Review: Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray

Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

The narrators January LaVoy, Jeremy Carlisle Parker, and Major Curda were excellent! LaVoy is one of my all time favorites and I will listen to anything she narrates, but the addition of the 2 other narrators to voice Miles and the Grandmother on the tape telling the story were perfect choices. They really brought the 3 interconnected stories to life.

This follows 3 interconnected stories, and I'll admit it took me a while to figure out how they were all connected but I eventually put it all together. This follows best friends Sophie and Hanna in the 1940's in Germany as the Nazis are establishing their hold. As teenagers they are maturing from girls into women and putting their beloved fairytales and folklore behind them like the famous Bridegroom's Oak that is said to make love matches and send messages between lovers. The oak tree becomes a key part in the events that take place in their town not only when it comes to romance but to save lives. In the 19080 we meet Jenny, who has moved to Germany from Texas because of her father's job. Her parents want her to be one way but she is desperate to find her true identity. Lena a punk rocker just might hold the key to unlocking that identity as she shows her the real Germany and introduces Jenny to the punk scene. Then we have Miles, who is stuck alone doing virtual school and terrified to go outside during the COVID pandemic. His moms can't come home due to travel and Covid protocols, so he has to fend for himself. His best friend Chloe gets a strange package from her ailing grandmother that leads them to investigate two missing teenagers from 80 years ago around the Bridegroom's Oak. Those teens are Sophie and Hannah, which unfolds a story that connects Miles, Chloe, the missing girls, and Jenny in a very unexpected way.

I really liked the way this was told. It has the same beautiful writing you would expect if you have every read Libba Bray in the past. The interwoven storylines was a creative way to tell this tale. Despite the fact that all three storylines are broken up I felt like we got to know all of the characters pretty well. We see growth in all of the characters as they face their fears and opposition, stand up to bullies, and stand up for what they believe in. I also thought that the recording of the fairy tale by Chloe's grandmother was a nice touch, it not only helped with the investigation, but as with all fairy tales it was a way to hide what was really going on at the time and tell the real story of what happened.

I'm a huge fan of The Diviner's series, I grew up in the 80s, survived COVID, and I love WWII historical fiction. This book was a huge win for me. I love Libba Bray's writing, though this does not have the fantasy elements that Diviner's had. This touches on alot of things in the various historical events of the 1940s and 1980s in Germany as well as the spring of 2020 pandemic that we all just lived through. If those time periods and events are going to be triggering for you, take care and maybe shelve this one for later. I thought the author did a great job discussing the political landscapes of each time period and some of the horrible events that occurred.

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Review: Penitence by Kristin Koval

Penitence by Kristin Koval
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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

A family is destroyed when their son is murdered and the only suspect is his younger sister, Nora. Nora doesn't really remember what happened that night, and she isn't speaking to anyone. Her father seeks the aid of local lawyer Martine, who doesn't have experience with criminal cases but her son Julian is a criminal lawyer. We come to find out that all of the character's are interconnected as the story is told from different points of time from different characters perspectives.

Initially I was hooked and couldn't put this down, but as the book continued I realized this wasn't really a mystery or thriller as it was marketed. There is no big reveal or twist at the end and I felt mislead, the resolution is information we already know. The book is well written no doubt but it is not mysterious or thrilling as the story plays out, it is more of a family drama This book initially reminded me of DJ Palmers The Perfect Daughter where you weren't sure if the sister did it or if there was some medical diagnosis that was going to lead somewhere. There were initially some red herrings in the case that made me believe this was a thriller and something was going to come of Martine and Julian's investigation into Nora's behavior especially the mental illness. The book focuses more on the adults and their relationships and entanglements than it does on the actual investigation and trial. As the book unfolds we come to find that this was more of a story about family, forgiveness, grief, the human condition, and healing.

I did enjoy this, however I don't like it when I feel misled. I would have liked this much better had I known this was not a thriller. It is like ordering coffee and getting tea, I like both and consume both regularly, but when you get something you aren't expecting you don't like it as much. I did think Thérèse Plummer was an amazing narrator as always, she always does such a wonderful job.

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Review: This Wild Heart by Karla Sorensen

This Wild Heart by Karla Sorensen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

This is the 5th and I believe final book in the Wilder Family books. You do not have to read them in order, as they are companion novels and all read as standalones. There are bits and pieces of family events that are mentioned throughout, and if you want to get to know all of the siblings and extended family mentioned you will want to read the rest of the series and possibly the Ward Sisters so some of those events make sense. Each story does read completely on their own and Karla does a wonderful job making sure you have enough information so you aren't completely lost.

