Reading Update: Page 1

 

Spooky romance! 

👻❤️🧟‍♂️ 

I'm so excited to start this fantasy, paranormal romance. Hart is a marshal patrolling to keep out reanimated corpses and Mercy is trying to keep her undertaker family business afloat. 

Hart and Mercy don't like each other but have unwittingly become pen pals who are growing closer. 

A little enemies-to-lovers and letter writing! 

Happy spooky reading season! 

The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Megan Bannen purchase link

Spicy Shrimp over Creamy Spinach Cauliflower Rice recipe

Review: The Halloween Tree

The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

4.5 stars 

For the Tree was hung with a variety of pumpkins of every shape and size and a number of tints and hues of smoky yellow or bright orange. “A pumpkin tree,” someone said. “No,” said Tom. The wind blew among the high branches and tossed their bright burdens, softly. “A Halloween Tree,” said Tom. 

I ended up really loving this! It was a fast paced flight of fancy with just the right amount of light spookiness. The story starts off with eight boys, dressed in different costumes, skeleton, witch, gargoyle, etc. Although we do get all the boys' names, their pov is mostly led by Tom Skelton. The exuberance of the boys is felt as they set off to go trick or treating. 

The house beckoned with its towers, invited with its gummed-shut doors. Pirate ships are a tonic. Ancient forts are a boon. But a house, a haunted house, on All Hallows’ Eve? Eight small hearts beat up an absolute storm of glory and approbation. 

Their Halloween night was planned with a haunted house visit when they realize their fun leader, Pipkin is missing. They stop at his house and he comes out holding his side, looking pale, and obviously not feeling well. They're worried but also thirteen year old boys and when Pipkin says he's fine, they take off running to start their night as Pipkin says he'll catch up. 

For coming up out of the pile of leaves was a bony white hand, all by itself. And following it, all smiles, hidden one moment but now revealed as it slid upward, was a white skull. 

At the house, the door is answered by a creepy man who says trick instead of treat and their attention gets drawn to the tree in the yard. It has hundreds of pumpkins that seem to come alive and a Halloween song is sung that I wish was on Amazon music so I could play it on Halloween. There are a couple other songs in this and the writing style overall has a musical beat to it that I thought held the fast pace really well. After the song, a skeleton being rises out of a pile leaves (very Jake Skellington-ish sounding) and when a Dark Something steals away Pipkin who finally makes an appearance, asks them if the boys want to go on an adventure to save Pipkin and learn what Halloween means. Who could say no?? 

“All the more reason for you to come along, lads. If we fly fast, maybe we can catch Pipkin. Grab his sweet Halloween corn-candy soul. Bring him back, pop him in bed, toast him warm, save his breath. What say, lads? Would you solve two-mysteries-in-one? Search and seek for lost Pipkin, and solve Halloween, all in one fell dark blow?”

Is there a harder hitting line for the month of October than “Grab his sweet Halloween corn-candy soul.”?? NO. The boys are game and fly off with the being calling himself Mr. Moundshroud. This is probably where the story loses some readers, the boys fly back in history to the time of the Egyptian pyramids. Pipkin is the mummy being put into the sarcophagus! This trend continues as the boys are flown by Mr. Moundshroud to Greece, Italy, England, France, and Mexico. Pipkin is at turns a mummy, dog, and knocker, each time the boys learning about the origins of Halloween and how it has morphed and been shaped by the time period and culture celebrating it. It was a little lesson on hows and whys of humans creating their own mythos. I also liked how each of the boys' costumes was a small representation of the different periods and cultural tie-ins; the gargoyle fit with Notre Dame, the witch for the Druid ceremony. There was also a line when Mr. Moundshroud was talking about prehistoric humans and how in their understanding “ghosts” came about, Memories, that’s what ghosts are, that I thought was touching. 

“But, stop and think. What does the word ‘witch’ truly mean?” 

“Why—” said Tom, and was stymied. 

“Wits,” said Moundshroud. “Intelligence. That’s all it means. Knowledge. So any man , or woman, with half a brain and with inclinations toward learning had his wits about him, eh? And so, anyone too smart, who didn’t watch out, was called—” 

“A witch!” said everyone. 

When they got to their last destination, Mexico, around 60% I did think the loose, somewhat chaotic dancing style and pace was starting to need more structure but the adding in of more emotion to talking about and having the boys discover El Dia de los Muertos made up for some of the wildness. This is where their journey to save Pipkin comes to ahead as he's trapped in a catacomb and the little darkness that was emitting from Mr. Moundshroud rears its head. As with many a journey, friendships are tested, prices are paid, and we are given an ending that fit the learning, fun, spooky, and at times dark tone. 

“Well,” asks Moundshroud at journey’s end, “which was it? A Trick or a Treat?” 

“Both!” all agree. 

This is a story I could see myself reading every October, it's short, fast paced, fun, and brings some spooky vibes. The sing-song writing style and chaotic structure won't be for some but I'm wanting to add the Halloween Tree song to my playlist.

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Review: The Hellion and the Hero

The Hellion and the Hero by Emily Sullivan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

I received this book for free, this does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. 

As a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, Henry Harris went to London to marry an heiress. He hoped that would help him take care of his mother and sister and keep him out of the clutches of Naval Intelligence. When he meets Miss Georgiana Fox on a balcony, they have an instant connection and as his friend Tobias' mother is Georgiana's godmother, they get to have time together. However, when Henry learns that Georgiana is going for a title and accepts a viscount's proposal, Georgiana overhears him saying less than favorable things about her and she spreads the rumor that he is only fortune hunting. Georgiana becomes a viscountess, Lady Arlington, and Henry leaves without getting married. Six years later, Georgiana's husband dies, Henry is now Captain Harris and touted a hero for trying to rescue two young Englishmen and escaping a Turkish prison. It takes another year and a half to get these two together though, when Georgiana's brother Reginald goes to Harris Investigations and wants to hire Henry to investigate threats against Georgiana. 

The heat from his palm slowly sank into her skin and trailed down her arm. 

