Review: Ruthless

Ruthless by Gena Showalter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.7 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Strike first. And last. No exceptions. 

I would highly suggest reading the first in this series (Heartless) before picking this up. Ruthless takes place about 11 months after the truce that was called between Micah the Unwilling and Kaysar the Unhinged and his wife Cookie the Uncrumbled. Immortal Enemies is a series that, mostly, takes place in a fae realm called Astaria with it's four courts and the Dusklands and Forgotten lands. All of the world building is explained in the first along with the characters we see here. One of the mysteries from the first was what happened to Kaysar's younger sister Viori, here we find out that she raised herself in the woods. Viori's glamara (fae power) is similar to Kaysar's and his gift of song except she can create elemental beings, like large trees and stone beasts, but they take so much of her power, she often falls into deep sleeps that can last for centuries and can sometimes take her to the mortal human realm. As a teenager Micah came upon Viori in one of these sleeps and was scarred horribly by her tree beasts before they realized he didn't mean her any harm and he kind of fell in love with the sleeping pretty girl and brought her gifts until she woke up scared, screamed and had her beasts chase him away. 

She stood before Micah, her dagger shoved into his gut, his hand shackling her wrist as warm blood dripped over them both. 

There is the outside conflict of Micah being Viori's brother's enemy. Viori misses out on a lot of Astaria happenings because of her deep sleeps but she does know her brother's story and how he was mistreated, which she blames herself for because she thinks she killed their parents, which set them on the road of traveling through the forest where he got taken prisoner. Viori thinks she must somehow make it up to Kaysar before she can be with him again, once she learns that Micah is Kaysar's enemy and their truce is ending soon, she decides to hide her true identity and be a spy in Micah's camp to learn his weaknesses. 

Micah is still drawn to Viori and is amazed that she isn't in pain around him, something all others complain about because Micah is a chimera, he has two glamara that war with each other causing an uncomfortable atmosphere around him. Something with Viori's glamara matching up with his is the sort of explanation given for why it's not painful for her to be around him. The biggest conflict keeping these two apart is how they were raised. Micah as an orphan was taken in by another chimera and told to live by rules that included always protecting others and be honorable. When his mentor is killed by belua (what Viori's “children” are called) he devotes his life to killing them. Micah always wanted a family and is lonely but tries to hide this want because he doesn't think it will ever be possible because of his scarred body and how being a chimera causes people pain when they're around him. He eventually becomes a King and is now in charge of the Forgotten lands and waiting for the one year truce to be over so that he can reclaim his land and castle from Kaysar. 

Viori had to raise herself and as she was extremely vulnerable, was taken advantage of at every turn, so she learned to never trust anyone and that everyone is out to hurt her. There's some mention of a human man she fell in love with who betrayed her, so this pushes her to not trust Micah even more. Since a lot of the world-building was done in the first, Viori and Micah do get to spend a lot of time together and even though they have that initial lust/attraction, they do spend time getting to know each other. In the beginning, Viori is constantly throwing out Micah “Should just beat her then!” and as he calmly shows her each time that he's not like that through his actions and not just words, he starts to build her trust little by little. Around 40% Viori concocts a plan to marry Micah, she obviously is getting emotionally invested but justifies it as a way to protect Kaysar as she'll be Micah's queen and at halfway they are married. However, instead of having the third act break-up so much later in the story, it comes at the halfway point when Viori's true identity is revealed, along with some other information. This gave ample time for the two to work out the break-up issue and I loved how Viori and Micah got to use this time, it created a not rushed and more believable relationship between the two. 

I also enjoyed the tone and pace change from the more chaotic first, this slowed things down and focused a lot on Viori and Micah. There was still the outside world issues happening and developing, the truce coming to an end between Kaysar and Micah and possible traitor/s in Micah's camp but the story gave us a strong romance focus between Viori and Micah. There was some heat with the sexual tension, flirting, foreplay, trying to entice and deny, and eventual bedroom scenes between the two which I enjoyed breaking up some of the emotional trust building with some spice. Along with Viori getting to be the more bloodthirsty, it was around 70% that Micah was the one to not only trust first but have his actions be based on that trust and I loved how he held his heart out there. Micah acting this way earlier made it feel a little out of character and disappointing when later he suddenly didn't trust Viori in a certain aspect to give us a mini third act breakup, it wasn't needed for me because of how it killed some of the glow from his initial trust. 

Whatever came next, they would overcome it. Together, they could overcome anything. 

The ending gives us an action battle scene that brings in all the new characters and ones we meet in the first to give a great wrap-up, showing how it takes everyone working together and leave some dangling threads for the next in the series. This was good with it's different pace and tone from first, kept and added interesting fantasy elements, and given time to romance focus with trust and attraction. This felt more controlled (still some wilding out moments/elements, Pearl Jean and Loch Ness monster origin explanation!) than the first and I think it made for a more solid story and characters. Viori and Micah were strong and bold characters but their relationship also provided some sweet and sexy moments.

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Reading Update: Page 1

I honestly thought about just snapping a pic of this book by itself. Who cares about my lunch with a cover like that! 😍🥵😍 

I've got a new aesthetic apparently, looking dark and dangerous shirtless in a cape 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

The first in the series was a wild fantasy ride of kingdoms and fighting fae factions. Y'all, cape guy is Micah the Unwilling the fae king of the Forgotten. A chip on his shoulder anti-hero! His love interest is the raised herself in the woods lost sister Viori from book1 hero. Micah's her brother's enemy! 

I'm putting my seat belt on because if this is anything like book 1, it's going to be a fast paced, murder-y warring, unhinged, banging it out, loving hard, hold onto your butts ride. 

No one better interrupt me! 

Ruthless by Gena Showalter (Aug 9) 

BBQ Chicken Street Tacos

Review: Christmas on Mistletoe Lane

Christmas on Mistletoe Lane by Annie Rains
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

“So.” Mr. Garrison clapped his hands together. “Congratulations, you two. Looks like you'll be business partners.” 

