August Reading Round-Up

Not only am I doing a monthly round-up but I'm getting in early?!? Who am I even? Lol. If you've followed me for a while, you'll know what is coming up...Halloween Bingo! Every year I play this with some friends I made over on BookLikes. 

Look at my beautiful card for this year:

So, look for spooky books to start to creep into my reading during September and for me to lean into the Halloween vibes in October as I work to get a bingo.

👻👻👻

August was my Singles title month, I try to read books on my tbr that aren't in a series, letting random number generator pick them out. I read my usual ARCs and managed to read for the TBRChallenge this month by using a book I was half-way through but managed to meet the prompt. 

September is my personal theme month of Random Number Generator, basically I just let RNG pick off my GoodReads tbr. Wonder what fun awaits me 😊

Any other seasonal readers, will spooky reads start to creep into your reading schedule, too?

*Click on book cover to read my review 

If I didn't write a review, link will take you to GoodReads page

Singles titles

2 stars

 

1 star

TBRChallenge book

1 star

ARCs

4 stars

3.7 stars

 

 

                                                                  3.5 stars

 

2.7 stars

2.3 stars

Semi- Rant Review: The Seduction

The Seduction by Laura Lee Guhrke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This is one I probably would have rated a little higher if I had read it years ago but the hero is stealing historical artifacts from Egypt and then selling them to dealers that either sell them to private citizens or British museums. It gets brought up a lot and the hero's attitude in the beginning towards it just left a bad taste in my mouth. 

"But isn't it illegal to do all this digging?" 

"Technically, yes, although it depends." He grinned at her, and the firelight cast his face in amber glow and black shadow, making him seem more wicked than ever. "If you bribe the proper officials, you can get away with anything." 

"Really, Trevor," she said, "it's all right to steal, if the bureaucrats are on your side?" 

"If I didn't do it, someone else would." His grin faded, and he looked away, idly poking the fire. "I suspect your father would understand that. He grew up in poverty. But I don't suppose that sort of logic would cut any ice with someone like you." 

"What do you mean, someone like me?" 

"Have you ever been without money, Maggie? Have you ever known what it was like to live hand- to-mouth? To be completely on your own with no money and not many ways to earn it? Well, I have, and I can tell you it's no summer picnic on the Thames. It's no exciting adventure. It's just hell, pure and simple." 

Depending how you feel about the above quote, would probably decide how well you took hero and thus, how well you will enjoy the story. Cringe-y was my lasting thought.

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Reading Update: 20%

He had to win over an heiress. Margaret Van Alden would be his wife. She just didn't know it yet.

Review: The House on Blueberry Lane

The House on Blueberry Lane by Brenda Jackson
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. 

For two years she had tried building another life for herself without him in Catalina Cove, and had done a fairly good job. 

And now he was here. 

If you read One Christmas Wish, the previous novel in the Catalina Cove series, you'll remember Velvet being stunned at seeing Jaye at a town council meeting. It was a small glimpse of the two but the charged atmosphere between them had me anticipating their novel. It wouldn't be necessary to read all the previous books in the series but this book is number six, there are a lot of previous characters making appearances and two past couples having their wedding, so you could be a little lost in regards to friendships and relationships. I did think the chemistry and big focus on Velvet and Jaye, mostly, covers any new to the series-ness, though.

He'd decided at that moment to prove how wrong she was, and that it was in his makeup to care that much. 

The story starts off with Velvet coming home from that council meeting and Jaye coming to talk to her. We learn that while they dated for three years in Phoenix, Jaye was immediately upfront with just wanting a sexual relationship that would never lead to marriage but over time, Velvet grew to love him and thought he felt the same for her. When Velvet discovers Jaye doesn't, or won't admit, he does in fact love her, Velvet leaves without telling him and escapes to Catalina Cove to mend her broken heart. The reader gets Jaye's pov and we learn in the two years since Velvet left him, he's discovered that he did love Velvet and hired a private investigator to find her. When he learns she's in Catalina Cove, he uses his business to buy a bank there and rents the upstairs of the Victorian house Velvet is staying in. Oh yes, our man Jaye is pulling out the stops to win Velvet back. 

He wanted love. He needed to prove to her that he loved her above all else. And he did love her, with every beat of his heart and with every breath he took. 

For her part, Velvet thinks it's all a coincidence that Jaye has business in the town she lives in, it's been two years since she's heard from him. So, we get that sparking beginning, readers knowing Jaye is ready to do some working, and Velvet trying to deny her feelings for Jaye, thinking she doesn't love him anymore. After that first meeting, we get two flashback chapters of Velvet and Jaye's first meeting in Phoenix and how their relationship started. I loved this, often this is just done in inner dialogue remembering by characters but getting to actually “see” and experience it with the characters gave me a more solid emotional foundation with the characters relationship. 

In essence, Velvet was giving him a taste of his own medicine. She was willing to engage in affairs that went nowhere, too. He was getting just what he deserved. 

