Monthly Reading Wrap-Up: October 2024

November 1, 2024 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

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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Book Review: (Not So) Alone for Christmas by Jenny Proctor

October 17, 2022December 6, 2021 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Holiday Romance Novella
Length: 95 pages
Author: Jenny Proctor
Publisher: Four Petal Press
Release Date: December 3rd, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Problem number one: Maddy’s family is NOT at home. A surprise Christmas visit to Charleston only works if the family you’re surprising hasn’t decided to spend the holidays in Hawaii.

Problem number two: Maddy is stranded. There is snow on the ground in Charleston, a city that doesn’t even own a snow plow. Flights are grounded, and the power is out. Maddy isn’t going anywhere.

Problem number three: Bo Bradshaw, Maddy’s old high school crush, is stranded with her, and he is hotter than ever.

(Not So) Alone for Christmas is a standalone, sweet romance novella that will leave you craving Christmas cookies and a cozy fire.

ALL THE HOLIDAY SWEETNESS.

This is one of those, sit and read in one evening, kinda novellas. I love reading these sometimes! And this was a fantastic quick paced romance that I thought was well written and gave me all the necessary Christmas vibes.

I like that that this was a childhood friends / second chance-ish romance. These seem to work best for something so short. The immediate need to feel a connection between the love interests was there and I was whole heartedly for Maddy and Bo. I love a good forced proximity moment as Christmas plans fell through and they got a chance to reconnect.

Super short. Super sweet. A great read for the season. Highly recommend if you’re looking for something in that category!

Overall audience notes:

Contemporary Romance Holiday Novella
Language: none
Romance: make-outs

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ARC Book Review: Married by Treachery (Arranged Marriages of the Fae #5) by Barbara Kloss

October 7, 2022October 7, 2022 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ★★★★
Audience: Fantasy Romance Novella
Length: 250 pages
Author: Barbara Kloss
Publisher: Self Published
Release Date: October 7th, 2022
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

Married by Treachery is book 5 in the Arranged Marriages of the Fae series.

Raquel never expected to marry a bear. To be fair, Prince Edom wasn’t actually a bear, but it was impossible to see his face through his mess of wild hair. Not that she needed to see his face. In fact, it was probably better that she didn’t.

Because she was going to kill him.

It had been seven years since Prince Edom had galloped off with her best friend through the magicked veil, and taken her into his magicked kingdom. Seven long years of resolve, of hard work and training, so that Raquel would be ready for this day: the day she would exact vengeance upon Prince Edom, for all the brides he’d stolen.

For all the brides he’d murdered.

Raquel vowed she would be the last, but she wasn’t prepared for what lay on the veil’s other side. It was not the lush and magnificent kingdom from the stories of her youth, and, as it turned out, its prince was not what she’d expected either.

No, Prince Edom was not what she’d expected at all.

Thank you to Barbara Kloss for an eARC!

A GOOD TIME.

I really enjoyed this!! I thought it was a fun idea to see a bunch of fantasy romance authors get together for a mash-up of loved tropes and romantic novellas.

There was some great banter here and I loved the initial reactions between Raquel and Jake. Their natures really bounced off of one another until the undeniable magnetism took hold. I thought the dreams were a unique sequence to kind of further the romantic plot and help change the characters mind about how they were responding to each other.

I do think being a touch longer would have helped. I was a little confused by some magic system and plot aspects which I know can be hard to wrap all up into a novella. This as a full length series?? YES. Maybe that’s in the works and this is a starting point?! No idea, but one can hope!

The pacing made for a quick, finish in a day read and it hit well. I liked the movement and how things all wrapped up in the end. I love Kloss’s writing style and look forward to her next book(s)!

Overall audience notes:

Fantasy Romance Novella
Language: some
Romance: very brief fade to black
Violence: medium
Trigger/Content Warnings: kidnapping, loss of loved ones, battle scenes, grave wounds

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Book Review: Forever Wild (The Simple Wild #2.5) by K.A. Tucker

July 16, 2021December 6, 2020 GoodeyReadsLeave a comment

Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆
Audience: Contemporary Romance Novella
Length: 156 pages
Author: K.A. Tucker
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: December 1st, 2020
Image & Other Reviews on: Goodreads

BOOK SUMMARY:

From the international bestselling author of The Simple Wild comes Forever Wild, a novella that continues the story of Calla’s journey to the Alaskan wild and a life she never imagined for herself.
The holiday season is upon Calla and Jonah, and with the mistletoe and gingerbread comes plenty of family drama. Jonah is bracing himself for two weeks with a stepfather he loathes, and while Calla is looking forward to her mother and Simon’s arrival, she dreads the continued pressure to set a date for their wedding … in Toronto. Add in one bullheaded neighbor’s unintentional meddling and another cantankerous neighbor’s own family strife, and Christmas in Trapper’s Crossing will be anything but simple.

PERFECT.

Yup. There’s no other words to describe when you get to read a holiday novella about one of your favorite contemporary romance couples. I LOVED THIS. It only takes a bit of your time to devour and enjoy every moment.

It was fantastic getting to see Calla and Jonah again. Add in some old friends and it was the best little mix of a Christmas in Alaska.

I love where the story went and what happened throughout [keeping spoilers at bay]. It was just precious, and I could keep gushing forever. Go read The Simple Wild if you haven’t yet.

Overall audience notes: