We’ve now entered the limbo that is the week between Christmas and New Years – but is it honestly any different than the rest of this year. I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that Christmas has actually come and gone and we’re a mere 4 days away from the start of 2021.

Like, how?

I didn’t ask for much this Christmas and definitely didn’t ask for many books. In fact, there was only one MUST HAVE on my list. Pretty much all year I bought the books I was interested in. Since I did that, I really didn’t receive much, but the 6 books I did get, I’m so excited for. I’m thrilled to own physical copies and I cannot wait to read the ones I haven’t already read!

So, let’s jump in and take a look!

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Tweet Cute – Emma Lord

Meet Pepper, swim team captain, chronic overachiever, and all-around perfectionist. Her family may be falling apart, but their massive fast-food chain is booming ― mainly thanks to Pepper, who is barely managing to juggle real life while secretly running Big League Burger’s massive Twitter account.

Enter Jack, class clown and constant thorn in Pepper’s side. When he isn’t trying to duck out of his obscenely popular twin’s shadow, he’s busy working in his family’s deli. His relationship with the business that holds his future might be love/hate, but when Big League Burger steals his grandma’s iconic grilled cheese recipe, he’ll do whatever it takes to take them down, one tweet at a time.

All’s fair in love and cheese ― that is, until Pepper and Jack’s spat turns into a viral Twitter war. Little do they know, while they’re publicly duking it out with snarky memes and retweet battles, they’re also falling for each other in real life ― on an anonymous chat app Jack built.

As their relationship deepens and their online shenanigans escalate ― people on the internet are shipping them?? ― their battle gets more and more personal, until even these two rivals can’t ignore they were destined for the most unexpected, awkward, all-the-feels romance that neither of them expected.

I’ve already read and reviewed this and I loved it! I’ve been dying for a finished hardcover but just never got around to buying one for some reason. Then editions with an embossed and foiled grilled cheese on the naked hardcover came out and I opted to wait long enough that when I did buy a copy, it would have that on it. And guess what, it does! I can’t wait to put this on my shelf and force all my friends to read it. That means you too – go pick up this book. It’s so good!

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The Other Side of the Sky (The Other Side of the Sky #1) – Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

Prince North’s home is in the sky, in a gleaming city held aloft by intricate engines, powered by technology. Nimh is the living goddess of her people on the Surface, responsible for providing answers, direction—hope.

North’s and Nimh’s lives are entwined—though their hearts can never be. Linked by a terrifying prophecy and caught between duty and fate, they must choose between saving their people or succumbing to the bond that is forbidden between them.

I’ve been a fan of this duo since I impulsively bought The Broken Stars years ago. I’ve read and loved everything they’ve published together since then. I know why I didn’t buy this book right when it released – I was too busy at work and new I wouldn’t get to it anytime soon, so I just didn’t. I had no idea that it was shiny! It’s foiled and stunning and I really want to read it. I might just have to cave and download the audiobook when I go back to work after the new year because this sounds amazing.

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Soulswift – Megan Bannen

Gelya is a Vessel, a girl who channels the word of the One True God through song. Cloistered with the other Vessels of her faith, she believes—as all Ovinists do—that a saint imprisoned Elath the Great Demon centuries ago, saving humanity from earthly temptation.

When Gelya stumbles into a deadly cover-up by the Ovinists’ military, she reluctantly teams up with Tavik, an enemy soldier, to survive. Tavik believes that Elath is actually a mother goddess who must be set free, but while he succeeds in opening Her prison, he inadvertently turns Gelya into Elath’s unwilling human vessel.

Now the church that raised Gelya considers her a threat. In a race against the clock, she and Tavik must find a way to exorcise Elath’s presence from her body. But will this release stop the countdown to the end of the world, or will it be the cause of the earth’s destruction? And as Tavik and Gelya grow closer, another question lingers between them: What will become of Gelya?