However, it was not what he would accept. 

After those two chapters, the story goes back to present time and Velvet is struggling with still being physically attracted to Jaye. At around 30%, Jaye gets a little taste of his own medicine when Velvet comes to him with an idea to reinstate their just sexual relationship. Velvet thinks Jaye is hesitant because he thinks she loves him, she's lying to herself that she doesn't at this point, but he's really hesitant because he realized he loved her and now he wants more. It's a little comedy of errors as Velvet is lying to herself and Jaye is hiding his true feelings because he doesn't think Velvet will believe he truly loves her yet, they both ultimately want the same thing but they're bungling around. The slight exasperation I had as a reader was tampered with the sexual heat the two have. Jaye doesn't want Velvet to think he's just there for the sex, so he lets her initiate all the sexual moments, something Velvet doesn't catch onto until later. 

“I only wanted you.” 

The story was mostly focused on Jaye trying to show Velvet that he loved her and was ready for a commitment. He opens up to her about his mother, the reason he was wary of trusting love, asks her to jog with him in the mornings when in Phoenix he always said that was his alone time, and just generally tries to be there for her in all the little ways a partner would be outside of the bedroom. There were two little side plots involving one of Velvet's highschool students and his father trying to pressure her to pass his son and towards the end it weaved into the other little plot of a man in town trying to get Velvet to date him. They worked to build and give an ending scene, that while had twinge of sappy to it, was still sweet. 

Drawing in a deep breath, he just stared at her, willing her to read in his gaze what she would not accept in his words. 

Since this is sixth in the series, there were a lot of characters that sometimes got a little overwhelming but I actually could have read more scenes with Velvet and her bestfriend Ruthie and other friends like Sierra. All those secondary characters were around but they didn't emotionally interact with Velvet as much as I would have liked. Around 65% Velvet finally admits to herself that she still loves Jaye and we get more movement on their relationship. While I liked Jaye's plan, it did cause some of the middle to drag a little bit as he calmly and quietly, but at times too passive, showed up for Velvet outside of the bedroom, the non-movement went on for about 15% too long. The biggest surprise and best was me glancing and thinking the book cover was pretty generic, I'm here to tell you it's one of the sweetest parts of the book. These two were sweet and definitely sexy. There was a moment that I think gave us a little clue to who is next up to fall in love in Catalina Cove and if so, I'm looking forward to reading about Jaye's younger brother Franklin falling next.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Back from vacation and ready to finish up my summer reading to get to all those spooky Fall books. 

But first, I'm heading back to Catalina Cove and ready for Jaye to win back Velvet. Catching a glimpse of them in the last book has me so ready for this second chance romance, groveling, and some hard fought and won love. 

I was smarter this time and was ready for the food cravings this might inspire and loaded up on the blueberries! 

Happy end of summer reading, friends ❤️ 

The House on Blueberry Lane by Brenda Jackson purchase link

Egg Salad recipe

Review: Ruby Fever

Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews
My rating: 4 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. 

He would never let us alone. 

Catalina, Alessandro, and the Baylor family have battled and defeated all the enemies that have come for them, but there has always been one still lurking in the shadows ready to attack, Arkan. Once a Russian Imperium agent, Arkan killed Alessandro's father and stole a sample of the forbidden Osiris serum. If you've read the previous two books, Sapphire Flames and Emerald Blaze, which I highly recommend you do as these three books make up the mini-series of Catalina and Alessandro in the overreaching Hidden Legacy series, Arkan has been a villain lingering in the shadows and testing the waters for when he should come for the Baylors and Alessandro. In Ruby Fever he makes his move while also disabling one of Catalina's best assets, Linus.

A trail of dark blood stretched from his nose, staining his lips and his shirt. His eyes were shut. He looked dead. 

In the previous book, I missed more of the Baylor family dynamics as some of the character relationships were pushed to the side in favor of battle scenes. I think this one got the balance more right, as we get action but heartfelt emotion with the danger and reveals. Catalina finds Linus catatonic in his home after he injected himself with styxine to protect his mind from a powerful mental mage, this corresponds with the murder of the Speaker of Texas State Assembly, our old friend Xavier (Diamond Fire) showing back for some revenge, and a Prince Konstantin Berezin, the Russian Emperor's nephew, swanning in claiming to help but also having his own agenda. Catalina has the who and why of Linus' attack fairly early, around 20%, but she doesn't have the how, which as the now acting Deputy Warden of Texas because of Linus' state, she needs in order to act. 

“Linus was betrayed,” Alessandro said. 

There were the usual many moving parts and battle scenes but the human connections I felt were missing some in the second got more life and I thought helped me stay emotionally connected to the story more. I still think Catalina and Alessandro's romance sits passenger seat to the driving action, fantasy, and suspense but we get more of Alessandro's background here, and another fiancée that his grandfather “sold” him to, and that helped flush out his character and make him feel more dimensional and layered, thus, more interesting. We also get the heavily hinted reveal of how much more of a part Linus plays in the Baylor sister's lives and Evil Grandmother Victoria gets a strong appearance, and dare I say, gets a somewhat, tiny, little redemption arc. 

