The rage of dragons by Ewan Winter

Paperback, 571 pages

Published March 10th 2020 by Orbit (first published July 16th 2019)

Series: The Burning #1

Fantasy

Own

I really do not like when they give comparisons, GOT meets Gladiator..eh no. Have you read the book at all?

It started good, and worth reading, but did not wow me. But then something happened, and I spent 3 hours straight reading cos I could not put it down.

This is a world where The Chosen fled their land and invaded a new land. Now for the last 300 years they have fought the natives of that land. It is a society of castes. Low and High. They are not allowed to mix because half caste is forbidden.Low can never get high. Their men fodder for an endless war. It is also a society with magic where women with magic can control dragons and make men stronger.

Tau is lower caste. He wants to become a warrior, he strives to become one the only way allowed in his caste.

But life is not fair. And nobles always have the power in this society.

And that is when things got interesting. Nothing like bringing a person to their lowest and see him fight back with all he has. He did that and more. He was insane. He was mad with revenge and bloodlust. It was intense and I did no longer knew what to feel about this world. I mean they are the invaders. And then the things one learn about their own society. Rotten to the core.

Yes sadly Tau got more interesting the more he angry he got. Other people did not compare.

I can't wait to read more and see how it plays out. And what they are running from.

The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable war for almost two hundred years. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.

Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war.

Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He's going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn't get the chance.

Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He'll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.

Audio: Driftwood by Marie Brennan

Narrated by: Christina Delaine

Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 08-14-20

Language: English

Publisher: Tantor Audio

I was honestly really confused for a long time. This was not a story that worked in audio. The narrator was good, but the story needed to be read.

I was all what?

What?

What?

Ok so world dies in the universe and gets pulled into Driftwood, like a black hole thing? THey are all smashed together until they disappear. The concept was great and interesting.

There is someone called Last who is always around. The book consists of short stories that tell about people who have met him. Some good, some confusing.

I am mostly confused. Not a book for audiolovers.

Great concept, confusing to listen to. I will still give it an ok grade for the world she created, but it was honestly a book that I just did not like cos it was too confusing. 

Who is Last?

Fame is rare in Driftwood- it’s hard to get famous if you don’t stick around long enough for people to know you. But many know the guide, Last, a one-blooded survivor who has seen his world end many lifetimes ago. For Driftwood is a strange place of slow apocalypses, where continents eventually crumble into mere neighborhoods, pulled inexorably towards the center in the Crush. Cultures clash, countries fall, and everything eventually disintegrates.

Within the Shreds, a rumor goes around that Last has died. Drifters come together to commemorate him. But who really was Last?

Audio. The Stepping off place by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum

Narrated by: Hope Newhouse

Length: 12 hrs and 14 mins

Release date: 07-28-20

Language: English

Publisher: Quill Tree Books

YA fiction

To review

I have said it before, but when it comes to YA fiction, I prefer the ones that deal with real issues. Those have depth, and meaning.

And in this one we have Reid, a bit of a loner, who feels she is the beta to her bestie. And she is happy like that. But her best friend Hattie goes away every summer for 3 months, and this summer she does not come back.

It was real. Reid sank into a black cloud when she found out Hattie was dead. She went through all emotions, grief, denial, anger. There are flashbacks to their last year, and previous years. The fun they had, and slowly we see more into Hattie, and what happened. Why would she kill herself?

I liked it. It was never actually sad, it was  a search, and a celebration of a friendship. And how grief can shatter someone.

I liked the narrator. She put this insecurity into her Reid voice that fitted so well.

A really good audio to listen to

It's the summer before senior year. Reid is in the thick of Scofield High's in-crowd thanks to her best friend, Hattie, who has been her social oxygen since middle school.

But summer is when Hattie goes to her family's Maine island home. Instead of sitting inside for eight weeks, waiting for her to return, Reid and their friend, Sam, enter into a pact - to live it up, one party at a time. But days before Hattie is due home, Reid finds out the shocking news that Hattie has died by suicide. Driven by a desperate need to understand what went wrong, Reid searches for answers. In doing so, she uncovers painful secrets about the person she thought she knew better than herself. And the truth will force Reid to reexamine everything.

