The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
I can’t believe I just realized all my WWW Wednesday posts this year said 2023 LOL. OH WOW – guess I have to change that. See, I told you my brain has been elsewhere this year. Anyway, it’s May and my kids end the school year in 4 weeks – they are so excited. My daughter has her big recital this weekend and this will be it for her ballet and tap days. She might be trying something more mellow, like hula next. We shall see!
Did I read more this week? Not really…but I’m glad I had some progress, really slow progress, but at least it’s progress.
Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
This week’s topic is:
Petty Reasons You’ve DNF’d a Book
(Or reduced its rating. You don’t even have to say what the book was if you don’t want to!)
Really don’t like the main character.
Writing style is not it for me.
Boring.
I put it down meaning to come back to it but then I forget about it and don’t want to put any more effort in trying to read it.
Abrupt ending (reduced rating).
Pacing is off (reduced rating).
Story is all over the place (reduce rating).
Lacking chemistry between lovers/forced romance (reduce rating).
Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:
Powerful by. Lauren Roberts (#1.5)
Set during the time of the New York Times bestseller Powerless, fan favorite Adena gets a story all her own as she attempts to survive on the streets of Loot…and falls for a mysterious—and dangerous—Elite.
Adena and Paedyn have always been inseparable. Fate brought them together when they were young, but friendship ensured they would always protect each other and the home they built in the slums of Loot. But now Paedyn—an Ordinary—has been selected for the Purging Trials, which means almost certain death.
Now alone in Loot, Adena must fend for herself. After attempting to steal, she’s rescued by a mysterious man from the market. Mak’s shadowy past and secretive power set him apart from the other low-level Elites of Loot. And as the pair team up to see their loved ones before the Trials, the quest tests their loyalty, their love, and their lives.
A clever con woman must convince a skeptical, sexy farmer of his property’s resident real-life ghost if she’s to save them all from a fate worse than death, in this delightful new novel from the author of Mrs. Nash’s Ashes .
Fake spirit medium Gretchen Acorn is happy to help when her best ( wealthiest) client hires her to investigate the unexplained phenomena preventing the sale of her bridge partner’s struggling goat farm. Gretchen may be a fraud, but she’d like to think she’s a beneficent one. So if “cleansing” the property will help a nice old man finally retire and put some much-needed cash in her pockets at the same time, who’s she to say no?
Of course, it turns out said bridge partner isn’t the kindly AARP member Gretchen imagined—Charlie Waybill is young, hot as hell, and extremely unconvinced that Gretchen can communicate with the dead. (Which, fair.) Except, to her surprise, Gretchen finds herself face-to-face with the very real, very chatty ghost that’s been wreaking havoc during every open house. And he wants her to help ensure Charlie avoids the same family curse that’s had Everett haunting Gilded Creek since the 1920s.
Now, Gretchen has one month to convince Charlie he can’t sell the property. Unfortunately, hard work and honesty seem to be the way to win over the stubborn farmer—not exactly Gretchen’s strengths. But trust isn’t the only thing growing between them, and the risk of losing Charlie to the spirit realm looms over Gretchen almost as annoyingly as Everett himself. To save the goat farm, its friendly phantom, and the man she’s beginning to love, Gretchen will need to pull off the greatest con of her being fully, genuinely herself.
He’d never wanted anyone enough to chase them…until he met her.
Charming, easygoing, and rich beyond belief, Xavier Castillo has the world at his fingertips.
He also has no interest in taking over his family’s empire (much to his father’s chagrin), but that hasn’t stopped women from throwing themselves at him…unless the woman in question is his publicist.
Nothing brings him more joy than riling her up, but when a tragedy forces them closer than ever, he must grapple with the uncertainty of his future—and the realization that the only person immune to his charms is the only one he truly wants.
*** Cool, intelligent, and ambitious, Sloane Kensington is a high-powered publicist who’s used to dealing with difficult clients.
However, none infuriate—or tempt—her more than a certain billionaire heir, with his stupid dimples and laid-back attitude.
She may be forced to work with him, but she’ll never fall for him…no matter how fast he makes her heart beat or how thoughtful he is beneath his party persona.
