Progress Update Friday – August 16, 2024

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

Progress: 30 pages of 424

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

It’s the season
for treason…

The king of Yusan must die.

The five most dangerous liars in the land have been mysteriously summoned to work together for a single objective: to kill the God King Joon.

He has it coming. Under his merciless immortal hand, the nobles flourish, while the poor and innocent are imprisoned, ruined…or sold.

And now each of the five blades will come for him. Each has tasted bitterness―from the hired hitman seeking atonement, a lovely assassin who seeks freedom, or even the prince banished for his cruel crimes. None can resist the sweet, icy lure of vengeance.

They can agree on murder.

They can agree on treachery.

But for these five killers―each versed in deception, lies, and betrayal―it’s not enough to forge an alliance. To survive, they’ll have to find a way to trust each other…but only one can take the crown.

Let the best liar win.

How it’s going:

We’ve been introduced to 3 of the 5 main characters so far. They are each interesting in their own right, I find myself wanting to know more about them. My only complaint thus far is the constant head hopping. Literally every 1-4 pages we’re hoping to the next character. It feels like we get to a part that’s starting to be interesting and then it’s someone else’s turn. I hope that’s not a consistent pattern, because I like the story itself.

The Bitter Truth by Shanora Williams

Progress: 87 pages of 320

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

An upstanding political candidate. A determined stalker. A shattering lost weekend. Now, when his worst secret comes calling, how far will one man’s elegant, all-too-devoted wife go to uncover the truth . . . or bury it?

For Jolene “Jo” Baker, the least she can do for her adoring husband, Dominic, is give unwavering support for his North Carolina gubernatorial run. He is not only the love of her life, he’s also helping her prove that she’s far more than just a pampered trophy wife. With huge crowds showing up at Dominic’s speeches and the polls consistently in his favor, she’s never been happier to stand proudly by his side . . .

Until she and Dominic start seeing the same, strangely ominous woman turning up all along the campaign trail. Until their tour starts becoming a nightmare of botched events, crucial missed information, and increasingly dangerous “accidents.” Suddenly Jo can’t get any answers from Dominic—or understand why he is acting so paranoid and terrified . . .

What Jo can do is start digging into his past—one she’s never really questioned beyond his perfect image and dazzling accomplishments. What results is an alarming series of events that leave her Good friends turn into enemies, truths are revealed to be lies, and all clues lead back to one secret, shattering weekend that changes Jo’s entire life. With her world splintering into pieces, can Jo risk trying to set things right? Or will hiding the bitter truth by any means necessary destroy her as well?

How it’s going:

This book is everything I was hoping it would be at this point. Bad, seedy people doing bad things. I feel like the synopsis is a little misleading about Jo though. The synopsis portrays her as a doting wife. But the book is clear that she is over this marriage, she is tired of Dominic and his secrets. But she also doesn’t want to leave because her prestige wanes if she’s not married to the governor anymore. She made him, he owes her, so she isn’t going anywhere. I like it.