romance

Cozy Christmas Reads: All I Want is You Review

by Stefani

All I Want is You by Falon Ballard

Published: September 24, 2024 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

Bitter exes. Professional rivals. Just one bed.
What could go wrong?

Jessica Carrington always wanted her own happily ever after. But, until that happens, she spends her days as a small-time romance writer, penning satisfying Happily Ever Afters to soothe the heartache left by her ex-boyfriend Nick Matthews, a fellow romance writer and now her biggest rival, who has found success writing love stories without happy endings. It’s clearly what he’s good at, after all . . .

So, when their professional obligations find them snowed in – and forced to share a room! – at the same remote inn a few days before Christmas, Jess and Nick are both fuming. But what’s more fitting for two romantic writers in a slump? And when they realise the friction between them might be the only cure for their writer’s block, they decide to turn their frustration into fiction . . . and the pages start flying.

Jess can’t shake the feeling that Nick is the last guy on earth she should be falling for (again), but, as they both finally get back in their flow, is he actually all she wants for Christmas?

Rating:

Review:

The best word I can think of for this book is, it was cute. It was cute and cozy. It made me want to put up a Christmas tree. I really enjoyed the premise of these two being snowed in together and forced to work on a holiday romance book together. I enjoyed the idea of Jess and Nick initially being brought together by writing romance novels, but then they break up and Nick gains a lot more success while Jess is still waitressing to pay the bills. It was a good dynamic that not only brought in the heartbreak of the breakup, but also an element of professional rivalry and jealousy.

The biggest highlight for me in this book was Jess’s two best friends. Honestly, they are the two best friends that every girl needs. One quips, “Open your heart to love!” While the other chimes in with, “Close your legs for ex-boyfriends!” The two of them made me laugh so much. I want them to be my friends in real life.

I had two big drawbacks in this book. One was the flashbacks. We get a lot of flashbacks back to their best memories while they were dating. But all of them are sexual. Didn’t they have nice moments that didn’t include sex? They were together for multiple years so I have to imagine that they did. But we didn’t hear about any of them and so it made their connection seem mostly sexual when it was supposed to be about love.

My other big drawback was the dual POV. It just didn’t work for me in this instance. We hear not only Jess’ conflicted thoughts about still loving him but also being very angry with him and determined to keep her distance. But we also hear how Nick is still madly in love with her, almost from the beginning. There’s no mystery in how either of them are feeling, and so it ruined a bit of the fun for me. I would have rather been left guessing how Nick was feeling about Jess until later in the book. I think that would have worked better for this story.

All in all, it was a cute little romance. It was easy and fun to read. So break out the peppermint mocha, put on your fuzzy slippers and have a Christmasy read.

New Releases Wednesday – November 6, 2024

by Stefani

The Road of Bones by Demi Winters

Published: November 5, 2024 by Delacorte Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A woman on the run. A crew of Viking mercenaries. A forbidden romance. And the secret which threatens them all.

Silla Nordvig is running for her life.

The Queen of Íseldur has sent warriors to bring Silla to Sunnavík, where death awaits her. When her father is killed, his last words set Silla on a perilous travel the treacherous Road of Bones–a thousand-mile stretch haunted by warbands, creatures of darkness, and a mysterious murderer–and go to Kopa, where a shield-house awaits her.

After barely surviving the first stretch of road, a desperate Silla sneaks into a supply wagon belonging to the notorious Bloodaxe Crew. To make it to Kopa, she must win over Axe Eyes, the brooding leader of the Crew, while avoiding the Wolf, his distractingly handsome right-hand man. But the queen’s ruthless assassin has other plans and hunts Silla obsessively.

Will Silla make it safely to Kopa? Or will she fall prey to the perils of the Road of Bones?

Why this caught my eye:

I talked about this book a few months ago as an upcoming release, and well, now it’s here! I love Viking mythology, throw in a romantasy and I am on board.

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong

Published: November 5, 2024 by Ace

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Tao is an immigrant fortune teller, traveling between villages with just her trusty mule for company. She only tells “small” fortunes: whether it will hail next week; which boy the barmaid will kiss; when the cow will calve. She knows from bitter experience that big fortunes come with big consequences…

Even if it’s a lonely life, it’s better than the one she left behind. But a small fortune unexpectedly becomes something more when a (semi) reformed thief and an ex-mercenary recruit her into their desperate search for a lost child. Soon, they’re joined by a baker with a knead for adventure, and—of course—a slightly magical cat.

