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Lisa | Read Between the Spines

@read.between.the.spines

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📍NYC mood reader, knitter, & Oxford comma advocate
📚 AI-free book reviews, lists, & recs
⬇️ Full-length reviews + more

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📘 • To Dance with Death by Brittney Arena

📖 • In the epic conclusion to the fantasy romance duology that began with A Dance of Lies, Vasalie must journey to the realms of the dead to restore the memories of her beloved king and stop a mounting war.
- Genre: Romantic Fantasy
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

❓ Do you enjoy reading authors’ imaginings of the afterlife?

Thank you @delreybooks and @randomhouse for the gifted copy!

Happy reading! ❤️ by @read.between.the.spines

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12 days ago

📘• A Dance of Lies by Brittney Arena

📖 • A debut fantasy romance filled with hope after heartbreak, secrets, and betrayal, as a dancer-turned-spy must decide how far she will go to secure her freedom.
- Genre: Romantic Fantasy
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

❓ Do you prefer a short (2-3 books) or long (4+) series?

Happy reading! ❤️ by @read.between.the.spines

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12 days ago

📕 • Broken Dove

📖 • In the sequel to Silver Elite, Wren has fled Prime-controlled area to seek refuge at an Uprising base. As the 2 sides inch closer to war, Wren is torn between 2 men and 2 sides.
- Genre: Dystopian Romance
- Stars: ⭐️⭐️💫

💭 • When we last left Wren, she had just left Cross in the capital. Accompanied by Xavier, Wren was fleeing, hoping that the Uprising would shelter her. And (not so spoiler alert) she eventually reaches the Uprising base after crossing the dark forest.

Where to begin... let's start with the plot. Whereas Silver Elite felt well- and fast paced, Broken Dove definitely lagged in the middle. The focus was more so on the political elements of the story and less so on espionage and the like. But what was disappointing was how trumped up a lot of the plot felt. A love triangle? Really? Cross and Wren breaking up was completely unbelievable. Then, she just moves on to someone new? I guess at least that someone made a bit of sense. However, it felt like once she got with him, their fun banter completely evaporated. Other plot points felt just as much like implausible whiplash as the break-up. To make the plot feel "twisty," Dani Francis threw in a bunch of new things that were, of course, unexpected because readers had no idea they existed. By the end, it was ridiculous. And would it be a fantasy series if each book did not leave readers at the edge of a cliff waiting to know what happens next... only to wait a year or so? Sigh. Essentially, these 500+ pages could have been much condensed and not missed. There was so much filler, and this felt like a money grab.

Wren felt quite immature and impulsive in Silver Elite, which eventually grated on me. I was hoping that we would see some character growth during Broken Dove. Maybe there was a tiny bit of growth, but you had to squint to see it. There are new characters introduced who are interesting, but when an author has already had central characters be inconsistent with their characterization, what can you trust?

See the 🔗 in bio for full review.

Thank you @delreybooks for the gifted copy.

❓What book are you starting Sept. reading?

Happy reading! ❤️ taken in Queens, New York by @read.between.the.spines

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2 months ago

📚️ • Most Anticipated New Releases of August

❓What book are you most looking forward to this month?

Happy reading! ❤️ taken in New York, New York by @read.between.the.spines

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2 months ago

📙 • The Shippers by Katherine Center

📖 • Jojo decides to address her unlucky-in-love streak aboard her sister’s wedding cruise. Her first crush (and first kiss), Finn, will be in attendance as well as her best friend, Cooper. Jojo is determined to repeat her magical first kiss and break her cursed love life.
- Genre: Romance
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

💭 • Katherine Center wrote some of the very first romance novels I ever picked up. She was as my introduction to the genre, and I loved that her protagonists were strong women with lives outside romance. However, her last few books have not hit in the same way for me. I hoped that The Shippers would be a return to her former writing, particularly after quickly DNFing her previous release.

