Quite the eclectic mix of reads in April. Which was mostly short stories and novellas that I didn’t know were such until I started to read them. Both the Spring Fever series and Living Past: Vikings were Stuff Your Kindle finds. Luckily the remainder of both series are part of Kindle Unlimited.
I also continues a few more series I’ve been reading for a while, finished the 5th wave trilogy, and then there’s a Newberry Winner in the mix.
What have been some of your favorite reads now that spring is in full swing?
Sweet Obsession By: Katee Robert
One of my favorites in the Dark Olympus series.
Posiedon is the most normal and relatable of the thirteen. Dare I say, with a touch neurodivergence? His hyperfocus, borderline OCD tendencies, and awkwardness is endearing.
I also love that we get to know the real Icarus now that he’s not under the sadistic control of his father. The immediate fire between him and Posiedon is all consuming.
With Circe closing in on the thirteen, each begins to react in their own ways. Showing their true colors and where their real priorities lie. Possibly telling of things to come?
Since the beginning, Hades has been one of my favorite characters. That is still the case here as he has a slightly larger role in this book than others. He remains the same rebel out to protect his family and people before showing loyalty to the thirteen.
Zeus – he may not be as cruel as his father was, but as of now, he is filling his Zeus-sized shoes well. Talk about hyperfocused! He’s bbecoming downright obsessed.
Icarus and Poseidon, I could not get enough of them. Soulmates if there ever was. The way they balance each other out and give one another an unequivocal safe place; physically and emotionally. Olympus is on the verge of a very bloody war, from the outside and potentially inside, and they operate as if none of that exists as long as they are together.
It didn’t end as I had expected. Don’t worry, Katee still gives us our HEA as she has in all these books. But it did have me worried there for a bit that things would be left a bit unfinished. To me, this was the happiest of endings with the most closure and all the feels.
The Sign of the Beaver By: Elizabeth George Speare
This is a phenomenal read. One I think everyone over the age of ten should read.
A poignant story of tolerance, understanding, self-reliance, and respect.
Matt’s father has left him in their cabin deep in the woods while he goes back to retrieve the rest of the family. Matt finds himself injured and saved by local Natives.
A deal is struck between Matt and Attean, the grandson of a prominent tribesman. The two find themselves in an awkward situation where they must learn from one another.
Seeing the progression of the relationship and Matt’s understanding of someone so different is depicted really well.
From what I understand, this is based off a true story that happened in Massachusetts. I haven’t looked into it, but I wonder if the original story is available somewhere. It would be interesting to compare the two.
This book was originally published in 1983 and written to historically reflect a time in the eighteenth century. There is a stereotypical depiction of Native Americans throughout the story. To me, it illustrates the general consensus of the attitude of the ‘white man’ of the time. It is not meant to be degrading or offensive. It was unfortunately how Indigenous people were perceived and treated at the time. If it was written with a modern-day PC mindset, it would not have been historically accurate.
Crave by: Tracy Wolff
I read this years ago when it was in the peak of all its hype. I remember the broad strokes of the story and that I enjoyed it. Re-reading it, I understand what all the initial hype was about and also understand the disappointment.
It’s a lot like Twilight, in hype only. Thank goodness there are no sparkly vamps in this. Either you got swept up in this and fell in love or you offered a polite pass.
The story is full of small things that weren’t bad, it’s all well written. But all those small things could have been so much better.
Grace not having much confidence in her physical appearance – understandable. I could see where that tired
line was headed. Every time it came up it seemed forced and almost out of character for Grace. Plus, I get really annoyed, in real life, when someone can’t just take the compliment and move on instead of making a big deal about how unfortunate the think they look.
But the biggest annoyance was that it took half of the book, literally 50% according to Kindle, to get to the big reveal. If you read the back copy, you know that Grace is now boarding at a school full of supernatural beings. Well, Grace didn’t read it and is completely in the dark. And it took half the book for someone to spill the beans. Overkill! There was no need to wait that long. The major events that lead to that point are fine. Just filled with so much repetitive fluff that was simply not needed.
The writing, however, is wonderful. The entire story is through the POV of Grace, a high school student. The language and tone are spot on. There’s no overuse of pretentious wording. She’s a teen who thinks and speaks her age and it’s refreshingly innocent.
The story as a whole was dragged out. I have already began reading Crush, the second in the series. I didn’t realize this is like a five or six book series. I know nothing of the other books. I hope the main plot line changes or steps it up because there is no way it can last past book #2.
Night’s Blaze by: Donna Grant
Such a pivotal plot book! So much is revealed in terms of the main plot line that has spanned the entire series so far.
