Review: When Among Crows by Veronica Roth

When Among Crows by Veronica Roth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided and ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This is told from three different perspectives, by three different narrators.  That was a nice touch from the audio perspective as each of the characters is very different and plays a unique role in this fantasy novella.  I always appreciate a multicast narration when there are multiple perspectives.  I enjoyed each of the narrators and how they brought this little book alive.

This book isn't very long, the audiobook was about 4 and a half hours long, but it kept me engaged the entire time and told a full story.  We follow along with three characters Dymitr, Ala, and Niko as they try to find the Baba Jaga to break a curse.  This is filled with Slavic/Polish myths, lore, and magic, while being set a modern Chicago.  Each one of our characters has secrets and trauma they have to sort through before the curse can be broken.  They face monsters and creatures from the mythology that are well described so that the reader or listener can picture them.  Our trio must quickly come to terms with their individual pain, fear, guilt, and mistrust of one another before the curse can be broken.  They have to work together to unravel the puzzles placed before them before the Baba Jaga will grant them an audience and solve the riddles of the curse as well and find their own salvation

This is a fast paced, quick read.  I didn't want to put it down, I always wanted to know what came next.  I love anything steeped in myth and lore and this is no exception.  I'm not well versed in Slavic lore, but Roth does a great job using the lore as allegory for other topics.  

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Review: Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco

Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided and ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I opted to listen to the final publication version of the audiobook. As always all opinions are my own.

This picks up where book one leaves off, Remy and his vampire companions Malekh and Xioadan are pitted against the Night Empress and are working to broker peace between the vampires and the human realms. Strange abominations are still plaguing the realm, and the trio must ally with the other vampire courts to defeat the Night Empress and her growing contingent. Remy's romantic relationship continues to deepen with the vampire pair as learns more about the vampire court and their customs. He also learns more about his mother and how his parents met.

There was alot going on in this book. I loved Silver Under Nightfall, but this fell a bit short. As with book 1 it was far too long, but unlike book 1 it lacked the engaging pacing and action to keep the reader interested. This keeps up with the court politics, but it was lacking the character development I was expecting from Remy and his partners. It mainly focused on the physical aspects of their relationship, which is fine, but I wanted to see more of their emotional connection develop on the page. I was expecting a bit more of a complex plot with the various court leaders, the Night Empress, and the human contingent. Things kind of resolve conveniently without the action we saw in the first book. There are too many characters to keep track of, and I feel that took away from the tension and suspense we felt in book 1.

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Release Blast: Promise Me This by Karla Sorensen

 

PROMISE ME THIS

Karla Sorensen

Release Date: May 9

FREE IN KINDLE UNLIMITED

Imagine this: an author with a raging case of writer’s block finds an unexpected source of inspiration in her grumpy, gorgeous new roommate. Sounds amazing, right? Except that new roommate is my childhood best friend. And Ian Wilder has been off-limits since I was five.

It’s been over a decade since I’ve seen him, but when I return to my hometown after years away, Ian’s exactly the man I remembered. The same guy who gave me his coat on a playground when we were kids and promised he’d take care of me forever. I need a quiet place to work with this deadline looming. I need a place where my daughter can unwind. Enter Ian with an offer I can’t refuse: his spare bedroom.

It’s an easy yes. Except now the problem is I can’t stop thinking about him, and these thoughts? They’re wandering out of the friend zone. I keep imagining very creative ways to rip off his clothes. And Ian starts giving me looks of his own, the kind that make my heart race.

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Meet Karla Sorensen:

 Karla Sorensen is an Amazon top 20 bestselling author who refuses to read or write anything without a happily ever after. When she's not devouring historical romance or avoiding the laundry, you can find her watching football (British AND American), HGTV or listening to Enneagram podcasts so she can psychoanalyze everyone in her life, in no particular order of importance. With a degree in Advertising and Public Relations from Grand Valley State University, she made her living in senior healthcare prior to writing full-time. Karla lives in Michigan with her husband, two boys and a big, shaggy rescue dog named Bear.

