Book Review: Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

Black Sun (Between Earth and Sky #1)
Publisher: Solaris
Pub Date: 14 October 2022
Genre: Adult Fantasy

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

The first book in the Between Earth and Sky trilogy, inspired by the civilizations of the Pre-Columbian Americas and woven into a tale of celestial prophecies, political intrigue, and forbidden magic.

A god will return
When the earth and sky converge
Under the black sun

In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.

Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.

⚠️ CONTENT/TRIGGER WARNINGS

Slavery mentioned, abandonment, child abuse & neglect, emotional & physical abuse. suicide, alcoholism, alcohol consumption & abuse, drug use, blood depiction, physical injury, beheading, graphic dismemberment, forced blinding, scarring, grief & loss depiction, death of a parent, death of a child, mass murder, poisoning, kidnapping, physical assault, imprisonment, cults, animal death

TL;DR: Holy grandfather crow! This was amazing and I’m kicking myself for putting it off for so long. I don’t even know where to begin because everyone else seems to have already said it best but I will say that I 100% get the hype. Black Sun is a testament to Roanhorse’s brilliance as a writer. She has a great ability to create culturally rich, diverse and spellbinding epic fantasy worlds, and compelling well-rounded characters. It was so easy to immerse myself in the setting and by the end, I was fully invested in our character’s arcs. I can’t wait to see what happens next! 😍

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#TopTenTuesday: Relationship Freebie

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is actually Relationship Freebie (Pick a relationship type and choose characters who fit that relationship as it relates to you. So, characters you’d like to date, be friends with, be enemies with, etc. Bookish families you’d like to be a part of, characters you’d want as your siblings, pets you’d like to take for yourself, etc.)

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Book Review: Heartless by Elsie Silver

Heartless (Chestnut Springs #2)
Pub Date: 14 October 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(4.5 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Working as a nanny for the world’s grumpiest single dad should have been simple. Except I can’t keep my eyes off him. And he can’t keep his hands off of me.

Cade Eaton is thirteen years older than I am and barely looks my way. Until I get him into the hot tub one night for a game of truth or dare. Then all bets are off—and so are our clothes.

He’s gruff, a little rough around the edges. But broad-shouldered ranchers with calloused hands and filthy mouths are this city girl’s kryptonite. So who am I to resist?

But it’s in our quiet moments together that he softens. It’s when he takes care of me that I realize his hardened exterior is just a façade. It’s when I watch him go all sweet with his little boy that I really fall for him.

Someone convinced him once that his best wasn’t good enough. But I’ve never felt more cherished than I do in his arms.

My contract may say this arrangement is only for two months.

But my heart says this is forever.

TL;DR: I can honestly say that I didn’t expect to love this as much as I did. I wasn’t a big fan of Cade in book one—as let’s just say his actions and words didn’t inspire much attraction—but this book flipped that script and boy howdy, did I love it! 😍 Their chemistry was great, the banter had me giggling, the romance was sexy and sweet, and a wonderful family dynamic shines through in this book. My favourite in the series thus far!

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Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [246]

We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve spent your time reading in bed or wish you had time to read today!

I’m spending my Sunday night in bed reading A Rose Among Thorns by Ash Fitzsimmons. I’m reading this for a blog tour next week. It’s an indie fantasy novella, so it shouldn’t take long to read. The start was rough for me but I’m enjoying the banter and am keen to see where it goes 🙂

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Let’s Talk Bookish: Blogging Essentials

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits, and it’s where we get to discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Check out all the past topics if you want to join in the bookish discussion fun.

This week’s topic is actually a mid-year reading check-in but since I just posted my Mid-Year Check-In Tag earlier this week, I’ll be doing last week’s topic:

Blogging Essentials

Prompts: What could you not blog without? Do you have to have a posting schedule? Do you rely on a set TBR to make sure you get to all the books on your list? What have you discovered helps your blogging most?

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Book Review: Flawless by Elsie Silver

Flawless (Chestnut Springs #1)
Pub Date: 24 June 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

The rules were simple… Keep my hands off his daughter and stay out of trouble. But now I’m stuck with her… And there’s only one bed… Oh well, rules are made — to be broken… aren’t they?

I’m the face of professional bull riding — the golden boy.
Or at least I was, until it all blew up in my face.
Now my agent says I have to clean up my image, so I’m stuck with his ball-busting daughter for the rest of the season as my “full-time supervision.”

But I don’t need a goddamn babysitter — especially one with skin-tight jeans, a sexy smirk, and a mouth she can’t stop running.

A mouth I just can’t stop thinking about…

Because Summer isn’t just another conquest.
She sees the man behind the mask, and she doesn’t run—she pulls me closer, even when she shouldn’t.

She says this means nothing—but I say this means everything.

She says there are boundaries we shouldn’t cross.
That my reputation can’t take any more hits — and neither can her damaged heart.

I say I’m going to steal it anyway.

TL;DR: I can see why this is such a popular romance. I enjoyed their hate-to-love dynamic and how they got to know each other. Despite moments in the end when both characters irritated me with their decisions and drama, Summer and Rhett complemented each other well. This was a lot steamier than I expected but overall, a fun small-town cowboy romance!

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#TopTenTuesday: All the Travel/Transport Stuff

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is actually Planes, Trains & Automobiles/Books Featuring Travel (books whose plots involve travel or feature modes of transportation on the cover/title) (submitted by Cathy @ What Cathy Read Next)

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ARC Mini Review: A Night at the Tropicana by Chanel Cleeton

Special thanks to Amazon Original Stories for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A Night at the Tropicana
Publisher:
Amazon Original Stories
Pub Date: 20 September 2022
Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Panda Rating:

(4 pandas)

📖 SYNOPSIS

Cuba in the 1930s is the backdrop for a vibrant short story about the rhythms of the heart and the twists of fate that echo through time by the New York Times bestselling author of Next Year in Havana.

Havana, 1939: It’s opening night at the famed Tropicana nightclub. Cuban American college student Natalie Trainer, on vacation from Miami, is watching from the sidelines—as usual. Then comes an invitation to dance from a handsome stranger named Antonio. Normally cautious and reserved, Natalie somehow finds herself saying yes. A tiny thrill of rebellion, of taking a chance, and Natalie’s in heaven. Will her first step into this unfamiliar realm set a new course for her life, or only tonight?

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