I put my fingers into his and we slipped from the table into the night. 

The ending finally brings in Arkan, I wish we could have gotten more scenes of him because he felt too much of a distant character for how important of a big baddie he was supposed to be, and we get the usual ending Big Battle Scene. It takes all the Baylors and the assorted friends to try and win the day. It was good and delivered on some great magical fantasy scenes with Catalina and Alessandro using some newly discovered powers and infused just enough tense moments to make readers fear for some of their favorite characters. 

The epilogue gave us Arabella's voice and that seems like the clear path for where the overreaching Hidden Legacy series could go as Catalina and Alessandro have defeated their main enemies and are off for a deserved vacation. There's still a lot of characters and side plots to wonder about, Linus seems to have made a deal with someone, was it with Russian royalty or Record Keepers? Does the deal involve Arabella and Prince Konstantin, Prince Mihail, or mysteriously powerful record keeper Michael? The Hidden Legacy fantasy world is vast and ever growing with plot threads and I would love to see the last Baylor sister Arabella get her happily ever after, of course, after a battle or two.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Sapphire Fire meal was Tex-Mex for Catalina and Emerald Blaze was Gnocchi for Alessandro. 

So, Ruby Fever was for me, Fireball WHISKEY Glazed Chicken! 🤣 

I usually try for more finesse when taking these pics but I, ummm, may have really enjoyed the theme and had some sips of the Fireball while I was cooking 😳 those chicken tenders were plopped on the plate, lol. 

Ready to finish up my Sunday with the conclusion of Catalina and Alessandro's series! 

Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews purchase link

Fireball Whiskey Glazed Chicken recipe

Review: Emerald Blaze

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews
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. 

“One of these fuckers killed my boy,” he told me in a hoarse whisper loud enough for everyone in the room to hear. “You find which one of them did it.” 

Emerald Blaze continues the focus on Catalina Baylor in the overall urban fantasy world of the Hidden Legacy series. Continued readers will know that Catalina is a Prime and the Head of House Baylor while also being the Deputy Warden of Texas. Catalina's power is a siren, her singing can lure beings to do her bidding but is a double edged sword as it can also make them deadly obsessed with her. While her love interest Alessandro, an antistasi Prime, one of the most powerful, with the power to conjure a copy of any weapon within a certain amount of distant to him, shows up earlier in this story, their romance still took a backseat to the action and political maneuverings. 

Sometimes I felt like a spider who'd spun a web across a bottomless drop. My family was walking across, balancing on hair-thin strands, and it was my job to keep them from falling. 

Like the first, Catalina and Alessandro must work together again to solve and stop murders and villainous beings. Linus, the Warden of Texas and a possible closer connection to Catalina than she realizes, assigns Catalina the task of finding out who murdered Felix, a man on the board of five who are working to clean up the Pit. The Pit is a section of Houston that was abandoned after Hurricane Ike destroyed it years ago. Sapphire Flames left off with Alessandro leaving to continue his search and revenge on an assassin named Arkan, the man who killed his father, but he suddenly shows up at a business meeting Catalina has with the remaining four board members and suspects of Felix's murder. Turns out that Felix's father hired Alessandro to find Felix's murderer and kill them. It works to bring Catalina and Alessandro together and set them off on another mystery solving adventure. 

“Catalina,” he repeated. His voice told me he wasn't going to budge on that point. “I'm sorry I hurt you.” 

I started late in the series, and thus world-building, so while I get the general aspects of the fantasy elements, I'm can still get a little lost. This story focused a lot on the weapons, magical beings, and battles. Through their investigation, they learn that The Pit has creatures they've never seen before, some called constructs that were made and some that possibly came from the arcane realm. The biggest issue is the constructs and the main monster that Catalina calls the Abyss. The Abyss was obviously created with the help of some of the missing Osiris serum (a continued plot thread) and it appears to be unstoppable and all it wants to do is grow and destroy all human life. So, our leads are trying to solve a murder, find out who created the Abyss while trying to figure out how to destroy it, fend of Arkan's killers he keeps throwing at them, keep one step ahead of Catalina's grandmother Victoria who while jailed is still dangerous with all her seeds and plots, and oh, maintain family, friend, and love relationships. 

The Abyss stole humans, killed them, and used their bodies and minds to create hybrid constructs. This was a nightmare. 

There were a couple times where my mind started to wander when all the weapons talk got going and there were a lot of little battles in this. I would have liked to see more depth developed between Catalina and Alessandro, it still feels like they just woke up one day and were like “I love you!”. Alessandro was a little different in this one with a more subdued personality and we get to know more about him. We learn more about why he's set on killing Arkan, his family, and his relationship with them. His background sets him perfectly to fit in with Catalina and her promise to her grandmother, so with that conflict out of the way in this book, I'm curious what their relationship will be like in their third and final book. 

