Hello, friends! It’s my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for A Little Bit Country by Brian D. Kennedy and I’m excited to share my review and favourite quotes with you today!
Thanks to HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
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Special thanks to Holiday House for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Goodreads: My Mechanical Romance
Publisher: Holiday House
Published: 31 May 2022
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Panda Rating:
(4 pandas)
Opposites attract in this battle-robot-building YA romance from the NYT best-selling author ofย The Atlas Six.
Bel would rather die than think about the future. College apps? Youโre funny. Extracurriculars? Not a chance. But when she accidentally reveals a talent for engineering at school, sheโs basically forced into joining the robotics club. Even worse? All the boys ignore Belโand Neelam, the only other girl on the team, doesn’t seem to like her either.
Enter Mateo Luna, captain of the club, who recognizes Bel as a potential assetโuntil they start butting heads. Bel doesnโt care about Nationals, while Teo cares too much. But as the nights of after-school work grow longer and longer, Bel and Teo realize they’ve made more than just a combat-ready robot for the championship: theyโve made each otherย andย the team better. Because girls do belong in STEM.
Goodreads: Malice (The Faithful and The Fallen #1)
Publisher: Pan
Published: 01 December 2012
Genre: Adult Fantasy
Panda Rating:
(4.5 pandas)
A black sun is risingโฆ Young Corban watches enviously as boys become warriors under King Breninโs rule, learning the art of war. He yearns to wield his sword and spear to protect his kingโs realm. But that day will come all too soon. Only when he loses those he loves will he learn the true price of courage. The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed shields in battle, the earth running dark with their heartsblood. Although the giant-clans were broken in ages past, their ruined fortresses still scar the land. But now giants stir anew, the very stones weep blood and there are sightings of giant wyrms. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. Sorrow will darken the world, as angels and demons make it their battlefield. Then there will be a war to end all wars. High King Aquilus summons his fellow kings to council, seeking an alliance in this time of need. Some are skeptical, fighting their own border skirmishes against pirates and giants. But prophesy indicates darkness and light will demand two champions, the Black Sun and the Bright Star. They would be wise to seek out both, for if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankindโs hopes and dreams will fall to dust.
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Goodreads: The City of Brass (The Daevabad Trilogy #1)
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 14 November 2017
Genre: NA/Adult Fantasy
Panda Rating:
(3.5 pandas)
Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of eighteenth-century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trades she uses to get by–palm readings, zars, and a mysterious gift for healing–are all tricks, both the means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles and a reliable way to survive.
But when Nahri accidentally summons Dara, an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior, to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to reconsider her beliefs. For Dara tells Nahri an extraordinary tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire and rivers where the mythical marid sleep, past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises and mountains where the circling birds of prey are more than what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass–a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.
In Daevabad, within gilded brass walls laced with enchantments and behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments run deep. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, her arrival threatens to ignite a war that has been simmering for centuries.
Spurning Dara’s warning of the treachery surrounding her, she embarks on a hesitant friendship with Alizayd, an idealistic prince who dreams of revolutionizing his father’s corrupt regime. All too soon, Nahri learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.
After all, there is a reason they say to be careful what you wish for . . .
Goodreads: Meet Me Halfway
Published: 29 March 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating:
(4.5 pandas)
Madison gave her heart to a boy at the age of sixteen, but all she got in return was a broken heart and a swollen belly. Alone with a baby and desperate for the love she hadnโt found, she turned to a man who sealed his claim of devotion with a diamond ring. He promised her a family. A life. A future. But his lies had only been a cover for the personal hell he introduced her to daily.
Now, at twenty-five, Madison has long since stopped believing in love. Itโs simply not a square on her bingo card. Balancing single parenthood, three jobs, and online courses, she doesnโt have the time anyway.
So when the broody neighbor living in the other side of her duplex leaves a rude note on her door, sheโs not interested. Not in his dark hair, not in his physique, and definitely not in the dimples sheโs only seen a hint of. Sheโs one hundred percent, absolutely, not interested.
Not even a little.
Author’s Note: Head to the author’s website for a full list of all content descriptions, tropes, etc.
Goodreads: The Empress of Salt and Fortune (The Singing Hills Cycle #1)
Publisher: Tordotcom
Published: 24 March 2020
Genre: Adult SFF
Panda Rating:
(4.5 pandas)
With the heart of an Atwood tale and the visuals of a classic Asian period drama The Empress of Salt and Fortune is a tightly and lushly written narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women.
A young royal from the far north is sent south for a political marriage. Alone and sometimes reviled, she has only her servants on her side. This evocative debut chronicles her rise to power through the eyes of her handmaiden, at once feminist high fantasy and a thrilling indictment of monarchy.
