Goodreads Monday: The Brothers Hawthorne

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: The Brothers Hawthorne

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Pages: 480

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Publication Date: 8/29/23

Synopsis:

Four brothers. Two missions. One explosive read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns to the world of her #1 bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy, and the stakes have never been higher.

Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. Now the great Tobias Hawthorne is dead and his family disinherited, but some lessons linger. When Grayson’s half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he swoops in to do what he does best: take care of the problem—efficiently, effectively, mercilessly. And without getting bogged down in emotional entanglements.

Jameson Hawthorne is a risk-taker, a sensation-seeker, a player of games. When his mysterious father appears and asks for a favor, Jameson can’t resist the challenge. Now he must infiltrate London’s most exclusive underground gambling club, which caters to the rich, the powerful, and the aristocratic, and win an impossible game of greatest stakes. Luckily, Jameson Hawthorne lives for impossible.

Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, Grayson and Jameson—with the help of their brothers and the girl who inherited their grandfather’s fortune—must dig deep to decide who they want to be and what each of them will sacrifice to win.

Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!

Weekly Wrap Up | 8/27/23

Aloha friends!

Well, I had my son home all week because he caught Covid from his sister and I. But honestly he had the most mild case, out of all of us. I’m still dealing with some stomach issues. Add to that our a/c broke but my brother-in-law took a look at it, found the broken part and it’s all about waiting for the part to come in right now. It’s been quite an annoying week, but all I wanted to do was my son and I to get better.

Today is my son’s 11th birthday! And we were gonna go to Cheesecake Factory with the family but, we’re postponing it to Labor Day weekend just to make sure he’s not contagious anymore. So it was a fairly chill week, we had to cancel some events because of being ill, but better safe than getting others sick.

I hope this week is better! Have a great week everyone!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

Currently Reading:

Shows/Movies I Watched:

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!

Book Blogger Hop: Have you ever been enticed to read more by an author or by a book? #bookbloggerhop

Book Blogger Hop

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, Billy @ Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer relaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book-related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to their own blogs.

Question: Have you ever been enticed to read more by an author by a book? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Answer:

I don’t think I ever need enticement to read more lol…I read too much as is! But I still say social media always entices me to read a book – not so much booktok but bookstagram. I’m a sucker for a pretty picture! So sometimes if I scroll through my bookstagram feed, I might find more books to add to my ever growing TBR list.

Flip the Script by. Lyla Lee | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Flip the Script

Author: Lyla Lee

Format: hardcover (own)

Pages: 296

Publication Date: 5/31/22

Categories: Young Adult, K-Drama, Romance, LGBT+, Contemporary

The first rule of watching K-dramas: Never fall in love with the second lead.

As an avid watcher of K-dramas, Hana knows all the tropes to avoid when she finally lands a starring role in a buzzy new drama. And she can totally handle her fake co-star boyfriend who might be falling in love with her. After all, she promised the producers a contract romance, and that’s all they’re going to get from her.

But when showrunners bring on a new girl to challenge Hana’s role as main love interest—and worse, it’s someone Hana knows all too well—can Hana fight for her position on the show while falling for her on-screen rival in real life?

-K-drama lovers will fall for all the fan-favorite tropes that make for a hit show.
-Romance is everywhere in this swoony, joy-filled novel, with fake dating, a secret relationship, and a classic love triangle!
-Visit South Korea as Hana takes readers through popular spots and hidden gems.

Content Warning:

This book has been sitting on my shelf for awhile so I decided it was time to pick it up and read it. I loved Lyla Lee’s first book I’ll Be the One. In Flip the Script, Hana is a K-drama actress who is making her debut, but the ratings are lagging and the studio needs to boost it up so they make her fake-date her co-star, Bryan. But it is really fake dating meaning, Hana has no feelings whatsoever for him because well, she’s bi and have been crushing on her best-friend Minjee for a long time. Minjee is not only her bestie but her acting rival also, they compete for roles and even support one another when they either get roles or don’t. But Minjee doesn’t know about Hana’s feelings for her.

So this book was just okay. I didn’t connect with anybody and the story was boring but it’s a quick, easy read. I did like the behind the scenes looks behind filming a k-drama and the things the actors go through but other than that I wasn’t really feeling it. I also do appreciate that it’s a queer book and set in the world of k-drama. Hana, Minjee, and Bryan can break barriers in the industry with their homophobic views on LGBT+ and I’m so glad they stand up for what they believe in.

