Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George

Series: The Princesses of Westfalin Trilogy (#1)

Format: 304 pages, Paperback

Published: May 1, 2010 by Bloomsbury USA Children

Fantasy/own

Sure, I know the story, but it feels like I read exactly this one and forgot to log it...oops. See I found some older books( not that old, just not in the right place.)

Rose is one of 12 princesses forced to dance all night with the sons of wicked king. They can not tell what they do but people do start to wonder when their shoes are broken. But they never seem to leave their bedrooms? And then princes who come to court them end up dead. Fishy indeed.

In comes a young soldier returned from the war, and he starts working for his uncle in the gardens. Can he solve the mystery of the dancing princesses, or will this whole country fall apart?

And since is is a fairytale it will all work out and there will be a hea. Yay. I enjoyed it, it was a light and short read. A good story.

Rose is the eldest of twelve princesses forced to dance through the night in an underground palace. Galen is the soldier turned gardener who falls for her. The key to breaking the spell lies in magic knitting needles, an invisibility cloak, and-of course-true love. Inspired by "The Twelve Dancing Princesses,"

The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding

Series: The Darkwater Legacy (#2)

Format: 848 pages, Paperback

Published: February 16, 2023 by Gollancz

Fantasy/own

Oh it is a trilogy? I actually did not know. This one actually had an ending, and I thought ok it is good for now, but like yeah more can come and I guess it will.

It takes place 3 years after book 1. Aren and his people have been trying to sow the seeds of revolution for all that time, and it does not go well.

They must defeat the evil invaders, but for that they need people and everyone is scared, or hanging on to the power they have.

It is about a quest, a coming revolution (or not), trying to find allies, and mostly hiding from the bad guys.

I liked it. very old school

A BAND OF REBELS.

A TRAITOR IN THEIR MIDST.

A REVOLUTION ABOUT TO BEGIN.

It's been three years since Aren seized the Ember Blade. Three years since they struck the spark they hoped would ignite the revolution. But the flame has failed to catch. The Krodans have crushed Ossia in an iron grip of terror. The revolution seems further away than ever.

Far in the north, the Dawnwardens seek to unite the fractious clans of the Fell Folk and create a stronghold from which to retake their land. But even if they can overcome the danger of treachery from within, they still have to contend with the dreadknights. Only the druidess Vika can resist these near-unstoppable foes, and there's only one of her.

But what if there was a weapon that could destroy the dreadknights? A weapon of such power it could turn the tide? A weapon that, if it fell into the wrong hands, might mean the end of all hope?

The Shadow Casket has returned from out of the past, and it will save or damn them all.

Audio: This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman

By: Matt Dinniman

Narrated by: Jeff Hays, Travis Baldree

Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl, Book 7

Length: 28 hrs and 40 mins

Release date: 02-11-25

Publisher: Audible Studios

Lit rpg/Own

Book 7 and it is getting hard to review without spoiling.

So 9th floor, that means War. Different factions fighting, everything at stake. The AI being all crazy and keeping everyone in the system.

Carl being all Carl, intense, shoeless, still in his underwear. Poor man is never getting shoes or pants.

Donut becoming a warlord, poor Donut. But she is awesome.

Gods and Goddesses running around.

Intense, crazy and just amazing in audio.

They call it Faction Wars. The ninth floor.

Nine armies, each led by rich and powerful aliens from across the galaxy. Each team has one objective: to capture and hold the castle at the very center of the battlefield. Strategy, alliances, pitched battles, and, of course, betrayal... It all makes for great fun and even greater television.

After all, none of these powerful aliens really die when they’re playing war.

Except this time. This time, winner takes all. Those who fall, stay in the ground.

As the AI continues its rapid decline, Carl and company take advantage of the chaos. For the first time ever, the crawlers are fighting back. They are now one of the nine teams. And this season, there’s a tenth army on the playing field. The NPCs, who are normally used as nothing but cannon fodder, have become fully self-aware and formed a team of their own.

For Donut and Katia, the stakes are even higher. Only one of them will be allowed to leave this level.

If they all want to survive, they’re going to need a little help from a veteran or two.

This is it.

This is what they’ve been fighting toward.

This is war.

This inevitable ruin.

Audio: All the time in the world

By: Cara Bastone

Narrated by: Emily Bader, Lewis Pullman, Josh Hurley, James Lurie, Merissa Czyz, Marc Vietor, L.J. Ganser

Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher: Audible Originals

Contemporary romance/from audible 

This was fun! I read one of hers which has worm holes, and this is actually set in the same universe! It takes place 5 years later and most worm holes have been closed except for 3.

Celeste and Everett is going to an island (separately) to jump into wormholes. A thing you should not do, but they have things they want to see, do.

So they hike this island, meet each other, and yes it is a romance, so friendship and that HEA is promised. Though it is more friendship to be honest, until they realise that they could be great.

I liked it! Short and fun. And omg the sound effects had me freaking when I was walking and heard wolves.

very good narration too

Celeste Varick has a simple find one of the last wormholes on earth and walk right in. The catch? She has no idea where she'll land, or that she's about to fall for the one stranger chasing the same impossible leap.

Everett Ludlow booked the same charter to the same island to find the same wormholes at the same exact moment. A kindhearted skeptic, he doesn't believe in fate but is desperate enough to leap into the future to save someone he loves.

Forced together in the wilderness, two lost souls start tempting fate, and each other. Neither came here looking for a partner; they came to fix the pasts and futures haunting them. But the longer they brave the wild together, the more the present starts to feel like the one timeline worth fighting for. And as the wormholes draw closer, the scariest leap isn't through time at it's taking a chance on happiness together, right here, right now.