TMST

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings where Rainy discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

July 28th: What things make a good book for you?

Well honestly, the whole package.

BUT,

- Good writing, effortless writing

- Great characters to root for, or hate in a good way

- A great premise

- Good worldbuilding

- Great romance

- Sweet story

- LOL

But again, a book can have one of those and suck. So it does need to have a lot that come together

Discussion: All systems red

Hello all! Carole and I will be discussing "All Systems Red" by Martha Wells.I am in red and Carole in purple.

Author: Martha Wells
Title: All Systems Red
(The Murderbot Diaries #1)
Genre: SciFi, Novella
Published:  May 2nd 2017 
Format: ebook
Pages: 114

Summary: In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn't a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied 'droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as "Murderbot." Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

Discussion:

I have heard so much about this series, so I was really curious to start. And a novella was just what I needed.

Same! I think we needed a nice novella. I know I did for sure. 

Yes, I just haven’t had time to read. I was in a sort of time funk. And novellas are good when they actually work. Which I felt this one did

So odd! I’ve been in a small funk too for July. Not sure why. But yes - I needed this. It was fun and short. 

Weid, last week I finally got something done cos I had to do something else at work which left me mostly alone for 8 hours. I was all finally, audio time! And reading time ;)

BF went to Alabama again for work this weekend (starting Thursday) so I’ve been binging a little bit. LOL So maybe I found my rhythm again thanks to this novella ;) 

Might have been the case for me too, since reading it I finished another book, print! I finished 2 audios. I was all YES. Omg but yes let’s talk about the novella too, ooops. So right, what did you think

Hey! This needed our call-out of helping us get outta our funks! But I liked it. I didn’t LOVE it like I wanted to, but I liked it a lot. It was fun and different. 

Same. I liked it, I did not love it as I wanted to. But it was so different, and exactly what I needed to get my groove on.

I did catch myself chuckling here and there. Was it supposed to have elements of comedy? That bot was funny. 

I assume so? I was thinking it would be like action thriller omg robots will kill us all, and then we met Murderbot. Ha, she was great.

So maybe the comedy was used like how they do in the movies. It gives a relief from all the action and thriller bits? But yes, I loved her. She was fun. 

Really well done in that aspect. It needed the relief, else it would have been really dry. It worked well as a novella too. It was a look into her life. And I do want to read more. What next?

Agreed! I think it would’ve been boring without the bot and her antics. I do want to read the next one. I’m curious if we get to see more of her? Or will we see another bot?

I haven’t actually read a blurb for the next, I hope it is her! I want to know what is going on in this world and with her.

Same. I haven’t really read about the next one. We’ll have to check, because if it is I think we should read that! I want to learn more about her and see what she is up to next. She really was the shining star of the story. I barely remember the other characters. 

Other characters? Ha, but yes she was the shining star. I am looking up the next one now, waaaait,...omg she goes back to that mine she was talking about. Where shit went down.

OOOOOOOOOOO snap. We’ll HAVE to read book 2 D: 

Book 2 in August?

I vote yes on that! I wanna read more!! One negative with shorter books….I always want more lol. 

True.But I am still really glad this was short. I needed that, and hey we have like 4 more so ;)

True true. LOL. But I liked her a lot. I’m glad there are more books. I am curious to see what happens/happened at that mine. It’s bound to be good. 

I am so glad we have a plan and that that plan is short! I really need to read more novellas like this. I was unsure about them when TOR started with them, but they obvi picked good ones.

Agreed!! Plus there is a lot of story left with our bot!! 

Yes! Ok, so yes I would recommend this. The kind of sci-fi I can work with

Yep! I’m not crazy about SciFi (I read like 5 a year I swear) and I really enjoyed this. It was done well.

The end?

The end! ‘Til next time! 

About the Authors

Carole and Blodeuedd have been blogging for a long while now. The last few years the epic duo has been discussing books, watching movies, and even wetting the pen and sharing their stories with the worldwide web. They both love cats, chocolate, and a good story.

Short Movie Review: Aladdin

A kind-hearted street urchin and a power-hungry Grand Vizier vie for a magic lamp that has the power to make their deepest wishes come true.

