Saturday, April 29, 2023

Reading Update: Page 1

 



It's cloudy and misty out with a slight chill, perfect soup and fantasy reading weather! 

It's 1919, Moira Jean lost her lover to the war in France, and now the fae have spirited her friends away. 
The darkly handsome Lord of the Fae is out to make himself known and Moira Jean finds herself in a bargain with him to save her friends. 


I'm so excited for this one, Highland charm, a dark romance, and magical fantasy! 




Friday, April 28, 2023

Review: Star Splitter

Star Splitter Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby
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. 

“What happened to you?” I whispered. 

Six years ago, Jessica's scientist parents left to do research in space and now they are making the decision to have her join them. Seventeen years old, Jessica doesn't want to leave her life, she's happy with her grandparents and trying to work up the courage to tell her friend Avery she cares for her more than a friend. Teleportation will have Jessica's body getting printed fourteen light years away on a ship where she will meet up with her parents and then they will spend a year on a planet to study before Jessica will return to her home planet. But even though teleportation is constantly touted as safe, space is still a final frontier where anything can happen. 

She was me. 

Told almost all in first person point-of-view from Jessica, Star Splitter was a scifi mystery thriller that worked to take on some Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind themes of memories, stories and what makes us, us, all in a space setting. Besides having the younger lead, I'm not sure I would categorize this as Young Adult, it felt more fitting to just be scifi fiction. The story was structured in alternating chapters of Before and After, so a mish-mash of linear timelines. Readers first meet Jessica as she wakes up from the printer but not where she was supposed to. She's alone, but she sees a bed someone made that looks to have watched over her as she was printed, and she's not on the ship but a lander of the ship and it's wrecked, with bloody handprints smeared down the corridors. It's a great start to giving the reader a shiver and want to know how and why it all went wrong. 

There are things only one of us can know. 

After the opening, the timeline flips back to Jessica arriving on the ship and everything seems to be going right. The reader then follows as the story chapters flip back and forth as Jessica in the “seems to be going right” timeline and Jessica in the “bloody handprints smeared down the corridors” linear timelines continue on until the ending has them converging and readers get the full story. I enjoyed most of the story's journey, as what teleportation would require of people; their original bodies getting burned up with the scanned “data” (think mind of thoughts, personality, memories, experiences) getting imputed into a new 3D printed body. Having the ability to live again if something happened to your body but only having the memories/experiences of your last data scan. It's the ultimate question this story works to wrestle with, what makes us, us, and if we had the possibility to “erase” bad memories, should we? It's not a theme I think the story accomplished grappling with fully, it got lost in the alien aspects that were added, the “haunting” aliens, corrupted data, and unknown alien civilization. 

“We have to get off this ship.” 

I flew through the first half of this story wanting to know where and how it all went wrong but Jessica is really the only character readers really get to know. Duncan, the ship captain's son and Jessica's age, gets filled out a little more than the rest of the crew and Jessica's parents but he ultimately felt fizzled out on in the end. A feeling I had in the second half and ending of the story; I enjoyed most of the journey but the destination never felt fully reached (realized) in the end. While the looming setting of space, isolation and danger of it, helped to create a good atmosphere, not all the aspects (alien additives) or main theme of how our “data” impacts us, came together in the end. The ending was abrupt in a way that probably served the story but I was left feeling unsatisfied with dangling threads and lack of how it all came together.

Monday, April 24, 2023

Reading Update: Page 1

 


Scifi and pizza to start my week off! 
🌌🍕 

Sixteen yr old Jessica has just crash landed on a desolate planet lightyears from Earth. 

Set to meet up with her scientist parents who left six years ago, teleportation is supposed to be safe and routine in 2198. Jessica wakes up in the lander of the ship she was supposed to rendezvous with her parents. 

A lander, with bloody handprints covering the corridors and crash landed on a planet with graves outside. 

I've got shivers just thinking about it! 




I love rattling pizza tables, you thought pineapple was scary...!

Review: Falling Hard for the Royal Guard

Falling Hard for the Royal Guard Falling Hard for the Royal Guard by Megan Clawson
My rating: 2 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. 

