Past Due Reviews exists to help me make peace with my ever-growing backlog—books I received for review that I either read and never reviewed, or read well after their publication date (the struggle is very real). These posts are my way of catching up, one overdue review at a time, and finally giving those books the attention they deserve.
If you have a few reviews lingering on your backlist that you’ve been meaning to get to, I’d love for you to join me. At the end of each month I’ll host a link-up where you can share your own past-due reviews and catch up right alongside me. No stress, no deadlines, and absolutely no judgment—just a cozy little space to celebrate “better late than never” and give those books the love they’ve been waiting for.
Well Traveled (Well Met, #4) by Jen DeLuca๐ง Brittany Pressley
Synopsis (via Goodreads): A high-powered attorney from a success-oriented family, Louisa "Lulu" Malone lives to work, and everything seems to be going right, until the day she realizes it’s all wrong. Lulu’s cousin Mitch introduced her to the world of Renaissance Faires, and when she spies one at a time just when she needs an escape, she leaps into the welcoming environment of turkey legs, taverns, and tarot readers. The only drawback? Dex MacLean: a guitarist with a killer smile, the Casanova of the Faire… and her traveling companion for the summer.
Dex has never had to work for much in his life, and why should he? Touring with his brothers as The Dueling Kilts is going great, and he always finds a woman at every Faire. But when Lulu proves indifferent to his many plaid charms and a shake-up threatens the fate of the band, Dex must confront something he never has before: his future.
Forced to spend days and nights together on the road, Lulu’s interest in the kilted bad boy grows as he shows her a side of himself no one else has seen. The stresses of her old lifestyle fade away as she learns to trust her intuition and follow her heart instead of her head. But when her time on the road is over, will Lulu go with her gut, or are she and Dex destined for separate paths?
The Renaissance Faire is on the move, and Lulu and Dex are along for the ride, in the next utterly charming rom-com from Jen DeLuca. .png)
This is actually the first—and so far, the only—book in the Well Met series that I’ve read, but it definitely won’t be the last! I enjoyed this one so much that I’m already planning to go back and read the others. The Renaissance Faire setting was such a fun backdrop, and the romance between Lulu and Dex was super sweet. Also, is there a real-life Dueling Kilts band I can go see? Asking for a friend.
Well Traveled feels like a blend of women’s fiction and romance, with a strong focus on personal growth. Lulu is struggling to figure out what she truly wants out of life, and we get to watch her grow into a new version of herself over the course of the story. Through the Renaissance Faire, she meets new people and finds a sense of belonging that exists outside of Dex and their shared friend group, which I really loved.
Dex is the classic “bad boy with a softer side,” and while we don’t get his POV, his softer, more vulnerable side comes through in every interaction with Lulu. It’s clear he wants something real with her, and the author does a wonderful job conveying the emotional ups and downs of both characters—even without seeing things from his perspective.
Overall, this was a really fun and enjoyable read, and I’m already looking forward to diving into the rest of the series (starting with book one this time!). Brittany Pressley’s narration was fantastic—she really brought the characters and the Renaissance Faire setting to life. (★★★★☆)
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.
Built to Last by Erin Hahn๐ง Lisa Zimmerman & Kale Williams
Synopsis (via Goodreads): Shelby Springfield has spent the last ten years trying to overcome her past, sanding it away like she does the rough spots on the vintage furniture finds she makes over. But as a former child star, it’s hard to forget a mediocre pop career, a meltdown widely documented by the paparazzi, and a huge public break with her former co-star Lyle Jessup. It’s also hard to forget her other co-star and childhood sweetheart, Cameron Riggs -- the one who got away.
Anytime Shelby has called, Cameron has come running… And then he runs right off again to chase stories around the world by making documentaries, too scared to admit what he really wants. But when Lyle stirs the pot, getting the two back in the spotlight with a home renovation show, Cameron can't help but come on board.
There's something in it for everyone -- almost. Cameron wants to come home and set down some roots. Shelby wants to prove to the world she's not the messy party girl anymore. And Lyle wants to twist the screws on his two childhood friends who had more chemistry than he could dream of with anyone. Sparks and sawdust fly as Shelby and Cameron film the pilot for "Homemade" and battle Lyle’s shenanigans at every turn.
Erin Hahn’s sparkling rom com debut, Built to Last, is a second chance romance sure to have readers falling in love fast.
