rivals to lovers

Book Review: Ocean Eyes

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โœจOcean Eyes: Book Reviewโœจ
Author: Taubin Dupavillon

Mermaid romantasy? I will request it every single time. Indie author? Say less. I am here for them.

Premise: ๐’ฆ๐’ถ๐’พ๐’น๐’ถ ๐“Œ๐’ถ๐“ˆ ๐’ท๐‘œ๐“‡๐“ƒ ๐’ถ ๐“…๐“‡๐’พ๐“ƒ๐’ธ๐‘’๐“ˆ๐“ˆ. ๐’ฎ๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐“Œ๐’ถ๐“ˆ ๐“‡๐’ถ๐’พ๐“ˆ๐‘’๐’น ๐’ถ๐“ˆ ๐’ถ ๐“Œ๐‘’๐’ถ๐“…๐‘œ๐“ƒ.
๐’ž๐“Š๐“‡๐“ˆ๐‘’๐’น ๐“‰๐‘œ ๐“‰๐“‡๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐“ˆ๐’ป๐‘œ๐“‡๐“‚ ๐’พ๐“ƒ๐“‰๐‘œ ๐’ถ ๐“‚๐‘’๐“‡๐“‚๐’ถ๐’พ๐’น ๐“Œ๐’ฝ๐‘’๐“ƒ๐‘’๐“‹๐‘’๐“‡ ๐“ˆ๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐“‰๐‘œ๐“Š๐’ธ๐’ฝ๐‘’๐“ˆ ๐“ˆ๐’ถ๐“๐“‰ ๐“Œ๐’ถ๐“‰๐‘’๐“‡, ๐’ฆ๐’ถ๐’พ๐’น๐’ถ ๐“ˆ๐“…๐‘’๐“ƒ๐’น๐“ˆ ๐’ฝ๐‘’๐“‡ ๐’น๐’ถ๐“Ž๐“ˆ ๐’ธ๐’ถ๐“‡๐“‡๐“Ž๐’พ๐“ƒ๐‘” ๐‘œ๐“Š๐“‰ ๐’ฝ๐‘’๐“‡ ๐’ป๐’ถ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘’๐“‡โ€™๐“ˆ ๐“‚๐‘œ๐“ˆ๐“‰ ๐“‡๐“Š๐“‰๐’ฝ๐“๐‘’๐“ˆ๐“ˆ ๐’ธ๐‘œ๐“‚๐“‚๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐’น๐“ˆ ๐’ถ๐’ธ๐“‡๐‘œ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐“ˆ๐‘’๐’ถ.
๐น๐‘’๐’ถ๐“‡๐‘’๐’น ๐’ท๐“Ž ๐“ˆ๐’ถ๐’พ๐“๐‘œ๐“‡๐“ˆ ๐’ถ๐“ƒ๐’น ๐“Œ๐’ฝ๐’พ๐“ˆ๐“…๐‘’๐“‡๐‘’๐’น ๐’ถ๐’ท๐‘œ๐“Š๐“‰ ๐’พ๐“ƒ ๐“๐‘’๐‘”๐‘’๐“ƒ๐’น๐“ˆ, ๐“ˆ๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐’ฝ๐’ถ๐“ˆ ๐“ƒ๐‘’๐“‹๐‘’๐“‡ ๐“†๐“Š๐‘’๐“ˆ๐“‰๐’พ๐‘œ๐“ƒ๐‘’๐’น ๐’ฝ๐‘’๐“‡ ๐“…๐“Š๐“‡๐“…๐‘œ๐“ˆ๐‘’โ€”๐“Š๐“ƒ๐“‰๐’พ๐“ ๐“ˆ๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐’พ๐“ˆ ๐“ˆ๐‘’๐“ƒ๐“‰ ๐“‰๐‘œ ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐“‡๐’พ๐“‹๐’ถ๐“ ๐“€๐’พ๐“ƒ๐‘”๐’น๐‘œ๐“‚ ๐‘œ๐’ป ๐’ฉ๐“Ž๐“‹๐’ถ๐“‡๐’พ๐“ˆ ๐“Œ๐’พ๐“‰๐’ฝ ๐’ถ ๐“ˆ๐’พ๐“ƒ๐‘”๐“๐‘’ ๐“‚๐’พ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐’พ๐‘œ๐“ƒ
๐’ข๐’ถ๐’พ๐“ƒ ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘’๐’พ๐“‡ ๐“‰๐“‡๐“Š๐“ˆ๐“‰. ๐’ž๐‘œ๐“‚๐“…๐“๐‘’๐“‰๐‘’ ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐“‚๐’พ๐“ˆ๐“ˆ๐’พ๐‘œ๐“ƒ. ๐’ฆ๐’พ๐“๐“ ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐’ช๐’ธ๐‘’๐’ถ๐“ƒ ๐’ซ๐“‡๐’พ๐“ƒ๐’ธ๐‘’.
๐ต๐“Š๐“‰ ๐’ฉ๐“Ž๐“‹๐’ถ๐“‡๐’พ๐“ˆ ๐’พ๐“ˆ ๐“ƒ๐‘œ๐“‰ ๐“‰๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐‘’๐“ƒ๐‘’๐“‚๐“Ž ๐“ˆ๐’ฝ๐‘’ ๐‘’๐“๐“…๐‘’๐’ธ๐“‰๐‘’๐’น.