Director: Guy Ritchie

Writers: John August (screenplay by), Guy Ritchie (screenplay by)

Stars: Will Smith, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott 

2h 8min | Adventure, Comedy, Family 

This was fun, I was not sure I would like this liveaction (BB was not a good one), but then Aladdin has humour and that saves it. The musical numbers were quite meh though.

I never realised Aladdin is such a moron, sheesh, how is that guy alive?

Will Smith was great!

Who was the weird Russian? that wanted to marry Jasmine?

I liked how they mixed things so not to show one origin of Agrabad.

Recommend. yes.

Audio. The Book of Dragons

By: Jonathan Strahan - editor

Narrated by: Matthew Waterson, Lorna Bennett, Eleanor Caudill, Feodor Chin, Mimi Chang, MW Cartozian Wilson

Length: 17 hrs and 44 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 07-07-20

Language: English

Publisher: HarperAudio

Anthology Fantasy Scifi Fiction etc

To review

As all anthologies, there are bad ones, there are good ones, there are meh ones. Sadly most fell in the meh or bad ones. 

Some stories just felt like the began and ended and was a part of something bigger, and not in a good way. The good one got the short story format right.

Poetry, yeah not in audio. Def not

Favorites were Pox by Ellen Klages, Nine Curves river by RF Kuang, Lucky's Dragon by Kelly Barnhill,Except on Saturdays by Peter S. Beagle, The Long Walk by Kate Elliott, Hoard by Seanan McGuire, Maybe Just Go Up There and Talk to It by Scott Lynch

That is 7 stories out of 29! Yeah, not an anthology I recommend

What heroism tells us by Jane Yolen
What?
Oh, poem
Meh

Matriculation by Elle Katherine White
Rather boring. She needs money to study. She has a mechanical dragon. The end

The tale of the Naga Sage by Zen Cho
I felt like it should have been longer, i mean was there even a ending?

Yuli by Daniel Abraham
I eh, what is going on? I could not keep my focus on this for a second

A whisper of blue by Ken Liu
I felt it had a good premise, and could have worked as a real story. Now it just felt short.

Nidhong by Jo Walton
I am not a poetry person

Where the river runs to concrete by Brooke Bolander
Good bones, could have been a good UF book. But now, jumpy and confusing at times

Habitat by K. J. Parker
It had its merits, but that ending was so abrupt

Pox by Ellen Klages
A story with no dragons and I liked it the most so far. Ha, weird


The Nine Curves River by R.F. Kuang
I liked this one. It was also sad


Lucky's Dragon by Kelly Barnhill
I liked this one and the humour within


I Make Myself a Dragon by Beth Cato
Another poem 😭

The Exile by JY Yang
Interesting premise. Not much story


Except on Saturdays by Peter S. Beagle
I liked this one. Easy to follow. Felt like rhe short story it should be

La vitesse
I could not focus. Didn't get the flashbacks

A Final Knight to Her Love and Foe by Amal El-Mohtar
Poetry. Meh

The Long Walk by Kate Elliott
It started a bit meh, it finished great. Loved the concept

Cut Me Another Quill, Mister Fitz by Garth Nix
Boring

Hoard by Seanan McGuire
Exactly like a short story should be

The Wyrm of Lirr by C. S. E. Cooney
I sm just not a poetry person. Esp not in audio

The Last Hunt by Aliette de Bodard
I have had this problem with her books before. I can't focus in audio. Interesting premise

We Continue by Ann Leckie and Rachel Swirsky
I felt again it did not work as a short story. More questions than answers

Small Bird's Plea by Todd McCaffrey
I feel this should have been read instead

The Dragons by Theodora Goss
Very short. Nothing happened

Dragon Slayer by Michael Swanwick
I can't remember anything. I finished 15 min ago.

Camouflage by Patricia A. McKillip
Again. Remember nothing

We Don't Talk About the Dragon by Sarah Gailey
A bit too repetitive. Also why all that work fir nothing? Made no sense

Maybe Just Go Up There and Talk to It by Scott Lynch
First no, then it turned out good

A Nice Cuppa by Jane Yolen
poem, nope


View all my reviews

Audio. Married to the Viscount by Sabina Jeffries

Narrated by: Rachael Beresford

Series: Swanlea Spinsters Series, Book 5

Length: 13 hrs and 8 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 07-07-20

Language: English

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Historical romance

to review

Abigail was married by proxy to a viscount. She remembers Spencer fondly and is looking forward to a new life.

