Monthly Wrap Up | August 2025

August was a long month that went by quickly because my kids went back to school. So we are back in the school routine again! I did read a lot, apparently I had a lot of arcs for September to get through. I have 3 more arcs for September to finish!

I read 26 books and posted 20 book reviews in August.

Books I Read – 26 books:

Endless Anger by. Sav R. Miller
What Fury Brings by. Tricial Llevenseller
The Robin on the Oak Throne by. K.A. Linde
Witch of the Wolves by. Kaylee Archer
Blood Moon by. Britney S. Lewis (audiobook)
The Dragon and the Sun Lotus by. Amelie Wen Zhao
The Dating Prohibition by. Taj McCoy
The Dead of Summer by. Ryan La Sala
Heir of Storms by. Lauryn Hamilton Murray
Dream of the Shadows by. Logan Karlie (audiobook)
Well Fell Apart by. E. Lockhart
The Nightblood Prince by. Molly X. Chang
Witch You Would by. Lia Amador
Girl, Goddess, Queen by. Bea Fitzgerald
Broken Souls and Bones by. LJ Andrews
Sweet Heat by. Bolu Babaloa
The Fallen and the Kiss of Dusk by. Carissa Broadbent
A Scar in the Bone by. Sophie Jordan
Coffin Moon by. Keith Rosson
Wild Reverence by. Rebecca Ross
A Forbidden Alchemy by. Stacey McEwan
A Steeping of Blood by. Hafsah Faizal
The Executioners Three by. Susan Dennard
Charlie Quinn Lets Go by. Jamie Varon
The Weaver Bride by. Lydia Gregovic
While the Dark Remains by. Joanna Ruth Meyer (audiobook)

Reviews I Posted On My Blog: 20 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Version 1.0.0

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

Girl, Goddess, Queen by. Bea Fitzgerald | ARC Review

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

Book Tags:

Birthstone Book Covers: August – Peridot

Blog Tours:

Other:

How was your month?

Coffin Moon by. Keith Rosson | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Coffin Moon

Author: Keith Rosson

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 9/9/25

Publisher: Random House

Categories: Horror, Thriller, 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 Random House for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the author of the “exciting, suspenseful, horrifying” (Stephen King) Fever House, a Vietnam veteran and his adopted niece hunt—and are hunted by—the vampire that slaughtered their family.

It’s the winter of 1975, and Portland, Oregon, is all sleet and neon. Duane Minor is back home after a tour in Vietnam, a bartender just trying to stay sober; save his marriage with his wife, Heidi; and connect with his thirteen-year-old niece, Julia, now that he’s responsible for raising her. Things aren’t easy, but Minor is scraping by.

Then a vampire walks into his bar and ruins his life.

When Minor crosses John Varley, a killer who sleeps during the day beneath loose drifts of earth and grows teeth in the light of the moon, Varley brutally retaliates by murdering Heidi, leaving Minor broken with guilt and Julia filled with rage. What’s left of their splintered family is united by only one desire: vengeance.

So begins a furious, frenzied pursuit across the Pacific Northwest and beyond. From grimy alleyways to desolate highways to snow-lashed plains, Minor and Julia are cast into the dark orbit of undead children, silver bullet casters, and the bevy of broken men transfixed by Varley’s ferocity. Everyone’s out for blood.

Gritty, unforgettable, and emotionally devastating, Coffin Moon asks what will be left of our humanity when grief transmutes into violence, when monsters wear human faces, and when our thirst for revenge eclipses everything else.

Content Warning: violence, murder, death, gore

+ What did I just read? By the way, I did not request this book. Someone from the publisher emailed me saying I might want to try out this book. It did not sound like something I wanted to read BUT I was looking for more thrillers and horror to showcase for fall. And so I downloaded this book – I’m glad I did.

+ This story is set in 1975 – and since I was born in 1978, I could already see it, how things looked back in the day. The clothes, the cars, the people, the music and even the political commentary about war – Vietnam. I did grow up watching Full Metal Jacket and Platoon – so Duane Minor was a character that was not hard to envision and picture at all. But what I love about this setting is that there are vampires in this story and it totally fits! I’ve been reading too many romantasy vampires – but these modern vampires in Coffin Moon – are killers.

