Always Reading

Sixteen-year-old Nixie sucks at being the daughter of a cult-leader. Forbidden to leave the beached boat where her father, his three wives, and their twenty followers pretend to have created Utopia, Nixie stares at the distant shoreline with a hunger deeper than the ocean itself. A hunger for a normal life—high school, college, and beyond.

When Crew nearly drowns during a party on their beach, Nixie plunges into the ocean—and fierce rebellion against her father—to save him. As the two explore the strangeness of each other’s worlds in stolen moments on dry land, they’re caught up in a whirlwind of intensifying feelings.

Rebellion’s easy when you focus on what you hope to gain. It’s a million times harder when you realize what you stand to lose.

Review:

Ah, what a shame, what a shame... Such a beautiful title and cover, such an interesting-sounding premise but ultimately a very forgettable and disappointing book.

I really had high hopes for this, I find the topic of cults quite fascinating and frighteningly, they're an even more relevant topic these days than they really ought to be in 2022, but this book did nothing to explore the topic.

This was not so much about a girl brought up sheltered and unaware in a terrible cult, not realising just how strange or strict her way of life was until an outsider showed up - which is what I thought and what would have been more interesting to read - as it was about a girl brought up fully aware of the weirdness of her living situation and of the real world, who's a bit bored. I feel missold.

Nixie was not particularly likeable. I struggled to find any reason Crew would have been so enamoured with her. Her characterisation was puddle-deep and she made erratic swings, particularly near the end. The ending was just bad, bad, bad. I was rolling my eyes hard by that point.

I think this book's main problem was how surface-level everything felt. Shallow characters, slim to no plot and nothing of interest explored.

So yep, this was not very good and I don't recommend it.

2 stars ★★

ARC reviewed in exchange for an honest review

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover comes a novel that explores life after tragedy and the enduring spirit of love.

When Leeds meets Layla, he’s convinced he’ll spend the rest of his life with her—until an unexpected attack leaves Layla fighting for her life. After weeks in the hospital, Layla recovers physically, but the emotional and mental scarring has altered the woman Leeds fell in love with. In order to put their relationship back on track, Leeds whisks Layla away to the bed-and-breakfast where they first met. Once they arrive, Layla’s behavior takes a bizarre turn. And that’s just one of many inexplicable occurrences.

Feeling distant from Layla, Leeds soon finds solace in Willow—another guest of the B&B with whom he forms a connection through their shared concerns. As his curiosity for Willow grows, his decision to help her find answers puts him in direct conflict with Layla’s well-being. Leeds soon realizes he has to make a choice because he can’t help both of them. But if he makes the wrong choice, it could be detrimental for all of them.

Review:

Whew, well I'm almost relieved to have finished this one unscathed. When I went to check out what my Goodreads buddies had rated it before I started there was everything from 1-star reviews to 5 stars so I just didn't know where I'd end up at.

I think a lot of CoHo fans might have been a bit non-plussed with the genre shift as well so that could explain the wildly varied ratings. It hasn't given much away in the blurb so I won't either, but just to say this isn't your typical CoHo rip-your-heart-out-and-stomp-on-it contemporary romance, there's a very definite twist.

Also, it's entirely from the male character's point of view which I think is also unusual for her. I don't claim to be an expert on Colleen Hoover at all, I've only read 3 or 4, but it was definitely a different type of story than I was expecting.

So did I like it? Ehhhhhmmmmmm... kinda? I feel like I've definitely read better books in this genre and I felt a little restrained only being in Leed's head although I fully understand the reasoning for that in the story. The last 20% of the book was a nice twist I didn't see coming. But, honestly, when I grab a book by Hoover I want waayyy more romance than this so... eh. I give it a wishy-washy 3 stars.

★★★

Mated werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham must discover what could make an entire community disappear — before it's too late — in this thrilling entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling Alpha and Omega series.

In the wilds of the Northern California mountains, all the inhabitants of a small town have gone missing. It's as if the people picked up and left everything they owned behind. Fearing something supernatural might be going on, the FBI taps a source they've consulted in the past: the werewolves Charles Cornick and Anna Latham. But Charles and Anna soon find a deserted town is the least of the mysteries they face.

Death sings in the forest, and when it calls, Charles and Anna must answer. Something has awakened in the heart of the California mountains, something old and dangerous — and it has met werewolves before.

