Happy Easter to those who celebrate! This week was kinda chill which was nice and we even went to the pool. Today, I’m taking the kiddos to this indoor playground place where they have the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt, then my sister and mom are coming over for lunch. We will dye eggs, have a mini egg hunt at home, and open easter baskets. ☺️
Spindleheart: Trail of Shadow and Spool by. T.I. Avens
Beautiful Villain by. Rebecca Kenney
Currently Reading:
Bride by. Ali Hazelwood
Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:
Cowboy Carter by Beyonce – pretty amazing album with different sounds of country, 60’s and 70’s rock, even a little bit of opera, rap…I can’t quite explain and I’m still re-listening to figure out my favorite songs. So far I love Bodyguard a lot!
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!
I haven’t done a book tag other than the birthstone covers in awhile! I saw this one on Leslie’s blog Books Are the New Black and thought it was super short and easy to do. I’m all about easy book tags! It was originally created by girlxoxo.
First Book Read in 2024
Ruthless Vows by. Rebecca Ross was the first book I read even though it came out in December 2023 – there was just so much going on in that month I couldn’t get to it until January 2024 and I loved it! It is such a great duology!
first review of 2024
I don’t know what the first book of 2024 I read but this is the first book review I posted! It’s The Atlas of Us by. Kristin Dwyer. It was pretty good and I rated it 3 1/2 stars!
I’ve never read a book by this author, but this book If I Promise You Wings by. A.K. Small was really interesting! I’ll definitely read a book by this author again.
First Book of 2024 that I Wish I Could Get Back the Time I Spent Reading it
I tried to read this one, The Book of Azrael by. Amber Nicole, because it’s so popular on Kindle Unlimited. I got 11% in and stopped because it wasn’t holding my attention. I’m not sure if I’ll go back to finish it but for now…it’s a DNF.
Categories: New Adult, Romance, Series, Hockey Romance, Sports Romance
Gigi Graham has exactly three qualify for the women’s national hockey team, win Olympic gold, and step out of her famous father’s shadow. So far, so good, except for two little things. Fine – a little thing and a big, grumpy thing. She needs to improve her game behind the net, and she needs help from Luke Ryder.
Ryder is six-foot five, built, opinionated, rude . . . and sexy as hell. But he’s still the enemy.
Briar’s new hockey co-captain has his reasons, though. The men’s team just merged with a rival program, leaving Ryder with an angry roster where everyone hates one another’s guts. To make matters worse, the summer coaching spot he’s angling for with the legendary Garrett Graham is out of reach after he makes the worst possible first impression on his hero. So, really, this compromise with Gigi is win-win. He helps her make the national team, she puts in a good word with her dad.
The only potential snag? This bone-deep, body-numbing, mind-spinning chemistry they’re trying to ignore. It’s a dangerous game they’re playing, but the risks just might be worth it.
Content Warning: traumatic childhood
I read the Off-Campus Series by Elle Kennedy back when it was first published almost 10 years ago – wow! I don’t remember if I read them all though and I for sure didn’t read any of the Briar U series but here is a new series called Campus Diaries and it takes place at Briar University. But this time the wild hockey boys from Off-Campus have grown up! The Graham Effect is all about Garrett Graham’s college aged daughter, Gigi. She’s a hockey player too is trying to make the Olympic Team but also having the most fun at college with the hockey boys and her best friends.
I thought this was a cute and spicy romance but also it was more than just a fluffy romance. Not gonna lie, I was expecting a fluffy and spicy hockey romance. This one is shy of 500 pages and I think it was a tad bit too long. But the story does give us a whole spectrum of Gigi and Ryder’s romance. I thought they had great chemistry and there are a lot of spicy scenes between them. Gigi is a good girl, good daughter and student – she was pretty much perfect. Ryder is the boy with the reputation for a bad attitude, but he is definitely the boy with the traumatic childhood. The two made a good couple because honesty was number one for them – no matter what. Loved that about them.
I loved seeing Gigi and Ryder’s relationship grow – and I love all the different characters we meet! Gigi has her best friends, Mya and Diana and Ryder has his close buddies and then some with his old and new teammates. There are a lot of names to remember but I thought each character stood out on their own pretty well. Do I think everyone needed to be introduced? Maybe not. Also, I know this is a sports/hockey romance and I like the sports stuff fine, but not so much of it. I really did feel like at some point this story kept going on and on. Another thing that I won’t spoil but something happens at the end of the book and I was like…why?! 😅 Why did that need to happen?
My Final Thoughts:
This is a spicy new adult hockey romance set in college. It’s got good looking and mostly nice characters (a lot of characters). Gigi is sweet, smart and athletic and Ryder is gruff, not a talker and athletic. They have a great chemistry and a strong relationship. I do think the story was way too long and some things could have been cut but overall still a very fun read.
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?
Kids are back in school…sorta. They have 2 days off this week, which is so nice – almost like an extended spring break! I need to get myself back into the routine of things.
What are you currently reading?