+ Duane Minor is a Vietnam vet with PTSD. He and his friends have seen and done horrible things and being back home in America, they have to deal with that the best they can. That means coping with rage by drowning it in alcohol or even taking out that anger out on people. But Duane isn’t a bad man, he’s taking care of his sister-in-law’s daughter, Julia because her mother is in jail for killing her abusive dad. He doesn’t know how to be a dad, but he and his wife Heidi have done their best. I liked Duane a lot and was horrified at what he had to go through. I didn’t expect to be emotional about his predicament but I was rooting for him and Julia so hard.

+ There are a lot of themes in this book like grief, rage, and revenge which I loved. It’s not only a vampire horror book, it’s got depth.

+ This book is a wild ride. It is so gory, gruesome, and John Varley is the most villainous character I’ve ever read this year and I wanted him dead by the end of this book. I was hooked onto this book just to see if it would happen. My face was in a grimace with all the gory scenes in this book. He is a psycho vampire, a sociopath, he relishes blood, bathes in it, heady and aroused by it. I was scared no one would be able to take him down.

~ This isn’t my usual kind of book to read – yes once upon a time in high school I was in a horror phase but I only pick it up once in awhile now and usually during fall because of the vibes. So the gore was almost too much for me! I was scared of John Varley, he seemed invincible.

Final Thoughts:

I’m rating this as someone who hardly reads this genre and I have to say I loved it. It gripped me from the first chapter, and wouldn’t let go! The gore might be just a tad bit too much for me, but it made me want John Varley eliminated as much as Duane and Julia wanted him gone. I was rooting so hard for Duane and Julia. Overall, if you like your modern vampires psychotic, but with a story about grief and revenge – you will enjoy this one!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Blood Moon by. Britney S. Lewis | ALC Review | Audiobook

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Blood Moon (Blood Moon, #1)

Author: Britney S. Lewis

Narrator(s): Adenrele Ojo (Narrator)

Format: audiobook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 9/9/25

Publisher: Page Street YA

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, Paranormal, Vampires, Werewolves

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

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

Eighteen-year-old Mirabella “Mira” Owens grew up in Timber Plains, Kansas hearing all about the local legend—that werewolves had, many years ago, traveled to their small Midwest town to protect humans from the growing threat of a vampire enclave. Just a story of course, a fairy tale, one Mira had stopped believing in when she was young—just like she stopped believing in the idea of her mom returning, after she up and left without a trace when she was only thirteen.

Mira is grown up now, starting freshman year at the nearby Lakeland University. College feels normal, exactly the thing she’s been craving most… except for one particular classmate: Julian Santos, a mysterious boy with long hair, golden eyes, and a coldness that seems directed exclusively at Mira for reasons she can’t understand and he won’t explain.

When Mira receives an unaddressed letter from her mother, she’s told the world isn’t as it seems. She suspects her mom might be telling the truth when she stumbles across strange animal tracks on a hiking trail, and when she’s miraculously saved from a twenty foot drop by the one and only, Julian Santos.

The problem? Julian would have had to jump the length of the cliff to catch her, making him incredibly fast and strong beyond belief. When she confronts him about this, he denies everything.

But when a Blood Moon rises, Mira soon finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient, magical war, with Julian on the other side of the line. She discovers there’s much more truth to the old town legends than she could ever have anticipated—and her family’s historic role in it will change her world forever.

BLOOD MOON is a dark and thrilling, intensely romantic ride, a fresh take on a werewolf love story for a new generation of paranormal romance readers, and is the first book in a series. It is set against a high-stakes paranormal backdrop—a world ripe with secret identities, rich supernatural lore, and a forbidden romance… that comes with a deadly bite.

Content Warning: violence

+ Mira is off to college but very reluctantly. She’s trying to move forward in life while missing her mom who left her and her dad years ago. But she gets accepted to a nearby college, under suspicious circumstances, and realizes college might not be so bad. She makes a few friends and have met a few guys. They live in a town with a very known legend about werewolves coming there long ago to defeat vampires – but it’s just a story…right?

+ I love that this was set in college. I liked seeing her making friends, and learning to really make the most of her time there.

+ There is a love triangle – and yes this book has Twilight vibes, but this time it’s the werewolves who are the focus. Mira reunites with an old acquaintance, Seven. He’s on the football team, popular, good looking and seems like a nice guy. But there is another guy, Julian, who is broody, glares at her, threatens her to leave campus, she hates him but he’s gorgeous too and of course Mira feels a strong connection to him. It’s a slow burn, fated mates romance.