She is half native American. She can make potions. Her father left their company to her new husband. She is opinionated . She is American *gasps*

While Spencer has a stick up his butt. He loves his work at the Home office. He doesn't want kids. He doesn't want a wife. He was very gruff. But he had that goodness inside that he didn't let out.

Until they meet. And argue cos wtf I didn't marry you?! And argue. And are upset and lust after each other

I enjoyed it cos he had his silly reasons that sure I understood but let it go man!

Good narrator. Nice American and English accent. Very good with Spencer's voice. Enjoyable narrator 

Abigail Mercer was thrilled at being reunited with Spencer Law, whom she met once and later married by proxy. But now Viscount Ravenswood denies all knowledge of their union! Too many witnesses have made it impossible for the secretive Spencer to reject his bride without causing a scandal. So he has proposed a marriage in name only until they can locate his mysteriously absent younger brother - who is responsible for everything! - and untangle this messy affair.

Abigail is incensed, irate...and irresistibly attracted to this handsome, infuriating man who hides his smoldering passion behind a proper exterior. So the lady will agree to his terms on one condition: Spencer must seal their bargain with a kiss. But he finds that one deep, lingering, unforgettable kiss isn't nearly enough. And keeping his hands off his pretty wife is going to be much harder than he thought.

TMST

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings where Rainy discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

July 21st: What ruins a good read for you?

Omg SO many things. And of course when I have to think of it I have nothing.

Bad writing. Some writers should not be allowed to write. But then that is not a good read because that you see at once. Like the first sentence

A good book with a bad ending. FU BOOK!

Still angry about this one, gods, so many books ruined because of bad endings. There are series that have been ruined this way for me. Ugh. SO many books ruined.

In fantasy, violence and rape that is just there for the sake of it.

Jumping in time! Recently this has started to bug me.It can make some books confusing.

Weird names, all the time, in fantasy, and too many povs. Like a 100. Sometimes it works, sometiems not,

Carole's Monday

Author: M.L. Farb
Title: The King's Shadow
(The King Trials #2)
Genre: Fantasy
Format: ebook
Pages: 410
Published:  December 21st 2019
Where I Got It: My shelf (Given to me by the author/published) 

Summary:
Two princes lead a war-broken people. One rules while the other serves in the shadows, haunted by encroaching death.

Halavant overthrew his queen mother to save his people from slavery, and now she seeks his life. Yosyph acts as the new king's eyes and ears, but being invisible comes at great cost and his life is slipping away.

To save his closest friend, Halavant travels to the land of the skin-carving Carani, leaving Yosyph to rule a troubled people despite his ill health and the nobles on the verge of rebellion.

Unless Halavant can survive in the land of his enemies to find a cure and Yosyph can unite the frightened and starving people against a second war, both will die and their budding democracy will crumble under a new tyrant.



Review:

I was excited to get my hands on this since I really enjoyed book 1. 

We continue on the journey of Halavant and Yosyph. The queen mother is overthrown and the people are saved from slavery. However, the battle is not over. Yosyph is the new King's eyes and ears, but being invisible is putting his life at risk and he is wasting away. To save him, Halavant has to travel to the land of the skin-carving Carani and find a cure. While he's gone Yosyph has to try and rule the troubled people who are the verge of rebellion. 

They cannot have a moment of relaxation and peace! I feel for them for sure, but I figured it wasn't going to be easy taking over these people and bringing peace. They were under the queen's thumb for so long. Poor people. 

I do like how you can read this as a standalone okay, but I do highly encourage reading book 1 to fully see everything and watch our characters grow. Totally worth it. 

There was a romance mixed in, but it didn't take over the story which made me happy. They have enough on their plates! But yes - we do get to see some resolution and love that I've been rooting for since book 1. NO spoilers at all. SOOO I will stop there ;)

I will also applaud the author for not letting Katrin and Elise fall in the background and be damsels. They had a huge part in the story too. I like both of them a lot too and I was worried that now that were going to be left behind and not included since the boys have their power. Yayy. 