He looked at me like I was everything that anchored him to life. 

Even with all the action, we still get a good look at the Baylor family. Nevada comes back into the picture in this one and I loved the scenes she had with Catalina and it made me really wish for more scenes of all three of the sisters together. This was so focused on the action that I wanted more of the human element and their relationships to bring in the feels more. The tone wasn't quite cold and empty but it did feel emotionally distant at times, which I found a shame because at it's essence, this is a story about family. 

“I'm not leaving.” 

The ending gave us a consummation between Catalina and Alessandro and a huge explosive battle scene. This specific case of finding out who murdered Felix and the trouble at The Pit has been solved but the dangling threads of Arkan, the other missing samples of the Osiris serum, and devious grandmother Victoria are still left hanging. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of Catalina and Alessandro's series but I also hope the last story brings in more of the heart of the series and it's characters.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

I just finished up Sapphire Flames, so guess what my Friday night is going to be all about? 

It was serendipitous I made Tex-Mex for Catalina, so how about some Gnocchi for Alessandro 😘 

Sapphire Flames had these two separating and some danger still left lingering, I can't end it like that. Time to dive back into this world. 

Hope everyone else is spending their Friday night in such great company as I! 

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews purchase link

Lemon Chicken Gnocchi recipe

I loved this one!

Review: Sapphire Flames

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews
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. 

I'd been attacked by two corpses, saw my teenage crush stab a man in the heart, and then watched him jump out of a three-story window. 

Sapphire Flames is fourth in the Hidden Legacy series, and I will say it's possible to start here. A friend told me to read the novella before this, Diamond Fire, and that helped with giving me a crash course into this urban fantasy world and all the character relationships and dynamics. This takes place in Houston, Texas, but with fantasy elements, and it's obvious the authors have established this world. The fantasy side involves the Arcane realm and the Osiris serum that originally enured people with magical elements and have now been passed on and breed through the families. When two Primes, the strongest magical beings, show-up in three generations, that family can apply to be a House. That is the case for Catalina Baylor's family and with the new House of Baylor designation came a period of grace, where no other Houses could attack them, but that time is up. Even magical beings need their politics and war! With Catalina's sister Nevada (#1 Burn for Me) having married and joined her husband's house, Catalina is now the Head of House Baylor and the leader and protector of her family. 

“Work with me and we'll get this done together,” he said. 

Catalina is a siren prime, which means that she has to consciously contain her magic because when it reaches out to people, the instantly love her, which leads them to become obsessed and eventually want to pull her apart to get pieces of her. While Catalina has her older sister Nevada and younger sister Arabella, grandmother, mother, and cousins who aren't affected by her magic because they already love her, her magic leaves her isolated and not wanting to get too close to anyone. When she was being tested for a Prime, she had to test against Alessandro, a Prime and count of an old, rich Italian family. Catalina had an instant liking to him and when he came to see her after the test, she couldn't believe if he really liked her or if her magic didn't wear off, so she pushed him away. 

This could never happen. He and I could never happen. I was a siren. My magic would turn him into a lovesick zombie. He was an assassin. He killed people for a living. 

With a storyline that has a little continuity from the previous novella I mentioned and took place three years ago, Runa, a Prime who can poison and ended up saving the Baylor family and wedding guests of Nevada from a poisonous cake, comes to Catalina (the Baylor family has an investigation business) to help her solve who killed her mother and sister. It's a case that has people warning Catalina off of it, even by Alessandro who suddenly shows up. The case has Catalina and Alessandro working together and it's clear that Alessandro has feelings for Catalina but that he also is not being honest about who he really is, not the playboy Catalina thought as he kills people with the skill of a very experienced assassin, and what his motivations are. 

I wasn't alone. It didn't undo the weight that settled on my shoulders, but it made it lighter. Alessandro would stay with me. 

As I mentioned, I'm new to the series and world, so I didn't have clear understanding of the magical world, there's all different kinds of Primes, sirens, poison, teleports, and beings that can shift and morph into half-animal half-humans, Catalina has wings that can sprout for instance and her sister Arabella can turn into a huge beast. There were a lot of Baylor family members to keep track of at first too but the story gives ample time to get to know everyone as Catalina works the case. As Catalina investigates further it unravels more and gets more dangerous with powerful magical Houses, political Texas National Assembly, and the dark dangerous secret of the Osiris serum having been stolen and used to illegally create magically warped humans. I liked how the story seemed to build on previous books in the series, bring readers into a new thread, and build over the course of the book. 

Around half-way Catalina and Alessandro start to work together and their relationship starts to build, too. Alessandro's feelings are clear but it's also clear that he's keeping secrets of his own. If you're a reader of the series, you'll know that while some answers are given here, Catalina and Alessandro's story isn't finished in this book. Catalina is now also working as the Deputy Warden of TX under the powerful Linus, who obviously has a big secret involving Catalina, and after being forced to go to her powerful but other grandmother who is jailed, she made a promise that could forever keep her and Alessandro separated. 

This was rich in danger, intrigue, and character relationships, delivering in an urban fantasy setting that bewitched my imagination. I'm definitely continuing on in the series to see what other trials befall Catalina and Alessandro and if they can fend them all off and come together.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

First, thanks to @blood_rose_books for telling me to read Diamond Fire before jumping in with this one. It was the crash course I needed to introduce me to this world ❤️ 

I swear all I knew about this series was that it was fantasy, so me making Tex Mex is a wild simpatico that came out of nowhere. Guess universe was like, "Yes, you should be finally starting that series" 🤣 (I'll also be in Houston next week!) 

Ready to get more than a glimpse of the dashing Alessandro and see Catalina gain more confidence her with powers! 

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews purchase link

Tex-Mex Sweet Potato Hash recipe

Review: Winter Love

Winter Love by Norah Hess
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

*This is a TBRChallenge review, there will be spoilers, I don't spoil everything but enough, because I treat these reviews as a bookclub discussion.

A trapper/general store worker is blue collar, right?? No surprise I'm behind in reading and while I had a Nora Roberts picked out for this month's theme, Blue Collar, this Wednesday popped up quicker than I was ready for. So, how about a NoraH Hess instead? 

I was about halfway through this before I decided that I was going to use it for TBRChallenge, so I didn't really take any notes. But don't be too disappointed because this, umm, wasn't great. Not quite have me wildly ranting like the one and only other Hess I have read (Wildfire, mtns in NE?? SERIOUSLY??) but Not Great. 

The story is set in a small trading post town in the Upper Michigan in the late 1880s. As a little girl, Laura loses her parents to death (I warned you all I didn't take notes, lol) and gets adopted by the general store owner family, pa Taylor, ma Maria-ishsomething, and son Fletch the wretch (he's way worse than a wretch but I was feeling rhyme-y). Maria(?) is Taylor's second wife but in a romance book turn, she's great! But poor Maria(?) can't completely escape the time period and genre and dies, too. The little family of pa, wretch, and hey, she's no picnic either Laura grow to all love each other. You hear that dun, dun, DUN, don't you? Yes, Laura grows up beautiful and develops feelings for Fletch. I can't remember Fletch's age but he's older than Laura, mentions of gray started to show in his hair and Laura is 17/18ish at this time. 

The small-town is full of gossipy gossips and of course a lot of the women hate Laura and a lot of the men want her. Laura's womanly vibes become too much for Fletch and he succumbs to her! They have a romantic night in the barn where Laura wakes up dreamily thinking of marriage but soon realizes Fletch has flown the coop. Fletch in all his wisdom decides to go off with some trappers to Canada for a year to give Laura time to decide if her feelings are real. Does Fletch tell or discuss this with Laura, letting her know that he has feelings for her too? No. Such a better idea to bang and bounce making Laura feel used. Guess what happens? Laura winds up preggos.

Pa Taylor is crushed and angry when sweet little Laura tells him she's pregnant and then won't say who the father is. Laura doesn't want Pa to be mad at Fletch. Guess what happens? Pa marries Laura. Now, don't fly off into pervy hell land like I started to, it's as above board as a situation can be when a pa marries his adopted daughter. The marriage is to protect Laura's good name and give legitimacy to, what turns out to be, her baby daughter. 

Guess what happens? Fletch comes back after the year of trapping, all ready to kiss and marry Laura and instead discovers Pa married to Laura. He totally takes it calmly. LOL NO. Fletch flings “whore” and “slut” at Laura whenever he can. When it's obvious that pa and Laura have a marriage in name only, Fletch instead thinks Laura is sleeping around on pa and making him a laughingstock. Fletch is pretty much a dick while still lusting after Laura and then blaming her for his lusting. 

Tied in with Laura and Fletch's drama is pa's relationship with Butterfly, a Native woman with a tribe that is nearby. Pa loves her and does eventually end up marrying her but just be aware that while this didn't have the worse depictions of Native Americans, it wasn't the best with some lazy stereotypes. 

I called Laura no picnic either because she's that quintessential '90s heroine that is supposed to be feisty and strong but is instead don't cut off your nose to spite your face. She's a stubborn one ol' Laura and refuses to just admit that the baby is Fletch's. When Taylor figures it out, Laura decides to run away at around 75%. Guess what happens? Fletch finds her and loves his little daughter now. Fletch drags Laura back and Laura decides to run again but oh he's a wretch but a smart one! Fletch takes the baby with him stopping Laura from being able to run away. Laura is out of ideas so she decides to just stay and deal with the cheating she anticipates Fletch doing because of course he doesn't love her. 