Inheriting her grandmother's Bed and Breakfast in Sweetwater Springs, North Carolina is going to give Kaitlyn the opportunity she needs to get a fresh start. She's just been fired from her interior decorator job in New York because of a famous action movie star and she's ready for the change of pace. Unfortunately, she's just learned that she only inherited half. 

Mitch has just gotten out of the Marines and waiting to start a security job in Virginia when the lawyer for the recently passed neighbor woman he used to help with odd jobs, tells him he needs to talk to him. After a car accident he feels responsible for, paralyzed a local teen, he's respected the wishes of the family that he not be in town, why he left at eighteen, so when he learns that he's inherited half of the B&B, he wants to sell. 

Kaityln's meddling grandmother, though, made the stipulation that they must work together for two months or the inn goes to charity. Mitch has somehow let Katilyn talk him into staying for the two months and suddenly being a grumpy loner is losing its appeal. 

He was temporary, and she wasn't looking for a relationship. 

Christmas on Mistletoe Lane starts off the Sweetwater Springs series and readers get to know a whole cast of characters. I thought there was going to be some sweet tension between Kaitlyn and Mitch as they worked to repair the B&B but Kaitlyn redecorating and Mitch fixing, for the most part, happens off page and not much time is spent on it. I liked the set-up but Kaitlyn and Mitch's romance was more of the “I find you attractive.” “I find you attractive.” and then sleeping together but all those scenes were fade to black. So, instead of cute forced proximity tension, we get fade to black bedroom scenes and two ships passing in the night as Kaitlyn does some cooking, some genial dealing with people staying at the inn and Mitch worrying about his mother's health, wanting to get out of town before he runs into the guy that got paralyzed in the accident, and helping out at the police department. 

And she absolutely was not going to kiss him again tonight. 

Even though a lot of the story takes place at the B&B, I felt like the ambiance of this old Victorian home wasn't brought out enough. I mean, it was like 70% in when it was suddenly brought up that the house had a ballroom, how did I not know there was a ballroom! This could tie-in to me expecting a lighter, fun story of Kaitlyn and Mitch repairing the inn, instead of the more Kaitlyn dealing with some fear trauma over her sexual harassment and attempted assault by her former Hollywood actor client and what chased her out of NY and Mitch worried about his mother's health and still dealing with guilt over car accident. 

“Where are we going?” she asked---not that she cared. 

There was a sudden urgency in his movements as he pulled her towards the exit. “To settle this thing between us once and for all.” 

Since Mitch grew-up in the town, it's through him that we get introduced to a couple male characters that will certainly star in future books in the series, Kaitlyn's bestfriend Josie from New York will probably show up later, too. The secondary characters were good, they introduced us to the town without feeling like they were clogging up the story. There was a little holiday flavor with some Christmas tree hunting, festival, and mistletoe but I was disappointed with how Christmas Eve and Day didn't really feature as those days came at the end of the book. 

“I have traveled the world looking for a place where I could feel whole again. Never in a million years did I think that would be right back where I started.” 

Kaitlyn was focused on more in the first half and Mitch got more focus in the second, separately they were pretty well defined characters, it was together and their romance that I felt was lacking. This is probably another personal gripe but putting an adorable puppy on the cover and then not having the puppy come into the picture until the last fifteen pages was pretty disappointing. Mitch breaking things off in a little bit of a fit of temper and then waiting until the last ten pages to make right and, in my opinion, not delivering the apology he needed to, instead simply going with an “I love you.” only, gave kind of a dull ending that even the epilogue couldn't bring up. This first in the series just didn't have the magical, light, sweet, or emotional tone or vibe I personal like in holiday reads, but, I did think the series baiting characters have potential to draw readers back to Sweetwater Springs for future romances.

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Reading Update: 20%

 

Chip dipping and reading this Saturday! 

Kaitlyn inherited her grandparents B&B but only half. The other half was left to Mitch who was the neighbor boy who helped with odd jobs for cookies until he joined the Marines. The will stipulates they have to work together for two months before they can sell it, Mitch wants to sell, Kaitlyn doesn't. 

Don't you just love meddling grandparents and will stipulations? 😁 

A B&B on Mistletoe Lane and forced proximity

Finishing up Holidays in July strong! 

🌞❄️👵🏻🛏😘🌞

Christmas on Mistletoe Lane by Annie Rains purchase link

Chip Dip recipe

Quickie Review: Eternity

Eternity by Tmonique Stephens
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

“My curse was to search for the one woman I could love completely, forever.” Roman sighed and looked up at her from the swiftly emptying bottle. “You are the reincarnation of my lover, Elyssian. She died 1,974 years ago. That makes me roughly two-thousand years old.” 

If you liked The Black Dagger Brotherhood, you might like this. A group of "brothers", immortality, Egyptian gods and goddesses, curses, soulmates, and set in contemporary times. 

Roman was a mercenary in B.C.E. times that failed in his job for a god because he was off with a woman named Elyssian, so the god cursed him and now him must spend all of eternity being reunited with reincarnations of Elyssian but watching her die in new and varied ways. 

The Strangler has been a serial killer on the loose for awhile and Stella (STELLA!!! sorry, couldn't resist) accidentally comes upon him mid-murder. She manages to survive her encounter but The Strangler is still after her. Roman becomes her bodyguard (He took those mercenary skills right into the 21st century and has a security firm) after he realizes she's the new reincarnation of Elyssian. 

“You are dead,” she confided, smiling into his face. “You reside here because of your actions and the evil infested in your heart. Yet you are not a follower or a descendent, so this hell should not be your final destination.”

Like I mentioned, a faint whiff of BDB but some cool additives with Anubis, Alamut, Nephythys, and SET to bring in some nefarious interfering and clashing mythological and real world. Plenty of brothers to get their own story and the series is all in KU!