+ The ending has a few twists and it kept me invested in the story for sure! There is betrayal, and I wonder what will happen in book two.

~ Mira is clueless about werewolves and vampires, even though the legend is well known in their town. And it doesn’t help that Julian can’t just tell her things so that kind of got frustrating because she’s very mad at him, which he loves I think, but it got kind of tiring after awhile that she has to keep begging for answers and it made me wonder why she couldn’t figure some things out. She was in major denial about some things.

~ This has Twilight all over it and for me I mostly noticed it in the angst between Mira and Julian, which was kind of fun to reminisce to but also made me giggle because it’s so dramatic. Some other similarities, is the small town, her dad being a sheriff, her name being Mirabella (“bella”), her not knowing why Julian is drawn to her but pushes away, little things like that. I found it nostalgic though.

Final Thoughts:

I thought this was a fun vampire/werewolves story! It brought me back to the Twilight and Vampire Diaries days but with a different twist at the end. The romance and angst is there between Mira and Julian. I also loved that Mira had a college life, making friends, and going to school events. Some things were too similar to Twilight though and I did wish Mira could put some things together instead of feeling lost about everything but this is a young adult book so she is acting appropriately. I think the narrator did a great job bringing this story to life and I look forward to reading book two!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

WWW Wednesday | 9/3/25

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 September! We are officially in the “ber” months. Can you believe it? I can’t. I think I’ll have more room to read books that aren’t arcs very soon.

What are you currently reading?

Hekate by. Nikita Gil – 8% – I did NOT realize this book would be poetry, so imagine my surprise when I started reading it! 😅

The Austen Affair by.. Madeline Bell – 13%

Katabasis by. R.F. Kuang – 37%

Tusk Love by. Thea Guazon – 2%

Fevered Star by. Rebecca Roanhorse – audiobook – 31%

What have you just finished reading?

Endless Anger by. Sav R. Miller – ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blood Moon by. Britney S. Lewis – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Weaver Bride by. Lydia Gregovic – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Dead of Summer by. Ryan La Sala – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Witch of the Wolves by. Kaylee Archer – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What are you going to read next?

You Make It Feel Like Christmas by. Sophie Sullivan

We Who Will Die by. Stacia Clark

The Scammer by. Tiffany D. Jackson

The Crimson Throne by. Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

And the River Drags Her Down by. Jihyun Yun

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie

What are YOU reading right now?

Books With Occupations in the Title | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 9/2/25

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 With Occupations in the Title

Maid for Each Other by. Lynn Painter – a maid.
The Knight and the Moth by. Rachel Gillig – a Knight is kind of a job?
Assistant to the Villain by. Hannah Nicole Maehrer – an assistant is a job!

Heartless Hunter by. Kristen Ciccarelli – a hunter can be a job!
A Legend in the Baking by. Jamie Wesley – a baker is an occupation.
Happy Medium by. Sarah Adler – a medium is an occupation and also in the book cover is a farmer which is also an occupation.

Battle of the Bookstores by. Ali Brady – not in the title, but there are bookshop owners in this book.
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by. Megan Bannen – an undertaker is definitely a job.
The Housemaid by. Freida McFadden – another maid.

The Last Fashion House in Paris by. Renee Ryan – seamstresses.

What’s on your TTT?

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New Book Releases This Week | 9/2/25

Happy book birthday to these new releases this week!

Thorn Season by. Kiera Azar

In the Kingdom of Daradon, a persecuted few are Wielders – able to exert a physical power that extends beyond her visible a shimmering tendril that can pick a lock, a gentle coil that reaches out to give a loving caress, or an inexorable rope that will kill a man before he knows it is around his neck. Feared and mistrusted for this ability, Wielders have always been Hunted.

Alissa Paine – heiress of a noble lineage, daughter of a Hunter family – is also a Wielder. And as she approaches her eighteenth Season, Alissa knows she has escaped execution so far only through painful self-control, and the fragile efforts of her beloved father.

Summoned to the harsh and glittering royal court for the debutante season, Alissa finds herself trapped in a web of hidden intentions – and caught between two equally dangerous men. One is a brutal ruler with the handsome face of a fairytale prince, who would see her destroyed in an instant if the truth were known – and the other a beguiling foreign ambassador with secret agendas of his own.