Tao sets down a new path with companions as big-hearted as her fortunes are small. But as she lowers her walls, the shadows of her past are closing in—and she’ll have to decide whether to risk everything to preserve the family she never thought she could have.

Why this caught my eye:

This sounds like an interesting blend of a fantasy, magic romance, and a cozy buddy mystery. I am really intrigued by this synopsis.

The Honey Witch: A Magical Love Story in Innisfree

by Stefani

The Honey Witch by Sydney J Shields

Published: May 16, 2024 by Orbit

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.
 
Twenty-one-year-old Marigold Claude has always preferred the company of the spirits of the meadow to any of the suitors who’ve tried to woo her. So when her grandmother whisks her away to the family cottage on the tiny Isle of Innisfree with an offer to train her as the next Honey Witch, she accepts immediately. But her newfound magic and independence come with a curse. No one can fall in love with the Honey Witch.
 
When Lottie Burke, a notoriously grumpy skeptic who doesn’t believe in magic, shows up on her doorstep, Marigold can’t resist the challenge to prove to her that magic is real. But soon, Marigold begins to care for Lottie in ways she never expected. And when darker magic awakens and threatens to destroy her home, she must fight for much more than her new home—at the risk of losing her magic and her heart.

Rating:

Review:

**Warning** This review will contain spoilers.

I wanted to love this book. So much. I talked about this book back in May and was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I wonder if this book suffered because it was the author’s debut novel. There were many times that I felt as though the author was uncomfortable taking chances. She played it safe and as a result the book wasn’t as good as it could have been. I wonder how amazing this book would have been if the author tackled this idea in 5 years, when she had matured in her craft a little. Alas, we’ll never know.

Marigold was a lovely character. I found her smart, sassy and kind. She fit the role of the Honey Witch perfectly. I also liked that she displayed a lack of confidence in her abilities at first, it made her feel much more real. I wish we had spent more time with her learning her magic because I found that to be the most enjoyable part.

I loved the magic in this book too. It felt real and profound. Tying magic to honey is a brilliant idea. And the book is written in a sumptuous, rich way that reminded me of honey. This brought an unexpected magic to the words that I really enjoyed. It was wonderfully executed and I have no doubt that the author has a very bright career ahead of her.

The worldbuilding in this book was very confusing. It wanted to be Regency-esque. You had the Regency lifestyle, but then there are pieces added in that didn’t make sense at all. The whole first third of the book is a very long diatribe about patriarchy. Marigold expounds at length about how the only ambition a girl is allowed to have in her world is who she marries, which is something Marigold isn’t interested in. So in this world there are very clear class and gender norms that have to be adhered to. Which is very typical of Regency books. But, then you also have complete acceptance of characters who are LGBTQ. And while the author yells at us about partriarchy a lot most of the men in this book are….pretty cool actually. They don’t seem to have any problem with Marigold’s unconventional choices, nor the choices and relationships of others. This felt like the author wanted Regency, but without all the pesky problems that come with that era. As a result the worldbuilding felt inauthentic.

The curse was also really confusing. It served no functional purpose. The curse is that no one can ever fall in love with the Honey Witch. The author tells us that the evil witch cast this curse with the intention of ending the line of Honey Witches. But, as Marigold’s grandmother points out, you don’t need to be in love to have child. Indeed, Marigold’s grandmother used magic to conjure a child out of nothing. You would think that the evil witch had considered those things. The curse functionally serves zero purpose except to create a star-crossed lovers narrative. That narrative was very well executed, but there were many other options for initiating their separation, it didn’t need to be this curse.

The evil Ash witch serves almost no purpose to the story. We are told that the duty of the Honey Witch is to protect Innisfree from the Ash witch. Why does she want it? I have no idea, even after reading the book. Why is the Ash witch evil? Because she does evil things. But why does she do those evil things? No idea. We learn almost nothing about the Ash witch except that she attacked Innisfree when Marigold was a little girl, and she attacks again at the end of this book. We have no idea why she wants Innisfree, why she holds a grudge against the Honey Witches, or why she does anything she does. I really hate villains that are evil just for the sake of being evil. I really hate villains that only do evil things, because it’s not realistic. Not a single living creature is all good or all evil, and all of them have some kind of motivation for their actions. All of these reasons made the Ash witch feel like a cardboard cutout. She is there to be the villain, because the book needs one. It was a disappointing ending.

