Month: July 2021

Book Review: These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows #1)

Title: These Hollow Vows

Author: Lexi Ryan

Pub. Date: July 20, 2021

Pages: 464

Pub: HMH

Genre: YA Fantasy Romance

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads

From New York Times best-selling author Lexi Ryan, Cruel Prince meets A Court of Thorns and Roses in this sexy, action-packed fantasy about a girl who is caught between two treacherous faerie courts and their dangerously seductive princes.

Brie hates the Fae and refuses to have anything to do with them, even if that means starving on the street. But when her sister is sold to the sadistic king of the Unseelie court to pay a debt, she’ll do whatever it takes to get her back—including making a deal with the king himself to steal three magical relics from the Seelie court.

Gaining unfettered access to the Seelie court is easier said than done. Brie’s only choice is to pose as a potential bride for Prince Ronan, and she soon finds herself falling for him. Unwilling to let her heart distract her, she accepts help from a band of Unseelie misfits with their own secret agenda. As Brie spends time with their mysterious leader, Finn, she struggles to resist his seductive charm.

Caught between two dangerous courts, Brie must decide who to trust with her loyalty. And with her heart. Continue reading “Book Review: These Hollow Vows (These Hollow Vows #1)” →

Currently Reading & Watching #28

I leave for vacation on Saturday and the fact that I still have to work today and tomorrow sucks. I’m utterly fried all around and it doesn’t help at all that work is a mess. I know once I clock out on Friday I won’t care about work, won’t think or worry about it, but until then, it’s in the forefront of my mind.

I’ve been busting my ass for the last 3ish weeks trying to do everything in my power to not leave work with my bases not being covered. I’ve been at work until after 6PM (I’m scheduled to get off at 4PM) and it’s been so draining. Pair that with heat and the overall lack of desire to work knowing I have a week-long vacation coming up – I’m pretty spent.

I haven’t even started packing yet.

I’m just so tired.

But I’ve been reading a lot, even got some writing in, but I haven’t really been watching a lot. So, let’s dive in.

READING:

Small Favors – Erin A. Craig

I listened to this all-day Wednesday while at work, and I’m loving it. I’m creeped out but it’s so good. I loved her debut, and this book isn’t disappointing. Though I’m now realizing that I never actually read the synopsis for the book, I just saw the cover and that Erin was the author and I auto bought it.

Starlight – Lauren Jade Case

I’ve been reading this for a while now. It’s not the books fault – I just sit down to read it when I have no energy and I end up nodding off. Though I did inhale about 30% of it the other night. I really enjoy the characters and the story – I just need a few hours where I’m not exhausted to finally finish it.

WATCHING:

The Olympics

Legit this is what’s been on my TV all week, and prior to that, we weren’t really watching anything specific. More just channel hopping and movie surfing.

TikToks

Because they’re pretty much the only thing I have the brain capacity for this week.

Let me know what you’re currently reading and watching.

Book Review: Dark Deception (Vampire Royals of New York #1)

Title: Dark Deception

Author: Sarah Piper

Pub. Date: September 30, 2020

Pages: 442

Pub: Two Gnomes Media

Genre: Fantasy Paranormal Romance

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads

A ruthless vampire king. An alluring crime family heiress. A dark desire that won’t be tamed…

Charlotte…

Charlotte D’Amico never met a safe she couldn’t crack, a penthouse she couldn’t case, or a stuck-up rich guy she couldn’t deceive. So when the crime boss who runs her life orders her to spy on yet another reclusive billionaire, Charley’s not worried.

Smile pretty, keep the boss happy, keep her sister safe. That’s how it works.
But Dorian Redthorne is no ordinary mark.

He’s charming, funny, and sinfully hot, with a whiskey-smooth British accent that leaves her aching for more.
He’s also dark, dangerous, and definitely hiding secrets…
Secrets that might just get her killed.

Dorian…

Vampire king Dorian Redthorne has more responsibilities than he can count.
Keep New York’s supernaturals in line. Protect what’s left of his family. And above all, bury his dead father’s secrets… before their enemies discover the royal family’s greatest weakness.

Charlotte D’Amico is a complication he doesn’t need.
But the scent of her blood is intoxicating, her heartbeat a siren call he can’t resist.
One stolen kiss, and Dorian knows how this ends: He claims her, or he bleeds her dry.
Unfortunately, his pretty little con woman is as treacherous as his enemies.