This follows Parker, the youngest of the Wilder siblings. He is still grieving the loss of his father, and the trying to chase away the guilt he feels about how he handled his grief about his father's diagnosis and choice to live out his final days. Parker has spent months trying to ignore his feelings, but when Anya walks into his life he finally feels that spark he's been chasing. Unfortunately, she is engaged the first time they meet and being the respectful man his parents raised him to be, she's off limits. The next time they meet Anya is taking "sad shots" in Vegas with her best friend after breaking up with aforementioned fiancé. The next thing they know Parker and Anya wake up married. They both have their reasons for getting married, and a marriage of convenience is the perfect arrangement for both of them right now. If you have read the previous Wilder books, you are no stranger to relationship and marriage shenanigans with this crew.

As Anya and Parker pretend to be married and settle into their honeymoon phase, an unexpected surprise from Parker's past shows up and upsets all of the headway they've made in their not so fake feelings. Neither of them is sure if their attraction and easy interactions are enough to overcome the emotions they are feeling the caused them to get married in the first place.

I really loved watching Anya and Parker fall for each other. They had instant chemistry both in and out of the bedroom. What really shines though is the way the author captures the other emotions of the characters and how they support each other through that. Grief is no joke and I thought the author did a wonderful job capturing the feeling of losing someone so close to you and the guilt you feel about what you did or didn't do in those final days or months. You will want to have a box of tissues nearby when Parker finally opens up about his feelings, those scenes were really emotional. We have gotten to know the Wilder's in the prior books and it was nice to finally get to know Parker, as he only makes brief appearances due to his job as a pro football player. I loved the scenes with his mom, she is a wonderful character as were Anya's parents who we first met in Isabel and Aiden's book Forbidden. The thing I love about Karla's character's is how realistic they are and how real their interactions with their family and friends are.

I can't recommend this series enough and this was the perfect ending to the series!

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Review: Lightfall by Ed Crocker

Lightfall by Ed Crocker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was amazing!  I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley, however I did end up borrowing the audiobook from the library and listened to about half of it while following along with the ARC.  As always, all opinions are my own.

The audiobook has a single narrator, and while I thought she did a wonderful job, I do think this is the type of audiobook that would have benefited from multiple narrators or even a full cast as there are so many characters.  

It has been quite a while since I've come across a unique fantasy book, and this has alot going on to make it so.  This is a tad on the long side, but it crosses several genres and follows a cast of characters to keep the reader invested and wondering "What the heck is going on?"  Some readers are going to hate the way this is structured as it jumps around from character to character within the chapters, while others are going to love it.  I loved it and didn't mind the character jumps as each piece of the story was relevant and eventually leads somewhere.  This follows several of our main characters as main perspective, and there are some random side character and truly random perspectives thrown in throughout.  Each perspective brings something to the table and were clearly thought out.  If you aren't a fan of alot of characters and genre blending they may not be the book for you, but I thought the author did a great job keeping things moving forward and moving each of the intertwining plots organized without giving too much away too quickly.

This has court politics, magic, vampires, sorcerers, werewolves, a murder mystery, and more all rolled up into fantastical tale.  I thought the world building was excellent as this takes place mainly in First Light, home of First Lord Azzuri who is one of our main players. It is home to the vampire race that survived a long ago war.  There are some other locations as well that are well described and the backstory that we get regarding Lightfall and Greyfall are also well told, though I still think there is more information to come.  First Light is full of secrets especially when the First Lord's youngest son turns up dead under mysterious circumstances.  His spymaster and captain of the guard don't seem very invested in uncovering information, when two sorcerers from the desert with no magical abilities show up under the guise of research and a palace maid team up to figure out what is going on.  Sage and Jacob belong to a sorcerer cult dedicated to finding proof that mortals once existed, but they will never admit what they know.  Sam is a maid who has revenge on her mind and wants to be more than a to clean for spoiled lords and ladies for the rest of her life.  The three of them find themselves caught up in an investigation bigger than themselves and on quite the adventure to start a rebellion within the vampire city and to stop the mysterious Greys who are determined to wipe out the vampire race entirely.