Upcoming Releases – November 3, 2024

by Stefani

This month I’m highlighting books expected to publish in February 2025. These are the ones that piqued my curiosity. What ones did I miss? What is calling your name from the future?

We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes

Expected publication: February 11, 2025 by Pamela Dorman Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Lila Kennedy has a lot on her plate. A broken marriage, two wayward daughters, a house that is falling apart, and an elderly stepfather who seems to have quietly moved in. Her career is in freefall and her love life is . . . complicated. So when her real dad—a man she has barely seen since he ran off to Hollywood thirty-five years ago—suddenly appears on her doorstep, it feels like the final straw. But it turns out even the family you thought you could never forgive might have something to teach about love, and what it actually means to be family.

Why this caught my eye:

In the frantic pace of the world we live in, sometimes it’s nice to just relax with the story of a family. This sounds intricate and heartwarming.

Something in the Walls by Daisy Pearce

Expected publication: February 25, 2025 by Minotaur Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Newly-minted child psychologist Mina has little experience. In a field where the first people called are experts, she’s been unable to get her feet wet. Instead she aimlessly spends her days stuck in the stifling heat wave sweeping across Britain, and anxiously contemplating her upcoming marriage to careful, precise researcher Oscar. The only reprieve from her small, close world is attending the local bereavement group to mourn her brother’s death from years ago. That is, until she meets journalist Sam Hunter at the grief group one day. And he has a proposition for her.

Alice Webber is a thirteen year old girl who claims she’s being haunted by a witch. Living with her family in their crowded home in the remote village of Banathel, Alice’s symptoms are increasingly disturbing, and money is tight. Taking this job will give Mina some experience; Sam will get the scoop of a lifetime; and Alice will get better, Mina is sure of it.

But instead of improving, Alice’s behavior becomes increasingly inexplicable and intense. The town of Banathel has a deep history of superstition and witchcraft. They believe there is evil in the world. They believe there are ways of…dealing with it. And they don’t expect outsiders to understand.

As Mina races to uncover the truth behind Alice’s condition, the dark cracks of Banathel begin to show. Mina is desperate to understand how deep their sinister traditions go–and how her own past may be the biggest threat of all.

Why this caught my eye:

I really enjoy a good horror book. This format of believing that a character has a mental illness but…do they really?, is a common theme in horror and it is often successful. I also like the tie in to witchcraft.

Famous Last Words by Gillian McAllister

Expected publication: February 25, 2025 by William Morrow

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

It is June 21, the longest day of the year, and the life of new mother Camilla is about to change forever. After months of maternity leave, she will drop off her infant daughter at daycare for the first time and return to her job as a literary agent. Finally. But when she wakes, her husband Luke isn’t there, and in his place is a cryptic note.

Then it starts. Breaking news: A hostage situation is developing in London. The police tell her Luke is involved—but he isn’t a hostage. Her husband—doting father, eternal optimist—is the gunman.

Why this caught my eye:

I have a fascination with books where characters are not who they seem. The idea of waking up one day to find that the person you married has done something absolutely inexplicable

Chasing Firebirds: The Phoenix Keeper Analysis

by Stefani

The Phoenix Keeper by S.A. MacLean

Narrated by: Stephanie Bentley

Published: August 13, 2024 by Orbit

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

As head phoenix keeper at a world-renowned zoo for magical creatures, Aila’s childhood dream of conserving critically endangered firebirds seems closer than ever. There’s just one glaring caveat: her zoo’s breeding program hasn’t functioned for a decade. When a tragic phoenix heist sabotages the flagship initiative at a neighboring zoo, Aila must prove her derelict facilities are fit to take the reins.

But saving an entire species from extinction requires more than stellar animal handling skills. Carnivorous water horses, tempestuous thunderhawks, mischievous dragons… Aila has no problem wrangling beasts. Inspiring zoo patrons? That’s another story. Mustering the courage to ask for help from the hotshot griffin keeper at the zoo’s most popular exhibit? Virtually impossible.

