Sophie Reads YA: April 2021

April Summary

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What I've read this month:

The Wrong Marquess
Series: The Mating Habits of Scoundrels #3
Author: Vivienne Lorret
June 29th 2021 by Avon (eARC)
Read: March 31-April 1 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

Sunkissed
Series: None
Author: Kasie West
May 4th 2021 by Delacorte Press (eARC)
Read: April 2-3 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

Duke of Disrepute
Series: Dukes of Distinction #3
Author: Alexa Aston
April 6th 2021 by Dragonblade Publishing, Inc. (eARC)
Read: April 3 2021
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

The Virgin Who Ruined Lord Gray
Series: The Swooning Virgins Society #1
Author: Anna Bradley
October 27th 2020 by Lyrical Press (eARC)
Read: April 3 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Virgin Who Vindicated Lord Darlington
Series: The Swooning Virgins Society #2
Author: Anna Bradley
February 2nd 2021 by Lyrical Press (eARC)
Read: April 4 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

The Virgin Who Humbled Lord Haslemere
Series: The Swooning Virgins Society #3
Author: Anna Bradley
June 1st 2021 by Lyrical Press (eARC)
Read: April 4 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

A Duke in Shining Armor
Series: Difficult Dukes #1
Author: Loretta Chase
November 28th 2017 by Avon
Read: April 2-5 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Unscripted
Series: None
Author: Nicole Kronzer
April 21st 2020 by Amulet Books (eARC)
Read: April 5-6 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

While the Duke Was Sleeping
Series: The Rogue Files #1
Author: Sophie Jordan
October 25th 2016 by Avon
Read: April 6-7 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Field Notes on Love
Series: None
Author: Jennifer E. Smith
May 30th 2019 by Macmillan Children's Books (eARC)
Read: April 6-7 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Dramatically Ever After
Series: Ever After #2
Author: Isabel Bandeira
June 20th 2017 by Spencer Hill Press (eARC)
Read: April 7-8 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

When a Duke Loves a Governess
Series: Unlikely Duchesses #3
Author: Olivia Drake
July 27th 2021 by St. Martin's Press (eARC)
Read: April 8 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

The Scandal of It All
Series: The Rogue Files #2
Author: Sophie Jordan
July 25th 2017 by Avon
Read: April 8-9 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Duke Buys a Bride
Series: The Rogue Files #3
Author: Sophie Jordan
July 24th 2018 by Avon
Read: April 9-10 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Girl Out of Water
Series: None
Author: Laura Silverman
May 2nd 2017 by Sourcebooks Fire (eARC)
Read: April 8-11 2021
My Rating: 2 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

More Than Maybe
Series: None
Author: Erin Hahn
July 21st 2020 by Wednesday Books (eARC)
Read: April 13 2021
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

West End Earl
Series: Misfits of Mayfair #2
Author: Bethany Bennett
June 29th 2021 by Forever (eARC)
Read: April 14 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

This Scot of Mine
Series: The Rogue Files #4
Author: Sophie Jordan
March 12th 2019 by Avon
Read: April 13-14 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Scoundrel of My Heart
Series: Once Upon a Dukedom #1
Author: Lorraine Heath
March 30th 2021 by Avon
Read: April 15 2021
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

Chasing Cassandra
Series: The Ravenels #6
Author: Lisa Kleypas
February 18th 2020 by Piatkus
Read: April 16 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Duchess Hunt
Series: Once Upon a Dukedom #2
Author: Lorraine Heath
September 28th 2021 by Avon (eARC)
Read: April 16-17 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

These Violent Delights
Series: These Violent Delights #1
Author: Chloe Gong
November 17th 2020 by Hodder & Stoughton
Read: April 17 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

His Secret Mistress
Series: A Logical Man's Guide to Dangerous Women #1
Author: Cathy Maxwell
February 25th 2020 by Avon
Read: April 18-20 2021
My Rating: 3 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Duke’s Wife
Series: The Three Mrs #3
Author: Jess Michaels
May 11th 2021 by The Passionate Pen (eARC)
Read: April 22 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 New Release Challenge

Because of Miss Bridgerton
Series: Rokesbys #1
Author: Julia Quinn
March 29th 2016 by Piatkus
Read: April 22-23 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Girl with the Make-Believe Husband
Series: Rokesbys #2
Author: Julia Quinn
May 30th 2017 by Piatkus
Read: April 24 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

The Other Miss Bridgerton
Series: Rokesbys #3
Author: Julia Quinn
November 20th 2018 by Piatkus
Read: April 24-25 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

A Curious Beginning
Series: Veronica Speedwell #1
Author: Deanna Raybourn
October 2nd 2015 by Titan Books Ltd (eARC)
Read: April 26-30 2021
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge

Challenges Update:
2021 New Release Challenge: 10 (51 total)
2021 Beat the Backlist Challenge: 18 (66 total)

Summary:

April’s been a really good reading month, especially with having two weeks off for the Easter holidays. Lockdown has started to end, and restrictions lifted, so I think we might be coming out the other side of this awful 13 months. Let’s hope for more improvements in May!