Review:

Well, just a few months into the year and I'm already way behind on my reading challenge for 2022 which irks me no end. Mostly because I did what I swore I wouldn't do this time around in my reviewing journey and committed to way too many review books that determine my reading order and make me not want to read at all because I can't read according to my mood I have to go by publishing dates.

Grr!

And in the spirit of grossly over-committing myself, I agreed to read this book which is number 6 in the Alpha and Omega series by Patricia Briggs. Admittedly one of my favourite authors. It meant, however, that I had some serious reading to do just to get to this book. I'd read the first 3 instalments 10 years ago so I felt that I definitely needed to re-read them to refresh my memory before picking up books 4, 5 & 6.

So...how was book 6? Actually one of the better ones, I would say. It features, quite heavily, the backstory of a character you probably don't think much about within the series, and if you do, those thoughts aren't likely to be very favourable - Leah, Bran's mate. We got some very interesting details about how she became a wolf and became Bran's mate and wife. And also, perhaps, why she is the way she is. Prickly, unfriendly and unlikeable.

She's not the focus, however. That, as always, is married super-couple Charles and Anna. They're tasked with looking into some missing people on land owned by Leah for centuries. Land they'd all but forgotten about. When they get there they are led on a merry chase through a well-penned magical mystery culminating in several exciting happenings in the last few pages! For this reason alone this instalment is unskippable for fans of the series and the original Mercy Thompson series it belongs to.

A great addition to the series.

4 stars ★★★★ ARC received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Original Title: Wild Sign

ASIN: B08C32FJP7

Edition Language: English

Series: Alpha & Omega #6, Mercy Thompson World #18

New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter delivers The Immortal, the second dark and sexy book in her Rise of the Warlords series, featuring the son of a war god and stubborn harpy forced to relive the same day over and over.

Halo Phaninon, assassin of gods, is as cold and merciless as a machine. For victory, he crosses any line. When tasked to kill twelve of mythology’s fiercest monsters in twenty-four hours, Halo eagerly accepts. Except, each morning he awakens to the same day, forced to relive new horrors. Only one other person retains their memory—the beauty who threatens his iron control.

Ophelia the Flunk Out hates her disaster of a life. She’s the family disappointment, a harpy warrior without a kill and powerless—or is she? Nearly every night she’s doomed to repeat her own murder, but each morning she arises to spar with Halo, the ruthless warlord increasingly determined to save her…and lure her to his bed.

Halo’s insatiable desire for the stubborn Ophelia drives him wild…and he only craves more. If he remains in the time loop, they stay together. But if he escapes, they lose each other forever.

Review:

Gena Showalter's Rise of the Warlords series continues with "The Immortal." If you want to gain a full understanding of the world and the larger story at play here, I recommend reading the first book in the series, The Warlord, as much of the set-up for the series is explained there. But as briefly as possible, there's a group of 9 super-duper-immortal beings called the Astra Planeta, led by Roc (book one's hero), who each have to complete a ritual/task/quest thingy in order to achieve ~~6 more weeks of winter~~ 500 more years of success on the battlefield. If they fail, they are cursed with 500 years of loss.

And wouldn't you know it, each one's task is derailed by the appearance of their fated female, and the warriors have to somehow find a way to keep their girl but also complete their task because if even one of the Astras fails to complete theirs, everyone automatically fails!

So no pressure.

I really liked Halo and Ophelia as a couple, and the storyline of the repeating day and the 12 Herculean challenges was super fun. I liked Ophelia's banter mixed with Halo's stoicism. Like day and night, hot and cold - it was funny.

And of course, with Ophelia being half nymph it didn't take long for her to warm Halo up!

Overall, this was really enjoyable. I maybe wouldn't recommend reading two of these books directly back-to-back like I did as you definitely notice the formula more starkly, but I'm interested to read the rest and see how the other 7 Astras each find their fated female.⁠
⁠
I'm going to give this one 4 stars. ⁠

★★★★

ARC was received by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

New Year’s Resolution:

Have a baby
Preferably with Josh Lewenthal

Meet Gemma Jacobs. She’s driven, energetic, and a positive thinker. She has a great career working for famed self-help guru Ian Fortune, she lives in a cute studio apartment in Manhattan, and her family is supportive and loving (albeit a little kooky). Her life is perfect. Absolutely wonderful.
Except for one tiny little thing.

After a decade of disastrous relationships and an infertility diagnosis, Gemma doesn’t want a Mr. Right (or even a Mr. Right Now), she just wants a baby.

And all she needs is an egg, some sperm, and IVF.

So Gemma makes a New Year’s resolution: have a baby.

