Second month of the year already! I don’t want to be one of those people who complains about how fast the days are flying by but…. It could also be that we really haven’t experienced winter here. Most of February was spent in the high 60s if not closer to 80 degrees F. (That’s high teens to nearly 26 degrees for the rest of the Celsius measuring world.)
I was able to finish two books that I read alongside my daughter, started two YA series, finished another (kinda of), and sped through some quick romances.
At the beginning of the year I had hopes of going through as many of my physical books as possible; as I do every year. So far, well, it’s been mostly library and ebooks while all my books stare at me with their accusing eyes. Everyday I promise them I will get to them – soon. Maybe in March?
Onyx Storm By: Rebecca Yarros
A full, in-depth Book Review and Spoiler Report coming soon!
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone By: J.K. Rowling
Yes, this is the first time I have read this. And yes, I realize that I am decades late to the party. But I have watched the movies many times and have become a huge fan. I have finally started to read the series because my daughter is interested in them as well and wanted to read them together.
What is there to say? We all know the story of the boy who lived.
This is where it gets difficult. I love the movies but I am one of those that is always saying ‘the book is better than the movie’. In this case it’s true and it isn’t. The book inevitably will have more detail and insight that you won’t get from the movie. That is something I always appreciate.
That being said, I really liked how the book was interpreted into cinematic format. Do I wish that some small things weren’t left out of the movie? Of course. I get that not everything translates as well to the big screen. There’s also time restraints and many other factors why creative decisions are made.
The book is an easy read. Introducing everyone into this world of magic and Hogwarts. Even if I hadn’t seen the movies I could still perfectly picture the school, grounds, and characters. Which sometimes differ from the ones in the movies.
My daughter has never seen any of the movies all the way through, only a few snippets when they’ve been broadcast on TV. She enjoyed this as much as I did.
I am excited for us to continue the series.
The Wild Robot Escapes By: Peter Brown
I had vowed that when my daughter showed an interest in reading, I would read every thing she did so we could have conversations about books. As she has gotten older and her interests have changed, she isn’t reading nearly as much. So when she wanted to join a book club, I was so excited. This month, this was the book since they read The Wild Robot last year. Which I also loved. Find the review HERE.
Roz has sacrificed herself to keep her family and friends safe. But she still wants nothing more than to get back to that life. This novel gives a look into the futuristic life the world has become.
We both really enjoyed following Roz’s journey as she tries to get back to the island. New friends, animals and humans, as well as an enemy or two.
This is fast paced and sweet. As with the first book, the chapters are short, the characters are simple and lovable, the illustrations are unique.
Whether or not the book club decides to read the final book in the series, we are definitely. I love seeing my daughter get into a book. Especially when we can share in it. Hoping that they decide to make this one into a movie too. Who doesn’t want to see a swarm of pigeons attacking flying airships?!
The 5th Wave By: Rick Yancey
A few things first. Other than knowing this was made into a movie and it involved an alien invasion situation, I knew nothing else about it. Including the hype behind it.
Another thing, alien/sci-fi books are hit or miss with me, usually a miss. Just not typically my cup of tea to read. Which is interesting because I love sci-fi and alien movies.
But anyway…
Bottom line, I loved this book. I rated this high due to the fact that yes, the writing is very well done, but it completely pulled me into the story. Every time I put it down, it took a moment or two to completely leave this world behind. To me, that is a mark of a good immersive story.
Sure, there are a few things that made me want to roll my eyes. Like the one chapter from the Silencer’s POV. It made picking out the identity of the Silencer glow like a neon Vegas sign. Also, I understand why armies are being made up of young people/children. But even in a YA novel reaching for a similar demographic, it’s a stretch.
This is less sci-fi and has a more post-apocalyptic dystopian feel. The mention of advanced, alien technology other than the hovering mothership is not front and center for the majority of the story. The first four waves were very ‘of this world.’ While it maybe a solid science fiction genre book, it doesn’t scream it from every corner.
Mainly, the story pulls on the heartstrings of emotions dealing with loss, grief, and survival in extraordinary situations. There just happens to be aliens involved…somewhere…supposedly. Excited to read the sequel.
The WitchSlayer By: Opal Reyne
When my friend recommended this to me, she said it was similar to Ice Planet Barbarians just with dragons and magic. Um, it definitely is not.
First, the Ice Planet series has quite a cult following. you either love it or hate it. I don’t particularly hate it, though it’s just not something I care to ever read again. And I only got through two of the nineteen book series (not including novellas). Needless to say, I was skeptical about this one.