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Review: The Christmas Wish

The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.3 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

'Besides, it isn't as though anything legitimately catastrophic can happen, is it? Christmas is only one day. How bad could it possible be?' 

Gwen's driving back home from London with her cousin Manny for Christmas and with her boyfriend dumping her for his receptionist and trouble at her job, she's not particularly looking forward to extra family time. When someone's wish on the Christmas pudding sixpence has her reliving Christmas Day over and over again, she's suddenly looking at her family members differently and herself. It's a Groundhog Day family story with a side of getting a second chance at that secret love for the neighbor boy. 

Punting the pudding hadn't worked. 

It was still Christmas Day. 

The Christmas Wish was a sweet holiday story that was told all from Gwen's point-of-view and focused mainly on her familial relationships. Gwen's a lawyer at a high powered firm in London and mostly there because it was her father's dream and he loves living through her. She's holding in, though, that she's on mandatory leave for attacking a sexual harasser client and questioning if all the stress she feels at her job is something she even wants to do anymore. Her mother she's starting to see in a different light and realizing that she and the whole family take their mother for granted and that their Welsh take no gruff nana, may need her own kick in the pants to get out and make connections again. There's her cousin Manny who grew-up with them because his father died and his mother didn't want to take care of him alone, so he battles feelings of self-worth, even when a brawny Highlander comes into the picture, and Cerys, Gwen's sister. Cerys and Gwen have never gotten along and with Cerys married to a prat, two rambunctious kids, and a her own law firm she's trying to get running, they've never been more apart. 

Gwen, her own issues, with and separately with her family, felt full and realized and I liked how her first Christmas Day was gone through with the big and little moments you could tell were going to be instances to be revisited. It was around 30% that the Groundhog Day aspect of the story started and we get Gwen in shock and then trying to make each family member's wish come true since she doesn't know who got the sixpence and thinking that is why she is reliving the day. Her day was peppered with funny moments and small and deeper emotional moments that Gwen got better at navigating, bringing her closer with her family members. I really liked the moments she had with her sister Cerys, as they had the farthest to travel emotionally, and felt the hurt and loneliness, wanting to connect to each other (even when Cerys had some big pill moments). 

'We really should go somewhere,' I murmured as my resolve weakened and his lips found their way back to mine, irresistibly drawn. 

'We are somewhere,' Dev replied, whispering directly into my ear and unlocking every ounce of desire in my body.' And there's nowhere on earth I'd rather be.' 

Along with the familial relationships, there was a little romance arc with Gwen and the neighbor Dev. The two grew-up as great friends, Gwen always had a crush on him, who lost contact in college but from that first 'Hello, stranger', you can feel there's going to be something between these two. I would have loved more romance in this, Dev gets forgotten for a bit in the latter second half, but they still had some sweet moments (they do get a sex scene but very quick, I'm talking paragraph, and along the lines of PG/PG13ish). 

The seasonal setting of this was great with it's food, mistletoe, snowball fighting, Christmas party with requisite breathe fire punch, romance, and family fighting and loving. There was a good amount of pop culture references in this but the challenge of family dynamics was the main element and something that will never lose reference. The Christmas Wish was a story of learning to see and be seen by your family and taking the chance with that crush, while delivering those holiday vibes. It would be a good seasonal read with it's warm and fuzzy ending to curl up and sip hot cocoa to.

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30%

 

'Are you even home if a family member isn't shouting your name from a completely different room of the house though?' I muttered to myself as I slunk back down the stairs and into the warm bosom of my family.

Reading Update: Page 1

 

A wintery holiday book and a salad?!? 

The chaos that is Holidays in July 🌞🎄🌞! 

"Like Groundhog Day but with turkey." 

SIGNED UP 

But also, a newly single heroine, countryside holiday festivities, and a grew-up right boy-next-door. Just the little problem of waking up to Christmas Day over and over again. 

The Christmas Wish by Lindsey Kelk preorder (Nov 8) link

Buffalo Chicken Salad recipe 

Review: The Lost and Found Girl

The Lost and Found Girl by Maisey Yates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

But it is said in the town of Pear Blossom that Ruby McKee herself is miraculous. 

After completing her college studying abroad, Ruby McKee comes back to her hometown of Pear Blossom, Oregon after she's offered a job by Dana who works at the historical society. Ruby has always felt a connection to Dana, the single mom who's fifteen year old daughter Caitlin went missing and was never found. Ten months after Caitlin went missing, Ruby was found at an old bridge, near where Caitlin was last seen, as a baby by the McKee sisters. The town still hurting and reeling from Caitlin's disappearance made Ruby into their miracle baby and the McKee family adopted her. Now twenty-two years later, Ruby is back home and along with her sisters, Marianne, Lydia, and Dahlia, they're having to confront what their life stories say about them and what they want them to say. 

“Of course, my first thought was to blame her. But that's what we do. It's what we do.” 

“What is?” 

Dana looked her square in the face. “We blame the mother.” 

The Lost and Found Girl gave us a look into all four sister's lives, with all the personal and familial issues that come with sisterhood, some romance for them all, and a cold case mystery wallpapering the background. Ruby had a tad more of a lead in the story as her being found by the sisters and how that subsequently changed the dynamic in the family and her being found and treated as a healing balm to the disappearance of Caitlin. Through all the sister's povs we learn that Marianne went through some depression as a teenager which is having her struggle with her own teenage daughter and her new worries that her husband is cheating on her, Lydia's husband died a few months ago and she's struggling with everyone treating her like she should constantly be falling apart while holding in the secret that she wanted to divorce her husband before his sickness and newly recognizing her attraction to Chase, who was her husband's bestfriend, Dahlia is dealing with always feeling second fiddle to Ruby because she was the baby of the family before Ruby and being scared to go for what she wants, like being attracted to the Chief of police Carter, and then Ruby who is still searching for answers to who she is and being drawn to the town black sheep, Nathan, who was Caitlin's boyfriend at the time of the disappearance and who everyone thinks murdered her. 

