The Stolen Throne by. Abigail Owen | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Stolen Throne (Dominions #2)

Author: Abigail Owen

Format: ebook (KU)

Pages: 528

Publication Date: 5/2/23

Categories: Romance, Fantasy, Series, Twins, New Adult, Paranormal, Shadows

My twin sister is the true queen of Aryd. She survives, hiding and clinging to life in the desert, while I reign as the false queen alongside the monstrous King Eidolon. There’s only one escape from this gilded prison: Reven. My Shadowraith. My heart. Only the shadows that he struggles to control are growing more sinister, more powerful.

It’s just a matter of time before they turn on him…and on me.

Even escape doesn’t mean true freedom, though, when we’re still on the run from Eidolon’s unstoppable armies. And when we discover there’s a traitor among us, I have no choice…I must become the queen I was never meant to be.

Because as one evil hunts me, the other loves me more than himself.

And my fate lies with both.

This is the second book in The Liar’s Crown series and talk about reading a book because of its book cover. I love the book covers for the series, but I don’t totally love the series. I thought I was rating this too low but I saw my review for the first book and it was 3 stars, so 2.5 stars for this one sounds about right since I could barely motivate myself to finish it.

The first half was fine. Reven is struggling with the shadows inside him and they finally got Tabra away from Eidolon. They are now with Cain and his people trying to figure out a wait to fight Eidolon. But this was 528 pages long when it could have been 350 pages – I skimmed from 60% in unto the end and I tried to get into the mood to read this since it came out at the beginning of the month! So at least I tried. The main reason I lacked motivation to keep on reading? Reven and Meren are not communicating so that takes out the romance until near the end of the story. Also I started to not care so much about Reven and his multiple shadows. Poor guy, I felt for his struggle but I wanted something more to happen. And I’m not saying nothing was happening, there was a lot happening with many different characters, but I did not care and there were too many of them.

I was on the fence about reading this one because I gave the first book 3 stars, so I should have listened to my instincts and just passed on book two. Sequels are always a struggle to read in a trilogy but I could barely finish this one which makes me think this series is just not for me.

Why you should read it:

  • you loved book one

Why you might not want to read it:

  • many characters to remember, but couldn’t connect to them
  • felt too long

My Thoughts:

This book has great reviews from it’s fans so take my review with a grain of salt. I didn’t love book one, so I think it’s safe to say after reading The Stolen Throne that this series isn’t for me. But I think a lot of people who loved the first one will enjoy this sequel.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Liar’s Crown by. Abigail Owen | Book Review⭐️⭐️⭐️

Book Blogger Hop: Do you still enjoy reading children’s books? #bookbloggerhop

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: Do you still enjoy reading children’s books? 

(submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Answer:

I love children’s books and honestly it was my most favorite thing to do with my kids. They are getting older, but my daughter is still 6 years old and still loves it when I buy her books. I’m going to miss it when she is out of the children’s book stage but I love donating her books or regifting them to other kids/

Starlings by. Amanda Linsmeier | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Starlings

Author: Amanda Linsmeier

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 6/27/23

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Categories: Contemporary Fantasy, LGBT, Young Adult, Horror, Mystery

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

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

A dark YA fantasy debut perfect for fans of House of Hollow and Small Favors. In the wake of her father’s death, a teen girl discovers a side of her family she didn’t know existed, and is pulled into a dark–and ancient–bargain she is next in line to fulfill.

Kit’s father had always told her he had no family, but four months ago his sudden death revealed the truth. Now she has a grandmother she never knew she had–Agatha Starling–and an invitation to visit her father’s hometown, Rosemont.

And Rosemont . . . it’s picture perfect: the famed eternal roses bloom year-round, downtown is straight out of the 1950s . . . there’s even a cute guy to show Kit around.

The longer Kit’s there, though, the stranger it all feels. The Starling family is revered, but there’s something off about how the Starling women seem to be at the center of the all the town’s important history. And as welcoming as the locals are, Kit can’t shake the feeling that everyone seems to be hiding something from her.

Agatha is so happy to finally meet her only granddaughter, and the town is truly charming, but Kit can’t help wondering, if everything is so great in Rosemont, why did her father ever leave? And why does it seem like he never wanted her to find it?

