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: Halloween Freebie
Have you read any of these books? Are any of these on your TBR? 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: Sword Catcher
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pages: 597
Publication Date: 10/10/23
Synopsis:
Two outcasts find themselves at the center of world-altering change in the start of a riveting epic fantasy series from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Shadowhunter Chronicles.
In the vibrant city-state of Castellane, the richest of nobles and the most debauched of criminals have one thing in common: the constant search for wealth, power, and the next hedonistic thrill.
Kel is an orphan, stolen from the life he knew to become the Sword-Catcher—the body-double of a royal heir, Prince Conor Aurelian. He has been raised alongside the prince, trained in every aspect of combat and statecraft. He and Conor are close as brothers, but Kel knows he has one destiny: to die for Conor. No other future is possible.
Lin Caster is one of the Ashkar, a small community who still possess magical abilities. By law, they must live behind walls in the city, but Lin, a physician, ventures out to tend to the sick and dying of Castellane. Despite her skills, she cannot heal her best friend Mariam without access to forbidden knowledge.
After a failed assassination attempt brings Lin and Kel together, they are drawn into the web of the mysterious Ragpicker King, the criminal ruler of Castellane’s underworld. He offers them each what they want most; but as they descend into his world of intrigue and shadow, they discover a conspiracy of corruption that reaches from the darkest gutters of Castellane to the highest tower of its palaces. As long-kept secrets begin to unravel, they must ask themselves: Is knowledge worth the price of betrayal? Can forbidden love bring down a kingdom? And will Lin and Kel’s discoveries plunge their nation into war—and the world into chaos?
Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!
Aloha friends!
I felt like my brain wasn’t functioning this week because I was worried about my mom’s procedure to remove her cancer cells. I was so relieved when I saw she was home and doing good but the next day my sister talked to the doctor and he gave her bad news. The camera inserted into her to help scrape off the cancer cells found smaller tumors that the CT Scan missed. So we are devastated but trying to think positive as we consider her options and she has a few but the one we are learning towards involves major surgery. But we want to get ahead of the cancer and eliminate it – that’s the goal and I feel like she’s in the early stages enough that she can beat it. 🙏🏼 So that was on my mind this week and weekend.
Then of course my son got sick, but I took him to urgent care and it’s not strep throat…or at least not Strep A which is what they test for. Anyway so we had a quiet weekend but a nice surprise last night when my parents came to sleep over. I was thinking they wouldn’t come over this weekend because my mom’s procedure and how she’s still in a little pain, but she’s feeling much better.❤️
I’m not in a reading slump but my mood is definitely in a slump hence why I haven’t been finishing a lot of books lately. But this weekend is my birthday and the book I’m looking forward to getting the most is Iron Flame!! So I hope my mood improves by then! Just have so much on my mind…sigh…and it’s the holidays, which is stressful enough without dealing with all my loved ones dealing with health issues. 🙁 Anyway I’m trying to get into the mood for my kids because Halloween is on Tuesday!
I hope all of you have a good week and thanks for reading!
+ The Nightmare Before Christmas (the sing-along lol)
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!
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Title: The Woman in Me
Author: Britney Spears
Format: ebook (own)
Pages: 288
Publication Date: 10/25/23
Categories: Nonfiction, Memoir, Music, Pop Culture
The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.
In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.
Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.
Content Warning: postpartum depression, underage drinking, alcoholism
I don’t read a lot of memoirs even though I always plan to add it to my TBR list. I’ll read one here and there but I HAD to get this one because I love Britney. I was in college when she blew up in the music industry and my little girl cousins were obsessed with her because of Baby One More Time. And she was so awesome to hold a Free concert here in Hawaii (and back then it was hard to get any big musicians to do concerts here in Hawaii!!!) – I never went but I remember my cousin’s wives brought their little girls and they were so excited and happy about it. I wish I did go now because who holds free concerts now? Not in this economy of overpriced tickets. But Britney held a free concert in Hawaii on the beach and it was made into a DVD. I wasn’t obsessed but I loved her music, especially her next albums where there was more tracks I could dance to. And from there I just loved her music, her videos, and her performances – she was the moment! Until everything imploded and now we get HER side of the story and it’s so long overdue.
+ I love how she gives us a glimpse into her childhood which she experienced with an alcoholic father and a mother that fought with him a lot. It’s only a quick glance into her early years, memories here and there about growing up in Kentwood, Louisiana.
I wanted to hide, but I also wanted to be seen. Both things could be true.”