The last ten minutes of the story have Laura giving Fletch a bj and even though I was like “What's happening?” because I guess I'm not a good guesser??, it has been such a dry spell in newer contemporary romance that my pervy side was like, “Don't hate it.” Shrug. The ending was ridiculously abrupt with Fletch asking Laura to marry him and I think he said I love you and Laura doing a 180 deg. and saying Yes! and anticipating their obvious happily ever after. 

If you took a drink, let alone a shot, every time the word “whore” was used in this you'd be dead. Fletch was the worst of the alphahole heroes, Laura was overly stubborn for no reason, the marriage of a pa and his adopted daughter was cringe, lazy Native American stereotypes, the sex scenes were more lascivious than emotional, and the ending with it's quick get them together in no way delivered a satisfactory or believable love story between these two. I'll end on a positive note, though. This line from pa was nice: "Laura," he said gently, "you can feel disappointed in yourself that you loved unwisely, but don't be ashamed that you loved."

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Review: Blood and Moonlight

Blood and Moonlight by Erin Beaty
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. 

“Go home, little Cat.”

This YA medieval fantasy thriller is set in the city of Collis where the People of the Sun and the People of the Moon live together and separately. The moon worshipers are feared, as they live more in the night and seem to have magick along with their superior physician skills. The story is told in first person narrative from seventeen year old Catrin, an orphan from the Solis Abbey who since twelve years old has worked for the architect Thomas. We meet Cat as she sort of feels and sort of witnesses a murder. As Cat a witness, the Montcuir family comes into the picture, with siblings Oudin, Lambert, Juliane, and cousin Simon. The provost names nineteen year old Simon the Venatre, lead investigator, to solve the brutal murder because his son Oudin is looking like a suspect. As Cat works to help Simon, she gets pulled into a mystery that only gets bigger and bigger with each murder and may have more to do with her than she could ever imagine. 

It was the moon. The moon had done something to me. 

Blood and Moonlight captured me with it's hint of magic, Cat's struggle to find out who she is, and the hunt to stop and capture the serial killer. The beginning half spent a lot of time with Simon and his crew of cousins and Cat working to profile the killer. This is YA, so even though some of the murders are described in gruesome detail (there is also brief mention of rape and childhood sexual abuse), the story was a little lighter on the procedural aspects. This is not to say that I didn't enjoy the pointing out of the puzzle pieces and how they all worked together to fit them into place, but I did pretty much know who the killer was at around 30%. 

“And what if I drag you Beyond the Moon and to the Gates of Hell itself?” 

“Then we'll find our way back.” 

The second half shifts for a bit from the serial killer profiling to Cat. We learn about who her family is and why she was given to the Abbey when she was a baby. It's tied into the magic, fantasy elements and brings in some plot threads that could help support turning this into a series. The fantasy side of the story was compelling and I found myself caught up in it all. I did struggle with the time period setting and not really feeling it as medieval. Some clothing was described, the religious sects, and obviously, technology wise, fit with what I was expecting but their vernacular and lack of flushing out the physical world had me a little disappointed in what felt like it's lack of solid setting. The characters shone much brighter than the setting and added to the story, each in their own way. There's credible red-herrings to keep the reader guessing as to who the murderer is and, while a little rushed, I liked the relationship developing between Cat and Simon. The thriller/mystery and fantasy aspects are the focus but the romance element had a good showing and delivered a happy for now. 

The night welcomes you. 

The beginning half kept me intrigued with mystery and putting the puzzle pieces together profiling of the serial killer, while at around 70% the fantasy plot came more into play with delving into Cat's character capturing my attention. All the guys that wanted Cat was a bit much and the ending leaned a little too chaotic with the quick back and forth of “This is the killer!” “No, THIS is the killer!”. However, the overall story absorbed my attention with it's smooth writing, thriller vibe, and fantasy elements. The ending leaves itself open to continuing the series and I would definitely sign up to follow along with Cat and Simon as Cat explores her magick more and her and Simon hunt and solve murders.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

August always becomes my "Don't leave me summer!", hence eating tacos every moment I can, and "Bring on the Fall, spooky, scary books!". 

🌞👻 

So, I've got tacos and a YA fantasy thriller! Not a bad combo 😍 

A medieval YA fantasy thriller with an orphan girl who has supernatural abilities, sees a murder, possible serial killer?!, and a mysterious, brilliant, enigmatic man assigned to capture the killer. Bring on the spookiness! 

Blood And Moonlight by Erin Beaty purchase link

Slow Cooker Chipotle Orange Street Tacos recipe

Different flavor combo but I liked the spice and orange juice. If want something different, should definitely try!

Review: The Sweetest Thing

The Sweetest Thing by Sasha Summers
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.3 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. 

The moment Tansy saw him, he was hard-pressed not to grin. The reaction was a long-standing pattern. She'd glare. He'd smile. She'd fume. He'd laugh. It was the way they worked. Oil and water. 

