protects her from herself. 

The FMC Saoirse, has had a rough go at life. She’s the first born heir but has no magic and she pays heavily for it. She has a lot of demons that she tries to stay away from, but her biggest one is her mind and there’s really no escaping that. But she’s a fighter and I love that she isn’t fighting these demons alone anymore. She’s found her ‘family’ and I can’t wait to see more growth from her in book 2. *Note: A lot of sensitive content is centered around Saoirse’s character, so please check the CW’s beforehand to be safe. 

𝙃𝙚’𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙚, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙧𝙣.

This book focuses on the history of this world and gives a lot of backstory or buildup for what’s to come in book 2. The Useless Witch ends on a cliffhanger and makes me think of book 1 as a slow burn in all aspects of the story and that book 2 will be more action driven. 

I received this book as an ARC. 

Song of the Dark Wood by Sheila Masterson

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐥𝐚 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝒲𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓈𝒽𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝒻𝒾𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓈 𝑜𝓁𝒹, 𝑅𝑜𝓌𝒶𝓃 𝒞𝓁𝑒𝒶𝓇𝓎 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒽𝑒𝓇 𝓃𝒶𝓂𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝒲𝑜𝑜𝒹, 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝒟𝒶𝓇𝓀 𝒲𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓌𝒽𝒾𝓈𝓅𝑒𝓇𝑒𝒹 𝒾𝓉 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀.

SHEILA SHEILA SHEILA! Once again, you’ve proven that your writing is phenomenal! The very first line from 𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐝 had me hooked. 

I haven’t read many Little Red Riding Hood retellings, but I can say that this one was a favorite. And the illustrations included?? Perfection!

I enjoyed seeing Rowan embrace her wild side throughout this story and I’ll always be a fan of an MMC who encourages the FMC to be exactly who she is instead of putting her in a box, and Conor is one of the good ones.

There’s a few side characters I absolutely adored, but Charlie is my favorite! He’s loyal and funny and he always seems to be lurking around, just waiting for someone to need him. 

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Sheila novel if she didn’t cause a little bit of emotional damage (you know what you did).. but I understand the “why” of it, even if it still stings. 

*Note: All content is written with care, but please check the CW’s for the specifics. 

Overall, I enjoyed this story and if you like dark fantasy retellings, you will too. I can’t wait to see what Sheila writes next!

I received this book as an ARC. 

Scourged by Tay Rose

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

𝐒𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞

“𝙄 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙄’𝙫𝙚 𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧.”

♾️ STARS FOR THIS BOOK! It’s very emotional throughout but also has so many empowering moments, I was hooked from the very first page! 

Tay’s descriptions and attention to detail to tie things back in, is some of the best writing I’ve ever read. Scourged really does have everything you could ever want in a Romantasy book, or any book really. It’s that good. 

There’s multiple POV’s, and all of them add so much emotion to the story. Not only do you see the struggles and triumphs of the two main characters, but you get the backstory and feelings from so many others as well that truly wrap this story in a well rounded package! The mental health representation in this book is written with so much care, and had me feeling very emotional for these characters. 

Our girl Mariah goes through a lot. She’s so strong on her own, but I enjoyed the moments where she leans on those who love her and lets them in more. Her character growth with everything she’s been through is phenomenal and I can’t wait to see what she does next. 

Buckle up for the last 15% because there’s 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁 of stuff to unpack there, and brace yourself for the cliffhanger. I had to sit and stare at the wall for a bit afterwards. I’m actually sad that I’ll never be able to read this book for the first time again. Tay, I’m so glad I discovered your book! You will forever be an auto buy author for me! 

𝘼𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙. 𝙏𝙤𝙜𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙙.

I received this book as an ARC. 

White Horse Black Nights by Evie Marceau

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0