Britney Spears – The Woman in Me
I’ve heard that this sometimes happens to parents – especially if you have trauma from your childhood. When your kids get to be the age you were when you were dealing with something rough, you live it emotionally.”
Britney Spears – The Woman in Me
+ Her relationships with the various men in her life really didn’t turn out the best and I think it’s because of her already traumatic childhood didn’t give her a good idea about what a good, stable relationship is like. With the whole Justin thing – I loved them together and was sad when they broke up. And it got messy in the tabloids and in the media. She was tarnished and labeled a bad woman because of the breakup and they were so YOUNG They were 17 and 18? My goodness it reminded me of me and my ex high school boyfriend and how we ended and I got labeled a slut when I wasn’t even sleeping around with anyone but they believed HIM. Like why does that happen? 🙄 And then came K. Fed. 😡 This girl wanted to be loved and he was that rock for her at first until he chased the fame too. She did skim over when she dated “the photographer” as she calls him – kind of wanted to know more about that but I’m sure that was a rough time in her memory.
That interview was a breaking point for me internally – a switch had been flipped. I felt something dark come over my body. I felt myself turning, almost like a werewolf, into a Bad Person.”
Britney Spears – The Woman in Me
+ She explains some of the images we saw on tabloids and on the news – the moment the police show up to her house and take her on a gurney into the ambulance or the moment the pictures of her almost falling with her baby in her arms when the heel of her show twists…stuff like that. And again…they were like sharks after her! And why her, is what I ask…why did they want to tear her apart so badly?! I was flabbergasted how clearly she was going through postpartum depression (only now I understand because I’ve had 2 kids)…but she was suffering and there was no one there to help her with that at all or even diagnose her with PPD? I can only imagine what she was going through. I remember when everything was happening in the media, I really thought she was going to end up in an overdose like how most troubled celebrities end up and I was scared for her.
It felt like that was the only thing people wanted to tall about: whether or not I was a fit mother.”
Britney Spears – The Woman inMe
+ The moment she talks about the conservatorship and the role her father takes – I feel her anger and the betrayal in her words. I am so angry FOR her. No one was in her corner. And she went along with everything for her babies. 😭💔 I understand that when she was having a mental break, probably because of the PPD, the conservatorship helped her get back on her feet. But now we get to hear her thoughts about how she felt during that 13 year period. I ask the same questions she is asking…how can someone be in a conservatorship – but be worked to the bone, performing, touring, being out in public and paying everyone’s bills…how can they deem her unfit to be her own person yet milked for the money she could make them? When she talks about the nurse showing her the #freebritney movement on the internet…I felt like I was watching a movie and that was the moment everything turned around for her!
This is too much for me. But I didn’t see a way out. So I felt my spirit retreat, and I went on autopilot. If I play along, surely they’ll see how good I am and they will let me go.”
Britney Spears – The Woman in Me
+~ Is it well written? I’d say not particularly because I’m such an avid reader – but I’m also used to the way she writes captions on her Instagram account! So I feel like this is authentic to her voice and the way she talks. Even the speech she made in court kind of sounds like this book where her sentences rush into one another. Some of her timeline in the beginning felt like she was jumping between childhood memories, kind of skimming over some memories but if someone asked me for details about my childhood it wouldn’t be fully detailed either. But her writing does get better and smoother when she writes about her adult years. I can only imagine how hard it was for her to put what she went through down on paper – I can feel the pain and so much anger in her words.
My Final Thoughts:
There is so much I want to say but overall it’s a good read especially if you are a Britney fan like me. It’s full of details I never knew and just full of her emotions and I am angry and heartbroken for her. Britney is 41 years old which is 4 years younger than me and wow….her life story just hits me because I remember living in this Britney era. It just makes no sense to me that she was labeled the “unfit mother” but she was so unfit that she WORKED her ass off and paid everyone’s bills while she was “unfit”?! That bugs me a lot. So the “help” they gave her was to work her harder and push her to the brink? Like she said she was a people pleaser and she’s learning to now say no, thank goodness. That’s totally relatable because it’s a hard lesson to learn (from a fellow people pleaser). Sometimes you give so much that there is nothing else to give because you are empty.
I hope she makes a movie about her life because it would be so good. It’s an inspirational story. But on the other hand, she owes us nothing else because she gave us so much of herself and I’m grateful for that. I still work out to her music and my kids love Oops I did it again, Toxic and Lucky. I just hope she continues to do what she wants with her freedom and have more therapy to help HEAL all her mental trauma and wounds. 🙏🏼 😔 I got a new appreciate for her strength as a woman and a mother after reading this book – she really held on for her kids and I can relate to that!