Known as the Bee Girls of Honey Hill Farm, Aunts Mags and Camilla, older sister Tansy, Astrid, and youngest Rosemary are working to keep their family farm going. Weather has ruined a lot of their hives hurting their honey output and the annual Honey Festival with, their cash prize and contract offer with Healthy and Wholesome Markets for best honey, looks to be their only hope to save the farm. Tansy knows they'll be competing with their neighbors Texas Viking Honey, the family farm of her nemesis. Dane and Tansy were childhood rivals who almost had a thing in highschool until a misunderstanding separated them and they now can't stop spitting and clawing at each other. As family issues keep coming up and Tansy and Dane are forced to work together, that misunderstanding might finally be solved. 

“I think it would be in everyone's best interest if we---you and me---call a truce.” 

The Sweetest Thing is the start to the Honey Acres series set in Honey, Texas and focuses on the small town and in particular the families of the two bee farms. This was tagged as romance but the story seemed to want to focus on everything but that, I would call this family fiction or even small town fiction. Tansy is dealing with the financial struggles of the family farm, there's a good amount of backstory given to the Aunts and even a later big surprise character reveal tied into them, and then dancing around the outside of the core family are her feelings of animosity towards Dane. Dane is pretty much dealing with the same issues, family farm in trouble, his dad plays the villain, and his younger brother Leif is struggling and looking for guidance and love. Their beginning interactions are fairly immature with Dane trying to play the cool unaffected guy and riling Tansy up by annoyingly teasing her. Readers aren't immediately let in on what happened between them in highschool but it's obvious both think the other one is at fault. 

“Your eyes. They say what your mouth won't.” 

Around 30% a truce is called between the two because they have to work together to teach and monitor a club called the Junior Beekeepers, this helped immensely with making them more likable to read about. There were still all the other characters and their issues and backstories taking the focus though. Even though there were some high-stakes issues brought up, losing homes and when one of Tansy's aunts discusses the surprise character, they aren't quite emotionally felt and delivering impacts because of all the other characters getting their issues in there; it was a little first in a series with making sure all the characters were fully introduced. At 65% Dane was saying he loved Tansy and I couldn't really see why because all we really got from them was that Dane thought her smile was beautiful. The 70% mark then gave us the finally talking about the misunderstanding and for something that kept these two hating each other for years, it took about a paragraph to bring realizations and because of how Tansy should have figured it out, felt like a complete dud moment. 

It terrified him to admit it, but Tansy's laugh was the sweetest thing...ever. 

The whole story just had a very muted tone for me, there were some high-stakes issues but not really any emotion breathed into them. Dane's younger brother Leif's little secondary romance delivered more tingles than what was supposed to be the main romance. It was brought up over and over how Dane looked like Thor and had great muscles that his tight t-shirts showed off well, Tansy had a beautiful smile and pretty green eyes and that was basically the chunk of why they fell in love with each other (even with a Thor like looking lead, this was a kisses only romance). I wouldn't read this for the romance as it was more of an afterthought but if you're looking for a small-town fiction story, that focuses more on the whole family of the leads, this had a larger amount of characters, a muted tone not diving too deep into these issues and even 180 degree turn around by the “villain”, and the small-town gossip.

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Reading Update: 30%

 

I used honey crisp apples in these fish tacos in a nod to the bees in this 🐝🐝🐝 

😂 

Can't think of a better way to spend my Saturday reading about childhood rivals, who maybe had a quick almost thing in high-school, and now are neighbor nemesis. 

Plus bees and honey! 

Have a great weekend! 

The Sweetest Thing by Sasha Summers purchase link

Smoky Paprika Fish Tacos w/ Apple Slaw recipe

Listening to your recs

 

Ever since I put the call out for fantasy romance, Ilona Andrews has been the author readers have consistently recommended to me. 

So you know what? Time to dive in! 

Next week is going to be my impromptu Andrews week. I'm starting with #4 in the Hidden Legacy series. 

Is this crazy of me, have any information I should know before I start? 

Can't wait to discuss these books with you all!

Sapphire Flames purchase link

Emerald Blaze purchase link

Ruby Fever preorder (Aug 23) link

Review: Thank You for Listening

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan
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. 

“Just giving you the last word.” 

Sewanee was an aspiring actress who found her way to being an audio book narrator, staring off in the romance genre. Becoming more cynical and losing the ability to believe in happily ever after, Sewanee left romance and started narrating different genres under her real name. When she gets the offer to return to romance and narrator the last story by the romance author who started her career, she finds she can't turn down the money because of how much it would help with taking care of her grandmother. The narrating job also comes with working with Brock McNight, a highly popular and mysterious male romance narrator. As Sewanee gets to know Brock more through their text message conversations, they start to develop a friendship that feels like it could lead to more. This all on the heels of a romance trope-y night in Las Vegas that included an only one hotel room, one night only offer, and mysterious hot stranger named Nick. Is hidden identities and second chance romance next? 

It was novel, having this strong a connection with someone she'd never seen. 