She'd always wanted the answers while had seemed like the people around her preferred stories.” 

When Ruby comes to town, she and Dahlia, who has a new job as a journalist at the local paper, decide to work together to write articles and make displays of retrospectives of the town's history, which requires interviewing, highlighting, and drudging up the past. It may seem like a lot of plot threads and characters to keep up with but the constant changing povs between the sisters keeps the trains going on each of their tracks. The cold case is an important part of the fabric of the story but it's definitely more of the wallpaper that I called it earlier, until more towards the ending when it pops up and gets the focus that readers could probably feel on the back of their necks. With everything the sisters are going through, it does feel like they could have had their own books, this reads like broken up novellas sewn together, but there was also the feeling of connectivity between their stories that makes putting them together all in one book still work. The essence of the story was really focused on stories, the ones we tell ourselves and the ones people tell about us, which worked with these characters and plot but it was rinse and repeated so much between all four sisters that the repetitiveness of this started to bog the pace and story down for me in the second half; the sisters all had different bemoaning personal issues but reading bemoaning issues over and over in the same book was a lot. I felt like this really hit Ruby's character, so much “I'm the golden, make everyone happy child”, which I get how it plays into her known abandonment as a baby, but, ooof, is this “stories” reiterated and bemoaned/struggled with repetitively. Individually, it works for the character but collectively in the book, repetitive. 

Not knowing could drive you crazy. 

Knowing is probably a burden sometimes too. 

Each sister does have her own little romance arc but there wasn't a lot of room for the men to make huge character showings but my romance loving heart appreciated the additive. Like I said, most of the story is the sisters struggling with emotional issues and what they want their stories to be, so it's not until around 70% we get a bigger hit on the cold case of Caitlin and then a reveal comes at 80% to bring it to the focus in a big way. I didn't see the reveal coming, so it was a definite shock to me and if you also want to be shocked, don't read the spoiler but if trigger warnings are something you like to know ***SPOILER***Marianne was raped and abused by a townsperson, she ended up pregnant and secretly birthed a baby, that baby was Ruby. Marianne's rapist also abused Caitlin and was responsible for her murder. Marianne blocked it all out in her mind and the trauma slowly makes the way to the forefront of her memories.***END SPOILER***

The last fifteen percent felt a bit rushed with it's traumatic feelings and I would have liked a fuller and sat with a little longer resolution. Overall, this was a well written little bit different constructed story that melded a couple genres together. The second half slowed some with the sisters repeatedly struggling with how they were living their lives, instead of finally just changing it, I can sit with one character doing this but four got wearying. However, each sister was compelling in their own right, I enjoyed the romance, and was locked in wondering about Caitlin's disappearance. If you're looking for some women's fiction that has a different feel to it, I would definitely recommend The Lost and Found Girl.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

I was an only child, so I'm always endlessly fascinated with sibling dynamics. It looks like the McKee sisters are going to really go through it in this with the ups and downs of sisterhood, secrets, and love thrown in the mix. 

💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻💃🏻 

Time to fight, bicker, and love! 

The Lost and Found Girl by Maisey Yates purchase link

Saucy Pineapple BBQ Chicken Bowls recipe

Review: Eclipse the Moon

Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.3 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

I'd wanted Varro from the moment I'd laid eyes on him, and that instant, fierce attraction had only grown into deeper affection the more I'd gotten to know him. 

Falling in love in a space opera is never really a good idea but lucky for us readers, Kee can't help herself as soon as she gets a look at Varro. Eclipse the Moon is second in the Starlight's Shadow series and you're going to want to read the first, Hunt the Stars, before you embark on this journey. Kee is the Starlight's resident hacker, tiny but fierce, not afraid to let out a good cry, and, sometimes, dangerously optimistic. When the war between the Federated Human Planets (FHP) and Valovians managed to come to a tentative peace three years ago, Kee joined the crew of the Starlight, which consists of her found family of Captain Tavi (Hunt the Stars), Eli, newcomer Anja, and sometimes Lexi. In the first book, all the introductions are made and we see the Starlight's human crew get joined by a crew of Valovians, Chira, Havil, Varro, and General Torran. Tavi and Torran fall in love and, oh yeah, they save the Valovian Empress' heir while uncovering a tangled weave of possible traitors, treason, and warmongers who seem to be lead by an FHP Commodore Morten with maybe help from a Valovian Sun Guardian. I liked how the author didn't info dump what happened last book but interwoven some key details that happened in the first but it's a subtle recap that wouldn't work for a new reader. 

“I didn't know,” he said, his voice rough. 

I nodded, glad, at least, that my feelings hadn't been so obvious. “That was the point.” 

“No,” he said, something fierce and dark in his tone, “I didn't know.” 

This starts off pretty soon after the first ended and the Starlight's crew and newly joined Valovians have decided to try and ferret out Morten to expose and stop any possible plans he has for reigniting the war. As the computer expert, Kee has been trying to search for Morten online and with her feeling her attraction towards Varro isn't reciprocated, she makes plans to be dropped off a space station that is having a first of it's kind collaboration fashion show between humans and Valoffs because her instincts are telling her it could be a cover for something else. Of course, Varro ends up on the space station with her and we get a one bedroom (but bunkbeds!) forced proximity couple weeks of them together. This is told in first person pov all from Kee, so you know what I'm going to say, I missed reading Varro's thoughts. There was some delicious tension in the beginning, especially since Kee and Varro are pretty much alone together, so the story gets to really focus on them but every time they start to get closer, Kee comes right out and tells Varro she like likes him at 20%, something has Varro pulling away. Look, since this is romance, it's obvious Varro wants Kee but I want to experience, feel it in a way that most often comes from reading a character's thoughts and emotions, not solely mannerisms and actions. Getting his thoughts and emotions would have also helped with his characterization immensely, too. I never felt like I had a good look at his character, I needed more on his background and why his powers were stronger than the other Valoffs. So, while we definitely get a good amount of our leads together, the instant attraction that started in the first book, gets repeated here and I missed getting more depth between them and from Varro. 

