Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!
This week’s topic is: Freebie
What’s on your TTT?
Happy Monday!
Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.
Title: Dark Water Daughter
Author: H.M. Long
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 7/11/23
Synopsis:
A stormsinger and pirate hunter join forces against a deathless pirate lord in this swashbuckling Jacobean adventure on the high-seas.
Launching the Winter Sea series, full of magic, betrayal, redemption and fearsome women, for readers of Adrienne Young, R. J. Barker and Naomi Novik.
Mary Firth is a Stormsinger: a woman whose voice can still hurricanes and shatter armadas. Faced with servitude to pirate lord Silvanus Lirr, Mary offers her skills to his arch-rival in exchange for protection – and, more importantly, his help sending Lirr to a watery grave. But her new ally has a vendetta of his own, and Mary’s dreams are dark and full of ghistings, spectral creatures who inhabit the ancient forests of her homeland and the figureheads of ships.
Samuel Rosser is a disgraced naval officer serving aboard The Hart, an infamous privateer commissioned to bring Lirr to justice. He will stop at nothing to capture Lirr, restore his good name and reclaim the only thing that stands between himself and madness: a talisman stolen by Mary.
Finally, driven into the eternal ice at the limits of their world, Mary and Samuel must choose their loyalties and battle forces older and more powerful than the pirates who would make them slaves.
Come sail the Winter Sea, for action-packed, high-stakes adventures, rich characterisation and epic plots full of intrigue and betrayal.
Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title: Twin Crowns (#1)
Author: Catherine Doyle & Katherine Webber
Format: hardcover (borrowed)
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 5/17/23
Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Witches, Twins
Wren Greenrock has always known that one day she would steal her sister’s place in the palace. Trained from birth to return to the place of her parents’ murder and usurp the only survivor, she will do anything to rise to power and protect the community of witches she loves. Or she would, if only a certain palace guard wasn’t quite so distractingly attractive, and if her reckless magic didn’t have a habit of causing trouble…
Princess Rose Valhart knows that with power comes responsibility. Marriage into a brutal kingdom awaits, and she will not let a small matter like waking up in the middle of the desert in the company of an extremely impertinent (and handsome) kidnapper get in the way of her royal duty. But life outside the palace walls is wilder and more beautiful than she ever imagined, and the witches she has long feared might turn out to be the family she never knew she was missing.
Two sisters separated at birth and raised into entirely different worlds are about to get to know each other’s lives a whole lot better. But as coronation day looms closer and they each strive to claim their birthright, the sinister Kingsbreath, Willem Rathborne, becomes increasingly determined that neither will succeed. Who will ultimately rise to power and wear the crown?
Content Warning: violence, kidnapping
I wanted to read this book because Catherine Doyle wrote the Blood for Blood series which I was obsessed with back in 2015! So I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Twin Crowns and also not super surprised because she was part of the writing duo. And I’ll just point out that I don’t love books about twins but maybe because it always feels like the same trope. In Twin Crowns, we get the twins who were separated at birth trope and one sister is coming for the crown that the other one is supposed to have. Sound familiar? Yes, because that’s what usually happens in twin stories so I was over it a few years ago.
I went in with low expectations, but I ended up reading this book in one day! There are two clashing sides: witches and non-witches. Wren was raised with the witches and Rose was not, she was raised on the side that killed witches. Wren is trying to take the Queendom back from a man called Rathborne, who killed their parents. But Rose still wants her throne and tries to fight for it. It’s a really fun story, even though Rose can be annoying because she’s the pampered princess. However, I felt like she had the dashing and charming Shen Lo (love him) to balance her out. He brought her out of her comfort zone, which I loved. As for Wren, I like that she is feisty and a strong character. Wren’s romance with Tor had more heat which I liked but I’d love to know more about Tor. I don’t think we know much about him at all. I think the sisters being separated and going through their own challenges kept the story moving and I liked that it was seamless despite it being told in two POVs.