How have you done this month? Let me know below.

2021 Beat the Backlist challenge

Review: Forever My Duke (Unlikely Duchesses #2) by Olivia Drake

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Forever My Duke
Series: Unlikely Duchesses #2
Author: Olivia Drake
Published December 31st 2019 by St. Martin's Press

Goodreads Synopsis
“I find Miss Fanshawe to be quite charming—for an American.”—The Prince Regent

Hadrian Ames, the Duke of Clayton, needs a bride. He even has the perfect one picked out. That is, until he meets the lovely, free-spirited Natalie Fanshawe. She’s the opposite of what a man of his high rank should desire in a wife—an outspoken American who has never even set foot in a London ballroom.

But Natalie doesn’t have time to be swept off her feet by a handsome duke who must be a spoiled scoundrel like every other British lord. And she couldn’t care less about Hadrian’s title. After all, it’s not as if he actually worked to attain his wealth and status. He surely can’t understand what it’s like to be a busy woman, planning to open a school while trying to reunite a six-year-old orphan with his English relatives. Nevertheless, Hadrian launches his campaign to win her heart. Can the utterly delightful American beauty ever find a way to love him…despite his being a duke?
Goodreads

Review
In Forever My Duke, the Duke of Clayton needs to marry, and the daughter of his friend and once guardian seems to be perfect. As Hadrian is on his way to reconnect with the woman he thinks he'll ask to marry, he comes across a beautiful young American, and her 6 year old charge, who just so happens to be heading in the same direction. Natalie Fanshawe never expected she would set foot in England, but when the settlement she was living in was attacked, and her friend's dying wish was for her newly-orphaned son to be reunited with his maternal family, she can't deny that wish. Taking Leo to meet his grandparents was harder than she expected though, as they are wholly concerned with status and image, and had shunned their daughter for marrying a lowly preacher and emigrating. Against all the odds, it's only Hadrian who is on her side, and when he takes her and Leo to his family home in London, while they wait and see if Leo's family will accept him, the sparks fly. Will Natalie get over her hatred of the aristocracy, or will her American ideals be too much?

I think I liked this book a little more than the one before, but felt like some aspects of it went on a little long. Both of the main characters were lovely, and I completely understood why Natalie, as the daughter of someone who emigrated from England for being the illegitimate son of nobleman, and being shunned from society, was so against the aristocracy system, but she went on a bit. Okay, you're American, you don't believe in a class system, but remember where you are, and who's guest you are too. She got slightly better as the book went on, especially as she met her paternal family, who weren't anywhere near as bad as she thought they'd be. Nor were Hadrian's family either. They fully embraced her and little Leo, and showed the good side of the aristocracy. The chemistry between Hadrian and Natalie was okay, and I liked seeing Hadrian's relationship with his mother redevelop. There's also a sort of found family aspect too, with Hadrian, Natalie and Leo forming a little unit who loved each other, and would do anything for each other. All in all, a decent book!

Dates Read:
March 21-23, 2021

Rating
4 Stars

2021 Beat the Backlist challenge

Review: What I Like About You by Marisa Kanter

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What I Like About You
Series: None
Author: Marisa Kanter
Published April 7th 2020 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Synopsis
Can a love triangle have only two people in it? Online, it can... but in the real world, it's more complicated. In this debut novel Marisa Kanter explores what happens when internet friends turn into IRL crushes.

There are a million things that Halle Levitt likes about her online best friend, Nash.

He’s an incredibly talented graphic novelist. He loves books almost as much as she does. And she never has to deal with the awkwardness of seeing him in real life. They can talk about anything…

Except who she really is.

Because online, Halle isn’t Halle—she’s Kels, the enigmatically cool creator of One True Pastry, a YA book blog that pairs epic custom cupcakes with covers and reviews. Kels has everything Halle doesn’t: friends, a growing platform, tons of confidence, and Nash.

That is, until Halle arrives to spend senior year in Gramps’s small town and finds herself face-to-face with real, human, not-behind-a-screen Nash. Nash, who is somehow everywhere she goes—in her classes, at the bakery, even at synagogue.

Nash who has no idea she’s actually Kels.

