The Introvert's Book Club

5/5 Stars This is definitely unlike any book I've ever read. A romance novel heavily threaded with chickens. I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this and I didn't have super high hopes but I ended up absolutely loving this book. If you know nothing at all about chickens, like me, trust that you'll still enjoy this read. This book gave off a Jane Austen vibe that I thoroughly enjoyed. The characters are well rounded in a way that you feel like you know exactly who they are and understand their thoughts/actions. There's even some chicken espionage! You'll more than likely learn something about birds, especially if you're like me and end up googling the bird breeds referenced.  Long story short, I started this book about 24 hours ago and I've finished it because I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend this book to anyone who likes romance or a great romcom. You can purchase this book by clicking the cover art above and I may earn a smal...

Purchase My Rating: 5/5 Stars  🌶: 0/5 Primary Genre: Romance/Women's fiction Blurb:  When a young woman hits rock bottom, she embarks on a positively Dickensian adventure in a witty and warmhearted novel about past regrets, old loves, new beginnings, and making up for lost time. Avery Lawrence thought she had it all—a charming fiancé, a Broadway-themed star-studded engagement, and a picture-perfect life. But when her fraudster of a fiancé’s true identity is exposed and he’s hauled away in handcuffs, Avery’s world comes crashing down faster than the chandelier in Phantom of the Opera. Left stranded on Christmas Day outside the federal prison without her cell phone or wallet, Avery stumbles out of the cold and into the last phone booth in Manhattan. With nothing left to lose, Avery is directed by a mysterious voice on the line to the doorstep of the college boyfriend she thought she’d moved on from over six years ago. When a second encounter with the phone booth leads Avery to...

Purchase The Housemaid #1 My Rating: 5/5 Stars 🌶: 0/5 Primary Genre: Thriller Blurb:  Goodreads Choice AwardNominee for Readers' Favorite Mystery & Thriller (2022) Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor. I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband. I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late. But I reassure myself: the Wincheste...

Purchase My rating: 4/5 Stars  🌶: 0/5 Primary Genre: Fantasy Romance Blurb:  Goodreads Choice AwardNominee for Readers' Favorite Fantasy (2022) A warm and uplifting novel about an isolated witch whose opportunity to embrace a quirky new family--and a new love--changes the course of her life. As one of the few witches in Britain, Mika Moon knows she has to hide her magic, keep her head down, and stay away from other witches so their powers don't mingle and draw attention. And as an orphan who lost her parents at a young age and was raised by strangers, she's used to being alone and she follows the rules...with one exception: an online account, where she posts videos pretending to be a witch. She thinks no one will take it seriously. But someone does. An unexpected message arrives, begging her to travel to the remote and mysterious Nowhere House to teach three young witches how to control their magic. It breaks all of the rules, but Mika goes anyway, and is immediately tan...

  Purchase Charming Cove #3 My Rating: 5/5 Stars Primary Genre: Paranormal romance Blurb:  Autumn is a time of snuggly sweaters, crisp breezes, and…. sexy, broody werewolves?  When I inherit a magical house in the beautiful seaside village of Charming Cove, it’s just what I need to turn my dismal life around. Fresh off a bad breakup and with magic that I’ve ignored for a decade, I’m ready to rekindle my inner witch.  The catch? The house is inhabitable until I renovate it, and the only place to live is with a brooding, rugged boat-builder who  definitely  doesn’t want me in his space. Though there’s no denying the electric spark between us, neither of us is willing to act on it.  To make things more complicated, I have to renovate the house in thirty days or I’ll lose it. But the house hates anyone who enters it and attacks with loose floorboards and horrific odors. I can’t get a single contractor in Charming Cove to help me out.  That leaves on...

