Monday 31 January 2022
Carole's Monday. The black swan of Paris
Saturday 29 January 2022
Short movie review: Tolkien
Thursday 27 January 2022
Good neighbors by Stephanie Burgis
Format: 182 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication: February 2, 2022 by Five Fathoms Press
Cozy fantasy romance
To review
This is four novellas made into a book, and it does work well. It is just like 4 different longer chapters.
It's an 18th century world with magic and monsters , well beings, but some do want to wipe out everything different.
And Mia and her father moves into a little village. She is different and had to leave. Her nearest neighbor is an annoying necromancer (who is also hot.) In the first story they are bickering. Then they have a mission. And then there is also drama at the end with those idiots who do not like different.
Sure things happen fast because they are novellas in the end, but it work because there is not specific time of events.
Mia was cool, she could make anything mechanic, and there is a hidden thing to her too. As for Leander, sure he is a necromancer, but he seems like a decent guy. And this is a romance too so they will grow closer.
As for the end, well everyone is happy for now in their crazy little village. But I would like more from this world because it is really interesting, and those evil guys are still out there.
Cool world, interesting story and romance promised too.
When a grumpy inventor meets her outrageous new neighbor in the big black castle down the road, more than one type of spark will fly! Mia Brandt knows better than to ever again allow her true powers to be discovered. Ever since her last neighbors burned down her workshop in a night of terror and flame, she's been determined to stay solitary, safe, and - to all outside appearances - perfectly respectable...
But Leander Fabian, whose sinister castle looms over her cozy new cottage, has far more dangerous ideas in mind. When he persuades Mia into a reluctant alliance, she finds herself swept into an exhilarating world of midnight balls, interfering countesses, illicit opera house expeditions, necromantic duels, and a whole unnatural community of fellow magic-workers and outcasts, all of whom are facing a terrifying threat.
Luckily, Mia has unnatural powers of her own - but even her unique skills may not be enough to protect her new found family and help her resist the wickedly provoking neighbor who's seen through all of her shields from the beginning.
This novel-length collection includes all four stories and novellas originally published on Stephanie Burgis's Patreon in 2020-2021: Good Neighbors, Deadly Courtesies, Fine Deceptions, and Fierce Company.
Wednesday 26 January 2022
Audio review: One true loves
Narrated by: Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Series: Happily Ever Afters, Book 2
Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
Release date: 01-04-22
Publisher: HarperAudio
YA romance
to review
Lenore is an artist, but she is not really sure where her place in the world is. Yes she is going to NYU, but to study what? What does she want to be? And her family is constantly pressuring her. She has to do better, be better, because being black she will never get the same chance as others.
And we als get to see what that pressure does to her, and her brother. Though her kid sister seems to be a genius who will probably thrive under any pressure.
But besides generational pressure there is also romance. And a Mediterranean cruise!
Lenore meets Alex. The perfect boy (according to her parents), and she is so annoyed with him (I did not get why, like give the kid a chance.) So she is annoyed with him, they become friends, and they become more. But can she give him a real chance cos of heartbreaks in the past? It was a sweet romance, yes every this is true love stuff.
I enjoyed it, it handled a lot, but it handled it well. I also got really curious about the first book where her friend finds her perfect one.
Good narration. She did well with male and female voices and it worked so well.
Lenore Bennett has always been a force. A star artist and style icon at her high school, she’s a master in the subtle art of not giving a...well, you know what. But now that graduation is here, she’s a little less sure. She’s heading to NYU in the fall with a scarlet U (for “undeclared”) written across her chest. Her parents always remind her that Black kids don’t have the luxury of figuring it out as they go - they have to be 110 percent prepared. But it’s a lot of pressure to be her ancestors’ wildest dreams when Lenore’s not even sure what her dreams are yet. When her family embarks on a post-graduation Mediterranean cruise, her friend Tessa is sure Lenore’s in for a whirlwind romance. But Lenore knows that doesn’t happen to girls like her.
Then she meets Alex Lee. After their parents bond over the Cupid Shuffle, she ends up stuck with him for the remainder of the cruise. He’s a hopeless romantic and a golden boy with a 10-year plan. In short, he’s irritating as hell.
But as they get to know each other during the picturesque stops across Europe, Alex may be able to help Lenore find something else she’s been looking for, even if she doesn’t want to admit it to herself: love.
Tuesday 25 January 2022
TMST
Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 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. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.
