Compass and Blade by. Rachel Greenlaw | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Compass and Blade

Author: Rachel Greenlaw

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 2/27/24

Publisher: Inkyard Press

Categories: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Sirens, Pirates

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Inkyard Press for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This world of sea and storm runs deep with bargains and blood.

On the remote isle of Rosevear, Mira, like her mother before her, is a wrecker, one of the seven on the rope who swim out to shipwrecks to plunder them. Mira’s job is to rescue survivors, if there are any. After all, she never feels the cold of the frigid ocean waters and the waves seem to sing to her soul. But the people of Rosevear never admit the truth: that they set the beacons themselves to lure ships into the rocks.

When the Council watch lays a trap to put an end to the wrecking, they arrest Mira’s father. Desperate to save him from the noose, Mira strikes a deal with an enigmatic wreck survivor guarding layers of secrets behind his captivating eyes, and sets off to find something her mother has left her, a family secret buried deep in the sea.

With just nine days to find what she needs to rescue her father, all Mira knows for certain is this: The sea gives. The sea takes. And it’s up to her to do what she must to save the ones she loves.

Content Warning: violence

+ I feel like this story started off strong. Mira and her friends and family on Rosevear are wreckers. When a ship wrecked on their shores, they pillaged the ship for survival. The world-building is interesting because it’s a world of survival in the seas and islands around Rosevear. There are pirates, magic and sirens.

+~ I liked the found friendship Mira has with the crew that takes her on her journey but again it would have been nice to get to know each of them more. The story needs more character building.

+~ The story moved quickly but at times I think too quickly. I wanted to learn more about the wreckers but Mira leaves the island right away into the story, so she can help save her friend and her dad who were caught by the watchers and are about to be hung. So she basically island hops in order to find this treasure her mother left for her and she thinks whatever this treasure is, can help her save her dad. I wanted to learn more about the Sirens but I just think we needed more world-building in general.

~ Mira was an interesting character until we had to follow her on this journey to find the treasure and she just came off so naive in so many situations. She falls for a boy she hardly knows – this story takes place in the span of one week – and her feelings for him puts her in the worst situations. Not to mention, he betrays her multiple times and she forgives him the first time! This girl had no business going on this journey without anyone she could trust, but she wanted to be a hero. And also she feels other things about another boy so yes there is a love triangle brewing. I was pretty frustrated with her as a character by the end.

My Thoughts:

This book had so much potential because I like a good pirate book but the more I read, the more Mira, the MC seemed so naive and clueless. I think she has a chance in book two to really embrace the side of her that will wreck vengeance on her enemies but yeah this book was just okay. I did feel like the writing is for a younger audience but there is a sex scene. Anyway, this was somewhat entertaining despite the love triangle, and the issues I have with the main character. I would love for more world-building and character building in the next book but I’m not even sure I want to read the next book!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

A Court of Thorns and Roses by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review | Re-read

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Format: ebook (own)

Pages: 419

Publication Date: 5/5/15

Categories: Young Adult, New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Faeries

When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a terrifying creature arrives to demand retribution. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she knows about only from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not truly a beast, but one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled her world.

At least, he’s not a beast all the time.

As she adapts to her new home, her feelings for the faerie, Tamlin, transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie she’s been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But something is not right in the faerie lands. An ancient, wicked shadow is growing, and Feyre must find a way to stop it, or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

Content Warning: violence, death, torture

I can’t say how many times I’ve read this book. But it’s been so long that I’ve done a re-read, I thought why not right now? In my initial review for this book in 2015 on Goodreads was 4 stars. So I’m bumping it up 1/2 a star because I loved it the more I re-read it.

+ Feyre is a fantastic character. She’s a survivor, she does makes mistakes, she’s not even the strongest person physically but she survives on her instincts and is always learning. I love her bravery even when she’s deathly afraid. I love that she took care of her family and has complicated feelings about her family.

+ I love that this first book in the series had a beauty and the beast vibe where Feyre goes to Prythian to live in Tamlin’s home as punishment because she kills one of his men, without knowing he was a faerie. I like that this faerie world of Prythian is dangerous and Feyre comes in contact with many different monsters while living there.

+ The world building is so good. And I loved how bad a villain Amarantha is. The ending of the book is what made my jaw drop about this book. What Feyre does for Tamlin and her bravery throughout it all made me admire her so much.

