June 2022 wrap-up!

Hey guys! Today I’m sharing my June wrap-up. I’ve been in a fantasy mood recently so I read a lot of fantasy books this month. Also, if you weren’t aware, one of my reading goals this year is to read all of my Illumicrate books so you’ll see a couple of those on the list. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg: I’ve been eagerly awaiting this book ever since Sasha first announced she was working on it. I was a bit hesitant going into it after how much I disliked Zenith, but I was curious to see how she’d do on her own and it did sound interesting. I needn’t have worried because I thoroughly enjoyed it and I’m glad Sasha took her time with it. It was easy to see how much research she had done and it didn’t feel rushed at all. It ends on a jaw-dropping cliffhanger and now I’m going to be impatiently waiting for the second book!

ARC REVIEW: Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg

Title: Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg
Published by: Inkyard Press
Genre: Fantasy
Format: eARC
Amazon UK

Synopsis:

Fate brought them together. Time will tear them apart.

When a mysterious Scotsman suddenly appears in the middle of the road, Klara thinks the biggest problem is whether she hit him with her car. But, as impossible as it sounds, Callum has stepped out of another time, and it’s just the beginning of a deadly adventure.

Klara will soon learn that she is the last Pillar of Time—an anchor point in the timeline of the world and a hiding place for a rogue goddess’s magic. Callum believes he’s fated to protect her at all costs after being unable to protect the previous Pillar, his best friend, Thomas. A dark force is hunting the Pillars to claim the power of the goddess—and Klara and Callum are the only two people standing in the way. Thrown together by fate, the two have to learn to trust each other and work together…but they’ll need to protect their hearts from one another if they’re going to survive.

BLOG TOUR: Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid

Title: Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid
Published by: Del Rey
Genre: Fantasy/Horror
Format: Hardback
Amazon UK

Synopsis:

As the last true witches living in a city shifting from magic to industry, Marlinchen and her two sisters are little more than tourist traps as they treat their clients with archaic remedies and beguile them with nostalgic charm. Marlinchen spends her days divining secrets in exchange for rubles and trying to placate their tyrannical, xenophobic wizard father, who keeps his daughters sequestered from the outside world. While at night, she and her sisters sneak out to enjoy the city’s amenities and revel in its thrills, particularly the recently established ballet theatre, where Marlinchen meets a dancer who quickly captures her heart.

But as Marlinchen’s late-night trysts grow more fervent and frequent, so does the threat of her father’s rage and magic. And while the city flourishes with culture and bustles with enterprise, a monster lurks in its midst, borne of intolerance and resentment and suffused with old-world power. Caught between history and progress and blood and desire, Marlinchen must draw upon her own magic to keep her city safe and find her place within it.

May 2022 wrap-up!

Hey guys! Today I’m bringing you a very late May wrap-up. I read ten books and the majority of them were review copies so I was trying to focus on getting the reviews published. Here’s what I read:

Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister: First up was this very interesting crime thriller mixed with time travel. It’s the first book I’ve read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the time travel would be a bit confusing but it’s actually brilliant and the timeline is easy to follow.

His Other Woman by Sarah Edghill: Next up I read this domestic thriller. I did enjoy the suspense and the toxic relationships between certain characters but the main character was quite irritating in the way she behaved and acted. I don’t want to spoil the plot but I thought she was responsible for a lot of what went wrong. Also, I wasn’t very satisfied with the ending and thought it was abrupt. I would have preferred a different ending.

ARC REVIEW: This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede

Title: This Vicious Grace by Emily Thiede
Published by: Hodder & Stoughton 
Publication date: 28th June 2022
Genre: Young Adult/Fantasy
Format: eARC
Amazon UK

Synopsis:

Her gift can save . . . or it can kill.

Three weddings. Three funerals. Alessa’s gift from the gods is supposed to magnify a partner’s magic, not kill every suitor she touches.

Now, with only weeks left until a hungry swarm of demons devours everything on her island home, Alessa is running out of time to find a partner and stop the invasion. When a powerful priest convinces the faithful that killing Alessa is the island’s only hope, her own soldiers try to assassinate her.

Desperate to survive, Alessa hires Dante, a cynical outcast marked as a killer, to become her personal bodyguard. But as rebellion explodes outside the gates, Dante’s dark secrets may be the biggest betrayal. He holds the key to her survival and her heart, but is he the one person who can help her master her gift or destroy her once and for all?

