Review: A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon

A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

This picks up where book 1 leaves off, so I wouldn't recommend reading this as a standalone.  You will need the backstory from the first book for this second book to make sense.  Talasyn and Alaric are still married and they are still dancing around their physical attraction to one another and what it might mean if they give in and potentially develop feelings for each other.  Their political alliance has outwardly put on a good show for both of their kingdoms, and they have tirelessly been working to stop the threat of the Moonless Dark when they aren't running their respective kingdoms.  Behind the scenes they are both scheming and plotting to overthrow the other, but those pesky feelings keep getting in the way especially as they spend more and more time together practicing their magic.

This installment is much more focused on Talasyn and Alaric's relationship and the development of the romance between them.  It is significantly more spicy than the first book, but they are more of the fade to black scenes than full on smut.  As other reviewers have mentioned the plot does take a backseat as we are more focused on the characters in this book.  I'm hoping that the third book is a bit more plot focused or at least more balanced.  There are still a lot of political movements at play and unanswered questions that need to be resolved.  I'm very much looking forward to the next book after that ending.  

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Review: Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire

Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

This follows Nadya, whom we've met before at Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children, but this is the story of her door and her own hero's journey.  Nadya was born in Russia and was given up for adoption at birth.  She was eventually adopted by a picture perfect American couple.  Nadya never felt less than or unhappy, until her new parents brought up what she was lacking and what would make her happy.  They never asked her what would make her happy, they only ever told her, and she never felt comfortable about it nor was she comfortable expressing how she felt.  She did however feel comfortable at the local turtle pond watching the turtles bask in sun and swim.  When a strange door appears in the water, she finds herself falling through to a new world where no on finds her lacking and she finds the most wonderful turtles and people and gets to go on the most exciting adventures.

This was a bit different than some of the other books in the series, as none of it is set at Eleanor's home, and there are no appearances of the other characters we've met previously.  This is solely Nadya's storyline.  If you have read the other books, you know that the timeline of the series isn't linear, and they can all be read as standalones for the most part.  This is a fairly emotional tale, even if you know how it is going to end.  I feel like I needed more time with Nadya and her world, it was so enchanting and I loved how independent and self-sufficient she was.  McGuire always does a wonderful job with the worldbuilding and I loved Nadya's character.  This was such a great depiction of agency, the power of choice, and empowerment.  

The narration was really well done.  The narrator does a Russian accent for Nadya for much of the book and differentiates the other characters throughout.  

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2025 Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge

 

 I loved participating in this challenge last year so I'll be continuing participation in The Alphabet Soup challenge hosted by Dollycas in 2025.

You can sign up and find all of the info on Dollycas' blog post here.  Like last year I'll be posting updates as I finish titles.  I always try to plan out my books in advance, but if the Popsugar and Book Riot reading challenges have taught me anything, it is that I almost never read what is on the plan.  Anything with a link has a review posted, so feel free to check out my thoughts.

Link to my google spreadsheet or join me on Storygraph

Monthly Mini Challenges

2025 Alphabet Soup – Author Edition Reading Challenge

   

I participated in this challenge last year and it was really fun to see how many of the books I read fit into the challenges.

You can sign up and find all of the info on Dollycas' blog post here.  

I'll be posting updates as I finish titles.  I always try to plan out my books in advance, but if the Popsugar and Book Riot reading challenges have taught me anything, it is that I almost never read what is on the plan.  Anything with a link has a review posted, so feel free to check out my thoughts.

Link to my google spreadsheet or join me on storygraph

2025 Netgalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge

 

 

I participated in this challenge in 2023 and plan to do it again  It is being hosted by Socrates Book Reviews.  I was able to review 94 books in 2024 between Netgalley and Edelweiss and this challenge is always great way to keep myself accountable and on top of reviews.

I currently have 40 outstanding ARCs on my TBR right now, 14 of those are 2025 releases.  

I'm going to shoot for Platinum again this year.  I haven't been able to get to 100 Netgalley reviews in a year quite yet.  I do review for other sources but they aren't all on Netgalley and Edelweiss.

I'll link my reviews below as I post.  To keep myself accountable, I'll be posting my tentative TBR based on release dates and approvals as the year goes on.

January - Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon (12/10/24)
2. Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire (1/7/24)
3. A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson (1/7/25)

February Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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March Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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April Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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May Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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June Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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July Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. 
   

August Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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September Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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October Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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November Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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December  Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

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Unfinished/ Past Due

1. A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen (1/30/24)
2. The End of the World by H.S. Gilchrist (2/5/24)
3. Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi (7/9/24)
4. Guardians of Dawn: Ami by S. Jae-Jones (8/6/24)
5. Sunshine and Spice by Aurora Palit (9/10/24)
6. An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson (9/17/24)
7. Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley (11/12/24)
8. Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher (11/26/24)
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