The Hellion and the Hero is book three in A League of Scoundrels series and while we did get a few looks at Georgiana and Henry in the second book (The Rebel and the Rake) and that book's couple makes a bit of a prolonged appearance in this, new readers to the series could still start here. This started out having Henry worried for Georgiana's safety and obviously still having unresolved feelings from their attraction eight years ago. For the most part, Georgiana brushes off the sense of danger from the threatening notes she's gotten and confronting a man who was following her. After her husband's death, she's been put in charge of two garment factories that were a part of her dowry. She's become a reformist and changed the game by creating safe working condition and fair, living wages. This has angered her competitors as they're losing workers to her and causing strife in their factories. She's being threatened to not sign a contract for a new factory and expanding her business. 

Georgiana's heart suddenly ached with years of useless regret. 

It's the start of a good plot, brings Henry in, gives them a reason to be together, and delivers a sense of danger adding to the tension but the plot thins out as the story goes along in favor of hit elements that the author seemed to want to put in. Kind of inexplicably, when the danger ramps up against Georgiana, it's decided that she should get out of London and go to Monte Carlo. I was excited, because what a setting change, but it doesn't make a lot sense how traveling there would equal more safety for Georgiana. I know she's going to meet a friend there but wouldn't that endanger her friend and make it harder to protect her? Then it's even harder to go along with when the setting of Monte Carlo wasn't fully utilized; they gamble once and it was for only two-ish pages. The glitz, glamour, and atmosphere of Monte Carlo was delivered in the newness of using a lift and Georgiana playing the piano again. It was hard not to be disappointed in the scene change not delivering. It did work to put Georgiana and Henry together in a hotel to make it easier for them to get it on and, nicely, they didn't disappoint here. This was open door (or should I say open carriage and bathtub?) and I liked the heat level here. They didn't have the emotional connection to totally have these scenes hit for me but they brought some heat. 

His eyes were full of hunger. Interest. Desire. 

In second chance romance, I often talk about miss seeing the couple fall in love. The beginning had Georgiana and Henry remembering their first moment meeting and then other moments together in their individual point-of-views. I really liked this, it worked to give us flashbacks to “see” but didn't info dump with longer flashbacks that I know some don't like. They do go on for the first half and I thought this was a little too long and also set-up the characters to be too much in their own heads. Georgiana and Henry are together a good amount of the story but there seemed to be more interacting with each other in their own heads instead of talking with each other and I missed some of their emotional connection because of this. 

His jaw tightened as his gaze bore into her own. 

“You'll have to be quiet.” 

“I can,” she promised, already a little breathless. 

His hand cupped the nape of her neck and drew her closer. “I'm going to test you on that.” 

In Monte Carlo, the Commodore who got Henry into spying (Naval Intelligence), tries to get him back in the game by threatening Georgiana and telling Henry he'll tell him who is behind her attacks is Henry comes back to service. The Commodore isn't really around long enough to feel like too much of a danger and while he even approaches Georgiana about Henry, they both kind of put him to the side. Georgiana decides she needs to go back to London to hurry and sign the contract for her new building and we get a last 10% that reveals the villain behind the threats, Georgiana and Henry learn how they misunderstood each other's intentions when they first met, and the eventual coming together. 

This man she had once thought could be her future. And perhaps still was. 

The plot of Georgiana being in danger because of her reformist attitude in running her factories was thinly there but this felt more like wanted elements added, reformist heroine, Monte Carlo, threats, and then plot added around those elements, instead of plot creating the elements. Georgiana and Henry seemed too in their heads a fair amount of the time and I missed them interacting with each other with talking back and forth more, the romance was missing that strong emotional pull for me. I did like the heat level but the overall story just didn't quite get there for me. If you liked the couple from the previous book though, Sylvie and Rafe spend a lot of time with them in Monte Carlo and sort of get a tiny little epilogue that will make fans happy.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

The title, the hand over heart on bare skin, the chin dipped down. Have mercy on us poor historical romance readers! 😍 

A second chance romance with a widow who has found her strength and a naval captain hero that can't get her out of his mind. 

This sounds so good! 

I almost don't care about the pizza I made for lunch. 

Almost 😉 

The Hellion and the Hero by Emily Sullivan purchase link

Spicy Chicken and Pickled Jalapeño Pizza recipe

Review: A Table for Two

A Table for Two by Sheryl Lister
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars 

Breathe, girl. I am not going to fall for this man. 

Six years ago after having her heart broken by her over critical boyfriend, Serenity moved to the town of Firefly Lake in California. A nurse who wanted to escape the fast pace of the ER, Serenity now works in an office. She also hosts the semimonthly Serenity's Supper Club, where she and her four friends, Andrea, Dana, Natasha, and Terri get together over drinks and the chef quality food Serenity cooks up. When Serenity's friend and neighbor Andrea gets a promotion and has to move, her brother from Atlanta decides to stay at her place to help watch over their nana. Gabriel only plans on staying a few months, he wants to convince his grandmother to move to Atlanta, but when he meets Serenity, he's gaining a new outlook on life. 

He'd never missed a woman---never missed kissing a woman---before, but he had with her. 

A Table for Two was a very low angst foodie lovers dream story that had Serenity learning to trust again and Gabriel figuring out what he truly wanted out of life. Serenity's baggage from her last relationship had her extra sensitive to a few comments Gabriel made at first, which had them starting off on a slightly growly foot. For the most part, Gabriel took her attitude in stride and as they were put together more, neighbors, small-town run-ins, and supper club dinners, the not trusting intentions eased and attraction tension replaced it. Gabriel was a workaholic, who had some pain still popping up from his parents fatal car accident eight years ago. He owned a tech company with some friends and was a software engineer who had his friends demanding he learn to balance his work and play schedule better. Serenity learning to trust Gabriel's true intentions and Gabriel learning that he maybe didn't need the big city life was the low angst keeping these two apart. 

Gabriel was falling fast, and he had no idea what to do about it. 