Hope fizzed through my veins. Was it possible that we'd both thought we were being obvious, and we'd both been oblivious? My fingertips tingled with a combination of nerves and excitement, and I couldn't help the smile blooming on my lips. “We have got to work on our communication.” 

Varro's gaze moved over my face with the kind of intent focus that made the butterflies take flight again. “Agreed,” he murmured, his voice a soothing rumble. 

While I enjoyed the first half with Kee and Varro getting to spend some together, there was too much explanation and story given to Kee searching computer systems for Morten, especially since I don't think it's ever given a payoff, in the end she doesn't find Morten that way, so it made all that computer talk feel pretty pointless and dragged the pace down. The Starlight's crew that we got to know and care about from the first also takes a backseat in the first half as Kee and Varro meet and make new friends. When the fashion show gets attacked, Kee, Varro, and now the Starlight crew comes back into the picture, are suddenly on a mission to rescue the two lead fashion designers, one of the fashion designers security, and Liang, one of the Empress' sons who made a surprise appearance at the show. The second half gives us more of that space political drama and the crew is back to rescuing, trying to figure out if it's humans or Valoffs working to spark the war back up, and Morten and the telekinetic Sun Guardian pop back up. 

Varro cupped my jaw and tipped my head up until he could meet my eyes. “Cho wubr chil tavoz,” he murmured. My life for yours. 

The last 30% was a lot of action with the romance getting left in the dust more but the last 15 pages gave us a bedroom scene between Kee and Varro that felt a bit jolting because of the previous 400 pages of, mostly, there was two scenes of heaving making out, kisses. Varro also drops one or two lines of dirty talk that nicely had my eyes widen but mostly I was wondering where in the world did it come from; that whole missing a lot of Varro's characterization. I liked the thought of Kee and Varro together and they delivered on some moments but their relationship development wasn't deep enough for me and had one too many stop and go moments. 

Eli winced. “You know I don't love the status quo.” 

“But are you willing to do anything about it?” I demanded softly. 

The crew manages to survive this battle but with some known and unknown villains still in the wind, their work isn't done but this time, they'll have an FHP Admiral in the wings. I was a little disappointed that Lexi and Nilo, we get to know them a little bit in the first, didn't show up here at all and the next in the series looks to star them. The author managed to grow this fun space opera world nicely and from what I remember, Lexi and Nilo had some eye-catching unresolved tension between them, so I'll be looking forward to the third book, hoping Morten gets his due and finding out more about a certain Sun Guardian.

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30%

This feels timely, the sluttiest thing a man (or Valovian!) can do,

Varro looked at me and then pulled the tie free and let the ends hang over his waistcoat.

30%

 

"You talked to the plants," Varro said, his voice low and rough. I bet he sounded just like that in the morning, sleepy and rumpled after a night in bed.

Heat crept into my cheeks at the imagined visual, and I redirected my thoughts to a safer subject. I peeked at him, but his eyes remained closed, so I went back to staring at the ceiling. "I thought you were asleep."

"It's harder to sneak up on me than you might imagine. Your approach was quiet but not that quiet." After a pause, he added, "But the talking was nice."

"It's supposed to help the plants grow better, and it gives me something to do."

"I enjoyed listening to you. It was soothing."

I laughed quietly. "Most people would disagree." I rolled my head toward him with a grin. "Have you considered that you may be part plant?"

"Mmm," he murmured without opening his eyes, "perhaps that is why I'm drawn to sunshine."

😭 The gooey mess I become when trying to keep emotions hidden double speak happens. GAH help. He just told her his feelings but she misses it because she doesn't know how he sees her yet. SHE'S HIS SUNSHINE. I LOVE these moments in the beginning of stories because of that delicious secret tension they deliver. 

Reading Update: Page 1

 

Space Opera time 🌌❣️ 

I've really been craving paranormal, fantasy, and space romance lately, so very excited to head back into the Starlight's Shadow series. 

Y'all, this is about our bubbly hacker Kee and our grumpy weapons expert Varro! 

When I say 😍 I mean 😍😍😍 

I made this pizza from scratch (yes the dough!) and my partner is under a strict don't-bug-me contact rule for the rest of the day. I'm treating myself. 

Eclipse the Moon by Jessie Mihalik (Releases tomorrow Jul. 12th!) purchase link

Buffalo Chicken Pizza recipe

I'm not the best at making from scratch dough-y things, so when I saw this was easy, believe it, lol. Fresh pizza that was yummy :)

Review: Season of Love

Season of Love by Helena Greer
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Cass Carrigan, her Cass, had been sick and no one told her, so that she could say goodbye. 

Miriam hasn't been back to the one place that she was happy in her childhood in ten years. When she gets the call that her mother's aunt Cass, and Miriam's North Star has died, she's devastated and anxious to finally go back to Cass' Christmas tree farm. Her childhood bestfriend Hannah is there along with Cass' mother and family drama that she ran away from. The plan was only sitting shiva and then leaving but when Cass' will throws everyone for a loop, Miriam has to decide if she wants to go back to her old life and fiancée or stay in the one place that truly makes her happy. 

She had to figure out the whole picture of Miriam Blum, whether she could trust Miriam to be a part of this place Noelle needed for her own survival— and if she could work with Miriam, without combusting in ill-advised lust. 

When Miriam gets to the tree farm, she meets the farm manager, Noelle, and even while Noelle is cold to her, Miriam still can't help having not-safe-for-work thoughts about her and neither can Noelle. Season of Love was a holiday themed romance set on a Christmas tree farm that came with all the seasonal trappings, ice-skating, mistletoe, snow, and a festival. There was plenty going on with characters and their issues to keep readers involved but even with all the glitter, curtsy of Miriam's artworks and her upcycling business, the glue was missing for me. 

Her mom knew why their relationship was relegated to fifteen carefully curated minutes a month. 

We're introduced to Miriam first and it's sprinkled in here and there that she doesn't have a good relationship with her parents and that's why Cass' farm was a haven to her. We know that there was a blow up that caused Miriam to leave and never come back but it isn't until the second half that we know the reason and full extent of how much Miriam's dad damaged her. We get some scenes with Miriam and her mom and since the dad isn't shown, he plays villain off screen, the mom takes most of the anger. Even though Miriam is engaged, it's made clear that it's not a romantic relationship between her and her fiancée, they do have sex, but it's more about appearances and businesses. There's also a little bit with anger and hurt feelings between her and her cousin Hannah. Hannah works at the farm and along with the farm's cook and general maintenance couple's son, Levi, Miriam and them were best buds. So, when Miriam shows up at the farm, she's dealing with all these emotions, how she needs to get back to where she lives because she's opening up a new store, and has a friend from college, Cole, tagging along with her. 

She wasn’t ready to go to a second funeral for a second mother. 

Noelle takes a little longer to get to know but she's a recovering alcoholic and her parents died before she could ever resolve the issues between them. Noelle has a degree from Yale and is a pro at sustainable farming, she's been the tree farm's manager for a couple years and has become bestfriends with Hannah and looked at Cass as a second mom. Seeing Hannah left alone to deal with the farm and Cass' sickness has made her angry and bitter towards Miriam, even though they've never met before, she just sees Miriam as the one who left. The beginning has Noelle crossing the line from grump into rude towards Miriam but Noelle also has lusty feelings towards Miriam. 

“She said she had a dream that Carrigan’s was a ship. Miriam was the sails, the creative wind. Noelle was the anchor that kept everyone from blowing off in wild directions. Hannah was the captain, Levi was the map to unknown lands, and she, Cass, was your North Star.” 

When the will gets read, it's found out that Cass left the farm to not only Hannah and Noelle but also Miriam and Levi. Levi and Hannah have their own issues with them falling in love as young adults and getting engaged, Levi wanting to leave to see the world but Hannah feeling she had to stay to help Cass so they break up and Hannah tearfully tells Levi to not come home, so it's been four years since he's been back. Miriam is shocked but when they find out that the farm is in financial trouble she wants to stay and help. So our grump now has to deal with forced proximity and while Miriam is engaged, her fiancée shows up around 30% and they, with some hurt on Miriam's fiancée side, break-up. At this point, Noelle has done some talking with Miriam to get rid of some preconceived notions that made her hostile but I still felt the feelings were still grounded in lust. Instead of the fiancée, now the impediment keeping them apart is Noelle's worry that if they breakup, it would make them owning the farm together intolerable. 

She’d spent all her childhood trying to convince people who didn’t love her to change their minds about her, and she was done with it. 

As you can tell, there was a lot going on in this story, all the characters, their personal issues, and the issues they have together but even with all this, it still oddly felt like not much was happening. In the beginning, there were a lot of time jumps, Miriam arrives at the farm but we're jumping from the funeral, through shiva, and not sitting in some of those moments to deliver the emotion, making them feel fleeting. It's that glue I was talking about, the spaces in-between characters and moments that give us their thoughts and emotions. Around 60% Miriam and Noelle start dating and while we get some kisses, this was a firmly shut bedroom door story. 

“I might be worth the risk,” Miriam said softly, her eyes huge and hopeful. 

Then ending gives us a rush of a last minute save the farm auction, finally dealing with Miriam's off-screen villain dad, learning to not emotionally or physically run from both Miriam and Noelle, Miriam's mom having her own heroine moment, saving the farm by turning it into an all-year-round destination (series!), last minute third act breakup that involved a blink and you miss it decision from Miriam that still gets Noelle to get all self-righteous, and, of course, our happily ever after. The story had a lot of elements but not enough substance for me, I needed those moments of emotion instead of jumping from one thing to another; I kept thinking this felt like a book that could have been written on Twitter, if that makes sense. With all the family and personal trauma issues, this wasn't quite as light as I thought it was going to be, but if you're wanting some winter wonderland activities in your seasonal reading, this does deliver on that.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

My second winter in July read! 

🌞❄️🌞 

It looks like it's set on a Christmas tree farm, complete with hot farm manager❣️🎄❣️ 

Taking my smoothie, Kindle, and laying out on my deck to soak in some sun and this read. 

Have a great weekend, friends! 

Season of Love by Helena Greer preorder (Oct 11) link

Blackberry Smoothie recipe

Yummy!

Review: You Were Made to Be Mine

You Were Made to Be Mine by Julie Anne Long
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Hawkes was nearly destitute. He'd been obliged to surrender the entirety of his own hard-won fortune to French authorities before he went to prison---it was either that, or face execution by firing squad. 

Christian Hawkes has been free less than a week after serving three years in a French prison for his role as a British spymaster. He has the feeling that he was given up and he has his eye on the Earl of Brundage, the very man that negotiated for Hawkes to keep his life over his fortune. In a twist, Brundage has requested Hawkes help, calling on that favor Brundage thinks Hawkes owes him for saving his life. Brundage's fiancée has fled and Brundage wants Hawkes to put his skills to use to find her, in return, Brundage will pay back Hawkes some of his fortune. Hawkes takes the job as it will allow him more access and opportunity to search out if and how Brundage might of betrayed Hawkes and England. 

How ironic that she'd been obliged to plunge blindly into the world the very moment she'd been made brutally aware that she knew almost nothing about it. 

Lady Aurelie Capet lost her parents and older brother to the bloody French Revolution and while she still has another brother, he lives in Boston. Her guardian may have kept her well feed and clothed, he's never been attentive, so when the Earl of Brundage asks her to marry him, she thinks she's finally going to get the family she's been missing. When her eyes get horribly opened, Aurelie flees and is on the run to England and from there to try and book passage to Boston. A jaded former spy working for his possible enemy and a naïve sheltered woman having to suddenly learn the ways of the world and discovering she's stronger than she ever imagined. 