Tropes: love triangle (sort of)

My Final Thoughts:

This book was just okay but I did like how it’s a book about k-drama actors who don’t quite fit the perfect mold. I like how Hana and Minjee brave the industry big heads and fight for their right to love who they love. It’s a light-hearted, and a quick read but I just wanted more from it.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

I’ll Be the One | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

WWW Wednesday | 8/23/23

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 am TIRED. So I got Covid, obviously, because my daughter had it but it knocked me out for a good 2 days over the weekend. I just needed sleep and Tylenol since I had a fever. I had no energy…but 2 kids to take care of since my hubby isn’t here. 😩 Oh and can’t forget we have a dog too who wanted his afternoon play time with me in the backyard – and who wanted to add his hot body to my own lol…he’s a sweetie but it was uncomfy at some points. My son did such a good job helping me out as I tried to quarantine from him and my parents came over one morning to help feed them breakfast and lunch. I’m so grateful (but hope they don’t get sick!). Of course it didn’t help to stay away from my son because now HE is home with Covid – and he will be out of school for the whole week. I ‘m still working on getting rid of the congestion (I can sort of finally smell things now! Yay!) and I am less dizzy and nauseous-hooray!. But it never ends…our air conditioner broke. So yes we are now running the fans and trying to keep cool – thank god the weather forecast said it will be windy all week. 🙏🏼 My bro-in-law will come over to take a look at it tomorrow and hopefully can fix it.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

A Fate Inked in blood by. Danielle L. Jensen ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Betting on You by. Lynn Painter ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With or Without You by. Eric Smith ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What the River Knows by. Isabel Ibañez ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

My copy comes today! So excited!

What are you reading right now?

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 8/22/23

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

The captivating sequel to the Gothic-infused Belladonna, in which Signa and Death face a supernatural foe determined to tear them apart.

A duke has been murdered. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous estate nearby. He’s hellbent on revenge after Death took the life of the woman he loved many years ago…and now he’s determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost.

Signa and her cousin Blythe are certain that Fate can save Elijah Hawthorne from prison if they will entertain his presence. But the more time the girls spend with Fate, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate’s past. With mysteries and danger around every corner, the cousins must decide if they can trust one another as they navigate their futures in high society, unravel the murders that haunt their family, and play Fate’s unexpected games—all with their destinies hanging in the balance.

Dangerous, suspenseful, and seductive, this sequel to Signa and Death’s story is as utterly romantic as it is perfectly deadly.

Goodreads | Amazon

From New York Times bestselling author J. Elle comes a modern-day YA romantic fantasy series opener about a glamorous magical world of social elites, forbidden love, and a dark magic that could destroy it all.

A must-read for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Stephanie Garber, and Bridgerton.

RICH IS THE BLOOD OF THE CHOSEN.

17 year-old Quell has lived her entire life on the run. She and her mother have fled from city to city, in order to hide the deadly magic that flows through Quell’s veins.

Until someone discovers her dark secret.

To hide from the assassin hunting her, and keep her mother out of harm’s way, Quell reluctantly inducts into a debutante society of magical social elites called the Order that she never knew existed. If she can pass their three rites of membership, mastering their proper form of magic, she’ll be able to secretly bury her forbidden magic forever.

If caught, she will be killed.

But becoming the perfect debutante is a lot harder than Quell imagined, especially when there’s more than tutoring happening with Jordan, her brooding mentor and— assassin in training.

When Quell uncovers the deadly lengths the Order will go to defend its wealth and power, she’s forced to choose: embrace the dark magic she’s been running from her entire life or risk losing everything, and everyone, she’s grown to love.

Still, she fears the most formidable monster she’ll have to face is the one inside.

Brimming with ballgowns and betrayal, magic and mystery, decadence and darkness, House of Marionne is perfect for readers who crave morally gray characters, irresistible romance, dark academia, and a deeply intoxicating and original world.

Goodreads | Amazon

New York Times bestselling author Sarah MacLean returns with the next Hell’s Belles novel about a chaotic bluestocking and the buttoned-up detective enlisted to keep her out of trouble (spoiler: She is the trouble).

With her headful of wild curls and wilder ideas and an unabashed love of experiments and explosives, society has labeled Lady Imogen Loveless peculiar…and doesn’t know she’s one of the Hell’s Belles—a group of vigilantes operating outside the notice of most of London.