This has been on my radar for a while – I requested and ARC of it a while back and was sadly declined. And then my friend read it, loved it and started screaming at me to read it. So, when we decided to do gifts for each other this year, I kind of figured it wouldn’t matter what I put on a list, that she’d gift me this book. Sammy, you didn’t disappoint LOL. I’m super excited for this – I was anticipating it before Sammy read it, and now I cannot wait to dive in!

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No Man Can Tame (The Dark-Elves of Nightbloom #1) – Miranda Honfleur

A human princess. A dark-elf prince. A kiss of fire and powder.

After a failed courtship in an ally kingdom, twenty-one-year-old Princess Alessandra returns home to a land torn apart by mutual hatred between the humans and the dark-elves. The “Beast Princess,” as Aless is known by courtiers, confidently sets her mind to ways of making peace, but her father has already decided for her: she is to marry one of the mysterious and monstrous dark-elves to forge a treaty, and go on a Royal Progress across the kingdom to flaunt their harmonious union. While she intends to preserve the peace, the Beast Princess has plans of her own.

Prince Veron has been raised knowing his life is not his own, but to be bargained away by his mother, the queen of Nozva Rozkveta, to strengthen the dark-elf queendom. When his mother tells him he is to marry a self-absorbed, vile human, he is determined to do his duty regardless of his personal feelings. After arriving at the human capital, he finds the “Beast Princess” rebellious and untamed—and not to be trusted.

Aless and Veron face opposition at every turn, with humans and dark-elves alike opposing the union violently, as well as their own feelings of dissonance toward each other. Can two people from cultures that despise one another fall in love? Can a marriage between them bond two opposing worlds together, or will it tear them apart for good?

I listened to the audiobook for this one, and it was so good. I cannot wait for book 2 to finally come out. I have physical copies of Miranda’s other books, so I’m really happy to be able to add this to my growing collection. It’s stunning – the cover is so pretty, and I love it. This is another reminder that you’re sleeping on the worlds and characters that Miranda Honfleur creates and this book is as a good place to start! It takes place in the same world as Blade and Rose and you know how much I talk about that series.

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Disenchanted (Disenchanted #1) – Brianna Suglaski

A Breton princess at the peak of the French Renaissance, Lilac lives prisoner in her parents’ castle after a wicked secret is revealed on the eve of her tenth birthday soirée. Years later, her coronation ceremony looms, and between the riotous townsfolk and scheming nobleman bent on snatching the throne, Lilac prepares for the worst… Until a mysterious letter arrives from The Witch of Lupine Grotto, detailing a curious offer to cure her darkness forever.

Lilac begrudgingly trades her coronet for a cloak and ventures into the forest Brocéliande in pursuit of the impious enchantress at the edge of town. With only the protection of an inherited dagger—and unsolicited help of the sardonic stranger who inserts himself on her quest—she must traverse Brocèliande and return in time to claim her rightful position as sovereign monarch.

This is the story of a cursed princess,
A crestfallen killer,
The town that wants them to burn,
And the witch that can save them both.

This popped up on my radar a few months ago and I’ve been wanting to read it ever since. Then I started hearing rave reviews and I wanted to read it even more. And then work got so damn busy that if it wasn’t an audiobook or contracted ARC I wasn’t reading. Since I wasn’t reading, I didn’t buy the book. Now I have it and it’s taking all my willpower to not read it, but I think it’s going to be a priority come the new year. I have a few things I have to read first, but it’s going to be on my TBR for January. I already know.

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A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (Blood and Ash #2) – Jennifer L. Armentrout

A Betrayal…

Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.

A Choice…

Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.

A Secret…

But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.

This was the ONLY book on my list. I told my brother and his girlfriend that if they wanted to get me a gift, they could get me the BN Hardcover edition, and they didn’t disappoint! I’m so excited to be able to add this to my JLA collection. It’s stunning and it’s going to look so nice on my shelf. I cannot wait for book 3 and if you haven’t started this series yet, then you need to jump on it real quick. You’re seriously missing out!

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And that’s it! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and fantastic holiday season overall. I know it was different this year, but I hope you found a bit of joy and made the most of it!