The question is…
Which will destroy him first? Continue reading “Book Review: Dark Deception (Vampire Royals of New York #1)” →

Book Review: Celestial (Angels of Elysium #2)

Title: Celestial

Author: Olivia Wildenstein

Pub. Date: January 5, 2021

Pages: 528

Pub: Not Listed

Genre: NA Paranormal Fantasy Romance

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Goodreads

In ninety-two days, the feathered appendages that link me to the people I loathe finally come off. Dear, winglets, you will not be missed.

Celeste has spent the last four years building a life outside of angelic guilds—parties, check—pursuing human ambitions instead of celestial ones—college, check—and shedding feathers across Parisian cobblestones and more recently New York sidewalks—speaking her mind, always check.

She swore off angels, but the death of the woman who took her in the night Leigh died brings them soaring back into her life . . . and not just any angel but the most detestable one, the one complicit in Leigh’s death—Seraph Asher.

Although Celeste tells the archangel to feather off, the unreasonably pretty and obstinate man doesn’t leave her alone. He returns and insists she complete her wings. When she asks him for one good reason to do so, he gives her an unbeatable one: what he did with Leigh’s soul.

Asher never meant to share his damning secret, but he knows it’s the only way to save Celeste—the rebellious Fletching he can’t get out of his head… or heart. Continue reading “Book Review: Celestial (Angels of Elysium #2)” →

What Books I’m Bringing to the Beach – 2021

It’s that time of the year again (thank God) and I literally cannot wait.

There are 5 workdays and a 7ish hour car ride between me and the beach and it honestly can’t pass by quickly enough.

Besides drowning at work, I just need a break. I need to unwind, destress, let it all go. I just need to sit on a beach, with the ocean in the background, reading a book undisturbed. I’m so tired of being around people every day. I feel like I never have a moment to be alone with my thoughts.

Not to mention I’m absolutely dying to read the books I’m planning on reading. They’re either ARCs or indie/self pubbed books that don’t have audio equivalents (yet) and I just haven’t had the time or energy to read them. But I’m going to have a whole week to do just that and I’m chomping at the bit.

I’m also seriously contemplating bring a “Do Not Disturb” sign. Since this is a family trip, there will still be people around, but I just don’t want to be disturbed until I’m done whatever book I’m reading LOL.

I already kind of know what order I’m reading them in, and it’s going to be so great.

I’m also taking my Kindle – because duh.

But let’s jump into this and check out what I’m planning on reading next week. I seriously cannot wait. Continue reading “What Books I’m Bringing to the Beach – 2021” →

The Crying Book Tag

You know, The Fault In Our Stars was the first book to ever make me full on sob/ugly cry in a book. From there, I because an overly emotional reader. The next book to break me was Clockwork Princess. Now, it really doesn’t take much to get me to shed a tear or ten. My eyes will start burning, a lump will form in my throat and I’ll lose it…or suffer in quiet silence.

I listened to To Sleep In A Sea of Stars while at work, and I hit the end, and I was crying at a certain scene.

If it’s heartfelt, I’m probably crying.

I can’t help it.

Hell, I’ve made myself cry when writing my own scenes.

Long story short – John Green wrecked me for all emotional scenes.

He broke me and I’ve never recovered lol. Continue reading “The Crying Book Tag” →

Book Review: XOXO

Title: XOXO

Author: Axie Oh

Pub. Date: July 13, 2021

Pages: 352

Pub: HarperTeen

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

Goodreads

Cello prodigy Jenny has one goal: to get into a prestigious music conservatory. When she meets mysterious, handsome Jaewoo in her uncle’s Los Angeles karaoke bar, it’s clear he’s the kind of boy who would uproot her careful plans. But in a moment of spontaneity, she allows him to pull her out of her comfort zone for one unforgettable night of adventure…before he disappears without a word.

Three months later, when Jenny and her mother arrive in South Korea to take care of her ailing grandmother, she’s shocked to discover that Jaewoo is a student at the same elite arts academy where she’s enrolled for the semester. And he’s not just any student. He’s a member of one of the biggest K-pop bands in the world—and he’s strictly forbidden from dating.

When a relationship means throwing Jenny’s life off the path she’s spent years mapping out, she’ll have to decide once and for all just how much she’s willing to risk for love. Continue reading “Book Review: XOXO” →

Royals of Arbon Academy Trilogy Review

Go read this trilogy.

Do it.