Thomas Peck is not most of London. The brilliant detective fought his way off the streets and into a promising career through sheer force of will and a keen ability to see things others miss, like the fact that Imogen isn’t peculiar…she’s pandemonium. If you ask him, she requires a keeper. When her powerful family discovers her late-night activities, they couldn’t agree more…and they know just the man for the task.

Thomas wants nothing to do with guarding Imogen. He is a grown man with a proper job and no time for the lady’s incendiary chaos, no matter how lushly it is packaged. But some assignments are too explosive to pass up, and the gruff detective is soon caught up in Imogen’s world, full of her bold smiles and burning secrets…and a fiery passion that threatens to consume them both.

Goodreads | Amazon

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

Books with a Love Triangle | TTT | 8/22/23

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: ~~freebie~~

Books with a Love Triangle

I”m doing this post while watching That Summer I Turn Pretty, Season 2 on Prime Video. Oh the dreaded LOVE TRIANGLE. I actually 90% love a good love triangle because of the angst and push and pull but sometimes I really hate it. Like in this show lol…because it’s between 2 brothers, which I hate :(…but I’m gonna watch it anyway because I loved the first season. So here are some books with a love triangle:

Do you like or loathe love triangles?? Let me know in the comments!

What’s on your TTT?

Goodreads Monday: Sign of the Slayer

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: Sign of the Slayer

Author: Sharina Harris

Pages: 464

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Publication Date: 8/29/23

Synopsis:

Full Metal Alchemist meets Vampire Diaries in this fun and clever dark academia series…

High school is supposed to be about studying, socializing, and marching-band practice. Not fighting vampires. Then one night flipped my world inside out―now, my life sucks. But it isn’t all bad. I’m at a slayer academy, learning things like the real origin of vamps and how to make serious weapons out of thin air.

Every last one of them will pay for what they did. I’m doing great.

Until I come face-to-face with the actual vampire prince…and I’m not sure of anything anymore. Vampires are supposed to be soul-sucking demons. But Khamari is…something else. He’s intelligent and reasonable―and he seems to know things about me that could change everything.

He’s also hiding something big, even from his own kind. And when a threat from an ancient evil is so extreme that a vampire will team up with a slayer to take it down, it isn’t just my need for revenge that’s at stake anymore.

It’s the whole damn world.

Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!

Weekly Wrap Up | 8/20/23

Aloha friends!

What a week. I think I said that LAST week also. But my daughter came down with a fever on Sunday, tested her for Covid on Monday – she was positive and missed the whole 2nd week of school already. Of course I still had to bring my son to school, but I already felt a tickle in my throat on Monday, but I tested negative on Tuesday and Wednesday, low grade fever on Thursday, full fever on Friday and positive on Saturday (sure I was positive on Thursday but I ran out of home covid tests until my mom brought me one on Saturday). Anyway I already knew it was covid with how the fever sneaks up on you on the 4 or 5th day and I lost my sense of smell (which sucks because everything I eat taste like nothing…bleh…). Anyway it was a rough weekend, and my kids had to kind of take care of themselves, my son did such a good job with helping feed his sister as I tried to quarantine – by the way my daughter is perfectly fine now, she was good by Thursday. But yeah he dealt with her tantrums lol – she wanted ME to make her food, not him, of course but she had to deal with it at least for one day. My parents came to help out on Saturday thank god. I’m already feeling much improved compared to Friday which was the worst day and I need to get better because it’s another week of school for the kids and I need to do a major grocery run.

My son’s 11th birthday is next Sunday and I’m going to watch him for any symptoms. I tried my best to stay away but I did have to use the kitchen at times and I tried to disinfect afterwards. I’m praying he didn’t get enough exposure but that’s hard when my daughter who had covid had to be with me at school drop off and pick up. I’m just glad kids had a 3 day weekend and I got full blown sick on the day they weren’t in school. I slept a lot! Anyway it was a long week, I’ll be so happy to feel better and get back to myself!

I’m still sharing links to help the people who lost their homes in Lahaina, Maui. My cousin in-law’s family’s home burnt down and they are facing other challenges as well. Please check out this link to read their story and help if you can.>> http://spot.fund/plvj4sc

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

Currently Reading:

Shows/Movies I Watched:

The Summer I Turned Pretty – …Belly 🙄 why do I torture myself? lol…I actually love the friendship story between Beck and Laurel. Also why is it when Taylor stays Steven it reminds me of Kristen and Stephen on Laguna Beach! 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!