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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: May 2023

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My reading went out of control this month when I went on a Sanderson graphic novel/novella binge. I am DETERMINED to get caught up on all of his major works.

Pretty great reading month all around. Check it out and let me know if you spy any of your favorites!

Favorite Books this Month!

  • The Isles of the Gods
  • A Class of Her Own
  • If Only You
  • Crown of Midnight
  • How to Kiss Your Enemy
  • The Bridge Kingdom
  • Jade Shards
  • Hello Stranger
  • Heir of Fire
  • The Traitor Queen
  • Properly Kissed
  • The Inadequate Heir
  • Pier Pressure
  • From Lukov With Love
  • Appointment in Bath
  • Heir of Fire
  • The Endless War
  • When Kingdoms Fall
  • One Last Play
  • Celestial

Least Favorites…

  • To Hunt a Demon King
  • Friendshipped
  • A Sea of Blood and Sapphire
  • Winter’s Heart
  • The Last Word
  • [ALC] The Isles of the Gods (The Isles of the Gods #1) by Amie Kaufman
  • A Class of Her Own (The Thornback Society #1) by Aspen Hadley
  • [Novella] Defending Elysium (Skyward #0.5) by Brandon Sanderson
  • If Only You (Bergman Brothers #6) by Chloe Liese
  • The Secret Service of Tea and Treason (Dangerous Damsels #3) by India Holton
  • To Hunt a Demon King (King and Coven #1) by Madeleine Eliot
  • [Reread] Crown of Midnight (Throne of Glass #2) by Sarah J. Maas
  • The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson
  • [ARC] How to Kiss Your Enemy (Hawthorne Brothers #3) by Jenny Proctor
  • Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries (Emily Wilde #1) by Heather Fawcett
  • [Reread] The Bridge Kingdom (The Bridge Kingdom #1) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • [ARC] Jade Shards (The Green Bone Saga #0.75) by Fonda Lee
  • Feather (Angels of Elysium #1) by Olivia Wildenstein
  • [ARC/ALC] Hello Stranger by Katherine Center
  • [Reread] Heir of Fire (Throne Of Glass #3) by Sarah J. Maas
  • Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga #5) by Pierce Brown
  • [ARC] King’s Bride (The Chronicles of Urn #1) by Beck Michaels
  • [Reread] The Traitor Queen (The Bridge Kingdom #2) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • [Novella] The Original by Brandon Sanderson
  • Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher
  • Cursed Crowns (Twin Crowns #2) by Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber
  • [Short Story] The Hope of Elantris (Elantris #1.5) by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Novella] Properly Kissed (Bradwell Brothers #0.5) by Kasey Stockton
  • Friendshipped (Getting Shipped #1) by Savannah Scott
  • [Short Story] The Eleventh Metal (The Mistborn Saga #0.5) by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Short Story] Allomancer Jak and the Pits of Eltania (The Cosmere) by Brandon Sanderson
  • A Sea of Blood and Sapphire by Florence Gray
  • [ARC] A Lady’s Promise by Ranee S. Clark
  • The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren
  • [Reread] The Inadequate Heir (The Bridge Kingdom #3) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • The Blameless (The Blameless #1) by E.S. Christison
  • [Novella] Mistborn: Secret History (Mistborn #3.5) by Brandon Sanderson
  • [ARC] The Roommate Pact by Allison Ashley
  • [Graphic Novel] White Sand Vol. 1 by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Graphic Novel] White Sand Vol. 2 by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Graphic Novel] White Sand Vol. 3 by Brandon Sanderson
  • Winter’s Heart (The Wheel of Time #9) by Robert Jordan
  • Pier Pressure (Deadlights Cove #4) by Aimee Vance and B. Perkins
  • [Reread] From Lukov with Love by Mariana Zapata
  • [Novella] Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
  • [Novella] Sixth of the Dusk by Brandon Sanderson
  • One Night Only by Catherine Walsh
  • Beautifully Broken Pieces (Sutter Lake #1) by Catherine Cowles
  • [ARC] Appointment in Bath (Somerset Stories #4) by Mimi Matthews
  • Dust (Heirs of Neverland #1) by Kara Swanson
  • The Endless War (The Bridge Kingdom #4) by Danielle L. Jensen
  • [Reread] Iron Gold (Red Rising #4) by Pierce Brown
  • When Kingdoms Fall by Callie Dahl
  • The Stolen Throne (Dominions #2) by Abigail Owen
  • Love on Camera (The Wonder Boys #1) by Dana LeCheminant
  • One Last Play (Sweet Peach #4) by Annah Conwell
  • Celestial (Angels of Elysium #2) by Olivia Wildenstein
  • The Last Word by Katy Birchall