Josh Lewenthal is a laid back, relaxed, find-the-humor-in-life kind of guy. The polar opposite of Gemma. He’s also her brother’s best friend. For the past twenty years Josh has attended every Jacobs’ family birthday, holiday, and event – he’s always around.

Gemma knows him. He’s nice (enough), he’s funny (-ish), he’s healthy (she thinks) and he didn’t burn any ants with a magnifying glass as a kid. Which, in Gemma’s mind, makes him the perfect option for a sperm donor.

So Gemma wants to make a deal. An unemotional, businesslike arrangement. No commitments, just a baby.

To Gemma’s surprise, Josh agrees.

They have nothing in common, except their agreement to make a baby and their desire to keep things businesslike.

But the thing about baby-making…it’s hard to keep it businesslike, it’s nearly impossible to keep it unemotional, and it’s definitely impossible to keep your heart out of the mix. Because when you’re making a baby together, things have a way of starting to feel like you’re making other things too – like a life, and a family, and love. And when the baby-making ends, you wish that everything else didn’t have to end too.

Review:

What an utterly sweet read! This was so enjoyable. It was fun but then it sucker-punched me too and had me ugly crying (quietly) at two in the morning, trying not to wake my husband up.

The story follows Gemma; a witty, likeable 32-year-old who's getting a little sick of her mother's attempts to set her up with a new date at each family function.

And they're getting older, too. Since Gemma discovered during her first marriage in her early twenties that she had endometriosis and wouldn't be able to conceive naturally, and since she's now in her 30's and still single, her well-meaning but misguided mother is of the opinion that she needs to set her up with older men who have already had, or just never wanted, children.

Gemma, on the other hand, ain't having none of it. She's taking matters into her own hands. After all, she doesn't have to be in a relationship to have a baby. She can try to conceive through IVF, she just needs a little something from someone and decides she knows just who to ask.

Josh is described as a laid back, relaxed, find-the-humour-in-life kind of guy. At first, we only have Gemma's description of his character to go off. She's known him most of her life, made her mind up about him years ago, and hasn't really paid attention since.

It got a little bit frustrating at times to see how blind Gemma was about not just Josh's character, but other things too. I guess in some ways it's fun to be more in the know as the reader than the characters themselves but Jiminy Crickets! Open your eyes, Gem!

My only other criticism is some of the scenes felt a little slapstick in their attempts to make me laugh. I already found both main characters funny, I didn't need the physical comedy. So this is the only reason it wasn't 5 stars for me as otherwise I really, really liked it.

I feel like people who loved The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez, or heck, even good ol' Bridget Jones by Helen Fielding, would really enjoy this book.

Hope it makes you ugly cry, too (in a good way).

4 Stars ★★★★

ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I am Maia Delacroix and I hunt people and relics. My life does not lack excitement or danger. I have it in spades.

Then the Mageri surprised me with an orphan...yes, an orphan. I can’t even keep a house plant alive, let alone a kid. It turns out that I’m her only living relative, and even though we’ve never met, I’m her only hope. Great. Can I feed her after midnight? What does she eat? I have no idea what I’m doing.

They tell me this little witchling will need care for a few years until she comes of age. The bizarre fire leaking out of Elaina’s hands is a pretty good indicator that she is no witch.

Then the coven comes—they want her back. Necromancers show up, turning my vampire friends into enemies. If that isn’t bad enough, I have a demon problem now too.

Join me, and see if we can make it out alive!

Review:

A very promising start to a new Urban Fantasy series

This was great. I think I've read (or at least started reading) every Urban Fantasy series on the planet at this point and am pleased to report I have a very good feeling about where this series could end up once we're a few more books in.

It follows perennially 25-year-old bounty hunter and mage, Maia, who's somehow both well-liked and a bit of a loner. Maia is abruptly summoned before the Mageri and informed that she has a young relative who's been recently orphaned. Maia has not kept track of her mortal family since her transformation to a mage some 30-odd years ago and had no idea 15-year-old witchling Elaina existed.

Talk about a turn up for the books...

I loved the fledgling relationship between Maia and Elaina. Maia definitely gives off cool aunt vibes rather than anything parental. I was getting flashes of familiarity in a good way to a couple of other series I love where there's a teenage character and that sort of mentor-mentee relationship. They can be very rewarding to read and I can't wait to see more of this as the series goes on.

Elaina, quite naturally, has a few issues in this book. She's a teenager, for one. I mean, need I say more? But she's also just lost her mother, been dumped with a stranger who doesn't even have food in her fridge and has some rather unsettling powers that don't seem to gel with her status as a teenage witch.