He’s her client, and that’s all he’ll ever be. Right?
#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @Local Bee Hunter’s Nook and you can learn more about it here or in the post announcing it. It occurs every Monday when we post about 5 books on our TBR.
Twin queens Rose & Wren survived the Battle for Anadawn and brought back magic to their kingdom. But danger lurks in Eana’s shadows.
Wren is troubled. Ever since she performed the blood spell on Prince Ansel, her magic has become unruly. Worse, the spell created a link between Wren and the very man she’s trying to forget: Icy King Alarik of Gevra. A curse is eating away at both of them. To fix it they must journey to the northern mountains—under the watchful guard of Captain Tor Iversen—to consult with the Healer on High.
Rose is haunted. Waking one night to find her undead ancestor Oonagh Starcrest by her bed, she receives a warning: surrender the throne—or face a war that will destroy Eana. With nowhere to turn and desperate to find a weapon to defeat Oonagh, Rose seeks help from Shen-Lo in the Sunkissed Kingdom, but what she finds there may break her heart.
As Oonagh threatens all Rose and Wren hold dear, it will take everything they have to save Eana–including a sacrifice they may not be prepared to make.
From the nationally bestselling author of The Guncle comes the much-anticipated sequel, in which Patrick O’Hara is called back to his guncle duties…at a big, family wedding in Lake Como, Italy.
Patrick O’Hara is finally in a league of his own…professionally. Inspired by his stint as Grant and Maisie’s caretaker after their mother’s passing, Patrick has “un-stalled” his acting career with sit-com, Guncle Knows Best . Still, some things have had to take a back seat. Looking down both barrels at fifty, Patrick is single and lonely after breaking things off with Emory. But at least he has family, right? When his brother Greg announces his big, second wedding in Lake Como, Italy, Patrick feels pulled toward Grant and Maisie and flies to Europe to attend the lavish event, only to butt heads with a newfound Launt (Lesbian Aunt), curb his sister Clara from flirting with guests, and desperately restore himself to the favored relative status in the eyes of the kids, as they struggle to adjust to a new normal. But is it Patrick’s job to save the day? Or is simply celebrating love enough to quell the family chaos? Gracing the page with his signature blend of humor and heart, Steven Rowley delivers the long-awaited sequel to a beloved story, all about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty.
The duke of the powerful House Hauteclare is the first to die. With my dagger in his back.
He didn’t see it coming. Didn’t anticipate the bastard daughter who was supposed to die with her mother—on his order. He should have left us with the rest of the Station’s starving, commoner rubbish.
Now there’s nothing left. Just icy-white rage and a need to make House Hauteclare pay. Every damn one of them.
Even if it means riding Heavenbreaker—one of the few enormous machines left over from the War—and jousting against the fiercest nobles in the system.
Each win means another one of my enemies dies. And here, in the cold terror of space, the machine and I move as one, intent on destroying each adversary—even if it’s someone I care about. Even if it’s someone I’m falling for.
Only I’m not alone. Not anymore.
Because there’s something in the machine with me. Something horrifying. Something…more.
A young technomancer teams up with a handsome thief to save her sister in this propulsive, magic-filled young adult fantasy that is perfect for fans of Gearbreakers and Iron Widow .
Adya wants nothing more than to be left alone. Content to be loyal to no one but herself in the isolated jungles of South India, she dreams only of finding her lost sister, Priya, and making enough money to take care of their family. It’s too bad that her rare ability to wake electric machines—using the magic that wiped them out five centuries ago—also makes her a coveted political pawn. Everyone seems to believe that her technomancy can help them win the endless war for control over the magic’s supernatural source.
These senseless power struggles mean little to Adya. But when her enemies dangle news of her sister before her, she’s all too quick to leap at the chance to bring Priya home—even if it means teaming up with a rakish, disreputable thief in order to do it. With the threat of invasion looming ever larger on the horizon, Adya must reconcile the kind of person she is with the kind of person she wants to be and untangle the web of intrigue, conspiracy, and deceit that threatens to take all of India down with it.
