I've been addicted to books for about thirty plus years! Too bad I didn't track all the books I've read. 😬 Follow me on Twitter: @ylmpastmidnight , Instagram: @ylmpastmidnight and Facebook: ylmpastmidnight
First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?
Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
Finally… reveal the book!
“Everything is burning, so many flames it looks as if we set the sky on fire.”
Categories: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance, Sci-Fi
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!
To save a galactic kingdom from revolution, Kindred mind-pairings were created to ensure each and every person would be seen and heard, no matter how rich or poor…
Joy Abara knows her place. A commoner from the lowly planet Hali, she lives a simple life—apart from the notoriety that being Kindred to the nobility’s most infamous playboy brings.
Duke Felix Hamdi has a plan. He will exasperate his noble family to the point that they agree to let him choose his own future and finally meet his Kindred face-to-face.
Then the royal family is assassinated, putting Felix next in line for the throne…and accused of the murders. Someone will stop at nothing until he’s dead, which means they’ll target Joy, too. Meeting in person for the first time as they steal a spacecraft and flee amid chaos might not be ideal…and neither is crash-landing on the strange backward planet called Earth. But hiding might just be the perfect way to discover the true strength of the Kindred bond and expose a scandal—and a love—that may decide the future of a galaxy.
This is the second Alechia Dow book I’ve read and the premise of her stories always intrigue me because her stories combine sci-fi with the contemporary issues of today, love of music and romance. The Kindred follows two Monchurians, Joy and Felix who are kindred – paired since birth not to be married, but to be a sort of support system to one another as they grow up. Felix is a royal and Joy is not but that doesn’t stop their connection from growing into something more. Personality wise, Joy is calm and level headed, Felix is more flamboyant and seeks attention – together they balance one another.
Felix and Joy flee their home after he is accused of murder and land on Earth. They meet a human, Rashid, who befriends them and gives them shelter. I thought it was fun seeing them assimilate with the humans for the short time they are there. They learn some human music and go to the mall and shop. They even go to Rashid’s school to attend cheer practice. We get to see how technologically advance Monchurians are compared to humans with the gadgets they have on them. I did enjoy the action in space a lot, especially when the humans come a long for the journey, that was fun! The world building is wonderful.
The romance between Felix and Joy is so intense because they have been in each other’s minds for the most of their lives. It’s a forbidden love because he’s a royal and she is not. You could definitely feel the love and longing between them, it was undeniable.
I thought it was interesting how Joy did mention her social status, body size and skin tone made her feel lesser on her own planet. She related to what the humans, more specifically African American humans, were going through on Earth with the Black Lives Movement and protests. The story does pull from current events when Felix and Joy are on Earth.
Content: racism
I thought Felix and Joy falling to Earth was fun but I do wish we stuck with just being on Monchuria and get fully immersed in their world. But I get it was to compare issues like racism, colonialism, and class because they were similar even though they are completely different planets and civilization.
There is a lot of pop references in this one, because like I said, music is a big unifier in this author’s books.
There are flashbacks in this story and some were informational, but mostly I wasn’t a fan of it. I’m not usually a fan of flashbacks because I think they disrupt the flow of the story.
Why you should read it:
it’s different and a sci-fi romance story
instead of fated we get two people who are paired
good world building, some action
Why you might not want to read it:
not into sci-fi romance/aliens (nothing seemed alien about them, they look like humans)
My Thoughts:
This was a fun foray into sci-fi romance which for me was a nice break since I like to read a lot of fantasy. The romance between Joy and Felix is sweet and intense, you can really feel their closeness which is beautiful. Their adventure to Earth was fun for me to read, but very eye-opening for Joy and Felix when they learn of the societal issues happening on Earth. Overall, this was an entertaining read and look forward to reading more from this author.
Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult, Teen, K-Pop, Music
Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.
Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.
When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love.
Bought this one on a whim because it the ebook was on sale for $1.99 on Amazon and I was craving a light hearted, cute romance and this one delivered.