4/5 Stars Get out the cream and sugar because this book has some TEA. Brit dishes about many of her past relationships and touches on some of her more famous moments in the media. She delves deeply into her relationships with J.T. and Kevin Federline. This is definitely an interesting autobiography. She gets deep into her issues with the Spears family and the years during her conservatorship. She lets you into her thoughts while she discusses the not so subtle tyranny inflicted on her by her family. There are definitely some dark and sad moments to this book, while it does seem as though Britney is sincerely attempting to heal from those dark years. She does come off as almost hateful towards her family but can you blame her? Imagine working grueling hours imposed on you by your parents, who are taking all of your money and doling it out to your siblings, paying off their own debts, restricting your access to food, your own vehicle and cell phone, or any privacy. I mean, isn't slav...

  The Graves Glen Series #2 4/5 Stars We're back in Graves Glen for the sequel to The Ex Hex and this time around we hear all about Vivi's cousin Gwyn, who was quite a prevalent character in the first book. Something I really liked about the way that this book was written is that Vivi and Rhys are still pretty prevalent characters entwined into Gwyn's story. Rhys's brother Wells shows up to take over the family vampire den otherwise known as the Penhallow house in Graves Glen. Obliging his father, Wells is on a mission to "re-stamp" their family name on Graves Glen since the Jones family is now powering the town's magic. Of course, he's decided that the way to do that is to open a magic shop across the street from Gwyn's magic shop. This makes for a nice little rivalry story between the Jones and Penhallow family with Vivi and Rhys attempting to mediate. Vivi and Rhys depart on a honeymoon of sorts to Wales, leaving Gwyn and Wells to hold down the ...

The Graves Glen Series #1 4/5 Stars This book has been on my book shelf for like 2 months and I'm so excited to have finally cracked it open! This book lands us in a charming mountain town in Georgia that is giving off Halloweentown/Gilmore Girls/Good Witch/Hogwarts vibes. In Graves Glen we have witches, a college, ghosts, a talking cat who's very much interested in treats, magic, and of course, an ex boyfriend from 9 years ago who turns up unexpectedly! Vivi is a witch but spends most of her time pretending that she's not one. She's a college professor who's very close with her aunt and cousin who are her only close family members. Cousin Gwyn plays a pretty big part in this story, auntie is more of a side character. Rhys, the ex, has returned from Wales to charge the ley lines in a cave in the mountains for the magic town but he starts to have a strange string of bad luck and of course, that brings us to our main plot. There's a mystery to solve, intense fall ...

  5/5 Stars Let me begin by saying that I won this book as an advanced reader copy in a Goodreads giveaway. This book is not something that I would normally gravitate towards but I found the description very intriguing.  Ok, now that we've got that out of the way, this book is the best one I've read in months. Dumas's writing comes off as prose at times. It's poetic and beautiful, which is definitely not lost on me. The book is so intelligently written with such an incredible story. It's got some elements of  Jurassic Park, Night at the Museum, The Black Phone all carefully rolled into a very original, beautiful and surprising story. One of the things that I really enjoyed in this book were drawings of the dinosaurs and the way that they helped bring the museum displays to life. I don't know much about them (dinosaurs) and I found myself googling a lot of prehistoric names in the barely 24 hours (after working 12 hours) this book took me to read (when I say page...

Charming Cove Book #2 5/5 Stars At last, we return to Charming Cove. Once again, I absolutely loved this book. Just as great as the first! The little town and it's characters are, in fact, charming. I love the familiar element and I was so happy to see it again in book 2! Penelope and Boris are two I'd love to meet. The vampire element is interesting but don't expect Sookie Stackhouse vibes as our heroine Emma is an orphan witch desperately trying to gain the title Head Witch in her coven to get herself a family. This book has a great love story and I like the fact that Aria was included quite a bit in this story and even became a bit of a friend to Emma. Every year, the coven throws a ball and it's up to Emma to throw the perfect one to guarantee her permanent spot in the coven and it's a great read to see whether or not she can pull the ball off with her fake vampire Duke boyfriend secret. Don't miss this book series! Both are page turners. Linsey Hall is 2 fo...