Especially when that hotshot griffin keeper happens to be her arch-rival from college: Luciana, an annoyingly brooding and insufferable know-it-all with the grace of a basilisk and the face of a goddess, who’s convinced that Aila’s beloved phoenix would serve their cause better as an active performer rather than a passive conservation exhibit.

With the world watching and the threat of poachers looming, Aila’s success isn’t only a matter of keeping her job: the future of a species depends on her.

Rating:

Review:

I wanted to like this book a whole lot more than I did. For a lot of reasons this one just didn’t work for me. The premise of the book was great. I have always loved the idea of magical creatures and creating a world where zoos are trying to save those magical creatures from extinction is a fantastic idea. Throw in some romance and it should have been a great book.

While I felt like audiobook narrator did a good job, sometimes her tone didn’t match the emotions being conveyed very well. When Aila was supposed to sound determined or anxious, it came across as whiny. I can only partially blame the narrator for this though because Aila is pretty whiny in general. She spends most of this book worrying, hating things and whining about it. She is supposed to be 28 years old but she sounds like a 14 year old. We spend a lot of time hearing about Aila’s social anxiety, but it comes across less as anxiety and more like hatred. She isn’t anxious about social situations and people, she just hates them. As someone who also hates socializing I understand but I would never insist that it’s social anxiety, because it isn’t the same thing. And since the book is told from Aila’s perspective, we have to listen to her talk about really boring things for an awful long time. I got to 40% of the audiobook and she hadn’t even gotten the male phoenix yet. We’d just talked about…things. Not interesting things, just things.

Another issue I had with this book was the worldbuilding. Namely that there wasn’t any. Apart from zoos full of magical creatures I know nothing about this world. I have no idea what the locations we hear about are like, the author didn’t both to tell me. Do phoenixes like in tropical places? Deserts? Mediterranean? I know they like to nest in olive trees, but apart from that clue I was told nothing about this world. I know that DVDs exist and so do emails, so I feel like we’re stuck in the late 1990s or early 2000s. But, that’s all we know about this world. I wanted to know how magical creatures exist in this world? If magical creatures exist, does other magic exist also? If not, why not? I wanted more and I didn’t get it.

The romance was incredibly lack luster and virtually non-existent. Aila spends approximately 70% of this book hating the intended love interest and pining after someone else entirely. They don’t actually get together until the very ending of the book. So while the blurb promises a “soul restoring queer romance”, this is tepid at best.

The “villain” of the book was very boring. First, it was obvious what was going on. The only question I had was if the same person was responsible for the phoenix stealing at the first zoo, or just gotten the idea. The motive was ok but since the character was so boring it just didn’t matter. At no point did I ever feel like there was tension in the plot. Aila professes to be running for her life trying to save her phoenixes from being kidnapped, but I didn’t feel an ounce of urgency or tension.

This book would have been better if it was marketed as a young adult. Aila definitely reads as a young adult character, the romance would be better suited to the young adult genre. Overall I probably would have liked it better. As an adult fantasy it wasn’t very good.

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer: A Tale of Friendship and Secrets

by Stefani

The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer

Narrated by: Jorjeana Marie

Published: July 16, 2024 by Random House Audio

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Synopsis:

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they’d gone or how they’d survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons’ investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie’s sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie’s sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months—for only then can they get back everything and everyone they’ve lost.

Rating:

Review:

I had very high hopes about this book. The concept of bringing me a grown up fairytale akin to the Chronicles of Narnia was highly appealing. In a lot of ways this book met those expectations. And in some ways it didn’t. So ultimately my feelings about this book are that it was good but not great.

The brightest point of this book was the relationship between Jeremy and Rafe. It was so tortured and complicated and beautiful. I found myself angry at Jeremy for lying to Rafe. I found myself angry at Rafe for rejecting Jeremy. And when the full story of their relationship was revealed, I cried like a baby. It was a slow burn of a relationship and I loved it. I was rooting for them so hard, and I ended up in a puddle of tears in the end.

I have to admit that I didn’t have a single idea what was going on for a large part of this book. That’s what brought the rating down to a three star for me honestly. I said in my progress update last week that I thought I had missed something important and went back to listen again only to discover that I hadn’t missed something, it was just very jarring. It took a long time for me to find my footing in the story. The parts I did understand were amazing. This was a pretty short audiobook at just over 10 hours long, it could have used just a little more length to smooth out some of those transitions to make the story flow better. There was also a lot of missing world building. The author just thrust us into this fantastical world but didn’t give us too many details about it, which was disappointing.

