Earl Grey Books

Since I’m still running behind with reviews, today I bring you 10 mini reviews of 13 books that I’ve read some time between mid June and mid July. I’ve got a couple of series that I’ve collated into one review, some rereads, series continuations and one of my most anticipated reads of the year. So let’s get into them.

Puck Shy & Blind Pass (Carolina Comets #1-2) by Teagan Hunter

I picked these two up on a complete whim after seeing an Instagram reel about one of the later books in the series. I’d just finished Icebreaker and That One Night, so I was definitely in the ice hockey state of mind. These were fun and light-hearted, pretty similar to most other hockey romances but in a good way. I had been planning to continue the series but by the time I made it a little into the third book, I really lost interest. The books use different tropes, but the stories still feel incredibly similar down to the words sometimes—a character in one would say something and then in book two, a completely different character would say the exact same thing. After two and a half books that started to get really boring and I’ll probably never come back to this series. But still, I had fun reading these when I did and I’m happy I picked them up.

Death in Ecstasy (Roderick Alleyn #4) by Ngaio Marsh

This was definitely a bit of a different vibe from the other Alleyn books so far, but I really enjoyed it. I’ve read a couple of mysteries with a religious/spiritual cult aspect, but it was so interesting to see Alleyn in that kind of situation. I did struggle a little with some of the slang in this one, I think especially because I’m less familiar with this kind of thing than I am with a mystery set in a manor, for example. I really love the dynamic between Alleyn, Fox and Nigel—the interactions between them are always my favourite parts of these books. It was still an interesting read and a nice departure from the rest of the series so far.

Scarlet Princess (The Lochlann Feuds #1) by Robin D. Mahle and Elle Madison

I picked this one up at BABE and knew pretty much immediately that this was going to be the first of my purchases that I would read. I’d read the first twenty pages or so before pre-ordering the series and was so excited to get to it. I really enjoyed most of it, but it started to drag a little about three-quarters of the way through and the ending felt very rushed. I enjoyed the characters too—Rowan and Theo are sweet, but I’m hoping we’ll see some more character development in the rest of the series as well as some more page time for some of the side characters. All in all, I enjoyed this but I’d really hoped this was going to be a favourite of the year so I was a little disappointed that I didn’t end up loving it. I’m still excited to continue the series, hopefully in August.

Antigua de Fortune of the High Seas by Anna Rainbow and Oli Hyatt

When I picked this up, I was definitely in a big reading slump on top of being really sick, I think it’s part of the reason why I didn’t love this. It felt a little underdeveloped—the characters were interesting and so was the world, but it felt a little rushed. It’s a middle-grade standalone and it’s reasonably short but I didn’t feel connected to the story at all. It felt a little bit like ‘this happens and then this happens, and then this’ but with very little to tie it together or make me care for the characters or world more than I had at the start. I very rarely think books should be longer, but this is one case where I think even another twenty pages could’ve helped add some more dimension to the story and have given time for the characters to develop more.

Emperor & Captain of the Guard (Galactic Kings #2-3) by Anna Hackett

I decided I needed a bit of a palate cleanser at the end of June, so I ended up reading these two back to back. I’d read book one in January, so it took me a little to get my bearings with Emperor but once I did, I really enjoyed it. I loved Poppy and Brodin, just as much as I enjoyed Mal and Rhain in book one. Afterwards, I was so excited about book three that I immediately started it. I liked this one a little less—I think partly because both of the leads are aliens and I guess I like that dynamic of alien/human more. I still enjoyed it—I like both Annora and Thadd, but just not quite as much as the others. I needed a little break before book four, but I’m hoping to pick that up soon too. I gave book two, Emperor, four stars, and book three, Captain of the Guard, three stars.

Tilly and the Bookwanderers & Tilly and the Lost Fairytales (Pages & Co #1-2) by Anna James

I actually read these two about ten days apart, but they were both rereads and I don’t have a whole lot to say. I reread book one with my friend Helen, and for book two we were joined by another friend, Cara. It was honestly such a great time to just read it slowly and savour it because this is a favourite series of mine and I’ve not reread it before. It’s just such a joy to read these books—I absolutely adore Tilly and Oskar as well as Tilly’s grandparents, in particular. I remembered book one pretty well, but it was fun to rediscover book two which I’d mostly forgotten. I’m so glad to be continuing to reread the series in August. I gave them both four stars.

Obsession (The Mate Games #1) by K. Loraine and Meg Anne

This was one my friend Lana picked out for me—I’d never heard of it and probably wouldn’t have picked it up on my own. It was a bit like a car crash, it was kind of terrible but I couldn’t look away. On the whole, it was fun and definitely an interesting reading experience—on Lana’s request, I listened to the audiobook and it made for an interesting time. I enjoyed it for the most part, though I’m not sure listening to the smutty parts on audio was for me. I liked most of the characters even though they’re a little ridiculous—they all had some funny lines and the guys had a few swoony moments. I think I would’ve probably given this four stars if it wasn’t for the priest—I know he’s meant to be one of the romantic leads but he creeped me out so much that I had to start skipping the scenes he was in. I don’t see myself continuing the series from here, but I’m glad I had fun with this.

Blood Heir (Blood Heir Trilogy #1) by Amelie Wen Zhao

I’d put this one on my ‘these books will self-destruct’ list for this year—I’d owned it since 2020 and just hadn’t made time for it. I’m glad that I did end up getting to it. In saying that, I really don’t know how I feel about this book. It was very different to what I was expecting, definitely way more intense, but I just don’t know how I feel about it. I was enjoying myself as I read it—as I said it was intense, so I did have to take it pretty slowly but it was engaging and interesting. I liked the characters too, but I think there was just something keeping me from completely loving it. I don’t know what that thing is, but I’m hoping to continue with the series and make up my mind as I do that.

All About Love (Cynster #6) by Stephanie Laurens

I used to read nothing but historical romances, but these days I really struggle to pick them up. But I’d planned to get through this series this year, so I had to start somewhere. I had a good time reading this one—it was relatively easy to get through and it reminded me why I’d picked up this series in the first place. All of the books in this series have had a mystery element to them, and this was definitely one of my favourites in terms of that. What can I say? I love a good murder plot. I also just really like the relationship between Lucifer and Phyllida (even if I just can’t take her name seriously)—they’re really sweet together and it was exactly what I needed to read between everything else I’d been reading.

I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year. There was absolutely no way I was going to miss it because Makkai’s previous book, The Great Believers, is one of my top three favourites of all-time. I ended up listening to it on audio and that was such a great experience, I highly recommend it. This is such a complicated book to explain, there’s so many layers to it—an old mystery with a possibly innocent man behind bars, discussions of true crime, old Hollywood, #MeToo and more that I can’t even begin to describe. I felt completely enthralled by this book that every time I had to stop the audio it took me a little bit to catch my bearings again. By the end of the book, I felt a little bit like I’d had the rug pulled out from under me and I was floundering. Thalia’s case has felt real to me by the end, and it was definitely a situation of ‘but what do I do now?’. The Great Believers had broken me so I was expecting that, but this affected me in a different way—Makkai has this way of causing me serious pain in a way that makes me want more. This is going to be one that haunts me for a while yet.

And that’s finally it for this post. Have you read any of these?