I loved this.  I was completely invested in this book.  It felt a bit on the long side, but that is because there are so many characters and complexities to keep track of.   This delivered on all of the things I love in a more epic fantasy.  The pacing was good, there was action and conflict to keep you invested.  I enjoyed the characters and while we have sorcerers, the two main ones don't have magic so we don't really need any explanation of the magic system to complicate things.  There other types of sorcerers but the author does briefly explain their abilities.  He did do a good job of explaining how the types of blood works for the vampires and the commerce system which I thought was really well thought out.  I can't wait for the rest of the series!  I hope to see this book pick up more popularity as the year goes on within the fantasy community.

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Review: The Soccer of Success: How the Beautiful Game Can Help You Achieve Goals in Business & Life by Ciarán McArdle

The Soccer of Success: How the Beautiful Game Can Help You Achieve Goals in Business & Life by Ciarán McArdle
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC and an ALC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  I found it helpful to have both formats available as there are some lists in the e-book and as I was listening along with the audiobook I always find it helpful to refer to the print version when lists are being read aloud.  The author did a good job with the narration and explaining his points, giving examples, and giving us his perspective.

This was a great common sense approach to achieving goals and setting yourself up for success.  The author uses soccer as an example for how elite professional soccer/football players around the world achieve their goals when it comes to training and living their dreams both on and off the field/pitch.  Having played soccer through high school and for fun through my adult life, the comparisons made a lot of sense to me.  His advice is common sense and straightforward, but sometimes you need to hear it to put it into action.  I've been struggling to get back into an exercise routine since COVID, but his method of prioritizing your top three at work and at home and eating the frog really resonated with me.  I found myself listening to this while I was getting some exercise, and thinking to myself "This isn't that hard, I can do this!  I really need to eat that frog."  Eating the frog refers to a concept of performing and prioritizing undesirable tasks, like exercise, first so you get them out of the way instead of putting them off until last so you never get them done.

My own kids want to be high achievers when it comes to sports and have high aspirations in their future careers.  I think this book would be great for a new high school or college grad.  The author speaks to breaking your day up into chunks to increase efficiency and prioritizing tasks, and most importantly turning off your phone to prevent internet distractions.  The book is not very long but McArdle gets to the point and lays out his keys to success in an understandable way.  If you are fan of soccer I think this will really hit home if you are struggling to prioritize or looking for some perspective on goal setting.  

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COVER REVEAL: The Merger by Adriana Locke

THE MERGER by Adriana Locke

The Merger is the next interconnected standalone in the Brewer Family series, and is filled with heat and humor, spice... and secrets.

Releasing: February 10, 2025

Model Cover Design: Kari March Designs

Model Photographer: Julia Mindar

Special Edition Cover Design: Books & Moods

Crushes are harmless—unless they involve your best friend’s grumpy, off-limits
brother.

Gannon Brewer is the epitome of my type. He’s at least ten years older than me, emotionally unavailable, and highly disagreeable—a walking red flag in a tailored suit. But do I listen to that? No. In fact, when his office plants start dying, I convince myself that I can ignore the pheromones and save the philodendron.

Now I’m in his office every week, dodging sinful smirks and heated stares, reminding myself to reach for the watering can—not him. But one late-night “ivy incident” changes everything. Suddenly, we’re sneaking around, indulging in a steamy, forbidden fling that’s supposed to be nothing more than (a lot of) fun.

After all, he swears he’ll never fall in love. I assure him that I only want one thing, and it’s not his heart. But the closer we get, the more lines we blur, and the harder it becomes to keep 
our promises …

Especially when the secret I’m keeping threatens to shatter everything.

Amazon Preorder: https://geni.us/TheMergerPO

Goodreads: https://geni.us/TheMergerLocke

Review: An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson

An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I was provided and ARC of this book via Netgalley and the Berkley Besties program, all opinions re my own.

If you like dark academia with a hint of horror and gothic fantasy, this is a wild ride. The concept was really unique, but this book is either one you are really going to love or it is going to leave you wondering "what just happened?". It certainly left me thinking "Did I even like this?" There were aspects that I enjoyed, while others I thought fell flat in execution.

This follows Lennon in the wake of discovering her fiancé's infidelity. Her self worth is wrapped up in her relationship which is a theme that continues throughout the book, but a mysterious phone call invites her to an interview at the strange and exclusive Drayton University. Upon her arrival at Drayton she is put through a very odd admittance process which includes a written exam as well an in person interview. Lennon finds that she has the gift of persuasion, where she can assert her will on others and at Drayton she will learn to hone that gift and in her case her abilities surpass those of her classmates. She struggles with the morality of persuasion and the mission of Drayton. Her abilities put her in a different category of student and she is pushed harder to develop these abilities than the others for reasons that are revealed much later in the book. Lennon has some issues with her self-worth, so when she is given an opportunity to be loved and praised by her professors, she jumps at the chance and poor decisions are made for the sake of progress. I found Lennon to be immature and unlikable, but I think that was done purposely by the author. The author had the opportunity to explore mental illness, jealousy, toxic relationships, and boundaries but none of those were really fleshed out in the book as Lennon figures out where she fits at Drayton and in the world.

