It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 8 August, 2022

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Hey Bookdragons! I was able to catch up on a lot of reading this past week during down times at work and I'm on track to get back to my August TBR Hopefuls. I hope your month is off to a good start!

What I Read Last Week: 

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

I finished this one last Monday and I really loved it. It was high on spice and humorous in spots, although I thought the murder mystery got a little lost with all the sexy times and was a bit thrown together in the end. I'm wondering now if Jude will get his own book. I kind of hope so?

Chaos & Carnage by Stacey Rourke

This was a quick read, which I was expecting. I finished it in about an hour at work. I admit, I liked the first three books in this series that focused on Tempest more. I'm still kind of iffy on Malaria as a main character. 

The Dark One by Nikki St. Crowe

The first book on my August TBR. I read this one during one of my overnight shifts at work and now I can't wait for the 3rd book to come out in September! I loved seeing more of this version of Neverland and all of the sexy times, but I really want some chapters in Vane's perspective. I hope we get some in the third book. We also learn more about Cherry in this book (ugh, I hate her!!) and we get to meet Captain Hook!

Currently Reading: 

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

I started this one on Thursday night and I really liked the way it's written at first and can see why it has Crimson Peak comps. The main character seems a little more Middle-Grade age appropriate so far than what I was expecting. And I'm finding it to be such a slow read that I'm not really sure I want to finish it. I feel like I know where the story is going but it's taking so achingly long to get there. It literally took me 6 hours to read 70 pages at work the other night. Normally I could have either finished a book or almost finished a book in that time. 

 

Next Read

Fate Touched by Becky Moynihan

Fate Touched has been on my TBR since I finished reading Curse Touched a few months ago. I got my copy in June and was going to read it while I was in Deadwood but I didn't have much reading time. It's about time I see how this trilogy ends!! 

*** 

 What are you reading this week? Have you read any of my recent reads?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 1 August 2022

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Hey Bookdragons! I didn't have much reading time this past week because I had a ton of paperwork and meetings to do for work. I'm hoping to catch up more this week with a few short ebooks. 

What I Read Last Week: 

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

(Picture Below)

I only had about 100 pages left last week but, like I said, I barely had any reading time. I'm down to about 50 pages now. 

Currently Reading: 

My Killer Vacation by Tessa Bailey

I'm hopefully going to finish this one by the end of my work shift today. I love the story though, it's funny, it's spicy, and I've been savoring it. A few scenes I've even had to refrain from "squeeing" out loud at work. 😆

Next Read

Chaos & Carnage by Stacey Rourke

My pick for last week, Gallant, is still on my immediate TBR but I'm going to take a break with these books because I know that I'll breeze through both Chaos & Carnage (which is bound to be a 45 minute read) and The Dark One (which is a dark, sexy retelling I'm bound to devour.)

*** 

 What are you reading this week? Have you read any of my recent reads?

{Release Day Blitz} Chaos & Carnage by Stacey Rourke

Gallows humor and haunting delights meet in the continuation of the Death Diggers Saga! 

Chaos & Carnage by Stacey Rourke

About the Book:

Author: Stacey Rourke

Series: Death Diggers Handbook #5

Release Date: July 21, 2022

Format: eBook, Paperback

Pages: 127

Genre: Paranormal Fantasy

Blurb:

Sorrow haunts the Crane's Roost Inn,

Threatening all who step within.

An entity born of anguish and pain

seeks to expand its torturous reign.

Fueled by hunger that can never be sated,

with shifts in its form its victims are baited.

Malaria must find the host... much is at stake.

Lest a path of chaos and carnage lie in its wake.

Yet as her fragmented memories begin to return,

Horrific truths she soon will learn.

Will she flee to Carnage Crossing to escape the dark thrall?

Or join the lost souls wandering the hotel hall?

Buy the Book:

Amazon

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - 1 February 2021

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Happy Monday Bookdragons! First off, can you believe it's February already?! I took a week off from blogging last week because Saturday was moving day and I had to finish packing. Luckily I was able to get some reading time in and even managed to (finally) do the final proofread for my upcoming release Monsters & Mist (Out 3.19.2021)

What I Read Last Week: 

Serpent's Kiss by Melissa de la Cruz

Thanks to Amazon's Kindle Challenge in January I've been reading more ebooks which was perfect for continuing my binge of the Witches of East End novel. I'm really loving the books and enjoyed seeing Ingrid become less prim and proper in Serpent's Kiss. Freya is still my favorite character though. 