It’s Rose Season at the palace, but Alissa knows that survival will depend on being the most vicious of the thorns…

Wild Reverence by. Rebecca Ross

Born in the firelit domain of the under realm, Matilda is the youngest goddess of her clan, blessed with humble messenger magic. But in a land where gods often kill each other to steal power and alliances break as quickly as they are forged, Matilda must come of age sooner than most. She may be known to carry words and letters through the realms, but she holds a secret she must hide from even her dearest of allies to ensure her survival. And to complicate matters . . . there is a mortal boy who dreams of her, despite the fact they have never met in the waking world.

Ten years ago, Vincent of Beckett wrote to Matilda on the darkest night of his life―begging the goddess he befriended in dreams to help him. When his request went unanswered, Vincent moved on, becoming the hardened, irreverent lord of the river who has long forgotten Matilda. That is, until she comes tumbling into his bedroom window with a letter for him.

As Fate would have it, Matilda and Vincent were destined to find each other beyond dreams. There may be a chance for Matilda to rewrite the blood-soaked ways of the gods, but at immense sacrifice. She will have to face something she fears even more than losing her magic: to be vulnerable, and to allow herself to finally be loved.

By the Horns by. Ruby Dixon

In a world of magical artifacts and fantastical beings, a woman with a deadly magic secret needs the help of the minotaur she’s trying to forget in the sizzling sequel to Ruby Dixon’s New York Times bestseller Bull Moon Rising.

Gwenna has always considered herself a normal person. A former servant, she wants nothing more than to land a steady job with the Royal Artifactual Guild so she can make some steady coin to send home to her mother. She’s not special. She’s certainly not a necromancer. That would be impossible, given how necromancing (or any ‘mancing) is forbidden upon penalty of death. So if the dead keep talking to her? Well, she’s going to keep on ignoring them. They’re not going to stand in the way of her dreams.

Also standing in her way? One big, arrogant, far-too-flirty Taurian named Raptor. They slept together once, and now he wants more . . . but she doesn’t have time for that. Her focus is on being a fledgling, a trainee for the Royal Artifactual Guild. But Raptor won’t go away. He’s on a secret mission for the guild to find an artifact thief.

Problem is, he thinks the thief is Gwenna.

How can she convince Raptor that he’s got the wrong girl when all the signs point to her? And how do you tell a Taurian you can’t date him because you hear dead people and it might cost you your life?

Witch You Would by. Lia Amador

When a young witch gets a life-changing chance to compete in a magical reality show, sparks fly as she’s partnered with a man she can’t stand.

In a Miami where enchantment is just another college major, the magic of television could change two lives.

Penelope Delmar, a broke salesgirl, has been chosen to compete on Cast Judgment, a spellcasting reality show. The winner gets a big cash prize, and for extra hype, this season is the Spellebrity every contestant will be paired with a celebrity teammate. Unfortunately, her partner, Leandro Presto, is best known for his goofy viral spell videos, not his skills.

Gil Contreras, alias Leandro Presto, has been crushing on his pen pal Penelope for months. Now they’re working together to win a contest that could save his grandfather’s charity—except he has to stay in character the whole time, so his dream girl thinks he’s a total loser.

Can they beat snobby rivals, fix spells gone wrong, and survive increasingly dangerous sabotage attempts to win the grand prize—and each other’s hearts? Or will Gil’s secret make both their magic and romance fizzle out?

The Dating Prohibition by. Taj McCoy

In this spicy new rom-com, an ambitious entrepreneur working to get her speakeasy supper club off the ground is pushed off balance when her childhood crush turns up, hotter than ever––then tells her she’s off-limits.

Now that Kendra’s returned home, she can’t help feeling like a kid again—back in her big brother’s shadow, trying to get her restaurant off the ground while his new venture is flying high right out the gate. It doesn’t help that everyone refuses to stop calling her Keke, the childhood nickname she loathes.

The only bright spot is her longtime crush BJ. He’s been her big brother’s best friend for most of her life, and he’s always been that cool, chill guy who was easy to talk to and made her laugh. Now he’s looking at her like she’s all grown up, and there’s nothing childish about the chemistry brewing between them. Even better, he takes her dreams seriously, and he’s ready to help her make her supper club a reality.