One thing bothered me about the story – how did Wren know Rose’s routine and all of the people at the palace? Was she studying her for that long? I don’t think it ever says in the book unless I missed it and so at times it felt unbelievable that Wren would automatically know all the staffs’ names. I just went with it. At least she had magic to make her look exactly like Rose. I did like the times she slipped out of character though, just to see if anyone would catch her.
At times the story felt like it was meant for a younger YA audience but I think maybe because the whole story has a fun vibe to it? Anyway I was confused about how I felt about that but I guess I didn’t mind it since I finished it in one day.
Tropes: twins separated at birth
Why you should read it:
Why you might not want to read it:
My Thoughts:
This one was a fun read and I’m already reading book two!
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Book Review | The Storm Keeper’s Island ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Aloha friends!
This week wasn’t fun. I had an MRI biopsy which was not fun, very uncomfortable and it’s painful when the lidocaine fades so I was sleeping weird. I mean there was pain during the biopsy also but I guess it was tolerable. I just hate when they tell you “don’t move” and psychologically it makes me WANT to move. Reverse psychology. I didn’t move but I always feel like doing an MRI is a big test of my mental patience – I can’t move, even when there is a loud beeping noise happening while the images are taken. And I asked for Taylor Swift to play in the headphones lol…so it was like Taylor Swift loud in my ears plus this mentally glaring loud beeping on top of it. UGH….BUT…my results came back benign. YAY! I am very happy I get to relax for another 6 months before another mammogram and MRI. 😒🙏🏼 I’ll take it…
Anyway the week was about taking it easy while I healed and I’m feeling so much better. So I have to continue back to school shopping, but I am 80% done. 💪🏾
Hope you all had a great week!
I listened to Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries as an audiobook.
That Summer I Turned Pretty (season 2, episode 1-3): omg…it’s so SAD because of the grief all over these first 3 episodes💔😢, but gawd I am still mad at Belly for hooking up with 2 brothers in the middle of their mom having cancer. I know, I know, she was in love and she’s young and making mistakes…but damn…it sucks. I didn’t love Belly in the book either, this is a love triangle I didn’t love at all. So I’m basically here for the friendship, the memories, Conrad (Jeremiah too lol), and the music. I mean…Taylor Swift? Olivia Rodrigo? One Direction?! Smashing Pumpkins?! Like what?! And “Kissing You”?!!!! I gasped. I played that song so much on my piano after Romeo+Juliet came out (Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes)…that songs always gives me goosebumps. All of it, I love it.
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 original creator of this bookish meme is Yvonne from It’s All About Books. I saw it first on the blog Read With Me. Please check out and follow both blogs for more awesome book content!
The goal of the meme is to showcase the places where the books you’ve read has taken you. Books are always an adventure and it’s honestly one of the reasons why I love reading. So here is where my June reading list have taken me:
Countries I Visited: United States, Italy, France
States I Visited: Kentucky, Maryland, California
Rome, Kentucky
Willow Creek, Maryland
Australia, French, England, United States
San-Er, Talin
Southern California; Gray Wolf Island (fictional); Venice, Italy; Versailles, France
Known Kingdoms – Eprotha
Rosemont
Shadow Hills Academy
Seolla
Aryd; Tyndra
I think I’m going to find myself traveling to fantasy destinations instead of real-life ones doing this meme! 😄 Because clearly I like to escape to make-believe places. Can you blame me?
We’ll see where I travel to in July. If you want to try out this meme just got to It’s All About Books to see what it’s all about!
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title: Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia of Faeries (#1)
Author: Heather Fawcett
Narrators: Ell Potter, Michael Dodds
Format: audiobook (borrowed)
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 1/10/23
Categories: Fiction, Women’s Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Romance, Fae
A curmudgeonly professor journeys to a small town in the far north to study faerie folklore and discovers dark fae magic, friendship, and love, in this heartwarming and enchanting fantasy.
Cambridge professor Emily Wilde is good at many things: She is the foremost expert on the study of faeries. She is a genius scholar and a meticulous researcher who is writing the world’s first encyclopaedia of faerie lore. But Emily Wilde is not good at people. She could never make small talk at a party–or even get invited to one. And she prefers the company of her books, her dog, Shadow, and the Fair Folk to other people.
