First Lines Fridays | 1/12/24

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

“There was never any doubt in her mind, even after all these dust-streaked mortal years, that Dacre would one day come for her.”

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Can you guess what book it is?

Did you guess it? Have you read this one?

📖 ~ Yolanda

WWW Wednesday | 1/10/24

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?

What are you currently reading?

ASAP by. Axie Oh – no progress on this one

A Place for Vanishing by. Ann Fraistat – I’m at 21% on this one

Chasm by. Stacey McEwan – 25% progress

What have you just finished reading?

If I Promise You Wings by. A. K. Small ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ruthless Vows by. Rebecca Ross ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Dance of Stars and Ashes by. Nisha J. Tuli ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

These Deadly Prophecies by. Andrea Tang

The Endless War by. Danielle L. Jensen

The Invocations by. Krystal Sutherland

What are you reading right now?

#5OnMyTBR: 2024 Releases

#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: 2024 Releases

Title: House of Flame and Shadow

Author: Sarah J. Maas

The stunning third book in the sexy, action-packed Crescent City series, following the global bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath.

Bryce Quinlan never expected to see a world other than Midgard, but now that she has, all she wants is to get back. Everything she loves is in Midgard: her family, her friends, her mate. Stranded in a strange new world, she’s going to need all her wits about her to get home again. And that’s no easy feat when she has no idea who to trust.

Hunt Athalar has found himself in some deep holes in his life, but this one might be the deepest of all. After a few brief months with everything he ever wanted, he’s in the Asteri’s dungeons again, stripped of his freedom and without a clue as to Bryce’s fate. He’s desperate to help her, but until he can escape the Asteri’s leash, his hands are quite literally tied.

In this sexy, breathtaking sequel to the #1 bestsellers House of Earth and Blood and House of Sky and Breath, Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series reaches new heights as Bryce and Hunt’s world is brought to the brink of collapse-with its future resting on their shoulders.


Title: Destroy the Day

Author: Brigid Kemmerer

Left for dead, but desperate to survive . . . they have one last chance to save their kingdom.

Prince Corrick is out of options. Held captive by the vicious Oren Crane, he’s desperate to reunite with Tessa, but will need to ally with the rebel leader Lochlan, who until now wished him dead. An unlikely but deadly pair, Corrick and Lochlan must plot their next moves carefully.

An island away, Tessa Cade is heartbroken and angry. Grieving Corrick, and unsure how to find a way back to Kandala, she doesn’t know who to trust. Until Rian—the man she trusts least—makes an offer: aid in a plot to finally oust Oren Crane and see what the future holds . . .

Meanwhile in Kandala, Harristan is dethroned and on the run. He’s struggling to unite the rebels in his fractured kingdom, but he finds support—and maybe more—in unexpected places.

Can Harristan be the king his people need? Can Corrick and Tessa find their way back to each other? As outside threats loom and the fires of revolution burn from within, time is running out to save their kingdom.

In the thrilling conclusion to the Defy the Night series, Brigid Kemmerer crafts heartrending twists and devastating turns that will keep readers breathless to the very end.


Title: The Prisoner’s Throne

Author: Holly Black

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame.

Prince Oak is paying for his betrayal. Imprisoned in the icy north and bound to the will of a monstrous new queen, he must rely on charm and calculation to survive. With High King Cardan and High Queen Jude ready to use any means necessary to retrieve their stolen heir, should Oak attempt to regain the trust of the girl he’s always loved, or remain loyal to Elfhame and hand over the means to end her reign-even if it means ending Wren, too…

With war looming and treachery lurking in every corner, neither Oak’s guile nor his wit will be enough to keep everyone he loves alive. He will have some terrible choices to make.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology.


Title: The Invocations

Author: Krystal Sutherland

From the author of New York Times bestseller House of Hollow comes a darkly seductive witchy thriller where, though both men and demons lurk in shadows, girls refuse to go quietly into the night.

Zara Jones believes in magic because the alternative is too painful to bear—that her sister was murdered by a serial killer and there is precisely nothing she can do to change it. If there’s anything Zara cannot stand it’s feeling powerless, so she decides she will do whatever it takes—even if that means partaking in the occult—to bring her sister back from the dead.

Jude Wolf might be the daughter of a billionaire, but she is also undeniably cursed. After a deal with a demon went horribly wrong, her soul is now slowly turning necrotic. Flowers and insects die in her wake and monstrous things come to taunt her at night. If Jude can’t find the right someone to fix her mistake, she fears she’ll die very soon.

