Book Review: A Crown of the Gods (Shadows and Crowns #4) by S.M. Gaither

September 1, 2022July 5, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 500 pages
Author: S.M. Gaither
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: June 28th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

The highest throne in the Kethran Empire lies vacant, its once-ruler now a god-ascending, bringing more chaos and darkness to an already chaotic world. The line between the divine and mortal realms is blurring. The battlefield is set. A final, devastating war is on the horizon.

Casia Greythorne has finally come home to claim the throne that is rightfully hers—one that she hopes she can use to unite her empire and help it survive a war with the very gods themselves. But to take hold of her crown, she’ll have to wrestle it free of a past that she’s avoided for too long. One that is even more complicated than she realized.

The answers she needs to win her war—and save her world and the people she loves—all lie within that past…

But discovering them might destroy any hope she has of a future.

WHEN CAN I GET THE NEXT ONE.

I adore this series. Another great installment with another cliffhanger that had me going WHAT and now I wait for the finale coming in a few months.

This is such a great example of romantasy. I loooove Elander and Casia. They are constantly working together, and even if some poorer decisions were made in this read I really appreciated the way they can have a true conversation together. I just love them. I almost thought the spice was going to land in the, is this really necessary?, category, but luckily I thought most of it worked with the storyline.

I love the complicated villain aspects too. It shows other sides I wasn’t expecting and keep me very much intrigued in to how things will work out in the end. The plot keeps moving and the assortment of gods that show up is a great plot aspect. I like that I can remember who’s who easily enough and that all of the conundrum involving multiple characters lives make sense.

The finale is sure to be a wild one and I am ANXIOUS.

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance
Language: some strong
Romance: three open door (low/med explicit)
Violence: high
Trigger/Content Warnings: anxiety depiction, loss of life

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: August 2022

August 31, 2022August 29, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

I finally had a great reading month again! Only one 2 star read and I am hoping to ride this high through the fall.

Favorites this month:

The River of Silver
Well Traveled
A Tale of Stars and Shadow (full series)
Miss Newbury’s List
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy
Kiss and Tell
Eloise and the Grump Next Door
Violet Made of Thorns
Royally Rearranged (reread)
Red Rising (reread)
Begin Again
Complete
Hidden Waters
The Paris Secret

Least favorite:

The Even Odder Couple
Echoes of TIme
In the Weeds
Love on the Brain
Back to You

The Reigning and the Rule (Surviving Trace #2) by Calia Read
[ARC] Defend the Dawn (Defy the Night #2) by Brigid Kemmerer
All Tricked Out (Wayfair Witches #13) by A.A. Albright
The River of Silver (The Daevabad Trilogy #4) by S.A. Chakraborty
The Even Odder Couple (Apple Valley Love Stories #4) by Julie Christianson
[ARC] Wild is the Witch by Rachel Griffin
[ARC] Well Traveled (Well Met #4) by Jen DeLuca
Scales of Ash & Smoke (Ash & Smoke #1) by Emily L. Schneider
A Tale of Stars and Shadow (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #1) by Lisa Cassidy
[ARC] Miss Newbury’s List by Megan Walker
Echoes of Time (Surviving Time #3) by Calia Read
Luna and the Lie by Mariana Zapata
Faking it (Wayfair Witches #14) by A.A. Albright
A Prince of Song and Shade (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #2) by Lisa Cassidy
Brought to Light by Allie Lewis
A Lady’s Guide to Fortune-Hunting by Sophie Irwin
[ARC] The Do-Over by Lynn Painter
[Reread] Red Rising (Red Rising #1) by Pierce Brown
Testing Times (Wayfair Witches #15) by A.A. Albright
[ARC] The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
Upgrade by Blake Crouch
Kiss and Tell (Creekville Kisses #3) by Melanie Jacobson
[ARC] Eloise and the Grump Next Door (Oakley Island Romcoms #1) by Emma St. Clair and Jenny Proctor
Violet Made of Thorns (Violet Made of Thorns #1) by Gina Chen
[ARC] In the Weeds (Lovelight #2) by B.K. Borison
[Reread] Royally Rearranged (Sweet Royal Romcom #1) by Emma St. Clair
[ARC] Begin Again by Emma Lord
[ARC] Ledge (The Glacian Trilogy #1) by Stacey McEwan
A King of Masks and Magic (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #3) by Lisa Cassidy
A Duet of Sword and Song (A Tale of Stars and Shadow #4) by Lisa Cassidy
A Duel with the Vampire Lord (Married to Magic #3) by Elise Kova
The Hookup Plan (The Boyfriend Project #3) by Farrah Rochon
[ARC] To Capture His Heart (Matchmakers #2) by Nancy Campbell Allen
Complete (The Sweet RomComs #3) by Kortney Keisel
[ARC] The Liar’s Crown (Dominion #1) by Abigail Owen
Unhappening Ever After (Wayfair Witches #16) by A.A. Albright
Promised by Leah Garriot
Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
A Confirmed Rake (The Donovans #2) by Martha Keyes
Back to You (San Diego Marines #1) by Jess Mastorakos
Hidden Waters (Tattered & Torn #3) by Catherine Cowles
The Paris Secret by Natasha Lester

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Book Review: A Lady on the Chase (Wycliffe Family #3) by Jessica Scarlett

August 30, 2022February 25, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Regency Romance
Length: 336 pages
Author: Jessica Scarlett
Publisher: Redwing Publishing
Release Date: October 2021
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Her father promised her to one man.
She promised her heart to a second.
Until she meets the third.

