Stephanie van Herk

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace is funny, spicy, and surprisingly sweet (shoutout Henry)! • ☆☆☆☆ ½ - rounded up to 5 stars • I read this on a whim, and I'm so glad I did! College life is complicated, especially when a figure skater and a hockey player are obligated to share one ice rink. Hilarity and sexual tension ensues! • I appreciate this romcom so much because there is a lot of effective communication, sexual consent, and safe sex and is still jammed full of drama! • This is Hannah Grace's debut novel, and I'm SO excited to read whatever she comes out with next!

I received an advanced listening copy of Beyond That, The Sea by Laura Spence-Ash through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, and here it is. • ☆☆☆☆ ½  - rounded up to 5 • In London, during WWII, a couple make the impossible decision to send their daughter to America to live with a family they don't know in order to keep her safe. She ends up with the Gregorys, a married couple who have two sons, and they are completely welcoming, generous, and overall lovely. • She spends 5 formative years of her life with them until the war is over, and it's time to return to London. We get to see how her life with the Gregorys was and how everyone's life turns out independently and how their lives stay intertwined for many years afterward. • I loved every single relationship that exists in the novel. They're so complex, realistic, and ever-changing.  I especially loved the evolution of the characters and their relationships throughout multiple decades in which this story takes place. • This story evoked so many emotions, too, ones from my youth and ones now that I'm a Mama. • I love the way the author told this story. I was particularly eager to see how the ending would unfold, and I'm super happy with it! Everything made sense to the plot, and nothing felt like it went against any of the characters' personalities. • This is Laura Spence-Ash's debut novel, and I look forward to her future books! • Thanks to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and author Laura Spence-Ash for this ALC to honestly review. Beyond That, The Sea is out not, go get it!

☆☆☆☆ ¾ - rounded up to 5 stars on Goodreads • The world wakes up one morning with a mysterious box waiting for every single person 22 years old or older. Inside these boxes, each person receives a piece of string, they're different sizes, and they represent your life span. Hysteria ensues. Do you open your box? How does it change your life? • In this story, we follow a few story lines during the same timeline and see how they all deal with these strings. I loved all of the different points of views, the complexities of the characters, and I loved how all of the characters intersect. • I appreciated how thought-provoking this story was and how surprisingly sweet and hopeful it was!

I received an advanced listening copy of Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, and here it is. • ☆☆☆☆☆ • Divine Rivals is a historical fantasy story that centers around two writers who are fighting for the same position at a local newspaper while living in a topsy-turvy-war-world prompted by two gods. Iris and Roman are from two completely different backgrounds, both super strong in their own right and are very guarded. They seem to be destined to be together as they magically and unknowingly write letters to each other and are in each other's lives. • I loved all of the complexities of all of the characters and their relationships, the bravery they exuded, and the evolution they experienced. • I greatly appreciate that the story confronts difficult topics like death, grief, and guilt. It definitely resonated with me and pulled on my emotions, which I love in a story. • I can not wait to read more of Rebecca Ross' books!!! • Thanks to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and author Rebecca Ross for this ALC to honestly review. Divine Rivals is out on April 4th! Go get it!!!

☆☆☆☆☆ • This character driven story was so great! I adored the characters, and the format of the story was so unique, and I loved it so much! This story is about Astra. However, we get the story from the perspective of other people in her life. We're told about these interactions as we see Astra evolve from a child to a teenager, a young adult, a middle-aged woman, an older woman, and everything in between. Astra had an unconventional upbringing that made for an eventful life. • I appreciated how this story touches on very serious topics throughout Astra's journey, like neglect, sexual harassment/assault, motherhood, insecurities, mental health, and love. • What would others write about you? Intriguing, right? • This is Cedar Bowers' debut novel, and I can not wait to read more from her! • P.S. Cedar Bowers is Canadian 🇨🇦 🇨🇦 🇨🇦

I received an advanced listening copy of Adelaide by Genevieve Wheeler through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review, and here it is. • ☆☆☆☆ ½ - rounded up to 5 stars • Adelaide is not your typical romance story. This is a story about a young woman making her way through her schooling and career in a different country away from her family. Mental health issues run in her family, and she has unprocessed trauma. She meets her Disney Prince, but is he really? • I love the realistic relationships depicted in this story. They made me so invested. I appreciate the deeper topics that are addressed that kept me intrigued. I admire how relatable this story is and how Adelaide navigated things as best she can. • Thanks to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and author Genevieve Wheeler for this ALC to honestly review. Adelaide is out NOW! Go get it!!!

I'm jumping right in - READ THIS IMMEDIATELY! • ☆☆☆☆☆ • Becoming a Queen by Dan Clay left me raw, emotional, contemplative, heartbroken, and hopeful. I LOVED the narration by the author. You could feel the pain, the anger, the humour, the sorrow, and the love throughout the entire story. Dan tells this story with so much passion! It's powerful and stunning! • I thought this was a cute, funny, coming-of-age story with some romance in it. Which it absolutely was, but it was sooooo much more!! It's about love, family, friendships, romantic relationships, substance abuse, loss, it's about self-discovery, self-acceptance, and being the best version of yourself, no matter what that looks like. We get all of that through Mark's journey to be okay with wanting to wear a dress and feel pretty. • I loved how character driven this story was and how each character had so much depth. I was invested in each of them. These characters grow tremendously throughout this story, which kept me completely engrossed. • The imagery of grief as a pinball machine will stay with me forever because it resonates so much. I feel like those pinball paddles (or whatever they're called) flapping my way through life and hitting all the different stages of grief so randomly. I don't normally do this, but I wrote down many quotes from this book, especially the ones relating to love and grief. • I am in awe of Dan Clay, and I am now a fan forever. Can't wait to see what Dan has in store for us next! • Thanks to Macmillan Audio, NetGalley, and author Dan Clay for this incredible ALC to honestly review. Becoming a Queen is out on Tuesday (April 25th)! GO PRE-ORDER IT NOT!!! • P.S. Get ready to feel all of the emotions all at once!