Tag: indie author

Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: October 2024

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I just want cooler weather.

Favorites this month:

  • Silver and Bone
  • Goodbye Again
  • Holiday Tides
  • Across the Ages
  • The Twisted Throne
  • A Tale Told by Traitors
  • Home Run Heart
  • A Queen of Ice

Least favorites

  • Kiss Me at Christmas
  • Blood of the Sands
  • All I Want Is You
  • [ARC] The Book of Witching by C.J. Cooke
  • [ARC/ALC] The Last Dragon of the East by Katrina Kwan
  • [ARC] Silver and Bone (Silver and Bone #1) by Claudia Cain
  • A Crane Among Wolves by June Hur
  • The House at Watch Hill (Watch Hill Trilogy #1) by Karen Marie Moning
  • Goodbye Again by Caitlin Moss
  • [ARC/Novella] Holiday Tides (A Wilks Beach Holiday Novella) by Laura Langa
  • [ARC] The Gentleman’s Confession (Matchmaking Mamas #3) by Anneka R. Walker
  • The Dagger and the Flame (The City of Fantome #1) by Catherine Doyle
  • Vilest Things (Flesh and False Gods #2) by Chloe Gong
  • Across the Ages (Timeless #4) by Gabrielle Meyer
  • One on One by Jamie Harrow
  • Tell Me You Love Me (The Boys of Riverside #4) by Gracie Graham
  • The Twisted Throne (The Bridge Kingdom #5) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew
  • The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
  • [Novella] Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood
  • [ARC] A Tale Told by Traitors (Tales of Wonder and Woe #2) by R. Dugan
  • [ARC] Home Run Heart (Kitt’s Harbor #2) by Hailey Gardiner
  • For She is Wrath by Emily Varga
  • We Three Kings by Kristen Bailey
  • Kiss Me at Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
  • Blood of the Sands (The Ballan Desert #1) by S.C. Grayson
  • The Secret of the Book Keeper (The Secret of the Book Keeper #1) by J.A. Hemingway
  • Miss Adeline’s Match by Joanna Barker
  • Wanted: A Roommate Who Isn’t Evil (High Court of the Coffee Bean #3) by Jennifer Kropf
  • All I Want Is You by Falon Ballard
  • Season’s Schemings (Cyclones Christmas #2) by Katie Bailey
  • Fighting for You (Veterans of Silver Ridge #4) by Claire Cain
  • [ARC] Spectacular (Caraval #3.5) by Stephanie Garber
  • Not Like Other Girls by Meredith Adamo
  • Not a Thing (Seddledown #2) by Susan Henshaw
  • The Slowest Burn by Sarah Chamberlain
  • [ARC] A Queen of Ice (A Trial of Sorcerers #5) by Elise Kova
  • Inheritance of Scars by Crystal Seitz

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ARC Book Review: Silver and Bone (Silver and Bone #1) by Claudia Cain

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Urban Fantasy Mystery
Length: 334 pages
Author: Claudia Cain
Publisher: Black Sheep Books
Release Date: October 31st, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Jennifer Jones is trying to be a better person. As a vampire with a history of serial killing, she probably can’t get any worse.

For seventy years, things have gone well. She has a job, she’s in a steady relationship, and she hasn’t killed a single human. As far as she’s concerned, she’s turned over a new leaf.

Then a body turns up in an alley. A Necromancer warns of an approaching menace. And as more bodies appear, repeating a very familiar pattern, Jennifer finds herself being framed for murder.

You might be able to ignore your past, but you can’t outrun it, and Jennifer’s has just caught up to her. The life she has built is beginning to unravel, and if she doesn’t prove her innocence, she will lose everything.

And maybe she deserves it.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

WHAT A START.

OH my gosh I loved this book y’all. I need book two ASAP. I LOVE Jennifer Jones. Her whole character is immaculately crafted and I am obsessed with her snarky personality that is also filled with love and loyalty to those around her. This book kind of reads like one of those NCIS types of shows but throw in a whole bunch of paranormal characters.

I loved the entire cast. I just don’t have one negative to say about the entire book. I was hooked from the get go and the slow reveals were fantastic. It’s fast paced and full of action. I loved the flashback chapters and the world set-up. As someone who’s generally not an urban fantasy lover, this one HIT ALL THE MARKS.

But excuse me, THE ENDING. I am shooketh. And I’m so curious how this story will continue and where things will lead to next.