The stunning conclusion to the story that started in What the River Knows. A lush immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, and a rivals-to-lovers romance like no other!
1885, Egypt
Inez Olivera is left reeling from her cousin Elvira’s murder, and her mother’s betrayal, and when Tío Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she’s left with only one option to consider.
Marriage to Whitford Hayes.
Former British soldier, her uncle’s aide de camp, and one time nemesis, Whit has his own mysterious reasons for staying in Egypt. With her heart on the line, Inez might have to bind her fate to the one person whose secret plans could ruin her.
Have you read any of these? Or plan to read any of these?
What a week and I didn’t realize mercury was in retrograde until I checked and yup total makes sense! I had ants in the house this week but I found where they were coming in from and plugged the hole up. Then my neighbor had something to show me – apparently the dryer vent cover on the outside of my house was damaged, knocked off? Not sure it happened or when – over time? But my neighbor said he saw a bird come out of my dryer vent! Sure enough I saw it happen with my own eyes – I had to remove all the twigs and leaves they stuffed in there but they kept coming back so I tried to put some chicken fence wire over the hole flap until I could get the right covering at the hardware store. But these mynah birds weren’t hindered and I kept finding twigs hanging out of the hole and having to climb a ladder to remove them. Definitely wish my husband was here to take care of it BUT he’s not 🤷🏻♀️…anyway I got so tired of cleaning the hole, I put a piece of duct tape on the flap and they haven’t been able to remove it – HA! They kept me busy for 2 days until I put that tape – dunno why I didn’t just do that in the first place.
Then I called a vent cleaning service to clean my dryer vent. God knows what those birds shoved into my vent! I even saw a bird on the fence with a small plastic bag in it’s mouth before I shooed it away. It was time to get a vent cleaning anyway, we’ve been at this house for 10 years. And sure enough there was a lot of lint in the vent and strings and other random things the birds have stuffed it with to make a nest. So glad I got it cleaned out!
So after figuring out the ant hole, and tape was the answer for the vent and booking the vent cleaning service, feeling like I accomplished a lot this week fighting animals lol…Wednesday night my son is brushing his teeth in his bathroom at 9pm and then starts yelling “there’s a centipede in the sink!!”. I hate roaches and centipedes but Hawaii has lots of them because of our tropical weather…I’ve done good blocking up cracks at the bottom doors so they don’t come in over the years. And I usually have my hubby deal with the bugs – of course with him not there I had to get brave LOL. UGHHHHH I hate centipedes. The ones in Hawaii sting too – and they are ugly UGH. Usually I find them in my backyard after heavy rains. Guess this one was looking for water or something, I have no clue but it was climbing out of his sink drain. I sprayed blindly at it with a can of Raid and that took care of it. But let me tell you I had a hard time going to sleep after that. Last time one got into the house was 10 years ago 😅. I guess this was our 10 year anniversary centipede. 😫 Let’s just say my son doesn’t want to use his sink and we’ve now kept the sinks plugged up when not in use. Then the next day I had him take our recyclables to our recycle bin outside and he came back with all the items still in his hand and he said “mom there is a centipede by the bin”. And it was a BIG one ughhhhhh – sprayed it and watched it wiggle as I jumped out of it’s way. I said maybe he will have good luck this week LOL. 😅 And he kinda did – he got to 100 subs on his youtube channel this week!
Mercury retrograde and Passover? I was visited by plagues this week – so on brand. 🤦🏻♀️ So not cool! 😅 But it can only get good from now on right?! Right!
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!
Categories: Young Adult, New Adult, Romance, Second Chance Romance
You can’t always go home again.
Ellis and Easton have been inseparable since childhood. But when a rash decision throws Ellis’s life—and her relationship with Easton— into chaos she’s forced to move halfway across the country, far from everything she’s ever known.
Now Ellis hasn’t spoken to Easton in a year, and maybe it’s better that way; maybe eventually the Easton shaped hole in her heart will heal. But when Easton’s mother invites her home for a celebration, Ellis finds herself tangled up in the web of heartache, betrayal, and anger she left behind… and with the boy she never stopped loving.