Special thanks to Clarion Books for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Goodreads: The Ivory Key (The Ivory Key Duology #1)
Publisher: Clarion Books
Publish Date: 04 January 2022
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Panda Rating:
(3.5 pandas)
Magic, a prized resource, is the only thing between peace and war. When magic runs out, four estranged royal siblings must find a new source before their country is swallowed by invading forces. The first in an Indian-inspired duology.
Vira is desperate to get out of her motherโs shadow and establish her legacy as a revered queen of Ashoka. But with the countryโs only quarry running out of magicโa precious resource that has kept Ashoka safe from conflictโshe can barely protect her citizens from the looming threat of war. And if her enemies discover this, theyโll stop at nothing to seize the last of the magic.
Viraโs only hope is to find a mysterious object of legend: the Ivory Key, rumored to unlock a new source of magic. But in order to infiltrate enemy territory and retrieve it, she must reunite with her siblings, torn apart by the different paths their lives have taken. Each of them has something to gain from finding the Ivory Keyโand even more to lose if they fail. Ronak plans to sell it to the highest bidder in exchange for escape from his impending political marriage. Kaleb, falsely accused of assassinating the former maharani needs it to clear his name. And Riya, a runaway who cut all family ties, wants the Key to prove her loyalty to the rebels who want to strip the nobility of its power.
They must work together to survive the treacherous journey. But with each sibling harboring secrets and their own agendas, the very thing that brought them together could tear apart their familyโand their worldโfor good.
Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Goodreads: Starry-Eyed Love (Spark House #2)
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Publish Date: 10 May 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating:
(3.5 pandas)
Charming, hilarious, and emotional,ย Starry-Eyed Loveย is Helena Hunting at her very best!
Having just broken up with her boyfriend, London Spark is not in the mood to be hit on. Especially not when sheโs out celebrating her single status with her sisters. So when a very attractive man pays for their drinks and then slips her his number, she passes it right back to him with a โthanks, but no thanksโ. As the business administrator for their familyโs event hotel, the Spark House, London has more important things to worry about, like bringing in new clientele.
As luck would have it, a multi-million-dollar company calls a few months later asking for a meeting to discuss a potential partnership, and London is eager to prove to her sisters, and herself, that she can land this deal. Just when she thinks she has nailed her presentation, the companyโs CEO, Jackson Holt, walks in and inserts himself into the meeting. Not only that, but he also happens to be the same guy she turned down at the bar a few months ago.
As they begin to spend more time together, their working relationship blossoms into something more. It isnโt until their professional entanglements are finally over, that London and Jackson are finally ready to take the next step in their relationship. But between Jacksonโs secretive past and Londonโs struggle with her sisters, London must question where she really stands – not just with Jackson, but with the Spark House, too.
Goodreads: A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot #1)
Publisher: Tordotcom
Published: 13 July 2021
Genre: Adult SFF
Panda Rating:
(5 pandas)
Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend.
Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of “what do people need?” is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it aย lot.ย Chambers’ series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?ย
Special thanks to Chloe Liese for providing an ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!
Goodreads: Everything for You (Bergman Brothers #5)
Publication date: 10 May 2022
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Panda Rating:
(4.5 pandas)
Gear up for an all-the-feels, steamy slow-burn in this enemies-to-lovers sports romance about fighting for love when lifeโs taught you itโs a losing game.
Gavin
Weโve been teammates for two years, but it feels like a lifetime that Oliver Bergmanโs been on my last nerve. A demanding captain and veteran player, Iโm feared and friendless, while heโs the beloved rising star, all sunshine smiles and upbeat team spirit. To make matters worse, heโs obscenely attractive. In short: heโs genetically designed to get under my skin. Avoiding Oliver has been my survival tactic on and off the field. But when Coach drops the bomb that weโre now co-captains, avoiding him becomes impossible, and keeping the truth from himโlet alone my distanceโis harder than ever.
Oliver
Life was great until soccer legend Gavin Hayes joined the team and proved heโs nothing like the guy I grew up idolizing. Instead, heโs a giantโalbeit gorgeousโgrump who lives to rain on my parade. Iโve sworn off pranks since entering the public eye, so rather than settle our differences the Bergman way, Iโve had to settle for killing Gavin with kindness. Thereโs just one problem: killing him with kindness is killing me. To make matters worse, Coach gives us an ultimatum: put an end to our enmity or say goodbye to being captains. Iโm prepared to be miserable while we meet her demands and make nice, but the last thing I expect is to discover an explosive attraction we canโt help but act on, and worse yet, to realize the man hiding beneath Gavinโs gruff exterior is all Iโve ever wanted.
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