My original plan was to add my Kindle book haul to my August Wrap but it just made the post way too long and convoluted. So, I’ve decided to post a separate book haul dedicated to all the books I’ve purchased as ebooks, which, for me, are Kindle books.
(more…)August Book Haul: Colours of the Rainbow
My first ever book haul is covering three months of book purchases! To ensure the post doesn’t go on forever I’m going to split my hard copy and kindle purchases between this post and my August monthly wrap. In this haul, I am featuring all of the books I’ve purchased in hard copy!
(more…)The Monthly Wrap: July
A detailed look at March’s reading habits: 24 books read, two DNFs, seven books read from my Up Next Shelf. I also read books continuing four favourite series of mine, and I finally finished the Throne of Glass series!
(more…)The Weekly Wrap: July 20th to July 26th
I’ve decided to start doing a weekly, monthly and yearly wrap up/review of my reading habits. I have so many books I want to read that I’ve purchased and still need to read, books I need to investigate and books I want to review. I also only review two books a week on my blog, which is not indicative of how many books I’m reading during the week.
Hopefully, by doing this weekly and monthly wrap, I’ll be able to expose more readers to some excellent books!
(more…)Fantastical Yet Tropey: The Hundredth Queen by Emily R. King
Series: The Hundredth Queen
Release Date: June 1, 2017
As an orphan ward of the Sisterhood, eighteen-year-old Kalinda is destined for nothing more than a life of seclusion and prayer. Plagued by fevers, she’s an unlikely candidate for even a servant’s position, let alone a courtesan or wife. Her sole dream is to continue living in peace in the Sisterhood’s mountain temple.
But a visit from the tyrant Rajah Tarek disrupts Kalinda’s life. Within hours, she is ripped from the comfort of her home, set on a desert trek, and ordered to fight for her place among the rajah’s ninety-nine wives and numerous courtesans. Her only solace comes in the company of her guard, the stoic but kind Captain Deven Naik.
Faced with the danger of a tournament to the death—and her growing affection for Deven—Kalinda has only one hope for escape, and it lies in an arcane, forbidden power buried within her.
• Violence
• Discussions of incest (no incest actually happens)
• No OW/OM
• Does have the Hero pushing away
• Does have a brief separation between the Heroine and Hero
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 3.75/5 stars
(more…)Tantalizing Yet Disappointing: The Young Elites by Marie Lu
Series: The Young Elites
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumoured to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.
Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen.
Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her.
It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.
• BIPOC supporting characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• Disabilities
– Partially blind main character
• Domestic abuse
• Heroine was emotionally, psychologically and physically abused by her father, while her sister was showed in love
• Death (including, death of a past lover)
• The Hero is grieving the death of his fiancée
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Kindle
Rating: 3/5 stars
(more…)Thrilling and Introspective: We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
Series: Sands of Arawiya
Release Date: May 14, 2019
People died because he lived.
Zafira is the Hunter, disguising herself as a man when she braves the cursed forest of the Arz to feed her people. Nasir is the Prince of Death, assassinating those foolish enough to defy his autocratic father, the king. If Zafira was exposed as a girl, all of her achievements would be rejected; if Nasir displayed his compassion, his father would punish him in the most brutal of ways.
Both are legends in the kingdom of Arawiya—but neither wants to be.
War is brewing, and the Arz sweeps closer with each passing day, engulfing the land in shadow. When Zafira embarks on a quest to uncover a lost artifact that can restore magic to her suffering world and stop the Arz, Nasir is sent by the king on a similar mission: retrieve the artifact and kill the Hunter. But an ancient evil stirs as their journey unfolds—and the prize they seek may pose a threat greater than either can imagine.
Set in a richly detailed world inspired by ancient Arabia, We Hunt the Flame is a gripping debut of discovery, conquering fear, and taking identity into your own hands.
• Violence
• Abuse
• Emotional torture
• The Heroine’s best friend is in love with her, and she’s considering taking it further
• The Heroine is haunted by the death of her father
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars
(more…)The Gladiator’s Downfall by Kristen Banet
Series: Age of the Andinna
Release Date: December 14, 2018
She’s an Andinna. A member of the winged, horned, and tailed warrior race that the Elvasi Empire defeated in the Hundred Year War and then enslaved. She’s a slave, and has been one for a thousand years, the personal property of the Empress of the Elvasi Empire, since the end of the War. She’s a gladiator, thrown onto the sands of the Colosseum to die, though it backfired on those who wanted her dead. She’s the Champion of the Colosseum, and has been for roughly nine hundred years.
All of these things have marked her as an outcast among her own people. Hated, distrusted, and despised, she knows the name of her people, but not much else.
But she knows where she stands. Keeping her head down and her blades sharp has carried her this far, and she refuses to acknowledge the deepest wishes she holds in her heart. Those will only get her killed.
Alone, she’s stood against everything they have ever thrown at her, refusing to give them what they want.
What Mave doesn’t know is that it’s all about to change.
The Gladiator’s Downfall is a 129,000+, full-length novel.
Age of the Andinna is a reverse harem epic fantasy series. The female lead will collect her lovers as the series progresses.
There is triggering content in this series including but not limited to: abuse, violence, mature language, and sexual content. It’s recommended for mature audiences.
• Bisexual side characters
• MM side romance
• Physical, emotional and psychological abuse
• Slavery
• Allusions to rape (In the Heroine’s past and present. But, in the present, it’s off-page.)
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does Not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Kindle
Rating: 5/5 stars
(more…)Power of Five by Alex Lidell
Series: Power of Five
Release Date: May 4, 2018
Orphaned and sold to a harsh master, Lera’s life is about mucking stalls, avoiding her master’s advances, and steering clear of the mystical forest separating the mortal and fae worlds. Only fools venture into the immortal realms, and only dark rumors come out… Until four powerful fae warriors appear at Lera’s barn.
River, Coal, Tye, and Shade have waited a decade for their new fifth to be chosen, the wounds from their quint brother’s loss still raw. But the magic has played a cruel trick, bonding the four immortal warriors to… a female. A mortal female.
Distractingly beautiful and dangerously frail, Lera can only be one thing—a mistake. Yet as the males bring Lera back to the fae lands to sever the bond, they discover that she holds more power over their souls than is safe for anyone… especially for Lera herself.
Power of Five is a full-length reverse-harem fantasy novel.
• Heroine was abused by her owner
• One of the Heroes was tortured and raped during captivity
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Heroes and Heroine pushing away
• Does not have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars
(more…)Wings of the Walker (The Walker, #1) by CoraLee June
Series: The Walker
Release Date: December 15, 2017
Josiah’s unexpected engagement has me squinting down the barrel of heartbreak, and to make matters worse; I find myself traded to Cyler Black and his leadership council in a distant Providence.
Soon, Cyler and his team of passionate leaders start to feel like family, and I’m promised freedoms I never imagined were possible; But Josiah’s not through with me yet, and war is on the horizon. Can I find happiness in my new home? Or will Josiah finally choose me?
This is a slow-burn reverse harem romance and the first book in the series.
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• Fatal virus
• Death
• Abduction
• Does have OW/OM
– Heroine is in love with her childhood best friend (and, now, owner)
– One of the Hero’s has an ex-lover who he’s still in contact with
– The sister of one of the Heroes is (unrequited-ly) in love with one of the Heroes
• Does have the Heroes and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Heroes and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
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