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Title: Starling House
Author: Alix E. Harrow
Format: ebook (borrowed)
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 10/3/23
Categories: Contemporary, Fantasy, Mystery, Sentient House, Romance, Gothic, Dark Fantasy, Magic
A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can’t stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.
Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland–and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.
Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.
As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.
If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.
Content Warning: violence, thieving. nightmares, monsters, incest, death of parent
I can’t believe this is the first book I’ve read from this author but I finally did it.
+ I like the small town vibes with secrets and a haunted house! The story is set in Eden, Kentucky and the Starling House is what they are known for. Starling House is a mysterious house and author Eleanor Starling used to live there but disappeared. There is lots of lore about the town and the house. Everyone has a version of the story about Starling House and different theories. It’s quite a mystery.
+ Opal is such a strong character – she is a survivor. She thieves, she lies, she does everything she can to keep her brother Jasper thriving – but they are close to being homeless. They have little to eat most times but they only have each other. She only wants to give her brother a good life. Arthur is the new guardian of Starling House and he’s a scary, anti-social recluse. They are both described as very not good looking people but I love that they look ordinary (because that’s REAL) and they fell for each other in all their imperfections.
+ I love the found family, the romance between Opal and Arthur, the sibling bond between Opal and Jasper, and the history of Starling House. The gothic, dark fantasy vibes are great, it’s very atmospheric – makes for a good book for fall.
~ I think the beginning was a bit slow for me (it’s a me thing – sometimes mysteries are just too slow for me), but the second half of the book, I was totally hooked until the end.
~ There was a lot going on at the ending and the way it was resolved was not what I was expecting. It was strange and maybe I needed to suspend my belief a bit more because I didn’t totally believe it. I did like Eleanor’s story and how we learn the truth of what happened but it also felt a bit anti-climatic for me.
My Final Thoughts:
This one is a great read for fall because it has all the right elements: it’s gothic, has a haunted house, and a small town with secrets. I did like the second half of the book more than the first but only because mysteries are not my favorite genre. This one had a great lore surrounding Starling House and it was definitely a fascinating story. If you are into gothic, fantasy contemporary tales about a sentient house, nightmares and monsters then you will definitely enjoy this one.
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
The Haunting of Hill House is a book that I’ve been meaning to for years!
I like escaping into fantasy books and Throne of the Fallen takes you to Hell, a Vampire stronghold and Faerie!
I like a good strange small town, spooky story! I don’t know if that’s a guilty pleasure but sometimes I just liked to be weirdly spooked. I think Together We Rot fascinated me because stories about cults always have interested me!
I haven’t read Delicious Monsters but I want to – but yikes look at that cover!
If you like a little history with a haunted house then you’d enjoy The Hacienda!
I used like Haunted Houses but that was in my younger years! I’d go with a corn maze now.
I love both but I’ll go with Unique because my kids are always picking unique costumes. This year my daughter will be Sailor Moon and I’m Luna (the cat) lol.
Scary because I can’t pull off a sexy one lol
I was forced to watch horror films all during my childhood because my older male cousins picked the movies! So now I go for comedy.
Definitely chocolate!
It’s a fun and easy tag to do so try it out. ☺️ Happy Halloween! 👻🎃
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 feel like I am just slow in reading this month! It’s taking me days to finish books I can usually finish in one night. But I’ve been sleeping earlier – maybe it’s just age catching up to me! lol…anyway this is what I’m reading and what I’ve finished the last couple of days.
Plot Twist by. Erin La Rosa – I’m about 10% into it. I didn’t make any headway this week on this.
This Cursed Light by. Emily Thiede – I’m only 4% into this one.
Didn’t See That Coming by. Jesse Q. Sutanto – I’ll be finishing this one this week I think.
The Woman in Me by. Britney Spears – I just bought this one yesterday and I’m 8% in. It’s a quick read but definitely fascinating so far! I always did love Britney – her songs bring me back to my late teens and early twenties which was such a fun time in my life.
Two Twisted Crowns by. Rachel Gillig ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Starling House by. Alix E. Harrow ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Artifacts of an Ex by. Jennifer Chen
Her Dark Wings by. Melinda Salisbury
What are you reading right now?