Lady Alicia Kendall has it all: wealth, beauty, suitors–and a history of creating scandals. The only thing she doesn’t have is her best friend and man of her dreams, Henry Crawley. When Henry announces his plans to join the Regulars, her father’s adamant disapproval of him deepens and prompts a deal to be struck:

She has two weeks to secure Henry’s proposal, or she must give him up forever and marry a man of her father’s choosing.

Alicia agrees. But when one of her attempts goes awry, she gets a begrudging proposal from someone else entirely–Matthew Wycliffe. The most condescending man ever to walk the face of the earth, and her newly-discovered nemesis.

If only to avoid yet another scandal, Alicia accepts Mr. Wycliffe’s offer. After all, with the deal she struck with her father, she’ll never marry the man anyway. But as they endure dark castles, hot-tempered soldiers, and hidden secrets brought to light all in their quest for a proposal from Henry, Alicia notices something different about the insufferable, grumbling Matthew Wycliffe. And she wonders if perhaps the proposal she wants is the one she’s already received.

ALL THE DANG STARS

OH MY GOSH I LOVED THIS BOOK SO DANG MUCH.

The tension, THE ANGST, the banter, swooning all over the place. This is proof yet again, that just because a book is “only kissing” doesn’t mean it can’t bring the heat in other romantic ways.

I absolutely adored Alicia and Matthew. Total opposites attract. A bit of grump and sunshine, and oh yeah, FAKE ENGAGEMENT. A trope combination of my dreams. I was laughing, smiling, and tearing up. I found myself feeling allllll the emotions. Every time these two tried flirting with each other had me in stitches. I love that this had some modern-esque tidbits because it became the perfect refresh in this genre.

I really liked how intricate the plot ended up being. It’s all very fast paced, and it works. Everything is given it’s due and the scenes necessary to further the plot happen. I do think Lord Hawthorne was the only one without a place but he did provide some comedic moments.

The build here was incredible. I was utterly wrapped up in this story and take full responsibility for the lack of sleep it caused. WORTH IT. I am still flailing around to anyone who’ll listen that you should read this book.

YOU SHOULD READ THIS BOOK.

Overall audience notes:

Regency romance
Language: none
Romance: kisses
Trigger/Content Warnings: loss of Mother (by childbirth with flashback moments)

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Book Review: Love in Bloom (Some Kind of Love #4) by Jenny Proctor

August 27, 2022May 24, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★★
Audience: Contemporary Romance
Length: 305 pages
Author: Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: February 22nd, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Hating Cameron Hunter shouldn’t be this easy.

I’m basically a golden retriever puppy. I love everyone and want everyone to love me.

Cameron is the singular exception to my love-everyone rule, and the hatred goes both ways.

First of all, he’s one of those guys, the kind that looks like he belongs on the cover of Yacht Club Weekly. Second of all, he’s way too good at his job. The man is a walking Wikipedia; his walking tours of historic downtown Charleston stay booked weeks in advance.

Did I mention I run tours along the same route?

When we’re both up for a magazine feature that could kick our respective careers to the next level, our rivalry turns into a heated competition.

Then we unexpectedly kiss (it’s a loooong story), and things get really complicated. Now, my blood is boiling over Cameron for an entirely different reason.

Only one of us can win. Can I trust a man who used to be my enemy, or is everything—even our relationship—just part of his plan to take me down?

Love In Bloom is a full-length enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy with characters you’ll love and the sizzling chemistry you want in a closed-door romance.

SO DANG SWEET.

I adored this story. Favorite of the series for me. I would first say that this isn’t classic enemies to lovers, it’s more of a soft workplace rivals to lovers. Fortunately for me, that didn’t sway my overall thoughts, but it’s worth noting since that trope is broad in definition.

I LOVE when the guy falls first and Cameron is obviously smitten from nearly the beginning. I thought he was precious and even with all of his walls, made an effort to be in Darcy’s life. I loved Darcy as the FMC. I liked her spunk and drive. And finally going after what kind of career she wanted really resonated with me and all the flower talk made me wish I had my own greenhouse. Both of these lovebirds together were the sweetest. I couldn’t get enough of the relationship development and how the slow burn of rivals to friends to lovers came about.

The third act conflict was [hallelujah] relevant and not drawn out. Even more so, both parties handled it like actual adults without blown out drama. Cameron truly did have some things he needed to work on and I love that Darcy took the time to put him in his place, AND listen to him. They both worked for their relationship with compassion and I felt all the warm fuzzies reading this book y’all.

Overall audience notes: