Of Mist and Murder by Chanda Hahn

I like...really wanna figure out what fairytale this is..or maybe there isn't a specific fairytale.
My ship.
BABY. LOOK AT THE BABY. I LOVE.
The character growth.
Aha. And I thought that person was the villain....He was sketch. 
358 Pages

Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price

Ok but a retelling of Pride and Prejudice, but Lizzie wants to be a barrister. Like...sign me up.
I always love Darcy.
lol they brought up Darcy's first name. 
When all the details are revealed. I cackled. 
I appreciate that like...they found a way to tell the story while incorporating bits, but also adapted pieces to fit into the moment so that it felt more natural. 
384 Pages

American Colossus by H.W. Brands

A look at the building of the US economy from the end of the Civil War to the turn of the 20th century. This book leaves no stone unturned or story untold in looking at the men and systems that brought the country out of the ashes of war and into the bright light of global and financial dominance. 

686 pages

- Tim

Showtime by Jeff Pearlman

A fast paced look at the Lakers in the 80’s. From Showtime to Magic to the Laker Girls, everything flashy came into being in this decade of LA dominance. A great read for any basketball fan (no purple and gold loyalty required). 

496 pages

- Tim

Deliverance by C.J. Redwine

So that happened. I like... Appreciated the character growth. There seemed to be a lot of characters that showed up and I was mildly overwhelmed by it.
The ship tho.
Connor is great.
 496 Pages

Deception by C.J. Redwine

...why are you letting the person with a head wound sleep....
Hears a certain plot twist and is like....this sounds familiar...and remembers that I've read a book with a similar twist recently...
Aha. The setting is more clear in this book...Its a post-apocalyptic US. and now I'm like...wondering what city they're near. 
There were a couple of scenes where the harm to the body was a little bit too descriptive for my taste, but that's because I don't like descriptions of blood in relation to veins (yeah I have no idea why)
....This book actually made me cry...what is happening. 
496 Pages

  Nocturne Falls- Books 1 -4 by Kristen Painter 

 

The Vampire's Mail Order Bride- 370 pages 

This is a cute, fun little town full of interesting characters. On the run from her mob boss in New York she ends up hiding out in Nocturne Falls and marrying a vampire. Funny and entertaining.

The Werewolf Meets His Match- 356 pages

Biker werewolf chicks. 'Nuff said LOL 

The Gargoyle Gets His Girl- 356 pages

In this story a gargoyle meets and falls for a fae who has run away from the Fairy kingdom and is living in Nocturne Falls. She mistakenly enslaves him and he falls for her charms. 

The Professor Woos the Witch- 370 pages

I liked this story of a witch with broken powers and a shifter who doesn't realize what he is. When his daughter runs away and meets up with a witch chaos ensues.  It includes an obese cat on a diet! Funny and quirky. 

Believe Me by Tahereh Mafi

Cough...So this one is spicy....Like not hecka spicy, but it's bordering on New Adult so like...proceed with caution, I guess?
All of the fluff. Also I keep thinking of my best friend's wedding and like...How I want my wedding to be because I am an introvert who gets overstimulated and anxious.
I love Warner. I love him. Baby. Boy who's only soft for one person. Also like...I relate to him so much because self-image and like. Finally getting the love he deserves.
I will protect him with my life. 
Also when a person sees you for you and recognizes your needs. that's just. perfect. 
I'm dying alone.
Dog. Iconic. We stan. 
Finishes the novella:

224 Pages

Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

Gah the Russian. Finally.....
Do I see potential for the next books if there are any based on the characters that we've been introduced to--yes
All. Of. The. Tropes.
The marriage of convenience. The requited, unrequited love. Friends to lovers. 
The whole last part of the book and the plot and what's going down. Just wild. 
He's a writer and I love him.
Cheese man. 
352 Pages

Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

IS HER NAME ACTUALLY KAREN.
If a cat is bringing you dead things, it is because it believes that you are a helpless hairless cat that is part of the family that needs help..
I love the cat and I love Noah and just like....
Also the whole side-plot. Oof. that's wild.
352 Pages

Horizon's Edge

 

Beginning After the End: Convergence

By TurtleMe

Pages: 446

This one wasn't as good as the last three and almost feels like a pause in the story, but it makes sense to step back a little at this point in the plot arc. The viewpoint changes a lot more and we leave Arthur with a mysterious master to train his abilities for the upcoming war, which we are finally learning more about. The author did do a good job in presenting the training as I often find those sections in other books a little more dry. The way it was written kept me engaged and the world-building has greatly expanded and some of the earliest questions are starting to get answered.

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

....Can I have a mapmaker please...
All these moving skeletons got me:

This do be like Curse of the Black Pearl
I love Ellis. And no it's not because I know an Ellis library....it's because he's wonderful.
I knew that bone house was that person... like... I'm fine. 
Ok so my first guess about who his parents were was wrong, but my second was right. 
352 Pages

The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco

And I'm re-reading this because I need to read the rest of the series and I can't remember the things. 
Aha. Now it makes sense. Also like... I'm hecka excited to see how the relationships between Tea and the boys develop because the two timelines haven't overlapped yet. 
448 Pages

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

So it's like...a retelling of the origins of the Tang dynasty, but it's in the future, and not everything is accurate, and there's fighting robots (did my brain think of Voltron--yes)
Me appreciating the content notice at the beginning of the book. chef's kiss. 

If by Christmas, you mean "life."

....My brain also thought of The Cutting Edge. 
Hey look. An actual triangle. 
....Ok so the epilogue...that... umm...huh.
400 Pages

Gilded by Marissa Meyer

Ok but like.. I love the mythology of this and how the chapters are set up around the moon....yes I know it's a simple thing.
Am I getting Binks and his sister from Hocus Pocus vibes....yes....
And I have a theory about Serilda's stories. 
Also I have a theory on who Gild is but we'll see how right I am
I swear if this turns out like Heartless, I don't think I'll survive. I like...need cute. I need serotonin and dopamine. 
Craaaaaaaaaaaaap.
{I'm a genius, because yes I was right}
Ok so I need it to be November of 2022. 
....I have a feeling that I'm going to be like...obsessing over this book... ok cool. 
512 Pages

The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager

 

Fifteen years ago, summer camper Emma Davis watched sleepily as her three cabin mates snuck out of their cabin in the dead of night. The last she--and anyone--saw of them.

Now a rising star in the NYC art scene, Emma turns her past into paintings. They catch the attention of Francesca Harris-White, the socialite and wealthy owner of the very same Camp Nightingale--and when Francesca implores Emma to return to the camp as a painting counselor, Emma sees an opportunity to find closure and move on.

Already haunted by surfacing memories, Emma is suddenly plagued by a security camera pointed directly at her cabin, mounting mistrust from Francesca, and, most disturbing of all, cryptic clues Vivian apparently left behind about the camp's twisted origins. And as history begins to repeat itself and three girls go missing again, Emma must face threats from both man and nature in order to uncover all the buried secrets--including what really happened all those years ago.

Pages: 384

All the Feels by Olivia Dade

Inserts TikTok: Look here comes a consequence consequence consequence of my actions chasing me right now...
I love Alex. I just like. Chef's kiss
Boys with big hearts who go all in for the people that they care about are just the best... Also like...he knows the fanfic tropes and I can't. Like... I love his level of excitement....I feel personally attacked by his text message style...and his dramatics...cause...that me.
Also his vocabulary. That just. Kills me. I'm dying alone. 
Cough. Big Harpie Energy. 
Marcus in the background:

416 Pages

Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Am I here for men calling other men out...yes. and holding them accountable. Absolutely. 
Let's go off about sexual assault. And how we're in no place to judge victims for how they choose to handle their situations because trauma is a jerk and it's just a rough spot to be in. 
Mack gives me so much bro energy, but then he has a brain and like knows statistics, and that's just fantastic. 
The snark. The vulnerability. 
How can the guy who can give all the advice be so fricking clueless. 
Gavin, in the back, watching all this go down:

352 Pages

Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray

"A Jew, two negroes, a half-Chinese half-Irish girl, and a couple of Catholics" Am I here for the mentioning of how Catholics were also seen as outsiders in America. Yes. Also. what a squad. 
....I am concerned. Mabel. 
Cough. Captain America. 
Anytime any of the bad guys has a single thought or starts talking about being "Unamerican" or anything to do with eugenics:

Oh. My. God. I was not expecting ace-rep and there is ace-rep and honestly I am here for it.
Hey so there was a second where almost everyone was having a good time and just being teenagers...and then that moment ended. 
I'm just gonna go walk into the ocean. Because yeah. I'm in pain. Cause I got a feeling that someone's gonna die and I'm not gonna like it. 
I just....just let my babies be happy, and don't let this be like Crooked Kingdom for that one character that is kind of like that one character. 
560 Pages

No Words by Meg Cabot

So Jo just....sigh.... I wish she had been developed more... Because her history was hinted at, and I'm like...let's dig into that.
Molly. All the heart eyes for Molly and the sheriff. I'm not saying I would have loved to have like..a ton of their perspectives but like.
Will's cool. We knew that. 
368 Pages

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

The dog's name is Butterball. Butter for short. Gah. I love it. Because yes, naming your dog after foods and such is adorable...because my dad calls Pepper "Pepperoni" 
Yes I picked this book because of the cover. Shush. 
.....Ok but men talking about romance novels and like...taking lessons from them because romance novels were originally written by women for women... I'm cackling. 
Also we see a relationship in the marriage stage, and in the kids stage. Like... chef's kiss. 
I wanna hug these babies. They're cute. 
352 Pages

Of Princes and Promises by Sandhya Menon

Paulo is exhausted
Man, envy is ugly. 
I live for fluff. Like.....
The hair gel kept making me think of: 

Also...like...learning to accept yourself and realize that your friends actually like you for who you are and not for an act that your are, and that they love the things that you hate about yourself... That's addictive. 
Also now I'm trying to figure out what the third book's going to be about. 
320 Pages

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

I vote we get rid of the mom and the sister. I will withhold all judgment until I find out about their pasts, but they just seem awful. 
 I'm like...trying to not be mad at Lia Mara. Trying really hard. But she's oversimplifying everything and like...I wanna strangle her.
We love Noah. Why? Because he smort.
I'm glad we're acknowledging that the person who is lashing out is scared and that they probably have PTSD from all of the trauma..
I don't understand how Lia Mara can be so smart and then so stupid three seconds later. Like...does she even think about the consequences of her actions...at all...
...they just wanted to be bros...

That epilogue:

480 Pages

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

I love re-reading books because it means you get to pick up more of the details about the characters and the setting...and occasionally it means you get to read an archived tumblr post about who a character was having an off-screen relationship with, and it makes you question everything. 
Am I finally noticing that the setting is like...during the suffragette movement...yes... But I also like...don't want this to be set in the late 1800s, early 1900s...because then that means Sean and Puck are far away and like....I can't stand that. 
448 Pages

The Queen Will Betray You by Sarah Henning

Can we just the children be happy and together.
Or at least let the children's main goal being together.
Oh so that's how the title fits.
....mothers are not looking good rn...
It felt like this book had less direction, but that might be because I was distracted.... And I was like..trying to fit everything to The Princess Bride storyline, but it's inspired, so like...it's not going to follow exactly and also like... we in sequel book. 
And now I wait a year for a book....and I'll probably have to re-read this because I have three brain cells. 
368 Pages

Bridgerton books by Julia Quinn

 

Colin Bridgerton is tired of being thought nothing but an empty-headed charmer, tired of everyone's preoccupation with the notorious gossip columnist Lady Whistledown, who can't seem to publish an edition without mentioning him in the first paragraph. But when Colin returns to London from a trip abroad he discovers nothing in his life is quite the same - especially Penelope Featherington! The girl haunting his dreams. But when he discovers that Penelope has secrets of her own, this elusive bachelor must decide...is she his biggest threat - or his promise of a happy ending?

Pages: 370

Eloise Bridgerton couldn't marry a man she had never met! But then she started thinking... and wondering... and before she knew it, she was in a hired carriage in the middle of the night, on her way to meet the man she hoped might be her perfect match. Except... he wasn't. Her perfect husband wouldn't be so moody and ill-mannered. And he certainly should have mentioned that he had two young - and decidedly unruly - children, as much in need of a mother as Phillip is in need of a wife.

Pages: 372

After a lifetime of chasing women, of smiling slyly as they chased him, of allowing himself to be caught but never permitting his heart to become engaged, he took one look at Francesca Bridgerton and fell so fast and hard into love it was a wonder he managed to remain standing. Unfortunately for Michael, however, Francesca's surname was to remain Bridgerton for only a mere thirty-six hours longer—the occasion of their meeting was, lamentably, a supper celebrating her imminent wedding to his cousin.

But that was then... Now Michael is the earl and Francesca is free, but still she thinks of him as nothing other than her dear friend and confidant. Michael dares not speak to her of his love... until one dangerous night, when she steps innocently into his arms, and passion proves stronger than even the most wicked of secrets...

Pages: 368

A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmer

 hdsjKAHDsjkah It's a Beauty and the Beast retelling.
All the claps for representation. 
Gray. We love him. We stan. 
I love the way that the curse is interpreted in this story...because like...it makes sense, and fills in holes. The way that time moves and the way that the beast develops and like...how everyone deals with it. 
I appreciate all of the nods to the original story and to the more iconic retellings. cough. the castle and the forest. 
It's fine. I'm dying alone.
I would die for Noah. He's great. Protec. He's annoying, but he's great. 
512 Pages

Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

I just want more Jericho content.
Also can we...can we not do love triangles...plz....It's bad for my mental health. 
Can we just let the children be happy. Please. Just let them not be dead. Is that too much to ask?
Look at all the racism and eugenics. (I mean it was the 1920s in New York, so like...)
I just love that we're pulling in all of the historical elements, and that we're also pulling in like the....the conspiracies and folklore of what the US government did when no one was looking.
592 Pages

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Someone ships it. That someone was the dad and now that someone is me. 
This genre is like a weird mix of fantasy with like...science-y things....Also why...why is one of the main characters of my NANOWRIMO2021 in this book.....
432 Pages

My Weekend Binge Reads

 

Beginning After the End: Beckoning Fates; Horizon's Edge

By TurtleMe

Pages: 303; 290

I managed to binge read through these two books and a good chunk of the next in the series (I'm 3/4 of the way through at the moment) this last weekend and Beckoning Fates in particular blew me away. You can tell the author has really improved their writings skills as characters have extra depth to them and we are finally seeing some flaws to previously near-perfect characters. I was getting a little tired of the main character being several levels above his peers and enemies in terms of power, but that seems to be changing as we discover the main protagonists of the story arc and some secrets about the people around him. Now that he is old enough, Arthur has enrolled into the local prestigious school for mages (cue Hedwig's Theme) where he has to tread the messy politics and egos that surround him. We are also finally getting a glimpse into the history of the kingdom, how mages were born, and the emergence of the overarching series conflict that we have been given sooo many tiny hits to in the fourth installment as he travels to a mystic city to find masters capable of preparing him for the battles and enemies on the rise. 

Rebel by Amy Tintera

So I listened to parts of this with my eyes closed, which means that for some reason my brain doesn't process it the same, so some of the middle is fuzzy.
I feel like things were wrapped up too easily, but also like...shrug. 
I'm here for the ship. Let's be real.
352 Pages

Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

I do wants to strangle some of these people who are...unhinged....
My Catholic butt really do want to be starting a fight about how all these people are using Latin... especially because these are phrases said during Mass. 
If the characters were more self-aware:

Hey it's that scene from Titanic. Like...all of it. 
And of course I can't find the last book in audiobook anywhere. This is fine. 
320 Pages