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!
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 I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes
Santa is ME or gift cards from loved ones. LOL…so here are some books I want to put on my shelves. Honestly, I’m okay just waiting for these books to go to Libby so I can borrow them and save money.
November 5: Covers with [Item] on the Cover (You choose the item! It can be anything at all.) November 12: Destination Titles (titles with name of places in them. These places can be real or fiction!) (this was a topic Rachel @ Sunny Side came up with for a freebie week last year and has let me steal it!) November 19: Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books On My TBR (submitted by Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits) November 26: Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie December 3: Freebie December 10: Books to Read During a Storm (these can be cozy/comfy reads, books with storms in them, atmospheric reads for dark and stormy nights, light reads to combat the heavy weather, etc.) (Submitted by Astilbe.) December 17: Books on My Winter 2024-2025 to-Read List December 24: Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!) December 31: Best Books I Read in 2024
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.
A woman investigates her brother’s mysterious death while coming to terms with her own haunting past in this atmospheric novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Unmaking of June Farrow
The only thing James and Johnny Golden have ever had is each other. For as long as she can remember, James’s deep connection with her twin brother, Johnny, has gone beyond intuition—she can feel what he feels. So, when Johnny is killed in a tragic accident, James knows before her phone even rings that her brother is gone and that she’s alone—truly alone—for the first time in her life.
When James arrives in the rural town of Hawthorne, California to settle her brother’s affairs, she’s forced to rehash the ominous past she and Johnny shared and finally face Micah, the only person who knows about it. He’s also the only man she’s ever loved.
But James soon discovers that the strange connection she had with Johnny isn’t quite gone, and the more she immerses herself into his world, the more questions she has about the brother she thought she knew. Johnny was keeping secrets, and he’s not the only one. What she uncovers will push her to unravel what happened in the days before Johnny’s death, but in the end, she’ll have to decide which truths should come to light, and which should stay buried forever.
Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!
It was a long week at school for the kiddos and we can’t wait for winter break which starts this Saturday! Are you all feeling in the Christmas spirit at all? It’s still warm here so for me, I feel like it isn’t the holidays at all.
I’m gonna try make some Christmas cookies for a Christmas eve party we got invited too. Maybe that will put me in the spirit!
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!
I didn’t do one of these last year even though I thought I did. 🤔. It’s a fun post and I get to look back on the year, so let’s take a look!
Are there any books you started this year that you need to finish?
Not in Love by. Ali Hazelwood – I don’t know what it was but the first chapter was okay and I put it aside to read some arcs and never picked this one back up.
Do you have an autumnal book to transition into the end of the year?
No I don’t. I feel like Christmas comes upon us in a rush and Christmas books sometimes publish in October. This one was an arc published in mid-October and I was in a spooky season mood. It didn’t help me transition at all lol but it was such a cute holiday story!
Is there a new release that you’re still waiting for?
A Cruel Thirst by. Angela Montoya – this one comes out on 12/17 but I’m all about borrowing books these days so we’ll see when I get a chance to read it.
What are three books you want to read before the year ends?
Is there a book that you think could still shock you and become your favourite of the year?
The Grandest Game by. Jennifer Lynn Barnes – this was one of my most anticipated reads for 2024 and I’m waiting for it to be on Libby (online library). I might have to buy it lol.
Have you already started to make reading plans for 2025?
I did a similar post last year to see what series I started and finished during the year. It’s very interesting to see if I stick to a series or not. It’s so hard sometimes to get back into a series after waiting so long for the next book since I don’t re-read a lot of books anymore.