So when she arrives in the hardscrabble village of Hrafnsvik, Emily has no intention of befriending the gruff townsfolk. Nor does she care to spend time with another new arrival: her dashing and insufferably handsome academic rival Wendell Bambleby, who manages to charm the townsfolk, get in the middle of Emily’s research, and utterly confound and frustrate her.
But as Emily gets closer and closer to uncovering the secrets of the Hidden Ones–the most elusive of all faeries–lurking in the shadowy forest outside the town, she also finds herself on the trail of another mystery: Who is Wendell Bambleby, and what does he really want? To find the answer, she’ll have to unlock the greatest mystery of all–her own heart.
Content Warning: violence
I finally got to finish this book by listening to it as an audiobook. I actually enjoyed reading it but I felt like it was going slowly and not in a bad way. I think because it’s such a cozy, slow moving story which I don’t usually like and I was getting bored reading, but not bored with the story. I just felt like if someone read it to me, it would hold my attention more and it sure did. The narrators are fantastic in this audiobook and definitely sounds like how I imagined Emily Wilde to sound like.
I found her interactions with Wendell so funny because they are such opposites. She’s driven, stubborn, headstrong and ambitious to complete this Encyclopedia of Fairies and Wendell is not. But Emily gets into some situations that become dangerous and she realizes she needs help.
The romance between Emily and Wendell is a slow burn and I thought it was cute when they both finally acknowledge their feelings for one another.
I do feel like there was more action in the end of the book so I enjoyed the second half much more than the first.
Tropes: slow burn
Why you should read it:
Why you might not want to read it:
My Thoughts:
I actually enjoyed this one more as it was read to be through an audiobook. I actually got 20% into the ebook before I put it down because it was too slow, even though I enjoyed Emily and her adventures learning about the fae. I had a feeling it would work out better for me as an audiobook and I was right. The narrators did a fantastic job and I was much more engaged in the story and even finished it. I adored Emily and Wendell together. I’m not sure if I’ll be reading the sequel but if I am in the mood for a cozy read, then I’ll pick it up.
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Book Review: Even The Darkest Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book Review: All The Wandering Light (Even The Darkest Stars Book 2) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, Billy @ Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer relaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book-related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to their own blogs.
Answer:
It’s why I read books – to get a happily ever after ending! I love books because I get to escape reality for a moment especially when real life gets challenging, so yes I want the happily ever after or something close to it.
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title: Bring Me Your Midnight
Author: Rachel Griffin
Format: eBook (NetGalley)
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 8/2/23
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Categories: Contemporary Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Witches
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Tana Fairchild’s fate has never been in question. Her life has been planned out since the moment she was born: she is to marry the governor’s son, Landon, and secure an unprecedented alliance between the witches of her island home and the mainlanders who see her very existence as a threat.
Tana’s coven has appeased those who fear their power for years by releasing most of their magic into the ocean during the full moon. But when Tana misses the midnight ritual—a fatal mistake—there is no one she can turn to for help…until she meets Wolfe.
Wolfe claims he is from a coven that practices dark magic, making him one of the only people who can help her. But he refuses to let Tana’s power rush into the sea, and instead teaches her his forbidden magic. A magic that makes her feel powerful. Alive.
As the sea grows more violent, her coven loses control of the currents, a danger that could destroy the alliance as well as her island. Tana will have to choose between love and duty, between loyalty to her people and loyalty to her heart. Marrying Landon would secure peace for her coven but losing Wolfe and his wild magic could cost her everything else.
Content Warning:
I love stories about witches and this author seems to be writing about only witches. I read The Nature of Witches but haven’t read Wild is the Witch yet. I decided to give this one a chance because I thought The Nature of Witches had so much potential but I just didn’t totally love it.
I like the concept of Bring Me Your Midnight. The story is full of magic, romance, and a difficult choice that Mortana (Tana) has to make. I thought the world building was very interesting and I liked how the townspeople had their own magic that they used for their trade of business. Mortana’s family made perfumes and her best friend Ivy made tea infused with magic. I like how their magic was useful.