From the start, The Shippers fails at feeling like an adult romance or rom-com novel. Despite how she is described, Jojo is immature and solely focused on one person (other than herself) to the detriment of those around her. For goodness sake, her venue for finding love is her own sister's wedding. Jojo's tactics for gaining her crush's attention include displaying a hickey, flirting in front of him, and other attempts that seem like good ideas in middle school. When conflict arises, her first instinct is to run away and make poor choices. Meanwhile, Cooper is sweet, helpful, mature, and patient. He is a great male protagonist who deserves much better than Jojo. It is hard to root for them when Jojo continually uses Cooper and treats him in the worst way possible.

The novel did not deliver the well-developed, complex characters undertaking a growth journey that I expect from a Katherine Center romance. It was impossible to get the warm fuzzies when you want to throw one of the love interests off the boat. I also fail to find desperation endearing. The Shippers officially marks the end of Katherine Center being an auto-buy author for me. When she returns to writing mature, intelligent, and strong women, rather than surface-level romances that booktok fawns over, I will pick up a book of hers again.

Thank you @stmartinspress for the e-ARC!

❓Who is one of your OG auto-buy authors?

Happy reading! ❤️ taken in Nassau, Bahamas by @read.between.the.spines

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3 months ago

📚️ • July 2026 Most Anticipated New Book Releases

It is officially the first publication day in July! It feels crazy that we have seen another half year of books published. However, the publishing industry never fully stops (just slows down beginning in October until the new year).

There are a slew of new noteworthy books to choose from this month, including one of my most anticipated books of the year - Prince of Swords. I am crossing my fingers that it lives up to the series debut.

❓What July release are you looking forward to reading?
I am also planning on reading Country People, Lady X, and a few others.

Happy reading! ❤️ taken in New York, New York by @read.between.the.spines

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3 months ago

📘 • The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

I have been in an epic reading slump this month. I am a mood reader seemingly without a mood. I am hoping picking up one of my most anticipated books of the year, Strout’s The Things We Never Say, will fix me. If you have not read one of her books before, you should get on that. I find them hard to describe as the author’s books are unlikely any others. Strout manages to make her characters feel like a person you randomly sat next to and struck up a conversation with. It sounds so simple, but she makes the ordinary profound.

📖• Pulitzer Prize–winning, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Strout’s new novel tells the story of a chance incident that sparks a powerful realization in a beloved teacher’s life—a poignant meditation on loneliness, friendship, parenthood, and the importance of truth in a capsizing world.

Artie Dam is living a double life. He spends his days teaching history to eleventh graders, expanding their young minds, correcting their casual cruelties, and lending a kind word to those who need it most. He goes to holiday parties with his wife of three decades, makes small talk with neighbors, and, on weekends, takes his sailboat out on the beautiful Massachusetts Bay. He is, by all appearances, present and alive. But inside, Artie is plagued by feelings of isolation. He looks out at a world gone mad—at himself and the people around him—and turns a question over and over in his mind: How is it that we know so little about one another, even those closest to us?

And then, one day, Artie learns that life has been keeping a secret from him, one that threatens to upend his entire world. Once he learns it, he is forced to chart a new course, to reconsider the relationships he holds most dear—and to make peace with the mysteries at the heart of our existence.

Elizabeth Strout, as we have come to expect, delivers a moving exploration of the human condition—one that brims with compassion for each and every one of her indelible characters.

Thank you @randomhouse for the gifted copy!

❓️ Have you read any of Elizabeth Strout’s books?

Happy reading! ❤️ by @read.between.the.spines

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5 months ago

📚️ • June 2026 Most Anticipated New Book Releases

June was full of contemporary fiction, romance, and thriller releases to check out. I realize that June has just come to a close, but I am catching up on many posts after work took over my life. Plus, you may just find a few new books to pick up from this list.

Happy reading! ❤️ taken in Woodside, Queens, New York by @read.between.the.spines

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3 months ago

📚 • February & March Book Mail

• Cleopatra by Saara El-Arifi
Cleopatra tells her own story in this evocative & sensuous historical epic.

• Greedy by Callie Kazumi
A horror-tinged thriller that is a suspenseful poison-pen note to classism & an ode to Japanese cuisine.