Series That I Started or Finished in 2024
Here’s what I started:
A Tempest of Tea (Blood and Tea, #1) by Hafsah Faizal
Heartless Hunter (The Crimson Moth, #1) by. Kristen Ciccarelli
A Fate Inked in Blood (Saga of the Unfated, #1) by. Danielle L. Jensen
Snowglobe (Snowglobe Duology) by. Soyoung Park
The Last Bloodcarver (The Last Bloodcarver) by. Vanessa Le
The Veiled Kingdom (The Veiled Kingdom) by. Holly Renee
Curious Tides (Drowned Gods) by. Pascale LaCelle
When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall) by. Sarah A. Parker
Heavenbreaker (Heavenbreaker) by. Sara Wolf
The Ever King (The Ever Seas Series) by. LJ Andrews
Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy) by. Brynne Weaver
Heir (Heir Duology) by. Sabaa Tahir
The Dagger and the Flame (The City of Fantome series) by. Catherine Doyle
Dishonestly Yours (Webs We Weave series) by. Krista & Becca Ritchie
The House at Watch Hill (The Watch Hill Trilogy) by. Karen Marie Moning
Fledgling (The Keeper’s Records of Revolution series) by. S.K. Ali
A Fire in the Sky (A Fire in the Sky series) by. Sophie Jordan
Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames series) by. Olivia Rose Darling
The Road of Bones (The Ashen series) by. Demi Winters
The Games Gods Play (The Crucible series) by. Abigail Owen
Filthy Rich Fae (Filthy Rich Fae series) by. Geneva Lee
Fangs for Nothing (The Nevermore Murder Club & Smutty Book Coven) by. Steffanie Holmes
The Wren in the Holly Library (The Oak and Holly Cycle series) by. K.A. Linde
Zodiac Rising (Descendants of the Zodiac series) by. Katie Zhao
The Half King (The Half King series) by. Melissa Landers
Bloodguard (Old Erth series) by. Cecy Robson
The ones I won’t be continuing are:
Snowglobe (Snowglobe Duology) by. Soyoung Park – from what I remember it was intriguing but don’t know if it’s enough for me to read part two.
When the Moon Hatched (Moonfall) by. Sarah A. Parker – this first book was SO long, but I pushed through. I don’t know if I have the patience to read a book two.
Butcher & Blackbird (The Ruinous Love Trilogy) by. Brynne Weaver – read this because of the hype and this was entertaining but not interested in the rest of the series.
Fledgling (The Keeper’s Records of Revolution series) by. S.K. Ali – entertaining dystopian read but would have to be in the right mood to read it.
Fear the Flames (Fear the Flames series) by. Olivia Rose Darling – I liked this one but didn’t love the flow and wasn’t connecting to the characters.
Fangs for Nothing (The Nevermore Murder Club & Smutty Book Coven) by. Steffanie Holmes – this was fun but no interest in continuing unless I have nothing else to read
The Wren in the Holly Library (The Oak and Holly Cycle series) by. K.A. Linde – bought this because the book cover was pretty but ugh, I didn’t love the story, wanted more from the story.
Zodiac Rising (Descendants of the Zodiac series) by. Katie Zhao – interesting world building but didn’t love.
Bloodguard (Old Erth series) by. Cecy Robson – another pretty cover but story was okay.
Here are the series that I finished:
I finished 12 series this year! Many were duologies which makes it easier to finish.
Ruthless Vows (Letters of Enchantment series) by. Rebecca Ross
Destroy the Day (Defy the Night series) by. Brigid Kemmerer
The Prisoner’s Throne (The Stolen Heir Duology) by. Holly Black
A Fire Endless (An Elements of Cadence series) by. Rebecca Ross
Ghostsmith (House of the Dead series) by. Nicki Pau Preto
The Mirror of Beasts (Silver in the Bone series) by. Alexandra Bracken
Nothing Like the Movies (Better Than the Movies series) by. Lynn Painter
The Blood Orchid (The Scarlet Alchemist series) Kylie Lee Baker
Wisteria (Belladonna series) by. Adalyn Grace
Fangs for Nothing by. Steffanie Holmes
The Whispering Night (The Luminaries series) by. Susan Dennard
The Darkness Within Us (The Shadows Between Us series) by. Tricia Levenseller
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?