In the end, when it was great it was amazing and when it wasn’t it was okay.

Upcoming Releases Sunday – October 6, 2024

by Stefani

A Serial Killer’s Guide to Marriage by Asia Mackay

Expected publication: January 14, 2025 by Bantam

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The couple that kills together stays together…

Hazel and Fox are an ordinary married couple with a baby. Except for one small they’re ex-serial killers.

They had it all. An enviable London lifestyle, five-star travels, and plenty of bad men to kill. Not many power couples know how to get away with murder.

Then Hazel fell pregnant and they gave it all up for life in the suburbs; dinner parties instead of body disposal.

But recently Hazel has started to feel that itch again. When she kills someone behind Fox’s back and brings the police to their door, she must do anything she can to protect her family.

This could save their marriage – unless it kills them first.

Why this caught my eye:

This sounds like a kooky blend between a romance and a thriller, and I am here for it. It brings a different kind of aspect to the idea of betrayal in a marriage.

Strike and Burn by Taylor Hutton

Expected publication: January 28, 2025 by Berkley

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A breathless romantic thriller that doesn’t just toe the line between danger and desire—it burns it to the ground.

Honor Stone is all alone in this world. No family, no money, no future. So when she locks eyes with Strike Madden—in the morgue of all places—she’s not in the mood to be seduced. Sure, he’s drop-dead gorgeous, and the sizzle of attraction between them is undeniable, but she’s reeling from her identical twin sister’s murder. It’s the wrong time, wrong place, wrong everything.

Still, the enigmatic billionaire hires Honor as an artist to spearhead his carefully curated erotic animation studio—a job they soon find to be a dangerous mix of business and pleasure.

But when her twin’s obsessive killer targets Honor, the painful secrets of Honor’s traumatic past will finally be exposed with devastating consequences. Strike will stop at nothing to protect her, uncovering his own bone-chilling demons—a beautifully broken, dark side that doesn’t scare Honor…

Why this caught my eye:

First of all, the name are terrible. Just terrible. I laughed myself silly at them for a good few minutes. But, that aside, it sounds like a pretty standard unexpected romance with thriller side plot. I’m noticing a pattern about the January books this week….

Mask of the Deer Woman by Laurie L. Dove

Expected publication: January 21, 2025 by Berkley

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

To find a missing young woman, the new tribal marshal must also find herself. At rock bottom following her daughter’s murder, ex-Chicago detective Carrie Starr has nowhere to go but back to her roots. Starr’s father never talked much about the reservation that raised him, but they need a new tribal marshal as much as Starr needs a place to call home. In the last decade, too many young women have disappeared from the rez. Some dead, others just… gone. Now, local college student Chenoa Cloud is missing, and Starr falls into an investigation that leaves her drowning in memories of her daughter—the girl she failed to save. Starr feels lost in this place she thought would welcome her. And when she catches a glimpse of a figure from her father’s stories, with the body of a woman and the antlers of a deer, Starr can’t shake the feeling that the fearsome spirit is watching her, following her. What she doesn’t know is whether Deer Woman is here to guide her or to seek vengeance for the lost daughters that Starr can never bring home.

Why this caught my eye:

Thrillers are evidently “in” for the start of 2025. The plight of real life Indigenous women and girls who go missing and precious little resources are spared to find them has gained some traction in the media over the last few years. Books like these are important pieces to the puzzle of raising awareness. And it sounds like a good book too, which is always a bonus.

New Releases Wednesday – September 18, 2024

by Stefani

The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave

Published: September 17, 2024 by Marysue Rucci Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

Estranged siblings discover their father has been keeping a secret for over fifty years, one that may have been fatal…

Liam Noone was many things to many people. To the public, he was an exacting, self-
made hotel magnate fleeing his past. To his three ex-wives, he was a loving albeit distant family man who kept his finances flush and his families carefully separated. To Nora, he was a father who often loved her from afar – notably a cliffside cottage perched on the California coast from which he fell to his death.   

The authorities rule the death accidental, but Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas. As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery, they start putting together the pieces of their father’s past—and uncover a family secret that changes everything.