Claudia Cain is a hidden gem and you absolutely need to take a chance on her books.

Overall audience notes:

  • Urban Fantasy Mystery
  • Language: low
  • Romance: kisses
  • Violence: high
  • Content Warnings: blood/gore depiction involving deaths from vampires, murder, kidnapping, torture, werewolf attacks

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Book Review: The Secret of the Book Keeper by J.A. Hemingway

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Rating: ★★★★
Audience: YA Paranormal/Fantasy
Length: 300 pages
Author: J.A. Hemingway
Publisher: Glenthorne Press
Release Date: October 15th, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Theo, a 17-year-old American backpacker exploring Europe, tries to brush off the odd behavior of the townspeople of Bridgingdale, an obscure English village—until a suspicious fire in the town square reveals the first of the town’s many secrets.
At the center of it all is the mysterious and daring 17-year-old Leyna, a Book Keeper with an ancient calling to mend tears between the literary world and reality.
When fantastical monsters and villains start escaping their stories, Leyna insists it is someone else’s nefarious doing, but the townspeople refuse to accept this as possible. Only Theo believes her. Together they must work to discover and stop the saboteur before it’s too late . . . for both worlds.

Thank you to the author for a gifted copy.

GREAT FOR YA.

What I loved most about this was that it’s a book you can easily hand to a teenager without any glaring content warnings for a category that’s hard to describe.

I thought the story was great. It’s a fun concept with the hidden town and all of the monsters jumping out of classic books. I liked the action it brought and seeing how the characters worked together each time.

Theo, I adored. He was a wonderful MMC. Easy to root for, open to rolling with new information and a loyal person. I liked his friendship with Leyna (and maybe a little bit of romance too?) and am excited to see that continue in book two.

This is an urban/portal fantasy and not a full fledged new world or anything. Diving into different books was fun and y’all know I love a Pride and Prejudice moment. I thought the magic system worked well inside the confines of the magical realism. The ending was solid and left a good opening for the next book that I definitely will be reading.

Overall audience notes:

  • YA Urban/Portal fantasy
  • Language: none
  • Romance: flirting
  • Violence: low – moderate

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ARC Book Review: Home Run Heart by Hailey Gardiner

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Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 300 pages
Author: Hailey Gardiner
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 23rd, 2024
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

There have only ever been two things that Brooks Alden can say he truly baseball and Nora Foster, the girl he dated in high school.

Returning home in the off-season gives Brooks an opportunity he never thought he’d get a second chance encounter with a now-divorced Nora. Suddenly, the hometown he’s avoided for so long becomes a place to make new memories together. They make a bargain that entails spending five Fridays sharing new experiences in the hopes that Brooks will discover that there’s more to life than baseball, while also helping Nora cope with the resulting grief of her divorce and the demands of single motherhood.

In this second chance, sweet romantic comedy, Brooks and Nora must find the courage to discover what makes them happy and learn what it feels like to have their hearts hit a home run.

Home Run Heart is a closed-door, second chance, sweet baseball romance that delivers on all the swoon without the spice. Books in the Kitt’s Harbor series are stand-alone novels but might be best enjoyed if read in order.

Thank you to the author for an eARC.

IN LOVE.

You know what really makes me smitten? Second chance romances written like this. Good heavens y’all. IT WAS SO GOOD. What I loved most, is that this story was low on the drama and high on the romance. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes I’m in the mood for drama, but what I crave other times is a slow, steady, soft and tender romance. If you need the soft and sweet right now, READ THIS BOOK.

I adored Brooks and Nora (hello dual POV, I love you). I loved the focus on therapy and working through past trauma and high pressure life styles and learning to balance what needs to be done and what you can do for yourself. There were many deep conversations and I am always looking for true communication and I liked seeing those moments between Brooks and Nora. And also, Ollie?? He was so precious!! And let it be known I was a puddle on the ground anytime he and Brooks interacted. PUDDLE.

This is a very fast paced read and will absolutely suck you in. I am now demanding that more closed door baseball romances because this is a niche I didn’t know I needed. I am such a fan girl of Hailey Gardiner’s writing and story telling abilities. Do not skip out on her books.

Overall audience notes:

  • Sports romance
  • Language: none
  • Romance: kisses
  • Content Warnings: emotionally abusive father, divorce and infidelity (recounted)

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