Girl meets boy and off in Los Angeles and then off to South Korea we go! I love that this mostly took place in South Korea, the author did a great job transporting my mind there. Jenny can handle herself in South Korea pretty well because she’s taken Korean language courses since she was young. I like that she’s independent, talented and she’s nice. Jaewoo is a member of rising K-Pop group XOXO and he’s what girls dream the perfect boy to be: gorgeous, talented, charming, responsible, follows the rules and a super star. The two hit it off in the most innocent way possible and when Jenny moves to South Korea and coincidentally to the school Jaewoo goes to – it’s hard for them to fight their attraction.
There are some family issues discussed in this book, especially with the issue of responsibility. Jaewoo is his family’s breadwinner – anything he does in public could jeopardize his career. Jenny is trying to reach her goals and get into her top choice music school and be a cellist. Her mom tells her the only path to succeed is no distractions (no friends, and especially no boyfriends). Yet Jenny finally finds out the truth about her mom and grandma’s strained relationship.
The romance is so super cute and sweet, I usually like some fighting and angst in romances but this was adorable. I felt like they gave each other enough space – Jenny was making new friends at her school and Jaewoo being in a k-pop group had many things to do with school and the group. I can’t say there was too much drama except the usual – how does a k-pop star date a normal girl? So even their little moment of a break-up it was short-lived.
Fun side characters like XOXO member, Nathaniel. I liked Jenny’s new friends also.
Content Warnings: bullying
I’d like to see this one as a k-drama, it would be so good!
Jaewoo remained the perfect boy in this story – would have like to see him break more rules like Nathaniel haha but everyone has their own role in the group it seemed and Jaewoo was the mysterious, song writer. Speaking of Nathaniel…do we get a book on him? Because I’d read it! Actually make one for each of the other guys in the group also haha.
I’m not a huge k-pop fan, I only know the popular ones like Black Pink and BTS (of course) so for me I thought it was fascinating learning about how they audition to be in a group and then how they are marketed. This becomes their lives and way of supporting their families so it’s a big deal!
Why you should read it:
super cute, forbidden romance between a K-pop star and a Korean-American girl
relatable issues about family responsibilities
a fun, quick, light romance
Why you might not want to read it:
not into the pop star and regular girl trope
My thoughts:
This one made me feel happy at the end and that’s what I really needed so it hit the mark for me. Would have love to see Jaewoo be a little imperfect but hey for what this story was about, he and Jenny were perfect for one another. XOXO had a good combination of friendship, family, romance and fun. I look forward to reading more from this author.
He’s cosplaying as her boyfriend but their feelings for each other are real in this romantic comedy from Seressia Glass.
Sometimes Kenya Davenport believes she was switched at the hospital–how else could a lover of anime, gaming, and cosplay come from STEM parents? Still, Kenya dreams of being able to turn her creative hobby into a career. She finally has a chance to make it big when she joins the reality show competition Cosplay or No Way.
There’s just one catch: the challenge for the final round is all about iconic pairs, and the judges want the contestants’ significant others to participate. Unfortunately, Kenya is as single as can be at the moment. Luckily her best friend, Cameron Lassiter, agrees to be her fake boyfriend for the show. Roleplaying a couple in love will force them to explore what they’re hiding under the mask of friendship. Can Kenya and Cam fake it until she makes it, or will she be real about her feelings, knowing it could cost her the best friend she’s ever had?
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the “dangerously, darkly gorgeous” (Cassandra Clare) Curse Workers trilogy, now together in one beautiful bind-up!
Cassel Sharpe comes from a family of curse workers, people who have the power to change emotions, memories, and luck with the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they’re also all criminals. Many become mobsters and con artists, but not Cassel. He doesn’t have magic, so he’s an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family—except for the small detail that he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
Cassel has carefully built up a facade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his facade starts to crumble when he finds himself sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He’s noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two older brothers, who are keeping secrets from him. As Cassel begins to suspect he’s an unwitting pawn in a huge con game, he must unravel his past, and his memories. To find the truth, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.