What a wild ride that was! What an absolutely fantastic debut novel!

A mermaid? Yes. A cursed mermaid? Say less. I didnโ€™t know what I was expecting going into this story, but I got way more than I bargained for the absolute best way.

I loved this book for all the questioning it had me do. The plot twists, the level of relationships and the way I had to think about the authenticity of each one. Amazing!

The world building is completely imaginative and international and the growth our FMC Kaida shows throughout the story is unparalleled. I canโ€™t wait to read more from Taubin.

This story is perfect for fans of
๐Ÿงœ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ Romantasy
๐Ÿงœ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ Found family/friendships
๐Ÿงœ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ Stong FMC
๐Ÿงœ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ Mermaids
๐Ÿงœ๐Ÿผโ€โ™€๏ธ Rivals

Thank you so much to the author @taubindupavillon and bookcoven PR @bookcovenpr for this e-arc. Ocean Eyes is out November 3rd.

โœจGrim Tidingsโœจ

/ Cassie / Leave a comment

โœ๏ธ: B.K. Borison
Rating: โญโญโญโญโญโ™พ๏ธ

Premise: When a runaway grim reaper tries to save a life, she clashes with a skeptical Guardian, forcing them to form an unlikely partnership beyond the grave.

I had no business staying up until 5 am in the morning to continue reading this book, but I did it anyway. Grim Tidings was EVERYTHING I needed in a book and more. I love a good contemporary romance and this book and these characters (both main and side) are right at the top.

I have always been a fan of B.K., but this book hooked me from the very first page. I immediately fell in love with Darcy and Gabriel, and surprisingly, it was their absolute โ€œhumanessโ€ that had me swooning throughout the entire story.

Donโ€™t even get me started on the banter. It was top tier, chefโ€™s kiss, perfection. As someone who could rate a book on banter alone, this book had it all. This is just one of the aspects that earned that little infinity symbol next to my five star rating. The yearning. The pining. The sass. The humor. Immediately adds to cart (multiple copies).

Bonus: As a Maryland native I love the little pieces of Maryland sprinkled throughout the book

This is the perfect book for fans of :
๐Ÿ”ฅโ€Rivalsโ€ to Lovers
๐Ÿ”ฅDual POV
๐Ÿ”ฅParanormal Romance (light)
๐Ÿ”ฅAmazing side characters
๐Ÿ”ฅMagic (death and life)
๐Ÿ”ฅYearning, banter, and tension

A very special thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC copy of this book. The release date is September 15th and pre-orders are available now!