Why it caught my eye:

This has all the makings of a good mystery! Estranged siblings, lonely cliffside homes, curious deaths, and family secrets. This is one of those books that you know exactly what you’re getting, it’s all about the journey along the way.

We Solve Murders by Richard Osman

Published: September 17, 2024 by Pamela Dorman Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A brand new series. An iconic new detective duo. And a puzzling new murder to solve…

Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines: the pub quiz, his favorite bench, his cat waiting for him when he comes home. His days of adventure are over: adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s business now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. As a private security officer, she doesn’t stay still long enough for habits or routines. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Which was meant to be an easy job…

Then a dead body, a bag of money, and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending an SOS to the only person she trusts. A breakneck race around the world begins, but can Amy and Steve stay one step ahead of a lethal enemy?

Why this caught my eye:

I think I’m in a mood for cozy mysteries lately. It’s what I’m watching on TV, it’s what I want to read, it’s what I want to listen to. Must be because it’s the beginnings of fall. This one sounded like a cute little cozy that I want to check out.

Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling

Published: September 17, 2024 by Delacorte Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

As a child, Elowen Atarah was ripped away from her dragons and imprisoned by her father, King Garrick of Imirath. Years later, Elowen is now a woman determined to free her dragons. Having established a secret kingdom of her own called Aestilian, she’s ready to do what’s necessary to save her people and seek vengeance. Even if that means having to align herself with the Commander of Vareveth, Cayden Veles, the most feared and dangerous man in all the kingdoms of Ravaryn.

Cayden is ruthless, lethal, and secretive, promising to help Elowen if she will stand with him and all of Vareveth in the pending war against Imirath. Despite their contrasting motives, Elowen can’t ignore their undeniable attraction as they combine their efforts and plot to infiltrate the impenetrable castle of Imirath to steal back her dragons and seek revenge on their common enemy.

As the world tries to keep them apart, the pull between Elowen and Cayden becomes impossible to resist. Working together with their crew over clandestine schemes, the threat of war looms, making the imminent heist to free her dragons their most dangerous adventure yet. But for Elowen, her vengeance is a promise signed in blood, and she’ll stop at nothing to see that promise through.

Why this caught my eye:

I am a sucker for a book with a pretty cover. This one is gorgeous. It’s also a fantasy about dragons, and I love dragons. All in all, this sounds like a perfect book for me.

Assassination Plot: Deception and Betrayal | Five Broken Blades

by Stefani

Five Broken Blades by Mai Corland

Published: May 7, 2024 by Entangled: Red Tower Books

Buy this book at: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

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.

Rating:

Review:

As a whole this book was utterly enjoyable. The world created was interesting and rich. The narrative was intriguing and I was excited to see where it went next. As a summary, this was a great book.

The premise of this story is simple. King Joon is a bad man. He does terrible things and there is a plot to assassinate him. The only problem is that he proclaims to be a God. There have been previous assassination attempts and he was miraculously not harmed. But, there is a plan and they need a very specific cast of liars and thieves to pull it off.

First we meet Royo. He’s the town heavy. He is muscle for hire. If you need someone killed, beaten, taught a lesson then Royo is the guy to call. He gets pulled into this scheme by Aeri. She’s a thief, who has been invited into this plot and she hires Royo to protect her and be her bodyguard. Then we have Sora. Sora is an indentured woman and so is her sister. The Count who holds her indenture turned her into a poison maiden. He intentionally poisoned her over and over again until she became immune to all poisons, and he uses her to seduce and poison men that he wishes to kill. Tiyung is the Count’s son and has been instructed to go with Sora on this mission and then if she is successful, he will grant her freedom. Euyn is next and he is the King’s exiled brother. He was exiled for hunting prisoners like animals and left buried in the desert to die. Except that he didn’t die. He escaped and has been trying to keep a low profile ever since. And finally Mikhail. He is the mastermind behind the whole plot. He is also the King’s spymaster.

All of this main cast of characters gets their turn to narrate portions of the story. They all had a distinct voice so I had very little trouble keeping track of which story was being narrated. My biggest complaint about the story is that the different narratives were so short. The longest section was 5 or 6 pages, most of them were 2 or 3 pages. It didn’t give me a lot of time to get invested in this new piece to the story and then it was over. And almost every single section ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. That got tiring really fast. So I wish that we got longer sections in one narrative and that we didn’t have a cliffhanger every few pages. But those were my only complaints.