This book is very atmospheric, but left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction. There really isn't a ton of world building as this takes place in Savannah, Georgia; however I thought that the campus of Drayton and the "magic system" could have been described much better. The characters just accept everything a bit to easily when they arrive and the training they participate in. I really liked the idea of the magic and the concepts presented at Drayton, but I would have liked more explanation of how it all worked and more development of the characters. There are a ton of side characters that we never really get to know. There is mention toward the end that "they are Lennon's friends" but they never really develop relationships with her and she is kind of a terrible friend.

In the end, there were concepts I enjoyed but I wanted more explanation of what was going on. I was often confused about what was happening. I feel like the author was trying not to give too much away until the twists and reveals, however by the time we get to the end I wasn't satisfied with the conclusion. I do think there are readers who are absolutely going to love this, but I didn't connect with it the way I had hoped.

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Review: Spied: A Romantic Comedy by J.M. Miller

Spied: A Romantic Comedy by J.M. Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an Audible code for this book via the author, all opinions are my own.  I had previously purchased a kindle version of this book, but had not read it yet.  I've been a fan of the author's contemporary and fantasy novels for quite some time and this was a great romcom to read over the snowy, freezing cold weekend we are having here this weekend.  

I thought the two narrators were excellent.  They really brought  Gia and Mark to life.  This book really lent itself well to the dual narrated format alternating between Gia and Mark.

This was a hilarious romcom following an amateur private investigator Gia, who also helps out at her family's bridal shop.  Gia was inspired to start a secret business to uncover unfaithful partners, after she herself was cheated on by someone she thought was "the one".  She is pretty jaded about love and relationships, but she loves her family and aspired to be a real PI one day.  While on a job she runs in to Mark, a maintenance man at a local resort.  She escapes unscathed, but she and Mark will meet again sooner than she expects.  Unbeknownst to her Mark's sister has ordered a custom wedding gown that her sister is making, and they keep running into each other after that.

Gia keeps showing up in unexpected places that Mark just happens to be at with convenient excuses.  Turns out she is spying on Gia's fiancé, Guy, and Mark is at all of the prewedding festivities.  As he gets pulled in deeper and deeper to Gia's antics, Gia feels worse and worse about lying to him about why she is always around.  Gia is constantly finding herself in awkward situations in order to take pictures of her target, and Mark is always interrupting aka distracting her while she is on the job.  These situations make for very comedic and sweet interactions between them as Gia tries to come up with a feasible explanation for why she is there in the first place and she tries to ignore her growing attraction to Mark.  She is terrified to be hurt in another relationship, but Mark may just be the right guy to let in.  His willingness to be patient with her and help her was endearing and their banter was excellent.  This gets pretty steamy in parts so be prepared for that.

I enjoyed the cozy mystery aspect as Gia tries to determine if there is a scandal going on with the upcoming wedding or if everything is on the up and up.  Her antics are pretty laugh out loud.

If you are looking for a cozy read this winter or a fun beach read this summer, I highly recommend picking this up in whatever format you prefer, it is available on Kindle Unlimited at the time of this post as well as paperback, audiobook, and ebook.

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Review: Babylonia by Costanza Casati

Babylonia by Costanza Casati
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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

I was a huge fan of Casati's [book:Clytemnestra|61361681], and this has that same slower paced build up and similar world building style that I enjoyed so much.  The author took great care to ensure that the historical aspects of the real people and events in the book were portrayed to the best of her ability and that her characters felt real.  Her writing is descriptive and doesn't hold back when we get to the battle scenes.  In her author's note she explains her research and where she took liberties with this retelling.

Much like in Clytemnestra, we get another strong willed female lead in Semiramis who makes her own way in the male dominated world she lives in and captivates the men around her to establish her own future and power.  We get to see Semiramis rise from a mistreated orphan to the ruler of an empire.  She had goals and ambitions, and she wasn't afraid to go after them.  

This book is full of political posturing, the court reminded me of King's Landing from Game of Thrones where everyone has their own goals and will stab their neighbor in the back to get what they want.  There is war, love, death, betrayal, guilt, and so much more going on but the author does a great job stringing everything together.