1/25/2022
What do you do when that pesky review makes you work for it?
I do not really have that problem, it is more that oh I should write that review! And then the clock is too much, and I leave it for another day.
I do not overthink my reviews. I write them in my own style. They are my thoughts as they are at that time. But sure if there is a really pesky one I just write, do not stop, do not think. Just write
Monday 24 January 2022
Carole's Monday: Tea for three
Saturday 22 January 2022
Audio review: His lessons on love
Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins
Release date: 01-25-22
Publisher: HarperAudio
Historical romance
To review
Clarissa and Mars think the worst of each other. She is boring, he is too much. But we all know they will fall helplessly in love.
Mars used to drink too much, but he has gotten better. But then his ex mistress shows up and leaves a baby. Wow, what an ahole. She did not care one but, just left the baby and said she had someone new. Ugh. And he is so unprepared and rushes out to get help.
Which brings us to Clarissa, who just lost her job and behind her stands a bunch of scheming older women. She will help out as the nanny.
Stuck in a house with a cute baby, check!
There is more too, drama with an old enemy, his evil mother shows up, and lots of time for them to fall in love.
I enjoyed it. They had to work for it and he had to let go of some old grudges to be what she needed, and what he wanted to be.
Good narration. Distinct voices and easy to follow along with. It is Eyre after all, she is always great
Lesson number one: A man, even titled and handsome, cannot be careless forever.
The Earl of Marsden - better known as Mars to all - has lived his life by his own rules…until he is presented with a very big problem in a very tiny package - a baby girl, his daughter cast off by his ex-mistress. Mars won’t let his child be cast adrift, except he doesn’t know the first thing about babies.
Panicking, he turns to a woman for help. Not just any woman, but Clarissa Taylor, village spinster, matron-in-training, and Mars’s greatest critic. Still, who better to tend a motherless child than a woman who was abandoned as a babe herself?
Lesson number two: Life always plays the upper hand - especially when it comes to love.
Clarissa desperately wishes to not to be beholden to anyone. She has spent a lifetime being pitied by the village. Her plan is simple - to use what the intolerable earl will pay her to become her own woman. It all sounds so straightforward until the threat of scandal sends her and the one man she can’t abide toward...marriage?
Mars and Clarissa are about to learn the greatest lesson of all - that sparks always fly when the iron is hot.
Thursday 20 January 2022
Audio review: The Kindred by Alechia DOw
Narrated by: Dominique Moore, Amin El Gamal
Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
Release date: 01-04-22
Publisher: Harlequin Audio
In exchange for an honest review
YA Scifi romance
In a galaxy far far away a kingdom decided to pair up people so their minds connected. Which is disturbing in a way, like someone there 24/7. And almost all fall in love. Again, sure you know each other outside and inside, but almost all? Did they invent the best dating app ever? Sell it! Make some money.
Anyway, Joy is poor, Felix is a Duke. They are kindred, so they do love each other to bits, but have never met in person. Felix is a spoiled brat. Joy is hardworking and optimistic.
Evil space drama! Save Joy!
And Earth?! Rather disappointing, most boring place in the universe. But Felix and Joy likes it, so I guess it is ok then
I liked it, fun, a but of danger and romance. Since they do want to be together, but they are from different worlds. Literally.
Good narration. He really got Felix, that spoiled teenager who thinks he is all that, and well he is all that. A nice variation of voices. Same with the narration of Joy, she did well there.
They blended well
Joy Abara knows her place. A commoner from the lowly planet Hali, she lives a simple life—apart from the notoriety that being Kindred to the nobility’s most infamous playboy brings. Duke Felix Hamdi has a plan. He will exasperate his noble family to the point that they agree to let him choose his own future and finally meet his Kindred face-to-face.
Then the royal family is assassinated, putting Felix next in line for the throne…and accused of the murders. Someone will stop at nothing until he’s dead, which means they’ll target Joy, too. Meeting in person for the first time as they steal a spacecraft and flee amid chaos might not be ideal…and neither is crash-landing on the strange backward planet called Earth. But hiding might just be the perfect way to discover the true strength of the Kindred bo
Wednesday 19 January 2022
Audio: The Henna wars by Adiba Jaigirdar
Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
Release date: 05-12-20
Publisher: Listening Library
YA fiction
To review
One of my audiobooksync books, and since I was out of books I gave it go.
Set in Ireland, which was refreshing for once. Not that we got that much Ireland in the end, lol.