Currently Reading:

Winds of Salem by Melissa de la Cruz

I started the third and final book of the Witches of East End series on Friday but with moving over the weekend I haven't had much time to really dig into it. After the ending of Serpent's Kiss I'm excited to see how everything is going to wrap up. 

Next Read

Of The Blood by Cameo Renae

I have the first book in the spin-off series from Witches of East End but I'm going to take a break after I finish Winds of Salem and switch over to... vampires. I've been wanting to read Of The Blood since I first saw it on bookstagram and got myself a signed copy for Christmas and once I figure out which box it went into I'm going to give it a try. 

*** 

What is your first read of February? How many books did you read in January?

"What I'm Reading" Wednesday #127

Over the weekend I started my third reread of the Sweep Series by Cate Tiernan. I finished Book of Shadows on Sunday, The Coven yesterday, and last night I started book 3...

Blood Witch (Sweep Series, Book 3) by Cate Tiernan

Blurb:

Morgan has found her mother's Wiccan tools, and her relationship with Cal is strong. Everything seems perfect. Except that Cal's half brother, Hunter, is stalking them. Hunter claims to be a Seeker who is investigating Cal for the misuse of magick. Who can she trust?

Thoughts Rereading This For the Third Time:

I still hate Cal as much as I did the previous two times I've read this series and I love that Hunter and Skye are introduced in this book. I just wish Morgan wasn't so brainwashed by everything Cal tells her. I know he was the one who introduced her to Wicca, but surely she should see he's not who she thinks he is...

Book Review: SEVENTH BORN by Monica Sanz

Seventh Born by Monica Sanz

Blurb:

Abomination. Curse. Murderer. All names hurled at eighteen-year-old Seraphina Dovetail. As the seventh-born daughter to a witch, she’s the cause of her mother losing her powers and, in turn, her life.

Abandoned as a child, Sera dreams of becoming an inspector and finding her family. To do that, she must be referred into the Advanced Studies Program at the Aetherium’s Witchling Academy. Her birth order, quick temper, and tendency to set things on fire, however, have left her an outcast with failing marks…and just what Professor Nikolai Barrington is looking for.

The tall, brooding, yet exceedingly handsome young professor makes her a proposition: become his assistant and he’ll give her the referral she needs. Sera is quickly thrust into a world where witches are being kidnapped, bodies are raised from the dead, and someone is burning seventhborns alive. As Sera and Barrington grow ever closer, she’ll discover that some secrets are best left buried…and fire isn’t the only thing that makes a witch burn.

My Review:

*Note: I jumped into this book blind without reading the blurb after I received a review copy from Netgalley. The opinions found within this review are unbiased.*

Seventh Born kind of reminded me of a watered down mash-up of Harry Potter and K E O'Connor's School of Exorcists series. The book overall could use some extra detail, the world is underdeveloped, the magic system isn't really explained, and the characters are one dimensional. I felt sorry for Sera who is treated awfully for being the dreaded "seventh born" child in her family and the cause of her mother's death but at the same time she constantly complains about the things she's not allowed to do as a seventh born which gets annoying fast. 

I did like that Sera tried to rebel against her status as a seventh born but I disliked her relationship with her teacher. This is a YA novel and it's a little inappropriate.

Overall, this book holds some appeal but I found myself wanting more from the worldbuilding and plot.

My Rating:

🌟🌟

2 of 5 Stars!

{Release Day Blitz} Unseen Evil and Evil Unleashed by Kelly Hashway

Today I'm helping Kelly Hashway and InkSlingerPR spread the word about the release of UNSEEN EVIL and EVIL UNLEASHED! UNSEEN EVIL and EVIL UNLEASHED are both available today! No cliffhangers necessary! Grab both books right now! 

-- --

About UNSEEN EVIL: 

How can you fight what you can’t see?

Seventeen-year-old Kaylan Bradford has no idea what she wants to do with her future, but dying sure as hell isn’t on top of her list. Yet everywhere she goes, strange accidents happen, each one nearly taking her life. Someone or something is after her. 