I am quite literally surrounded by thousands of people each day, yet I feel completely alone. 

Maggie is twenty-six years old and living with her dad after the break-up of her seven years long relationship. Her dad is career military and with his service winding down, he now is a Yeoman Warder (beefeater) at the Tower of London. Maggie loves history, graduated with a degree in it, but instead of getting hired on as a guide, she works at the ticket booth. Living in the Tower of London village lets her be close to the historical notes she delights in but it's also isolating. When one of her clumsy run-ins with a tower guard named Freddie leads to a friendship, Maggie might just get her life back on track. 

He just winked at me! 

Told in first person present tense all from Maggie, readers get an intimate look into her character. Growing up with her mom as her bestfriend, as they were on the move a lot because of her dad's career, Maggie's felt lost and unmoored after her mother's death a few years ago. She still texts her mother's number to “talk” to her about what is happening in her life. After catching her boyfriend cheating for the third time, she finally decides to leave him, a decision that was hard because of their seven years together and how he was there for her when her mother died. Maggie recounts this but readers only see the stalker tendencies of the ex, texting her all the time, showing up at her work, and emotional (calling her a slut) and physical (grabbing, restraining her) abuse. This was tagged as a rom-com but this was not the light and fluffy tone I was expecting. Maggie's constant clumsiness, falling, running into things, seems to be what the comedy hinges on but the way she was physically hurt (black eye) from these falls along with how she saw herself, causing her to put herself down a lot and, what seemed liked body dysmorphia, gave the story a tone that made me hurt for her, and want her to seek therapy for her emotional turmoil, more than laugh. 

Freddie is just a friend. 

The romance was too weak for me as Freddie was pretty much a haircut for the vast majority of the story. Due to his job as guard and not being able to talk (he does break this once) Maggie talks at him, not with him and then when they do spend time together in the beginning, he's still pretty silent or disappearing. The middle of the story had Maggie going on four Tinder dates and I felt like I got to know those dates more than Freddie, who had completely disappeared from the story. When he comes back in the second half, it's to break-up the only date that had been going really well for Maggie. It didn't feel romantic to me that this guy who, albeit, Maggie “just can't stop thinking about” but knows nothing about but his first name, barely spoken to, and hasn't seen in weeks, feels comfortable breaking up a kiss between the two. Maggie and Freddie's feelings felt forced as there was no development for them. 

We don't only exist in different tax brackets, we live in entirely different words, and I vastly underestimated how different we are. 

What I did like, probably because I am also a history nerd, was the fantastic way the author incorporated the setting. There were so many interesting and cool historical facts and stories about the Tower of London, all the different buildings, how it's a village, and a bunch of fascinating tidbits. I did like this author's voice and would read anything they had to say about the Tower of London. I just struggled with how Maggie's serious emotional turmoil, she spent the majority of this book in tears or fighting them, didn't end in her seeking therapy but “solved” by Freddie's love, yes, there was a HEA but expect only a few kisses. There's a reveal about Freddie around the 70% mark that is meant to explain away his silence and skittishness around Maggie, but it took until there was only about twenty pages left in the book to get something out of this guy, and because of that, any declarations felt extremely weak. I'd read this for the Tower of London tidbits but check my romance wants at the door.

Friday, April 21, 2023

Reading Update: Page 1

 



It's Friday! 🥳 
I made these red velvet whoopie pies for book club and am ready to dive into this new rom-com. 

Look at the heart on the little corgi's butt 😍🤣 

Maggie is 26 yrs old and ready to swear off men. You know what that means! 
A chance encounter with a Royal Guard has Maggie changing her mind. 

Freddie is trained to ignore distractions, but I have a feeling our girl Maggie is up to the challenge. 

This sounds so cute and fun! 




Thursday, April 20, 2023

Reading Update: 40%

“What did she mean, you murdered your wife?” 
His haunted gaze met hers, but it was a moment before he answered. “I don’t intend to discuss it.” 
“Not discuss it!” 
“My late wife,” he replied grimly, “is none of your concern, and neither are the circumstances of her death."



