About: Dive into my October TBR with nine thrilling books, including my long-awaited read of House of Blood and Earth and continued exploration of the thriller genre.
(more…)9 Books on My October TBR
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April Wrap Up: 25 Books Read
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About: My April Wrap Up unpacks my best reading month yet, and includes a mini-review of the 25 books I read.
(more…)18 Books on My May TBR
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About: My May TBR includes 18 books that I want to read in May, including four books by AAPI authors to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month!
(more…)17 Books on My March TBR
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About: My March TBR includes 17 books that I want to read in March. I will finally read Babel by R.F. Kuang and get started on my Diverse Reading Challenge.
(more…)The End of Year Book Tag: 2022
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Quick Take: The End of Year Book Tag includes six questions that unpack the books I still need and want to read in 2022 and my bookish plans for 2021.
(more…)14 New Books: My Hiemal Book Haul
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14 new books make up my Hiemal Book Haul and includes books I’ve purchased from August to November. The most prevalent themes are fantasy and (as always) romance.
(more…)24 New Books: My Primaveral Book Haul
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24 new books comprise my primaveral book haul! I’ve divided the haul into ebooks and physical books, with gems from my favourite genres.
(more…)Sweet Yet Anti-climatic: A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova
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Series: Married to Magic*
Release Date: November 6, 2020
<strong>Synopsis</strong>
Perfect for fans of A Court of Thorns and Roses and Uprooted, this stand-alone, fantasy romance about a human girl and her marriage to the Elf King is impossible to put down!
The elves come for two things: war and wives. In both cases, they come for death.
Three-thousand years ago, humans were hunted by powerful races with wild magic until the treaty was formed. Now, for centuries, the elves have taken a young woman from Luella’s village to be their Human Queen.
To be chosen is seen as a mark of death by the townsfolk. A mark nineteen-year-old Luella is grateful to have escaped as a girl. Instead, she’s dedicated her life to studying herbology and becoming the town’s only healer.
That is, until the Elf King unexpectedly arrives… for her.
Everything Luella had thought she’d known about her life, and herself, was a lie. Taken to a land filled with wild magic, Luella is forced to be the new queen to a cold yet blisteringly handsome Elf King. Once there, she learns about a dying world that only she can save.
The magical land of Midscape pulls on one corner of her heart, her home and people tug on another… but what will truly break her is a passion she never wanted.
A Deal with the Elf King is a complete, stand-alone novel, inspired by the tales of Hades and Persephone, as well as Beauty and the Beast, with a “happily ever after” ending. It’s perfect for fantasy romance fans looking for just the right amount of steam and their next slow-burn and swoon-worthy couple.
<strong>Ending</strong>
HFN but the extended epilogue shows it’s a HEA (you can access the extra scene through the back of the ebook or on Elise Kova’s website)
<strong>Representation</strong>
No strong representations of the following:
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
• BIPOC characters
• LGBTQIA+ characters
• characters with a disability
And doesn’t address fatphobia
<strong>Possible Triggers:</strong> Yes
• Parental neglect
• Themes of isolation and abandonment
• Themes of isolation and abandonment
<strong>Safety Rating:</strong> Safe with Exceptions
• No cheating
• Does have OW/OM drama (kind of)
– The Heroine was in love with her childhood best friend, but he turns out to be an asshole. And, apparently, she wasn’t “in love” with him but loved the idea of him? (There’s kissing *before* the Heroine meets the Hero)
– The Hero tried to date/court *his* best friend 3-4 years ago; she’s currently the Hand of the King. They both agreed they were better off friends. Their relationship didn’t progress past kissing but apparently, that attempt made them closer as friends.
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
• Does have OW/OM drama (kind of)
– The Heroine was in love with her childhood best friend, but he turns out to be an asshole. And, apparently, she wasn’t “in love” with him but loved the idea of him? (There’s kissing *before* the Heroine meets the Hero)
– The Hero tried to date/court *his* best friend 3-4 years ago; she’s currently the Hand of the King. They both agreed they were better off friends. Their relationship didn’t progress past kissing but apparently, that attempt made them closer as friends.
