Month: October 2022

What Are You Reading? (624)

Posted October 28, 2022 by Holly in Features | 2 Comments

Casee

I’ve been reading quite a lot recently. I finished Into the Darkness (Darkness #5) by Katie Reus. I’m now reading Saved by Darkness (Darkness #6). I’m really enjoying this series. I love dragon shifters & Reus did a phenomenal job with the world building in this series. I’m enjoying it immensely. I haven’t really been into reading contemporaries lately, but I decided to try Things We Never Got Over (Knockemout #1) by Lucy Score. I’m hoping this book will get me back into a contemporary mood.

I’ve been listening to my Julie Garwood favorites on audio. I finished The Wedding (love this book!) and am currently listening to The Lion’s Lady. Although I love the story, the narrator is annoying af. All the whispering drives me crazy.

Holly

Life got in the way last week and we weren’t able to update. I finished reading Caszandra by Andrea K. Höst and I downloaded the Gratuitous Epilogue, which I ended up setting aside after reading about 1/4 of it. I will go back to it someday soon, but I needed a break from the series. I also finished Her Baseborn Bridegroom by Alice Coldbreath. I really enjoyed the story once I moved away from the audiobook and read the ebook instead.

I reread Repeat by Kylie Scott, Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh and Honor’s Splendour by Julie Garwood, them moved on to Radiant Darkness by Anna Carven, the latest Darkstar Mercenaries release. I enjoyed the overall storyarc, but the inner dialogue frustrated me in this book. Not Part of the Plan, the 4th book in the Blue Moon series, by Lucy Score was good. I liked Emma and Nico and I was glad to revisit the town.

I’m currently rereading the Federation Chronicles by Lauren Dane. It’s been years since I read this series. I hope it’s as good as I remember. I’m currently reading Relentless and so far I’m enjoying. I’m listening to The Perfect Rake by Anne Gracie. I’ve read the story before, but this is my first time listening to the audio. I’m enjoying the narrator.

What are you reading this week? Any new favorites or books that drove you crazy? Share!


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Review: The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

Posted October 24, 2022 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 Comments

Review: The Heart Principle by Helen HoangReviewer: Rowena
The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang
Series: The Kiss Quotient #3
Also in this series: The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient, #1), The Bride Test
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date: August 31, 2021
Format: eARC
Source: NetGalley
Point-of-View: Alternating Third
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Content Warning: View Spoiler »
Genres: Contemporary Romance
Pages: 343
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

A woman struggling with burnout learns to embrace the unexpected—and the man she enlists to help her—in this new New York Times bestselling romance by Helen Hoang.

When violinist Anna Sun accidentally achieves career success with a viral YouTube video, she finds herself incapacitated and burned out from her attempts to replicate that moment. And when her longtime boyfriend announces he wants an open relationship before making a final commitment, a hurt and angry Anna decides that if he wants an open relationship, then she does, too. Translation: She’s going to embark on a string of one-night stands. The more unacceptable the men, the better.

That’s where tattooed, motorcycle-riding Quan Diep comes in. Their first attempt at a one-night stand fails, as does their second, and their third, because being with Quan is more than sex—he accepts Anna on an unconditional level that she herself has just started to understand. However, when tragedy strikes Anna’s family she takes on a role that she is ill-suited for, until the burden of expectations threatens to destroy her. Anna and Quan have to fight for their chance at love, but to do that, they also have to fight for themselves.

It’s been quite a while since I’ve written a book review so please bear with me as I jump back into this bitch. It’s also been a little bit since I read this book but I came across my notes that I wrote for this book so I’m reviewing it. I’m not going to get into what this book was about, the summary does a great job of explaining what we’re getting into so I’m jumping right into my thoughts.

This is the third book in the Kiss Quotient series by Helen Hoang. It’s the book that I was really looking forward to because it’s Quan’s book! Lovely Quan, Michael’s cousin from The Kiss Quotient. He was such a memorable character for me. I’m a bit sad that this was Quan’s story because we got more Anna than Quan. I felt that Quan was part of Anna’s story and that was a bummer for me. Quan was such a delightful and interesting character so I felt he was cheated and even after all of this time, I’m still not over that.