Purchase The Witches of Thistle Grove #4 Rating: 5/5 Spice: 1.5/5 Plot: 5/5 Primary Genre: Sapphic Fantasy/Paranormal Romance Blurb: A witch struggling to regain what she has lost casts a forbidden spell—only to discover much more than she expected, in this enchanting new rom-com by New York Times bestselling author Lana Harper. Six months after having been hit by a power surge that nearly obliterated her memory, Delilah Harlow is still picking up the pieces. Her once diamond-sharp mind has become shaky and unreliable, and bristly, self-sufficient Delilah is forced to rely on friends, family, and her raven familiar for help. In an effort to reclaim her wits and former independence, she casts a dangerous blood spell meant to harness power with healing capacities. While the spell does restore clarity, it also unexpectedly turns Delilah into an irresistible beacon for the kind of malevolent supernatural creatures that have never before ventured into Thistle Grove. One night—just as th...

purchase Practical Magic #2  My Rating: 4/5 Stars Primary Genre: Fantasy/Magical Realism Blurb: Master storyteller Alice Hoffman brings us the conclusion of the Practical Magic series in a spellbinding and enchanting final Owens novel brimming with lyric beauty and vivid characters. The Owens family has been cursed in matters of love for over three-hundred years but all of that is about to change. The novel begins in a library, the best place for a story to be conjured, when beloved aunt Jet Owens hears the deathwatch beetle and knows she has only seven days to live. Jet is not the only one in danger—the curse is already at work. A frantic attempt to save a young man’s life spurs three generations of the Owens women, and one long-lost brother, to use their unusual gifts to break the curse as they travel from Paris to London to the English countryside where their ancestor Maria Owens first practiced the Unnamed Art. The younger generation discovers secrets that have been hidden from...

Purchase Practical Magic #1 My rating: 4/5 Stars Primary Genre: Fantasy/Magical realism Blurb:  The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from  New York Times  bestselling author Alice Hoffman.  For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape.  One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic... My Thoughts: I'm down to one book left in this series, so I've been very excited to start it. If you've been reading along with me, you know th...

Purchase The Witches of Thistle Grove #3 My Rating: 4/5 Stars Primary Genre: Paranormal Fantasy Romance Blurb: Even though she won’t deny her love for pretty (and pricey) things, Nineve Blackmoore is almost painfully down-to-earth and sensible by Blackmoore standards. But after a year of nursing a broken heart inflicted by the fiancée who all but ditched her at the altar, the powerful witch is sick of feeling low and is ready to try something drastically different: a dating app. At her best friend’s urging, Nina goes on a date with Morty Gutierrez, the nonbinary, offbeat soul of spontaneity and co-owner of the Shamrock Cauldron. Their date goes about as well as can be expected of most online dates—awkward and terrible. To make matters worse, once Morty discovers Nina’s last name, he’s far from a fan; it turns out that the Blackmoores have been bullishly trying to buy the Shamrock out from under Morty and his family. But when Morty begins developing magical powers—something that usuall...

Purchase Practical Magic #0.2 My rating: 5/5 Stars Primary Genre: Fantasy/Magical Realism Blurb: Find your magic. For the Owens family, love is a curse that began in 1620, when Maria Owens was charged with witchery for loving the wrong man. Hundreds of years later, in New York City at the cusp of the sixties, when the whole world is about to change, Susanna Owens knows that her three children are dangerously unique. Difficult Franny, with skin as pale as milk and blood red hair, shy and beautiful Jet, who can read other people’s thoughts, and charismatic Vincent, who began looking for trouble on the day he could walk. From the start Susanna sets down rules for her children: No walking in the moonlight, no red shoes, no wearing black, no cats, no crows, no candles, no books about magic. And most importantly, never, ever, fall in love. But when her children visit their Aunt Isabelle, in the small Massachusetts town where the Owens family has been blamed for everything that has ever go...