Chasm by. Stacey McEwan – 35% – no progress this week – I have not motivation to finish this one 😅
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:
Movies/TV Shows That Would Have Made Amazing Books
Yikes this is a harder topic than I thought because all the movies and shows I’m thinking of originated from books! As you can see from my list below I went with movies from the 1980’s-early 2000’s. I loved these movies from when I was young and if any of them were books first, please let me know in the comments below!
Cruel Intentions – this one was dark but so juicy!
10 Things I Hate About You – so much fun and such a cute romance.
She’s All That – classic unpopular girl and popular guy!
Sixteen Candles – where my love for teen romances started!
Pretty in Pink – Blaine? lol…oh the rich boy names in the 80’s!
Never Been Kissed – I loved this movie!
The Craft – witchcraft and girls in private school? Total book material!
My Best Friend’s Wedding – when the MC doesn’t get the guy in the end but it’s still an amazing and touching story!
Sleepless in Seattle – a classic! Two characters who never meet until the end in a time pre-cell phones!
You’ve Got Mail – another classic in the age of AOL – lol…
Oh boy did I just show my age in this post but I really did grow up in the time when movies were so much fun and the stories were so good. I remember always going to the movies with my girlfriends to catch the latest rom-coms. Good times!
Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:
The Good, the Bad and the Aunties by. 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…
Categories: Fantasy, Young Adult, Jamaica Inspired, Dragons, Romance, LGBT+
Whip-smart and immersive, this Jamaican-inspired fantasy follows a gods-blessed heroine who’s forced to choose between saving her sister or protecting her homeland.
Faron Vincent can channel the power of the gods. Five years ago, she used her divine magic to liberate her island from its enemies, the dragon-riding Langley Empire. But now, at seventeen, Faron is all powered up with no wars to fight. She’s a legend to her people and a nuisance to her neighbors.
When she’s forced to attend an international peace summit, Faron expects that she will perform tricks like a trained pet and then go home. She doesn’t expect her older sister, Elara, forming an unprecedented bond with an enemy dragon—or the gods claiming the only way to break that bond is to kill her sister.
As Faron’s desperation to find another solution takes her down a dark path, and Elara discovers the shocking secrets at the heart of the Langley Empire, both must make difficult choices that will shape each other’s lives, as well as the fate of their world.
“By turns hopeful and devastating, So Let Them Burn is a masterful debut with a blazing heart. I was captivated from beginning to end by Cole’s sharp, clever prose and by her protagonists—two remarkable sisters with an unforgettable bond.” — Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief
Content Warning: violence
I thought the premise of this book was very intriguing – Jamaican inspired and dragons?
I love the sister bond between Faron and Elara. Faron is the Child Empyrean – chosen by the Gods, and gifted with power. She is the chosen but is the younger sister and makes a few mistakes in this books showing her immaturity. Elara is the older sister and is always in her sister’s shadow but longs to shine on her own. The sister are apart for most of the book but I think it helps to see them apart because Elara grows a lot from her new situation, whereas I think Faron alone needed her sister’s guidance.
I liked learning all about the dragons and the world-building is great. I would have liked more about the dragon academy since I think the best thing about this book was about the dragons. There is an interesting plot twist that occurs and I can see how this is going to complicate things a lot for the sisters. There are two romances happening for each sister, I’d say I was more into Elara’s building romance than Faron’s. But with everything that happened in the end of the book, I’m now much more curious how it’s going to end up for Faron. I think Gael Soto’s character is very intriguing and it will be interesting to see what happens to him in book two.
I did feel like this is more for younger young adult audiences.
My Final Thoughts:
Overall this one was entertaining and you definitely like it if you are looking for a younger young adult novel with dragons in it.
And just like that spring break is over! My kids do get a state holiday off this week and Good Friday, so that’s nice, they only have 3 days of school this week. We didn’t do anything special this week, just mostly chilled at home or went to the mall but my kids just wanted to relax at home.
I did get some reading done, not as much as I wanted, but I got some reading done at least. Also dealing with allergies – bleh.
Are we ready to be already 4 months into the year?! 😆 I don’t know if I’m ready.
Spindleheart: Trail of Shadow and Spool by. T.I. Avens
Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:
I watched this one on St. Patty’s Day and it was a cute rom-com.
I guess I was in a Netflix mood because right after Irish Wish, I watched Damsel! I read the book as an arc last year and it was a cool premise but the way it was written felt like a screenplay and look at that – it was made into a really entertaining movie! I enjoyed much more as a movie than as a book – it has lots of action.
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!
Title: The Veiled Kingdom (The Veiled Kingdom, #1)
Author: Holly Renee
Format: ebook (kindle unlimited)
Pages: 364
Publication Date: 3/19/24
Categories: Romance, Fantasy, Adult Fiction, Fae, Enemies to Lovers
From USA Today Bestselling Author Holly Renee, author of the Stars and Shadows series, comes a scorching new fantasy romance that ignites the pages with relentless danger, forbidden passion, and the intoxicating allure of enemies to lovers.