This magical bind-up includes: White Cat Red Glove Black Heart
What are you looking forward to getting this week? ~ Yolanda
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:
Books on My Winter 2021 To-read List
I feel like all I’m doing in winter 2021 is playing catch-up. The only “new” reads I have are arcs that are being published in 2022 but everything else are still titles that came out earlier in 2021 that I’m trying to finish. So let’s see what I hope to finish this winter…
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
Thank you to Wednesday Books for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!
Nothing will get in the way of Millie Price’s dream to become a Broadway star. Not her lovable but super-introverted dad, who after raising Millie alone, doesn’t want to watch her leave home to pursue her dream. Not her pesky and ongoing drama club rival, Oliver, who is the very definition of Simmering Romantic Tension. And not the “Millie Moods,” the feelings of intense emotion that threaten to overwhelm, always at maddeningly inconvenient times. Millie needs an ally. And when a left-open browser brings Millie to her dad’s embarrassingly moody LiveJournal from 2003, Millie knows just what to do. She’s going to find her mom.
There’s Steph, a still-aspiring stage actress and receptionist at a talent agency. There’s Farrah, ethereal dance teacher who clearly doesn’t have the two left feet Millie has. And Beth, the chipper and sweet stage enthusiast with an equally exuberant fifteen-year-old daughter (A possible sister?! This is getting out of hand). But how can you find a new part of your life and expect it to fit into your old one, without leaving any marks? And why is it that when you go looking for the past, it somehow keeps bringing you back to what you’ve had all along?
Emma Lord has lately become a must read author for me. I enjoy her young adult contemporary stories very much! This book cover totally grabbed me with the colors and when I saw it was an Emma Lord book, I had to request it.
This one is for the broadway lovers. I love broadway shows but Millie Price LOVES broadway because her dream is to be a Broadway star – and this girl is not taking no for an answer. Millie is bold, vivacious and just so full of energy – her character pops off the page. Millie takes an intern job but she has an ulterior motive – she’s trying to find her mom. Yes…this is definitely like the broadway show Mamma Mia!, except instead of finding a dad, she tries to find her mom and has three candidates in mind because yes….she read her dad’s journal. Ha! I thought it was fitting.
The romance between Millie and Oliver is really cute. Oliver can’t quite stand Millie and vice versa but they are thrown together for the internship. It takes some time but the relationship grows into a truce, a friendship and then something much more. By the end I was invested in their relationship.
Millie’s search for her mom is the main part of the story and I thought the reveal was great and emotional. Not in that there were tears and what not between them, but there are a lot of revelations and a lot that Millie learned about her dad, her aunt, her bio mom and herself.
It took me awhile to get into this one and I can’t pinpoint why. It might be that I wasn’t in a Broadway kind of mood? I love Mamma Mia! and broadway but for some reason I couldn’t connect to Millie at first. But I’m glad I kept reading – I’m just bummed that I was struggling to get into the story because in the end, I did enjoy the second half of the book!
Why you should read it:
you love theater and broadway
a cute romance
reverse gender Mamma Mia!
Why you might not want to read it:
you don’t care for broadway
slow first half of the book
My Thoughts:
This one is not my favorite Emma Lord book but if you can get past the slow first half, it finishes off strongly with emotion and romance.
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to post what my dream collaborations would be or who are already dream collaborators in the book world. So I just went with the later and chose books already written by duos or trios.
#SixforSunday is… it’s really just that. You choose 6 books (normally) that you’d choose to fit whatever the prompt is that week. This meme is hosted byA Little but a Lotand you can follow the link to find the prompts for October to December.
This week’s topic:
Dream Collaborations
This two author team are amazing!
I’ve enjoyed this series that these two authors have made together. Hopefully they make more together.
I haven’t finished this one yet, but book one was pretty good!
I haven’t read this series yet but I’ve seen it everywhere and heard many good things!
I’ve only read this book from this sister duo but I enjoyed it a lot!
This is one I saw everywhere for awhile but I never did pick it up even though it did intrigue me.
**So what are your dream collaborations? Leave me a comment below!
Here is the schedule for December and go to A Little but a lot for more info!