+~ Ah, the romance. It’s so good when you don’t know what’s coming in book two! 😅 All my re-reads after reading it the first time made me look at Tamlin a different way of course. But here’s the thing, it was so good between Tamlin and Feyre. He was this gorgeous, scary beast and all he wanted to do was protect though we find out later there is an ulterior motive to having her in Prythian. She risked it all for him!

~ There is a lot of talking in this book, in this whole series actually because there is always explaining to do. There are stories that Feyre doesn’t know, faerie lore, there’s a lot she needs to catch up on and figure out so yes…sometimes it’s a lot of explaining happening.

My Final Thoughts:

I never get tired of re-reading this book, especially this first one because we see this human girl turn into a broken almost superhero at the end, all for the guy she loves. But also, this was the first book that introduces us to this amazing world of Prythian and I truly love all the adventures Feyre has capturing the Suriel, fighting the Naga and the worm, and helping to end Amarantha’s reign of terror. It’s a dark, sultry story without it being spicy. Of course I have my issues with it too but overall I love the story.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

House of Flame and Shadow by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

House of Sky and Breath by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Book Review | House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Court of Silver Flames | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WWW Wednesday | 2/21/24

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

My kids had a few days off of school this weekend, plus they were both sick with a cold on Friday so it’s been a long weekend that I needed to catch up on sleep.

What are you currently reading?

The Poisons We Drink by. Bethany Baptiste – 4% – no progress

The Summer She Went Missing by. Chelsea Ichaso – 29% – some progress

One Last Breath by. Ginny Myers Sain – 1% just started this one

What have you just finished reading?

Snowglobe by. Soyoung Park – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

All This Twisted Glory by. Tahereh Mafi – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Fake Mate by. Lana Ferguson (audiobook) – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Bad Like Us by. Gabriella Lepore – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le

Flawless Girls by. Anna-Marie McLemore

The Dangerous Ones by. Lauren Blackwood

Dragonfruit by. Makiia Lucier

What are you reading right now?

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 2/20/24

Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:

A Tempest of Tea by. Hafsah Faizal

From Hafsah Faizal, New York Times–bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame, comes the first book in a hotly-anticipated new fantasy duology about an orphan girl and her crew who get tangled in a heist with vampires, perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows.

On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by dark, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—and she can’t do the job alone.

Calling upon a band of misfits, Arthie formulates a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not every member of her crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.

Goodreads | Amazon

heartless Hunter by. Kristen Ciccarelli

A steamy game of cat and mouse between witch and witch-hunter, played out against a backdrop of opulence, secrets, and bloody history.

On the night Rune’s life changed forever, blood ran in the streets. Now, in the aftermath of a devastating revolution, witches have been diminished from powerful rulers to outcasts ruthlessly hunted due to their waning magic, and Rune must hide what she is.

Spending her days pretending to be nothing more than a vapid young socialite, Rune spends her nights as the Crimson Moth, a witch vigilante who rescues her kind from being purged. When a rescue goes wrong, she decides to throw the witch hunters off her scent and gain the intel she desperately needs by courting the handsome Gideon Sharpe – a notorious and unforgiving witch hunter loyal to the revolution – who she can’t help but find herself falling for.

Gideon loathes the decadence and superficiality Rune represents, but when he learns the Crimson Moth has been using Rune’s merchant ships to smuggle renegade witches out of the republic, he inserts himself into her social circles by pretending to court her right back. He soon realizes that beneath her beauty and shallow façade, is someone fiercely intelligent and tender who feels like his perfect match. Except, what if she’s the very villain he’s been hunting?

Kristen Ciccarelli’s Heartless Hunter is the thrilling start to a romantic fantasy duology where the only thing more treacherous than being a witch…is falling in love.

Goodreads | Amazon

The Bad Ones by. Melissa Albert

Goddess, goddess, count to five
In the morning, who’s alive?

In the course of a single winter’s night, four people vanish without a trace across a small town.

Nora’s estranged best friend, Becca, is one of the lost. As Nora tries to untangle the truth of Becca’s disappearance, she discovers a darkness in her town’s past, as well as a string of coded messages Becca left for her to unravel. These clues lead Nora to a piece of local folklore: a legendary goddess of forgotten origins who played a role in Nora and Becca’s own childhood games…

An arresting, crossover horror fantasy threaded with dark magic, THE BAD ONES is a poison-pen love letter to semi-toxic best friendship, the occult power of childhood play and artistic creation, and the razor-thin line between make-believe and belief.

Goodreads | Amazon

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

#5OnMyTBR: Set in a Foreign Country

#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook and you can learn more about it here or in the post announcing it. It occurs every Monday when we post about 5 books on our TBR.