Lily, the human, is confronted by an abusive ex and a hoard of truth. Including the fact that her life has not been as random as she thought. She is more connected to the dragons than she ever realized.
Just forget everything you thought you knew about Ulrich! Rhi’s story unravels by a thread with each new series installment and it gets grittier and more intriguing each time.
There isn’t much dragon king involvement as a unit this time around. But the action in this is a different kind than the other books. Can’t really expand on that without spoilers. So excited to dive into the next one!
Soul Scorched by: Donna Grant
Yes! The main plot is trucking along nicely. War against the dragon kings, Ulrich, Rhi, dragons finding their mates, Con growing more bitter by the day. It’s all escalating as more pieces of the bigger picture are falling into place. It’s leading to more misdirection and deception.
This book dives more into personal histories and stories that have only been hinted at in the past.
Not everything hit though. Darcy and Warrick’s romance felt flat and forced. Personally, I didn’t mind. At this point I’m more interested in this war than the dragons mating.
Con and Ulrich. I just wish they would kill each other already so we don’t have to listen to Con’s bitching. It’s a
broken record of bitterness.
Rhi’s story is unfolding unbelievably slow. Which is great, it’s fine, I see what Donna is doing. But I am completely impatient and need to know! Love seeing her develop throughout this series.
The Viking and the Raven by: Annie O. Liberty
You know a novella is good when you wish it was longer. Love the concept of traveling to the past in order to quickly bring a contemporary reader into a story. Giving the reader the same hasty feeling of being thrown into the past as the characters doing the traveling.
Calling this an instant love is an understatement. More like a whirlwind.
My only gripe is that this is too short. Even ten more pages could have given a tad more substance and less of a summary feel.
These are definitely not going to be stand alone stories. This is super duper quick, sweet, and a touch of spice.
As the first in the series is does a great job at setting up the tone and most likely the main plot line. Bringing us from the present into a viking town under the rule of anew Jarl. That plays an important part of the story as well.
The Viking and the Goddess by: Annie O. Liberty
Same as the first in the series, I would love just a tiny bit more.
We do get a glimpse of how Sabrina and Arne from the previous story are getting on. Since Sabrina is from the future/modern day, Kennedy finds a lifeline in her as she accidentally lands in the viking era instead of the roaring 20s like she was supposed to.
Was it really an accident or part of the prophecy? I love how a viking prophecy may or may not be affecting modern day events.
More importantly, who is the stranger Jarl Harald ran away with in the beginning? Pretty sure it has something to do with Living Past. Otherwise it would be just weird.
Part of me is really glad that these stories take only take about an hour to read. A quick fix in so many ways! I don’t have to read hundreds of pages to take one plot step forward, guaranteed HEA, and insta-love.
The Viking and the Calm by: Annie O. Liberty
This is my least favorite so far, in terms of romance. There’s too much left hanging.
Elle and Kol begin their story and it just gives way to another without giving answers.
Elle, like her predacessors, clearly wants to stay. Since she is directly tied to Living Past she has to be a bit more diplomatic and deceptive.
As for the ‘calm’ portion of the prophecy, is Elle really the calm? Did Kol really find the answers he’s looking for? We may never know. Like I said, it’s all a bit vague.
The Viking and the Fire by: Annie O. Liberty
The romance portion of these stories are becoming less prevalent and more vague. As the prophecy becomes more clear, my original theory about Jarl and his mysterious exit seems more justified.
Because the prophecy now seems to be focused on the characters, the individual people of Borre are beginning to blur into one entity.
Since Living Past is a tourist company, of course they have to have safeguards in both times as well as representation. Yvonne is it in the viking village.
Love how a core character from the beginning of the series finally gets her time.
I’m still rating these high because they keeping me turning the pages and immersed straddled between modern-day America and the viking town of the past. All the characters have diverse personalities, which can be difficult when dealing with stereotypical ‘romance’ vikings.
My only worry is that with the last book there will be a slew of loose ends. Guessing that we will be leaving the past behind and ending in the present.
The Viking and the Present by: Annie O. Liberty
This is so disappointing and sweet all at the same time. It also confirmed my theory about Jarl Harald. That is about the only answer we get in terms of the prophecy or how all the other vikings and their partners are fairing.
If you made it this far, I hope you said goodbye to all the other characters as they are not seen nor heard from again.
Personally, that was my real gripe about this one. I thought there would be some closure. The others had just begun to build their lives in the past. There was a real opportunity missed. Clearly from the title, we are back in the future/present. How cool would it have been to find some artifact, or anything, from those that chose to stay in the past?!