ARC REVIEW: Throw Me to the Wolves by Lindy Ryan and Christopher Brooks

Title: Throw Me to the Wolves by Lindy Ryan and Christopher Brooks
Published by: Black Spot Books
Publication date: 24th May 2022
Genre: Horror/Science fiction/Fantasy
Format: eBook
Amazon UK

Synopsis:

Some evil wants to live forever.

Ten years ago a witch sacrificed Britta Orchid’s family and turned her into a werewolf. Selena Stone’s spell failed, and she was never seen again. Until now.

Officer Aaron Labaye has discovered Selena’s remains in the house where Britta’s family died, and dragged Britta back to Louisiana to aid the investigation, hoping her past will break the case. Britta has a hard time resisting the handsome rookie, especially when he shows her a new drawing by her murdered little brother: Britta in her wolf-form.

As an unseen hand sets events in motion, Britta has to help Labaye dig into the murders old and new. The bloodthirsty ghost of her brother, a jealous member from her pack, and a former friend with a serious prejudice against wolves all stand to stop Britta as she fights to finally get the truth about that night ten years ago. But, as she looks harder than ever into her own dark past, Britta will confront more than just her own demons as she fights for peace for herself and for her family. She can’t hide anymore, but must find her place in a world she’s avoided—and discover what it truly means to be a wolf.

Book series I’m giving up on

Hey guys! Today I’m going to be sharing with you some book series that I have decided not to finish. I recently went through my shelves and I noticed quite a lot of series that I don’t want to continue with mainly because I’ve lost interest in them or I just didn’t enjoy the first book. So let’s get into it!

Ninth House (Alex Stern) by Leigh Bardugo: I originally said that I was going to continue with this series; however, I’ve completely lost interest in it now. I read it in 2020 and the second book isn’t out until 2023. I can’t remember what happened so I’d have to read the first book again and I honestly don’t want to. I didn’t particularly enjoy it as all the worldbuilding was crammed into the first half of the story, which made it really boring and difficult to get through. I didn’t like Alex either and I’m just not interested in reading more about her.

Roar by Cora Carmack: I read this in 2018 and I really enjoyed it and wanted to continue with this series. However, there’s been no information about the third book or when it will be published and it’s another one that I’ve unfortunately lost interest in now. With so many series being published each year, I’m not going to wait three or four years for one to be finished. I’d rather just give up on it and move on to something else. It’s a shame because I did really enjoy this one but since I don’t know if or when the third book will be published, it’s time to move on.

March 2022 wrap-up!

Hey guys! Today I’ll be sharing the books I read in March. This has been my best reading month so far as I read 9 books and two of them were five stars. Here’s what I read:

Run, Rose, Run by Dolly Parton and James Patterson: I was so excited to get an ARC of this as it was one of my most anticipated reads and it did not disappoint. It’s my first five star read this year and one I’ll be recommending to everyone. It’s a thriller but it mainly focuses on the music industry. The main character is a rising star but she’s also running from her past, which is quickly catching up to her. It’s a really fun read and I fell in love with the characters. I would love to read another book from Dolly and James in the future.

February 2022 Wrap-Up!

Hey guys! Today I’ll be talking about the books I read in February. I read a great mix of books this month and I managed to read another two Illumicrate books from my 2021 stack! Here’s what I read:

The Devil Makes Three by Tori Bovalino: I was so looking forward to this one as it’s dark academia but I found it really disappointing. It took so long for anything to happen and then when it did, it seemed to be more of a subplot than the actual main plot. It follows Tessa and Eliot who accidentally release a demon from his book-bound prison and they have to work together to re-trap him. I had a lot of issues with this book, the main one being Eliot’s magic. Eliot supposedly has magic but it’s never explored and it felt completely pointless for it to have been included in the story. All we’re told is that Eliot got his magic from his mother; we’re never told if anyone else knows about the magic or has it, or if there’s a magical society. He doesn’t even use the magic to take the demon down so, again, I’m not even sure why it was included because it seemed pretty pointless to me. The only thing I enjoyed about this story was what the demon does when it’s free. There was some really creepy scenes and I definitely think there’s potential for the author to write a proper horror story. Unfortunately, this wasn’t for me but maybe I’ll see what Bovalino writes next.