Reese, the sexy new guy in town, immediately takes an interest in Kaylan, and something about him makes Kaylan feel more alive than ever. Reese isn’t the only new face in Kaylan’s life, though. Riley is beyond gorgeous, and he saves Kaylan’s life more than once.

But Reese and Riley are both keeping secrets—secrets about Kaylan’s future. The more Kaylan discovers about herself, the more the attempts on her life begin to make sense. 

Kaylan is desperate to change her fate, but when she discovers the identity of the one who’s trying to kill her, she may not have a future at all.

→Amazon: http://amzn.to/2D7mdDG

→iBooks: http://bit.ly/UnseenEviliBooks

→B&N: http://bit.ly/UnseenEvilBN

→Kobo: http://bit.ly/UnseenEvilKobo

-- --

About EVIL UNLEASHED: 

Kaylan Bradford thought having her boyfriend decide her future for her was the worst thing ever. She couldn’t have been more wrong. Discovering the truth about her past sets in motion a slew of events that unleash evil on the world.

Determined to fix her mistakes, Kaylan resorts to traveling through time, but every move she makes only creates new problems for her to deal with. People are dying, and she’s to blame.

She’ll need to figure out how to battle the ultimate evil...even if it means battling herself.

→Amazon: http://amzn.to/2D7Kppy

→iBooks: http://bit.ly/EvilUnleashediBooks

→BN: http://bit.ly/EvilUnleashedBN

→Kobo: http://bit.ly/EvilUnleashedKobo

-- --

Sign up for Kelly's newsletter to stay up to date: http://bit.ly/2pvYT07

-- -- 

Join Kelly's VIP Reader Group, Kelly's Coven: https://www.facebook.com/groups/KellysCoven

AUTHOR BIO: 

Kelly Hashway fully admits to being one of the most accident-prone people on the planet, but that didn’t stop her from jumping out of an airplane at ten thousand feet one Halloween. Maybe it was growing up reading R.L. Stine’s Fear Street books that instilled a love of all things scary and a desire to live in a world filled with supernatural creatures, but she spends her days writing speculative fiction and is a USA Today bestselling author. Kelly is also USA Today bestselling romance author Ashelyn Drake. When she’s not writing, Kelly works as an editor and also as Mom, which she believes is a job title that deserves to be capitalized. 

AUTHOR LINKS:

Website: www.kellyhashway.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kellyhashway/

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/KellyHashway

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/khashway

Newsletter: http://forms.sendpulse.com/323115810a

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/AshelynDrake & http://www.goodreads.com/KellyHashway

Amazon: http://bit.ly/AshelynDrake & http://bit.ly/KellyHashway

Ashelyn’s BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ashelyn-drake

Kelly’s BookBub: 

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kelly-hashway

Book Review: Haven by Mary Lindsey

Haven by Mary Lindsey

Blurb:

"We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed."

Rain Ryland has never belonged anywhere, He’s used to people judging him for his rough background, his intimidating size, and now, his orphan status. He’s always been on the outside, looking in, and he’s fine with that. Until he moves to New Wurzburg and meets Friederike Burkhart.

Freddie isn’t like normal teen girls, though. And someone wants her dead for it. Freddie warns he’d better stay far away if he wants to stay alive, but Rain’s never been good at running from trouble. For the first time, Rain has something worth fighting for, worth living for. Worth dying for. 

My Review:

After a lifetime of living on the streets and in shelters, Rain Ryland is being sent to live with an aunt he never knew existed in the small town of New Wurzburg after his mother's fatal drug overdose.

Moving away from Houston, Rain thinks he's leaving danger and gangs behind for a boring life in the country but there is nothing boring about New Wurzburg. New Wurzburg is the home of creatures Rain could have never believed really existed. And the girl he's interested in, Friederike Burkhart? She's one of them. 

As Rain gets wrapped up in life in New Wurzburg and Freddie's unusual life and tries to help her figure out if Freddie's father's death was truly an accident (or murder), Rain begins to understand that his ending up in New Wurzburg was no accident. His destiny has been entwined with Freddie's and New Wurzburg since before he was born. 

Will Rain survive the changes that are to come? Will Freddie accept a relationship with him? Or will they both perish at the hands of a power hungry enemy?