EXCUSE ME 
I can think of nothing MORE my business than if my new husband murdered his wife

Review: An Island Princess Starts a Scandal

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4.5 stars 

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

In six weeks she would have to return to Venezuela to be married. 

Second in the Las Léonas series, An Island Princess Starts a Scandal, gives us Manuela’s story. Manuela has traveled to Paris with her friends, telling her parents it’s to compile her trousseau for the marriage she is being forced into; it’s to save her parents from financial and social ruin. Really though, Manuela plans on living her best scandalous life. Happening concurrently with book one (A Caribbean Heiress in Paris) you could start here to get Manuela’s romance but you’d miss out on the emotional connection between the Las Léonas, Manuela, Luz (book 1), and Aurora. Luz is mostly absent in this one while Aurora shows up more and provides the link to that friendship. Their chaperone is mostly absent and while the first had readers traveling, this stays, for the vast majority, in Paris. 

“What if I told you that my price isn’t just money?” Manuela heard herself ask. The duchess arched a manicured eyebrow. 

Close to her grandmother, Manuela inherited a parcel of land after her death, a parcel that they discussed being used for an art school or collective for women as Manuela is an artist. This parcel turns out to be highly valuable as it’s the missing piece for a railroad company to complete their track. The company is led by Cora Kemp-Bristol, Duchess of Sundridge. Cora has been in Paris for years with her stepson and tía, after leaving London in scandal. Missing her husband, who while not her lover, was her bestfriend, Cora fell prey to a woman using her for her own gain. Determined to never be used again and build an empire that will never have anyone daring to snub her stepson when he returns to London to take his place as Duke, Cora just needs this parcel of land to complete the railroad and show her male business partners that she deserves a seat at the table. When Manuela accepts Cora’s business invitation, they are both shocked to realize they’ve already met. If you’ve read book one, you’ll know all about the Le Bureau (a brothel) and here, readers learn what Manuela got up to there. 

That was the precise moment it dawned on Cora with unequivocal certainty that Manuela Caceres Galvan could wreak absolute havoc on her life. 

Realizing that Cora has the connections to get into the spaces and introduce her to the women she wants to be around, not to mention the sizzling attraction between them, Manuela makes a deal that Cora must chaperone her on a certain number of outings, along with purchasing the land for a large sum of money. Cora agrees because she needs the land but plans on showing Manuela a boring time as she can’t risk her reputation. What followed was a character driven story that was passionate and sensual, delivered on the historical feel, and delved into the heart of feminism. 

“You deserve more than what you’ve been told you can have.” 

Manuela started off willing to sacrifice for her spendthrift parents, as it was the only kind of life she could imagine but as she spends time in Paris, her world view opens up and with the help of Aurora and then Cora, because she sees a different option, she begins to believe in one and develops the strength to reach for it. I liked how the author showed this evolution of Manuela and had her deliver this: “I don’t need protection from the opinions of morally bankrupt people. Not from the men willing to ravage anything in their path to feed their greed, and not from the women who turn a blind eye to it to protect themselves.” Suddenly everything that had always felt so nebulous for Manuela, about her life, her purpose, seemed to come into perfect clarity. “I was going to be one of those women. My mother has been one for so long she can’t see she’s bartered herself away in the process. But that is not what I want. We don’t have to be pawns in this game anymore, Cora.”. 
Cora’s struggle was more about letting go of indoctrinated desires and anger, hurt payback wants. Cora has been punished for who she is and who she wants to love, making her want to succeed in a structure that wants and works to keep her out. I enjoyed Cora’s journey even more as the twisted emotions of wanting to succeed in the world but also doing it on your own terms, had to be battled out by her. Her speech was shorter but just as sweet with delivering this line: “I am done measuring my success with a ruler that was made to strike me down.” 

Cora Kemp-Bristol, the unflappable Duchess of Sundridge, the woman who had challenged every convention and won, was coming apart at the seams. 