That’s not to say that I hated Anna or that I hated the book. I just wish that Quan had gotten another story where he shined and was front and center instead of being featured in someone else’s story. There is a lot of heavy stuff tackled in this book and I understood and even connected with Anna through all of it. There were times when I really felt for Anna and wanted to fight every single member of her family because holy shit are they toxic as hell but there were also times when I wanted to smack some sense into Anna as well.

The little Quan that we got in this book was fantastic. My heart hurt for him and what he was going through and seeing him work through each of his struggles made my love for him stronger. I loved the way that he loved Anna. I loved the way that he was up for anything and willing to do whatever he can to support Anna with everything she was going through. Even when he didn’t know how to support her or even if he had to do things that hurt him in order to support her, he was ready and willing.

The romance between Quan and Anna was small but what we got worked. I just wanted more. As a romance, which is what I assumed I was getting, this was okay but this would have worked better for me had it been a women’s fiction story but I’m still salty about not getting as much Quan as I wanted.

3 out of 5

The Kiss Quotient Series

three-stars


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Review: Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik

Posted October 17, 2022 by Holly in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Hunt the Stars by Jessie MihalikReviewer: Holly
Hunt the Stars by Jessie Mihalik
Series: Starlight's Shadow #1
Also in this series: Eclipse the Moon
Publisher: Harper Collins, Harper Voyager
Publication Date: February 1, 2022
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Point-of-View: First
Cliffhanger: View Spoiler »
Genres: Science Fiction
Pages: 419
Add It: Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Ripped Bodice | Google Play Books
three-half-stars
Series Rating: four-stars

The critically acclaimed author of Polaris Rising takes readers on an exciting journey with the start of her brand-new series about a female bounty hunter and the man who is her sworn enemy.
Octavia Zarola would do anything to keep her tiny, close-knit bounty hunting crew together—even if it means accepting a job from Torran Fletcher, a ruthless former general and her sworn enemy. When Torran offers her enough credits to not only keep her crew afloat but also hire someone to fix her ship, Tavi knows that she can’t refuse—no matter how much she’d like to.
With so much money on the line, Torran and his crew insist on joining the hunt. Tavi reluctantly agrees because while the handsome, stoic leader pushes all of her buttons—for both anger and desire—she’s endured worse, and the massive bonus payment he’s promised for a completed job is reason enough to shut up and deal.
But when they uncover a deeper plot that threatens the delicate peace between humans and Valoffs, Tavi suspects that Torran has been using her as the impetus for a new war. With the fate of her crew balanced on a knife’s edge, Tavi must decide where her loyalties lie—with the quiet Valoff who’s been lying to her, or with the human leaders who left her squad to die on the battlefield. And this time, she’s put her heart on the line.

Tavi was a soldier who saw terrible things in war. Now she and what remains of her team are mercenaries. When she’s approached by the general of the opposing army with a job, he makes it too lucrative to refuse. She’s suspicious of his motives and the job, but not enough to walk away from the fortune he’s offering her. She knows he’s hiding things, but she has no idea the depth of his secrets until it’s almost too late….

Mihalik is excellent at writing very immersive stories. I easily fell into this. I enjoyed Tavi and her team. They worked very well together and I appreciated the way they incorporated Tarran’s team into their plans. I’m very much looking forward to more from this series.

Rating: 3.75 out of 5

Starlight’s Shadow

Capture the Sun

three-half-stars


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What Are You Reading? (623)

Posted October 14, 2022 by Casee in Features | 3 Comments

Casee

I have been really into dragons the last few months. I’m currently reading Drakon’s Prey (Blood of the Drakon #2) by NJ Walters. I’m also reading Taste of Darkness (Darkness #2) by Katie Reus.

I’m listening to The Secret by Julie Garwood. I love this book and narrator.

Holly

Some number of years ago, reader Kareni recommended Stray by Andrea K. Höst (free for Kindle currently). I downloaded it then and tried to read it several times, but had a hard time getting into it. This week I pushed through the first 1/4 and I’m really glad I did. I’ve since finished it, Lab Rat One, the second book, and am in the middle of Caszandra, the third book. While I have found parts of the series to be very slow, it’s very intriguing and I can’t wait to see where things end. Many thanks to Kareni for the rec!

Otherwise, I started listening to Her Baseborn Bridegroom by Alice Coldbreath, but I ended up setting it aside. I plan to go back and read it. The narrator just wasn’t working for me.