I dove into Haven semi-blind. I had an idea what the book was about but I didn't read the book flap before diving in and I found that I really enjoyed this book. I don't read many books told solely in the male perspective and usually you see the girl falling for the supernatural guy instead of the other way around so this book was really refreshing. It reminded me in a way of Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl where we see the world through Ethan's eyes. 

As a main character I really liked Rain. He was very well developed for a teenage boy character. So often I read (and want to gag over) sappy male characters that are all gaga for love but this book showed Rain as desiring Freddie in physical ways as well as emotional ones which is more realistic to me. My only complaint about Rain at the beginning of this book is he says "Whatever" way too many times. It got a little annoying after a while.

I also really liked Freddie. She was strong, tough-as-nails, and completely bada$$. She has some trust issues, but who wouldn't with everything going on in her life and the secrets she keeps and it was fun watching her relationship with Rain blossom. The secondary characters also rounded out the story really well and I loved the world building. 

Overall, I was really craving a good werewolf book after I finished reading/binge watching Bitten (by Kelley Armstrong) and Haven was exactly what I was hoping for. It was unique, it stuck to the theme, and perfectly fit this time of year.

My Rating:

★★★★★

5 of 5 Stars!

#BookTag Saturday: The Star Wars Book Tag

For this week's #BookTag Saturday I'm tackling a tag a friend of mine tagged me with on Instagram...

💫Luke (A book that awakened your love of reading):

 Probably The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot - even though I was in the 3rd grade the first time I read it and didn't understand some of it.

💫Leia (A book that split your heart in two):

Sharing Sam by Katherine Applegate - the first time I read this book I had just lost a family member to cancer and it destroyed me. It still makes me sob when I try to read it.

💫Han Solo (A book you didn’t want to read at first but fell in love with it):

 The Selection by Kiera Cass - that the only one in the series I actually liked.

💫Padme (A book where the character fell in love with the wrong person):

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo! WHY MAL?!?!

💫Kylo Ren (A dramatic character that you love, even though you probably shouldn’t): 

Hmmm... Nan from the Rosemary Beach Series by Abbi Glines maybe? I loved her in Up in Flames.

💫Rey (A strong female character):

Elena Michaels

💫Obi-Wan  (A character who always sees the best in another):

 Jane Bennet? 

💫Finn (A favorite side character that deserves a full story):

Hm... idk. Nikolai is getting his own book, which I can't wait to read but other than that I'm drawing a blank.

💫Yoda (A book with a jumbled timeline for the plot)

Boy Heaven by Laura Kasischke - it jumps back and forth through time a lot.

💫Jar Jar Binks (A book you found boring or DNF): 

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake - and I still bought the sequel.

#BookMail 36

This week I got an amazing surprise package from Entangled Teen! Let's open my mailbox and see this week's book mail...

Haven by Mary Lindsey Surprise Box from Entangled Teen!

Inside the box:

(note)

(list of contents)

(letter)

(Book Nerd Poster)

(Two Pieces of Godiva Chocolate)

(A USB adapter car charger)

(A Hardcover Finished Copy of Haven by Mary Lindsey)

(A Coffee Mug!)

(A Reusable Cloth Grocery/Tote Bag)

(A Sachet of Lavender, 2 Stickers, and a Handmade Metal Bookmark)

(All together now!)

Haven Synopsis:

"We all hold a beast inside. The only difference is what form it takes when freed."

Rain Ryland has never belonged anywhere. He's used to people judging him for his rough background, his intimidating size, and now, his orphan status. He's always been on the outside, looking in, and he's fine with that. Until he moves to New Wurzburg and meets Friederike Burkhart. 

Freddie isn't like normal teen girls, though. And someone wants her dead for it. Freddie warns he'd better stay far away if he wants to stay alive, but Rain's never been good at running from trouble. For the first time, Rain has something worth fighting for, worth living for. Worth dying for.

End of October - November Anticipated Book Mail:

- Black Flame Candle from The Melting Library

- The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Come and Get It Cookbook by Ree Drummond (B&N Exclusive Edition)

- Bookish Candle & Tea Order from A Court of Candles

- Signed Copy of:

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

- The Grishaverse November Box from Wick and Fable