 

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RELEASE BLAST: Skies Over Caledonia by Samantha Young

 

Skies Over Caledonia by Samantha Young is now live! 

He’s a down-to-earth highland farmer. She’s the rebellious daughter of Hollywood royalty. They might seem like they’re from different worlds, but that won’t stop them from engaging in a marriage of convenience…

It’s been five years since Jared McCulloch’s grandfather Collum passed away and he inherited his farm in the Scottish Highlands. After his grandad saved him from his past life, Jared is determined to honor Collum’s legacy. But not only has a series of bad luck put him in danger of losing the farm, his estranged father is disputing the will. In a desperate situation, Jared realizes he’ll do just about anything to save the land.

Even marrying Allegra Howard, a woman he’s avoided at all costs.

A woman who tempts him beyond reason.

There’s only one place that makes Allegra Howard feel safe; one place that feeds her artist’s soul. Allegra wants to settle down in Scotland and expand her business. But there’s a hitch: immigration intends to return her to US soil.

Panicked, Allegra finds the one person just as desperate as she is. The same person she’s lusted after for years. In exchange for marrying her, she’ll invest financially in Jared McCulloch’s farm.

However, living together only forces them to acknowledge their searing mutual attraction. And with it comes an undeniable emotional connection Jared’s not sure he’s ready for.

Yet, blurring the lines of their arrangement is the least of his concerns when someone begins terrorizing the farm.

Allegra and Jared came together to save what matters most and now that might just be each other. And unless they can figure out which of their pasts has returned to torment them, they could lose their chance at a real future together...

  Download today or read for FREE with Kindle Unlimited

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Meet Samantha

Samantha Young is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. She's been nominated for several Goodreads Choice Awards. Samantha writes adult contemporary and paranormal romance, YA urban fantasy and YA contemporary fiction and is currently published in 31 countries.
She resides in Scotland.

 

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Review: Promise Me This by Karla Sorensen

Promise Me This by Karla Sorensen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author and Wildfire Marketing Solutions, all opinions are my own.

This is the third book in the Wilder Family series, however it does read as a standalone.  It does reference other members of Ian's family and events that occurred in other books, but they are not pivotal to Ian and Harlow's story.  I do highly recommend reading them if you want to get to know the rest of the family.  They are awesome!

Friends to lovers might be my favorite trope when it comes to romance, and this one was excellent.  This is pretty slow burn, and is more sweet than spicy which actually fit the storyline well.  Harlow and Ian have been friends forever.  They drifted apart after high school, but life has brought them back together in their hometown once again.  They both need someone to lean on, with Ian still processing his father's passing and Harlow's writing career suffering from a debilitating case of writer's block.  Even after years apart they quickly settle back into their old routines of being each other's support person and knowing what each other needs.  Their friendship is solid, but they both start to notice an attraction that hasn't been here before.

This will take you through all of the emotions.  Chapter 29 had me in tears, so have some tissues ready.   This deals with the loss of a loved one, family drama, insecurity, and so much more.  This has a wonderful supporting cast of characters while our two main characters work through their big feelings.  While this is a slow burn, I felt the pacing of the book was well done as the characters figure out what they are doing with their lives, how they fit together as friends, if there is more than friendship to their arrangement, and how to deal with the other stressors in their lives.  They had good character development both with each other and with their families.  

I love this series, this might be my favorite book to date!  I'm looking forward to reading Poppy's book this fall, but you can't go wrong with any of the books in the series.  

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Review: Band Together by Piper Sheldon

Band Together by Piper Sheldon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the author and Smartypants Romance, all opinions are my own.

As with all of the books in the Smartypants universe, this reads as a complete standalone. We first meet Mari and Leo in Passing Notes, which I highly recommend, but that follows a completely different couple.