There is one week until Christmas! Are you ready? (if you celebrate). I am but also we have Hanukkah in our house so my kids love the holidays – they get a bunch of presents lol. Then it’s my daughter’s birthday the following week, so she REALLY loves the holidays! I did finish a few books and am still working on some arcs but I’m all about easy reads right now and not so many heavy world-building fantasy books.
Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds. Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.
Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.
Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.
Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.
Content Warning: violence, death
I’ve heard lots of good things about this book so when I saw it on KU I had to read it.
This is a really fascinating historical fiction story about Xishi, one of the most beautiful women in China, and I had never heard about her and her legendary beauty but I was engrossed with this tale.
Xishi is telling this tale about how she has had a rough childhood because of the war between the Yue and Wu. And we learn she is the most beautiful girl in the village and that draws the attention from a military advisor from the Yue side. They want to use her to infiltrate the Wu kingdom, make the king fall so deeply in love with her that they won’t know what hit them when the Yue attack. But can she do it? This girl from a lowly village with the most beautiful face?
I thought the training part of the book went super fast and wish it was more detailed. I wasn’t confident in Xishi’s skill to woo a king at the end of her training. At times I felt her character was so weak, I wasn’t sure how Fuchai would become obsessed with her, but he does. She must be that beautiful but I wanted more from her personality. Also I felt like Zhendang’s story fizzled out too fast – she poses as Xishi’s lady’s maid but I felt like she barely had a role when they are at the Wu’s.
The romance that built between her and Fanli was filled with so much tension, angst, longing even if they don’t have many scenes together. Maybe it’s a bit of insta-love but I don’t mind it with how things were taking place for Xishi.
And even though King Fuchai of the Wu was the enemy I liked how he and Xishi interacted with one another. She had to pretend to like him but I think eventually she did, at least as a friend. It was just sad all around how everything ended but I love how this story showed how war is something created by the powerful and everyone else is a bystander and gets caught in the crossfire.
Quotes from the Book:
“When men say they want a lover, what they often mean is they want a mirror; they wish to see themselves reflected back at them in the best light.”
Ann Liang – “A Song to Drown Rivers”
“The men will fight for their thrones and their power and their legacies, but to them we are nothing more than crickets and ants, insignificant, expendable.”
Ann Liang – “A Song to Drown Rivers”
Final Thoughts:
This story is tragic but so compelling. I love how the story was told and how everything unfolded with some twists and turns that I was not expecting. At times I did want more from the characters and the political drama but it was still entertaining. The bravery of Xishi to basically go into a lion’s den to try and take down the opposition was inspiring but her realization who the true enemy was came too late. The love story is filled with such longing – oh the heartbreak! I thought this was a great read and look forward to reading more from this author.
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 on My Winter 2024-2025 to-Read List
The last books I have to read this year! But many of these are arcs and being published in 2025 so here we go:
The Rival by. Emma Lord – Emma Lord is a must read for me. But not gonna lie – I don’t really love this cover. I didn’t love her last book but I hope this one is better.
November 5: Covers with [Item] on the Cover (You choose the item! It can be anything at all.) November 12: Destination Titles (titles with name of places in them. These places can be real or fiction!) (this was a topic Rachel @ Sunny Side came up with for a freebie week last year and has let me steal it!) November 19: Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books On My TBR (submitted by Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits) November 26: Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie December 3: Freebie December 10: Books to Read During a Storm (these can be cozy/comfy reads, books with storms in them, atmospheric reads for dark and stormy nights, light reads to combat the heavy weather, etc.) (Submitted by Astilbe.) December 17: Books on My Winter 2024-2025 to-Read List December 24: Books I Hope Santa Brings/Bookish Wishes (List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to your wishlist so that people can grant your wishes. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address or include the email address associated with your e-reader in the list description so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Please don’t feel obligated to send anything to anyone!) December 31: Best Books I Read in 2024
Past Midnight Book Reviews & More 