The sensuality between the two was from the beginning and around halfway the bedroom door got opened. The latter second half rushes the timeline a bit with some time jumps, we get our third act break-up moment with Manuela’s parents and fiancé making an appearance, and Cora taking a misstep before taking a stand on what she won’t compromise anymore and will stand for. The hero from book one half-brother, Apollo, shows up and gets some screen time as he looks poised to be paired with our last Léonas, Aurora. While I missed the Las Léonas being together more, Aurora had a sweet friendship moment with Manuela: “This place is for pleasure, that is true, but mostly it’s for women who don’t have a place to be themselves to do so. It’s their haven, their safe place. Above all things, I want the world to be safe for us. These women can nurture a part of you that Luz Alana and I never could, and I am glad that you’ve found a community that can. I want that for you, Leona. A place where you can be your wildest, most Manuela self.” 

Dios, but she loved this woman. 

The first had more travel and setting up the friend group while this stayed in Paris and focused on the sensuality and emotional toll and gain of what it would mean for Manuela and Cora to be together. The historical contexts and setting additives (Exposition Universelle and, I just knew Flora Tristan was going to get a shout-out in this series!) added to the real struggle of falling in love and what living their lives on their own terms would look like for Manuela and Cora. Sensual, fierce, living life on your terms, An Island Princess Starts a Scandal was a marvelous story.

Monday, April 10, 2023

Reading Update: Page 1

 


You know the drill, after holiday dessert for breakfast! My first attempt at making macarons; I'm counting it as a win. 

So excited for this second in the Las Léonas series. The first brought the historical vibes, traveling, and heat. 

Manuela is giving herself one last summer of freedom before trapped into marriage. Cora, Duchess of Sundridge sees a chance against her rivals but needs Manuela to sell her some land. 

A tempting offer, a proposed trade, leads to passion and scandal. 




My first time using emulsion and you can just call me a zealot now, way more flavorful than extract.

Review: For the Love of Brigid

For the Love of Brigid For the Love of Brigid by Nanette Littlestone
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. 

The Andrew Connally in my library. 
And with such a mystery. 

Brigid inherited her great-grandmother's house, with half of the house dedicated to a library, Brigid loves when she can read for children's story time. However, her dream is to write an adult novel, but she's struggling with getting her leads to feel the emotion. When a famous writer shows up on her doorstep, talking about a legend connected to her family that he wants to research, she agrees to help if he will give her writing lessons. A trip to Ireland, family drama, magic, and a surprise romance will shake up Brigid's quiet life. 

Maybe it's less about the words and more about the emotion. 

Told in present tense, first person point-of-views from Brigid and Andrew, you're going to have to enjoy being in characters' heads. With a cozy, Hallmark tone, Brigid is thirty and thinking as a more quiet, less flashy woman, she'll never attract or find romance. It came close to being “not like other woman” with how wallflower Brigid was compared to how other woman use their feminine wiles but that, thankfully, stayed more in the first half. There was also a lot meta going on with Brigid talking about criticism of the writing of her own book. Andrew showing up unannounced at Brigid's library/house felt forced as who would invite a stranger (even a famous author) into their home at night but Brigid “instantly felt comfortable” around him, which is the vibe you're going to have to go along with to embrace their romance. 

“Follow your heat, love. Always follow your heart.” 

Brigid knows/thinks Andrew has a fiancee (readers know the truth from Andrew's pov), so she tries to tamper her feelings but as they spend more time together, she can't help feeling more attracted to him. The plot of Andrew having a legend he wanted to research for his book that involved a family member of Brigid's, shakily worked. There was some ominous beginning with Andrew povs leading the reader to think it was all a lie that could come back and hurt Brigid but around 30% they were off to Ireland and that part kind of disappeared in favor of some family strife with Brigid, a lost memory of hers, and some possible magic. I'm not sure all these elements cohesively fit as they felt introduced and then not really followed through. 

“Ta mo chroi istigh ionat,” he says in Irish. 

Their instant feeling comfortable around each other connection has both internally admitting they love the other and we do get declarations but circumstances work against both. Brigid's confession loses against Andrew's dedication to work and Andrew's against his agent, as the “fiancee” appears and Brigid has a complete stonewall response to listening or trusting Andrew. The later half has Andrew working to write his book, Brigid continuing her stonewalling for four months, and then a grand gesture from Andrew. This was sweet, cozy, not quite cohesive elements, a main male character really putting himself out there for a woman he basically spent a week of time with and then no communication for four months, and for the Hallmark tone crowd.

