The Starlight Heir by. Amalie Howard | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Starlight Heir

Author: Amalie Howard

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 368

Publication Date: 1/5/25

Publisher: Avon

Categories: New Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Romantasy, Series

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

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

A bladesmith with the power of the stars in her blood and a prince with a dangerous secret will fight to save their kingdom in this spicy and spellbinding romantasy inspired by Persian and Indian mythology—perfect for readers of Sarah J. Maas and Thea Guanzon.

To save the realm from eternal darkness, she’ll have to choose between the truth and the lie—stand and fight or kneel and die.

“His Imperial Majesty, King Zarek requests your presence as his esteemed guest.”

When the gold-dusted court invitation arrives at Suraya Saab’s forge, she believes it’s a joke. Nobles might seek her skills as a bladesmith—one of few who can imbue her work with precious jadu, the last source of magic in the realm—but she has no qualifications as a potential bride for the crown prince. Still, the invitation is the chance at adventure, and the means to finally visit the capital city her late mother loved.

But what awaits her in Kaldari is nothing she could have imagined—and fraught with danger. It’s not the crown prince, but his impossibly handsome, illegitimate half-brother, Roshan, who draws her interest…and her ire. The invitation isn’t a quest to find a suitable bride, but a veiled hunt for the starbringer—a girl rumored to hold the magic of the stars in her blood. And across the city, unrest is brewing between the noble houses and the rebel militia.

When the rebels carry out a brutal strike, Suraya and Roshan find themselves on the run, trying to deny their simmering attraction and the knowledge that Suraya herself might be the starbringer. But Roshan is hiding secrets of his own. And with no control of the power that seems to be stirring within her, Suraya has drawn the attention of the old gods themselves…and the interest of one dark god in particular might be the biggest threat of all.

Content Warning: death, violence, war, profanity

I was stunned by this book cover and had to request it. Here are my thoughts:

This book was a wild ride. I like the world-building and the mythology about stars and the gods. I think there is more to explore in this world but in this book there is magic, runes, prophecy, and chiromancy. I really enjoyed all the aspects of the world-building.

Suraya is invited with a bunch of girls to the palace in Kaldari because Prince Javen is looking for a wife. So this reminded a bit of the story The Selection, but then the story takes a turn for something different. I found Sura to be a fiesty, headstrong, but funny character. Her relationship with her best-friend Laleh is sweet and funny. And when she meets Roshan, their friendship grows as well, but into something way more.

The romance is spicy and their chemistry is fun but I feel like book two will be taken into a new direction. Suraya and Roshan’s romance is really sweet, not much conflict and they make a good couple except for some trust issues.

This story is filled with politics and Suraya gets caught in the middle of it because the powers that have manifested inside of her. She has to learn to control her powers and figure out what her role is with everything going on around her. There is a lot of action and it especially gets wild at the end!

I did have some issues with the story. I don’t mind profanity, but there were times the characters had modern speech and that threw me off a little. Also, there is a character, who is very mystery and we only get a few scenes of him. I know he will probably appear more in book two, but it was kind of maddening not knowing who he is and how he ties into everything. Also, I felt like Suraya’s talent as a blacksmith wasn’t really a focus of the story and I’d have liked to see her use that talent more. At times I felt like the story was all over the place.

My Thoughts:

I had some issues with this story and thought at some moments too much was going on, but overall I was entertained. I enjoyed the romance, the spice, the world-building and am looking forward to see what will happen in the next book.

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Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Review | The Beast of Beswick ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

WWW Wednesday | 1/1/25

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?

Happy New Year everyone!! How was your New Year’s Eve? Did you party or was like me and stayed home because my dog is miserable with the fireworks?

Well we made it to another new year – 2025 – I’m going into this new year feeling a bit of dread but you know what, we just gotta do what we gotta do. I’ll just escape into my books.

What are you currently reading?

Nature of Frost by. Jus Accardo (arc) – 50% – I just found out this is a sequel and I never read book one! 🫠. Where is my brain? sigh…

Unhallowed Halls by. Lili Wilkinson – 40% – this is an arc I’m working on.

The Grandest Game by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes – pg. 60/372

Immortal Dark by. Tigrest Girma –

What have you just finished reading?