Serenity and Gabriel's relationship had a nice steady pace to it, by 15% any misunderstanding to Gabriel's first remarks has been cleared up, 30% they've kissed, 40% they start to date, and at 60% they're in the open door bedroom. Their relationship was the steady ride through a story supported by love of food, friendships, and family relationships. Gabriel and his nana have great scenes together, I would have liked even more of them together, and it was obviously loving how he came to realize how he couldn't uproot her from her life in Firefly Lake. One of the big highlights of the story was the friendships. Serenity with her supper club friends had great talks and Gabriel with his friends that he owned the software business with, had great supportive relationships. These interactions and scenes rounded out Serenity and Gabriel's characters and filled out the story and world the author had created. It added color to the picture and leaves the reader with matchmaking ideas for some in the friendship group. 

She'd been falling for him since the first kiss, and she was in danger of losing the one thing she'd vowed never to give away again---her heart. 

Serenity came with the cooking skills but Gabriel was no slacker. He took Serenity on a wine tour, brought her to a concert, mowed her grass, and showed off his own cooking. Gabriel was the whole package with the romancing and supporting, giving Serenity what she needed when it was needed; a sexy competence hero. The last ten percent felt rushed with a proposal that felt kind of quick and didn't quite stick the emotional landing for me. I did think the last half started to lose some of its steam but I lean more on the side of drama angst and this was definitely very low level, so my drifting disinterest was tied to that aspect. This was an amiable story that showcased friendships, love of food, and a romance that just need to trust and realize the important things in life.

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Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 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. 

September is my Random Number Generator month and what a doozy it picked out for me. I'm also playing Halloween Bingo and read this for the Monster square (fae monsters galore in this) and since Tamlin is a shapeshifter, he can turn into a animal beast, it also worked for this month's TBRChallenge – Animals. A triple threat read! 

But despite his size, he looked like a wolf, moved like a wolf. Animal, I reassured myself. Just an animal. 

This takes place in a Medieval-ish fantasy land where Fae live in the land called Prythian and five hundred years ago a war was waged between Fae and human until a Treaty was signed and a wall put up between the lands. The wall is not supposed to be crossed. Human Feyre is out hunting when she sees a wolf, that she thinks could possibly be Fae. Feyre doesn't have good feelings towards the Fae as they are rumored to be monsters and deceivers and knowing how much the pelt will bring in for her family, she kills the wolf, who seems to just let her. Feyre's family has been in poverty for eight years when her father's merchant business went belly up. Her father mopes around and her two sisters Nesta and Elain are either too busy being bitter and hateful (Nesta) or a little head in the clouds (Elain). So the hunting and work all falls to Feyre, who would actually like to just paint all day, because of a promise she made to her mother on her mother's deathbed to take care of the family. 

The beast had to be as large as a horse, and while his body was somewhat feline, his head was distinctly wolfish. I didn't know what to make of the curled, elk-like horns that protruded from his head. But lion or hound or elk, there was no doubting the damage his black, dagger like claws and yellow fangs could inflict. 

After killing the wolf, a monstrous fae shows up raging at Feyre's home and demanding to know who killed his friend. Feyre owns up to it and the beast claims that due to the Treaty, he can kill Feyre in retaliation or force her to go back to Prythian with him to live out her days. The beast forces her to come back to his home and we learn that the beast is Tamlin, a High Fae and the High Lord of the Spring Court. There are seven Fae courts, link the seasons and day and night. This all happens in the beginning ten percent and I couldn't help feeling the world wasn't quite flushed out enough for me to fully grasped what was going on. This seems to be by design, though. The story is all told from Feyre's point-of-view, the reader only knows what she does and as she spends more time with Tamlin and his emissary, Lucien, she and the reader begin to realize that the full story isn't being told. Tamlin and Lucien constantly wear golden masks on the top half of their faces. They tell her that a Blight has infected the land diminishing fae power and cursed the fae of the Spring Court to forever wear the masquerade masks they had been wearing the night of a ball 49 years ago. Monster fae, puca, bogge, suriel, nagga, etc. are starting to creep out of their own lands and reek havoc on the seven courts. 

“I smelled you,” he breathed, his painted chest rising and falling so close to mine. “I searched for you, and you weren't there.” 

After Feyre captures a suriel, gets some more information about Tamlin, and then Tamlin has to save her from some other monster fae, her instant hatred of him starts to shift, around 35%. We get them starting to talk more and Feyre starts painting. (Does this painting thing of Feyre's come back later in the series? Otherwise it felt kind of pointless?) Their friendship and attraction starts to grow. The fae have a holiday celebration that includes Tamlin needed to bang someone so crops grow (ok, what man made up this holiday??? lol) and the sexual heat/attraction grows between the two. So does the questions Feyre has, she starts to eavesdrop and hear some things being said between Tamlin and Lucien that don't totally make sense. 

“My wings,” the faerie choked out, his glossy black eyes wide and staring at nothing. “She took my wings.” 

Tamlin comes back one night with a gravely injured fae and this was the best scene in the book, written visually stunning and I felt the heightened emotion of Tamlin's pain and anger along with with Feyre's confusion and finally seeing the fae as more than just monsters. 

“Lucien,” Tamlin said, quiet command. But Lucien kept gaping at the fae's ruined back, at the stumps, his metal eye narrowing and widening, narrowing and widening. He backed up a step. And another. And then vomited in a potted plant before sprinting from the room. The faerie twisted again and I held tight, my arms shaking with the effort. His injuries must have weakened him greatly if I could keep him pinned. 

“Please,” I breathed. “Please hold still.” 

“She took my wings,” the faerie sobbed. “She took them.” 

“I know,” I murmured, my fingers aching. “I know.” 

Tamlin touched the rag to one of the stumps, and the faerie screamed so loudly that my senses guttered, sending me staggering back. He tried to rise but his arms buckled, and he collapsed face-first onto the table again. 

After this scene is when Feyre really starts to question what is going on and who “She” could be. 

“Tell me there's some way to help you,” I breathed. “With the masks, with whatever threat has taken so much of your power. Tell me, just tell me what I can do to help you.” 