I really enjoyed this but I wasn't as drawn into this book as I was Clytemnestra.  I enjoyed the narration and felt the narrator did a great job telling the story.  If you enjoy mythology and retellings this is well written and well researched.  

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Review: A Language of Dragons: An Epic Tale of Forbidden Romance, Dragon Languages, and Civil War in an Alternate 1920's London

A Language of Dragons: An Epic Tale of Forbidden Romance, Dragon Languages, and Civil War in an Alternate 1920's London by S.F. Williamson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

I was drawn to this book after having read several books set at the secretive Bletchley Park over the last several years.  This is set in an alternative London/England, and while it takes some elements from the original Bletchley and codebreaking mission of the park, the war they are fighting is very different.  This is not a WWI/WWII historical fiction as one might expect based on the setting, it is a completely different alternative history and fantasy story.  There is quite a good bit of discussion about politics, corruption, class systems, oppression, and of course there are dragons.  

This follows Vivien, a polyglot, fluent in several human languages and several dragon languages.  Dragons live along side humans, and a Peace Agreement between the British Prime Minister and the Dragon Queen keep their violent natures at bay, atleast outwardly.  Vivien hopes to become a famous dragon translator, and will do anything to ensure her future is secure.  All of her plans come to a halt when her parents and uncle are arrested for treason and being members of the rebellion.  In an attempt to destroy evidence Vivien concocts her own plans to save hwe family, which only sets off events that she never anticipated.  She finds herself assigned to Bletchley Park to learn a new dragon language to pay for her crimes against her country and save her family.  She and a group of "criminals" have been assigned to the Park to work on various dragon projects to help the Prime Minister save the country from a devastating war with the dragons, or so they think.  The longer they are at Bletchley, the more Vivien and her cohort discover that corruption is all around them, and the language she is learning isn't a mere code to break, but something so much more.

I really enjoyed this!  Vivien struggles alot with her self-worth and guilt.  She was brought up in a class system where performance is everything and the threat of losing your status is worse than death.  She is naive when it comes to trusting people, always expecting they will do what they say and hold up agreements.  Betrayal is a huge part of her character arc and the reason she has so much guilt.   We see Vivien struggle with doing what she knows is right versus doing what she thinks will either get her ahead or later on protect her loved ones.  She then has to come to terms with corruption and what is best for the greater good while still trying to figure out what will save her family.  I really enjoyed all of the side characters as well that helped Vivien on her journey to crack the dragon code, and figure out what kind of person she truly wants to be.  There is a light bit  of romance. 

I'm not sure if this is the first book in a new series, but it does read as if there will be more to come.  I do feel like this installment had a fulfilling ending, but there is still more story to be told.  If there is another book, I can't wait to find out what happens next!  This was so unique and I'm completely invested in the characters and the plot.  I would really like to see more of Chumana the dragon, I really enjoyed her!  I also hope to get to know the side characters better if there is another book.

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Review: Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher

Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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

This follows Mariel, Robin Hood's granddaughter and a captain of the merry men.  Robin's legacy lives on with the merry men (who are not all men and no one cares), but their mission has changed, and they aren't exactly stealing from the rich to give to the poor any more.  Mariel's father leads the merry men and she is desperate to gain his approval, but no matter what she does it never meets his standards.  This makes for a great plotline in the book because Mariel is actually a pretty good leader and knows that some of his orders are not in the best interests of the merry men and the people they are claiming to protect.  She also knows that it goes against what Robin established before he retired.  She puts alot of pressure on herself to be the best captain and leader she can be and not make any mistakes.  

Our other main character is Clemence aka Clem, a healer who Mariel and her merry men kidnap for potentially having information about the Sherriff and his son.  They really wanted Clem's mentor Rosie, but Clem is fiercely loyal and protective of Rosie and she is a skilled healer in her own right and takes her place.  Clem is a terrible prisoner, always cracking jokes and making light of every situation.  She is a good healer and tends to her patients whether they like it or not.  She quickly endears herself to Mariel's group, who are a rag tag found family and a delight to get to know.  

This was slow to start, but the action does pick up about halfway through.  There are some heavier emotional scenes, but for the most part things are light and fun.  There are alot of humorous moments and some closed door/fade to black romantic moments as well.  Overall, this was a fun opposites attract LGBT romance with a Robin Hood vibe and a nice found family.  

I enjoyed the audiobook narration and thought the narrators did a great job with Clem and Mariel and it was nice to have dual narration so you knew which chapter and main character you were hearing from.