This book is so good!
Amalia is a good witch that lives secluded in the forest working as a midwife and minor healer for the nearby village. If anyone finds out she’s a witch, they will burn her at the stake, no questions asked.
One night, her cantankerous feral cat brings in a winged lizard creature that needs to be healed. Of course, Amalia having such a good heart, nurses it back to health. Eventually releasing the creature a day early because she sensed soldiers coming her way. Her magical secret had been revealed.
Rurik, the winged lizard, shrank his size to escape from a fight he was losing against a dark witch. He was unconscious when the cat caught him and took him to Amalia. From inside his birdcage, Rurik, also known as the Witch Slayer, watches Amalia. Learning that she doesn’t fit into the stereotype he thought all witches followed.
As soon as he is released and flies away, he realizes he owes the witch a life debt. He fulfills it saving her from the fire and healing her. There’s only one catch, she wakes from her ordeal long enough to see his human face. She is now his prisoner for the rest of her life.
As far as forced proximity and enemies to lovers story goes, this is a really sweet one. Somewhat a slower burn. The two of them getting to know each other is precious. Their banter is wonderful. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Rurik is the epitome of an old grumpy man while Amalia is more optimistic. She is strong and independent if not completely sheltered.
The ultimate opposites attract, grumpy versus sunshine, enemies to lovers book with an actual story line that gave me the deepest rage for a few chapters when the third-inning conflict came into play. Love, betrayal, prophecy, hidden truths, trust, and love. Really well written. can’t wait to read the next one.
Pucking Sweet By: Emily Rath
This is by far the best of the series!
The first, Pucking Around, I did not like the FMC at all. The second, Pucking Wild, could have skipped the book entirely. Then there’s the two collections of short stories. Some of them are great, others are not so much.
There are several things that made this a win for me. If you have read the series from the beginning, you know we have seen this relationship from the perspective of others. There was a lot of build up around this relationship and it could have easily gone very bad.
Then there’s Poppy. I absolutely love her. She is strong, fierce, and loyal. Bonus, my evil guilty pleasure is reading about bullies who underestimate others only to get justifiably humbled. This story had a very satisfying element to it. A big win for Poppy.
The dynamic between Poppy, Lucas, and Colton is so balanced. Enough conflicting personality traits to make it interesting and create a type of equity in the relationship. Once they got everything figured out of course.
The epilogue even spans several years into the future. Tying everything up with a tidy bow.
Then the bow is torn off the package and tossed into the fire to land on a cliffhanger?! That might be a bit dramatic, but it does set readers up for what I am guessing is the next book in the series. The characters being setup are not ones I would have expected.
I may have truly enjoyed this book, but I am not anticipating the next. Pretty happy leaving this where it is. I thought this was the perfect ending to the series, wrapping up a story we have been teased with since the beginning. Even though Emily has two more books slated for the series, this rounded everything out. For one, I don’t think she can do better than this book for this particular series. Second, at this point it’s more a cash grab. Hoping to ride the coattails of the series’ success. Which I totally understand, but still, doesn’t mean I will continue with it.
Do Your Worst By: Rosie Danan
After reading reviews that were not so impressed with this read, I was prepared to take this with a grain of salt.
Turns out this is a cute story. An American woman, Riley, is hired to break a 300-year-old curse on a Scottish castle. Before even stepping foot into the castle, Riley meets Clark, a local archeologist who might have insight into the history of it all. They immediately hit it off at the bar where they meet. The hitch – Clark is a skeptic that wants to have Riley fired as the con artist he thinks she is. But he has no idea the beautiful, intriguing woman he met the night before wasn’t a tourist but the curse breaker herself. Instant enemies.
My biggest issue with this novel is that it is written in third person. In my opinion, there is a reason to choose that POV. Third person is used when the author needs to convey insight to readers that none of the characters might posses. Or the story doesn’t revolve around any one or two characters in particular.
I initially thought that was the case since banishing a curse is such a major part of this story. It would make sense to have sections of information and history not from any particular character’s experience or knowledge. Maybe an aside here or there where the curse works its supernatural abilities unbeknownst to the characters..
Ummm, not the case here. The whole thing felt a bit awkward being told through this perspective. Like that annoying person that constantly refers to themself in third person. Making the two MCs that annoying friend. Serves as a pretty big disconnect.