Breath of the Dragon by. Fonda Lee and Shannon Lee (arc) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ruin (The Infernis Duology, #1) by. Gillian Eliza West (KU) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

What are you reading right now?

Monthly Wrap Up | December 2024

December? I just realized (in January 2025 because I copy and change things before I post things that this DECEMBER post was still in my November post wording. That’s how you know December was just tiring. LOL

Here is how my book ratings went in December:

What I Posted: 9 Books

5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

4.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

4 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

3.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫:

3 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️⭐️:

2.5 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️💫

2 Star Reads – ⭐️⭐️

Book Tags:

Birthstone Book Covers: December – Tanzanite | Zircon | Tourquoise

How was your month?

Best Books I Read in 2024 | TTT | Top Ten Tuesday | 12/31/24

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:

Best Books I Read in 2024

The last day of 2024 everyone…and honestly I’m not looking forward to 2025. 😒. So let’s look back on 2024 which was an okay year, not a great one, but at least not a bad one. I did find some gems in 2024 though. And with that I hope EVERYONE has a HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

The Women by. Kristin Hannah – Amazing book!

The Getaway List by. Emma Lord – I enjoyed this one and lately Emma Lord books are hitting or missing, but this was a hit for me!

Ruthless Vows by. Rebecca Ross – love this conclusion to the duology.

Heartless Hunter by. Kristen Ciccarelli – LOVE. Can’t wait for the sequel!

A Tempest of Tea by. Hafsah Faizal – I think this was a hit or miss for people since the ratings on Goodreads are kinda low. But I loved this one!

The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le – such a good book!

Bride by. Ali Hazelwood – this was a fun one and informative when it comes to knotting. 🤭

Some Mistakes Were Made by. Kristin Dwyer – emotional and full of angst! Loved it.

Funny Story by. Emily Henry – loved this one so much.

Not Another Love Song by. Julie Soto – this one is so good!

The Thirteenth Child by. Erin A. Craig – the book that made me cry this year.

The Blood Orchid by. Kylie Lee Baker – such a good series!

The Songbird and the Heart of Stone by. Carissa Broadbent – different but loved it!

What’s on your TTT?

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2024 | A Year in Review

It’s that time again in the year, the end of the year where I look back and see how much I’ve read during the year. The only place I track my reading is on Goodreads so this is what Goodreads says I’ve read:

I read 181 books last year and this year just 134 (3 books were read by my daughter) and I am very happy with that. My goal was to read less, so I don’t burn out and I did a good job! *pats myself on the back**.

Of course a Sarah J. Maas book is going to be the longest one I’ve read this year! lol not a surprise at all. As for the shortest book? Well my daughter read that one and since my kindle app is linked to my Goodreads, it picks up the books she’s read. And a 385 page book sounds like a dream – I’m glad that’s the average length of a book I’ve read this year!

I finally read Verity and I’m excited to see how they adapt it into a movie. My least shelved book is from an indie author who asked me to read and review her book called Spindleheart. My rating average basically stayed the same from 2023 which is interesting.

This was my first review of the year….

And supposedly my last review…this was a good one!

Here are some stats of how I rated books this year. I have a lot of 4 star books only because if I give it a 3.5 rating, I round up since Goodreads doesn’t allow us to do half stars.

I didn’t do many blog tours this year – very, very few:

BLOG TOUR} The Summer Swap by. Sarah Morgan | Book Excerpt

Blog Tour} The Catch by. Amy Lea | ARC Review

As for some personal favorites of mine this year:

The Women by. Kristin Hannah

The Last Bloodcarver by. Vanessa Le

Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth #1) by. Kristen Ciccarelli

Funny Story by. Emily Henry

Not Another Love Song by. Julie Soto

The Thirteenth Child by. Erin A. Craig

The Songbird & the Heart of Stone by. Carissa Broadbent

Quicksilver by. Callie Hart

How was your reading year? Did you reach your reading goals? What was your favorite books of 2024?

Weekly Wrap Up | 12/29/24

Aloha friends!