This week’s theme is: Set in a Foreign Country (can be your own if you usually read about foreign ones or choose a different continent)

Title: The Guncle Abroad

Author: Steven Rowley

From the nationally bestselling author of The Guncle comes the much-anticipated sequel, in which Patrick O’Hara is called back to his guncle duties…at a big, family wedding in Lake Como, Italy.

Patrick O’Hara is finally in a league of his own…professionally. Inspired by his stint as Grant and Maisie’s caretaker after their mother’s passing, Patrick has “un-stalled” his acting career with sit-com, Guncle Knows Best . Still, some things have had to take a back seat. Looking down both barrels at fifty, Patrick is single and lonely after breaking things off with Emory. But at least he has family, right?
When his brother Greg announces his big, second wedding in Lake Como, Italy, Patrick feels pulled toward Grant and Maisie and flies to Europe to attend the lavish event, only to butt heads with a newfound Launt (Lesbian Aunt), curb his sister Clara from flirting with guests, and desperately restore himself to the favored relative status in the eyes of the kids, as they struggle to adjust to a new normal. But is it Patrick’s job to save the day? Or is simply celebrating love enough to quell the family chaos?
Gracing the page with his signature blend of humor and heart, Steven Rowley delivers the long-awaited sequel to a beloved story, all about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty.

Title: Castle of the Cursed

Author: Romina Garber

A delicious and dark gothic romance from bestselling author Romina Garber!

THE HOUSE IS ALWAYS HUNGRY…

After a mysterious attack claims the lives of her parents, all Estela has left is her determination to solve the case. Suffering from survivor’s guilt so intense that she might be losing her grip on reality, she accepts an invitation to live overseas with an estranged aunt at their ancestral Spanish castle, la Sombra.

Beneath its gothic façade, la Sombra harbors a trove of family secrets, and Estela begins to suspect her parents’ deaths may be linked to their past. Her investigation takes a supernatural turn when she crosses paths with a silver-eyed boy only she can see. Estela worries Sebastián is a hallucination, but he claims he’s been trapped in the castle. They grudgingly team up to find answers and as their investigation ignites, so does a romance, mistrust twined with every caress.

As the mysteries pile up, it feels to Estela like everyone in the tiny town of Oscuro is lying and that whoever was behind the attack has followed her to Spain. The deeper she ventures into la Sombra’s secrets, the more certain she becomes that the suspect she’s chasing has already found her . . . and they’re closer than she ever realized.

Title: The Good, The Bad and the Aunties

Author: Jesse Q. Sutanto

What should have been a family celebration of Chinese New Year descends into chaos when longtime foes crash the party in this hilariously entertaining novel by Jesse Q. Sutanto, bestselling author of Dial A for Aunties.

After an ultra-romantic honeymoon across Europe, Meddy Chan and her husband Nathan have landed in Jakarta to spend Chinese New Year with her entire extended family. Chinese New Year, already the biggest celebration of the Lunar calendar, gets even more festive when a former beau of Second Aunt’s shows up at the Chan residence bearing extravagant gifts—he’s determined to rekindle his romance with Second Aunt and the gifts are his way of announcing his courtship.

His grand gesture goes awry however, when it’s discovered that not all the gifts were meant for Second Aunt and the Chans—one particular gift was intended for a business rival to cement their alliance and included by accident. Of course the Aunties agree that it’s only right to return the gift—after all, anyone would forgive an honest mistake, right? But what should have been a simple retrieval turns disastrous and suddenly Meddy and the Aunties are helpless pawns in a decades-long war between Jakarta’s most powerful business factions. The fighting turns personal, however, when Nathan and the Aunties are endangered and it’s up to Meddy to come up with a plan to save them all. Determined to rescue her loved ones, Meddy embarks on an impossible mission—but with the Aunties by her side, nothing is truly impossible…

Title: Where the Library Hides

Authors: Isabel Ibañez

The stunning conclusion to the story that started in What the River Knows. A lush immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, and a rivals-to-lovers romance like no other!

1885, Egypt

Inez Olivera is left reeling from her cousin Elvira’s murder, and her mother’s betrayal, and when Tío Ricardo issues an ultimatum about her inheritance, she’s left with only one option to consider.

Marriage to Whitford Hayes.

Former British soldier, her uncle’s aide de camp, and one time nemesis, Whit has his own mysterious reasons for staying in Egypt. With her heart on the line, Inez might have to bind her fate to the one person whose secret plans could ruin her.

Have you read any of these? Or plan to read any of these?

