We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is actually Unread Books on My Shelves I Want to Read Soon (Bonus points if you tell us how long it’s been sitting on your shelf waiting for you.)
If you didn’t know, I’m a pretty big Taylor Swift fan. If you’ve been around this blog long enough you might’ve seen me gushing about her music a time or two (or more, cough). But there’s just something about her songs that resonates so much with me. Maybe it’s my hopeless romantic melancholy baby energy but so many of her songs hit and they hit hard! For many years running she has been my #1 artist on Spotify Wrapped and I don’t know if that’ll change anytime soon, lol.
Now with that intro out of the way, I got so excited when Leslie @Books Are the New Black tagged me to do the Reputation Book Tag! This isn’t my #1 era but I still hope that Taylor will bless our ears soon with her version so I can finally listen to these songs again (no, I’m not streaming to give money to that 🛴 man). Before I digress any further, let’s just slide straight to it!
This tag was originally created by Mollie @Mollie the Reader.
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 in bed with Song of the Six Realms. I’m reading this for my tour stop next week. I’m only about four chapters in but I’m enjoying it so far and curious to see where the story goes! I enjoyed Lin’s debut so I’m hoping to feel the same way about this one.
The Wolf and the Wildflower
Publisher: Amara
Pub Date: 27 February 2023
Genre: Historical Romance
Panda Rating:
(4 pandas)
USA Today bestselling author Stacy Reid’s addictive tale of two lost people who are found…by each other.
London is buzzing with the news that James Winters, the Duke of Wulverton—thought lost at sea a decade ago—survived in the harsh wilderness of the Yukon. Now he’s been returned to his family, his responsibilities, and a nightmarish world of artifice and noise. He has three weeks to become a refined, elegant duke for the Queen…or doom the entire family to ruin and scandal.
Promising psychologist Jules Southby knows a lot about disguises. She’s secretly been living as a boy since birth, enjoying the freedoms of men and knowing little about how to behave like a woman. When she meets the alluring duke, she’s unprepared for his raw, masculine beauty and icy intelligence…or that he can see through her darkest secret.
Jules has very little time to transform the duke into a true semblance of an English gentleman. Yet his very presence seems to unravel her in every way. Their attraction is stark and achingly real—and forbidden. But loving the lost duke would mean losing every sacrifice she’s made to earn her freedom…
Difficult childbirth, forced pregnancy (not the FMC)
TL;DR: This plot was absolutely bonkers but it is absolutely the best thing about historical romances. What a romp! I loved Jules and James so much and the way their relationship evolves throughout the story. The way this man fell on his knees for this woman had me swoony! And his nose and sense of smell… 👀 Other than the fun and sexy elements of this book, this also had some emotionally heavy and trauma-filled moments but Reid handled them so well! Overall, a delight and I can’t wait to read more by this author.
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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 the April 2024 Topics if you want to join in the bookish discussion fun.
This week’s topic is actually a Freebie so I’m doing last week’s topic and answering:
Prompts: It’s (almost) Earth Day! What are some nature-y books you recommend? Are there any books you’ve read recently about climate, or about the planet in general? How about books with nature-related covers?
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Special thanks to Del Rey for providing a digital ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods (To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods #1)
Publisher: Del Rey
Publication Date: 16 April 2024
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Panda Rating:
(2.5 pandas)
She has power over death. He has power over her. When two enemies strike a dangerous bargain, will they end a war . . . or ignite one?
Heroes die, cowards live. Daughter of a conquered world, Ruying hates the invaders who descended from the heavens long before she was born and defeated the magic of her people with technologies unlike anything her world had ever seen.
Blessed by Death, born with the ability to pull the life right out of mortal bodies, Ruying shouldn’t have to fear these foreign invaders, but she does. Especially because she wants to keep herself and her family safe.
When Ruying’s Gift is discovered by an enemy prince, he offers her an impossible deal: If she becomes his private assassin and eliminates his political rivals—whose deaths he swears would be for the good of both their worlds and would protect her people from further brutalization—her family will never starve or suffer harm again. But to accept this bargain, she must use the powers she has always feared, powers that will shave years off her own existence.
Can Ruying trust this prince, whose promises of a better world make her heart ache and whose smiles make her pulse beat faster? Are the evils of this agreement really in the service of a much greater good? Or will she betray her entire nation by protecting those she loves the most?
War, violence, blood, multiple deaths, torture, captivity, human experimentation, colonization, drug addition, drug use
TL;DR: Little hurts more than being disappointed by a book on my most anticipated 2024 release list. The premise was intriguing and in general, I think the story and writing were promising but the execution was weak and ultimately, underwhelming. From reading the author’s note, this story is dear to her but that passion didn’t come through the writing. There was a lack of emotional connection and the characters came across as one-dimensional. There have been reviewers saying this is a colonizer romance and I can’t disagree—it was a very uncomfortable relationship (maybe purposefully so but then I think it was clumsily written) but mostly because, IMHO, it felt forced and more like Stockholm Syndrome than any ‘real’ romance. Overall, while I think this had potential, it just didn’t work for me. Part of me is curious to see what happens next but I’m not sure I would buy it to read it.
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Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s topic is actually Characters I’d Like to go on Vacation With (Pretend you’re going on vacation and can bring 10 of your closest friends with you. Pick your vacation spot and tell us who you’d like to bring! Bonus point if you tell us why. Or maybe you like the idea of traveling in small groups, so plan 10 trips or 5 trips!) but I’m going rogue!
Hello, friends! It’s been a minute since I found a book tag that I felt like doing so I was pretty excited when Leslie @Books are the New Black tagged me to do the Reading Firsts: 2024 Edition Book Tag! If you haven’t yet discovered her blog, go check it out because it’s great and she is a wonderful human being. 🌻 I’m excited to dive into this one cos it’s not one I’ve done or seen before so let’s get to it!
This tag was created by Tanya Patrice @Girlxoxo.
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’ve spent a good chunk of my Sunday with The First Binding and I’m happy to say that it has slowly but surely started to pick up!
But I’ll be spending my Sunday night in bed with Trail of Lightning. I’m buddy reading this with Becky and it’ll be a re-read for both of us before we go into the second book in the series! I’m excited because I remember loving this when I first read it—I’m hoping that feeling remains on re-read.
dinipandareads 