“A human wishes to help a faerie?” 

Feyre and the reader then learn about a faerie kingdom, Hybern, ruled by a King that hated humans, the whole war thing, and that he was betrayed by The Deceiver. This is all around the halfway point and I felt like it was information that needed to be shared earlier, take out the whole Feyre painting thing get to this quicker. I understand keeping Feyre and thus, the reader in the dark, for the shock/lead up to the reveal of what the Blight really was but after Tamlin sends Feyre back to the human realm because he's afraid for her safety because he now cares for her, the story started to feel very info-dump-y after the 60% mark. 

“I love you,” he whispered, and kissed my brow. “Thorns and all.”

I forgot to mention in the first half Feyre was super worried over her family, how they were going to survive without her and Tamlin told her glamoured them to think she was just off caring for an aunt but he also made it seem like her father's merchant's business made a miraculous recovery and had them living in riches. When Feyre's back, she learns that the glamour didn't work on Nesta and we get some family bonding before Feyre, fairly quickly, admits she loves Tamlin and heads back to Prythian to save him. But his home is ravaged and she learns that he's been taken to Under the Mountain and under Amarantha's power. Amarantha is revealed to be the true villain, she tricked the High Lords and stole most of their power 49 years ago. The info-dump starts info-dumping, we get Amarantha's back story and we learn about the curse Tamlin is under and how Feyre could have saved him. Guilty Feyre decides to enter a deal with Amarantha and if she can solve a riddle, Tamlin and the Spring Court will be instantly free or if Feyre completes three trials she will set all the High Lords free. When I tell you this story was entertaining but a bit messy with it's plot and structure, believe me. Lol. 

“The wolf” Andras had just, stared at me before I killed him. Let me kill him. 

Time doesn't really seem to matter in this part of the story as Amarantha tortures Feyre and we get some of her trials happening whenever the author seems to remember that they need to happen. Mostly, this part seems about adding in the character Rhysand that we've only nominally seen. He's the High Lord of the Night court and mocked for being Amarantha's whore. He's mysterious and seems to be helping Feyre when he can. He also ends up saving her life after she barely survives the first trial but with a deal that tattoos her arm with his mark and that she must spend at least one week a month in the Night Court. Tamlin's around always stone faced and sitting beside Amarantha as she's trying to break him and make him sleep with her too. Anyway, those days and nights Amarantha forgets about the trials, Rhys has Feyre getting drunk and dancing for him and they seem to start to develop their own attraction. 

And I'd become High Fae. 

Finally the last trial happens and Feyre's eavesdropping comes into play and while Amarantha still doesn't seem to be playing fair, during her torturing of Feyre, Feyre realizes the answer to the riddle and breaks the curse with her answer and with Tamlin having his restored power, he kills Amarantha. Yay! After reading the whole story, I do like the world building but it was a little rough to get to it and too much info-dumping and Scooby Doo revealing at the end. The first half needed to be cleaned up in terms of cutting some pointless drag the pace down additives and repetition and maybe working in more of the reveals so they weren't all left until the end. The ending with Feyre in Under the Mountain also needed to be shored up as getting to the trials and competing should have felt more concise, timeline wise. The ending left some threads dangling, High Lords and Prythian aren't settled yet, Feyre's new identity, and there is obviously something going on with Rhys and Feyre. 

SPOILER

Ok, so I just went to read about the next in the series and then subsequent books in the series and WTF. Tamlin turns heel I guess?? What was the point of me reading 300 pgs of Tamlin and Feyre's romance?? It feels like I slogged through just so the series could have a manipulated shock and instead put Rhys and Feyre together. I'll read the next in the series but it's going to have to really do this right for me to like it. Nesta taking on Feyre's tattoo and putting Nesta and Rhys together was right there!!

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Finishing up the last of the corn on the cob and starting this enemies-to-lovers small-town romance. 

A supper club with friends (the food in this is going to make me drool, isn't it?) and an invited friend's brother who has foot-in-mouth syndrome because of nerves. 

Sounds like a lot of food, laughter, and attraction. 

Yummy all around! 

A Table For Two by Sheryl Lister purchase link

Jalapeño Cheddar Chicken Burgers recipe

Review: The Littlest Library

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

“But I'm not going anywhere,” Jess protested. 

“Not now, but you will, and when you do---when you are ready---you will unpack these boxes and it will be like I am standing there beside you; all our memories, all our precious times together, wrapped up in these books... Trust me. You'll see.” 

The Littlest Library was an incredibly cozy and comforting story about early thirties Jess moving to a new village after the grandmother who raised her dies. Jess is a librarian, which seems to be a dying profession, especially when the library she works at closes. Feeling the loss of grandmother Mimi, she takes a drive to clear her head and ends up in a small country village named Middlemas. There her car stalls and she stops to look at an old red phone box, that now seems to be the bathroom for lads coming back from the pub, and stumbles into an open house for the small cottage that sits behind the phone box. Even though the neighbor interrupts her from looking at the cottage, he's handsome but very grumpy about her stalled car blocking the road, she's still charmed by what the cottage, she mostly just saw the pond and gardens, could mean for her future. 

For hours her mind chattered and whirred, as she stared up at the sky through the skylight chastising herself for her idiocy, buying a house in the middle of nowhere, giving up everything she had ever known, for an uncertain future alone among strangers. 

Jess' parents died in a car accident when she was four and with the recent death of her grandmother, she's even more scared to love and put herself out there because, to her, everyone leaves anyway. When her grandmother was dying of cancer, she made Jess promise to be more adventurous, so calling the Realtor and buying the cottage, almost sight unseen, is Jess trying to live life fully. The cottage ends up needing a ton of work and there are bats in the loft that the local bat warren, handsome grump neighbor, says she can't get rid of, but she's actually starting to make some friends. Her childhood friend Hannah has been her only connection and since Hannah lives in New Zealand, Jess needs these connections. 

“Oh God, it's you,” he said. 