Enter Emer Bryne: the solution to both Zara’s and Jude’s predicaments. The daughter of a witch, Emer sells spells to women in desperate situations willing to sacrifice a part of their soul in exchange for a bit of power, a bit of magic to change their lives. But Emer has a dark past all her own—and as her former clients are murdered one-by-one, she knows it’s followed her all the way to London.

As Zara and Jude enter Emer’s orbit, they’ll have to team up to stop the killer—before they each end up next on his list.


Title: The Hemlock Queen

Author: Hannah Whitten

In the second installment of New York Times bestselling author Hannah Whitten’s lush, romantic epic fantasy series, a young woman who can raise the dead must navigate the dangerous and glamorous world of the Sainted King’s royal court. 

The corrupt king August is dead. Prince Bastian has seized the throne and raised Lore—a necromancer and former smuggler—to his right hand side. Together they plan to cut out the rot from the heart of the sainted court and help the people of Dellaire. But not everyone is happy with the changes. The nobles are sowing dissent, the Kyrithean Empire is beating down their door, and Lore’s old allies are pulling away. Even Prince Bastian’s changed. No longer the hopeful, rakish, charismatic man Lore knows and loves, instead he’s reckless, domineering and cold. 

And something’s been whispering in her ear. A voice, dark and haunting, that’s telling her there’s more to the story than she knows and more to her power than she can even imagine. A truth buried deep that could change everything. 

With Bastian’s coronation fast approaching and enemies whispering on all sides, Lore must figure out how to protect herself, her prince, and her country before they all come crumbling down and whatever dark power has been creeping through the catacombs is unleashed.


Have you read any of these? Or plan to read any of these?

>>>>>

January

  • 01/01/2024 — New Year Freebie
  • 08/01/2024 — 2024 Releases
  • 15/01/2024 — The Longest on Your TBR
  • 22/01/2024 — Speculative
  • 29/01/2024 — Part of a Series

2023 | 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:

What a coincidence that I read the same amount as last year?! Honestly I need to remove the children’s books from the count. It’s there because I use my kindle app to borrow books for my kids to read. So there are about maybe 15-20 titles in this log that are books my kids read – not me. So let’s say I actually read 160 books.

The hardcover for Iron Flame says actually 640 pages, but for some strange reason, the ebook came out to 884? I don’t get it but that’s what it says.

Wow, I’m pretty generous in my ratings I think! 

That sounds about right – Fourth Wing was THE book of 2023 I think.

I had a pretty good year of reading I think. Though I do feel like I had more of a burnout at the end of the year. I’m trying to go into 2024 slowly- even though I have to finish 3 arcs this month! I just really need to slow down this year and read less – just so I don’t get into a reading slump. 


This is how I rated books this year – but I will note that in the 5 stars category, some were 4.5 stars, and in the 4 stars category there are a lot of 3.5 stars in there too and so forth. In the 0 stars category there are 2 dnf’s in there and the rest aren’t rated because they are the children’s books my daughter read. 



How was your reading year?

Weekly Wrap Up | 1/7/24

Aloha friends!

Wow, is the first week of January 2024 really over?!

What a week! New Year’s Eve was loud and colorful as usual but my kids slept through it, but our dog did not. Poor thing. He survived, but it’s always so traumatizing for him. We celebrated my daughter’s 7th birthday and my nephew’s 16th birthday also. It was nice to see family so much over the holidays and I felt like each week I saw my mom she got stronger and stronger. It’s been a month since her operation and today she seemed almost back to normal! I’m happy about that!

My hubby left yesterday and me and the kids will miss him. He’ll be back in 11 months for good. How time flies! Anyway, it’s back to school this Tuesday – we are back on the grind again. Is it bad that I already feel exhausted? lol…

I hope all of you had a good week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

If I Promise You Wings by. A.K. Small

Ruthless Vows by. Rebecca Ross

Dance of Stars and Ashes by. Nisha J. Tuli


Currently Reading:

The Endless War by. Danielle L. Jensen

A Place for Vanishing by. Ann Fraistat

The Invocations by. Krystal Sutherland

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • NFL Football – sometimes I just have it on as background noise while I do something else lol…but I was interested to see who made the playoffs
  • Kiki’s Delivery Service – cute 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!

WWW Wednesday | 1/3/24

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?

Today is my daughter’s 7th birthday! We’re going to the arcade and have dinner. And then we’ll celebrate with family on Saturday, which is when her dad goes back to Okinawa. I haven’t had anytime to really read since I had caught a cold and wasn’t feeling 100%. I’m hoping to finish

What are you currently reading?