The ending of this book was masterful. I don’t want to give away any spoilers so I will keep this high level. Obviously, because this is the first book in a series, you can reasonably expect that the assassination plot doesn’t go to plan. It would be a much shorter book and no sequel potential if everything went according to plan. I don’t think that’s a spoiler, I think most readers would figure out from the beginning how that’s going to play out. Even so, there were some twists in there that I never saw coming. And they were brilliant. The ending completely sold me on the next book. I’m all in and will definitely be reading it.

New Releases Wednesday – September 4, 2024

by Stefani

The Booklover’s Library by Madeline Martin

Published: September 3, 2024 by Hanover Square Press

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

A heartwarming story about a mother and daughter in wartime England and the power of the books that bring them together.

In Nottingham, England, widow Emma Taylor finds herself in desperate need of a job to provide for herself and her beloved daughter, Olivia. But with the legal restrictions prohibiting widows with children from most employment opportunities, she’s left with only one option: persuading the manageress at Boots’ Booklover’s Library to take a chance on her.

When the threat of war becomes a reality, Olivia must be evacuated to the countryside. In her daughter’s absence, Emma seeks solace in the unlikely friendships she forms with her neighbors and coworkers, as well as the recommendations she provides to the library’s quirky regulars. But the job doesn’t come without its difficulties. Books are mysteriously misshelved and disappearing, and her work forces her to confront the memories of her late father and the bookstore they once owned together before a terrible accident.

As the Blitz intensifies in Nottingham and Emma fights to reunite with her daughter, she must learn to depend on her community and the power of literature more than ever to find hope in the darkest of times.

Why this caught my eye:

I generally enjoy historical fiction. And I enjoy stories set in England. So, taking those two things together and throw in a mom desperate to stay with her child and I am on board.

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig

Published: September 3, 2024 by Viking

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The remarkable next novel from Matt Haig, the author of #1 New York Times bestseller The Midnight Library, with more than nine million copies sold worldwide

“What looks like magic is simply a part of life we don’t understand yet…”

When retired math teacher Grace Winters is left a run-down house on a Mediterranean island by a long-lost friend, curiosity gets the better of her. She arrives in Ibiza with a one-way ticket, no guidebook and no plan.

Among the rugged hills and golden beaches of the island, Grace searches for answers about her friend’s life, and how it ended. What she uncovers is stranger than she could have dreamed. But to dive into this impossible truth, Grace must first come to terms with her past.

Filled with wonder and wild adventure, this is a story of hope and the life-changing power of a new beginning.

Why this caught my eye:

The quote about magic being a part of life we don’t understand sold me on this book immediately. It’s such a promising idea, and the rest of the synopsis paints a beautiful picture too.

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

Published: September 3, 2024 by Little Brown Books

Check this book out at: Goodreads

Synopsis:

The Cruel Prince meets Ninth House in this dangerously romantic dark academia fantasy, where a lost heiress must infiltrate an arcane society and live with the vampire she suspects killed her family and kidnapped her sister.

It began long before my time, but something has always hunted our family.

Orphaned heiress Kidan Adane grew up far from the arcane society she was born into, where human bloodlines gain power through vampire companionship. When her sister, June, disappears, Kidan is convinced a vampire stole her—the very vampire bound to their family, the cruel yet captivating Susenyos Sagad.

To find June, Kidan must infiltrate the elite Uxlay University—where students study to ensure peaceful coexistence between humans and vampires and inherit their family legacies. Kidan must survive living with Susenyos—even as he does everything he can to drive her away. It doesn’t matter that Susenyos’s wickedness speaks to Kidan’s own violent nature and tempts her to surrender to a life of darkness. She must find her sister and kill Susenyos at all costs.

When a murder mirroring June’s disappearance shakes Uxlay, Kidan sinks further into the ruthless underworld of vampires, risking her very soul. There she discovers a centuries-old threat—and June could be at the center of it. To save her sister, Kidan must bring Uxlay to its knees and either break free from the horrors of her own actions or embrace the dark entanglements of love—and the blood it requires.

Why this caught my eye:

I can never say no to a book about secrets at a magical, secret school. They almost never turn out as amazingly as I imagine they will, but sometimes they do. Maybe this one will be the sometimes?