If Halle tells him who she is, it will ruin the non-awkward magic of their digital friendship. Not telling him though, means it can never be anything more. Because while she starts to fall for Nash as Halle…he’s in love with Kels.
Goodreads

Review
What I Like About You is a story in which the love triangle only has two key players, but one of them is hiding her online persona from her real life. Halle Levitt has always loved reading, and being the granddaughter of an amazing editor gave her opportunities she could never have imagined. Moving around often because of her director parents, she needed to find a place in the world to be herself, even if she wasn't completely truthful. That's where One True Pastry was born. Online, she is Kels, the YA book blogger who pairs reviews with cupcake recipes, and has friends all across the world. No one she is more close to that Nash Stevens, but they've never met, and more importantly, he doesn't know her face nor her true name. When she and younger brother Ollie move to Connecticut to stay with their widowed grandfather for a year, she's shocked to see Nash sat in front of her in the library. She wants to tell him the truth, but soon it becomes too late, and she's afraid he'll hate both Halle and Kels, and scupper her chances of going to NYU. Will Halle ever be able to tell Nash the truth, or will it be the end of both their friandships?

I've been wanting to read this book for ages, especially as it reminded me so much of one of my all time favourite YA reads, Alex Approximately. Halle may be anxious and awkward in real life, but as Kels, she can be herself, without the social stigma of her family history, nor her having to worry about making any social faux pas. She's managed to grow her following exponentially in the past few years, and now, as she's applying for college - preferably NYU - she's potentially in with a shot to host exclusive cover reveals, and even be on a blogger panel at BookCon. If only she could face the idea of revealing her true self, everything would be okay. But, meeting Nash in real life, and realising that she has a crush on him, it's hard to tell him the truth. I will admit, I didn't feel too comfortable with the fact she had known the entire time, and not once tried to tell him until he discovered it for himself, over 80% of the way through the book, after being in a relationship with him too. I loved seeing Halle and Ollie discover more about their Jewish heritage, and become closer to their grandfather too. Nash and Halle were extremely cute together, but like I said, it didn't quite sit right that Halle was keeping the secret the entire time. I have seen some reviews saying that Halle/Kels actively hated on adult YA readers, but I can't remember seeing that at all - there was some hatred of an author stating that her books/upcoming film shouldn't be classed as YA, which I didn't completely get, but nothing that said adult YA bloggers were wrong? Maybe I missed that part, but I'm not sure. It was a really quick read, and very cute in places.

Dates Read:
March 19-20, 2021

Rating
4 Stars

Of Princes and Promises

Waiting On Wednesday: Of Princes and Promises (St. Rosetta's Academy #2) by Sandhya Menon

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2 Stars

ARC Review: Destination Anywhere by Sara Barnard

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Destination Anywhere
Series: None
Author: Sara Barnard
Published May 6th 2021 by Macmillan Children's Books

Goodreads Synopsis
A breathtaking novel about finding yourself and finding a friend by the award-winning author of Beautiful Broken Things

Sometimes you have to leave your life behind to find your place in the world. . .

After five years at secondary school spent bullied and alone, Peyton King starts sixth form college determined that things will be different. Whatever happens, she will make friends at any cost.

When she finds the friends she’s always dreamed of, including an actual boyfriend, she’s happier than she’s ever been.

But when they let her down in the worst way, Peyton is left no better off than when she started. Now Peyton knows the only chance she has of finding happiness is to look for it somewhere else. With nothing but her sketchpad and a backpack, she buys a one-way ticket and gets on a plane. . .

In Destination Anywhere, Sara Barnard explores love, life and friendship in this exquisite tale of the lengths one girl will go to to change her story.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

This review will either be difficult to write, or really easy. As soon as I heard about this book, and took a look at the synopsis, I decided to request a copy from the publisher, as I had really enjoyed a previous book by this author, A Quiet Kind of Thunder, and was expecting the same from this one. As you can see from the dates read, it took me neigh on 4 weeks to finish the book, and it's not like it was too long - it was only 320 pages. In Destination Anywhere, the main character Peyton is 17, and after having a horrific 5 years at secondary school, where she was bullied constantly, she hoped sixth form would be different. And it was, at first. But when it also starts to go wrong, she takes her dad's credit card, books a ticket to Canada, and jumps ship. She has no idea of what she'll do in Canada, except explore, and have an adventure. As the story gets going, we learn more about her life before and now, to fully understand her motives.

That all sounds good, yeah? Well, that's what I thought too, but pretty much from the beginning I had issues. Now, I'm not going to ignore that Peyton's life at school was horrific, but I can't understand how nothing was done in the entire five years she was there, either by her parents or her teachers. Next we get to her managing to travel, internationally, alone at 17, with next to no questioning. When I was that age, I was arriving back into the UK after being abroad, and the border officer sent me through by myself, and I was questioned, extensively, about why I was alone, and it was only when they let my Mam come to the same booth - she'd been sent through already - and they checked her passport, I was ok. And that was me arriving into my home country, not a foreign one.

