I’m back with another blog tour with The Storytellers on Tour for Stone & Steel (The War of the North Saga #1) by Kate Haley. Thanks to the author for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review!
Be sure to click on the banner below to check out the rest of the bloggers on tour!
The amnesia was supposed to be a good thing. Other soldiers bask in its freedom. Except for Elvac it doesn’t feel right. When he returns from his first year at war he can’t shake the niggling sensation that something is missing. His life has been turned upside down, yet he can’t remember being gone. The only proof of his time away are the scars, and the haunting dreams of fire. With the help of his friends, Elvac begins to regain his lost memories, and with them uncover the truth of his missing year, and what the Church of Sunne is really doing with their War of the North…
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 time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
Well, we basically know that I’ve been “reading” Spellbreaker for quite a while now but since I finished my previous read last night, I decided to pick this up and give it my full attention, so this Sunday I’ll be tucking into bed with it! I don’t know why I’m having such a hard time focusing on this story because I am enjoying what I’m reading but I keep getting distracted while I’m reading and it’s starting to frustrate me 😂 I feel like I need to slap some focus into my head! Haha
The orphaned Elsie Camden learned as a girl that there were two kinds of wizards in the world: those who pay for the power to cast spells and those, like her, born with the ability to break them. But as an unlicensed magic user, her gift is a crime. Commissioned by an underground group known as the Cowls, Elsie uses her spellbreaking to push back against the aristocrats and help the common man. She always did love the tale of Robin Hood.
Elite magic user Bacchus Kelsey is one elusive spell away from his mastership when he catches Elsie breaking an enchantment. To protect her secret, Elsie strikes a bargain. She’ll help Bacchus fix unruly spells around his estate if he doesn’t turn her in. Working together, Elsie’s trust in—and fondness for—the handsome stranger grows. So does her trepidation about the rise in the murders of wizards and the theft of the spellbooks their bodies leave behind.
For a rogue spellbreaker like Elsie, there’s so much to learn about her powers, her family, the intriguing Bacchus, and the untold dangers shadowing every step of a journey she’s destined to complete. But will she uncover the mystery before it’s too late to save everything she loves?
Today is my stop on the TBR & Beyond Tours for The Bitterwine Oath by Hannah West. Special thanks to Holiday House and the author for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Be sure to click on the banner above to check out the rest of the amazing bloggers on tour!
Goodreads: The Bitterwine Oath Publication Date: 01 December 2020 Genre: Young Adult Mystery Panda Rating:
Every fifty years, a cult claims twelve men to murder in a small Texas town. Can one girl end the cycle of violence – and save the boy who broke her heart?
San Solano, Texas is a quaint town known for its charm, hospitality, and history of murder. Twice now, twelve men have been brutally killed, and no one knows who did it. A shadowy witch? A copy-cat killer? Or a man-hating murderess? Eighteen-year-old Natalie Colter is sure that the rumors about her great-great-grandmother’s cult of wronged women are just gossip, but that doesn’t stop the true crime writers and dark tourism bloggers from capitalizing on the town’s reputation. It’s an urban legend that’s hard to ignore, and it gets harder when Nat learns that the sisterhood is real, and magical. And they want her to join.
The more Nat learns of the Wardens’ supernatural history, the more she wonders about the real culprits behind the town’s ritualistic murders. Are the Wardens protecting San Solano from even darker forces? As the anniversary of the murders draws near, the town grows restless. Residents start getting “claimed” as this year’s planned victims, including Levi Langford, the boy whose kiss haunted Nat for a year.
Nat knows that no one is safe. Can she and the sisterhood stop the true evil from claiming their town?
Can you believe it’s already December? I’m a little shook at how quickly November seemed to zoom right by me and that I can’t recall reading much of anything at all last month!
Work in November was been overwhelmingly busy with projects ending, people leaving, and new things to start sorting for next year as my organisation goes through a merger. Having to prepare communications for the region and projects, as well as representing Southeast Asia in our global works council (similar to a union), on top of finding time to blog and read, really stretched me quite thin! To say that everything seemed to be overflowing might be a bit of an understatement and part of me is even glad to see that we’re in the last month of 2020 now because I’m truly running low on steam 😂
But it hasn’t been all bad! It has been an incredible month for book mail and I’ve received many of the special editions that I ordered earlier in the year. I haven’t spent much on regular book buying in 2020, but I’m 100% positive I made up for all that with the many special editions that I purchased. I really kissed that money goodbye, friends 😂
1) Stack of random new books; 2) SE A Deadly Education; 3) SE The Invisible Life of Addie LaRueIllumicrate Archives: The Poppy War, naked cover art + mind-blowing jacket art!
Now… ON TO THE “FUN” STUFF!
In November, I read 15 books! **Okay, I just totally surprised myself with that count because I expected to see that I only managed to read five books or something because that’s really what this month has felt like 😂 LOL I didn’t have any five star reads or DNFs and the majority this month were 4 stars. If you can’t tell I went on a bit of a historical romance binge and the light reads were exactly what I needed! The books were a good mix of blog tour reads, ARCs and new books on my TBR.
Being the only book I rated 4.5 stars this month, The Cousins was my favourite read but I think the Moose Springs series are close contenders because they really brought me a lot of joy and I can’t wait to continue on with the series in December as I was lucky enough to get the ARC!
So it turns out that I noted my date incorrectly for this Algonquin tour and I didn’t bother to recheck it like I usually do because it’s been so busy… and I feel terrible about it! 😰 I have read 30% of the book though so this will be a “First Impressions” review but I will follow it up with a full review ASAP!
Thanks to Algonquin Books and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Goodreads: Big Girl, Small Town Publisher: Algonquin Books Release Date: 01 December 2020 Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Irish Literature
Majella is happiest out of the spotlight, away from her neighbors’ stares and the gossips of the small town in Northern Ireland where she grew up during the Troubles. She lives a quiet life caring for her alcoholic mother, working in the local chip shop, and watching the regular customers come and go. She wears the same clothes each day (overalls, too small), has the same dinner each night (fish and chips, microwaved at home after her shift ends), and binge-watches old DVDs of the same show (Dallas, best show on TV) from the comfort of her bed. But underneath Majella’s seemingly ordinary life are the facts that she doesn’t know where her father is and that every person in her town has been changed by the lingering divide between Protestants and Catholics. When Majella’s seemingly mundane existence is upended by the death of her granny, she comes to realize there may be more to life than the gossips of Aghybogey, the pub, and the chip shop. In fact, there just may be a whole big world outside her small town.
In the second fantasy set in Eerie-on-Sea, Herbert and Violet team up to solve the mystery of the Gargantis — an ancient creature of the deep with the power to create life-threatening storms.
There’s a storm brewing over Eerie-on-Sea, and the fisherfolk say a monster is the cause. Someone has woken the ancient Gargantis, who sleeps in the watery caves beneath this spooky seaside town where legends have a habit of coming to life. It seems the Gargantis is looking for something: a treasure stolen from her underwater lair. And it just might be in the Lost-and-Foundery at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, in the care of one Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder. With the help of the daring Violet Parma, ever-reliable Herbie will do his best to figure out what the Gargantis wants and who stole her treasure in the first place. In a town full of suspicious, secretive characters, it could be anyone!
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 time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!
Just like in last week’s update, I’ve also read very little this weekend! 🙈 But I’m about 90% of the way through Gargantis, which I started on a whim at 2AM last night when I couldn’t sleep. This is such a fast-paced and action-packed MG fantasy and it feels good to be back at Eerie-on-Sea with Herbert Lemon and Violet Parma! But once I finish this tonight I think I’ll go back to Spellbreaker!
There’s a storm brewing over Eerie-on-Sea, and the fisherfolk say a monster is the cause. Someone has woken the ancient Gargantis, who sleeps in the watery caves beneath this spooky seaside town where legends have a habit of coming to life. It seems the Gargantis is looking for something: a treasure stolen from her underwater lair. And it just might be in the Lost-and-Foundery at the Grand Nautilus Hotel, in the care of one Herbert Lemon, Lost-and-Founder. With the help of the daring Violet Parma, ever-reliable Herbie will do his best to figure out what the Gargantis wants and who stole her treasure in the first place. In a town full of suspicious, secretive characters, it could be anyone!
Hey friends! I’m excited to be back for another @WriteReads blog tour for the highly anticipated The Cousins by Karen M. McManus. Be sure to check out all the other bloggers participating in this tour: here! Thanks to Dave for organising the tour and Noly for the banner! 😍
Special thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Goodreads: The Cousins Publisher: Penguin Random House Children’s UK Published: 03 December 2020 Genre: Young Adult Mystery/Thriller Panda Rating:
The Storys are the envy of their neighbours: owners of the largest property on their East Coast island, they are rich, beautiful, and close. Until it all falls apart. The four children are suddenly dropped by their mother with a single sentence: You know what you did. They never hear from her again.
Years later, when 18-year-old cousins Aubrey, Milly and Jonah Story receive a mysterious invitation to spend the summer at their grandmother’s resort, they have no choice but to follow their curiosity and meet the woman who’s been such an enigma their entire lives.
This entire family is built on secrets, right? It’s the Story legacy. This summer, the teenagers are determined to discover the truth at the heart of their family. But some secrets are better left alone.
So… Who loves a fast-paced, chemistry-laden and steamy romance featuring headstrong and outspoken ladies and burly Scottish Highland lords? Apparently, I do! 🙋🏻♀️ You might’ve notice that I’ve recently got into historical romances and so I thought I’d share more mini-reviews for two of the books I read in the Lords of the Highlands series by Amy Jarecki. I read these completely out of order although they can definitely be read as standalones, but these two do have closely connecting characters (they’re siblings)! I actually read #8 before #5 but I decided to share the reviews in reading order.