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Review: Vow of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes

Vow of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was provided an ARC of this book via Netgalley for the rerelease of this book by Ace/Berkley in January 2025, however I do want to mention that I had previously purchased the kindle and audiobook versions of the series.  As always all opinions expressed in my review are my own.

I loved the first book and immediately continued on with the series.  This picks up where book 1 leaves off with Faraine and Vor at odds shortly after their marriage ceremony.  Vor is naturally angry after having discovering that Faraine and her family have betrayed him.  He chooses to keep Faraine more as a political prisoner than as his bride until he figures out what his next move is.  He has to balance what to do about his own ailing kingdom in the wake of the betrayal and the blow to his own personal pride.  Faraine on the other hand wants to actually try to salvage things with Vor, and help in any way that she can.  

There is quite a bit of angst and tension in this installment as our main characters don't spend much time together developing their relationship.  They do spend a good bit on their own personal development.  Faraine spends time trying to figure out her magical abilities and explore as much of her new home as she can.  Meanwhile Vor is trying to figure out how to save his home and workout his feelings for his new wife and the false pretenses in which they were married.  They are both trying to balance duty and desire.  

There is alot of set up for book 3 happening here, so don't be alarmed if all of your questions aren't answered.  This does end with a cliffhanger and alot of things yet to be explained, but it all comes together in the next book.  If you enjoyed book 1, like romantasy with a moderate amount of spice, political intrigue, and great worldbuilding give this series a chance.  I really enjoyed the world and Faraine's unique abilities.  

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Review: Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan

Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided an ALC and ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  I thought the narrator did a great job narrating both leads.  Typically you see books like this in dual POV format with two narrators, but Charlotte North does a good job voicing both characters

This follows Juliana, a single mom who is returning to work after the sudden death of her beloved husband.  She decided to stay home and raise their two daughters after having a successful career in human resources.  Fortunately her mentor hired after a hiatus, knowing that she could work her way back up the ranks.  Parenting with two working parents is hard enough, but Juliana and her daughters are still grieving, and Juliana struggles with the transition from stay at home mom to working mom.  The guilt of not being able to to juggle everything and be as on top of things as you want for both work and your kids is very real, and I thought the author did a good job capturing that.  She also captured the disdain you get from colleagues when you need to leave early or take time off for your family, even if you are stellar at your job and complete all of your tasks.  One of those colleagues Juliana faces off with is Ben.  They don't know each other well, but they immediately get off to a bad start on her first day, and despite an attraction between them they are determined to snark at each other.  When a project comes across their desks forcing them to work together, they call a truce.  Their truce expands when their daughters become best friends at school, and they are forced to let some of their frosty feelings thaw as they get to know each other better.

It took me quite a while to warm up to Juliana.  Her disdain for Ben was a bit over the top, to the point she was pushing away some of her best friends.   Fortunately, she eventually figures things out and lets her guard down a bit.  I appreciated that she had a good support network and her friends made for some great side characters.  Ben was a bit grumpy at first but he redeems himself with his patience and kindness as we get to know him.  

I personally did not enjoy the third act break up.  Ben was working so hard to get Juliana to trust him and let him into her life and heart, then that happens.  I won't spoil it, and I guess I can see why once their mutual bestie Asia explains it, but I feel like it could have been handled differently.  I also guess I should have expected something like that to happen based on how many times Juliana mentions not wanting to let someone in and be hurt again.  

Overall, this was a cute enemies to lovers romance.  I enjoyed that both main characters were single parents and how much both of them loved all of the kids.

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Review: Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee

Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was provided both and ALC and an ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own.  I read both the ebook and listened along to the audio.   Both were great formats to follow along Jun's journey to restore his family's honor and fight for what is right in the empire.

This follows Jun, an aspiring warrior who has been separated from is mother and twin brother from a young age.  Sai is breathmarked, while Jun was not so as any hot-headed 6 year old, he can't understand why his twin is allowed to do things he isn't.  Jun and his father are exiled, while Sai is taken to be trained as an Aspect and their mother goes with him.  Their separation is extended due to unrest between the East and the West.  He hopes to restore honor to his family and reunite with his mother and brother by becoming the next Guardian.  His father has forbidden him from participating in the upcoming Guardian Tournament despite the Master of the school he trains at stating he is ready to compete.  Martial arts were the reason they were separated from their family in the first place, and his father doesn't want to lose Jun.