Nishat is Bengali. Attends a Catholic school. And she is gay. So first there is always racial tension, since there are not many poc students. And then the whole school finds out she likes girls. She also has problems at home because muslims are not gay. This book tackles so much, like when there is a contest at school and she decides to do henna, but her Brazilian-Irish crush also decides to do henna. So then we got cultural appropriation too.
If I have to judge something, then maybe it is handling too much. It all works, it's just, instead of anyone learning or accepting things just happen. Her parents barely speak to her, and suddenly they are cool with it. She accepts that her school is a bit racist and homophobic and that is it. I know that that happens, but no one learns a thing. Not that is her job though. But maybe a focus on 2 out of 3 would have given more time for subjects.
Because now we have Nishat falling for Flavia, and maybe there is romance too ;)
All in all, it was a good book that tackled a lot of difficult subjects. I can't say if I have read a single book set in Bangledesh or with Bengali characters. It's always their western neighbors that you read about
Good narration. She did well with different characters and got tone and age very well.
When Nishat comes out to her parents, they say she can be anyone she wants—as long as she isn’t herself. Because Muslim girls aren’t lesbians. Nishat doesn’t want to hide who she is, but she also doesn’t want to lose her relationship with her family. And her life only gets harder once a childhood friend walks back into her life.
Flávia is beautiful and charismatic and Nishat falls for her instantly. But when a school competition invites students to create their own businesses, both Flávia and Nishat choose to do henna, even though Flávia is appropriating Nishat’s culture. Amidst sabotage and school stress, their lives get more tangled—but Nishat can’t quite get rid of her crush on Flávia, and realizes there might be more to her than she realized.
Tuesday 18 January 2022
TMST
Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 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. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.
1/18/2022
What have been your most fulfilling blogger/author interactions so far?
Author interaction *crickets*, I honestly do not know. I can not say that anything has stood out beyond other ones. Maybe one day I will have that fulfilling one.
Blogger interaction, but that is easy! All my blogger interactions are fulfilling <3
1/25/2022
What do you do when that pesky review makes you work for it?
Monday 17 January 2022
Carole's Monday review: Changeling by Yasmine Galenorn
Friday 14 January 2022
Audio: The highlander's captive by Mary Wine
Narrated by: Timothy Campbell
Series: Highland Rogues, Book 3
Length: 6 hrs and 42 mins
Release date: 01-18-22
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Historical romance
To review
The concept are usually similar, but i still enjoy them all. And this time around the heroine had it easier, cos some of them are sure made to suffer.
Annis had a crappy marriage, now she wants away cos her inlaws suck. But this is Scotland and they like to steal bride so she gets stolen so to say, and then saved (it's complicated). In comes Rolfe, clan leader, and now with Annis under his protection.
I liked that this clan was welcoming, cos all the evil clans in past books, yikes. Instead this one (ok not everyone!), but most were welcoming. She settled in, tried to figure out her next step, and fell for Rolfe.
I liked them, he wanted her, she wanted to change her own fate, and he liked that.
A nice romance, that brings some drama and adventure
I really like this narrator, and by now I have listened to lots of his Scottish romances and they are always good
Annis is a prize. Born of a royal blood line, the fact that she's illegitimate isn't really important. With her mother gone, her kin barter her and send her off to Scotland, where her husband's family is eager to see her produce heirs to their line with impeccable lineage.
Rolfe Munro is sick unto death of the topic of marriage. His marriage is one everyone seems to have an opinion of. So, when his father offers him the chance to escape the Munro stronghold for a bit, Rolfe happily takes the chore! But he knows it's only a brief respite. Duty is the other currency of the Highlands. He's the son of the laird, and he'll have to settle down or risk leaving the clan in a fight when he dies. Still, he's not ready to steal a bride. Even when his fool cousin takes one and needs rescuing. Rolfe isn't going to get involved beyond making sure his cousin survives. That's his plan. And it's a firm one. At least, until he lays eyes on Annis. Rolfe has seen his share of pretty women.
Annis is different. Her allure is something he can't put into words or ignore, it would seem. By the time he escorts them to his cousin's stronghold, all Rolfe is thinking about is how to steal Annis away.
Thursday 13 January 2022
Audio: Last dragon standing by Rachel Aaron
Series: Heartstrikers, Book 5
Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
Release date: 03-01-18
Publisher: Audible Studios
Urban fantasy
Own
Have you noticed that I did not really have any review books in Decemeber, wink wink
Last time I re-listened I did not have time, I know! So this time around I did them all again!