Men could do such terrible harm. 

And yet it was clear they could love so powerfully well. 

She was glad she now knew. 

If you're not a frequent reader of The Palace of the Rogues series, jumping in here at book five would not be a good idea. The Grand Palace on the Thames is where Aurelie ends up and as so, Hawkes soon follows. The inn and it's occupants, the Hardys, Bolts, Dot, and guests usually have a strong showing in the series books and that goes doubly here. I've read all the books in the series and have started to itch for a new setting, so when a lot of the first half felt more about the inn, I was very restless. If you tried to pick this up here, you obviously would find the setting and these characters fresh but I'm not sure you'd care about them, as you'd miss their emotional background. The inn and the plot about Hawkes searching, trying to learn about Brundage's involvement in his imprisonment and how it could all tie-in to treason was a large chunk of the story, to the point that I would be tempted to call this more a money laundering and treason mystery more than a romance. 

But never had a woman affected him as though she were the weather. As though he could feel her in his bones, like an ache, and on his skin, like sunshine or a breeze. 

If you're a get to it reader, you're going to need patience in this one, Aurelie and Hawkes don't meet until around 30%, he knows who she is, she doesn't, and I'd say the romance doesn't really get going until around 60%. There was almost too much time spent on in their head characterization, the vast majority of story is told from Aurelie and Hawkes heads and how they feel and think in almost lyrical/flowery prose. I'd also have to say their relationship foundation is instalove, Hawkes sees Aurelie for the first time and he's already thinking she's the one. I felt like I read about two people separately falling in love instead of together, if that makes any sense. It's around 70% that Aurelie learns who Hawkes is and how he fits into the whole picture with Brundage and when she again goes on the run and Hawke catches up to her, there's about 10% of them just spending time together. Time I would have loved to have seen much earlier in the book, especially since they just seem to already be in love and this is more about showing their bedroom scene and trying to get an emotional scene from Aurelie that instead came off very forced. 

“You have found me, Mr. Hawkes.” 

And at first, he seemed unable to speak. He was drinking in the sight of her wonderingly. 

“I think I would follow you the ends of the earth.” He said it gently. Almost wryly. 

Even though a lot is shown through their head talk, I'm still not sure I got a firm handle on who Aurelie was, she was sheltered and made a naive mistake of trusting the wrong man but she was all so ethereal in her essence in the story, I couldn't really see her. It was also around 30% that it's mostly made clear as to why she ran from Brundage <spoiler>Brundage raped her</spoiler> and while the scene isn't action shown, she clearly has trauma from it and when she and Hawkes spend that alone time together later in the book, she discusses it and some of what physically happened to her. 

This was a miss for me with the romance, the Grand Palace and it's occupants took up way too much time, especially in the beginning when I'm trying to get to know and get invested in two new romance leads and their romance. The story does end with a knock on the door, so we're obviously going to be staying, I just hope the new couple and their romance gets to take center stage.

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60%

They were bound, in a sense. And she felt it. Because at once the room seemed better for his presence in it, as though all it had been missing was him. 

Reading Update: Page 1

 

How am I getting over hump day? Why taking a visit to The Grand Palace on the Thames of course! 

We've got a former spymaster trying to hunt down a runaway fiancée 

🕵🏻‍♂️🏃🏼‍♀️ 

Oh, and don't forget that unexpected (is it really, tho' 😂) fierce desire that ignites between the sheltered beauty and jaded spy. 

Nobody better bother me for the next couple hours! 

You Were Made to be Mine by Julie Anne Long purchase link

Fish Taco Slaw Bowls with Mango Salsa and Chipotle Aioli recipe

Loved the flavors in this!

Review: The Honeymoon Cottage

The Honeymoon Cottage by Lori Foster
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.5 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Could she be herself...with everyone? 

Yardley was raised by her mom and aunt and still lives with them in a Victorian house that she has lovingly renovated. She also has an office in the home for her wedding planning business. At thirty-one, she's starting to feel the constraints as a single woman living with family, especially since her mom and aunt never pass up a chance to deliver a cutting blow to her and can't even fend for themselves when it comes to cooking and cleaning. Her childhood bestfriend Mimi has been on her forever to stand-up for herself against the two and put herself out there more in the dating world but small town Cemetery, Indiana doesn't have a lot of prospects. When a new potential client shows up and her gorgeous older brother is with her, Yardley is suddenly wanting to forget all about her rules and dating clients. 

The way romance publishing has been going lately, I was prepared for The Honeymoon Cottage to be mostly women's fiction with a little bit of romance but I was pleasantly surprised at how much and how central the romance plot was in this. There is some women's fiction to the plot with povs mostly from Yardley and how she's always felt like the black sheep in her family and how that has lead to her mom and aunt breaking down her self-esteem and taking advantage of her. We also get povs from Yardley's bestfriend Mimi who is there to prop Yardley up and push her to peruse something with Travis (the gorgeous older brother) but Mimi also has her little side plot of being a new self-conscious mother who doesn't feel sexy enough for her husband and wishing he would spend less time doing the dishes for her and more getting hot and heavy with her. There was also some povs from Travis, which I miss a lot in women's fiction, that I thought helped bolster the romance aspect of this immensely. 

She made him feel everything, all at once, in a giant bombardment on his senses. 

He knew right then, he wanted her in his life. Hell, given how she leveled him, he needed her in his life. 

If you're a frequent reader of Foster, you'll enjoy her quality writing and general ease of writing enjoyable characters and character relationships. Since this does have some women's fiction elements, the sexiness of her usual romances is toned down; there are some sex scenes but not as many or as involved as her typical romances. Her caring alpha male heroes still make a good showing with Travis and Mimi's husband Kevin but they're more soft than, say, her UFC inspired series heroes. 