Two childhood sweethearts find a second chance at love in this adult romance debut from a critically acclaimed young adult author.
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I really loved
You’d Be Mine by this author, but I had a harder time connecting with the characters in
Built to Last. Cameron was great—likable, loveable, and sincere—but Shelby felt a little flat and not as fully developed. I thought the child TV star angle was unique and interesting, and I wish we’d gotten more flashbacks to the two of them together on their show.
My biggest bookish pet peeve is miscommunication between characters, and unfortunately, Cameron and Shelby seemed to spend most of the book misunderstanding each other and avoiding honest conversations. It really impacted my enjoyment, turning what should have been a sweet love story between childhood friends into a frustrating tale of two people struggling just to understand each other.
That said, I really enjoyed the home renovation aspect and loved Shelby’s relationship with her dad. I wish the drama with her mother had been explored more, but it still felt raw and unresolved at the end. The secondary characters, like Cameron’s mom and Shelby’s friend Lorelai, were really well done and fun to read about, which made me wish the main characters had been just as engaging.
There are a lot of cute moments in this book, and plenty to like, but when a single conversation could clear up so many of the plot problems, it was hard for me to fully enjoy the story. (★★★☆☆)
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.
Synopsis (via Goodreads): EVERY ACT OF TRANSLATION REQUIRES SACRIFICE
Welcome to Bletchley Park… with dragons.
London, 1923. Dragons soar through the skies and protests erupt on the streets, but Vivien Featherswallow isn’t worried. She’s going to follow the rules, get an internship studying dragon languages, and make sure her little sister never has to risk growing up Third Class. By midnight, Viv has started a civil war.
With her parents arrested and her sister missing, all the safety Viv has worked for is collapsing around her. So when a lifeline is offered in the form of a mysterious ‘job’, she grabs it. Arriving at Bletchley Park, Viv discovers that she has been recruited as a codebreaker helping the war effort – if she succeeds, she and her family can all go home again. If she doesn’t, they’ll all die.
At first Viv believes that her challenge, of discovering the secrets of a hidden dragon language, is doable. But the more she learns, the more she realises that the bubble she’s grown up in isn’t as safe as she thought, and eventually Viv must decide: What war is she really fighting?
An epic, sweeping fantasy with an incredible Dark Academia setting, a clandestine, slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romance, and an unputdownable story, filled with twists and turns, betrayals and secret identities, A Language of Dragons is the unmissable debut of 2025, from an extraordinary new voice.
I almost DNF’d this one several times because the main character, Vivien, was incredibly unlikable, and I really struggle with books when I can’t relate to the MC. I need to understand their motives—good and bad—and be able to justify them to myself. Vivien made choices that didn’t make sense, and honestly, I think the book would have benefited from dual POVs (like her cousins) just to get us out of her head for a while.
Vivien is incredibly smart and can speak multiple dragon languages (really cool). Much of this, however, comes from her upbringing as a second-class citizen. The class system in this world enforces segregation and severely limits opportunities and resources for the lower classes. Dragons, once seen as equals, have now been villainized and relegated to manual labor, with their hoards taxed—and the story shows us how deep the divide is among them as well.
The way Vivien spoke about her parents—and the choices she didn’t understand—frustrated me to no end. Clearly, there was a reason her parents didn’t include her in their plans. But her “I’m better than you” attitude and her “the class system is there to help us” mentality grated on my nerves. Some of her justifications for her actions made me genuinely mad. She was never really held accountable for anything she did or said—everything just worked out for her.
I hated that it took Viv until the very end of the book to realize she’d been a horrible person and to finally attempt to do something about it. The ending felt more focused on shock value than on genuine growth, and her reaction came across as unrealistic. Additionally, the secondary characters lacked depth or meaningful contributions to the story; they mostly existed to complement or contradict Vivien. Because of all this, it’s highly unlikely I’ll continue with the next book.
That said, I did enjoy the different dragon types and languages, and the concept of a secret, unspoken language was fascinating—though the explanations fell short and left me confused about how it all worked. The author also based the settings on real-world cities and towns with only minor name changes, and I wish they had been entirely original.
With a more likable MC and stronger worldbuilding, this could have been a really compelling story. Unfortunately, A Language of Dragons just didn’t work for me and often made me wish I’d stopped after the first few chapters. (★★★☆☆)
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.
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