>>>>>

February

05/02/2024 — Artsy (character/setting/non-fiction…)
~~12/02/2024 — Title Starting with an ‘M’~~
~~19/02/2024 — Set in a Foreign Country (can be your own if you usually read about foreign ones or choose a different continent)~~
26/02/2024 — Released in the Decade You Were Born

January

~~01/01/2024 — New Year Freebie~~
~~08/01/2024 — 2024 Releases~~
~~15/01/2024 — The Longest on Your TBR~~
~~22/01/2024 — Speculative~~
~~29/01/2024 — Part of a Series~~

Weekly Wrap Up | 2/18/24

Aloha friends!

What a week. I got a massage on Super Bowl Sunday which was nice, and then I watched the game at home. It was a long game and the first half was boring, unless you like a defensive game. But it was a nail biting finish! Anyway, next day I took my kids to the beach because my daughter has been itching to go and they got a day off from school which was nice.

We got there at 8am because I wanted to get parking. But 8am means the water is still cold – I mean Hawaii mornings are kind of like 72 degrees and then it warms up to the 80’s right now. My kids went into the water and I was like…nope…it’s too cold! 😅 It was such a nice morning without anyone there and we needed this beach morning for real.

Then there was Valentine’s Day – my hubby got his gift in time, and he said he found these amazing chocolates for the kids but he couldn’t send it in time for Vday. But it’s coming! And he got my an amazon gift card so I can buy books. YAY! I did get my kids some goodies and they loved it and felt loved and that’s all that matters!

I’m looking forward to this holiday weekend because my kids get 2 days off which means they get a 4 day weekend. I can’t believe we are almost in March.

Have a good week!

Blog Posts:

#5OnMyTBR: Title Starting with an ‘M’
Red and Pink Book Covers | TTT | 2/13/24
Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 2/13/24
Blog Tour} The Catch by. Amy Lea | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
WWW Wednesday | 2/14/23
A Tempest of Tea by. Hafsah Faizal | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Great Alone by. Kristin Hannah | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Fake Mate by. Lana Ferguson | Audiobook Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Books I Read:

Bad Like Us by. Gabriella Lepore

Snowglobe by. Soyoung Park

The Fake Mate by. Lana Ferguson

Currently Reading:

The Summer She Went Missing by. Chelsea Ichaso

All This Twisted Glory by. Tahereh Mafi

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

NFL Super Bowl
Doctor Slump (Netflix) – I wish all the episodes were out for this one! I love the couple, they are so cute!
Pride & Prejudice (2005 movie) & Persuasion (1995 movie) – I was reorganizing a closet and had this playing in the background. 🥰

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

The Fake Mate by. Lana Ferguson | Audiobook Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Fake Mate

Author: Lana Ferguson

Format: audiobook (borrowed)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 12/5/23

Categories: Adult, Shifters, Grumpy/Sunshine, Romance, Medical Romance

Two wolf shifters agree to be fake mates but unexpectedly find something real in this steamy paranormal romantic comedy by Lana Ferguson.

Mackenzie Carter has had some very bad dates lately. Model train experts, mansplainers, guys weirdly obsessed with her tail—she hasn’t had a successful date in months. Only a year out of residency, her grandmother’s obsession with Mackenzie finding the perfect mate to settle down with threatens to drive Mackenzie barking mad. Out of options, it feels like a small thing to tell her grandmother that she’s met someone. That is, until she blurts out the name of the first man she sees and the last man she would ever date: Noah Taylor, the big bad wolf of Denver General.

Noah Taylor, interventional cardiologist and all around grump, has spent his entire life hiding what he is. With outdated stigmas surrounding unmated alphas that have people wondering if they still howl at the moon, Noah has been careful to keep his designation under wraps. It’s worked for years, until an anonymous tip has everything coming to light. Noah is left with two options: come clean to the board and risk his career—or find himself a mate. The chatty, overly friendly ER doctor asking him to be her fake boyfriend on the same day he’s called to meet the board has to be kismet, right?

Mackenzie will keep her grandmother off her back, and Noah will get a chance to prove he can continue to work without a real mate—a mutually beneficial business transaction, they both rationalize. But when the fake-mate act turns into a very real friends-with-benefits arrangement, lines start to blur, and they quickly realize love is a whole different kind of animal.

Content Warning:

Two doctors, Mackenzie and Noah, who are both shifters pretend to fake date, or in this case, be fake mates to help hide the fact that Noah is an alpha and to help Mackenzie’s grandmother get off her back about dating.