Saturday, April 8, 2023

Reading Update: Page 1

 



I know it's not March anymore, but for an Irish romance, I had to break out the Guinness 🍀 

Brigid is a shy librarian trying to write a novel. A famous mystery writer wants to research an Irish legend related to her family. Brigid finds herself comfortable around him and feelings start to develop, but he's engaged. 

Andrew needs to have this book succeed after some failures and when Brigid invites him to Ireland, he definitely wants to go. 

Legend, secrets, and love! 




Review: My Heart Will Find You: A Novel

My Heart Will Find You: A Novel My Heart Will Find You: A Novel by Jude Deveraux
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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

For the first time, Etta realized the seriousness of what was happening. 

Etta is in Kansas City when a global pandemic hits and finds herself stranded as people and states shut their doors in fear. Walking through a neighborhood on a way to try another hotel, a kind older gentleman offers her a place to stay, and his son in Denver begs her to be his new caretaker over the phone. Getting a good vibe from the man and out of options, Etta stays. While the current world is at a standstill, Etta goes on an incredible journey. 

Would she dream again? 

My Heart Will Find You was a time travel story that had some Wizard of Oz to it. The beginning introduces us to Etta and how when her mother died, she became the family's new caretaker. At one point Etta, her father, sister, and sister's husband all lived in the same house. As Etta's sister moved out a little while go, Etta is missing being in charge of everything, so it's a time of transition. When Etta ends up at the kind older gentleman's house, Henry, a few more characters are thrown at us as we get a look at Henry's life; the son Ben lives in Denver with his wife, who is going into labor, Freddy, the woman who gives vegetables to her neighbors, Sally the singing neighbor, and a few others. It was a good amount of characters to get to know and when Etta falls asleep only to have an incredibly vivid dream of being a mail order bride in 1871 Kansas, the contemporary characters we just meet, all end up in her dream world, but with different names. 

“Etta,” Henry said slowly, “I've written many books about the Old West, but I've never heard of anyone named Wyatt Earp.” 

Etta shares her dream with Henry and, as a historian who has written many books on the American West, he's intrigued with the actual history and connections he is recognizing from Etta's retelling. After a few nights of sleeping, Etta suddenly finds herself again in the dream world. She gets to know her new husband, Max, the second biggest landowner in Kansas, Max's sister Alice, who is Etta's sister Alicia in her “real” world, and some of the townspeople. Etta begins to think that she is being sent back in time to help the people she recognizes from her real world, recognizing Alicia as Alice, has her knowing that Alice should be matched up with the blacksmith, because he is Alicia's husband in Etta's contemporary world. Etta repeats this match making and it was a lot of the two people being introduced and instantly falling for each other. 

Even in dreams, she took over other people's lives. 

Talking with Henry after a dream, Etta realizes that what she does in the past, can alter the future, she ends up having to make sure Wyatt Earp escapes in the past so that the future will know his name. This has Etta realizing they aren't simply dreams she's having and she begins to think that she has to set everyone's lives right in the past, that she recognizes from her contemporary world. This doesn't leave much room for the romance between Etta and Max to develop, they end up just kind of “I love you” later in the story. Their first under the stars scene (bedroom scene) was a one line and though they get intimate again, those get extended to a paragraph, at most. The emotionally and physically the romance just wasn't there for me in this one. 

“I'm afraid I'll be taken from you.” 
He didn't ask what that meant, but then, he was growing used to the odd things she said. “If you are, then you'll just have to find me. I'll wait for you forever.” 

After setting things to rights the way she thought would make everyone happy and realizing she loved Max, Etta learns that Henry was keeping a secret from her. The ending introduces a new character in the contemporary world and if you've read A Knight in Shining Armor, well, you're in for a similar ending. The concept was interesting with the Wizard of Oz aspect of “and you were there and you were there!”, even though the first half was somewhat of a jumble of names but the romance wasn't there for me. I do hope that someone out there got to escape the first months of Covid by time traveling and finding love, this story was nice fanciful thought to that.

