What Comes After | by Katie Bayer

 

Publication Date: April 29, 2025

Mari is dead and she finds herself living her afterlife in a place called Paradise Gate. Paradise Gate is an in between place. A place that people who have unfinished business and no religious affiliation find themselves. 

The dead have to attend classes and earn points in order to ascend and if they fail to do so well .... the afterlife won't be so pleasant. She had 90 days to to figure things out and it's not looking so good for her. 

Mari died before she could turn seventeen and much to her surprise and dismay her mother is also in Paradise Gates. Her relationship with her mom is complex at best making her time there all that more challenging. 

Mari quickly finds a friendship in someone who shows her the ropes and finds a love interest. Paradise Gate seems like an okay place until secrets about her death and relationship with her mother becomes public knowledge. 

What Comes After had so much promise. The initial build is well executed but then everything fell apart. I blame myself for having high hopes for this novel because I thought it would capture my love for ELSEWHERE.

** I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Something Blue (Darcy & Rachel, #2) | by Emily Giffin

 

I have always been a fan of Emily Giffin and I am revisiting her books. Something Blue follows Darcy Rhone. Darcy and her fiance have called off their wedding. Darcy has fled to London to visit (live) with her childhood friend Ethan. 

Darcy is pregnant (not with her ex fiance's child) and trying to figure things out but in typical Darcy fashion she is a bit chaotic lucky for her Ethan is grounded. Ethan is able to help Darcy see things which helps in turning Darcy's character around. 

I love Darcy's character development and how she finds a way to forgive herself and others. She also undergoes a lot of self discovery which helps her recognize that she isn't always the victim and can be the villain. 

I love this book. You don't have to read the Something Borrowed in order to understand the storyline or characters but I recommend it just so you have backstory. 

A Court of Thorns and Roses (A Court of Thorns and Roses #1) (Part 1 & f 2) (Dramatized Adaptation) | by Sarah J. Maas

 

I've been hearing about this book and series for ages now. It isn't usually a genre I care for but it was recommend  I listen to the dramatized adaptation of it. The book is broken down into two parts and I was able to borrow them from Hoopla. It comes in two parts so you will need to get part 1 and part 2. I have the physical book copy but it wasn't pulling me in however the dramatized version did so if you are like me I recommend you listen to the dramatized adaptation because it is entertaining. It is mixed with the voices of different actors, sound effects and music. 

Nineteen year old Feyre is responsible for feeding and caring for her family. In order to do this she hunts. On a hunting trip she kills and skins a wolf unfortunately this results in her being taken by a fairy as retribution. She is forced to live with him in this castle but as she learns more about the Fae world and of her capture, Tamlin she finds herself wanting to save Tamlin and others like him.

I usually loathe books in which magical words of fairy's, wolves, dragons, etc are built but this one mixes in humans and it works. The creatures are also given human qualities making you on occasion forget that you are reading about a fantasy world. 

This dramatization adaptation makes this book work for me otherwise I would have DNF'd it. It did take me checking out the audiobook twice to get through each part but it was worth it especially when I got to the last quarter of the book! Mass builds a world that is believable and magical. I will be moving on to the next book sometime this year. This isn't a series I can read books back to back in. 

The Strange Case of Jane O. by Karen Thompson Walker

 

One of my favorite books is The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker. I also enjoyed The Dreamers. Walker doesn't put out books often so I jumped on the chance to read The Strange Case of Jane O and I absolutely loved it. 

Jane O is a single mom who a year after the birth of her child experiences a series of episodes that result in the loss of time, premonitions, hallucinations and a feeling of dread. Her first episode results in her being found in a park. She has no memory of what happened and this results in her visiting Dr. Henry Bryd a psychiatrist. Jane O disappears again this time with her child and it becomes a headline news.

Dr. Bryd tells Jane O's story via journal entries and memories he has kept from their visits. Dr. Bryd has his own secrets and as the story unravels you become completely immersed. I read the book and listened to the audiobook. I recommend either but the audiobooks gives a bigger punch to the story.

The Girl I Was | by Jeneva Rose

Thirty year old Alexis Spencer has had a terrible day. She decides to drink her troubles away. When she wakes up she finds herself in a bed that isn't hers. She is in a frat house and has no idea how she ended up there. She soon discovers that she's woken up in the year 2002 and is on her old college campus. 

Alexis runs into her 2002 self who goes by Lexi. Alexis is able to convince Lexi that she is her future self. She moves into her dorm room with her and they say that Alexis is Lexi's older sister. Alexis and Lexi set a plan in motion to get Alexis back to the future but along the way Alexis makes it her personal mission to get Lexi on a better path and improve their future life. 

The Girl I was is told through Alexis point of view. The story moves along quickly and has some incredibly emotional moments. The characters aren't exactly likable but it works for this story and helps to push it along. Besides we all have out ugly character moments which adds a level of belief.

I listened to this book and the narrater was outstanding and became Alexis. I have already recommend this book to a few friends. I wish I had read this sooner and it hadn't sat in my TBR pile. 

The Poppy Fields | by Nikki Erlick

The Poppy Fields had so much promise but halfway through it failed to deliver. The Poppy Fields is a treatment center that is located in a remote part of the California desert. The treatment center specializes in an experimental procedure that puts people into a deep sleep for a period of time in order to help them get relief from the heartache of loss. 

The book follows four different strangers who embark on the journey to California together. The strangers each have their own reason for wanting to go to the Poppy Fields which is revealed as the drive to California. 

The story is told in multiple point of views. There is a large cast of characters but it's fairly easy to tell them apart. This book wasn't for me but I can see how others would enjoy it more than I did. 

Bad Publicity | by Bianca Gillam

Published: May 20, 2025

Andie has landed her dream job as a senior book publicist. On her first day of work she is assigned to one of their biggest authors, Jack Carlson. The very Jack Carlson who ruined her life over 5 years ago when they were attending the same university.  Jack is infuriatingly handsome and talented and not only does Andie have to be his publicist she has to go on a 4 month book tour with him across Europe. 

Andie plans to be professional and calls for a true  but the past has a way of sneaking up on her again and again. This makes her time with Jack more than challenging as she is fueled by anger, betrayal, grief, humiliation and heartache.

The story of Andie and Jack is a simple, entertaining and fast read. Gillam a debut author captured the enemies to lovers troupe perfectly. The use of supportive characters pushes the story along. Gillam understands grief and the loss of a loved one with accuracy making the pain real which evoked strong memories for this reader.

** I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.