I really took a break from writing reviews or posting anything in September, but now I’m back to try and catch up. I did so much reading last month so I’ve got several reviews to catch up on. First up, we have some banger reads to talk about. I had e-ARCs via Netgalley of each of these three and I read finished copies of each and every one. First up, The Anatomy of Magic by Alexis L. Menard is a fantasy romance that you can pick up yourself anytime you want. Then Married with Benefits by Ellie Palmer, a contemporary romance you can also pick up yourself whenever you’d like. And finally, Love Felt Like This by Julie Olivia, which came out in September and was one of my favorite books of last month. Now let’s get into those reviews, shall we?
The Anatomy of Magic by Alexis L. Menard
I loved Menard’s Indie published duology that started with House of Bane and Blood (which was picked up for trad pub after I’d read it) and so I was excited to read The Anatomy of Magic. It didn’t disappoint, though I will admit I didn’t love it as much as HoBaB! The worlds that Menard creates are so unique to me. I don’t think I’ve read anything that feels the same as the worlds that she’s built up. This world starts us off in this sort of poor but not terrible human part of the city where no one really has magic and they use carts and a horse or mule to get around. But then later, we find ourselves in different parts of the world that feel very different.
I liked Nina and Max and the very winding path they take to the end of this book. I think Nina is a perfectly impulsive main character whose decisions really felt grounded in who she is. Max’s choices were a little more opaque but that’s intentional. Now, if you want me to give you a preview of the plot, I feel like all I can really say is that Nina helps move dead bodies and then, one day, moving those bodies goes wrong and she has to figure out how to rescue herself and her mom. As for where Max comes in, you’ll just have to read it to find out. In the meantime, I’m definitely looking forward to the sequel.
Also, for what it’s worth, I thought the audiobook was well done and if you’re an audiobook reader, I would say this one is safe to pick up. It’s a duet audiobook and the narrators speeds blend perfectly. Sometimes Sean Masters can get a little quiet because his voice goes too deep, but it wasn’t something that really bothered me.
Married with Benefits by Ellie Palmer
I love a marriage of convenience, especially when I think that the reason behind the marriage makes sense. The reasoning here was solid enough. Did the beginning of this book give me property law flashbacks that were horrible to experience? Yes. I hated property law. But overall, I thought this book was mostly really strong at the beginning and even through the middle.
Essentially, Lainey and Elliot marry so that she can have health insurance and he can have rights to the property she has through legal reasons that are… questionable maybe, but I wasn’t about to question it. Anyway, Lainey is a survivor and she has been just making it work for years. This means her idea of rules are that they are very flexible and Elliot is much more of a rule follower. So the two of them are just very different people. There’s also the added fact that Lainey wants desperately to escape her hometown, to finally get the chance to chase the opportunities she had to let go earlier in her life.
As I mentioned, the beginning through the middle of this book were strong, but what got me was the central conflict of this book and the HEA felt like they were on two different tracks and I feel like I went off one direction while the story was going a completely different direction. Now, I do think this will work for a lot of people, but I just wanted a little bit more on page. I think because the central conflict was actually on the back burner for so much of this book with the other plot matters taking up the page time, it didn’t quite work out for me from an emotional perspective. I do hope that if you pick it up, this vibes more for you.
Love Felt Like This by Julie Olivia
I’m genuinely not certain that I have the words for how much I adored this book. First of all, Julie Olivia did it again, right? I loved the first book I read from her, If It Makes You Happy so very much, but I was nervous that I wouldn’t like this one as much. Sometimes when authors have switched over to traditional publishing, it’s like they soften themselves? Maybe that’s not the right word, but I do feel like sometimes there’s a difference in their writing, like they’re pulling punches. But Olivia’s Love Felt Like This punched me in the feelings time and time again. And the main through line in this book is basically the fictional version of Sesame Street!
Griff is grumpy and doesn’t like interviews, but when he and Beverly accidentally wind up interacting on this late night show that Beverly is hoping will save not Sesame Street the two of them shine together. For… reasons, this interaction eventually results in Beverly and Griff agreeing to work together to create some music for not Sesame Street and they decide to do this in Beverly’s small town in the mountains of North Carolina. I’ll be honest, getting to see the Asheville airport on page was amusing to me. It’s being improved! At this point, they might have finished the new terminal they were building. I haven’t flown out of there in more than a year. Anyway, Griff is also keeping a secret. He’s a dad to the sweetest little toddler, Avery, whose mom died, which left him with full custody of a daughter he’s really trying to keep out of the public eye.
Let me tell you, Beverly’s family? They’re amazing. I loved the way they interact with one another. The way Olivia once again created this really full life for both Griff and Beverly and gave them both so much backstory, in the way each and every family member feels like a real, full person is amazing. And that’s true of the people on Griff’s side too. His band and his manager all feel like fully developed people. I love the way this story is soft and quiet, but also hard hitting and full of this creativity and the pressures of expectations and so much more. This book was amazing and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
Closing Thoughts
This was a great trio of reviews to be writing for you all. I really enjoyed each of these books, though you may be able to tell that my stand out was definitely Love Felt Like This. Such a perfect book. Have you read any of these three? Let me know!
xx
