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. ☺️
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title: Nettle & Bone
Author: T. Kingfisher
Format: ebook (borrowed)
Pages: 243
Publication Date: 4/26/2022
Categories: Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Magic, Paranormal, Adventure, Lite Horror
After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.
Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.
On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra’s family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.
Content Warning: domestic violence, death
I finally read a book by this author and I can see why there is so much hype around her books! I love the fairy-tale aspect of Nettle & Bone. I felt like I was lured in by the wonderful writing and then I was just enjoying this journey that Marra and her friends go on. Marra is a princess who is trying to save her sister from her horrible husband but she needs help in doing so. I thought she was an interesting character, the sister who is put away in a convent but she makes it her mission to save her older sister.
The group of characters that come together to go on this quest to kill the Prince who is married to Marra’s sister, is fantastic. I loved their dynamic and interactions, especially the two older ladies, the dust-wife and Agnes (the godmother). Even though they are taking on a dark type of mission, there was so much humor too.
Of course, I loved the strange pets in this story – Bonedog and Finder! There is even a tiny bit of romance that happens for Marra, which was kind of cute.
As far as this being categorized as horror – I was like…where is the horror? I was expecting something darker and maybe some gruesome scenes but nope. This almost felt like a cozy fantasy. This will definitely appeal to the fans who are not fans of horror.
My Final Thoughts:
I love the fairy-tale story telling and the amazing characters and animals that we meet in this book. Even though Marra’s journey to kill a Prince is wrought with challenges, her motivations for doing it comes from her love of her sister. I love that she found the strength to want to try and save her. This was a fun and quick read!
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Title: A Court of Mist and Fury
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Format: ebook (own)
Pages: 703
Publication Date: 5/2/17
Categories: New Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Faeries, Series
The epic third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas.
Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin’s actions and learn what she can about the invading king threatening to bring her land to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit. One slip could bring doom not only for Feyre, but for everything-and everyone-she holds dear.
As war bears down upon them all, Feyre endeavors to take her place amongst the High Fae of the land, balancing her struggle to master her powers-both magical and political-and her love for her court and family. Amidst these struggles, Feyre and Rhysand must decide whom to trust amongst the cunning and lethal High Lords, and hunt for allies in unexpected places.
In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the fate of Feyre’s world is at stake as armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy it.
Content Warning: violence, death, slut-shaming, war
My Goodreads review of this one was 4 stars at first read and I’m keeping it at that!
+ The best part of this book comes in the second half of it and this is quite a long book at 700 pages. So in my re-read it was kind of a slog to get through the first part. But once it hit the halfway mark and things start happening then it just goes off the charts. Just everything that happens in that major battle scene against Hybern is amazing. It’s emotional, it’s chaotic, everyone is on the verge of dying! So good.
+ Nesta. This is where my appreciation for Nesta grows even more and we know her story is going to be amazing because she is badass. That woman is feral! Her book is probably my favorite of the whole series. Elain – we get to see more of her personality and struggles but we REALLY need her book now.
+ That scene with the girls and their dad – ugh, it gutted me in the first read. I think I cried. This time I didn’t but that scene will always stick in my mind.
+ Everyone comes out of the woodwork in this one ti fight against Hybern. It gives me Lord of the Rings – the Battle of Helms Deep – vibes! Can you imagine if this was on screen?! Especially when they think they are going to lose and it pivots. Anyway, everyone puts aside their differences <looking at you Tamlin👀>
~ The first half is a lot of build-up, trying to gather allies, support and leading up to this big battle with Hybern. It wasn’t quite holding my attention, maybe because I knew what was coming but we get to see some things like Lucien and Elain try to be around one another. Some Nesta and Cassian interactions.
~ Tamlin. Man…what happened to you? Sometimes I feel bad for him though because he did love her. Like does he deserve his own happily ever after? I sometimes want it for him but also…he’s such an ass.
~ I got even more tired of Rhys and Feyre calling one another “my mate”. Can’t they just use their names? lol…
My Final Thoughts:
The battle with Hybern is so epic and my favorite part of this whole book. I’m glad that part lived up to expectations. I think there are a lot of things in the first half that could have been cut out just to make the story move faster but I know there was a need to build up the tension of an epic war coming.
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
House of Flame and Shadow by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
House of Sky and Breath by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Book Review | House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City, #1) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Court of Silver Flames | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Court of Mist and Fury by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review | Re-read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Court of Thorns and Roses by. Sarah J. Maas | Book Review | Re-read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
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?
It’s Wednesday and I hope I have more motivation to read this week. I have been a tiny bit of a slump I think. But I hope some of the new releases I got make up for it!
I also don’t have a lot of arcs left in my NetGalley library – I might be in a slump there too. Is it me or there isn’t as many good books coming out in 2024 like last year? Or at least not as many anticipated reads for me this year…🤷🏻♀️.
The Prisoner’s Throne by. Holly Black – actually was going to buy the ebook then decided to get the hardcover since it was only $3 more so I haven’t started this one yet!