Purchase Practical Magic #0.1 My Rating: 5/5 Stars Blurb:   Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction (2020) In an unforgettable novel that traces a centuries-old curse to its source, beloved author Alice Hoffman unveils the story of Maria Owens, accused of witchcraft in Salem, and matriarch of a line of the amazing Owens women and men featured in Practical Magic and The Rules of Magic.  Where does the story of the Owens bloodline begin? With Maria Owens, in the 1600s, when she’s abandoned in a snowy field in rural England as a baby. Under the care of Hannah Owens, Maria learns about the “Nameless Arts.” Hannah recognizes that Maria has a gift and she teaches the girl all she knows. It is here that she learns her first important lesson: Always love someone who will love you back.  When Maria is abandoned by the man who has declared his love for her, she follows him to Salem, Massachusetts. Here she invokes the curse that will haunt her family...

The Witches of Thistle Grove Book #2 4/5 Stars Round 2 of the Witches of Thistle Grove series! This book is a new cast of main characters BUT...it's characters that we met in book one. LOVE this! Dare I say that I enjoyed this book more than the first? I dare. What I loved in book two was the mystery/whodunit embedded in the storyline. To me, this book was just more interesting and able to hold my attention. We have the enemies to lovers trope, dark magic, and a seemingly quarter life crisis. I truly enjoyed the fact that the main characters were introduced in book one as support characters and are taken more in depth in book two, with the previous main characters popping up frequently. I'm so excited to start the third because I read the synopsis on the back of the book and with that, I bid you adieu. I've got reading to do! You can purchase this book by clicking the cover art above and I may earn a small commission

  The Witches of Thistle Grove Series Book #1 4/5 Stars We love a revenge plot! This LGBTQ+ romance includes themes of dormant magic, returning home, an ancestral competition and VERY fall vibes setting. This is a fun read, not to be taken too seriously, there's also some light hearted comedy. The descriptive writing of the town's scenery is to die for. I loved all of the little magical elements that make up the small Illinois town of Thistle Grove. The characters are well written and likable while not seeming too "overdone". I also really loved the magical book store elements woven into this read. This book is 100% worth your time, especially if you're in a fall/Halloween mood.  My next read: Volume 2 in the Witches of Thistle Grove series: From Bad to Cursed. Can't stop at just one 😃 You can purchase this book by clicking the cover art above and I may earn a small commission

  Charming Cove Series Book #1 5/5 Stars Another pit stop before my review of Payback's A Witch. I seriously enjoyed this book. Like, yassss. Loved it. I love how descriptive her writing is when it comes to location/scenery. She writes the setting almost perfectly. The story is fabulous, the characters are well written (her familiar, my gosh!! I love him 😁). It gives off Good Witch sort of vibes which I love so much. It's like a warm, magical hug. The spice level is pretty low in this book so if you're looking for the smut level of Haunting Adeline you will not find that in these pages. What you will find is an enemies to lovers, returning home, competition tale of witchy proportions. I'd see this in a theater if they turned it into a movie. Heck, I'd watch it on Hallmark if they turned it into a movie. This book is truly magical and a perfect fall read.  You can purchase this book by clicking the cover art above and I may earn a small commission

Cat & Mouse Duet Haunting: 3/5 Hunting: 2/5  Ok so, first of all this I got ahead of myselt and started this duet before Payback's A Witch arrived on my doorstep and I felt the need to finish it before I started anything else so let me hit you with a review. I'd like to start out by saying that is not my typical read. I read these on K.U. because I saw them all over BookTok and they were highly recommended. There were parts of the story that I absolutely loved but I will be the first to say that these books may not be for everyone. Here are a few of my thoughts on this duet: Spice level is 6/5. I honestly just got to the point where I was only reading the dialogue and skipping over the physical interactions when I was reading these parts because it's such a huge part of the text that I just felt kind of done with it. I don't know that it felt necessary to me. There are some really intense themes in this book. A lot of sexual abuse, physical abuse, traumatic events, ...