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Book Review: A Dawn of Onyx (The Sacred Stones #1) by Kate Golden

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Rating: ★★★★☆
Audience: Fantasy Romance
Length: 456 pages
Author: Kate Golden
Publisher: The Daisy Press
Release Date: December 15th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Captured by a king of darkness. Forced to find the light within.

Arwen Valondale never expected to be the brave one, offering her life to save her brother’s. Now she’s been taken prisoner by the most dangerous kingdom on the continent, and made to use her rare magical abilities to heal the soldiers of the vicious Onyx King.

Arwen knows better than to face the ancient, wicked woods that surround the castle on her own, which means working with a fellow prisoner might be her only path to freedom. Unfortunately, he’s as infuriating as he is cunning—and seems to take twisted
pleasure in playing on Arwen’s deepest fears.

But here in Onyx Kingdom, trust is a luxury she can’t afford.

To make it out of enemy territory, she’ll have to navigate back-stabbing royals, dark magic, and dangerous beasts. But untold power lies inside Arwen, dormant and waiting for a spark. If she can harness it, she just might be able to escape with her life—and hopefully, her heart.

COLOR ME SURPRISED.

I did not expect to love this the way I did. I put it off for a bit because it seemed too hyped and I wanted to see more reviews. Then on a whim, HERE WE ARE. 4.5 stars of romantasy goodness.

This had a much more true slow burn that worked better for me than a few recent books. I loooove hidden identity plots so dang much. Even when I know it’s coming, still makes my day. And this kept slowly revealing Kane’s history and nature and I loved every second of it. I thought Kane and Arwen had some actual chemistry and I enjoyed the banter between them. I liked seeing them get to know each other and have some soft moments amidst the action.

And plenty of action was had! I loved that it kept a pretty fast pace with enough things going on that I rarely felt a drag. Within that though is my one small complaint. A lack of world building. More of it made sense towards the end, but I have MANY questions about the dynamics of everything.

I think the FMC could use a bit more work, but as far as character arcs go, I am very much on board with the sequence. I am soooo excited to see how book two continues the development of characters and storyline.

It was a good read y’all.

Overall audience notes:

  • Fantasy romance
  • Language: some strong
  • Romance: 1 open; + some innuendo
  • Violence: high
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: war themes, physical and magical altercations, near death experiences, loss of a mother, weapons violence, kidnapping, attempted sexual assault

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Book Review: The Changeup (The Vegas Kings #1) by Emily Childs

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Rating: ★★
Audience: Contemporary Sports Romance
Length: 320 pages
Author: Emily Childs
Publisher: Victorious
Release Date: April 26th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

He’s baseball’s biggest heartbreaker. Now…he’s stealing mine.

Parker Knight is a smooth-talking pitcher with a smile for days and a roster of broken hearts behind him. Those are only a few reasons why a guy like him is never getting near my heart.

After making a cross-country move to prove I deserve a place within my dad’s baseball empire, the last thing on my mind is a play boy pitcher.

But when we randomly meet off the field, it’s clear Parker has no idea I’m the team owner’s daughter. He thought I was going to be his next conquest. I didn’t mean to shut the guy down so hard, and I certainly didn’t expect to oversee his foundation on my first day at the office.

No one has ever seen the real guy behind the bad boy of baseball, but the more I get to know Parker, the harder it is to ignore the feelings I’m catching.

I’ve had my heart broken too many times before. How can I trust it with the biggest heartbreaker of them all?

NOT IT Y’ALL.

Well. I shall continue my quest for the ultimate baseball romance. This ain’t it folks.

Things started off fine, I can’t say I was sold initially but I gave it a chance.

Everything was a bit insta-love. I thought the banter started off well, then by halfway there’s major pronouncements of love and other things that just didn’t click.