This was a fun story because of the tropes: grumpy/sunshine, fake dating, and it’s a medical romance (so Grey’s Anatomy with all the co-workers in on the drama). I thought Mackenzie’s friends were fun! Now this is a shifter romance so there is mention of alpha, omega, lots of sniffing and claiming. And it’s quite smutty too! There is so much steam from the halfway point onward, it was definitely mating season between these two. Mackenzie even goes into “heat”, so yes, if you like a steamy rom-com, you will enjoy this one. Mackenzie really brings out Noah’s personality – he is the hospital’s grump, but she had enough personality for both of them.

Now because I listened to this as an audiobook there were times I couldn’t get into it especially when both narrators would have to go into their opposite voice – especially during the steamy scenes because it would make me laugh or roll my eyes. I thought I was versed enough in shifter romances before but then was confused at the word “knot”? Because I didn’t read this book and I was listening, I wasn’t sure if they were saying “nut” or “knot” 😂. And I was like oh…is that his like ejaculation?! Like he’s nutting in her? LOL oh my word. I had to google it. 🤭 I guess I learned something new about shifter romances then! Knotting is a thing and now I know.🤦🏻‍♀️

My Final Thoughts:

This was a light-hearted, but very steamy shifter romance. It’s funny and smutty, and has some fun tropes like grumpy/sunshine and fake dating. Also it’s romance between doctors which is always fun times in a hospital setting! I loved the drama and gossip at the workplace. I even learned something new. The narrators did a great job but there were just some parts I couldn’t handle listening to – especially with they had to speak in the the other character’s voice during a steamy scene but other than that I’d say this was an entertaining book!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Nanny by. Lana Ferguson | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Great Alone by. Kristin Hannah | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: The Great Alone

Author: Kristin Hannah

Format: hardcover (own)

Pages: 435

Publication Date: 2/5/18

Categories: Adult, Domestic Violence, Family, Alaska, Historical Fiction

Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska―a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.

Content Warning: domestic violence, hunting, alcoholism, PTSD, vehicle accident, injuries, death of a parent

I’ve had this book on my shelf since it was published in 2018 because it was a gift from my mother-in-law but I never picked it up to read because I knew it was going to be dark. At the time I wasn’t in the mood to read something dark but after reading her latest book The Women, about nurses in Vietnam, I thought it was the perfect segue into reading The Great Alone since it has a character who is back from the Vietnam war.

+ The writing is wonderful as always. I started the book in the morning and by noon I was 75% done with the book! I was surprised by that but I was really engrossed with how I was immersed in this story about a family who moves to the wilds of Alaska. I felt like I was there and I love how she equated to dangers of Alaska, especially the Alaskan winter to what Leni’s dad was going through with his PTSD and his downward spiral into it.

+ Leni is a strong girl/young woman and I like how Alaska brought out that toughness in her. She wasn’t a girl who complained about her circumstances and she wasn’t one to fight back in fear her dad would hurt her mother. She grew up in a complicated and scary situation. Leni didn’t only have to survive the environmental factors of Alaska but also survive what was taking place behind closed doors within her own family. I felt for her, and was so afraid for her and her mother.

+ This is a dark story with a happy ending and like Leni’s mother tells her, there were some really good times along with the really bad times. I felt the loneliness of their lifestyle and felt the isolation that came with Leni’s mother being abused. I was scared for them. Leni’s relationship with her mother is what gets them through the scary and hard times in their lives. This story really takes you into a domestic violence relationship and how a woman is reluctant to leave because of fear and even hoping the person they love can change. It’s a brutal descent into the darkness with all the warning signs ringing around them for years and it’s kind of hard to watch it happen because all you want is for them to leave their situation and be safe. But in reality, like this book, it’s never that easy when different feelings are involved.

~ I loved that there was a romance for Leni. I loved that she had someone in the Great Alone, but I think the ending felt a bit rushed. There are some loose ends to tie up and it is tied up, but in a heartbreaking fashion. There is so much that goes on in the end but I am still glad it ends up okay for the most part for all of them.

