Weekly Wrap Up | 4/7/24

Aloha friends!

The first week of April is crossed off – can you believe it? We are marching towards mid-year huh? My April schedule is – busy. My daughter has her dance recital for the first weekend of May so that means a lot of dance stuff to do this month (pictures, classes, rehearsals). I still feel like I’m in a reading slump and I don’t know if that just means I need a break from reading? Not sure…but we’ll see how April goes!

I hope you all have a good week!

Blog Posts:

Most Anticipated Book Releases | April 2024
Beautiful Villain by. Rebecca Kenney | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Top Ten books with April Showers | TTT | 4/2/24
Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 4/2/24
WWW Wednesday | 4/3/23
Spindleheart: Trail of Shadow and Spool by. T.I. Avens | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Monthly Wrap Up | March 2024

Books I Read:

The Calculation of You and Me by. Serena Kaylor

Bride by. Ali Hazelwood

Bridesmaid for Hire by. Meghan Quinn

Currently Reading:

The Dangerous Ones by. Lauren Blackwood

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

Grease 2 (movie) – I was really craving and oldie but goodie and saw that this was on Pluto TV, an app I have NEVER used but it’s on my amazon fire stick so I downloaded it and it’s free because it has ads. It was the perfect movie to watch! I remember being obsessed with Michelle Pfiffer as a young girl, I wanted to be a Pink Lady so bad and have a gorgeous Michael Carrington trying to be a “cool rider” for me. 😂 How do I still know all the lyrics to the songs in this movie?! That’s how many times I watched it in my younger years.
I am being FED with music this year! Listening to Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande, Beyonce…what a year for music, and Taylor’s album coming out soon? I can’t wait for what else comes out this year! Now if only I can get myself to a concert 😆 – in this economy?! 💁🏻‍♀️

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!

Bride by. Ali Hazelwood | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Bride

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)

Pages: 410

Publication Date: 2/6/24

Categories: Adult, Romance, Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Werewolves

A dangerous alliance between a Vampyre bride and an Alpha Werewolf becomes a love deep enough to sink your teeth into in this new paranormal romance.

Misery Lark, the only daughter of the most powerful Vampyre councilman of the Southwest, is an outcast—again. Her days of living in anonymity among the Humans are over: she has been called upon to uphold a historic peacekeeping alliance between the Vampyres and their mortal enemies, the Weres, and she sees little choice but to surrender herself in the exchange—again…

Weres are ruthless and unpredictable, and their Alpha, Lowe Moreland, is no exception. He rules his pack with absolute authority, but not without justice. And, unlike the Vampyre Council, not without feeling. It’s clear from the way he tracks Misery’s every movement that he doesn’t trust her. If only he knew how right he was….

Because Misery has her own reasons to agree to this marriage of convenience, reasons that have nothing to do with politics or alliances, and everything to do with the only thing she’s ever cared about. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to get back what’s hers, even if it means a life alone in Were territory…alone with the wolf.

Content Warning: poisoning, attempted murder, attempted kidnaping, kidnapping, toxic parental relationship

I’m so glad I got to finally read this book which has been getting so much hype and I can see why!

I love a good vampire story and this one where a vampire and a Were marry one another to keep the alliances is such a good storyline. I thought the world building and politics were done well and I could feel the high stakes of an alliance between vampire and Weres to be vital to both species against the humans. I felt like I learned a lot about vampires through Misery (what a name!) and there was so much insight about weres when Misery goes to live with them. I like that the explanations in this book didn’t feel like info-dumping but something I was genuinely interested to know.

Misery is a great character – she’s cold and comes off unfeeling because she’s a vampire, they lack the emotions to supposedly care for another being. But then there is Serena, a human, who was Misery’s foster sister and their relationship even though for 3/4ths of the books it was through memories, was such an important relationship for Misery. It’s why she jumps into a marriage alliance – it’s all to find Serena, who is missing and Misery cannot fathom a life without her. I love them together.

As for Misery and her romance with Lowe, it’s a slow burn. But yes, Weres have “mates”, so I think it’s safe to say that was a predictable part of the story. Still, I thought their relationship grew nicely for two people in a forced marriage and when the attraction finally hit for Misery it turned this book quite spicy. And yes, the word I learned this year is “knot” after reading another Were romance earlier this year and not knowing what the heck that was. Well…this book gives a LOT of explanation and demonstration! I don’t know what I think of it yet…like I don’t know if I find it sexy? But hey it’s the way they do things, so I’m just going with it.

