The Princess and the Paparazzi by Ciara Blume: A delightful modernization of The Prince and the Pauper that follows a barista and a movie star.

The Princess and the Paparazzi by Ciara Blume is the fourth book in her Lit Lovers Series, and is a modern retelling of The Prince and the Pauper. Kenna is a barista who knows exactly what coffee people need. Lorelei is a movie star. Both women are feeling trapped in their respective lives, so, after some prodding from Lorelei, they decide to switch places for a week.

Intrigued by their similar looks, Lorelei and Kenna take a DNA test . The resulrs will arrive at the end of the week, and they will see the results when they switch back. Hijicks ensue, characters will fall in love, and each woman will learn more about herself and the kind of person she wants to be.

Kenna and Lorelei are both interesting characters. Their reasons for switching lives make sense and doesn’t feel contrived. Their growth through the novel also fits their unique personalities. This makes the story more compelling to read, and an enjoyable adventure.

This novel has a couple of (consensual) spicy scenes in it, so be aware of that. But the romantic relationships never overshadow the friendship blooming between Lorelei and Kenna, or the established relationships both characters have. The romances ultimately added to both Kenna and Lorelei’s character growth in a positive way. The love interests are different, and the eventual pairings are perfect.

The ending also had a few fun twists. Blume gave us a satisfying conclusion that felt earned. The pieces all fit together beautifully, and didn’t seem to come out of left field. She planted the seeds and readers got to watch them grow as they read.

Although it is part of a larger series, you can read this as a stand-alone novel. The other novels enhance the experience, and are similar in a lot of ways. This little town of Ephron is a delightfully quirky place with a lot of fun characters.

If you enjoy classic literature with a twist and a little steam, this is certainly a book to check out. It pays homage to nerd culture while also looking at what makes people uniquely themselves. Overall, it was a lot of fun.

I would give this novel 4 out of 5 cameras.

The Self-Sufficient Princess By Sanguine Addams: A fun and witty tale of a princess trying to find her place in the world, and the friends she makes along the way.

Some books try to be funny and to balance references to outside media. Very few books succeed, but The Self-Sufficient Princess by Sanguine Addams is one of them. In many ways, it is modern The Princess Bride, not aashamed to poke fun at fairy tale tropes while being a love-letter to them. The writing style is witty, compelling, and laugh-out-loud hilarious.

The story is more than the wit, however. It is a poignant tale about growing up and finding your place in life. Princess Nightingale, or Gale, lives on her own in a tower. She is learning to take care of herself before she has to officially step into her role as princess.

As her 18th birthday draws closer, the dragon Wrathnarok, also known as Mittens, shows up to protect her, followed closely by multiple suitors. Gale’s life changes drastically. She doesn’t want to get married, and isn’t even sure she wants to be a princess anymore. Now she has to decide, what does she really want, and who is she, really?

Gale is the kind of heroine that readers can relate to. She is spunky, but she is also just trying to figure things out. Who is she? What does she want in life? These questions are something that all of us have asked ourselves at least once in our life.

Gale’s relationship with her parents is very sweet. They are supportive and caring of their daughter, and give her space and time to discover who she is. This gave the story an additional sweetness and kept it grounded.

Mittens the Dragon is also a fantastic character. She is ancient, protective of her assigned princess, and totally enamored of modern life. She and Gale have their differences, but watching them slowly become real friends was a treat. The suitors are hilariously awful, yet realistic. Most people have met or seen at least one of these guys in action.

The Self-Sufficient Princess allows readers to linger. We learn about Gale and her life, and we get to watch her learn and grow, and maybe, we learn a bit about ourselves along the way.

If you enjoyed Princess Floralinda and the Forty-Flight Tower by Tasmin Muir or The Princess Bride by William Goldman, this is a book to check out. It’s funny and heartfelt at the same time, and that is a winning combination.

I received a few copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery in exchange for an honest review.

I would give this book five out of five pairs of mittens.

Return of the Ark by Erol Bulent Abay: A thrilling mystery that takes readers on a quest to find the lost Ark.

Return of the Ark by Erol Bulent Abay is set in Turkey, originally written in Turkish, and is a compelling mystery. The novel starts out with a murder at a symposium on the Archaeology of Religion.

Eren Dervish is at the symposium to present. Suddenly, he finds himself helping the beautiful Hacer Haran escape the hotel. Hacer is wanted for questioning in the murder of another presenter, Professor Yafes. She is also the finance of Ibrahim Dizdar, who runs the Turkish version of the CIA (called MIT).

As Eren and Hacer race towards Ibrahim, they realize that their pursuers are not the authorities, but someone out to kill them. They also discover that Hacer’s name was on a piece of paper clutched by the dead professor. Hacer and Eren are determined to find the reason for this connection, and the reason that Professor Yafes was killed.

Meanwhile, the world is in an uproar as major religious leaders of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism vanish. This sows discord among the three faiths, who blame each other. When five bombs also go missing and people named after prophets start turning up dead, Ibrahim realizes that there is a connection to the professor’s murder.

The mystery is well-paced, and unfolds in a thrilling way. The reader knows who is the mastermind, but it is still exciting to watch it unfold for the characters. Readers also know that the Ark in the title is Noah’s Ark, but the characters had an interesting path to discovering that fact.

The only issue with this book is that the translation is, at times, a little difficult to understand. The author does quite a bit to cancel this out, with helpful clarifying footnotes, but there are some places where the original Turkish did not translate clearly into English. Despite this, the story is compelling enough and the writing is strong enough that readers can see what the intent is and follow. Just be aware of that going in.

If you like the novels of Dan Brown, Umberto Eco, or novels from other countries, this Turkish novel is certainly one to check out.

I received a copy of this book from Reedsy Discovery.

I would give this book 4 out of 5 Arks.