My Final Thoughts:

I didn’t read this book right away when I got it because I was a tired mom with a barely one year old – so sleep deprived and someone told me it was a dark read. I’m glad I put it off and read it after reading The Women since both books take place around the same time period – the mid 1970’s, and talks about the Vietnam war. I love how she captures living in isolation in Alaska and the wild beauty of Alaska in general. All I could think was uh-huh, I would NOT survive! This was a great book.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Four Winds | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Women by. Kristin Hannah | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I’ve actually read a lot of Kristin Hannah books but never wrote a full review for them since I read them before creating this blog. I did leave star reviews on Goodreads for them though so this is what I rated them:

Firefly Lane ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

True Colors ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Winter Garden ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Night Road ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Home Front ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Nightingale ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Tempest of Tea by. Hafsah Faizal | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea, #1)

Author: Hafsah Faizal

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 352

Publication Date: 2/20/24

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux

Categories: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Peaky Blinders, Vampires, Heist

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the dark and glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it.

From the New York Times–bestselling author of We Hunt the Flame comes the first book in a hotly-anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance, revenge, and an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.

Content Warning: violence, blood drinking, fire, death

+ I love when a book totally catches me off guard and surprises me. This book was full of surprises! How do you combine King Arthur, Vampires and Peaky Blinders (never watched it though I’ve always wanted to) together and make it work? I don’t know but this author just did it! I also loved how she adds historical fiction to the mix as she covers the colonization of countries liked Ceylan (in our reality that would be Ceylon-now Sri Lanka). This story is set in Ettenia which I’m assuming is England. And the vampires are just a race of people that live among them. This book just had everything I wanted, things I didn’t even know I wanted in one place and I loved it all. There are a lot of twists and turns in the second half of the book and that cliffhanger ending left me wanting book two now.

+ I am in love with Arthie and Jin. I love their story, their friendship, their love for one another – even though this story had hints of a romance for Arthie (a love triangle even that never came to fruition-an no it didn’t involve Jin), the love between Arthie and Jin appeased my soul. I also loved that this was told in multiple POVs because Jin’s voice was important to this story. He is Arthie’s right-hand man and I loved that he was the lightness in their relationship. They are found family, they are to one another the siblings they never had, they are soulmates and I knew they would have each other’s back no matter what. Also, I need Jin to have a happy ending, that guy deserves the world!

+ Because this story is about a heist, there are other characters involved and part of the crew. Flick, Matteo and Laith. All of them intriguing and we do get Flick’s POV but not Matteo and Laith who are very intriguing and added to the story in various ways. I like how they all have complex backgrounds.

+ Arthie is a complicated character which I love. She’s had trauma and holds a lot of secrets, not only her own but she’s a phoenix who basically rose out of ashes. I love that she was smart, and still allowed herself to love (Jin and Spindrift) even though she doesn’t open herself to anyone else. She is flawed. I love that she is a business woman and she’s the leader of their crew.

~ I can’t call what was in this book a true love triangle. There is flirtation, there is desire that Arthie doesn’t want to explore because she is a person who is in control at all times. But I think it makes her mistrust even more heightened. She has a crew of people she doesn’t totally trust (except Jin) and her weakness was a good-looking mysterious man. She isn’t perfect, she can only hold so many of the right cards in her hand and I honestly loved every part of whatever romance was building for her because the tension between them was delicious!

~ I think Flick’s POV was the weakest and she seemed like the weakest link because she’s not like the rest. She grew up in luxury as a lady’s daughter but she has her own agenda. Out of all of them I felt like I didn’t trust her the most because all she wanted was to please her mother and she had such a shiny upbringing.

My Thoughts:

Why was I surprised that I loved this book? I loved the We Hunt the Flame series. The writing is so good, the slow burn in the romance is enticing and the relationships are heartfelt. Honestly, Arthie and Jin, they have my heart. It might be a slow build in the beginning as the pieces are set on the chessboard but I was riveted from the moment I started the book. Once the pieces started moving, it was a fun, twisty, emotional ride to the end. And then of course we get a crazy cliffhanger that made my jaw drop! I need the second book asap and this book solidifies that this author is a must-read for me.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Review | We Hunt the Flame ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

We Free the Stars | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

WWW Wednesday | 2/14/24

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Happy Valentine’s Friends! I hope you have a nice Valentine’s day with your loved ones or if by yourself hey treat yourself! Self-love is love too! I’m spending it going to my kids lunch time for a Honey Bunch Lunch. Just going to drop in real quick to show them some love because it gets chaotic in their cafeteria lol…

Is it it crazy we are in mid-January? I felt like this weekend was so busy because there was Chinese New Year events at my kids’ school, then all their activities all weekend (tap, piano, Sunday school), then the Super Bowl. Also they had the day off after the super bowl and my daughter was begging to go to the beach so I took them! I am kind of exhausted? lol…and then was running around yesterday trying to get their V-day gifts ready.😅 I’m looking forward to this holiday weekend!