The story had a great flow from beginning to end with the search for Serena, the politics of the alliances and how Serena might be involved, Misery living with the Weres and also Misery dealing with not fitting in anywhere ever since she was a child most in part because of her horrible father. I loved the relationship building between Misery, Lowe and the Weres because the hate and fears between them was so strong at first.

The only thing I didn’t quite love was Lowe always taking things on himself and pushing Misery away – after what she’s been through as a child – I hated that for her. That was so weak of him and it annoyed me.

It looks like this is going to be a series or standalone stories in a series – after what happens at the end, so I’m looking forward to the next book!

My Final Thoughts:

This had everything I want in a paranormal romance! Vampires, politics, a slow burn, smart characters, lovable characters, and an entertaining story from start to finish. I’m looking forward to the next book!

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Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Love Hypothesis by. Ali Hazelwood | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Birthstone Book Covers: April – Diamond

The original creator of this book tag is **Leslie @ Books Are The New Black** so go check out her blog!

THE RULES

Mention the creator (Leslie @ Books Are The New Black ) and link back to me so I can see your post!
Pick 5+ book covers that match the current month’s Birthstone.
HAVE FUN!
Nominate people if you want!

Let’s find some book covers in this color:

I nominate everyone! It’s a fun and easy tag to do so try it out. ☺️

Monthly Wrap Up | March 2024

March was filled with kids with colds and allergies, and just really trying to make it to spring break – which we did and still was dealing with allergies. But I’m just happy we got to have a break from school and extra-curricular activities for a little bit. Now comes the last 2 months of school, dance recital and 5th grade graduation.

I did get to read some good books this month, but a lot of just okay reads also. I do believe I was in a slump in the beginning of the month. I’m not sure if the slump is over yet or I’m just picking the wrong books.

Anyway, hope all of you had a good month!

What I Posted: 15 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️:

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

How was your month?

Spindleheart: Trail of Shadow and Spool by. T.I. Avens | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Spindleheart – Trail of Shadow and Spool

Author: T.I. Avens

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages:

Publication Date: 4/26/24

Publisher: Over The Tall Shelf LLC

Categories: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Adventure

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

Thank you to T.I. Avens for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A perilous quest. A missing mythical chest. And one very wayward tale.

After failing her duty as the newly appointed Guardian of TallStalks, Wynn, a young intrepid swirlear, journeys far beyond the tangled stalks of her home to retrieve the very thing she was appointed to protect. A gilded chest passed down in her family for countless generations. As she races to find the magic-wielding culprit responsible for the chest’s disappearance, she finds herself haunted not only by failure, but by the possible peril that would be unleashed if the chest were ever opened.

Eager to leave her village and past behind, Calla, a brash flower-elf, trains for a chance to enroll in an academy for gifted young casters. But when an unearthed family secret brings her sister and her into the most vicious part of the Agrestal lands, she not only questions her future, but the murkier parts of her past.

As each step draws them further into dangerous lands of the Agrestal, Wynn and Calla may find that survival may lie within confronting what they’re trying to escape.

Content Warning:

I don’t usually read middle grade books, but when the author of this book asked me to read and review their book and I saw the cover, my curiosity was peaked. I love the book cover because it’s colorful and whimsical plus the synopsis was intriguing.

This story is full of adventure and I thought the world-building was fantastic. The story takes us to a world of creatures and little elves that live in a magical land. We follow two main characters, first one is Wynn who is a swirl-ear and she is searching for the person who stole a special chest she was guarding. Wynn’s story is filled with harrowing adventure and she meets some interesting characters along the way. I love how Wynn has never left her home until now – it reminded me a big of Frodo Baggins from Lord of the Rings, leaving the shire! She learns a lot on her journey about herself and what she is capable of.

The other storyline follows Calla, a flower-elf who is not on good terms with her sister, Saffron but they meet up when she is called to Runnelloom to help with a mission – or that’s what she assumes. When Calla and Saffron are together, we get a sense of their tense relationship and that’s really too bad for two sisters that just lost their mother. But I feel like it’s something that will be worked out, I hope, in the next books of this series.

I did feel more invested in Wynn’s adventure, mostly because her traveling companions Lance and Beryl are such great characters! They made me laugh and I love that Wynn seems to have fallen into a found family situation.

I do wish each chapter told us which character we were following. Also because it’s such a fantasy world full of creatures we’ve never heard of, it took me some time to acclimate myself to the names and phrases they used but there is a glossary which was helpful! For some reason, I was reading this whole thing in my head with a British accent (I’m not British! lol) but I just felt like that’s how these characters would sound.