But then BJ extinguishes the sparks flying between them, insisting nothing romantic can ever happen because she’s “off limits.” As her investors fall through and her best chance at fulfilling her professional dreams points toward leaving home again for a fresh start, will BJ be ready for love before Kendra moves on? Or will he sweep her off her feet when she least expects it?

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

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The Dating Prohibition by. Taj McCoy | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice Rating: 🌶️🌶️

Title: The Dating Prohibition

Author: Taj McCoy

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 315

Publication Date: 9/2/25

Publisher: MIRA

Categories: Contemporary, Romance, Rom-Com

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

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

Content Warning: misogyny

+ There are a lot of things I enjoyed about this rom-com. One of them being the strong theme of family. Kendra is back home in Washington, D.C. and staying with her older brother and his wife while she gets her feet back under her. She’s helping at his new restaurant but she has dreams of opening a speakeasy of her own. I love how her cousin is almost like a sister – I totally relate to that! I love that her family is tight-knit and though at times critical, there is always support somewhere in the family. When she is with her cousin, Lani and her sister-in-law, Shonda, they are so funny together – I loved their family friendship.

+ I love the different ethnicities being represented. Kendra is half Black on her mom’s side and Filipino and Thai on her dad’s side which was cool! I loved hearing about filipino food dishes in the book.

+ The romance is a brother’s best-friend kind of romance, and there are a few spicy scenes. There are some challenges between Kendra and BJ/Ben though but it is resolved in the end.

~ Now as much as I love her tight-knit family, there was definitely favoritism. She got criticism which is again totally relatable but I felt bad for Kendra. She was putting in the work and had all her plans laid out. Her brother was supportive but also a little bit overprotective. Kind of wished there a moment with her parents at the end where they work things out.

~ Speaking of overprotective – BJ is her brother’s best friend so yes her brother would have thoughts about that. But the way BJ kind of strung her along, saying no they can’t act on their desire and then acted on it, then pushed her away? I did not like that and started not to like him. Also, he had no personality – he was definitely there for a booty call, but he didn’t open up to Kendra at all.

Final Thoughts:

There were a lot of things I liked about this story – the family themes, the food, the girlfriend group, and Kendra trying to make her dreams come true. I didn’t love the romance, even though the spice was good. I just didn’t like how BJ was going back and forth – keeping her at a distance, then pulling her in, then pushing away again. So I didn’t love the romance but I think everything else, at least for me, made up for it, plus it was a quick read.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read by This Author:

Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell by. Taj McCoy | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Endless Anger by. Sav R. Miller | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Spice: 🌶️🌶️🌶️

Title: Endless Anger (Monsters Within, #1)

Author: Sav R. Miller

Format: ebook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 452

Publication Date: 8/19/25

Categories: New Adult, Dark Romance, Dark Academia, Childhood Friends to Lovers

Sometimes the pomegranate doesn’t fall far from the tree…

Asher Anderson is angry―at the world, at himself, at the way his best friend Lucy Wolfe seems determined to tune out this buzzing connection between them. He doesn’t mean to solve all his problems with violence, but maybe he has too much of his father in him. That’s why the faculty at Avernia College hates him, right? Because of the “evil” blood in his veins?

He should know better than to darken the old, ivy-covered university’s door, but it’s practically a law of the universe: wherever Lucy goes, Asher follows. Even if that means entering a twisting labyrinth of secret societies, human sacrifices, and a very personal history soaked in blood.

Lucy is used to being an outcast. She’s even used to Asher being her dark, brooding shadow. What she isn’t used to is him shattering her resolve by taking her up against library bookshelves as she desperately pretends her heart hasn’t always been his. She should know better than to play with fire, but with unexplained deaths and pointed threats ripping apart the university’s fabric, Asher and Lucy soon find themselves at the center of the turmoil…where they’ll have to confront their feelings or die trying.

Content Warning: violence, death, sexual assault, torture

+ I think the book started off strong and intriguing. Asher is in love with Lucy and I love how they knew each other since kids. He’s protective of her and they know the best and worst of each other. There’s a lot of no communication between them which was a bit frustrating, lots of angst but everyone knows they want each other and basically waiting for them to get together.

+ Their parents all know each other and I also liked the other characters in their friend/family group like Foxe and Aurora. Overall, I could tell this was a tight knit group.