I hope we get to learn more about Sai, the twin, in the next book.  He is mentioned often, but after the prologue, we never reunite with him.  Jun thinks about him often, and uses the thought of reuniting with him and their mother as motivation for many of his actions.  I also hope to learn more about the Aspects and the Breathmarked in general.  Their abilities and lore is fascinating, but as a personal preference I always want more information about magic and lore.  

If you enjoy martial arts especially those of Bruce Lee, and fantasy this is a great book to pick up.  It is action packed and has great world building.  There is good character development, and our main character has to work hard for his achievements as he isn't the chosen one with special abilities like some of his opponents.  There is a good political intrigue plot along side the fight scenes, and I suspect that will be expanded on more in the next book.  I'm looking forward to seeing where book 2 takes us and how the plot develops and where Jun's journey goes next.

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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

Books Read

Letter	Title	Author
A	Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear	Seanan McGuire
B	Breath of the Dragon	Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee
C	The Crescent Moon Tearoom	Stacy Sivinski
D	A Dragon of Black Glass	James Rollins
E	Elevation	Stephen King
F	Freaking Romance vol 2	Snailords
G	Get Lost with You	Sophie Sullivan
H	Heartwood	Amity Gaige
I	In the Veins of Drowning	Katie Cassidy
J	Journey to the Center of the Earth	Jules Verne
K	The Kiss Lottery	Ilsa Madden-Mills
L	Lightfall	Ed Crocker
M	The Merger	Adriana Locke
N	Not for the Faint of Heart	Lex Croucher
O	Our Infinite Fates	Laura Stevens
P	The Prince Without Sorrow	Maithree Wijesekara
Q	The Queens of Crime	Marie Benedict
R	Rebel Witch	Kristen Ciccarelli
S	Spied	JM Miller
T	Transmentation Transience	Darkly Lem
U	Under the Same Stars	Libba Bray
V	The Vine Witch	Luanne G. Smith
W	Wash Day Diaries	Jamila Rowser
X
Y	Yellowface	R.F. Kuang
Z	Zombie Apocalypse Running Club	Carrie Mac

Monthly Mini Challenges

Month	Prompt	Title	Author
January	You are dropped on a deserted island for 7 days with water, flint to make a fire, and a tarp. You are allowed to bring 3 personal items. Choose your items and then find one of those items in the title of a book and read it to complete the challenge.
February	Read a book with a word in the title from a Taylor Swift song title.	The Kiss Lottery	Ilsa Madden-Mills
March	read a book with UP - DOWN - HIGH or LOW in the title.	Coming Up Roses	Staci Hart
April	read a book with MURDER in the title. Homicide- Death - Kill are acceptable too	Board to Death	CJ Connor
May	a book with something SWEET in the title	Sweet Escape	Meredith Wild and Jillian Liota
June	read a book with a PREPOSITION in the title	A Fate Forged in Fire	Hazel McBride
July	Read a book with 7 or more works in the title	The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant	Liza Tully
August	read a book with a COLOR in the title	Hemlock & Silver	T. Kingfisher
September
October
Novermber
December

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.

Books Read

Letter	Title	Author
A	The Fourth Consort	Edward Ashton
B	Let's Call a Truce	Amy Buchanan
C	Babylonia	Costanza Cosati
D	The Best Medicine	Krysta Dearson
E
F	The Great Gatsby	F. Scott Fitzgerald
G	Tequila Wars	Ted Genoways
H	An Academy for Liars	Alexis Henderson
I	Attack on Titan Volume 21	Hajime Isayame
J	How Long 'til Black Future Month?	N.K. Jemisin
K	Penitence	Kristin Koval
L	The Quarry Girls	Jess Lourey
M	The Soccer of Success: How the Beautiful Game Can Help You Achieve Goals in Business	Ciarán McArdle
N	The Man Made of Smoke	Alex North
O	A Song for You and I	K. O'Neill
P	The Deathly Grimm	Kathryn Purdie
Q
R	Arch-Conspirator	Veronica Roth
S	This Wild Heart	Karla Sorensen
T	The Arrival	Shaun Tan
U	House of Crows Collection	Lisa Unger
V	Space Opera	Catherynne M. Valente
W	A Language of Dragons	SF Williamson
X	Heavenly Tyrant	Xiran Jay Zhao
Y	Onyx Storm	Rebecca Yarros
Z

2025 Netgalley and Edelweiss Reading Challenge

 