Christmas is over. We went to a family party Christmas Eve night and had tons of fun. We went home with so many prizes! Gift cards, treats and I won a whole pot and pans set which I shared with my mom since I didn’t need most of it 😅. My kids had a blast but let me tell you we were so tired on Christmas day lol…so we opened only stocking gifts because we had to head out to my mom’s for Christmas lunch. My daughter was overstimulated and had one break down at the lunch but I get it – the party the night before, the anticipation for Christmas and presents and being tired! Lunch was nice and you know with my mom having stage one bladder cancer and my sister’s sis-in-law dealing with stage 3 breast cancer this year, and my hubby being gone and finally home for good…it was nice to be around family and knowing we got through a challenging year.

Kids enjoyed their gifts and I enjoyed my gift (a kindle from my hubby)! We also had Hanukkah to celebrate the night of Christmas and let me tell you, I was struggling to stay awake. I was done and didn’t even have caffeine the whole day. But I ate so much all day (I have left overs for days in my fridge) that I decided to go on youtube and do a Just Dance workout before bedtime. My son got up and joined me and we had so much fun, so it was a long day but a lovely day.

Then we went to a Shabbat service on Friday night to celebrate my father-in-law’s anniversary, he passed 2 years ago. Thing is the service was a potluck Shabbat/Hanukkah party. So there was a lot of people and it was festive so the kids had fun and we got to honor their grandpa which is where their Jewish side comes from.

Now onto the New Year – and planning my daughter’s birthday!

Anyway, I hope you all have a great week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

Breath of the Dragon by. Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee

Currently Reading:

Unhallowed Halls by. Lili Wilkinson
Nature Frost by. Jus Accardo

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

Football
Beyonce Bowl Halftime NFL Show – she was gorgeous and ethereal all in white! What a performance. I need to get myself to a Beyonce concert.
The Polar Express – my daughter mentioned this was her classmate’s favorite movie and I said okay let’s watch it. She lasted 20 minutes and left the room. I never watched it because I always thought the animation looked creepy and I stick to my opinion after sitting through that whole movie. The animation is creepy! It was an okay movie.

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!

Better Than Revenge by. Kasie West | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Better Than Revenge

Author: Kasie West

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 320

Publication Date: 12/31/24

Publisher: Delacorte Romance

Categories: Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult

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 Romance for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A swoony new romance from the author of Sunkissed! When her football-player boyfriend and now ex lands the podcast job she’s been dreaming of, a girl takes matters into her own hands by enlisting the help of his nemesis to get revenge.

Seventeen-year-old Finley has only ever had one to become a famous podcaster. This includes coming up with the perfect pitch to land her on her school’s podcast team. But when her football-obsessed boyfriend, Jensen, decides to also try out—and uses her idea—she’s left confused and betrayed.

Determined to get back at him, Finley and her friends try to find the perfect revenge scheme, but quickly discover that Jensen is almost-impossible to best. Keyword, almost.

By chance, Finley discovers a knack for kicking and decides to take Jensen’s spot on the football team. To help her train, she recruits Jensen’s cute but conceited nemeses, Theo. Soon the two discover that their connection runs deeper than football. But Finley can’t let herself get distracted, and Theo has secrets of his own. Is true love really better than the perfect revenge?

I haven’t read a Kasie West book in awhile! Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

+ Finley is out for revenge because he boyfriend took the podcast spot at school that she was trying for. I didn’t blame Finley at all for her revenge plot because her boyfriend, or should I say ex, was really a jerk. Throughout the whole book he was taking her ideas, making her feel like she wasn’t good enough and that sucked a lot. But I liked her journey with trying to figure what she wanted to do after her dreams were crushed and making things right in the end.

+ One of the cutest things in this story though is Finley’s relationship with her grandmother who has the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s. Finley does a podcast interview with her throughout the story and I love how it’s how she bonds with her grandmother and shows off her talent with podcasting and interviewing people.

+ Finley’s friends are really the best. They are with her even when this revenge plot goes into uncharted territory and when she messes up sometimes they don’t shut her out but they work it out. I loved Max!

+ The romance between Finley and Theo (her ex’s rival) is really cute. Theo is the popular guy with a reputation. Theo and Finley have really good chemistry when it comes to being rivals, then friendship and then into a romance. I like how they pushed one another to be better. I thought the way it paralleled somewhat with her grandma’s romance story was super cute!