My Thoughts:

This is a full of adventure, new friendships, quests and magic but also one that deals with some tough issues like strained family relationships, and believing in one’s self and worth. If you are in the mood for a middle grade book that takes you on a fantastical journey, you just might enjoy this one.

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Instagram (crafts🎨) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (shop)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About the Author:

T.I. Avens is an author from North California who specializes in writing middle-grade fantasy books full of odd creatures, unexpected heroes, and untamed magic. She’s currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in communication studies, as well as starting her indie-publishing company, Over TheTall Shelf LLC.

When she’s not writing, Avens enjoys yoga, taking care of her plants, and baking tasty treats.

WWW Wednesday | 4/3/24

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?

I was a but out of it at the start of this week because the weekend, which I thought wasn’t going to be so busy…got busy. Took my kids to the pool on Friday which tired me out, had my parents at my house Saturday as usual and my son had a piano lesson, then Sunday for Easter I brought my kids to an indoor playground for an hour then went home and we had lunch with my mom and sister, dyed eggs, decorated a cake, had a mini egg hunt for my 2 kids, then they opened the eggs and their Easter baskets. I was DONE. 😅 Why are weekends never relaxing?! So I started off this week – tired. I only got to finish 2 books since it was an unexpectedly busy weekend.

What are you currently reading?

The Dangerous Ones by. Lauren Blackwood – 10% in, this one is so interesting. American Civil War and vampires?

The Calculation of You and Me by. Serena Kaylor – 10% in!

What have you just finished reading?

Beautiful Villain by. Rebecca Kenny – ⭐️⭐️⭐️ – I was so out of it when I made this review Sunday night that I accidentally posted it way too early. It’s out in July and I wanted to post my review in July but…🤷🏻‍♀️ my brain cells were not working lol.

Bride by. Ali Hazelwood – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

Six of Sorrow by. Amanda Linsmeier

Castle of the Cursed by. Romina Garber

I am actually amazed at how few titles I have requested on NetGalley this year! I cut down a lot…like 50% less requests I think, and now I don’t have many arcs to review for the summer. I don’t know if I’m happy about that or not. 😅 I think I’m happy about it because I don’t have a NetGalley list glaring at me and pressuring me to finish reading all these arcs.

What are you reading right now?

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 4/2/24

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

The Rule Book by. Sarah Adams

College sweethearts meet again years later, in this highly anticipated romance and companion story to the viral TikTok sensation The Cheat Sheet.

Nora Mackenzie’s entire career lies in the hands of famous NFL tight end Derek Pender who also happens to be her extremely hot college ex-boyfriend. Nora didn’t end things as gracefully as she could have back then, and now it’s come back to haunt her. Derek is her first client as an official full-time sports agent and he’s holding a grudge.

Derek has set his sights on a little friendly revenge. If Nora Mackenzie, the first girl to ever break his heart, wants to be his agent, oh he’ll let her be his agent. The plan is make Nora’s life absolutely miserable. But if Derek knows anything about the woman he once loved—she won’t quit easily.

Instead of giving in, Nora starts a scheme of her own. But then a wild night in Vegas leads to Nora and Derek in bed the next morning married. With their rule book out the window, could this new relationship be the thing to save their careers?

Goodreads | Amazon

The Book of Thorns by. Hester Fox

“Combining history, the occult, human greed, and a touch of feminism, this is a fine addition to the gothic genre.” —ALA’s Booklist on The Last Heir to Blackwood Library

In the midst of the Napoleonic Wars and the rise of the floriography craze in Europe, two sisters separated at birth are bound together by a secret language of flowers passed down to them by the mother they never knew. When Cornelia leaves her cruel uncle’s home to join Napoleon’s army as a traveling naturalist, her ability to heal any wound and bring soldiers back from the brink of death earns her praise from higher-ups—and exposes her to those who would exploit her powers for themselves.

Meanwhile, Lijsbeth lives in indentured servitude, her only respite her time spent flower arranging. When she meets a young English soldier and falls in love, Lisjbeth must decide whether to flee the clashing of two great armies at Waterloo or risk everything by staying. As the English and French armies collide in Waterloo, the sisters finally cross paths on opposite sides of the war.

With the sisters reunited on the battlefield, they must work together to solve the mystery of their mother’s death and their father’s disappearance, all while surviving the war raging around them.