Having read this after listening to The Tortured Poets Department was such an experience! I didn’t mean for that to happen by the way but that’s what happened. And so many songs were resonating with what was happening in this book and Easton is a tortured poet for sure! What a coincidence right?
Ellis has made it – she graduated from high school in San Diego, a town that isn’t home. Now she is invited back home to Indiana, for a 50th birthday party for the woman who practically raised her and the three boys she was close to when she lived with them. Dixon, and Tucker are like brothers to her but Easton, is something more. There are events that happen in the book leading up to the moment Ellis and Easton are separated which sets off a hard journey for them to get back together.
There is angst, mutual pining, and so many feelings that aren’t communicated between Ellis and Easton. Their love story is so sweet but heart wrenching because she’s the girl from the wrong side of the tracks and Easton is the boy with loving parents and an easy upbringing. They are together, then torn apart, then thank you for the happy-ending, brought back together. I almost thought it wasn’t going to happen though, it got frustrating, but eventually they broke through to one another. A lot of things had to happen, like Ellis really facing her demons and Easton being patient through it all and telling her how he feels. I was sort of rooting for them, but also rooting for them not to be a toxic kind of love.
I loved how Sandry (Easton’s mom) took Ellis in. I love how Tucker became her best friend. But I also love that people in her dysfunctional family loved her too and showed it, like Tenny, her cousin and her grandma. This story showed that families are complicated but there can be love there too. I appreciated the layers of this story.
My Final Thoughts:
I loved this book and I think this author is becoming a must-read author for me. I can’t wait to read more of her books!
Quotes From the Book:
“I’m so sick of waiting to be saved or waiting for find myself because I’m too afraid the person I find will disappoint someone else.”
Some Mistakes Were Made by. Kristin Dwyer
“I stand here and feel other. Not quite one of them, but not quite something else. It’s how I feel everywhere.”
Some Mistakes Were Made by. Kristin Dwyer
“Because all the people who love me don’t want to keep me, but I can’t stop feeling like I need to please them.”
Some Mistakes Were Made by. Kristin Dwyer
“I forgot about this. People who can laugh at shitty things. People who don’t think the sky is falling when something small goes wrong. They call it perspective. Or being jaded. Or worse, a grateful attitude. Really, it’s just survival. A word I hate as much as I own.”
Some Mistakes Were Made by. Kristin Dwyer
“We keep having the same argument with words that circle the same hurt over and over again.”
Categories: Adult, Romance, Second Chance Romance, Marriage in Trouble
He had her, he lost her…and he’ll do anything to win her back.
Powerful, brilliant, and ambitious, Dominic Davenport clawed his way up from nothing to become the King of Wall Street.
He has everything—a beautiful home, a beautiful wife, and more money than he could spend in a lifetime. But no matter how much he accumulates, he’s never satisfied.
In his endless quest for more, he drives away the only person who saw him as enough.
It isn’t until she’s gone that he realizes there may be more to life than riches and glory…but by then, it may be too late.
***
Kind, intelligent, and thoughtful, Alessandra Davenport has played the role of trophy wife for years.
She stood by her husband while he built an empire, but now that they’ve reached the top, she realizes he’s no longer the man she fell for.
When it becomes clear that she’ll always come second to his work, she finally takes charge of her life and puts herself first—even if it means leaving the only man she’s ever loved.
But what she didn’t count on was his refusal to let her go…or for him to fight for their marriage, no matter what it takes.
King of Greed is a steamy marriage in trouble/second chance romance. It’s book three in the Kings of Sin series but can be read as a standalone.
Content Warning:
I’m sad I didn’t love this one and I think it’s because nothing about Alessandra or Dominic was intriguing to me even though when they appeared in the two previous books very briefly I was quite interested in their story.
It’s clear these two love each other very much and maybe the marriage in trouble trope just bored me. I get that Dominic worked too much and put his job first but he had issues from the past that made him want to achieve everything. Thing is I didn’t find him very interesting – his brother Roman was more intriguing! Alessandra was just okay too.