The story is cute and fine. There are a few moments that were simply ridiculous. And it had nothing to do with the paranormal aspect of the story. That part was understated but believable, only part that was really well done. But, things like Riley genuinely not knowing what the opposite of enemies is?! That just happens to be a big part of the mystery she is working on. I thought it was a farce to keep Clark out of her head.
I understand there is an element of mystery trying to discover the correct way to handle the curse and expose its origin story. As a reader, I hate it when the answer is so obvious (and no, it isn’t just the opposite of enemies thing), I don’t know if the characters are being sarcastic by not knowing or if their ignorance is genuine.
Not to mention the random acts that seemed out of character for their innate personality traits that were explained away by a single sentence. Mainly pertaining to bedroom antics. I’m just glad this was not part of a series and I can happily move on.
Speed Rail By: Lainey Davis
Picked this up as an ebook freebie with BookBub. Don’t think I realized this was the third in a series. But that really didn’t matter.
This is a really sweet story. Cash lost the mother of his young daughter during childbirth; both of them were really young. Because of that he has completely closed himself off to focus raising his daughter while protecting his heart.
He has remained undisturbed until Piper opens a gym in an industrial warehouse behind his house. Piper is on a mission to take her childhood trauma and use it for good. Focusing on the physical and mental health of mothers who often put themselves on the back-burner to concentrate on their families. Cash just sees her gym as an annoyance assuming it’s a typical gym run by an entitled woman. Total grump versus sunshine trope.
While this story is very sweet and cute, and I really like Cash and Piper, too many things did not work for me. This is the third in the series, as I said before. I have not read any others from Bridges & Bitters. As with many of these types of romance series, there are references toward previous books but I don’t feel I missed anything. That portion was well done; not rehashing past books while still giving enough to either jog memories or lay some context.
That being said, Piper has a group of mighty girlfriends. With the exception of a couple, I did not like them. I am all for women supporting and empowering other women. But don’t cross over that line into judgmental mean girls. Continue to support each other without surreptitiously crucifying others.
The spice was well intended but lackluster and average. There is clearly tension between the two of them and this great buildup. But the actual events are underwhelming.
The overall ‘it takes a village’ vibe is lovely. As a single father, he is the odd man out (no pun intended). The other mother’s are ready to accept him with open arms. I love when communities come together no matter how small the situation.
I may really like Cash and Piper, but I don’t think I will read anymore of this series. None of Piper’s friends were interesting enough for me to want to know more about their story.
Her Silver Fox Mountain Men By: Kai Lesy
Totally judged this book by its cover and title. I assumed this was a story written as an excuse for smut. I was so wrong.
Surprisingly, this has a pretty strong story. I have never read anything by Kai before so I don’t know if that is just her brand of writing.
Elise is living in an inadequate cabin in the Rockies when a family of bobcats chase her out and into the cabin next door. The cabin that houses three beautiful men in their 40s and 5-year-old twin girls.
The ex-ranger men aren’t just best friends, they’re looking for one woman to call their own.
That was what I had expected the story to concentrate on. Forced proximity and then the inevitable ensues. But no, it gets much better.
Elise moved to the middle of nowhere running from her past. An abusive ex, a kid brother she still wants to protect, and extreme paranoia. I don’t want to spoil anything, but the Bratva is involved.
It’s a good thing the story is so strong because the spice in painfully average. While it is a reverse harem, one man seems to garner more favor and trust than the other two but it is never really touched upon. He was more the ringleader.
I’m excited to read another in this collection. On some lists I saw this book show up on the Lucky Lady Reverse Harem series list, and others it didn’t. Either way it fits in with that almost twenty book collection.
The reverse harem trope is great, but if they all have interesting plot lines, I’m here for it.
Her Silver Fox Bikers By: Kai Lesy
After reading Her Silver Fox Mountain Men, I was curious. Were all her numerous reverse harem books stronger in story than in spice? Granted I’ve only read two, it looks like the answer is yes.
It also feels like if you’ve read one, you’ve read them all. It could also have been the two I chose were just that similar. But they were so similar it read like a plug n’ play. She just changes the names and locations. Even the steamy bits were exactly the same. One man was in the forefront and the others were more background players just like in Mountain Men.
Again, the main story is better than the reverse harem trope.
A So Cal MC wants to change directions and go legit. Nadia’s father was a founder but left to be a family man.
He wants his daughter to have nothing to do with the MC or that life. At 22, Nadia knows she doesn’t want to work at her dad’s accounting firm. Period. She gets a job tending bar at the club’s place. She loves it and thrives. She is also completely enamored by Orion, Kai, and Drake, the three main guys of the MC.