This was a quick read. I got this done in 3 sittings. I really couldn't put it down. I was sooooo worried about Yosyph (who is my absolutely my favorite). Eeee! SAVE HIM DON'T LET HIM WASTE AWAY! WAAH! 

The ending was good. It made me cheer!

Overall, I really liked this as much as book 1. The characters have really continued to grow and the adventure is not over for our team. I couldn't put this down. I highly recommend this series if you are looking for a good fantasy. Maybe there will be a book 3 ;). I'm going to stamp this with 4 stars. 

Short Movie Review: Shazam

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson's case, by shouting out one word - SHAZAM - this streetwise fourteen-year-old foster kid can turn into the grown-up superhero Shazam.

Director: David F. Sandberg

Writers: Henry Gayden (screenplay by), Henry Gayden (story by) 

Stars: Zachary Levi, Mark Strong, Asher Angel

 2h 12min | Action, Adventure, Comedy 

This started slow and I was not impressed, but then it got funny and honestly, best superhero movie in quite some time. Take that marvel movies who have been boring!

Levi was great too!

Recommend:

Yes, but beware of that slow beginning. It was a fun movie for the whole family.

In an absent dream by Seanan McGuire

Kindle Edition, 187 pages

Published January 8th 2019 by Tor.com

Series: Wayward Children #4

Portal fantasy

Own

I think this was my least favorite so far. It was good, but not as great as the other ones. I feel it was because I felt like I was missing the best parts.

She went to the goblin market

She came back

We never hear of the interesting things that happened. The ones that wounded her so deeply that she went home again.

She goes back

And home again

Again we are missing the interesting bits

And her best friend was toxic and the goblin market totally effed with Lundy. She did so much and then she got effed like that? Well fu back goblin market.

Still good, but yes the darkest and depressing one

This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.

When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.

Audio: Tempt me at twilight by Lisa Kleypas

By: Lisa Kleypas

Narrated by: Rosalyn Landor

Series: Hathaways, Book 3

Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 06-23-20

Language: English

Publisher: HarperAudio

Historical romance

To review

I forgot to write my review when it was fresh in my mind! How?

Poppy is nice sweet and wants to marry a good man, have a nice house and kids. A nice respectable and quiet life. Because her family is rather messy and scandalous.

Harry is, well kind of an asshole, nah, a bit of a sociopath, hmm, yes maybe. He is ruthless, but he does show kindness. He is powerful, but does think about others. He will do anything to get what he wants, yes that is true.

And he wants Poppy, so he does anything he can do get her. And well obvi he does it the wrong way. Oh I would hate him, but then the guy Poppy liked did not really make an effort. If you loved her you would have done anything!

Marriage of Must. They have to marry. And she learns to see there is more behind that ruthlessness, and so do we. And I really do like him, because he is kind, but that always borders on something else. He learns and I enjoyed the journey.

Great narrator that puts voices to these characters. A good range and I especially like the lazy rake voice of Poppy's brother. It fits him so well

It makes it a good book listening to 

Though she adores her quirky family, Poppy longs for a conventional life. But nothing, especially love, is ordinary when you’re a Hathaway....During a stay at the magnificent Rutledge Hotel in London, effervescent Poppy Hathaway captures the attention of Harry Rutledge himself. With his brilliant mind and ruthless nature, Harry does whatever it takes to get what he wants. Fascinated by Poppy’s sweetness and charm, he comes up with a devious plot to steal her from another man and marry her himself.

At first, Poppy is charmed by the handsome genius, who rescues her from scandal with an offer of marriage. But when she discovers how her new husband betrayed her, Poppy flees the marriage. Now it’s up to Harry to prove he can change his ways. Only by opening his heart, and loving Poppy with all the tenderness he’s capable of, will he convince her to give him another chance. And despite Poppy’s reluctance to forgive him, she realizes her shrewd, sexy husband may just turn out to be the man of her dreams.