Fleeing my father’s cruelty, the wicked king who robbed me of a future, I face death in the streets, caught between a rebellion and a tyrant’s reign.
Captured by those sworn to kill me, the rebels remain blind to my true identity—the missing daughter of the despised king. Faced with an impossible choice, I stand before them: join the rebels or face their blades.
Yet, Dacre, the son of the ruthless rebellion commander, becomes torn between suspicion and a desire that mirrors my own. He allows no one to touch me, tries to protect me, yet threatens me at every turn.
As secrets are weaved beyond our hidden realm, a fierce battle unfolds within me. As I get closer to the rebels, and their cause, my loyalty to my kingdom clashes with my undeniable devotion to Dacre and the burning connection between us.
In a world where love and hate are two edges of the same blade, I find myself caught in a delicate dance between forbidden desire and my looming destiny.
Content Warning: toxic parental relationship
I went into this one blind – I saw the book cover, love the colors, thought the synopsis sounded pretty good and hit “read for free” since it’s on Kindle Unlimited. I read it in one night!
I wanted “enemies to lovers” and I got it. Nyra is a runaway princess – her father’s regime is ruthless and she had to escape him. There is a rebellion movement planning to take him down but they are in search of this so-called princess people haven’t seen in awhile. The son of the rebellion is Dacre and he is Nyra’s enemy…for now.
The chemistry between Nyra and Dacre is so good. He’s her captor, she’s the captive. He doesn’t trust her and treats her like she’s a pebble in his shoe but she doesn’t cower. Even when he’s disrespecting her, and insulting her while he trains her, always egging her on – she never cowers in front of him but instead takes it and I guess it even turns her on. I will say that there are qualities to Dacre that are admirable, like obviously he cares for his sister Wren and he is loyal to his people and the rebellion. He has an awful dad and his mom’s death traumatized him so he is hard edges and just – hard. 😅
There’s a lot of spicy scenes between Nyra and Dacre but it comes later in the book, which I thought was perfect timing. It didn’t happen so quick, but it definitely kept me seated and reading, waiting to see if something more would happen – and I was not disappointed!
As far as world-building, I just wanted a little more but because I’m used to it in other fantasy books. I felt like this one is one of those addictive reads with not as much world-building but maybe in comes in book two? A lot time is spent with Dacre training Nyra and the story is mostly set in the rebel city, so I’m hoping book two takes us back to Nyra’s kingdom and we get to actually meet this horrible father of hers.
I devoured this book but unfortunately now I have to wait for book two which comes out in July!
My Final Thoughts:
This hit all my romantasy cravings ~ enemies to lovers, captor/captive, one bed, alphahole and his dirty talk (naughty, naughty!), and this is a world of faeries which I also love but I need a bit more world-building. I want to know more about these fae kingdoms, more backstory and maybe more depth with Nyra (I’m thinking we get it with that cliffhanger ending!) but other than that, I’ll be waiting for book two. I’m addicted!
Rowan I’m in the business of creating fairy tales. Theme parks. Production companies. Five-star hotels. Everything could be all mine if I renovated Dreamland. My initial idea of hiring Zahra was good in theory, but then I kissed her. Things spiraled out of control once I texted her using an alias. By the time I realized where I went wrong, it was too late. People like me don’t get happy endings. Not when we’re destined to ruin them.
Zahra After submitting a drunk proposal criticizing Dreamland’s most expensive ride, I should have been fired. Instead, Rowan Kane offered me a dream job. The catch? I had to work for the most difficult boss I’d ever met. Rowan was rude and completely off-limits, but my heart didn’t care. At least not until I discovered his secret. It was time to teach the billionaire that money couldn’t fix everything. Especially not us.
The Fine Print is the first book in a series of interconnected standalones following three billionaire brothers.
Content Warning: toxic parental relationship
I love the characters in this story – Zahra is quirky, but wholesome and comes from a good, loving family. She’s had a bad experience with an ex-boyfriend but overall, she’s strong, warm and people love her. She’s miss sunshine with a little bit of sass because she can definitely keep up with Rowan’s grumpy personality. I found their interactions and banter really fun!
I also love Zahra’s sister, Ani, who has down syndrome – she was so funny, cute and cool! I loved that she had her own little sass too and could keep up with Rowan. Rowan is the typical rich, handsome, grumpy guy trying to live up to family expectations but he has quite a past himself and is dealing with his mother’s and grandfather’s passing.
I thought the romance progressed really good from their first meeting and then all their interactions in between up until their conflict. I do think the story went on a bit too long and Rowan was being a jerk with ending things and then wanting her back right away. Like come on man, you are seriously stringing this nice girl along and she really didn’t deserve that. Yes, he has commitment issues and needed to work on them but yeah…even I was getting tired of it.
It did have a cute ending but it could have come sooner for sure!
My Final Thoughts:
I thought this was a cute one and I do love Zahra and Rowan together – he just needed to get his stuff together earlier so this could be a nice 350 page book. 😅 I don’t think we got a good feel of either of his brothers in this book but I’ll be reading their stories for sure.
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 