After Jess gets settled in Middlemas, she slowly but surely gets welcomed into the village townspeople fold. She gets pushed into cleaning up the old phone box and turning it into a library, using her precious grandmother's books. Throughout the story, people seem to be borrowing the right book at the right time and Mimi's legacy and warm advice gets carried on through the segments she underlined or the little messages she wrote in the books. I thought this was a lovely way to bring in the love and power of books and their stories. 

And now she had the pleasure of sharing her books---her memories---with her new community. 

There's Jess' grief over the recent loss of her grandmother, some of the secondary character stories have adultery, sisterly animosity, town rivalry, marriage dynamics, an ex-wife causing trouble, and just general life issues but while you feel the importance to the characters, as the reader, you're never drug down too much by them as the story keeps it's warm cozy tone throughout. 

One thing Jess did know was that she was home and life was full of nothing but possibilities. 

This is a book club fiction story, the romance between Jess and the neighbor, Aidan, has a kiss at around 50% but he's the one dealing with the ex-wife drama and thinks he can't really start anything with Jess so he can protect his pre-teen daughter from her mother's jealousy. Jess' attraction to Aidan is always there but Jess dealing with trying to get her life on track, making friends, putting herself out there, and finding a job that fulfills her soul instead of crushing it, is the main story here. There's some ending wrenches, a woman trying to get the phone box Little Library closed and Jess maybe having to move for a job, to create some worrisome feelings. However, the ending continues the promise of comforting and we even get a happily for now for our little romance. I can see this story being a favorite comfort read for many, the townspeople characters were many and varied but all the interconnecting friendships, especially with Jess, had them feeling like cherished friends. If looking for a sweet and comforting read that will transport you to the English countryside and has the love of books at the heart of it's story, then The Littlest Library needs to be your go to pick.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

Look how adorable this cover is 😍 

I love Free Little Libraries and regularly donate arcs to the one in my neighborhood ❤️ 

A story about a down on her luck woman who decides to start a free little library using the books she inherited when her grandmother passes away. The books start to work their magic and bring the townspeople together and.... 

There's a handsome neighbor, who's a grump but starts to come out of his shell! 

😍😍😍 

This sounds delightful and can't wait to spend my weekend with these characters. 

The Littlest Library by Poppy Alexander purchase link

Sweet Chili Sauce Chicken and Vegetables recipe

Review: Honeycomb

Honeycomb by Joanne M. Harris
My rating: 3 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. 

“Up above and down below, Down below and up above, The world’s a honeycomb, my love, The world’s a honeycomb.” 

Honeycomb was a collection of myths, legends, and folktales that begin with the myth of the bees and how drinking from the dreamflower and carrying it into the Nine Worlds creates their Honeycomb Queen, the first of the Silken Folk or what is more commonly known, the Fae. From this origin, the book is laid out in very short stories, a couple pages, and divided into two sections. The first book welcomes readers into the world and introduces the Lacewing King, the son of the Honeycomb Queen. From a baby to an adult, his stories and journeys create the backbone of the book. Some the shorter stories take place in the world but don't directly relate to the Lacewing King's journey and some introduce characters that eventually become intertwined with his story. 

The Lacewing King went on his way without even a second thought for the two strangers he had saved, but the Clockwork Princess did not forget. One day, she told herself, she would repay her debt to him. 

Full of his power, the Lacewing King starts off bold, careless, and brash and decides to steal the Spider Queen's all seeing crown. He succeeds but the Spider Queen vows revenge and we have her, along with the dangerous Harlequin, as the villains of the first half, while another protagonist, the Lacewing King's granddaughter the Barefoot Princess, has the beginnings of her story told and it starts to intertwine with her father's. The second half and book two has the Spider Queen getting some of her revenge and the addition of another villain, the Hallowe'en King, coming into the story and the Barefoot Princess and her journeys take over as she tries to find and save her father the Lacewing King. 

Banished by the Spider Queen, he was dragged through the space between the Worlds into a different place and time; into a different ocean. 

As fairytales are won't to to do, this was full of legends and myths that try and teach a lesson, whether it be the impatience and ego of youth or how to treat your fellow human beings and live in harmony with nature. There were a few well known tales and couple that added some modern freshness but they always lead back to the main thread of the Lacewing King and his granddaughter. I had initially expected detailed drawings but they were more sketched shadows, probably to keep the allure of an otherworldly atmosphere and let your own imagination play a part. My favorite illustration and the most clear was of the Hallowe'en King, it helped to add to his menacing tone and the creepy atmosphere of Hel. The ending tale of the Lacewing King was neither happy nor sad, but fitting in completeness feel of the journey he went on. This would be a great bedtime book to read at a slower pace and take in each short story and the lessons to be learned as you journeyed with the Lacewing King through the Nine Worlds.

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Reading Update: 30%

 

Reading this for the bingo square:

  

Light lunching with these cauliflower tacos and escaping into some fairytales.. 
🧚‍♀️🌮 
Reading about the Silken Folk and their Lacewing King. 
Fables, legends, lessons, and myths! 

Honeycomb by Joanne M. Harris, illustrated by Charles Vess purchase link

Vegan Chili Lime Cauliflower Tacos recipe

Reading Update: 50%

 

How smug she had been, before, when he was a stranger and she cared nothing for him at all. And he was teasing her again,the fiend, but now she enjoyed it, because now she knew that he was kind under his brash facade, and this teasing was just for her, and that made her feel special.

Bonus:

His hands found the edge of the desk and he curled his fingers around it.

Love a holding on for restraint!

Review: An Indiscreet Princess

An Indiscreet Princess by Georgie Blalock
My rating: 3 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. 

“A princess must always be semi-divine to everyone she encounters, but I'm not. Far from it.” 