+ If you want smut, it’s there but it comes in the second half of this book. So it’s a bit of a slow burn until then, but it is spicy! There is a lot of pent up longing and desire between these two.

+~ The premise of this one caught my eye and I saw it on booktok. I do wish I knew that this was a spinoff because I could tell while reading this I was missing something that regarded the parents of these kids in the book.

~ I was lost. Probably because I didn’t read the previous series that came before this book. I was missing the connection between the parents who all know one another. I didn’t know what was up with this college and what was so bad about it, even though everyone kept saying it was bad. It took so long for the story about the “bad things” at the college to develop. Like what was this curse? While the relationship between Lucy and Asher kept me invested, the plot was lacking and made me lose interest.

~ Book was too long for a story where not a lot was explained or happening.

Final Thoughts:

Read the series, Monsters & Muses before reading this book or else you might be as lost as I was. My favorite thing about this story was the childhood romance between Lucy and Asher – it’s full of longing and desire but also my least favorite trope -no communication, which was their only downfall really but still frustrating. There’s a lot of spice between them once they cave into their feelings for one another. The rest of the story has potential but I just needed more. Overall, just an okay read for me.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Weekly Wrap Up | 8/31/25

Aloha friends!

Another week is over and here’s what happened:

+ My son turned 13 on Wednesday! He had presents and cake, but today we are going over to his grandparent house to have more food, cake and presents with them and they rest of the family.

+ It’s a 3 day weekend, it’s always nice to have one more day to sleep in!

Blog Posts:

House of Hearts by. Skyla Arndt | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
New Book Releases This Week | 8/26/25
Top Ten Moments of My Summer 2025| TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 8/26/25
Wild Reverence by. Rebecca Ross | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
WWW Wednesday | 8/27/25
Sweet Heat by. Bolu Babalola | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Thorn Season by. Kiera Azar | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Land So Wide by. Erin A. Craig | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Books I Finished

Currently Reading:

Witch of the Wolves by. Kayless Archer

Fevered Star by. Rebecca Roanhorse (audiobook)

Hekate by. Nikita Gil

The Austen Affair by. Madeline Bell

Immortal Consequences by. I.V. Marie

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

The Summer I Turned Pretty (Amazon Prime Video) – Season 3 – what an episode – Conrad was not having huh? lol
Chief of War (Apple +) – episodes 5 and 6, war is coming!
The Life of the Walter Boys (Netflix) – season 2

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!

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Girl, Goddess, Queen by. Bea Fitzgerald | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫

Spice Rating: 🌶️

Title: Girl, Goddess, Queen

Author: Bea Fitzgerald

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 496

Publication Date: 9/2/25

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Categories: Greek Mythology Retelling, Young Adult, Romantasy

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

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

To hell with love, this goddess has other plans…

Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.

The real story is much more interesting.

Persephone wasn’t taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.

Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld’s annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core.

But consequences can be deadly, especially when you’re already in hell . . .

Content Warning: parental neglect

I thought this was an interesting way to retell the Hades/Persephone mythology because it fells modern and Kore/Persephone seems to be calling the shots, or eventually does by the end. Hades just kind of lets it happen and that’s not how I usually see Hades. So in that aspect, I thought this was a fresh retelling that will appeal to a teen audience, especially since the speech is modern. I also enjoyed some side characters like Styx.

Kore doesn’t want to marry and to avoid that she goes to the Underworld and hides there with a reluctant Hades. Hades doesn’t know what to do with Kore, she’s headstrong, stubborn and is basically a brat and she got on my nerves. She didn’t want to marry a man, so she runs away but basically places herself in Hades’ world (a man), and takes over his territory? There is something about Greek mythology retellings that I have to be in the mood for, to enjoy. I don’t think I was in the right mood for this one.

I found myself skimming this one from the middle of the story to the end because it wasn’t holding my attention. Plus I think this one was a little too long.

Final Thoughts:

This one wasn’t for me – maybe because I wasn’t in the mood or maybe because I see Hades in a certain way and was waiting for those characteristics. I did find his softer side more fun though! As for Kore/Persephone, it’s great that she was trying to get power but her bratty personality turned me off. I do think Greek mythology lovers will enjoy this one and it’s a refreshing take on the mythology that will appeal to teen readers.