I love a good found family story and this really delves deeply into that. Sometimes the family you choose is better for you than the family your were born with, and Mari discovers that in this book. While her family isn't necessarily terrible to her, they don't respect her and often treat her as if she is an afterthought. I really loved that she had a support system in her cousin Clara and found one in Leo. No one wanted to change her, they only wanted to help her and be there for her. On the flip side Leo had some internal struggles as well, he had to deal with returning home home after being on tour with a successful rock band. Green Valley is the last place he wanted to come back to, but he has some healing and soul searching to do. When Mari asks Leo to tutor one of his students, it forces him to face alot of his feelings about his band, his music, and himself in general. There are quite a few emotional moments in the book, but they are well balanced with humorous and tender moments as well.

I hope we get more from this series. I loved so many of the side characters and I hope we get to see more of them in the future This has great banter and chemistry between the characters. When the communication between our main love interests starts to slip, they either talk about it or one of their support people is there to give them a nudge to talk to their partner about what is going on instead of jumping to conclusions and letting things fester. I loved the resolution that Mari's student Cath came to about her future, it was perfect! I thought I knew how that was going to end but I was pleasantly surprised, I also loved Leo's grand gesture at the end.

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Review: The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark

The Dead Cat Tail Assassins by P. Djèlí Clark
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via the publisher and Netgalley, all opinions are my own.

This was originally supposed to release in April, however the publication date has moved to August. Not sure if that will impact the contents of the book, but I loved it! This novella is roughly 200 pages of action packed sci-fi/fantasy. Each one if Clark's books mixes a bit of steampunk, science fiction, and fantasy into a unique story that you don't want to put down. The world building is excellent, and even in a short time you come to love the characters!

Eveen is a member of The Dead Cat Tail Assassins', they are a guild of undead assassins governed by contracts and godling laws. When presented with what appears to be a proper contract, Eveen finds herself unable to fulfil the contract which could bring down the wrath of Aeril, the goddess her kind serves on not only herself bur her entire guild.

Eveen and her mark, set out on a mission to figure out how to undo the contract through time and space without destroying the entire city before the sun comes up. Eveen and Sky offset each other like night and day, while using everything at hand to figure out how to circumvent the contract and set things to rights. This had everything I would want from a great story, good humor, engaging plot, interesting characters, and it was a lot of fun!

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Review: Skies Over Caledonia by Samantha Young

Skies Over Caledonia by Samantha Young
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided both an audio and ebook ARC of this book via the author and Valentine PR, all opinions are my own.

The audiobook is narrated by Shane East and Stella Hunter, who are absolutely fabulous as Allegra and Jared. East really captures the grumpy farmer who just wants to be left alone to tend to the land and do what he loves. Hunter in turn captures the artistic Allegra, who is happy in the peaceful highlands of Scotland who wants so badly to settle down, make her art, and put her past behind her. Keep some earbuds handy as parts of this are NSFW.

As with the other books in the series, this reads as a standalone, but if you want to get to know the other couples mentioned in the book they each have their own stories. Allegra is the younger sister of Ardnoch manager Aria, who we got to know in Among the Heather. Allegra loves Scotland and being near her older sister, who is more of a mother to her than their mother. But pesky immigration laws spoil her plans to settle in Scotland and expand her art business. Allegra is desperate to find a way to stay in Scotland on more than a tourist visa. Jared is equally desperate to keep his farm in the family and make it successful. The last few years have been hard to make ends meet and he his determined to figure out a way to make things work. When Allegra approaches him with a crazy idea to benefit both of them, he is skeptical, but it just might work.

They agree on a marriage of convenience with no emotional strings attached, the only problem is they are attracted to one another. The more time they spend with each other, the more they begin to genuinely like each other and care about one another. They truly being to trust one another and confide in each other about their pasts and their futures. As things begin to threaten their peaceful bubble on the farm, doubt creeps in and they have to face their past and make decisions about their future.

I really liked Jared and Allegra together. They had good character development and the pacing of the story was good. They had good chemistry. They had good push and pull, and weren't afraid to challenge each other as they got to know one another. I really liked that Allegra trusted Jared with her past and he saw her for her true self, not the girl he thought she was. My favorite part was when he stood up to her parents on her behalf. Their characters offset each other nicely. The mystery didn't overpower the romance, but still added the suspense element that is common throughout the series.

I love this series and can't wait for the next installment!
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