Content Warning: violence, death, abuse

Right away this gorgeous book cover caught my eye and as much as it is beautiful, there is something sinister to it, just like the story. Here is what I thought:

+ I was sucked into this story right away. Kit and her mother travels to Rosemont, to meet Kit’s grandmother and her father’s old hometown. – place he never told Kit about. She’s grieving her dad, she’s trying to piece who he is in Rosemont but everything feels off. Right away it’s established that things are not what they seem.

+ Rosemont is a mysterious setting, surrounded by woods and a river where people have died. I got the eerie vibes right away when Kit described the place as Stepford-y. When Kit starts learning more about her family and the Starling legacy she realizes she’s walked into a nightmare.

+ There are a few twists in this story and the monster being the biggest creep of all. He is a true monster, true villain, charming when he wants to be, but evil to his core. I was rooting for Kit to destroy him!

~ I felt like the romance wasn’t needed. Kit’s only there for a week I feel like it was unnecessary for her to fall for someone since there was barely time to know one another.

~ It wasn’t scary, more creepy because of the history of the town and yuck with the way the bargain is set up.

Tropes: small town, family curse, town secret

Why you should read it:

  • you like young adult horror that isn’t super scary, mostly creepy
  • it’s a quick read and engaged me – I read it in one sitting

Why you might not want to read it:

  • not into YA horror

My Thoughts:

I thought this was pretty good in that I was engaged with the story and finished it in one setting. I like the creepy factor, the lore about the town, the family secret and the curse. The villain is written well – he’s a pretty evil monster. I don’t think the romance was necessary and I thought the situation was resolved pretty quickly but other than that I did find it entertaining. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon

Well Matched by. Jen DeLuca | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Well Matched (Well Met #3)

Author: Jen DeLuca

Format: paperback (own)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 10/19/21

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Series

Single mother April Parker has lived in Willow Creek for twelve years with a wall around her heart. On the verge of being an empty nester, she’s decided to move on from her quaint little town, and asks her friend Mitch for his help with some home improvement projects to get her house ready to sell.

Mitch Malone is known for being the life of every party, but mostly for the attire he wears to the local Renaissance Faire — a kilt (and not much else) that shows off his muscled form to perfection. While he agrees to help April, he needs a favor too: she’ll pretend to be his girlfriend at an upcoming family dinner, so that he can avoid the lectures about settling down and having a more “serious” career than high school coach and gym teacher. April reluctantly agrees, but when dinner turns into a weekend trip, it becomes hard to tell what’s real and what’s been just for show. But when the weekend ends, so must their fake relationship.

As summer begins, Faire returns to Willow Creek, and April volunteers for the first time. When Mitch’s family shows up unexpectedly, April pretends to be Mitch’s girlfriend again… something that doesn’t feel so fake anymore. Despite their obvious connection, April insists they’ve just been putting on an act. But when there’s the chance for something real, she has to decide whether to change her plans — and open her heart — for the kilt-wearing hunk who might just be the love of her life.

An accidentally in-love rom-com filled with Renaissance Faire flower crowns, kilts, corsets, and sword fights.

I didn’t read book two in this romance series because I really wanted April story which is told in Well Matched. I found April an interesting character in Well Met because of her accident and also being a single mother. I’m so happy she gets to find love in this book.

Her so-called lover is Mitch, who is a friend and the school’s gym teacher! April decides to help Mitch out by going home with him and be his fake girlfriend in front of his family. The faking turned real in the bedroom when they realize that they are really attracted to one another. And who can blame April for falling for Mitch? He’s a good guy, a nice guy and he wears a kilt in the Ren Faire and has an accent!

My favorite parts of this series is always the action taking place in the Renaissance Faire. This time April decides to join in the fun and she realizes even though it’s grueling how much fun it is being with friends and working at the REn Faire.

There is a little hiccup between April and Mitch but it gets resolved in a timely fashion and they get their much deserved happily ever after.

Tropes: fake dating, single mother/gym teacher

Why you should read it:

  • you like the other books in the series
  • April and Mitch have great chemistry

Why you might not want to read it:

  • you didn’t like the other books in the series

My Thoughts:

It took me awhile to finish this paperback but only because May has been a crazy, busy month for me. I’m glad I finally finished it and I can see why it is so loved. Now I have to read the other two books in the series!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Well Met by. Jean DeLuca | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 6/6/23

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

#1 New York Times bestselling author Tessa Bailey returns with the hilarious follow-up to Secretly Yours, in which a down-on-her-luck Napa heiress suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can’t stand… only to discover there’s a fine line between love and hate.

