Best of Apri

Here are our bests of April! 

Best Movie of the Month:

Blodeuedd - Quasi (2023)

"I watched this movie, so sill liked it."

Carole - Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves (2023)

"So much fun! I want to watch this again!"

Best Book of the Month:

Carole - Sweet Tea and Spirits by Angie Fox

"Fun story. Fun series. Great mystery. Great narrator!! "

Blodeuedd - The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths

"Best book, and the last in the series. Sadness!"

Best TV show of the Month:

Blodeuedd - History of the World: Part II

"I watched this miniseries. Fun and stupid."

Carole - The Rookie (s1)

"Finally tried this show and I am loving it. Funny, gut-wrenching, and makes you think."

Best Cover of the Month:

C's pick - "So freakin' cool!"

B's pick - "Best cover, cute (though the story was not)"

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.

Have you looked at Twitter alternatives after it changed hands? Are you using any?

I have been on romancelandia, but honestly, to keep it short, nothing have really hooked me. I am just done

Do you prefer to read a series as the books come out? Or do you prefer to wait until the series is finished? 

Which book/series would make a great movie/tv series? 

Which tropes do you enjoy the most? 

Which books are you looking forward to reading this Summer? (June-August)

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.

If you are interested in participating in TMST or receiving periodic emails that list the upcoming TMST topics and questions,  please fill out this GOOGLE FORM.  Participation is optional and never required.

Carole´s Monday. The courtesan´s daughter

 

Author: Susanne Dunlap

Title: The Courtesan's Daughter

Genre: Historical Fiction

Format: ebook

Pages: 340

Published: April 25, 2023

Where I Got It: My shelf (From the author/publisher for my honest and unbiased opinion)

Summary: 

What happens when a daughter’s dream and a mother’s sordid past collide?

1910 New York. Seventeen-year-old Sylvie and her French-immigrant mother Justine eke out a living doing piecework in a tenement on the Lower East Side, while Sylvie attends school so that she can escape their life of poverty by becoming a teacher.

At least, that’s what her mother believes should happen. Sylvie, though, has a different dream. She wants to be a star in the new moving pictures, just like the beautiful Vitagraph Girl. When she meets a dangerously handsome Italian boy at church one Sunday and he encourages her ambitions, she begins secretly taking steps toward the career she knows her mother won’t approve of.

But Sylvie isn’t the only one with secrets. Justine has kept her sordid past from Sylvie ever since they came to New York fifteen years before, stitching together a fabric of lies along with the shirtwaists she finishes every day, doing everything in her power to keep the truth from her daughter—that she fled Paris as a courtesan after committing a crime that could still get her arrested, or worse.

When Justine’s past catches up with her in a single act of brutality, Sylvie witnesses what she thinks is her mother’s betrayal and runs away during a freak blizzard, putting them both in grave danger.

Ambition, survival, and unexpected alliances combine in this mother-daughter story that proves love can conquer all—at a price.

Review:

When I first saw the cover and read the summary I knew I had to check this out right away!

The story follows Sylvie and Justine. Sylvie is 17 years old who is attending school to become a teacher so she can get out of the life of poverty, however, she dreams of more. Justine is Sylvie's mother and is an immigrant from France. She dreams of a quiet life for herself and her daughter. However, when Sylvie meets a dangerously handsome man...things will not be the same. Secrets, betrayal, ambition, hope, and danger will arise. 

I really did enjoy this overall. There is drama and secrets and growth between Justine and Sylvie. They both got to share their POVs. We got to understand them both this way and I think it really helped the story in some ways. Now, I will say the plot did seem to have some slow spots due to some inner monologues dragging on a bit but I'm glad we got to understand them both. 

Other than that...no issues. I enjoyed the story. It made me sad that Justine had such a bad past and that Sylvie ran off the way she did. However, I think Sylvie going off on her own was important for them both to grow and deal with the past, but it still made me sad. Way to break your poor mama's heart!!! 

We had a couple good twists and the ending was nice. It tied in everything together. I actually ended up slightly feeling bad for a certain character (no spoilers) if it was all true. Still don't like that character, of course, but yeah I did end up having some sympathy. The author did a fantastic job showing that everyone is complex and nothing is black and white. It is all a mixture of grey.

In the end, I ended up liking this quite a bit. I loved watching these characters find their way and find their paths. We had some nice twists and turns. There were some slow spots, but I had no other issues. I'll give this 4 stars. A nice historical fiction and a people story that I would recommend. 

Kill the queen by Jennifer Estep

By: Jennifer Estep

Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang

Series: A Crown of Shards Novel, Book 1

Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins

Release date: 10-02-18

Fantasy /own

I had heard meh things and never gave this one a try, but now I thought why not!

The world felt rather simplistic, and sure I saw those twists coming a mile away. But I enjoyed it

Evie is 17th in line for the throne. She lost her parents young. The crown princess is a bitch. And then everyone is slaughtered! Damn, but Evie has a secret and survives.

So she trains as a gladiator. And she proves to be awesome (sure again, it happened fast, but hey I can roll with it.) The love interest, well I never felt it, not even a slow burn it was more...hmmm. More lust or something That is the one thing I could neg about.

I enjoyed it. I have started book 2. Action, magic and conspiracies.

I listened to the audiobook and liked it. I am trying to audiobook site for free thanks to my grocery store (I know, weird, but thanks Lidl!)

In a realm where one’s magical power determines one’s worth, Lady Everleigh’s lack of obvious ability relegates her to the shadows of the royal court of Bellona, a kingdom steeped in gladiator tradition. Seventeenth in line for the throne, Evie is nothing more than a ceremonial fixture, overlooked and mostly forgotten.

But dark forces are at work inside the palace. When her cousin Vasilia, the crown princess, assassinates her mother the queen and takes the throne by force, Evie is also attacked, along with the rest of the royal family. Luckily for Evie, her secret immunity to magic helps her escape the massacre.

Forced into hiding to survive, she falls in with a gladiator troupe. Though they use their talents to entertain and amuse the masses, the gladiators are actually highly trained warriors skilled in the art of war, especially Lucas Sullivan, a powerful magier with secrets of his own. Uncertain of her future—or if she even has one—Evie begins training with the troupe until she can decide her next move.

But as the bloodthirsty Vasilia exerts her power, pushing Bellona to the brink of war, Evie’s fate becomes clear: she must become a fearsome gladiator herself . . . and kill the queen.