Goodreads | Amazon

The Shadows Rule All by. Abigail Owen

Darkness ascends the throne in this electrifying conclusion to the Domionions trilogy, all wrapped up in a gorgeous cover package! Preorder coming soon!

The hidden princess, must find a way to stop the ageless king—and the Shadowraith she’s fallen for—in the upcoming final installment of Abigail Owen’s sprawling, sexy upper YA fantasy.

The Dominions series is best enjoyed in order.
Reading Order:
Book #1 The Liar’s Crown
Book #2 The Stolen Throne
Book #3 The Shadows Rule All

Goodreads | Amazon

Just for the Summer by. Abby Jimenez

Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it’s now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They’ll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.

Emma hadn’t planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.

It’s supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma’s toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they’re suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected–including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?

Goodreads | Amazon

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

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Top Ten books with April Showers | TTT | 4/2/24

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:

April Showers

(books with rain on the cover/in the title, that have rainstorms in the story, or that have anything to do with rain)

Stay With My Heart by. Tashie Bhuiyan – not quite rain in this book cover BUT…it has clouds!
Wish of the Wicked by. Danielle Paige – the girl is ready for rain in that cape.
Empire of Storms by. Sarah J. Maas – it’s got stormy clouds.

Obsidian by. Jennifer L. Armentrout – dark and stormy cover
Roar by. Cora Carmack – dark clouds and lightning
Vampires of El Norte by. Isabel Cañas – more stormy skies

The Storm Keeper’s Island by. Catherine Doyle – clouds but no rain
The Widow of Pale Harbor by. Hester Fox – it looks like it’s gonna rain
Off the Map by. Trish Doller – the only book cover I found with actually rain

What’s on your TTT?

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Beautiful Villain by. Rebecca Kenney | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Beautiful Villain

Author: Rebecca Kenney

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 7/16/24

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Categories: New Adult, Romance, The Great Gatsby Retelling, Vampires

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

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

Seven years ago, I lost him for good. Now he’s back, but is he still the Jay Gatsby I used to know…or is he something more? Something…darker.

Daisy Finnegan is looking forward to the endless golden freedom of summer. She doesn’t want to think about life after college, or the newly awakened power of her voice, which has a way of making people do frightening things. But when her cousin goes missing at an exclusive house party, Daisy confronts the mysterious host…only to discover the wealthy recluse is Jay Gatsby, her childhood sweetheart―now sinfully hot and impossible to deny.

It isn’t long before Daisy becomes entangled in a web of dizzying wealth and lies and obsession darker than she could have dreamed―culminating in a shocking act of violence that shatters the summer haze and threatens to drown them all.

But it isn’t until Gatsby is shot through the heart―and survives―that Daisy discovers the truth of how Gatsby clawed his way up in the world by selling the secret of immortality to the highest bidder. Now with her friends’ lives at stake, her own untested power still volatile, and an unimaginable threat closing in, Daisy will have to face an impossible choice: side with the man who claimed her body and soul…or with the monsters who would see him lost to her forever.

An addictive and truly original spicy New Adult retelling of The Great Gatsby with a magical twist.

Content Warning: abuse

I never read The Great Gatsby but I did watch the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio mostly because of that Lana Del Rey song, Young and Beautiful.

Daisy is a young adult who is out of college, doesn’t have much direction, she broke up with her abusive ex-boyfriend, and just got invited to an infamous party thrown by some mysterious guy people refer to as Gatsby. The name is familiar to Daisy and wonders if it’s the same Jay Gatsby she was best friends with when she was younger, before she moved to a new town.

I thought this was a fairly quick read because I wanted to see how the vampire element would fit in the Gatsby story and I thought it did it pretty well. I like that the explanation about how vampires are created is different from the usual lore. Jay is such mysterious, wealthy young man, that it makes sense he would be a vampire.

Daisy and Jay’s attraction happens very quick and things get spicy between them almost right away. Their feelings for each other from when they were younger resurfaces but they do make an effort to get to know one another since so much has changed – especially with Jay.

I can’t say I connected to anyone in this story. Also, there is a lot of pop culture references in the book – if you aren’t into that, then just know it’s there.

My Thoughts:

I thought this one was okay. I did think it was a pretty good retelling of The Great Gatsby only from what I saw and remembered from the movie. The vampire storyline worked pretty well but I just didn’t connect to the characters. I think I wanted more drama and maybe have it be a little more darker because sometimes it felt like a young adult story just a very spicy one.