She is the daughter of his sworn enemy. Famed for his fierceness, Laird Robert Grant is above all a loyal Highland clan chief. But when redcoats capture his rival’s daughter, he sets aside their feud and races to her rescue. Aye, Janet Cameron is beautiful, cunning, and so very tempting, but a Cameron lass is the last woman he should ever desire.
He is her one hope of happiness. Janet refuses to meekly surrender, not even when surrounded by foes. She takes every chance to escape, first from the English soldiers and then from the wickedly handsome Robert. Yet with each day they spend together, his unexpected gallantry chips away at her reserve little by little. As danger and treachery loom, can she trust him enough to choose love over vengeance?
This is my second taste of historical romance set in the Scottish highlands and I’ve really enjoyed how Jarecki brings that era to life. While the romance is obviously the main plot, we still learn a great deal about society, as well as the increasingly tense political situation between Scotland and England.
Robert and Janet were great characters! Robert is definitely of the ‘gruffer’ and domineering sort and while Janet comes across as very prim most times, she also has a delightful rebellious streak that makes her so much fun to read about! There’s a long history of feuding between their clans, so it was very much a forbidden-lovers romance, which upped the stakes and added a touch of angst to the story. They initially deny their chemistry but once they give into it… Oof, lemme tell ya! That was some sizzling chemistry and it ended up being even steamier than I expected!! I loved how well they complemented each other, brought out the best in each other, but also allowed the other to flourish in their own way without setting expectations on each other.
TL;DR:I’m definitely looking forward to trying the other books in this series because I’m really enjoying them so far! There’s lot of fast-paced action, steamy connections, characters you really come to care about and romances that will leave you swooning!
Emma Grant has been sheltered and underestimated her entire life. Her blindness may set her apart, but she’s just as fierce and loyal as any of her clansmen. So when she catches word that her brother’s best friend is in jail, she doesn’t hesitate to race to the brawny Highlander’s rescue.
Laird Ciar MacDougall is on a vital mission for Scotland when he witnesses a murder—and then is blamed for the death and thrown into a Redcoat prison to rot. He never thought he’d be broken out by a slip of a lass and her faithful hound. But now they’re outlaws on the run. And as their enemies circle ever closer, he will have to choose between saving his country or the woman who’s captured his heart
I’m a big romance fan but I don’t read many historical ones, and this was also my first taste of a historical Scottish romance. You can definitely say I’m sold and I’ve already got another one of these books lined up to read soon! It was full of action and adventure, not to mention the chemistry between our hero and heroine was pretty damn fire 🔥 It got pretty steamy too and I’d put this at close to 4/5 on the steamy scale.
I really liked Ciar and Emma! They were wonderfully written characters who complemented each other so well! Ciar was known as a ‘beast’ thanks to his stature and gruff looks but you wouldn’t know that considering how gentle he is with Emma. I swooned at how supportive he was of her and how he was still able to look out for her, without smothering her need for independence and adventure. He really understood her and unlike others who defined her by her lack of sight, he didn’t do that. I absolutely adored Emma’s character. She’s young and there’s a natural naïveté about her but it doesn’t come across as annoying. I love her passion for life and how she really doesn’t let her disability keep her from experiencing it in her own unique way, despite being raised under her overprotective brother’s charge. In all the years they’ve known each other, Cair always treated her kindly and didn’t make her feel like she wasn’t capable of doing anything she wished, which is really all she wanted. So it was especially heartwarming to see them come together and get a HEA! They really brought out the best in each other and their characters fit together so perfectly.
TL;DR: There was plenty of fast-paced action, sweet flirtations, and a surprisingly steamy romance, all set against an interesting historical backdrop. Cair and Emma were wonderful characters who stole my heart and who absolutely deserved their HEA.
Is there something about men in kilts… or is it just me? 🙈 Do you like Scottish Highland romances? Have you read this series? If you’re a fan of highland romances, I’d love to hear your recs! 😉
Tricked into marriage five years ago, Thomas Devereaux, Lord Rockbourne is suddenly a widower. Rumors abound that his wife’s death may not have been an accident and given the troubling secrets Thomas keeps buried, even he isn’t entirely sure. But when a woman sees what happened, he agrees to accept her help to disguise the facts in exchange for not divulging her suspicious behavior. Their arrangement grows more complicated under the force of a scorching mutual attraction.
Abandoned by her father—a duke—after the death of her mother—his beloved mistress—Beatrix Linley has fought to become a daughter he could be proud of, that he would regret leaving. She becomes the toast of the Season until her penchant for pilfering pretty things threatens to expose the illicit past she needs desperately to remain hidden. Soon the scandal and darkness both Beatrix and Thomas fear comes to light, compelling them to finally face their demons—and potentially driving them apart forever
dinipandareads 