Dislikes:

~ I did not like Jensen. And Finley wasn’t perfect, especially with her desperately wanting to get back at him so bad – but I can understand where she is coming from. Jensen, not so much, he was just a jerk.

Final Thoughts:

This story has heartfelt moments between family and friends and there is a cute romance Theo and Finley. It’s a quick read and teens and young adults will enjoy this one, especially if you have read other books by this author.

Find me here: Instagram (bookstagram📚) | Instagram (crafts🎨) | Twitter (X) | Etsy (Shop)

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read From This Author:

Maybe This Time | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Looking Back on 2024: Books on the Backlist

I did read some books from the backlist this year. I’m not good at trying to clear my TBR list EVER…I just try to get some books I’ve been wanting to read from the online library so if my backlist titles are few…that’s why. Let’s take a look at the backlist titles I read in 2024.

Books on the Backlist

The Endless War (The Bridge Kingdom, #4) by. Danielle L. Jensen
The Great Alone by. Kristin Hannah
Nettle & Bone by. T. Kingfisher

The Fine Print by. Lauren Asher (Dreamland Billionaires, #1)
Heart of the Sun Warrior (The Celestial Kingdom, #2) by. Sue Lynn Tan
Some Mistakes Were Made by. Kristin Dwyer

Verity by. Colleen Hoover
King of Greed (Kings of Sin, #3) by. Ana Huang
Check & Mate by. Ali Hazelwood

A Fire Endless by. Rebecca Ross
The Unmaking of June Farrow by. Adrienne Young
The Ever King (The Ever Seas, #1) by. L.J. Andrews

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by. Megan Bannen
Butcher & Blackbird by. Brynne Weaver

Let me know in the comments!

Dating and Dragons by. Kristy Boyce | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Dating and Dragons

Author: Kristy Boyce

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 336

Publication Date: 12/31/24

Publisher: Delacorte Romance

Categories: Romance, Young Adult, D&D, Contemporary

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 Romance for giving me a chance to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

From the author of the nationally bestselling Dungeons and Drama comes another gaming romance that’s sure to win you over!

After moving to a new high school, Quinn is desperate for friends, so she joins a D&D group with their own livestream and serious rules—most no dating fellow party members.

But when sparks fly with a cute but irritating player, and ex-friends from an old campaign start stirring up trouble, she’ll need to figure out where her loyalties—and heart—lie beyond the game.

Content Warning: bullying, cyberbullying

I LOVED Dungeons and Drama, and so I though I’d read this one by the same author. Here are my thoughts:

Likes:

+ If you like Dungeons & Dragons (the game), you will probably enjoy this book. I’m neutral about it. I loved it in the previous book because it combined the game and the drama kids. I think this one is just most about D&D, which gives me more insight into the game.

+ The romance is cute, Quinn has joined a D&D group but one person in the group, Logan, doesn’t seem to want her there. It’s only because he doesn’t want his attraction to her to disrupt the group. Also Quinn is trying not to let her past haunt her.

+ The friend group was fun and I thought Quinn’s grandma was quite a personality!

Dislikes:

~ I’m an older reader, so I might just be too old for this kind of book now but there were some angsty, dramatic stuff that made me laugh. This one is definitely for the teen readers!

~ I thought it was interesting how for the most part the attraction is held back but when they couldn’t fight it anymore, Logan was saying some heated stuff and I thought, whoa this guy is 16? That was a little off to me.

Final Thoughts:

Can I just say I love whoever did the book cover for this book and the last one? This is what some of the adult romance books need for their cover art, especially when they do the cartoonish designs. Overall, I didn’t enjoy this one as much as I loved Dungeons and Drama but I think teen readers will really like this one!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Other Books I’ve Read By This Author:

Dungeons and Drama by. Kristy Boyce | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WWW Wednesday | 12/25/24

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?

Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrate! My kiddos were excited this morning of course and for lunch they are going to open more present at their grandparents’ house. And also it’s Hanukkah and we also celebrate that so…

It’s why my daughter loves December and January. She’s got Hanukkah, Christmas and her birthday lol. And my wallet is like…😩. Also my energy is like 🫠. But I did read some books – woohoo!