I actually loss interest 30% in and skimmed the rest or else I would have DNF’ed it. I just wish there was more drama and spark between them.
My Final Thoughts:
This one is my least favorite of the Kings of Sins series but I’m still going to read King of Sloth though.
Categories: Young Adult, Historical Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance, Civil War, Vampires
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
A romantic historical fantasy from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Blackwood, set in the American Civil War with vampires and people with demigod-like abilities.
1863, Pennsylvania
War doesn’t scare Jerusalem—she’s a Saint. Thanks to powerful demigod-style reflexes, endurance, and strength, she’s fearless. And ever since the Confederates declared civil war, partnering with the vampires who benefitted off slavery, she and her battalion of Saints are essential to the Union army.
Jerusalem herself had been enslaved by a vampire, escaping North only after her family was murdered. She knows the enemy better, hates the enemy more than anyone in her battalion, and has been using it to her advantage since she joined the war a year ago. More than anything she wants revenge, but if she can help Black people gain freedom and equality without having to steal it for themselves like she had to, then all the better.
But she never expects to have to team up with a vampire to do it. Alexei is one of those handsome, arrogant Ancient Vampires. But he’s on the Union’s side, and in the year they’ve known each other, has never done anything but prove he’s on hers.
Together, they set out to change the course of the war and take down the vampire who destroyed everyone Jerusalem loved. But for her, it’s about more than justice.
It’s about killing a god.
Content Warning: violence, slavery, mentions of rape, war, death
This author always has unique, interesting concepts to her stories, which is why I requested her newest book on NetGalley. America’s Civil War and vampires? I needed to see how this story would play out.
I love the concept. Jerusalem, is a Black girl who is a Saint, which are people with supernatural powers. She’s fearless, which was cool to see. In their unit is Alexei, who is a centuries old vampire – but of course he’s in an 18 year old body. A Russian, white boy, vampire body. He is so enamored with Jerusalem who is always arguing with him – he likes that about her though, that she’s fiesty. They fight for the union army against the confederate soldiers coming up from the South but they go on a secret mission that takes a turn for the worse.
Both Jerusalem and Alexei have interesting back stories. Jerusalem’s story is filled with struggle and fear as she flees to the North to be a free woman. Alexei’s story about being turned into a vampire is sad too as he loses people he love and also becomes a slave to his maker. I liked all the historical elements about the civil war, and the horrible things Black went through as slaves. I even think the paranormal aspects of vampires, werewolves and Saints fit so well in this time period.
As far as the enemies to lovers situation going with Jerusalem and Alexei, I wasn’t sure I was into it. It’s obvious he loved being around her and fighting with her from the beginning of the book. But for Jerusalem, it took her awhile to actually explore her feelings about him – I felt like it was forced a bit. They both had some baggage about their troubled pasts so I kind of wish their romance took a back seat.
I would have loved to learn more about the Saints because I thought that was interesting! I did love Jerusalem’s relationship with Odessa, who tried to keep her in line – especially when she was bickering with Alexei. Something I did struggle with at times was the speech. Jerusalem speech most times sounded so modern, and in a weird way made me think she and Alexei just didn’t mesh well because she was clearly young, while he was a very, very old guy in a young body!
My Thoughts:
I like the uniqueness of this story and I was invested in it until the modern speech started to bother me, and the thought of Alexei being thousands of years old and Jerusalem just 18 started to make me feel uncomfortable. And usually I don’t care if vampires who look 18 are with other 18 year olds but I think the speech differences between them just threw me off on the whole thing. I think if the romance wasn’t so in the forefront, I would have enjoyed it more because I liked the historical aspects and the action and fighting between the Saints and the enemies. Overall, it was an okay read.
The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What have you just finished reading?
What are you going to read next?
I haven’t picked up a book all weekend because I’ve been streaming Taylor Swift’s new album and trying to decode the lyrics – it’s been a grower for me but so good! I can’t believe we are almost at the end of April. My daughter is going to be busy with her tap recital being next week so we have stage rehearsals this week. Not sure if I’ll finish any books this week but I do have an audiobook I can listen to.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 