What are you reading this week? Any new favorites or books that drove you crazy? Share!


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Books to Binge On: October 2022

Posted October 10, 2022 by Holly in Features | 3 Comments

Books to Binge On

Our Books to Binge On feature is pretty simple in its purpose. Every month, we put together a monthly new releases list of books that we’re all looking forward to. These are the books that we can’t wait to read and want everyone to add to their monthly binge-reading lists. Here are the books that we plan to binge on in October of 2022.


Archangel’s Resurrection (Guild Hunter #15) by Nalini Singh

New York Times Bestselling author Nalini Singh takes us into the dangerous, haunting world of archangels…and a love that is legend.

For thousands of years, the passion between Alexander, Archangel of Persia, and Zanaya, Queen of the Nile, burned furious and bright, seemingly without end. But to be an archangel is to be bound to power violent and demanding. Driven by its primal energy, Alexander and Zanaya fought as fiercely as they loved. Locked in an endless cycle of devotion and heartbreak, it is only Zanaya’s decision to Sleep that ends their love story.

Eons later, it is the Cascade of Death that wakens them both. The passion between them a flame that yet burns, Alexander and Zanaya stand together in one last battle against the ultimate darkness. But even a warrior archangel cannot win every war. Alexander’s scream shatters the world as Zanaya falls, broken and silent…only to rise again in a miracle that may be a devastating curse. For is it truly the Queen of the Nile who has been resurrected?

Only one thing is clear: this is the last beat of their passionate, angry dance. The final song for Alexander and his Zani…

Casee: So excited for this one!

Holly: Finally, Alexander!


The Askseli (Aldebarian Alliance #4) by Dianne Duvall

Simone has hunted and slain psychotic vampires night after night for hundreds of years and desperately needs a change. When the leader of the Immortal Guardians offers her an opportunity to guard ten mortal women who are venturing to another planet, she dives right in and finds traveling into space and meeting amazing alien races just as exciting as she’d hoped… until an enemy attacks. Simone saves everyone she can before she’s thrust into an escape pod and the ship explodes. Alone, fearing some—if not all—of her friends have been killed, she vows to seek vengeance.

Despite his fierce reputation and propensity for violating the law, Janwar has formed a friendship with strait-laced Prince Taelon of Lasara. When the prince’s ship is destroyed, Janwar joins the massive Aldebarian Alliance-wide search and rescue mission and soon locates the Gathendien ship that launched the attack. An odd thing happens, however, as he and his crew stealthily approach it. The lifeforms inside begin to perish, two or three at a time in quick succession. Much to his surprise, someone else has reached the ship first: one of the very Earth women he hoped to rescue.

Fascinatingly fierce, Simone bands together with Janwar and his crew to search for her missing friends and wreak havoc upon those who wish to harm them. She also widens eyes, drops jaws, and sparks laughter and mischief as she banishes the warriors’ world-weariness and makes each day seem like a new adventure. The friendship that grows between Janwar and Simone swiftly deepens into love. But the enemy warriors they face are tenacious and boast more weapons in their arsenal than the alliance knows. Can Janwar, Simone, and such a small crew vanquish them?

Casee: SF isn’t usually my thing, but I adore this series.

Holly: Finally, Janwar!


Garrett’s Destiny (Dark Protectors #15) by Rebecca Zanetti

Love and danger . . .
For most of his life, Vampire-Demon Garrett Kayrs, nephew of the King of the Realm, has carried a heavy mantle of responsibility with ease and control. Fate declared him heir to the throne, Fortune marked him with the power of the mysterious circle of Seven, and Chance promised more surprises to come. Nothing deterred him from his path. Until the nightmares began–agonizing dreams of having a female, the female, his mate, on the back of his motorcycle—only to have her torn away from his protection. He feels the menace around her, the danger she’s in, and he can’t rest until he finds her . . .

Duty and desire . . .
Destiny Applegate bears the weight of her name with a respectful balance of fear and purpose. She has been given some direction, but not nearly enough to truly understand her duty, what she was born to do. Even as a child, she had a sense of him. The him, her mate. A dream moment or two with him that might have saved her—or possibly cursed her. So now, when he finds her, she has no choice but to jump on the back of his bike and do her best to hold on until she discovers her path—even if that means ending his.

Casee: I loved this book!

What books are you looking forward to reading this month? Share in the comments!


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