Alas, this was the end. i am sad to see them go, I loved Julius and the gang. He was the nicest dragon in the universe.
My heart was in my throat a few times too.
Loved it
Best narrator
The Great Seer of the Heartstrikers isn’t the only one whose schemes are nearing completion. The Nameless End is coming, and even the machinations of the world’s most brilliant dragon seer might not be enough to stop it. As the world comes crashing down, it’s up Julius to prove what he’s always known: that seers can be wrong, and Nice Dragons don’t always finish last.
Wednesday 12 January 2022
Audio. Five daughters out at once by Jayne Bamber
Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
Release date: 12-06-21
Publisher: Jayne Bamber
Austen variation
Own
I do like a fun PP variation, and here I soon realised this would be quite different.
Lady Catherine the Burgh was nice! Yes, I know I was shocked. She had suffered losses and now wanted to take the poor Bennett sisters under her protection as they also had suffered losses.
Mr Collins was still an asshat by the way.
But that is not what was different, no, there is to be a houseparty and suddenly a lot of other Austen men shows up. Mr Ferrars, Henry Tilney, Colonel Brandon among others. And even though this was pride and prejudice so manages to mix in Persuasion, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey for some Gothic mystery, and Mansfield Park. Very well done.
Lots of drama, new love interests, a Darcy that is really shy, a Georgiana who is writing a book, and a mystery.
A fun story since I never knew where it would lead me with all these new people in it. But at least one thing is constant. Lizzy will always get her Darcy in the end.
Stevie Zimmerman was a great narrator. Considering the cast of character she did well with different voices. You always knew where you had everyone. She was a really good fit for this book and made it truly enjoyable.
After the untimely death of their parents, Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters are left to make their own way in the world, and the dubious decision to stay at Longbourn until they are forced out leads to chaos and confrontation two years later, when their cousin Mr. Collins comes to claim his inheritance. Hot on his heels is his noble patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, a woman consumed by grief of her own after the loss of her husband and daughter in a terrible fire at her estate, Rosings Park. While her nephew Mr. Darcy is shocked by his aunt’s interest in the five orphaned girls, her niece Georgiana thinks it just the thing to soothe the dowager’s low spirits. Moved by the bonds of sorrow and a shared contempt of Mr. Collins, Lady Catherine offers the Bennet sisters her protection and assistance in society – and what better way to help them than to find them all rich husbands?
Much to her chagrin, Lady Catherine is not the only one to meddle in Meryton’s marriage mart – Richard Fitzwilliam joins her, at leisure to make mischief, Charlotte Lucas, now an heiress in her own right, has a secret of her own, and Georgiana Darcy finds herself inspired to write a novel that will document – and change – the lives of her new friends.
Tensions rise between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy as they both bristle at Lady Catherine’s plans – for very different reasons. Misapprehension and misunderstandings abound and plans go awry as the great lady rents Netherfield Park and hosts a horde of single gentlemen in possession of good fortunes, who must be in want of wives. Will the Bennet sisters find love and happiness? What other Austen heroes and rakes might appear in the once dull village of Meryton? Will Darcy and Lizzy overcome the obstacles of their own making?
Tuesday 11 January 2022
TMST. Resolutions
Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 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. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.
1/11/2022 Resolutions/words of the year - do you do them? What are they for 2022?
Nope, I mean I am sure I have thought of something some years, and then forgotten it the next day. So that would be a no.
Just trying to make to through another year
1/18/2022
What have been your most fulfilling blogger/author interactions so far?
1/25/2022
What do you do when that pesky review makes you work for it?
Monday 10 January 2022
Carole reviews Harry Potter 20th Anniversary
Rating: PG
Where I Got It: HBO Max
Friday 7 January 2022
The Free Bastards by Jonathan French
Series: The Lot Lands (#3)
Format: 539 pages, Paperback
Published: September 23, 2021 by Orbit
Fantasy
Own
I do not have a lot to say. Book 1 was amazing, book 2 was good, but yeah not great. And this one, I could not connect, I could not care, honestly I could not get into the world at all. And no idea why?!
So stuff happens, blah blah. war is coming, and it ended.