Just like in Mountain Men, they operate as a unit in everything they do, including women. And just like in Mountain Men, there is an ex who wants only one of the three and strives to ruin it for the latest prospect. Unlike the other, this ex suffers her consequence on the page.
I understand there is a formula to a lot of these novels, but these two are too similar.
My one real issue is small but a huge pet peeve of mine. Nadia has the same tantrum so many FMCs have in these situations. The MMC wants to protect her. Even though she may be strong and independent, they still can’t handle whatever the situation they will find themselves in and shouldn’t proceed alone.
The only thing Nadia’s tantrum did was show how immature and naïve she is. Her inner tantrum pegged her as a teenager that doesn’t like being told that she’s not an adult, dammit. Hint: if you have to tell others that you are an adult; you’re not acting like one. The kicker was that when it came down to it, Nadia couldn’t handle it in a big way.
There is suspense, revenge, betrayal, and average spice. Meaning, again, the plot line of the MC trying to turn to legit means of income and fighting against a very determined adversary, is better than the romance aspect.
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas By: Meghan Quinn
How My Neighbor Stole Christmas #1
First impression, 90% of the characters are A-holes. Wait, that was really my second impression. First was really that the poems need to go. 1 in every 10 lines was cute and clever, the rest, there was no need for them. They were awkward. And Cole talking to the narrator? Absolutely a no for me. Dr. Seuss this author is not. I get that this is a play on the big green guy and Who-Ville antics. But falls short in many ways.
Being loosely based on Dr. Seuss’s Christmas classic, the grumpy MMC does have a good foundation for a very bah humbug personality. But for this to have worked, Storee (yes, that’s really her name) needed to be an actual protagonist. The Cindy Lou to his Grinch that pulls the Christmas spirit from him.
Instead, Storee is a disillusioned idiot. Her sister and great aunt constantly tell her that while Storee may have
believed this or that about herself, she is grossly wrong. And Storee’s only response? “Oh.”
How self-absorbed and shallow can you be?
The banter between Cole and Storee is just petty and mean. It is not clever not does it wreak of sexual tension you would expect in an enemies-to-lover trope. It is childish and literally made me angry most of the time. I understand the spirit of competition and wanting to keep town traditions within the fold.
Apparently, this is a popular book to DNF. I get it, it was a struggle. Not until about 70% of the way through when the tone changed and I began to cringe less. The entire premise for their animosity is brought to light and dealt with rather quickly and simply. Then it turns into a Hallmark movie with an immense amount of spice.
Storee and her sister head to the small mountain town to take care of their elderly aunt after she broke her hip. Neither of the girls have been there for ten years. A town where it’s Christmas all year long. During the actual Christmas season there is a competition among five chosen contestants to see who has the most Christmas spirit. Great Aunt Cindy has always come in second and is counting on Storee to represent her this year and win.
Of course, Cole has to enter to defend his town against the likes of her. The competition is strung out way too long. There are too many romance-novel cliches and tropes thrown into one book. I mean the MMC’s name is Cole Black and his best friend’s name is Max. There’s lever and cute and then there’s this.
The epilogue is short and more of an afterthought that I did not need.
If the next book in the series, supposedly due out in Oct. 2025, revolves around Max then I’m all in. He is one of the only characters I actually enjoyed hearing everything that came out of his mouth. As long as the rhymes are nowhere to be seen, that is. Oh, also keep the fourth wall up, no character needs to argue with the narrator. It was just too cheesy.
Master Campania By: Sylvia Black
I got this for free through BookBub, I believe.
It is the seventh in a series, but it boasts that each one can be read a stand alone. That is a big fat lie. The author did try to give some backstory without making the novel hundreds and hundreds of pages long. I got the gist of the main story line that seems to span through the entire series. But I absolutely felt like I was dropped right in the middle of a very involved story, because I was.
But that isn’t why I rated this so low. The writing was not great. The characters were even less enthralling.
Master Campania is a big deal vampire, confirmed bachelor, hates witches, blah blah.
Willow left some witch school with three of her friends to live an independent life in peace. Master Campania needs
information and he singles out Willow when her and her friends visit the nightclub. But he already knew of her and her friends. Ready to get what he wanted from her.
There is an undeniable physical attraction between them. Other than that, it’s a story of lust. Even then it feels weak. They only end up together because of plot and that whole lust thing. Every relationship that I guess are results from previous books, all seemed superficial. There isn’t one character that made me want to go back and read any of the previous six books. Nor do I wish to read any further.