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does have a separation between the Hero and Heroine
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 3/5 stars
*Each novel in the series is Standalone
(more…)Refreshing and Romantic: The Beast of Beswick by Amalie Howard
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Series: Everleigh Sisters*
Release Date: November 26, 2019
<strong>Synopsis:</strong>
Beauty and the Beast meets Taming of the Shrew in this laugh-out-loud and heartfelt Regency romance.
Lord Nathaniel Harte, the disagreeable Duke of Beswick, spends his days smashing porcelain, antagonizing his servants, and snarling at anyone who gets too close. With a ruined face like his, it’s hard to like much about the world. Especially smart-mouthed harpies—with lips better suited to kissing than speaking—who brave his castle with indecent proposals.
But Lady Astrid Everleigh will stop at nothing to see her younger sister safe from a notorious scoundrel, even if it means offering herself up on a silver platter to the forbidding Beast of Beswick himself. And by offer, she means what no highborn lady of sound and sensible mind would ever dream of—a tender of marriage with her as his bride.
<strong>Ending</strong>
HEA
<strong>Representation</strong>
• POC Author
<strong>Possible Triggers:</strong> Yes
• No OTT sad parts
• Sexism
– The Heroine is a victim of the ton’s inclination to believe a man over a woman when it comes to being “ruined”–the Heroine rejected a love interest in her youth and in revenge, the man ruined her standing in the ton, and is working on marrying her younger sister
• Harsh words exchanged between the Hero and Heroine
• Sexism
– The Heroine is a victim of the ton’s inclination to believe a man over a woman when it comes to being “ruined”–the Heroine rejected a love interest in her youth and in revenge, the man ruined her standing in the ton, and is working on marrying her younger sister
• Harsh words exchanged between the Hero and Heroine
<strong>Safety Rating:</strong> Safe
• No cheating
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does Not have a separation between the Heroine and Hero
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
• No descriptive sex scene with OW/OM
• Does have the Hero and Heroine pushing away
• Does Not have a separation between the Heroine and Hero
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Kindle
Rating: 4.75/5 stars
*Each novel in the series is Standalone
(more…)Enchanting and Atmospheric: The Beholder by Anna Bright
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Series: The Beholder
Release Date: June 4, 2019
<strong>Synopsis:</strong>
Selah has waited her whole life for a happily ever after. As the only daughter of the leader of Potomac, she knows her duty is to find the perfect match, a partner who will help secure the future of her people. Now that day has finally come.
But after an excruciatingly public rejection from her closest childhood friend, Selah’s stepmother suggests an unthinkable solution: Selah must set sail across the Atlantic, where a series of potential suitors awaits—and if she doesn’t come home engaged, she shouldn’t come home at all.
From English castle gardens to the fjords of Norge, and under the eye of the dreaded Imperiya Yotne, Selah’s quest will be the journey of a lifetime. But her stepmother’s schemes aren’t the only secrets hiding belowdecks…and the stakes of her voyage may be higher than any happy ending.
<strong>Ending</strong>
Cliffhanger
<strong>Representation</strong>
• BIPOC side characters
<strong>Possible Triggers:</strong> Yes
• No OTT sad parts
• Heroine suffers emotional abuse from her step-mother
• Heroine’s mother died (off-page)
• The Heroine’s father is ill
• Heroine suffers emotional abuse from her step-mother
• Heroine’s mother died (off-page)
• The Heroine’s father is ill
<strong>Mature Themes</strong>
• Allusion to violence
• Heroine is 18 and looking for a husband
• Romantic relationship between adoptive siblings
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
• Heroine is 18 and looking for a husband
• Romantic relationship between adoptive siblings
• See Ending for HEA status.
• See Possible Triggers for Abuse and OTT sad parts.
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
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