Thank you for Listening is a book that has been getting a lot of buzz and I was excited to dive in. I enjoyed how the longer page count, 400ish, gave the opportunity to the author to lay the ground work for her characters and story. I would say the first 28% was set-up, introducing readers to Sewanee, we meet her bestfriend Adaku who is finally getting her big break in acting, a journey that they started off together but an accident that caused the loss of one of Sewanee's eyes (it's revealed around 50% what happened) derailed her career. We also meet Mark who while also Sewanee's friend they work together in the audio book narrating business and BlahBlah, Sewanee's grandmother. A good chunk of the first half and middle is dedicated to Sewanee emotionally dealing with her grandmother's continuous slide into dementia. It brings up the fractured relationship she currently has with her father and how she feels he's putting the responsibility of BlahBlah's care on her and how her grandmother needs to move into a better care unit in her nursing home, hence Sewanee needing more money and deciding to return to romance book narrating. 

“Well, hello.” His voice came through her phone. 

And, also, simultaneously, across the night air. 

In the beginning, along with Sewanee's character set-up, we get her one night in Vegas with a mysterious Nick. The initial attraction, sexual tension, and by-play between the two delivered all the tingles but after Nick disappears the story leaned a lot into Sewanee's life issues and I started to feel like I was bait and switched into a women's fiction story. However, I kept thinking of the reviews I had read about the story and the tags of romance genre, just as I was about to adjust my thinking of what kind of story this was, the second half came in with the romance. We get a first surprise reveal of Nick being the nephew of the romance author, who passed away and the author who's book Sewanee is voice narrating and then at around 70%, if you're a frequent romance reader the obviously reveal of how Brock and Nick are connected. This reveal brings in more of Nick's character and we get his backstory to help flush him out. This is told in first person pov from Sewanee but it works and I thought the author pulled off having the reader feel like they knew and could “see” and “feel” Nick's character emotions and thinking, not something that is always apparent in first person pov romance. 

If everything was real, then why did she feel duped? 

With the identity reveals, Sewanee of course feels confused, has the emotional issues of dealing with her grandmother's continued deterioration, and the question of what she wants to pursue career wise in her life, so we get her running off to Italy to spend time with her mother. With so much focus on Sewanee and the issues she's dealing with, you can see where there's a strong women's fiction vibe and I would probably weigh the scales in that genre's favor but the romance does deliver, mostly because we do later get more on Nick, the number of romance check-list hits (rolled up sleeve forearm!), and the pretty fantastic chemistry between Sewanee and Nick. These two were definitely sweet and sexy. 

Some of the pacing and tone didn't always work for me, mostly because of how I didn't think it was a completely smooth transition between that first half/middle women's fiction and second half romance mish mash. This did have a full experience feel to it, in regards to journeying with Sewanee; if you like Kate Clayborn's stories you should definitely pick this up.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

My sloppy Sunday tacos 🤣 Excited to spend my Sunday with this book that I've seen getting a lot of buzz! 

This has a night in Vegas, two audio book narrators falling in love, and trust building back up. 

I'm expecting some hot tension word play 🔥 

Happy Sunday, all! 

Thank You for Listening by Julia Whelan purchase link

Honey Chipotle Chicken Tacos recipe

These were really good, loved the flavoring. I did add the hot sauce because the marinade was little sweet.

July Reading Round-up

I was up early this morning, so I thought, why not do a quick little round-up of what I read last month. I haven't done one in a while so I went to my tags and clicked on Monthly Roundup to refresh the ol' memory on how I formatted them. Y'all. My lying blog is telling me I haven't done a post like this since 2017???? I know that can't be right! One-hundred percent I just forgot to tag when I did this last. What year is it??? Lol. I forgot to tag is my new excuse. Oh you thought I forgot to do what you asked me to do? WRONG. I just forgot to tag it! Search into the ether.

July is my Recommendations month and Holidays in July, which rudely butted out my TBRChallenge pick. I'm taking my baseball trip at the end of this month, so I'm locking myself in my house until then and going to try and get read everything I have scheduled (this is more than likely a lie and I will never get everything read I scheduled for this month). ARCS, TBRChallenge, and my personal monthly theme of Single titles is on tap for August! 

I'm also starting to build up my tbr list for September and October, because we all know what comes next.....HALLOWEEN BINGO! Break out those pumpkins 🎃

As always, a huge thank-you to friends and fellow readers for all the recommendations throughout the years. It may take me years to get to the recs, but they're always on the tbr. Also, even if I didn't rate them high, I appreciate each and every rec! I love expanding my reading horizons and keeping my reading fresh with books I might not otherwise have picked up.

*Click on book cover to read my review

If I didn't write a review, link will take you to GoodReads page

RECs

3.5 stars

3 stars

                                                                  2.5 stars

2 stars

1.5 stars

HOLIDAYS IN JULY

3.3 stars

2 stars

ARCS

3.7 stars

                                                                 3.5 stars

  

                                                              3.3 stars

2 stars

How did everyone's reading month go?