I was disappointed, and no idea why it did not work
The Hisparthan armies on the horizon are mighty, bolstered by divine champions, dread sorcerers, and gunpowder. It’s almost more than the half-orc rebellion can hope to repel. But Oats has won impossible fights before. He’s a thriceblood, after all, more orc than man. And he hasn’t forgotten how to kill. He’ll stack the bodies high for his chief and his brethren, if that’s the price of freeing the Lots from human tyranny.
Besides, the invading forces are getting a damned sight more than they bargained for. They’re not facing a handful of half-orc hoofs, but a true army—one forged from all the peoples of the Lots. At its head are Fetching, in full command of the ruinous power that runs through her veins, and Jackal, armed with the blessings of a dead god.
Yet Oats can’t help but find his faith wavering. Once the strongest Bastard, he soon realizes that in this battle, even the strength of a thriceblood is easily conquered. And after a grievous loss strikes, he begins to fear that this war will lead the Lots not to freedom but to ruin.
So when another path to peace beckons, he has no choice but to walk it. Even if it means betting the Lots’ fate, and his own, on the promises of the Bastards’ wiliest adversary—and making a perilous journey into the heart of Hispartha itself.
Thursday 6 January 2022
Audio: A dragon of a different color by Rachel Aaron
Narrated by: Vikas Adam
Series: Heartstrikers, Book 4
Length: 21 hrs and 25 mins
Release date: 09-12-17
Publisher: Audible Studios
Urban fantasy
Own
3rd time listening!
Book 4 done.
Amzing as always, how could it not be!?
Though I did get another book to listen to so book 5 must wait, but do not worry book 5! I will get to you too.
Recommened.
What are you waiting for?!?!?!?!?!?
To save his family from his tyrannical mother, Julius had to step on a lot of tails. That doesn't win a nice dragon many friends, but just when he thinks he's starting to make progress, a new threat arrives. Turns out, things can get worse. Heartstriker hasn't begun to pay for its secrets, and the dragons of China are here to collect. When the Golden Emperor demands his surrender, Julius will have to choose between loyalty to the sister who's always watched over him and preserving the clan he gave everything to protect.
Wednesday 5 January 2022
Audio: Lying Mirror by Eve Langlais
Narrated by: Carly Robins
Series: Mist and Mirrors, Book 2
Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
Release date: 01-04-22
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Fantasy
To review
This is really good, but I do confess confusing at times too. See, Agatha has some years uncounted for so as she is trying to figure it out, I am also trying to figure out how it all comes together. Not to mention that is is not Agatha either. Oh yes, quite the ride.
Agathe lives in a world that is getting overun by the mist, and in the mist there are monsters. But this books shows that who are the monsters really? And whose fault is everything? Everything is not as it seems to be.
With her she has her fellow sisters in arms, and Meric, her lover.
Though one thing that I guessed back in book 1 showed to be true. I can't say I am glad to say I was right. It was quite the shock.
It is such a fun book. Adventure, danger, some love, betrayal and monsters. I am really looking forward to the conclusion.
Great narration. She did a good job with keeping the book alive and making all characters pop
Despite her best efforts, Agathe didn't kill the King, but she did escape with something even more valuable. Stealing back her magic was a good start. Now, she must find a way to save the Kingdom from the rising mist and the threats within. The spells that used to protect are fading fast with deadly consequences.
After more than a century of peace, the monsters have returned to attack the towns and villages, but they're not the only danger. A sickness in the mist mutates everything it touches-except for Agathe. She's special. If only she knew how to use that to her advantage.Who can she ask for help? Who should she believe?
Maric, the King's most valued soldier-and her lover-wants her to return to the Citadel and join forces with the monarch who stole her magic once before. Then there's Zanir, a smooth-tongued liar who taunts her via a mirror. He promises her answers. Demands that she come to him so he can show her the truth. The fact is, both men want to use her, and the wrong choice might mean the end of Agathe-and the Kingdom.
Tuesday 4 January 2022
TMST
Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general. 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. Feel free to leave your links in the comments if you are participating.
What are your blogging goals for the new year?
NO STRESS!!!!!
ENJOY :D
C'est la vie
1/11/2022 Resolutions/words of the year - do you do them? What are they for 2022?
1/18/2022 What have been your most fulfilling blogger/author interactions so far?
1/25/2022 What do you do when that pesky review makes you work for it?
Monday 3 January 2022
Carole's and Blodeuedd's Best of the year Awards
Best Movie:
Blodeuedd's pick......DUNE
Blodeuedd's pick.....Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim
Blodeuedd's pick...........Circe by Madeline Miller