The fourth daughter and sixth child of Queen Victoria, An Indiscreet Princess, was a historical fiction imagining of Princess Louise's life. Starting in 1868 we see Princess Louise chafing against the restrictions of her position and the controlling nature of her mother. While she steps in to perform duties, like opening Parliament, for her grief obsessed mother, she also wants to pursue her artistic desires. As the reader follows around the princess and gets immersed into her life, historical figures like the current Prime Minister, Mr. Disraeli, her brothers Prince Albert (Bertie), Leopold, and sisters Helena (Lenchen) and Beatrice, and of course Queen Victoria make appearances. The beginning and first half work to establish Louise's familial relationships, the strain of public service life, and how she works the system she is in to gain her dream of attending the National Art Training School. 

“We must find what happiness we can in our imperfections and restrictions.” She titled her head to view him from the side, too afraid to face him and give away the passion making her skin flush. “It's the most we can hope to achieve in our positions.” 

When Louise gains permission to attend the school, her sculptor professor is Mr. Joseph Edgar Boehm. The two have an immediate attraction but are very careful of the positions that they are in. As Louise has some freedom by going to the training school, artistic historical figures come into the picture, notably James Whistler, Henrietta Montalba, critic Ruskin, and of course, Boehm. Louise and Boehm start their affair and their dangerous romance becomes the focus for a while, until 60% where Louise decides she will have to marry, hoping it will bring her some freedom from her controlling mother. As history tells us, Louise marries Lord Lorne, a marquess who Louise seems to start off having a friendship with and most importantly, an understanding of how each wants the marriage to go. Here is where I thought the story lost some of it's steam as Edgar breaks things off with Louise because of her marriage, he initially said he wouldn't care and is married himself, and Louise's friendship and understanding with her husband erodes as she fails to get pregnant (it's alluded to that a bout with childhood Scarlet fever rendered her unable to have children) and Lorne feels she hasn't lived up to her promise to secure him an important governmental position. The break with Boehm doesn't last long and they resume their affair. 

She could pretend at being the art student, the artist, the lover, but in the end she was still the princess and bound to everything it meant. 

Queen Victoria hints at knowing about Louise's affair and to save her siblings, friends, and especially Boehm from any blow back by the queen, she agrees to go to Canada for five years, as the Queen will bestow Lorne with a Governorship. Louise hates being in Canada and while she is able to repair her relationship with Lorne, she misses Boehm and her friends. A sleigh accident leaves Louise with, what sounds like a nasty concussion, and she gets sent back to England to recoup after a little over a year. There, she falls into a depression as she tries to regain her health and feels even more under her mother's thumb. Eventually, she finds her physical and emotional strength and quietly resumes the life she wants behind the royal curtain. 

Each chapter began with a historical document, a letter from the queen, letters between royal siblings, a newspaper quote, etc. It was a nice way to bring in the historical real with the historical fiction. The author clearly did her research and stayed fairly true to recorded and rumored relationships, playing up and/or imagining some, namely the romance between Louise and Boehm for obvious entertainment purposes. The relationships between Louise and her siblings brought a humanizing affect and Queen Victoria's controlling, wallowing in grief, and rumored relationship with Mr. John Brown, has the author putting her in combat with Louise and finally in league. The story took place from 1868-1887, and as I mentioned, the last 30% lost some of it's steam as time jumps and the sense of story lost some of it's purpose. This historical fiction imagining had Princess Louise working in the system that helped and confined her, managing to pursue her passion for art, and finding love, entertaining historical fiction.

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Reading Update: Page 1

 

There's something about Fall that always has me craving historical fiction. 

How about a royal rebel? 

Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. She has artistic talent and while learning to sculpt nude models, is starting to fall in love with the famed sculptor Joseph Edgar Boehm. 

The scandal! 

I also had to start off my Fall reading with some soup 

🍂🍲🍂 

Happy reading! 

An Indiscreet Princess: A Novel of Queen Victoria's Defiant Daughter by Georgie Blalock pre-order (Sept. 27) link

Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup w/ Salty Lime Chips recipe

I used the whole can of chipotle peppers in adobo and it gave it a great warm heat, lovely flavors in this soup :)

Review: The Wolf Road

The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Just you and me, Elka girl, Trapper said to me, it can only be you and me. 

The Fall, the Reformation, the Damn Stupid, has happened and humans now live in a dystopian future that has them going back to hunters, gatherers, and rough survival times. Left with her nana at age seven after her parents set off to find their riches mining for gold, our main character gets taken in by Kreagar Hallet and named Elka. 

The story starts off with a young adult Elka hiding in a tree from Kreagar and you're wondering what has happened. The story then goes back to the beginning of Elka starting off with Trapper (Kreagar). There's the immediate sense of unease with a seven year old girl staying alone with a man but, told all from Elka's point-of-view, the reader just sees him as a gruff and rough wilderness man who is teaching a young girl to live, fend, and survive in the current times. Since Elka has never had a formal education, the story is told in a vernacular that reflects that and gives the tone a rough and naive sense. Elka talks about how Trapper teaches her to hunt, describing the skinning of the animal and eventual eating of it. 

The sense of unease creeps back in as we time jump ahead and a woman comes back to the cabin with slightly older Elka, Trapper has strictly enforced that no one knows where they live and even though he acts nicely with the woman, when she leaves with him to go back home, the reader and Elka don't have a good feeling. Things come to a crash when Elka is around seventeen and she sees a wanted poster for Trapper in town and the magistrate, a woman name Jennifer Lyons, asks if Elka recognizes the man, Kreagar, from the poster and tells her that he is wanted for murdering eight woman and a child. The child was Lyon's son. Elka is shook but pretends to not know Kreagar but Lyon followed her home and ends up burning their cabin and Elka sees scalps and a box of Kreagar's murderous keepsakes that brings to front that he is guilty. 

The doctor had taught me all I needed to know 'bout the rest a my life in that one act. He was giving me a chance to do the right thing like he had. To face down Kreagar and face down my past 'stead a running from 'em both. I just had to be brave enough to do it. 

The story then pivots to Elka running from Kreagar, Lyons, and her own mind. Along the way she meets a bunch of men that are horrible and even is saved by someone she thinks was Kreagar at one point. Elka's trying to get to the mining city she thinks her parents went to and it all feels a little haphazard, which with how broken her memories are, fits the tone. There's the horrible men but Elka also befriends a wolf and another girl Penelope and they end up taking turns saving each other, teaching Elka a different side of humanity that she didn't learn from being raised by Trapper. 