After I got over that, I started to get bored by Peyton, herself. She just wasn't a character I liked, and I found her whinging all the time just annoying. It was eye-roll inducing, and not exactly enjoyable. I think that was when I put the book down for a bit, and actually read another couple in the mean time, but once lockdown was upon us, I decided I may as well finish it, and dove back in. This is when it all got a bit too much.

Like I said earlier, the book is split into two parts, the before she fled, and the now while she's in Canada. The before chapters were simultaneously boring, and cringe worthy. Peyton finds a group of friends at sixth form, including Flick, Travis, Eric, and Casey, and falls right in with them. But, then, the problems start. Flick is self centred, and her boyfriend, Eric, is abusive and a bully. Travis and Peyton soon become a thing, and the next thing you know they're sleeping together and telling each other they love them, when they clearly don't, and Casey is just passive. As if that wasn't enough, drugs and booze start getting involved and everything really falls apart. Teenagers make mistakes - it's true - but Peyton here was just ridiculous. She knew she was making mistakes, and kept saying it, but did nothing to stop it. I actually ended up skimming these chapters, because if I spent too long on them, I would've thrown the book out the window probably.

The now chapters in Canada were enjoyable, especially when we can't travel right now, and it was lovely learning about all the different places Peyton went to, like Vancouver Island, Banff, Lake Louise, etc. I enjoyed the group of friends she made while travelling, and that's the only reason this book is 2 stars, because it's what redeemed it all, if I'm honest. I have a few more of this author's books on my shelves, and I'm not sure if I'll try them now, because it seems her books are either a hit or a miss.

Dates Read:
March 1-27, 2020

Rating
2 Stars

2021 New Release challenge

ARC Review: The Devil in Her Bed (Devil You Know #3) by Kerrigan Byrne

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The Devil in Her Bed
Series: Devil You Know #3
Author: Kerrigan Byrne
Published March 9th 2021 by St. Martin's Paperbacks

Goodreads Synopsis
He lives in secret service to the Crown—a man of duty, deception, and an undeniable attraction to a woman who threatens to tear his whole world apart.

They call him the Devil of Dorset. He stands alone, a man of undeniable power. Moving in and out of shadows, back alleys and ballrooms, he is unstoppable and one of the Crown’s most dangerous weapons. However, when he sets his sights on the undeniably beautiful Countess of Mont Claire, Francesca Cavendish, he doesn’t realize that he has met a match like no other.

TRUE LOVE WEARS NO DISGUISE

Francesca is a countess by day and stalks her prey—those responsible for the death of her family—by night. What she does not expect is to be thrown into the path of the devil himself, the Earl of Devlin. She has secrets of her own and he seems determined to lay them bare. Can her heart survive finding the love of her life and losing him when all is revealed?
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Lady Francesca Cavendish, the Countess of Mont Claire, is not who she appears to be. Purported to be the sole survivor of the Mont Claire massacre years ago, she is actually Pippa Hargreaves, the daughter of the butler and cook, and best friend to the slain Francesca. Thinking she was the only person who came out of the estate alive, she took on her friend's identity to help her gain revenge, and make those who slaughtered everyone she loved, including her friend and crush Declan Chandler, pay. She's growing closer to finding out just who, alongside the disgraced Lord Chancellor, are in the Triad, ruling over the Crimson Council, when a mysterious man comes into her life. He seems to know a lot about Francesca - the real Francesca, and is a ghost, working with the Secret Service to take down the Crimson Council himself, and he won't let anyone, not even someone he's attracted to as much as he is Francesca, get in his way.

I've been so intrigued by Francesca's revenge since she revealed the truth about herself right back at the start of book 1. She may appear to be a countess, but she cares only for her fellow Red Rogues, Cecelia and Alexandra, and making those who killed her family suffer. To the rest of society, she appears to be a scandalous spinster, sleeping with many a man who later has his downfall, but really she drugs them, discovers their secrets, and flees without ever touching them. The more men she seduces, the closer she gets to the truth, and it seems that the Earl of Devlin may be the key to it all. But then the mysterious 'Marquess Drake', a man of many faces, identities and accents, who intrigues her and she may just lose herself to. I don't want to spoil anything about who he was, but I guessed early enough, and the truth about his parentage, but the whole back and forth between our couple was phenomenal. I don't like their romance as much as I had Alex and Piers, or Cecilia and Ramsay's, but still it was an epic read. What made the whole story even more enjoyable was the family aspect that ran through it all, with Piers and Ramsay being pseudo-brother like figures to Francesca, and the five of them all being there for each other, even when it was dangerous. Solving the puzzle of the Crimson Council, and just why the Mont Claire estate was attacked and razed all those years ago was extremely well written, with twists and turns that kept me hooked, and forced me to read the book all in one sitting, without putting it down until I discovered if all our favourites survived, and had their HEA. A really fantastic ending to the entire series - I can't wait for Kerrigan's next story.

Dates Read:
January 19, 2021

Rating
4 Stars