I thought Maia handled everything Elaina threw at her with way more chill than I would have. I liked the way she talked to Elaina right off the bat as an equal and a friend. Maia's character is pretty laid-back despite being a kick-ass bounty hunter. She strikes me as someone who only chooses violence when she has to. She's a naturally caring and protective person and she's made a name for herself as someone trustworthy and decent among the many different supernatural breeds she comes into contact with and has some friends in high places because of it.

Now, there wasn't any romance in this book at all, but... don't think I don't see what you're up to, Kim.

I know what you're doing and where you're going but I'm willing to play along. After all, I love a sloooooow burn. ;)

The plot was shared between a couple of different mysteries as well as establishing some worldbuilding and the characters, of course. Quite a busy little book but I thought it all balanced out beautifully. I'm looking forward to being able to delve deeper into the characters and relationships and for a more in-depth mystery in future books that don't have quite so much groundwork to take care of.

I think if you like series such as Shannon Mayer's Rylee Adamson series or The Beginner's Guide to Necromancy series by Hailey Edwards, then I have a strong suspicion you may like this one also. It's early days yet to know if it will reach such levels of awesomeness, but it's looking good.

4 Stars ★★★★
ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Title

Blood and Fire by Kim Mullican
ISBN13
9781942632382
Edition Language
English
Series
Alpha and Omega #1

Secrets don’t stay buried forever.

After surviving a brutal attack by a deranged fellow employee, Jorja Knight is eager to start life over as a private investigator. Her first big challenge—shed expectations that things will turn out badly—or fatally. Her second challenge—find Johnnie Gorwitz.

Zosia Gorwitz escaped the horrors of WWII but not the guilt that comes with harboring a family secret. When new information surfaces that a nephew may have also survived, she hires Jorja, who harbors her own family secrets, to track him down. Jorja finds someone who seems to fit the bill, but something’s wrong.

Johnnie Gorwitz’s street buddies claim he’s gone missing, along with other of their pals. They know more but are afraid to talk. When another of their buddies goes missing, and a man known to Johnnie turns up dead, Jorja knows she’s backed into something deeper and deadlier than she ever imagined. Now someone wants her and her street informants dead.

Review:

This was a gently-paced private investigator mystery debut and, although I did absolutely love it, it was a very pleasant way to pass a few hours.

Newly-minted private investigator, Jorja Knight, has a fledgeling PI business and about $600 dollars to her name when she's approached by a very well-off friend of a friend in her 80s looking to find the family members she lost track of when they fled the horrors of WWII decades ago.

The information provided sets Jorja off on a seemingly simple and straightforward search that, honestly was mostly completed on Google. But there's much more to the story and pretty soon, Jorja is hunting for answers that were not on her initial to-do list, and paying for them out of her own dwindling funds. Before long, Jorja is doubting herself, her skills and whether or not she's finally lost the plot, but she can't seem to stop until she has the answers she needs.

This is Alice Bienia's debut novel and will be kicking off her Jorja Knight series. There is potential for character growth here and did I maybe see the tiniest (and my god I do mean tiniest) hint of a potential future love interest? Honestly, it was so small I could be wrong but if it had been a little more obvious it probably would have been enough to have me decide I'll definitely pick up the next one. As it is, I could probably take it or leave it.

Jorja's characterisation was very muted. I found her smart and intelligent, despite her own doubts at times, but other than that I don't feel as though I truly got to know her very well in this book.

In general, I found the book a little bit too putdownable for me; the pacing too slow, too much driving around not doing much. It took too long for that first hook of the mystery to sink into you, and then the climactic ending could have been SO much bigger and more exciting.

The writing itself was the best thing about the book for me, and what makes me not want to give up on this series entirely quite yet...

Standing in my Wonder Woman pose I stared into the mirror, unflinching eyes stared steadily back. I got myself into this situation, I’d get myself out. With my mojo somewhat restored, I locked up and strode to the elevator, hardly recognizing the put-together woman in the mirrored elevator doors. I reminded myself success didn’t come in a straight line. Ask any successful person and they’d tell you they suffered many setbacks along the way. The trick is to not let one of those setbacks stop you. Say… like getting killed.

I'd recommend this book to mystery fans who don't mind a lack of action (or perhaps don't even like action scenes) in their mysteries, to fans of PI sleuth tales, cosy mysteries and slow to steady-paced books.

3 Stars ★★★
ARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.