Soft is probably how I would describe this story, which would fit the slow, languid summer reading seasonal vibe right now. Yardley and Travis like each other but neither wants to get too close at first because of the ramifications it could have since Yardley is the wedding planner for Travis' sister's wedding. They start off trying to keep it friends but the chemistry and attraction becomes too much and while they plan to just date, platonic goes out the window around the 80% mark. There's a lot of dealing with Yardley's mom and aunt and how horrible they are to Yardley. Yardley has to deal with her mom never telling her who her father was, how she's allowed her mom and aunt to become dependent on her, understanding for her mom and aunt's own emotional pain, and, around 60%, how she's not going to be a doormat anymore. I thought the mom and aunt horribleness got a little repetitive, some could have been cut out here to shorten up the story because it does drag a little towards the end. There were some scenes of Yardley and Travis doing things together that I would have liked added instead of those mom and aunt scenes. 

This looks like it's going to be a series and Foster has laid the groundwork in this to introduce and get the reader liking the town and it's people. The town matriarch is maybe not as scary as everyone thought, the women of the town look to be setting up a weekly tea date to keep the women's fiction vibe and keep characters involved in the story, the mannequin Kathleen adds some of that small town zaniness, and I think I spotted a possible future couple between the florist and bbq restaurant owner. This was a soft story with some women's fiction vibes, a solid romance, characters and relationships that you'll care about, and those trademark caring Foster heroes that you make your heart beat just a little harder and faster.

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50%

 

The things this one woman said... She was forever taking him by surprise, and he found that he liked it. A lot. "Worse?" Keeping his gaze on her face wasn't easy, when his eyes really wanted to check out her chest and her "popped free" breast. "How do we fix it?"
"We?" she croaked, looking shocked by the possibility. 
Caught between wanting to laugh, and needing to kiss her, Travis opened his arms. "I'll assist however I can."

Reading Update: Page 1

 

The weekend is starting off rainy for me, so going to snuggle in with some spaghetti and a good book 

📖🌧 

A small town with an unlucky in love wedding planner but what's that?! A client has a hot older brother, oooooooh 😉 

The Honeymoon Cottage by Lori Foster purchase link

Roasted Garlic Spaghetti recipe

Review: Beach House Summer

Beach House Summer by Sarah Morgan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.7 stars 

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

Joanna Whitman learned of her ex-husband's death while she was eating breakfast. 

Joanna has been divorced for a year when she gets the phone call that her famous chef ex-husband has died in a car accident. After years of him loving the spotlight and Joanna trying to run and hide from the press wanting pictures and comments from her about all the affairs Cliff had, Joanna knows they're still going to show up outside her door. When she sees that he wasn't alone in the car accident, a young pregnant woman was with him, she feels for how that woman's privacy is about to be invaded, especially when Joanna recognizes her. 

Most of all she was scared because she had to figure out life by herself. 

Ashley has run from the only person in her life that knows her, her childhood bestfriend who after their first time going beyond friendship, she runs from. When Joanna, who Ashley has read all about in the press, shows up at her hospital room asking her if she has any place to go, Ashley desperately wants to take the life line Joanna is throwing her. 

How could the memories of her old life possibly be worse than the realities of her current one? 

Joanna hasn't been back home in 20yrs, she never went back after the night she jumped into Cliff's car and they drove off but it's the only place she can think to hide out at that will at least take the press some time to find. Beach House Summer was a story of second chances, mistakes, and giving yourself space to find out who you really are. Joanna leads the story but in almost equal time, we get pov chapters from Ashley and a few from Joanna's childhood bestfriend Mel. Joanna's mother died when she was a baby, so it was just Joanna and her father until she was a preteen when he remarried. Her stepmother didn't like kids and obviously was jealous of Joanna's close relationship with her father. When Joanna's father dies when she's ten, Joanna endures emotional abuse from her stepmother, making her think she's too tough to love and difficult. Joanna has some escape with her bestfriend Mel and Mel's twin brother Nate. When they're sixteen, Joanna and Nate start to date and they seem like soulmates. We never get a pov from Nate but we learn their break-up had to do with too intense emotions for that age and it's obvious that he regrets how everything was handled. This is mainly a women's fiction story with the romance and Nate not really coming into the picture until the late second half and two blink and you miss them sex scenes. 

Trust could be lost, but it could also be won again. 

This had a tempered pace with the reader really getting inside Joanna and Ashley's heads. There was some repetitiveness that slowed the pace down for me, especially in the second half as their thoughts and feelings had already been given to the reader a few times but then we're reading them again as they talk them out with characters in the story. I also thought the chapters at times seemed too long for the type of story this is, more of a beach read, I usually like to come upon stopping points quicker in those. There was plenty to absorb here, Joanna's insecurities because of how she grew-up, how she got emotionally beaten down in her marriage, and her defense mechanism of running and hiding. Ashley being 20yrs younger is more at the beginning of her life and feeling lost because she doesn't know what to do but their connection is felt in how they're both floundering and each gives the other something they're missing, Joanna gives Ashley security and Ashley gives Joanna confidence. Mel comes into the picture when Joanna goes back home and we get her dealing with how to connect to her teenage daughter and her anger and hurt over not understanding why Joanna left and never spoke to her again. There's emotional tangles with Joanna, Ashley, and Cliff and Joanna, Mel, and Nate that needed to be worked through and though this creates that tempered pace I mentioned, I thought it delivered on giving emotional substance for the reader to sink into. 

He cleared his throat, plunged his hands into his pockets and glanced at the shelves. “Do you have any books on second chances?” 

There were some surprise reveals but this was definitely more of life and it's emotions, ups and downs, and the decisions that we make beach read, rather than suspenseful. I think eighty some pages could have been cut to get rid of that repetitiveness that slowed the pace down but if you don't mind spending a fair amount of time in characters heads, then this probably wouldn't bother you. If you're looking for more of a sedate read to get lost in, with it's shifting through life decisions that hit us in our forties and twenties and getting those second chances, with a pinch of romance, Beach Summer House would be a good pick to get lost in.

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