I also never liked the female main character. She was weirdly obsessed with things like the Titanic? And she had all sorts of self loathing that I don’t love reading about and need to be addressed personally without the love interest’s involvement.

Mostly I think this book was trying too hard. And it’s hard to keep explaining that one major point, but that’s what it boiled down to for me. Trying to create emotions for me that I wasn’t feeling whatsoever.

On to the next.

Overall audience notes:

  • Contemporary Sports Romance
  • Language: very little
  • Romance: make-outs
  • Trigger/Content Warnings: discussions of traumatic brain injury from car wreck, bullying, harassment, blackmailing, absentee parents, loss of parents (off-page)

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Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: April 2023

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Another great month of reading! A small slow down from last month but that is completely okay. I loved how many rereads I got to and found some absolute new favorites.

Favorite Books:

  • To Poison a King
  • A Girl Called Samson
  • The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King
  • In This Moment
  • The Assassin’s Blade
  • Before the Fortress Fals
  • Echoes of You
  • Desire or Defense
  • Throne of Glass
  • Fourth Wing
  • Finding Gene Kelly
  • Practice Makes Perfect
  • The Weight of Air

Least Favorites:

  • Two Wars and a Wedding
  • A Shadow Crown
  • The Path of Daggers
  • The Heart’s Choice
  • Georgie, All Along by Kate Clayborn
  • Objection to Love (Greenbank Romances #3) by Karen Thornell
  • Two Wars and a Wedding by Lauren Willig
  • [ARC] To Poison a King (The Heirs of Isla #1) by S.G. Prince
  • Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden #3) by Beck Michaels
  • A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon
  • Legends & Lattes (Legends & Lattes #1) by Travis Baldree
  • Love at First Psych by Cara Bastone
  • Flowerheart by Catherine Bakewell
  • [ARC] The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King (Crowns of Nyaxia #2) by Carissa Broadbent
  • Haley and the Yeti (Love Tucson #1) by Laura Langa
  • [ARC] In this Moment (Timeless #2) by Gabrielle Meyer
  • [Reread] Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass #0.5) by Sarah J. Maas
  • [ALC] A Shadow Crown (The Halfling Saga #2) by Melissa Blair
  • [ARC] Why Trey Let Me Get Away (Famously in Love #1) by Kortney Keisel
  • Before the Fortress Falls by A.L. Sowards
  • Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata
  • [ARC/ALC] Echoes of You (Lost & Found #2) by Catherine Cowles
  • [Novella] Kill Joy (A Good Girls’ Guide to Murder #0.5) by Holly Jackson
  • [ARC] Desire or Defense (Hooked on a Feeling #1) by Leah Brunner
  • [Reread] Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J. Maas
  • The Path of Daggers (The Wheel of Time #8) by Robert Jordan
  • [ARC] Bonesmith (House of the Dead #1) by Nicki Pau Preto
  • [ARC] The Never Heir (The Otherworlds #1) by Courtney Millecam
  • [ALC] Fourth Wing (The Empyrean #1) by Rebecca Yarros
  • [Gifted] To Swoon and to Spar (The Regency Vows #4) by Martha Waters
  • Finding Gene Kelly by Torie Jean
  • A Sinister Revenge (Veronica Speedwell #8) by Deanna Raybourn
  • Captured by Chaos by Kathryn Marie
  • [ARC/ALC] Practice Makes Perfect by Sarah Adams
  • An Amiable Foe (Castles and Courtship #1) by Jennie Goutet
  • [ARC] The Heart’s Choice (The Jewels of Kalispell #1) by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse
  • Silver in the Bone (Silver in the Bone #1) by Alexandra Bracken
  • The Darkest Sunrise (The Darkest Sunrise #1) by Aly Martinez
  • The Brightest Sunset (The Darkest Sunrise #2) by Aly Martinez
  • The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion (Vol. #2) by Beth Brower
  • [Novella] The Managing Miss (Promise of Forever After #5) by Heidi Kimball
  • The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy
  • Slaying the Vampire Conqueror (Mortal Enemies to Monster Lovers) by Carissa Broadbent
  • [ARC] The Art of Love and Lies by Rebecca Anderson

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