Dragonfruit by. Makiia Lucier – 3% in
The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le – 2% in
Heart of the Sun Warrior by. Sue Lynn Tan – this series has the best covers and I want them on my shelf! I find this on kindle unlimited so I started reading it and am 5% in!
Chasm by. Stacey McEwan – 35% in. I had this book last month but my borrowing time expired. I’m determined to finish it this time around!
One Last Breath by. Ginny Myers Sain – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Court of Wings and Ruin by. Sarah J. Maas – re-read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Poisons We Drink by. Bethany Baptiste – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Nettle & Bone by. T. Kingfisher – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ciao For Now by. Kate Bromley – ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Flawless Girls by. Anna-Marie McLemore
The Dangerous Ones by. Lauren Blackwood
What are you reading right now?
Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:
An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame.
Prince Oak is paying for his betrayal. Imprisoned in the icy north and bound to the will of a monstrous new queen, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude ready to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, should Oak attempt to regain the trust of the girl he’s always loved, or remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign-even if it means ending Wren, too…
With war looming and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oak’s guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. He will have some terrible choices to make.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology.
One hundred years. Tens of thousands of gladiators. And today, only one will rise…
Everything in the Kingdom of Arrow is a lie.
Leith of Grey thought coming to this new land and volunteering to fight in the gladiator arena—vicious, bloodthirsty tournaments where only the strongest survive—would earn him enough gold to save his dying sister. He thought there was nothing left to lose.
He was wrong—and they took everything. His hope. His freedom. His very humanity.
All Leith has left is his battle-scarred body, fueled by rage and hardened from years of fighting for the right to live another day.
Then Leith meets Maeve, an elven royal who is everything he despises. Everything he should hate. Until the alluring princess offers him the one thing he needs most: a chance to win the coveted title of Bloodguard—and his freedom.
But in a kingdom built on secrets and lies, hope doesn’t come cheap.
Nor will his ultimate revenge…
The New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies delivers another chilling supernatural thriller filled with murder, romance, and a decades long mystery that haunts a small Florida town.
The perfect blend of Natasha Preston, Krystal Sutherland, and Delia Owens, with a paranormal twist.
Mount Orange, Florida, is famous for two things.
The spectre of Bailey and Celeste’s murders cast a permanent darkness over sunny Mount Orange. Tru has always lived in that shadow. Sometimes, it seems like she knows the long-dead Bailey, feels the dead girl in her bones. Now she’s supposed to head to FSU in the fall with her boyfriend, but those unsolved murders – and the death of her own sister – invade her every thought. It’s only in the shadowy deep, 100 feet below the surface of Hidden Glen Springs, that she can breathe.
When a strange girl named Rio rolls into town, hell-bent on figuring out who killed Bailey and Celeste, Tru can’t resist entangling herself in the thrill of solving the decades old mystery any more than she can resist her familiar, aching attraction to Rio.
As the summer heat ignites, so does the spark between Tru and Rio…along with their other-worldy connection to Bailey and Celeste. But when someone begins stalking them, the girls become convinced the killer is back in town. And if they keep digging into the past, Tru and Rio know this time, it could be their blood that makes the springs run red.
Centuries ago, the heretic sorcerer Ruven raised a deadly briar around Runakhia’s palace, casting the royal family into an enchanted sleep – and silencing the kingdom’s gods.
Born with a miraculous gift, Lia’s destiny is to kill Ruven and wake the royals. But when she succeeds, she finds her duty is not yet complete, for now she must marry into the royal family and forge a pact with a god – or die.
To make matters even worse, Ruven’s spirit is haunting her.
As discord grows between the old and new guards, the queen sends Lia and Prince Araunn, her betrothed, on a pilgrimage to awaken the gods. But the old gods are more dangerous than Lia ever knew – and Ruven may offer her only hope of survival.
As the two work together, Lia learns that they’re more alike than she expected. And with tensions rising, Lia must choose between what she was raised to believe and what she knows is right – and between the prince she is bound to by duty…and the boy she killed.
Spring break is a vibe—until someone gets murdered
Partying with popular classmates they barely know is not what Eva and her BFFs had in mind for their spring break. But things have been off ever since Miles’ academic career took a turn for the worse (they don’t talk about it), so a trip to a private beach lodge might be exactly what they need. And Eva won’t admit it, but the chance to reconnect with Colton is worth putting up with Piper’s constant livestreams to her thousands of “besties.”
At first, it’s all sand and waves, but tensions run high when an anonymous letter shakes up an already-flailing love triangle.
When someone turns up dead, Eva can’t even trust her closest friends—but she thinks she can trust Colton. As they get closer to the truth, they uncover secrets that upend everything they thought they knew about their fellow spring breakers.
Last summer, they searched for Audrey Covington.
This summer, they’ll search for the truth.
Paige Redmond has always felt lucky to spend her summers in Clearwater Ridge, with lazy days sunning at the waterfalls and nights partying at the sprawling houses of the rich families who vacation there. The Covingtons are one of these families, and beautiful, brilliant Audrey Covington is Paige’s best friend. And last year, when Audrey’s crush-worthy brother Dylan finally started noticing Paige, she was sure it would be the best summer ever.
