This was a good story walk book pick. I liked it. -Diana

?Now To Forever (Life on the Ledge Duet #2)? By Ashley Manley After twenty years of running from her past, Scotty, a reclusive crematorium owner, is forced to face the heartbreak she’s tried to bury. When an unexpected inheritance and the sudden return of the man who once shattered her heart upend her quiet life, she must choose between the safety of solitude and the possibility of a second chance at love. True healing, she discovers, might require more than just a change of scenery, it may demand the courage to let someone in. I absolutely loved Forever and Back, the first book in this duet, so I was thrilled to get early access to Scotty’s story! Scotty, June’s quirky, strong-willed, reclusive best friend, was such an intriguing character, and this book dives deep into her complexity. Haunted by a traumatic past she’s never truly faced, Scotty’s journey is raw and emotional. She can be polarizing at times, and I occasionally found her choices frustrating, at times even a bit immature for a 42-year-old, but her character arc is undeniably powerful. The growth she experiences is both moving and hard-earned. While this book may initially read like a romance, it crosses into literary fiction territory, exploring heavy themes and deep emotional layers. Despite her flaws, you can’t help but root for Scotty and hope she finds her way. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I love Ashley Manley’s writing style and humor with her characters. She writes such layered characters that are vulnerable, flawed, and real. This can be read as a stand-alone, but it is helpful to have some background knowledge of Scotty that you get in the first book of this Life on the Ledge duet series. I highly recommend reading both of these books! Do check your content warnings. Scotty uses very colorful, explicit language if you are sensitive to that. ?? Thank you to Ashley Manley for this ARC in exchange for my honest thoughts. Now to Forever published 7/1/25. ?? Rating: ????????

My favorite part of this romantasy is the angsty relationship between Odessa and the Guardian. This book is filled with terrifying magical creatures, a mysterious rage-inducing sickness, blood oaths, betrayal and secrets. I loved the first 75% and then once the romance storyline transitioned, it lost a bit of steam but the action of the book soared in the final chapters (A blood bath! Big reveals! Cliffhangers!). I really enjoyed the narration though some of Samantha Brentmoor’s male voices blended together. I listened to the audiobook on Libby and am already looking forward to the next in the series.

I read this book because I was looking to fulfill a book bingo challenge to read a book published in 1985. I have seen the movie a couple times so it was fun to revisit Kiki’s magical world in audiobook form. This is a short, cozy, whimsical read.

I first listened to this as an audiobook on Spotify and recently reread the physical book borrowed from the library. I’d definitely recommend listening to the author’s narration over the written version as Sarah Kay is a specialist in spoken word poetry. Overall, I found several of the poems relatable but others forgettable.

I love bad kitty Nick Bruel wrote all the books so well I read bad kitty to my little sister and she loves it to over all really good books I would recommend.

I listened to this audiobook of short stories on Libby after it popped on my radar as a July Indie Next pick. This is a collection of 11 tales set in the south that cover a lot of content: pregnancy, violence, sex and intimacy, church, hair, Blackness and more. Nearly all of the vignettes felt forgettable and most seemed unresolved in my opinion. The narration was solid but the stories didn’t captivate me. My hands-down favorite from the bunch was “How Does Your Garden Grow?” which is a memorable and unique depiction of fibroids.

3.5 stars. I feel torn about this book. It had a strong start introducing the brainy healer FMC and the MMC assassin who begrudgingly turns to her for a cure to an illness that is slowly sealing his fate in death. The premise has so much promise! I felt like the chemistry was under-delivered and the overarching plot felt rather underwhelming to me. I wanted more adventure and magic but instead there were brothels and boredom. I think I’ll skip future books in this romantasy series.

This a great book for fantasy lovers and the movies though they do not match completly is still really good. I like this book because of the amount of hype making you not want to stop reading it. I really reccomend this book.

Hilarious and ridiculous and the drawing make it even better!