I participated in this challenge in 2023 and 2024 and plan to do it again in 2025.  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. Breath of the Dragon by Shannon Lee and Fonda Lee (1/7/25)
4. Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan (1/14/25)
5. Vow of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes (1/14/25)
6. Not for the Faint of Heart by Lex Croucher (11/26/24)
7. A Language of Dragons by S.F. Williamson (1/7/25)
8. Babylonia by Costanza Casati (1/14/25)
9. An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson (9/17/24)
10. The Soccer of Success by Ciaran McArdle (1/28/25)
11. Lightfall by Ed Crocker (1/14/25)
12. Penitence by Kristin Koval (1/28/25)
13. Under the Same Stars by Libba Bray (2/4/25)

February Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. The Queens of Crime by Marie Benedict (2/11/25)
2. The Kiss Lottery by Ilsa Madden-Mills (2/11/25)
3. Get Lost With You by Sophie Sullivan (2/11/25)
4. Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley (11/12/24)
5. A Dragon of Black Glass by James Rollins (2/18/25)
6. The Fourth Consort by Edward Ashton (2/25/25)
7. Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven (3/4/5)
8. Heart of the Shadow King by Sylvia Mercedes (2/25/25)

March Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (3/4/25)
2. The Knight and the Butcherbird by Alix E. Harrow (3/11/25)
3. Transmentation Transience by Darkly Lem (3/18/25)
4. The Deathly Grimm by Kathryn Purdie (3/25/25)
5. The Prince Without Sorrow by Maithree Wijesekara (3/18/25)
6. A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett (4/1/25)

April Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. Where Shadows Meet by Patrice Caldwell (4/1/25)
2. The Quarry Girls by Jess Lourey (11/1/22)
3. Their Monstrous Hearts by Yigit Turhan (4/8/25)
4. Heartwood by Amity Gage (4/1/25)
5. Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (3/4/25)
6. The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton (4/1/25)
7. Bat Eater and other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker (4/29/25)

May Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. My Grandma and Grandpa Rock! by Pat Benetar and Neil Giraldo (9/9/25)
2. Big Dumb Eyes by Nate Bargatze (5/6/25)
3. Tequila Wars by Ted Genoways (5/6/25)
4. The Keeper of Enchanted Rooms by Charlie N. Holmberg (11/1/22)
5. The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North (5/13/25)
6. A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen (1/30/24)
7. Lessons in Heartbreak by Karla Sorensen (5/20/25)
8. Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts (5/27/25)

June Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. A Fate Forged in Fire by Hazel McBride (5/27/25)
2. Sunshine and Spice by Aurora Palit (9/10/24)
3. The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark (6/3/25)
4. Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare (6/3/25)
5. Pretty Good Science Jokes by Steve Mockus (8/26/25)

July Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. An Irish Summer by Alexandra Paige (7/1/25)
2. A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (7/15/25)
3. The Code for Love by Anne Marsh (7/29/25)
4. Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge (7/15/25)
5. In the Veins of Drowning by Kalie Cassidy (7/15/25)
6. The Golden Age of Magic by Luanne G. Smith (7/1/25)
7. The Library at Hellebore by Cassandra Khaw (7/22/25)
8. Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz (
9. The World's Greatest Detective and Her Just Okay Assistant by Liza Tully (7/8/25)

August Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. Angel Down by Daniel Kraus 7/29/25
2. The Locked Ward by Sarah Pekkanen (8/5/25)
3. The Witch's Orchard by Archer Sullivan (8/12/25)
4. Mistress of Bones by Maria Z. Medina (8/5/25)
5. Woven from Clay by Jenny Birch (8/12/25)
6. Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher (8/19/25)
7. Break Me Down by Anna Downes (8/19/25)
8. The Executioners Three by Susan Dennard (8/26/25)

September Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley (9/2/25)
2. Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross (9/2/25)
3. The Summer War by Naomi Novik (9/16/25)
4. To Clutch a Razor by Veronica Roth (9/16/25)
5. An Introvert's Guide to Life and Love by Lauren Applebaum (9/16/25)

October Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. The Hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens (10/7/25)
2. The Witching Moon Manor by Stacy Sivinski (10/7/25)

November Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. Fallen City by Adrienne Young (11/4/25)
2. Break Wide the Sea by Sara Holland (11/11/25)
3. Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree (11/11/25)
4. 
   

December  Link up to see what everyone else read and reviewed

1. Snake-Eater by T. Kingfiser (12/1/25)

Unfinished/ Past Due

1. The End of the World by H.S. Gilchrist (2/5/24)
2. Navola by Paolo Bacigalupi (7/9/24)
3. Guardians of Dawn: Ami by S. Jae-Jones (8/6/24)
4.