TMST

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings where Rainy discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

July 14th: Does your reviewing style change depending on the book? (Courtesy of Roberta@ Offbeat YA)

I guess you all are the better judge of that. But I do feel that my review style is  mostly the same. It never changes. Though the really bad one maybe makes the style more noticeable ;)

I have fallen into this style, and can't change it

Carole's Monday: The Devil's Own by Liana LeFey

Author: Liana LeFey 

Title: The Devil's Own

(The Wicked Waywards #1)

Genre: Historical Romance

Format: ebook

Pages: 400 

Expected publication: October 19th 2020

Where I Got It: My shelf (Netgalley) 

Summary:

All hell breaks loose, when the devil falls in love with an angel.

Lord Devlin Wayward, gambler and dedicated rake, returns home for the first time in years, and lands himself and his identical twin, Daniel, the good reverend, in deep trouble. Devlin ends up with a broken leg and unable to travel to London, yet he must return. He’s got an important deal that will make or break his fortune. He persuades the reluctant reverend to take his place in London while he temporarily minds his brother’s flock.

Miss Mary Tomblin is taken with the devastatingly handsome reverend. He represents everything she desires in a husband, after narrowly evading a ruthless rake last Season. Mary knows she'll make him an excellent wife, but the vicar rebuffs every advance – until he suddenly accepts her help with pastoral duties while his broken leg heals. Mary seizes the chance to show the good reverend what an excellent helpmeet she will be.

The devil takes on the role of village vicar and discovers it's nowhere near as easy as he imagined—especially when he falls in love with an angel who mistakes him for a saint.

Review:

After seeing that cover I could not deny this book! It is so pretty! Plus I was intrigued how this story was going to play out. 

We have Miss Mary Tomblin who is taken with the handsome reverend. He represents everything she wants in a husband especially after evading a ruthless rake in the last Season. But this reverend has evaded and rebuffed all her advances. We then have the dedicated rake and gambler, Lord Devlin Wayward, who is the twin brother of the reverend. He returns home for the first time in years and lands himself and his twin in some trouble when Devlin ends up with a broken leg. In order to not losing an important trade deal in London, he forces his twin to trade places. Devlin agrees to mind the flock and let down Mary easily. Well...things do not go to plan. 

Oh you dang idiot Devlin!!!!!! UGH. I wanted to smack him around. He had a million and two chances to tell Mary the truth and find away around this stupid plan he and Daniel created. Idiots. Big ol' idiots. Daniel is equally to blame!

And you Mary....sighs. You are an innocent, yes, but leave the poor reverend alone. I get you like him and wanna get married ASAP, but my lord. And that scene at the Devlin/Daniel's place. C'mon lady. 

We have two idiots doing idiot things and no wonder we got such a tangled mess. BUUUUUT it was fun to try and see them untangle this with as little damage done. It was certainly a mess. Where is my popcorn to watch them figure everything out??? I was worried. YES. I was worried, but I could NOT stop reading the last 25% of the book especially when a big ol' twist was tossed in. I totally should've expected it, but by dang...it got me. Kuddos to the author there!!

Okay - so my one BIG issue was the HUGE lull in the middle. Honestly it could've been cut a little bit and we could've had more time with Devlin and Mary in their bliss. NOO spoilers folks...this is a HR after all ;) You know they figure it out and find love. But yes...I really was yawning for a couple of chapters there. 

OOO and I also am meh about Devlin...maybe seeing more of him and Mary in their bliss would've changed my mind completely. Yes, he does redeem himself, but still. MEH. 

Overall, this was certainly a ride with a lot of twists and turns and knots to untangle. Sure, there was a big lull in the middle, but the crazy ride made up for it. I wanted more time with them being in love, but I enjoyed what I did get to see. I am curious about book 2 someday. I'll give this 3 stars. 

Challenge(s):
- #6 on THE BAD BOYS OF ROMANCE challenge

The lost princess returns by Jeffe Kennedy

More than two decades have gone by since Imperial Princess Jenna, broken in heart and body, fled her brutal marriage—and the land of her birth. She’s since become Ivariel: warrior, priestess of Danu, trainer of elephants, wife and mother. Wiser, stronger, happier, Ivariel has been content to live in her new country, to rest her battered self, and to recover from the trauma of what happened to her when she was barely more than a girl.