Around 70%, Elka and Penelope make it to her parent's mining town and actually find the claim they were on, it doesn't quite have a happy ending but Elka and Penelope decide to try and scrape out a living there as a man and his son they befriended on the journey there, also lives in the town. Even as they decide this, the creep of Kreagar and Lyons grows closer and closer. Some enemy of my enemy happens and Elka finally has her stand with Kreagar. 

The writing style voice of Elka's speech as she tells the story was a bit of a struggle for me and some of Elka's growing in the second half wasn't paced quite right but this story definitely had some tense atmosphere to it as Kreagar hung out in the shadows. Along with the final physical showdown with Kreagar, the story was clearly leading up to Elka's repressed memories finally coming to the surface. I thought Elka dealing with this emotional trauma was really rushed at the end and it was a little disappointing that all that leading up was kind of wasted. The ending brought in some humanity from Penelope in this dystopian world and while Elka never had a fair chance because of being raised by Trapper/Kreagar, she goes off into the horizon with a title friend she met along the way.

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Review: To Catch a Raven

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 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. 

“Grifters. Counterfeiters. Gamblers. Swindlers. Imposters. You name it, and there's a Moreau that fits the description. [...]” 

To Catch a Raven, at it's foundation, was about two families that were forced together to steal back a copy of the Declaration of Independence. I went in thinking it would be a caper adventure story and instead was blown away by the consuming intimacy between our two leads, Raven and Braxton. (Can we take a moment to appreciate these names, Raven Moreau and Braxton Steele. That alone should have alerted me to the heat) Intimacy is something I've been missing in historical romances lately, whether it be emotional or physical, so I ate this story up with a spoon. 

Raven was setting his normal on fire, and the flames had him enthralled. 

Braxton and his father live in Boston, with Braxton having inherited his grandfather's shipping industry and having another tailoring business. He's set and comfortable, even thinking he has his “prize winner” wife picked out. Turns out his father has a little bit of an interesting past and used to do some art forgery, which a woman Pinkerton detective, Welch, is now trying to use to force Braxton into an undercover job. Welch wants Braxton to go undercover with a Raven Moreau as a married domestics couple in a South Carolina's state senator's home and take back a copy of the Declaration of Independence that they think he stole. Welch picked Braxton because of his father Harrison's connection to the Moreau family, he used to have a relationship with Raven's mother Hazel, and Welch is pretty sure the Moreaux are a proficient grifter family. After she forces Raven and Braxton to do her bidding, she wants to expose the Moreaux and get them jailed as a hopeful step to promotion. 

He reached out and ran a slow finger over her bottom lip, and the intensity that flowed from it made her eyes slide closed. 

I thought the beginning with getting Raven and Braxton together felt a little bumpy, you kind of just have to go along with it. When the two first meet, there was some of that delicious sizzle of attraction but Braxton is a straight arrow and has some judgment about Raven's lifestyle choice of conning people and Raven can feel that. Raven's pride steps up along with her insecurities, she had to drop out of school to work and help support her family, so her reading ability isn't the best. With Braxton coming from a rich background and his, polite but obvious straight and narrow judgment towards her family, we get some of that great pride and prejudice heat. 

He realized he needed more. Wanted more, and maybe with a woman he could love like he loved breathing. 

Almost all of the first half is about Raven and Braxton getting to know one another in Raven's home city of New Orleans, and it's done in such a great way. The large Moreau family is introduced as they swoop in and out, while Braxton is a little along for the ride with Raven but also talking and getting to know her. They have alone scenes to keep the focus on them but also interact with the cast of characters to keep the plot thread going. There was also a secondary romance with their parents rekindling their romance but the focus was definitely on Raven and Braxton. 

As they took in each other in the quiet, he again wondered how he'd be able to return to Boston without her. 

About midway is when we get the shift to South Carolina and the reason Raven and Braxton were brought together comes more front and center. As someone who has watched the movie National Treasure more than once, I was somewhat disappointed at how little the actual search and caper aspect came into play. Raven and Braxton are undercover at the state senator's house for under two weeks and find the stolen copy pretty quickly. There was an immediate action blip of danger when the senator comes home unexpectedly but other than that, it all works out fairly easy for them, in terms of action plot, for them. The highlight of this time is again their intimacy as they're forced to share a bed, keep learning about each other, and growing together emotionally and physically because of this. There were high heat scenes but Braxton also makes great headway with Raven and the intimacy of trust, which I found just as sexy. 

They were lovers in every way despite the absence of a declaration. 

She was his. He was hers. 

After they return the stolen copy to Welch, the last twenty percent has Raven and Braxton mostly in Boston, Yellow fever is raging and some states have stopped trains from getting in so Raven can't head home. Raven gets a look at Braxton's life and her insecurities come roaring back. For his part, while he started off with some judgments, Braxton was always attracted to Raven and obviously intrigued and drawn to her. He had a calmness with teasing that put the strong, willful Raven at ease but still gave her some challenging. It was obvious and believable how these two went together. It's apparent that Braxton now loves her but he's a bit too slow in being blunt about it and after hearing some jealous, petty talk about her, Raven runs back to New Orleans. We get a Welch reappearance endangering Raven and a grand LeVeq cameo. This last bit felt kind of rushed, especially after the first half's more moderate pace. 

“Thank you for loving me.” 

I've read a couple Beverly Jenkins' books now and this turned out to be one of my favorites, along with Indigo. There's never anything wallpaper about Jenkins' historical settings, this takes place in 1878, so Reconstruction fighting, Jim Crow, the inclusion of Yellow fever, and danger for Raven and Braxton in South Carolina is all a part of the fabric of the story and characters. All of this enriches the world and story, it also has me taking longer with her books because I'm constantly running to the computer to read more about the historical aspects included. This didn't turn out to be quite the caper story I anticipated going in and some points of pacing were off for me, but, oh my friends, the intimacy. The Intimacy.