ASAP by. Axie Oh – no progress on this one

A Place for Vanishing by. Ann Fraistat – no progress on this one

If I Promise You Wings by. A. K. Small – no progress on this one

Ruthless Vows by. Rebecca Ross – 20% into this one! I’m enjoying it a lot but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to rush and finish it before 2023 ended – but nah I figure it’s better to take my time and finish it this week.

What have you just finished reading?

I haven’t finished anything this week!

What are you going to read next?

These Deadly Prophecies by. Andrea Tang

The Endless War by. Danielle L. Jensen

What are you reading right now?

Favorite Books of 2023  | TTT | 1/2/24

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:

Favorite Books of 2023

Happy New Year everyone! I can’t believe 2023 is over and we are here in 2024! Looking back these were my favorite books of 2023.

Seven Percent of Ro Devereux by. Ellen O’Clover

Have you read any of these books? Are any of these on your TBR? What’s on your TTT?

Book Covers: Black and Gold

Happy New Year everyone! I assume black and gold are usually representative of New Year because of all the black-tie parties that people throw for New Year’s Eve. So here’s some black and gold book covers to celebrate the new year.

Weekly Wrap Up | 12/31/23

Aloha friends!

Happy New Year’s Eve! A few days ago was the one year anniversary of my father-in-law’s passing and at least this time, my hubby is home for it. I still cant’ believe he had to deal with his dad’s death alone because it happened right when he moved to Okinawa last year. We went to the synagogue for a service to honor his anniversary.

So NYE in Hawaii, especially on the island of Oahu, where I live, it is BONKERS. I mean I’ve been hearing fireworks since before Thanksgiving. It’s loud, it’s smoky but there’s is such an energy feeling the whole island rumble with fireworks being lit at midnight. I can just look out my window and see all the fireworks around me, we don’t actually need an official NYE show. But there is an event near our house at a new complex in the neighborhood – it’s a wave place (machine generated wave), there are restaurants, a water area and a lawn area (where we go for the Farmer’s market and food trucks some Thursdays). Anyway they just posted they will be having a fireworks show, music, food, etc. If only my kids were into New Year’s and waking up before midnight, then we’d definitely bring them. But I also I can’t leave our dog alone at home – he’s terrified of the loud booms already.

Anyway I hope ALL of you have a safe NYE and a very Happy New Year! I’m hoping 2024 is a good year!

I hope all of you had a good week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

Gild by. Raven Kennedy

The Getaway List by. Emma Lord


Currently Reading:

The Endless War by. Danielle L. Jensen

A Place for Vanishing by. Ann Fraistat

Ruthless Vows by. Rebecca Ross

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • Barbie – I thought this movie was so funny but with good themes about gender equality, etc… – my son and I got a kick out of Ken’s song. I can see why there was so much hype for this movie! 😍
  • Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse: my son asked if we wanted to watch this with him and I said okay. We had watched the first one together and I didn’t even know this sequel came out. We enjoyed it so much! Even my daughter who said she didn’t want to watch it, she enjoyed it a lot! 😍 Can’t wait for the next movie. I think I really love the artistic design of the movie – it’s like visual eye-candy. And I’m not someone who is into Marvel movies (only because I’m old and I was there for all the first ones 😆 and I got tired of them…). But the way they did this Spider-Man animation is so good. 
  • NFL Football – so much football

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!

WWW Wednesday | 12/27/23

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

I am so glad Christmas is over. I feel like it’s been non-stop since the kids went on winter break – I looked at the calendar and realized they only went on break this past Friday lol. Why does it feel like it’s been a week or two already? 😅 And now everyone is gearing up for New Year’s Eve, but usually we stay in for that night because this whole island lights fireworks, it’s loud, my dog gets scared and my kids always sleep through midnight – no matter how many times I try to wake them up. I’m tired but there is no rest is there? 😩 Just hoping I can get some of these arcs read before they are published in January!

What are you currently reading?

ASAP by. Axie Oh – if you read XOXO, then this one is about Nathaniel and Sori! I’m 16% into this one.

A Place for Vanishing by. Ann Fraistat – I am about 11% into this one and it’s definitely intriguing!

If I Promise You Wings by. A. K. Small – haven’t started this one yet but I will since it’s publishing in a few weeks!

What have you just finished reading?

The Getaway List by. Emma Lord ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White by. Amelie Wen Zhao ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Study Drowning by. Ava Reid ⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

These Deadly Prophecies by. Andrea Tang

The Endless War by. Danielle L. Jensen

Ruthless Vows by. Rebecca Ross

What are you reading right now?