Since all the stories all get the HEA, I suppose Annie just washed her hands of them. Another installment of epilogues would be perfect. This did end sweetly. In the style of the rest of the stories, it was quick, lacking detail, and held little substance.
Why did I rate all these at four stars if I have so many issues? They are all very immersive and do pack quite a bit in a very small punch. A mostly satisfying quick read. Giving them any less than four stars felt like a betrayal!
Hike Hook-Up by: Penelope Jackson
This is definitely a short! What I appreciate about this is that in less than 40 pages, Penelope didn’t try to cram too much in too little space. Very precise and to the point.
While it is ultimately a short story as an excuse for smut, it’s really not. It’s spicy more than smutty. All the intimacy is more concentrated on the emotional rather than the physical. If that makes any sense.
Visiting home, Kaycee is out on a hike with some girlfriends when she has an encounter with a yummy man. Like most fantasies, there is a lot of naked. And that’s really what this is. An exhibition’s fantasy put onto paper.
Well written with a great flow.
Bangin’ Brunch by: Penelope Jackson
Blake is absolutely growing on me. Kaycee, on the other hand, is falling out of my favor.
I understand why her head is where it’s at. I don’t think anyone is reading the bits with her mother and thinking that she’s a lovely woman with nothing but a nurturing soul. She clearly only wants what’s best for her daughter as long as it aligns with their family’ social status.
Still, that doesn’t negate the repetitive nature.
Then there’s Marco. Is he really necessary? Sure, Kaycee and Blake need more tension and reason for Kaycee to run. Seemed out of place.
Double Feature by: Penelope Jackson
This is by far my least favorite of this short story series.
Again with Marco. It is completely unnecessary to have taken it to the level it did. Marco gives off creeper vibes. I realize he comes from a good family. I can’t help but picture him as a dirty old man chasing after a sex fueled temptress.
Blake should run. He may be completely enamored by Kaycee but she is not in a good place to have any kind of meaningful relationship with any living creature. She is too selfish and needs therapy.
Blind Date by; Penelope Jackson
If you’ve read all four in this series, congrats, you have now read a whole novella.
I am happy how things panned out but was hoping for more.
The ending is meant to be a HEA. And it is. Just very underwhelming and not very satisfying.
Kaycee has made a minute step toward pulling her head from her self-absorbed ass, Blake is still a lost little puppy but a bit happier.
A page or two of epilogue would have been great.
The Last Star by: Rick Yancey
What a finale. And not in a very complimentary kind of way. I absolutely loved The 5th Wave. But then it all went downhill from there only to land at the bottom with this book.
Every thing feels so convoluted by this point. Theory upon theory; mess on top of mess.
Cassie. Didn’t know it was possible to like her even less than I did in the last book. While everyone is fighting for their lives and the truth, she’s only playing ‘adult’ while her mind is stalled at obsessed-high-school-drama-teen.
Fortunately, there’s Ben/Zombie and Ringer/Marika to keep things going. They remain reliable for action and
answers. Most of the other characters are either lost in all the hubbub or dull.
The plot is wishy-washy. But, Yancey has a great writing style. The gritty feel and world building are spot on. He keeps you immersed in the thick of it. Even when some of the characters meandered in and out, the world building didn’t. I really appreciated that.
The end though. (No spoilers). It definitely ended as I had expected. Events wise. The last chapter/unofficial epilogue was so unsatisfying. Happy to have read the entire series though. Just not too sad to see it end.
Revenant by: R. Valentine
This was a tough one for me to rate. Overall, I really enjoyed it. But I liked it more as I reflected on the book as a whole than while I was reading it.
A different zombie concept. Plague strikes humans. Vampires fear for their food source (no Twilight vegetarians here). To ensure human survival, vampires develop a type of vaccine to bestow humans with vampire immunity. The catch is that when a vaccinated human dies, as they do, they rise as a zombie.
Since the vaccine is more like a virus, it mutates and so we get a variety of zombies.
It’s a new world to introduce. But I feel it should not have taken 80 pages (literally) until something other than world building happens. While there is a significant amount of action, it is by no means action packed.
Even the love/connection between Ethan and Abby is fairly mundane. They’re playing house like a married couple more than relishing in their overwhelming attraction in the midst of a rising zombie apocalypse.
Keeping in theme with the first quarter of the book, there is a lot of down time. Abby has a very repetitive mind. Her recurring inner thoughts quickly became paragraphs my eyes and mind glazed over. There are several contradictions that boiled down to ‘because – plot’ that interrupted the flow for me.
The ending has a pretty good twist with a bit of a cliffhanger. While I am curious to see where this goes, I’m not rushing to read the next book.