December – Christmas wishes
5 – Red/Green books 12 – Dream collaborations 19 – Books you wish for under your Christmas tree 26 – Favourite books of 2021
It rained and poured in Hawaii the beginning of this week. The wind was whipping my house Sunday night and the next morning there were uprooted trees, many fallen tree branches, leaves, petals…it was kind of a mess. It rained all day Monday – we haven’t had rained like this even during the hurricane watches we had the past few years. So this week the island was all about getting power up to those who lost it, cleaning up and drying up.
Another thing we are dealing with here in the islands? The Navy’s fuel tank storage from WWII is leaking into the water wells. 😡 It has contaminated the water in the Navy housing community, with people getting sick and now the rest of the public is wondering if our whole system could get contaminated. It’s a mess and very concerning. Our water is okay in our neighborhood but for the areas affected, I hope they do the right thing to fix the situation.
Just Dance 2022 – my son keeps replaying Mr. Blue Sky by. The Sunlight Shakers and Happier Than Ever by. Billie Eilish, so that’s what I keep hearing lol
Red (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift – because we had torrential rain for 2 days and it matched my mood.
How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you hated? lol…Leave me a comment below!
Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Fake Dating, Young Adult, Teen
It’s been years since seventeen-year-old Becca Hart believed in true love. But when her former best friend teases her for not having a boyfriend, Becca impulsively pretends she’s been secretly seeing someone.
Brett Wells has it all. Being captain of the football team and one of the most popular guys in school, he should have no problem finding someone to date, but he’s always been more focused on his future than who to bring to prom. When he overhears Becca’s lie, Brett decides to step in and be her mystery guy. It’s the perfect solution: he gets people off his back for not dating and she can keep up the ruse.
Acting like the perfect couple isn’t easy though, especially when you barely know the other person. But with Becca still picking up the pieces from when her world was blown apart years ago and Brett just barely holding his together now, they begin to realize they have more in common than they ever could have imagined. When the line between real and pretend begins to blur, they are forced to answer the question: is this fake romance the realest thing in either of their lives?
This is a very light young adult romance book. I think the writing is more for teens than young adults with some cursing here and there (not a lot).
It’s a typical fake dating scenario: Becca is pretty unknown on campus, she loves losing herself in romance books (even though she is a cynic about real life love) and Brett is the star football player so they decide to get together for their own reasons – not very serious reasons, but they seem to think fake dating would be a good idea.
Becca doesn’t believe in love because her parents got divorced. Brett believes in marriage and true love because his parents have the perfect one – or so it seems. This is the only time the book gets heavy when Brett finds out his perfect life isn’t so perfect. Also Becca deals with some issues about her dad and his new family as well. In this aspect, Becca and Brett had each other for support, dealing with the mistakes of their parents.
As a couple, I thought Becca and Brett were cute and somewhat innocent about dating. Neither of them have dated before so they take things really slow. I like that they become friends, even as they are fake-dating, before admitting their feelings had grown.
Content Warnings: cheating, divorce
One thing that I thought was cheesy was Brett always pouting haha – I guess some girls would find that cute. It made me feel like I was too old to be reading this story, probably because I am! lol…but I read it anyway, it’s nice to reminisce.
Becca and Brett did get along very well, even if she was new to being in the spotlight or a fake relationship. I think they got together on the fake-dating plan way too quick – there was no real lead up and bam, they agree it’s a good idea. It would’ve been nice if that scene was developed a bit more because Becca and Brett weren’t exactly strangers to one another, but they had no history with one another at all. I can’t say I connected to either of them but the parental issues are very relatable.
The story is predictable and doesn’t have any big surprises. The story is short, under 300 pages, so I finished this rather quickly.
Why you should read it:
very quick, cute, light teen romance
fake-dating
relatable issues
Why you might not want to read it:
predictable, nothing that stands out
more for teens than young adults or adults
My thoughts:
There isn’t much that makes it stand out but I did like that Becca and Brett each had different family issues to deal with. The fake-dating part was easy compared to the family drama, which was sad to see for both of them. But the problems sort of work themselves out in their own different ways and Becca and Brett are stronger because of it. If you like a light contemporary romance with a fake-dating trope that’s under 300 pages then you will fly through this one.