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title: Two Twisted Crowns (The Shepherd King, #2)
Author: Rachel Gillig
Format: ebook (own)
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 10/17/23
Categories: Fantasy, Romance, Series, Gothic, Dark Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult
In the luscious, dark sequel to One Dark Window, Elspeth must face the consequences of what she’s wrought – perfect for readers of Hannah Whitten’s For the Wolf and Alexis Henderson’s The Year of the Witching.
Elspeth and Ravyn have gathered most of the twelve Providence Cards, but the last, and most important one remains to be found: The Twin Alders.
If they are going to find it before the Solstice and cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it, they will need to journey beyond the dangerous mist-cloaked forest that surrounds their kingdom.
And the only one who can lead them there is the monster that shares Elspeth’s head. The Nightmare. And he’s not eager to share any longer.
Content Warning: violence, death
Two Twisted Crowns is the sequel to One Dark Window and the last book in this duology. It is a fantastic conclusion to this dark gothic fantasy series.
+ Everything comes together. Ravyn and Elm are close to finding the Twin Alders card but they have to deal with the horrific realization that Elspeth has now been possessed by the Nightmare. It’s a story full of political intrigue, a quest to find the last card and protect the others, and needing to save Elspeth. This book is like seeing all the puzzle pieces coming together which was really well done.
+ Ravyn and Elspeth’s romance takes a backseat because that would be awkward with the Nightmare inside her. So the new romance in this book is Elm and Ione and I LOVED it. Elm has a reputation and before Ione wielded the Maiden card and became “beautiful” he was curious about her. But they get more time together it this book and they have chemistry, tension, passion and I love how they helped complete the quest together.
+ The ending made me emotional. Even though the Nightmare was a villain for most of this series, we learn his history and he honestly grew on me and Elspeth it seems.
+ The author does a wonderful job capturing the gothic, dark vibes and I still say the magic in this series is so unique. I’ve never read a book with magic cards quite like this and I love the lore and the questioning of the consequences of having too much power.
~ I hate Hauth – what a villain he is!
~ I did miss having Elspeth be her own person but I did love her interactions with the Nightmare who was almost like a dad to her – in a strange way.
My Final Thoughts:
It took me a little longer to read this one because Elm and Ione becomes the main characters and I was waiting for Ravyn and Elspeth to take the spotlight. But I’d say everyone had a chance to shine since this is told through Elm, Ravyn and Elspeth’s perspectives. I was emotional about the ending because I really loved the Nightmare as a character and it was tough to say goodbye to him. Overall this duology has everything – romance, dark fantasy, gothic vibes, a quest, unique magic, a villain, court intrigue and I highly recommend it if you like any of the things I mentioned!
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
One Dark Window by. Rachel Gillig ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:
Two villains, one girl, and a deadly battle for happily ever after.
Evangeline Fox ventured to the Magnificent North in search of her happy ending, and it seems as if she has it. She’s married to a handsome prince and lives in a legendary castle. But Evangeline has no idea of the devastating price she’s paid for this fairytale. She doesn’t know what she has lost, and her husband is determined to make sure she never finds out . . . but first he must kill Jacks, the Prince of Hearts.
Blood will be shed, hearts will be stolen, and true love will be put to the test in A Curse for True Love, the breathlessly anticipated conclusion to the Once Upon A Broken Heart trilogy.
He had her, he lost her…and he’ll do anything to win her back.
Powerful, brilliant, and ambitious, Dominic Davenport clawed his way up from nothing to become the King of Wall Street.
He has everything—a beautiful home, a beautiful wife, and more money than he could spend in a lifetime. But no matter how much he accumulates, he’s never satisfied.
In his endless quest for more, he drives away the only person who saw him as enough.
It isn’t until she’s gone that he realizes there may be more to life than riches and glory…but by then, it may be too late.
***
Kind, intelligent, and thoughtful, Alessandra Davenport has played the role of trophy wife for years.
She stood by her husband while he built an empire, but now that they’ve reached the top, she realizes he’s no longer the man she fell for.
When it becomes clear that she’ll always come second to his work, she finally takes charge of her life and puts herself first—even if it means leaving the only man she’s ever loved.
But what she didn’t count on was his refusal to let her go…or for him to fight for their marriage, no matter what it takes.
King of Greed is a steamy marriage in trouble/second chance romance. It’s book three in the Kings of Sin series but can be read as a standalone.
Are you getting any new books this week?
Happy Reading!
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:
Have you read any of these books? Are any of these on your TBR? What’s on your TTT?
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 