• Beneath by Ariel Sullivan
Hundreds of years before the Illum ruled supreme, humanity risked everything to rebuild after a devastating war in this prequel to Conform.

• The Cure for Everything by Michelle A. Williams
The inspiring story of how we overcame a history of infectious disease, poisonous environments, & early death & unlocked an explosion in human potential.

• The Lies that Summon the Night by Tessonja Odette
Lies, beauty, & seduction mingle in the first of an enthralling romantasy series where making art is considered a sin, & the shadows born from it aren’t the only danger to the creators.

• The Coming Storm: Power, Conflict, and Warnings from History by Odd Arne West
From a renowned historian comes a chilling look at the looming threat of the next Great Power war & the urgent interventions necessary to avoid it in the 21st century.

• Upward Bound by Woody Brown
A deeply affecting portrait of the interlocking lives at an adult day care center in SoCal, depicting an often overlooked community with extraordinary wit & grace.

• Original Sin: On the Genetics of Vice, the Problem of Blame, & the Future of Forgiveness by Kathryn Paige Harden
A magnificent exploration of how genetics complicates our ideas about blame, punishment, & moral responsibility.

• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
In this profound, resplendent novel, a chance incident sparks a powerful realization in a beloved teacher’s life.

• No Matter What by Cara Bastone
After a traumatic accident threatens their happy marriage, a couple tries to rebuild & find their way back to each other—& themselves.

• A Widow's Charm by Caitlyn Paxson (review posted)
A widow attempts to resurrect her dead husband by blackmailing her rakish necromancer neighbor—only to find herself falling for him instead.

Thank you to the tagged publishers!

❓What book did you last receive in the mail?

Happy reading! ❤️ taken in Woodside, Queens, New York by @read.between.the.spines

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3 months ago

📚️• May Most Anticipated New Releases

Somehow, it is already May - the last month before summer releases drop. You can always expect a slew of thrillers and romances during the summer months, whereas this month is chock full of contemporary and literary fiction. There are also a few big fantasy titles publishing this month.

❓️ What new release are you most looking forward to reading?

Happy reading! ❤️ taken in New York, New York by @read.between.the.spines

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5 months ago

📗 • A Widow's Charm by Caitlyn Paxson

📖 • A widow attempts to resurrect her dead husband by blackmailing her rakish necromancer neighbor—only to find herself falling for him instead.
- Genre: Paranormal Romance
- Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

💭 • A Widow's Charm is likely a novel you did not hear much about. It almost flew under my radar, but luckily I picked up this unexpected delight!

This novel is a witty, charming, whimsical romance novel about Hilde, a woman who unexpectedly becomes a widow. Desperate to save her tenants, our practical and resourceful protagonist tries to blackmail her aristocratic necromancer neighbor to help resurrect her husband. Hijinx ensues along with romance and a development of a great cast of characters.

Despite being a debut novel, A Widow’s Charm did not suffer from so many first book issues. The romance and characters’ feelings were fully fleshed out and permitted to grow overtime. No character felt like a stand-in or someone unknown. My only real criticism is there was initially a bit too much telling rather than showing. However, as the book progressed, the writing grew stronger.

If you are looking for a book to bring you a bit of whimsy or hope, I would definitely recommend A Widow’s Charm. For a paranormal romance, it breaks the standard tropes and stereotypes and delivers compelling main and side characters. There is a canine character you will not soon forget. I would describe this book as a warm hug that cause involuntary smiles as you read. And I am excited to see what Caitlyn Paxton writes next!

❓️ I think the world could use more positivity and whimsy these days. What is a book you recommend with these vibes?

Happy reading! ❤️ by @read.between.the.spines

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3 months ago

📘 • Beneath by Ariel Sullivan

📖 • Hundreds of years before the Illum ruled supreme, humanity risked everything to rebuild after a devastating war in this explosive dystopian romance and prequel to Conform.
- Genre: Dystopian Romance
- Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

💭 •

Thank you @ballantinebooks for the gifted copy!

❓Have you read a series where the second book lives up to your high expectations? Which book?

Happy reading! ❤️ by @read.between.the.spines

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2 months ago