Except Audrey didn’t seem quite like herself. Then one night, she didn’t come home. Though Audrey wasn’t the first girl to disappear in Clearwater Ridge, she left behind more lies than clues. Now, one summer later, her case has gone cold, and nobody, least of all Paige, can make sense of what happened.
When Paige stumbles across a secret hidden in Audrey’s room, however, it changes everything she thought she knew about last summer. She and Dylan set out on their own investigation, discovering things even the police don’t know about the people of Clearwater Ridge. But tracking down missing girls—girls who might be beyond saving by now—means entering a world far darker than Paige has ever imagined. And if she isn’t careful, she’ll become the next girl to vanish.
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: Weird or Funny Things I’ve Googled Thanks to a Book
I can’t remember any of the things I’ve googled thanks to a book because I don’t ever take notes about stuff like that so I’m going to do something simple and just do something that celebrate the coming of spring!
My Sister’s Big Fat indian Wedding by. Sajni Patel
What’s on your TTT?
February went by quick and was filled with so many activities and some illnesses but for the most part the month was good. As for books? I got some re-reading done and I was just working through arcs which for the most part were just okay reads. I have less arcs to read in the next few months so I hope I can read other books. But I had some really good reads in February which is nice!
Hope all of you had a good month!
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?
Aloha friends!
We are officially three months into the year and I really wished I had booked that Spring Break trip to Tokyo! I am itching to go somewhere. I go no where for 10 years while my babies were babies and now I want to just go go go! 😅
This week went smoothly which is nice. But my daughter get another cold in the 2nd half of the week, so she stayed home from school. Did I get some reading done? Barely! Am I in a slump? Maybe? lol
Have a good week!
One Last Breath by. Ginny Myers Sain
The Poisons We Drink by. Bethany Baptiste
A Court of Wings and Ruin by. Sarah J. Maas (re-read)
The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le
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: One Last Breath
Author: Ginny Myers Sain
Format: eBook (NetGalley)
Pages: 384
Publication Date: 3/5/24
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Categories: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary, Thriller, LGBT+, True Crime, Paranormal
Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**
The New York Times bestselling author of Dark and Shallow Lies delivers another chilling supernatural thriller filled with murder, romance, and a decades long mystery that haunts a small Florida town.
The perfect blend of Natasha Preston, Krystal Sutherland, and Delia Owens, with a paranormal twist.
Mount Orange, Florida, is famous for two things.
The spectre of Bailey and Celeste’s murders cast a permanent darkness over sunny Mount Orange. Tru has always lived in that shadow. Sometimes, it seems like she knows the long-dead Bailey, feels the dead girl in her bones. Now she’s supposed to head to FSU in the fall with her boyfriend, but those unsolved murders – and the death of her own sister – invade her every thought. It’s only in the shadowy deep, 100 feet below the surface of Hidden Glen Springs, that she can breathe.
When a strange girl named Rio rolls into town, hell-bent on figuring out who killed Bailey and Celeste, Tru can’t resist entangling herself in the thrill of solving the decades old mystery any more than she can resist her familiar, aching attraction to Rio.
As the summer heat ignites, so does the spark between Tru and Rio…along with their other-worldy connection to Bailey and Celeste. But when someone begins stalking them, the girls become convinced the killer is back in town. And if they keep digging into the past, Tru and Rio know this time, it could be their blood that makes the springs run red.
Content Warning: death, alcoholism, violence
This was an interesting read with a few twists in the story but it is a slow burn of a mystery. I felt like the first half was so slow but I did feel the setting was pretty immersive. I could feel that Florida humidity and mosquito bites just from the descriptions. It’s definitely a summer vibe kind of book and does take place before Tru is supposed to go off to college. Tru comes from a broken home, her father is a deadbeat, her mom is grieving and dealing with it through alcohol and her older sister, Dani was killed years ago in a hit and run.
Tru does have a bit of a awakening as she is steadfast in love with her best friend since forever, East, but then meets a girl Rio who intrigues her. There is a twist to their attraction though.
And throughout this story this town is the place where murders that happened years ago that people are obsessed with, including Tru. When Rio comes along, the both of them do some digging and find out the truth. I think I caught on quick who was the suspect and I was right. There is a lot that happens in the second half of the book which is what helped hold my attention. Also I don’t know that the paranormal aspect of the story worked for me
My Thoughts:
Overall, this one was too slow for me but the ending is where most of the action happens. I thought the twists were interesting but I didn’t quite vibe with the paranormal stuff going on. I think if you love mysteries you will really enjoy this one but for me it was just okay.
Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Dark and Shallow Lies by. Ginny Myers Sain | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
There are some exciting book releases coming up this month!
This is what I’m looking forward to:
The titles above are books I haven’t read but I think I also should showcase the arcs I read that are releasing this month. So here they are:
What is your most anticipated book release this month?