After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she’s sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she’s ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him–and kiss him, in equal measure.

August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn’t know jack about making wine. He’s determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy’s legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around… and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door. Natalie has haunted his dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults.

Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways–assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be? There’s just one thing they didn’t account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.

Goodreads | Amazon


From the bestselling author of The Book of Lost Names comes a gripping historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of the Nazi occupation.

Paris, 1939: Young mothers Elise and Juliette become fast friends the day they meet in the beautiful Bois de Boulogne. Though there is a shadow of war creeping across Europe, neither woman suspects that their lives are about to irrevocably change.

When Elise becomes a target of the German occupation, she entrusts Juliette with the most precious thing in her life—her young daughter, playmate to Juliette’s own little girl. But nowhere is safe in war, not even a quiet little bookshop like Juliette’s Librairie des Rêves, and, when a bomb falls on their neighborhood, Juliette’s world is destroyed along with it.

More than a year later, with the war finally ending, Elise returns to reunite with her daughter, only to find her friend’s bookstore reduced to rubble—and Juliette nowhere to be found. What happened to her daughter in those last, terrible moments? Juliette has seemingly vanished without a trace, taking all the answers with her. Elise’s desperate search leads her to New York—and to Juliette—one final, fateful time.

The Paris Daughter is a sweeping celebration of resilience, motherhood, and love.

Goodreads | Amazon


The latest historical novel from New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, inspired by the true story of a woman physician from 15th-century China—perfect for fans of See’s classic Snowflower and the Secret Fan and The Island of Sea Women.

According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.

From a young age, Yunxian learns about women’s illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose—despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it—and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other’s joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, pluck instruments, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? Lady Tan’s Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.

Goodreads | Amazon


The second I stepped through the doors of Gray Wolf Academy, my world disintegrated. Here, time is malleable. It can be manipulated, shifted. Changed. And for those of us who Trip—or travel through time—the possibilities are infinite and perilous.

Now my life is caught in the secrets of everyone around me. Arthur, the eccentric billionaire who rules this school. Killian, who could be the only honest person here…or the biggest liar. And Braxton, magnetic, gorgeous, and unfathomable. The only thing I trust about him is our electric connection.

Whether we’re Tripping through Renaissance Italy or thieving from a ball in Regency England, my life’s become a web of lies and strange truths. And beneath the surface is an elaborate puzzle, filled with cryptic symbols and priceless treasures scattered across history—all somehow connected to my strange ability to see through time.

But Arthur has a dangerously ambitious agenda. And if what my dad taught me is true, I’m not just a threat to everyone at Gray Wolf.

…I’m a threat to time itself.

Goodreads | Amazon

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

Books or Covers that Feel/Look Like Summer  | TTT | 6/3/23

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:

Books or Covers that Feel/Look Like Summer

(You can interpret this in a number of ways. Maybe the covers or titles are obviously summer themed, but maybe the feeling the book gives you is all warm and summery. Maybe the book cover colors look summery or the story itself takes place in the summertime. Or maybe the titles you select are favorites that you re-read every summer when you were on break from school.)

What’s on your TTT?

#5OnMyTBR: Summer

Hi everyone! I saw this one Chonky Books and thought it would be a fun add to my blog. #5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook and you can learn more about it here or in the post announcing it. It occurs every Monday when we post about 5 books on our TBR.

This week’s theme is: Summer

Meredith Fox has been going to Martha’s Vineyard for the summer as long as she can remember. But this summer is the first one back since the death of Meredith’s sister. It will all be overwhelming, but even more since since the entire extended family will be together for her cousin’s big wedding.

Unfortunately, Meredith’s longtime boyfriend unexpectedly dumped her two weeks before the wedding, leaving her dateless. Luckily, she has the perfect distraction. Her family has a tradition of playing the ultimate game of Assassin every summer, and this year it will take place during the week of wedding festivities.

But her target just happens to be a very cute groomsman. She’s determined to not let herself get distracted, not let herself be lost in another doomed relationship. But as the week progresses, she can’t help falling for him, which may cost her not only the game, but also her heart.

Meredith’s family’s annual game of assassin at Martha’s Vineyard during a summer wedding is the perfect chance to honor her sister’s legacy, and finally join the world again. But when she forms an alliance with a cute groomsman, she’s at risk of losing both the game… and her heart.


A romance writer who no longer believes in love and a literary writer stuck in a rut engage in a summer-long challenge that may just upend everything they believe about happily ever afters.

Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.

They’re polar opposites.

In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.

Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really.


Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.


A contemporary Young Adult novel about a cross-country family road trip that puts one girl and her childhood best friend on an unexpected road to romance!

Norah hasn’t seen her childhood best friend, Skyler, in years. When he first moved away, they’d talk all the time, but lately their relationship has been reduced to liking each other’s Instagram posts. That’s why Norah can’t wait for the joint RV road trip their families have planned for the summer.

But when Skyler finally arrives, he seems…like he’d rather be anywhere else. Hurt and confused, Norah reacts in kind. Suddenly, her oldest friendship is on the rocks.

A summer spent driving across the country leads both Norah and Skyler down new roads and to new discoveries. Before long, they are, once again, seeing each other in a different light. Can their friendship-turned-rivalry turn into something more?


I don’t know if this story is set in summer but it gives me summer reading vibes!

Annie Walker is on a quest to find her perfect match-someone who nicely compliments her happy, quiet life running her flower shop in Rome, Kentucky. Unfortunately, she worries her goal might be too far out of reach when she overhears her date saying she is “sounbelievably boring.” Is it too late to become flirtatious and fun like the leading ladies in her favorite romance movies? Maybe she only needs a little practice…and Annie has the perfect person in mind to become her tutor: Will Griffin.

Will–the flirtatious, tattooed, and absolutely gorgeous bodyguard–is temporarily back in Rome, providing security for Amelia Rose as excitement grows for her upcoming marriage to Noah Walker. He has one personal objective during his time in town: stay away from Annie Walker. But no sooner than he gets settled, Will soon finds himself not only breaking his rule, but tasked with far more than simply providing security.

Will wants no part in changing the sweet and lovely Annie, but he can’t bring himself to say no to her request, so he officially agrees to teach her how to be the next leading lady of Rome, Kentucky, and find the love of her life-even if he doesn’t believe in love himself. Between faking a relationship so the meddling town doesn’t catch on to what’s really happening on their practice dates, and tutoring lessons that convince Annie to add passion to her list of must-haves in a mate, it doesn’t take long for the lines of their friendship to blur…

Are any of these on your TBR list?

>>>>>

May

  • 01/05/2023 — Dystopia
  • 08/05/2023 — Whimsical
  • 15/05/2023 — Friendship
  • 22/05/2023 — Number in the Title
  • 29/05/2023 — Space

June

  • 05/06/2023 — Summer
  • 12/06/2023 — Title Starting with a ‘G’
  • 19/06/2023 — Set in a Big City
  • 26/06/2023 — Fairy Tale

Goodreads Monday: Hotel Magnifique

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: Hotel Magnifique

Author: Emily J. Taylor

Pages: 391

Publication Date: 4/5/22

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Synopsis:

For fans of Caraval and The Night Circus, this decadent and darkly enchanting YA fantasy, set against the backdrop of a Belle Époque-inspired hotel, follows seventeen-year-old Jani as she uncovers the deeply disturbing secrets of the legendary Hotel Magnifique.

All her life, Jani has dreamed of Elsewhere. Just barely scraping by with her job at a tannery, she’s resigned to a dreary life in the port town of Durc, caring for her younger sister Zosa. That is, until the Hotel Magnifique comes to town.

The hotel is legendary not only for its whimsical enchantments, but also for its ability to travel—appearing in a different destination every morning. While Jani and Zosa can’t afford the exorbitant costs of a guest’s stay, they can interview to join the staff, and are soon whisked away on the greatest adventure of their lives. But once inside, Jani quickly discovers their contracts are unbreakable and that beneath the marvelous glamour, the hotel is hiding dangerous secrets.

With the vexingly handsome doorman Bel as her only ally, Jani embarks on a mission to unravel the mystery of the magic at the heart of the hotel and free Zosa—and the other staff—from the cruelty of the ruthless maître d’hôtel. To succeed, she’ll have to risk everything she loves, but failure would mean a fate far worse than never returning home.

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

Birthstone Book Covers: June – Alexandarite, Moonstone, Pearl


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!

June’s birthstone is Alexandarite, Moonstone, Pearl

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. ☺️

Book Blogger Hop: What would the title of your autobiography be? #bookbloggerhop

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: What would the title of your autobiography be? 

(submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

Answer:

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Stronger” – it’s been quite a life so far and some days I feel like a warrior so yes…this title would definitely fit!