Mortana is the chosen witch who is supposed to unite the mainlanders and witches into a unified front by an arranged marriage. Landon seems nice enough but through this book we really don’t get to know him at all. Mortana is a nice girl, a good girl, who falls for a mysterious, handsome boy. It’s a forbidden love she has to give up if she wants to be a dutiful daughter to her parents and her community.
I usually love a good witchy romance story, but I found this one just okay. I wanted more from the characters and I didn’t feel like I connected to anyone except maybe for Tana’s best-friend Ivy who had a really strong voice. There was a lot of angst and longing between Tana and Wolfe but I just felt like something was missing intensity and I just couldn’t get invested in them.
Tropes: forbidden love, duty or love, enemies to lovers
Why you should read it:
Why you might not want to read it:
My Thoughts:
I was excited to read this one because the cover is beautiful and I love stories about witches but this one was just okay for me. I like the concept of the story but I wanted more from the characters. I found it hard to get invested in their story. I did like how Tana had to face a hard choice between duty and love because we get to see her struggle and grow. She also stands strong in trying to get the truth from her mother about their magic, powers and history. So I thought it was nice to see her grow and be able to choose love in the end. This may have fallen a little flat to me but I think a lot of other people will love this story.
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The Nature of Witches by. Rachel Griffin | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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?
Hi all! My week started with an MRI biopsy which was as uncomfortable as it sounds. But it had to be done, so I’m dealing with some tenderness on my right side and have to refrain from any strenuous activity or heavy lifting. I’m hoping for good results. In the meantime, I’m trying to finish some arcs and library books.
Painted Devils by. Margaret Owen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by. Ellen O’Clover ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What are you reading right now?
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title: Painted Devils (Little Thieves, #2)
Author: Margaret Owen
Format: hardcover (borrowed)
Pages: 512
Publication Date: 5/16/23
Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Fantasy, LGBT+
Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult.
After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family… and if they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now, that lie is growing out of control—especially when Emeric arrives to investigate, and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice.
For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud, or if the Scarlet Maiden—and her claim to him—are genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that may be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price?
Content Warning: parental abandonment, violence, parental abuse
I loved the first book Little Thieves so I had to read the sequel. My favorite part of this story is Vanja and Emeric and their journey with one another in the relationship they have which is wrought with trust issues, insecurities, sexual exploration but done with such patience, care, and both of them really falling in love with one another. They are definitely one my new favorite book couples.
The story telling is wonderful, just as it is in book one, I got swept up into the adventures of this dark fairytale life that Vanja lives. And Vanja is my favorite little thief. I love how she is a survivor, a child abandoned by her mother who had to do what she had to do to survive in a cruel world. She’s clever, brave and funny, and all she needs is love and she gets it in this sequel which made my heart melt for her. The story is emotional also because Vanja is letting people in, it made me heart happy for her.
The adventures and challenges that Vanja go through is something she things she has created, but after a lot of investigating, then end reveals a bitter and sad truth. I think because there was a bit of mystery to uncover, the book moved slower for me than book one did but I felt like there was enough Vanja and Emeric content to keep me happy. I did like the investigation but there are a lot of things going on with it and I had to concentrate to keep up. It took me a few days to read.
Favorite quotes from the book:
“There’s a saying here in the north: ‘A child’s eye fears the painted devil, but an elder wields the brush.’ We fear what we’re taught to fear, not necessarily because it’s worth fearing.”
Tropes: found family
Why you should read it:
Why you might not want to read it:
My Thoughts:
I wasn’t sure what to expect with this sequel but I did go in with lower expectations absolutely loved all the time Vanja and Emeric had together in this book. We see them grow in their romantic relationship and as partners in an investigation. I thought the characters in the story were full of personality and it’s got that dark fairy tale vibe that was present in the first book. There was a lot going on in the story and it took me a few days to finish but I still enjoyed it. It was an emotional journey for Vanja and I look forward to book three and hopefully the happy ending that she deserves.
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Little Thieves by. Margaret Owen | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