But magic has returned to the world—abruptly and with frightening force—and Ivariel takes that profound change as a sign that it’s time to keep a promise she made to the sisters she left behind. Ivariel must leave the safety she’s found and return to face the horrors she fled.

As Ivariel emerges from hiding, she discovers that her vicious brother is now Emperor of Dasnaria, and her much-hated mother, the Dowager Empress Hulda, is aiding him in his reign of terror. Worse, it seems that Hulda’s resurrection of the tainted god Deyrr came about as a direct result of Jenna’s flight long ago.

It’s up to Ivariel—and the girl she stopped being long ago—to defeat the people who cruelly betrayed her, and to finally liberate her sisters. Determined to cleanse her homeland of the evil that nearly destroyed her, Ivariel at last returns to face the past.

But this time, she’ll do it on her own terms. 

Kindle Edition, 170 pages

Published June 29th 2020

Series: The Twelve Kingdoms Complete Universe [publication order] #11.5, The Uncharted Realms #5.5

Fantasy

To review

Was this really the ending? I mean everything was wrapped up with a nice bow on it. So all these journeys are over? I am sad, I am also happy to have an ending at last, but yes mostly sad. I will miss them all.

In this one, novella length. Ivariel is back, the lost princess Jenna who learned that women are not chattel and she created a new future for herself. And she is needed to bring down an Empire. Together with Jepp, Kraal, Harlan, Karyn, yes yes a lot of oldies will help with bringing down Hestar.

And that is what this book is about. Rallying the troops for a quick coup.

I did like how it all came together, how the old couples are always shown, and how it was quick, cos sometimes you need a quick coup.We have had enough bloodshed through out the books.

But still, was this really it? I need more novels in this world :D

Oh, I did ask the author and she said we will see. Sometimes a world just feels like home

Vacuum in the dark by Jen Beagin

Hardcover, 240 pages

Published April 4th 2019 by Oneworld Publications

Fiction

Library

I honestly do not know what I was supposed to feel about this book. For writing she will get a good grade, but, yeah I do not know.

Everyone seemed to want to sleep with Mona, every man and woman she met.

Then she has flashbacks of her creepy pedo grandpa.

She cleans around with houses, befriends her employers, since everyone also wants to be her friend, and do her

spoiler

Was Dark her father? The end was so unclear and weird. But he had another last name. God, I do not know. This was a effed up book filled with incest, rape and wtf. LIKE WTF  spoiler

Maybe cos I had nothing else to read, but wtf was this book. I do not recommend it. But it was still good, I just wished that it would not have been so creepily sexualized.

Also laugh at loud? What, no, sure she finds poop everywhere in a house, but that is it

Mona is twenty-six and cleans houses for a living in Taos, New Mexico. She moved there mostly because of a bad boyfriend—a junkie named Mr. Disgusting, long story—and her efforts to restart her life since haven’t exactly gone as planned. For one thing, she’s got another bad boyfriend. This one she calls Dark, and he happens to be married to one of Mona’s clients. He also might be a little unstable.

Dark and his wife aren’t the only complicated clients on Mona’s roster, either. There’s also the Hungarian artist couple who—with her addiction to painkillers and his lingering stares—reminds Mona of troubling aspects of her childhood, and some of the underlying reasons her life had to be restarted in the first place. As she tries to get over the heartache of her affair and the older pains of her youth, Mona winds up on an eccentric, moving journey of self-discovery that takes her back to her beginnings where she attempts to unlock the key to having a sense of home in the future.

The only problems are Dark and her past. Neither is so easy to get rid of.

A constantly surprising, laugh-out-loud funny novel about an utterly unique woman dealing with some of the most universal issues in America today, Vacuum in the Dark is an unforgettable, astonishing read from one of the freshest voices in fiction today. 

Audio: About a rogue by Caroline Linden

Narrated by: Beverley A. Crick

Series: Desperately Seeking Duke, Book 1

Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins

Unabridged Audiobook

Release date: 06-30-20

Language: English

Publisher: HarperAudio

Historical romance

In exchange for an honest review

It did not take long to know where the drama and secrets would come from, and mostly I am all, what not speak up!? But, then it was explained and I understood, some secrets if told too soon will not be seen in the best light, even if to us they are nothing. So for once I had to agree with secret keeping.