Fuck.

I loved this trilogy so much.

I need physical copies for my shelves.

I was actually quite pleasantly surprised by these books. Princess Ballot has been on my TBR for quite a while now, and I finally dove in. I saw that a fellow reader had recently read this and had given it a pretty high rating. Pairing that with I’m in a weird reading mood, I dove in. I went and downloaded the audiobook despite having a bunch already in my library waiting for me.

Then I promptly inhaled all three books and spiraled a bit.

*This is book one in a dark college romance. This is not a RH or traditional love triangle story, but it does include a-hole princes, nasty princesses, and one chick who will take none of their shit, all the while doing her best to make it out alive. HEA guaranteed. Eventually.

Not going to lie, I was expecting a typical NA college “bully” romance but make it Royal. But y’all, it was so much better. If we’re ticking boxes, then boxes were fucking ticked. Continue reading “Royals of Arbon Academy Trilogy Review” →

Just Thinking…

This isn’t the post I had planned for today, and it’s also not the backup post I had in reserve. I’d planned on giving you a review for These Hollow Vows, but I’ve been on 7% for days now. Not because I’m not enjoying it, I just can’t find the drive to pick it up.

I guess about a month and a half ago, I decided to take a partial step away from blogging. I was finding it hard to get motivated to write blog posts.

And for a while, it worked.

But I’m back to being unable to find the drive or desire to blog. It also doesn’t help that I’m in this weird partial slump, where I don’t want to read anything, I need to read. I just want to read semi-brainless KU stuff that doesn’t take a whole lot of brain power.

I know I’m burnt out – or very nearly there.

Work monopolizing almost all of my time and energy and by the time I get home, I’m utterly exhausted. So much so, even the idea of reading a book is too much. All I’m really good for is a walk with Codigo, a shower, dinner and watching an episode or two of some show. And then it starts all over again the next day.

I don’t want to stop blogging, because I’ve put so much time and energy into it, and I love sharing my thoughts, feelings and opinions on books. I love supporting authors and connecting with other book people. I also don’t want to see that drastic dip in my stats that I know would come with taking a partial hiatus. I know it shouldn’t be about the numbers, the views, the stats – but on some level it is. I’ve worked my ass off to get this blog to where it is, and I’m damn fucking proud. But it’s also one of the reasons I’m exhausted all of the time.

I’ve been posting for 5 days a week for – gosh, I don’t know how long, and for most of 2021 it’s been twice a day.

I don’t have the time on the weekends to prep as much as I would like, and the last thing I want to do at midnight during the week (and yes, that’s about the only free time I have) is to have to write a blog post.

So, as much as it pains me, I might have to take a break from posting. I haven’t decided anything yet, so you’ll still get content from me for July – but I am going on vacation in August, and it might be nice to just take that month off. I wouldn’t completely stop posting, but I don’t have many eARCs I need to read to review for actual August release dates. I would still post if I’ve agreed to read & review a book, or if I absolutely have to share my review for a book. I hate that it’s going to tank my stats, but I feel like I’m not putting effort into the content I put out. everything kind of feels lackluster.

Like I said, nothing has been decided, but I am thinking about it. Tomorrow I promise to have some kind of review for you – I have a couple of books I have read recently if I don’t finish any of the books I’m currently reading.

Taking real time off, also might actually give me the energy to work on my SF WIP & Revisions – which I sorely need to do.

But let me know your thoughts? I’m curious.

Fortune Academy Books 1-4 Review

I kept seeing ads for the first book in this series, so I downloaded the audiobook for the first book. I inhaled that, and promptly just downloaded the rest of the books that were available. I’m lowkey regretting my decision to inhale thee first four books in less than a week, since like, five more books are out/set to come out. So now I have to wait.

I did download the eBook for book 5, so I’ll try to read that soon, but having to wait for the others, let alone, the audiobooks, really freaking sucks.

I didn’t really know what to expect diving into this. I mean, obviously the series is a RH romance, and it’s set in an academy, so we already know I was going to enjoy it. I’m a sucker for books/series set in a school/academy. And if you’ve been around this blog for a while, you know that RH is quickly becoming something I’m reading more and more of.

Personally (for me) I find it hilarious that when reading RH books, there’s always one guy who I’m like, he’s the best one hands down, but then again, why choose just one LOL.

But there is definitely one of the guys I like way more over the other ones. Continue reading “Fortune Academy Books 1-4 Review” →