Tuesday, April 4, 2023

Reading Update: Page 1

 



Good morning 🌞 

I was rewatching True Blood and when Tara wanted hoe cakes for her birthday, my partner looked up what those were and turned to me to say we had to try them immediately 😂 

So, hoe cakes (cornbread pancakes!!) and a new Deveraux (!!) 
🥞📖 

Etta is stranded in Kansas City in the early days of a global pandemic and finds a job as a caretaker. Taking a book from the library, Etta gets engrossed in historical accounts of life in the 1870s Midwest. 

Suddenly, Etta is having dreams she's a mail-order bride and married to a handsome but guarded (sucker for this combo) rancher, Maxwell. 

Reality and fantasy start blurring, and Etta has choices to make. 




(Loved this! I drizzled honey on mine)

Monday, April 3, 2023

Review: The Enchanted Hacienda

The Enchanted Hacienda The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

3.7 stars 

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

It’s seven fifteen on a Thursday, and I’ve lost my dream job, and an unworthy boyfriend, and the apartment that comes along with him, and worst of all, maybe even myself along the way. 

Harlow was just let go from her job as a book editor due to cut backs and when she overhears her boyfriend saying a snide remark about her, she throws her drink in his face and decides it’s time to leave New York City and go home to the Estrada family farm in Mexico. For four generations the Estrada women have been running the flower farm, using the magic gifted to them from the Aztec goddess Mayahuel to infuse the flowers with magic. Each woman in Harlow’s family has their own brand of magic, except for her, the only one not named for a flower. Back home, she gets left with the responsibility of the farm, meets a man that finally has her feeling alive, and starts to think that she might just have her own brand of magic. 

“I want to find the better and truer way,” I whisper. 

Told all in Harlow’s first person pov, The Enchanted Hacienda was a story of coming from a loving family but still feeling like an outsider, finding and learning to believe in yourself, and trusting in love. A lot of have compared this to Encanto (Disney movie) but I haven’t seen it, I will say this had some Practical Magic movie vibes. Harlow, coming home and helped by her mother, tía, two sisters, and cousins in the beginning created a warm loving atmosphere but halfway through they leave the immediate picture and Harlow has to work things out on her own, while Ben comes into the picture. A chance meeting at a café has Harlow and Ben sparking off each other and then it’s clear, with their other chance meetings, that the universe and magic are invested in getting these two together. 

For once I don’t want to choose safe. It always leads to the same outcome: a belief that good is enough. 

While this is mostly Harlow’s story of finding herself, Ben plays a big part of that in the second half and we get more of a romance plot than I was expecting. They were are turns cute and sparking with their shy approaching and flirting. It was clear that Ben liked Harlow but without his point-of-view, the romance was more lopsided with it being more about Harlow. As they grow closer together, the angst comes in the latter second half when Harlow discovers that magic may be playing a conniving part in their relationship and her trust issues has her fearing their feelings might not be completely real. However, as Harlow comes into her magic and self, trust builds and we get a sweet ending HEA. 

With a half sigh, half groan, he presses his forehead to mine. “Truth?” 
I nod. 
“I think I’m in a lot of trouble.” 

This wasn’t quite an ensemble story, Harlow is always front and center, but the author brings readers into a world full of characters that they are going to love and want to get their own stories. There will always be the grounding spot, foundation of the Estrada family flower farm with Harlow’s mother and tía and I can see Harlow’s two sisters, Camilla and Lily, her cousins Dahlia and Lantana, and her bestfriend Laini visiting and then starting off the journey to their own books. This was more character driven, the magical realism world was contained to flowers and bouquets infused with magic and spell that played, for the most part, to the side. I liked how through Harlow’s journey to find herself we get the history of how the Estrada family has this magic, giving some world-setting. With the world set and the other women having lived with their magic longer, I can see their books having more magic in them.

It was all magic. 

Harlow’s journey to finding and believing in herself, coming into her own magic, and learning to trust in her love with Ben, will sweep you away with its sweet and spark. If you like to make midnight margaritas, then you need to visit the Estrada family farm.