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50%

 

Bare-breasted as an autumn-skinned goddess, she slid down his body to her knees, undid the front of his trousers, and exposed him.

Is there a word for poetic/sexy/romance?? Because, whew, this sentence is it. 

30%

 

"The women back home rarely speak so boldly." 

"That's unfortunate. Their mothers should raise them better. Bland food. Meek women. Sounds fairly boring where you're from, Steele. Hopefully, the men are good in bed, at least." 

"Find us a bed and I'll give you dessert." 

Her heart stopped. 

Eyes blazing intensely, he added, "I can't speak for other men, but you'll remember my pleasuring you for the rest of your life."

Reading Update: Page 1

 

Refreshed from the long weekend and ready to go on a little adventure... 

Raven is going undercover to reclaim the stolen Declaration of Independence! 

Braxton is along with her, posing as the valet/driver and her husband(!!!). 

Hidden identities, danger, and a fake marriage. 

Nobody better bother me while I'm reading this! 

To Catch a Raven by Beverly Jenkins purchase link

Vegan Jambalaya recipe

This had a nice warm heat to it

Reading Update: 50%

 

But I weren't no quitter. No wolf nor bear just gives up when they get beat or hungry. You ever seen a bear jump off a cliff cause life handed him a few rough draws? No, you haven't. The wild keeps going till it don't have strength in it's muscles and bones. The wild don't give up; it's forever, and so was I.

Reading this for the HB square 

I'm not quite sure what to think of it but definitely very dystopian as our heroine Elka is on the run from a murdering dude and ducking and dodging other murder-y/rapey dudes.

Review: The Second First Chance: A Novel

The Second First Chance: A Novel by Mona Shroff
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. 

They had both made decisions based on that fire. 

Riya and Dhillon were townhome neighbors since the age of five and became best friends, until a sophomore dance ends in a kiss. But before they can explore the new turn in their relationship, a fire breaks out in their homes and Riya loses her hero big brother Samir and Dhillon loses his father. Not being able to process those feelings of grief in the same way, they drift apart. Dhillon still lives at home deciding that his mother and younger sister Hetal still need him, while Riya has moved out and is now hiding that she is the new rookie and only woman, at the firehouse. When a puppy gets rescued at a fire and brought to veterinarian Dhillon, he learns about Riya's new occupation. 

She was going to be the death of him. 

And he was completely in love with her. 

The Second First Chance, was a family fiction story that had all those family dynamic emotions with the thread of Riya and Dhillon knowing they loved one another but never being able to admit it to the other. They see each other occasionally because of Dhillon still living next door to her parents and family and cultural celebrations but when Riya's mother has a heartattack and she decides to stay at home for a while to help take care of her mother, their feelings for each other start to come to a head. I went into this thinking there would be more romance than there was. The story is told from alternating pov chapters from Riya and Dhillon, Riya is dealing with trying to fit in at her fire station, dealing with sexual harassment from one of her colleagues, struggling with reconnecting with her parents, and then still loving Dhillon but thinking he wants nothing to do with her, especially since she's a firefighter now. Dhillon is dealing with outgrowing living with his mother and sister, trying to be a father and brother to Hetal, grow his veterinarian business, and loving Riya but thinking they can't be together. These two live busy lives and why, while the romance thread is steady throughout, it spends more time as background music. 

And Dhillon-V never could refuse Riya-D anything. 

Something I really enjoyed in this was how all the characters added to the world, they were all believable and added richness. Riya's jerk co-worker is one with a capital J but who hasn't meet that guy? I would have liked more flushing out of her relationship with her mother, we get some faint explanation that Riya got lost in the grief after her brother died and they do talk and seem to grow a little closer at the end but I would have liked more of a solid, focused emotional scene of them coming together, especially with her mother. Dhillon's sister had a very small secondary romance that my romance loving heart would have liked for them to have their own romance book but I did enjoy how Dhillon and Hetal's relationship was flushed out. 

This was her best friend, her confidant, the man she had loved since she was a little girl. This was her Dhillon-V. 

Readers do come in when Riya and Dhillon already love each other, so I missed some of the development of feelings. I also was disappointed that we didn't get an open door bedroom scene, just as the pants were coming off the door slams shut, I felt the emotional part of the story needed to show their intimacy in this way, would have really brought those feelings in as these two had loved and wanted each other for so long. This happens in the first half of the story and they end up parting thinking the other just saw it as a one night stand, which felt a little meh in keeping these two apart for the rest of the story. 

The pace didn't feel like it had enough steam to make it to the end and then the ending had a rush of a fire, danger, and a black scene that felt forced with Dhillon blaming Riya, Riya blaming herself, and then a quick “eh, misunderstanding”. This does end with a happily ever after but I wouldn't necessarily say read this for the romance. It's obvious from the beginning but be aware there is a death of a pet. If you're looking for a family fiction or book club read, this would give some rich material to discuss.

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Quickie Review: Wild Card

Wild Card by Aleah Barley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

2.5 stars

He might have been a priest—once upon a time—but he definitely wasn’t a saint. 

This had a whiff of the movie Bad Boys. She's an ex-stripper now showgirl who witnesses a dirty cop deal that goes bad and cop ends up dead. She steals the bag of ill gotten goods, she doesn't know what is in the bag just that it is valuable. 

I hear you, why would you take the bag??? This is why none of you will ever be rescued by a former priest turned detective! 

The guy is mostly why I'm writing up this quick review, he's a 37yr old virgin and since that is like a white whale to some of you romance readers, ALERT! 

Irish Catholic oldest brother was priest for most of his life but ended up beating a man to a veg state (he managed to grow up boxing somehow in all this) when he found out the man was abusing his son. So he decides to drop the robes and become a cop. 

There's danger with a, kind of, shored up action plot, a couple points that didn't make sense, and of course the sexual tension. She's funny and chaotic, there's sex scenes. 

Nothing to take seriously but yeah, a 37yr old male virgin. Have at it, friends!

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