Welcome to Litsy!

I haven't read Garber's YA novels, but the cover & plot intrigued me. Garber has you desperate to know what's next & whom to trust. I wish there was more connection w/ the potential love interests (enemies?) as I wasn't invested. But as a series, I'm sure that will develop further. The resolution was fast after a long journey. I enjoyed the story as the premise is strong, & I was on the edge of my seat between the kidnapping, murder, & shootings.

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

3.75 stars. A fast-paced, magical treasure hunt where no one can be trusted, dripping in an Old Hollywood glamour/Art Deco aesthetic. It felt so cinematic; it would be a super cool limited series. Some parts were unclear or underdeveloped, but I‘m definitely intrigued enough to pick up book two for some answers! #BOTM

2.5⭐
• fantasy historical • magic • light dark academia vibes • ya friendly content • awkward romance • folklore/urban legends • single POV •

Was this adult, because it felt ya? Was it historical or modern times, because everything was so underdeveloped that I couldn‘t tell? Was this magical because they threw the word magic around a whole lot? This was my first Stephanie Garber novel, and it didn‘t really impress me much. The narration was fine.

I enjoyed this new Garber book. I usually love her stuff. This one was a story about whether folklores and magic are real as our FMC has hours to find a magical object before bad things happen. Lots of wondering who to trust and felt like a mystery adventure novel. I also really liked the ending. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It was my good timing to listen the Sutton Foster narrated audio along with my physical copy of this book. I got lost with the story a few times and had to backtrack, but the witty writing kept me going. Overall, this one needed more tweaking for me to give it a pick - unfortunate because the effort for the outside of the book is top-notch.

"It almost felt like magic. Not big, miraculous magic but the simple magic of timeliness things. Of two-dollar bills and handwritten letters, typewriters and rotary phones."

An improbable but fun ride! Especially if you like magic and urban myths.

#Read2025 #Bookspinbingo #LitsyAtoZ #Pantone2025

There was so much I loved about this book. The design & sprayed edges are stunning.I also loved the setting and the way magic was woven into the story. However,something about the plot fell a little flat for me.There were moments where I found myself confused or losing interest.The beginning drew me in, &the ending pulled me back,but the middle didn‘t hold my attention. Still, it was an enjoyable read overall.

I stretched a bit to give this fantasy a try as the premise sounded fun, but it‘s actively bad. There are weird second person interludes early on that just kind of stop, giant plot holes, and a limp noodle main character that just does whatever a man tells her to, even if she met him 5 minutes ago. 🤮

As you can see my ARC copy has definitely seen better days and I‘m glad this was the copy I was reading by the pool instead of my signed B&N Exclusive edition I have on the way! I loved this story - though I wish we would have found out more about some of the side characters this was a fun and spooky read to kick off this season.

This was fun! It's an urban fantasy centered around urban myths in Los Angeles. Holland is working on her thesis centered around one of those myths. And then one day she is thrust further into that world when she discovers how to contact the Watch Man, who can tell you the date and time of your death. She's sent on a hurried chase to find the only thing that will save her. I really like the way Garber writes. And I liked Holland a lot.

Up next.😁

Busted open my #BOTM box this month and started reading right away!!

THE BOOK OF THE MONTH CHOICES ARE LIVE! 🥳🎉🎉🎉 I was SUPER hyped when I saw the selections for September! What did everyone else pick?

I almost skipped this month, then I realized I could get the Hilderbrand as an add-on so I picked the fancy fantasy. Something different for me. #BOTM

This is the second book I brought on vacation with me and I am absolutely loving it! I‘ve been happily floating in a pool with my book and my coffee this whole vacation.

I can‘t wait to see what everyone choosing it for their #BOTM thinks because they‘ll have early access to it too!

I DID IT! I finally found a BOTM pick that I‘m kinda, sorta intrigued by (the bar has drastically been lowered since the last book I ordered was forever ago). My reminder is set to cancel my membership before my card gets charged for next month. It‘s been fun BOTM, but the time has come to say good-bye 👋👋👋👋👋👋

September #botm books dropped! I went with the new Rachel Harrison. And they are doing a special sprayed edge edition of Alchemy of Secrets, so I added that one too. It's my birthday month, so that add-on was mostly free. I just had to pay the $2.99 special edition charge.

LOOOK what I got my hands on!! Trying not to stop the book I just started to start this one. 🫠📚