Max is suddenly the heir to a Duke, but he is rake, and he needs to prove himself. In comes the Tate family and their pottery factory. There he can show that he is more than meets the eye. If he can only get the Tate daughter to marry him.

Ok so he kept a secret. Bianca despised him at once cos she saw him as a no good rogue that only wanted her for her money.

She argues, he is patient. He is falling, she thinks he is a scoundrel. He learns everything there is to know about their company. She looks at his well turned calves, wait what? Yes she is slowly melting by the sight of that.

I liked Max. He saw an opportunity. He had connections, they had money. And he liked her spirit. It was a fine dance they had

I liked the narrator. Good male and female voices. Good pace and I could easily fall into it 

Cover

Omg look! It fits so well!

Bianca Tate is horrified when her sister Cathy is obliged to accept an offer of marriage from Maximilian St. James, notorious rake. Defiantly she helps Cathy elope with her true love, and takes her sister's place at the altar.

It's not even the match that was made...

Perched on the lowest branch of his family tree, Max has relied on charm and cunning to survive. But an unexpected stroke of luck gives him an outside chance at a dukedom--and which Tate sister he weds hardly seems to matter.

But could it be the perfect match?

Married or not, Bianca is determined to protect her family's prosperous ceramics business, even when Max shows an affinity for it--not to mention a dangerous ability to intrigue and tempt Bianca herself. And when Max realizes how beautiful and intelligent and desirable Bianca is, he'll have to prove he's no rogue, but the passionately devoted husband she craves..

TMST

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post on Rainy Day Ramblings where Rainy discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging. Weigh in and join the conversation by adding your thoughts in the comments. If you want to do your own post, grab the question and answer it on your blog.

 July 7th: How do you feel about book banning?

A big no to book banning. But at the same time, think about some books written, like horrible evil ones, with morally, ethically things in them, well those should never be.

But then when books are banned it's often for wrong reasons. How others try to control what others read. Books that should be read.

Oh my brain can't think, someone else will say it betetr

Carole's Monday: Stone song by Tricia O'Malley

Author: Tricia O'Malley 
Narrator: Amy Landon
Title: Stone Song
(The Isle of Destiny #1)
Genre: Fantasy, PNR
Format: Audiobook 
Pages: 296  
Published: June 2nd 2016
Where I Got It: My shelf (Audible)

Summary: Clare MacBride has her life in exactly the order she wants it. In a year, she’ll have finished her geology dissertation, though she’s no closer to figuring out the answer to one question that plagues her.

Why does she feel stones pulse with energy?

A centuries-old curse, a mysterious faction of protectors, and a mythological godstone all sound like old world fairytale nonsense to Clare. It only takes one rainy evening with a silver-eyed fae and a handsome stranger promising protection to rock her world forever.

With her life plans shattered at her feet, the lines of science and fiction blur as Clare is forced to throw everything she knows about the world out the window and look deep within her heart for answers.

Review:
Sooooooo I finally decided to try another book of this author since I am having withdraws from the series I just finished (which I heard a rumor she is adding a book to that series. eee!)

The story follows Clare who thought she had life all set up and ready to go. Her plans shatter like glass at her feet when she realizes she is chosen by forces beyond her control. She must put her life and heart on the line on this journey. 

My favorite part of this book is the fact that it takes place in the same world as the other series! You do not have to read the other series to understand, but it really made it feel like I was at home. It was so nice to see a couple of people from the previous books make a quick appearance. ^_^

Oh Clare. Oh Clare. I have mixed feelings about you. 

Blake...he was okay. Very grumpy but he has been in love with Clare for 10 years and couldn't even say hi to her without messing up her fate. So sad. 

I LOVED Clare's friend. She was adorable. I think I would've liked her to be the Chosen One ;) hehe. 

This was far too short. I feel like we need more time as they try and solve the mystery and find the stone. I wanted more time with these 4 adventurers. Maybe we'll see them more in  the next book? We shall see. 

The narrator is awesome as per normal. Love her voices!!

Overall, I liked it, but I felt like there should've been more. I'll have to read book 2 someday. I'll give this 3 stars. 

Challenge(s):

- #29 for Audiobook Challenge