Week 16 Review: Crashing the A-List

From Goodreads:
She's doing all the wrong things for all the right reasons.

After four months of unemployment, former book editor Clara Montgomery is officially stuck—stuck sleeping on her little brother's ugly couch in Queens, stuck scrolling through job listings in search of a new editorial position…and just desperate enough to take on a temporary gig clearing out abandoned storage units. If nothing else, she's determined to keep her rapidly dwindling savings account intact.

Unfortunately, she is in no way prepared for stumbling upon dead snakes or dealing with glass jars that she's convinced are full of pickled eyeballs. And why does everything seem to smell like beets?

Then Clara comes across a unit that was once owned by an escort service and finds the brothel "résumé" of a younger Caspian Tiddleswich, an astonishingly famous British actor. She has no intention of cashing in on her discovery, but her awkward attempts to reassure Caspian that his secret is safe go awry. Now Caspian is convinced that Clara is a blackmailer, the tabloids have her pegged as Caspian's newest girlfriend…and Clara begins to find the A-lister's charms more irresistible than she expected.

My Review:
This book was a lot of fun to read! I just had to read it, because hey, it's about a editor down on her luck and a popular actor! How could I not read it? And it was pretty hilarious, from her reactions to what she finds in the various units to the series of events that led to them fake dating!

This book was a roller coaster of emotions for both Clara and for me. Without a job and living on her brother's couch, working at the storage unit, discovering the information about Caspian, the disastrous first encounter they had, all the faked dates...yeah, a lot happened in that month that was emotional and stressful!

I'm not sure if it was a red herring, but I had suspicions about her friend. She really egged Clara on about finding dirt on somebody, she always had time to go help out at the storage units even though she had a job...I almost thought that she had lost her job and had hidden it from Clara, and was going to be a bad guy or something. Nope, just a very lucky and good friend!

My one complaint is that Caspian seemed a little bit too good to be true. Famous, good looking, and a good personality, once she really got to know him. Kind to his fans, and he just happened to fall in love with Clara even through the circumstances of their initial interactions were very hostile. Yeah.

Yeah, this book was a really fantastic book, and I have to check out Summer Heacock's other book!

Author: Summer Heacock
Read: April 19th, 2019
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a SAC 2019 Book and a Sophomore Challenge Book!
Publisher: Mira
Expected Publication: July 2nd 2019

5/5 Hearts

4/5 Books

4.5/5 Stars

Week 16 Review: The Boy is Back

From Goodreads:
From New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot comes the sweetly humorous story of a man who has to face his past in order to find his future.

Sometimes to move forward, you have to go back…

One post. That's all it took to destroy the care free, glamorous life of pro golfer Reed Stewart. One tiny post on the Internet. 

Then again, it's not like Reed’s been winning many tournaments lately, and his uncle isn't the only one who says it's because of the unfinished business he left behind back home in Bloomville, Indiana—namely Reed's father, the Honorable Judge Richard P. Stewart, and the only girl Reed ever loved, Becky Flowers.

But Reed hasn't spoken to either his father or Becky in over a decade. 

Until that post on the Internet. Suddenly, Reed's family has become a national laughingstock, his publicist won't stop calling, his siblings are begging for help, and Reed realizes he has no other choice: He's got to go home to face his past . . . the Judge and the girl he left behind.

Becky's worked hard to build her successful senior relocation business, but she's worked even harder to forget Reed Stewart ever existed—which hasn't been easy, considering he's their hometown's golden boy, and all anyone ever talks about. It was fine while they were thousands of miles apart, but now he's back in Bloomville. She has absolutely no intention of seeing him—until his family hires her to help save his parents.

Now Reed and Becky can't avoid one another…or the memories of that one fateful night.

Can the quirky residents of Bloomville bring these two young people back together, or will Reed and Becky continue to allow their pasts to deny them the future they deserve?

This warm, thought-provoking book, told entirely in texts, emails, and journal entries, is as much about the enduring bond of families as it is about second chances at love, and will delight as much as it entertains.

My first review of The Boy is Back
My Review:
This book was a lot of fun to read! I mean, I've read it before and I knew it was really great, which was a big reason why I decided to reread it. It's been about 3 years, and I've been reading some more newer books that I've enjoyed, and this book fit the bill!

The way this book was told was the same as in previous ones, by texts and emails, but it also was updated a bit, because there were online chats and that kind of thing. Which is more real time than even texting, usually, at least in my limited experience!

There were so many amazing bits in this book. Like the blessie sticks. Or how Becky's boyfriend was called the lumbersexual. Or the interactions between the Stewart siblings and spouses! Those were pretty hilarious, I think Carly and Marshall were really awesome!

I didn't quite remember what happened in this book, so I think it was some combination of memory and picking up on the clues, but yeah, the bit about Trimble, I kinda guessed that she was the one who took advantage of her parents.

Yeah, this book was really fantastic, and I wouldn't mind having more in this series!

Author: Meg Cabot
Series: Boy #4
First Read: September 30th, 2016
Read: April 16th, 2019
Source: Own
Reason Why: Rereading! And it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Book!
Publisher: William Morrow
Published: October 18th 2016

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Week 16 Reviews: Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses, One Salt Sea, Ashes of Honor, Chimes at Midnight, Full of Briars, The Winter Long, Night and Silence, Suffer a Sea-Change

From Goodreads:
The world of Faerie never disappeared: it merely went into hiding, continuing to exist parallel to our own. Secrecy is the key to Faerie's survival—but no secret can be kept forever, and when the fae and mortal worlds collide, changelings are born. Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, these second-class children of Faerie spend their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Or, in the case of October "Toby" Daye, rejecting it completely. After getting burned by both sides of her heritage, Toby has denied the fae world, retreating into a "normal" life. Unfortunately for her, Faerie has other ideas.

The murder of Countess Evening Winterrose, one of the secret regents of the San Francisco Bay Area, pulls Toby back into the fae world. Unable to resist Evening's dying curse, which binds her to investigate, Toby is forced to resume her old position as knight errant to the Duke of Shadowed Hills and begin renewing old alliances that may prove her only hope of solving the mystery...before the curse catches up with her.

From Goodreads:
October "Toby" Daye is a changeling, the daughter of Amandine of the fae and a mortal man. Like her mother, she is gifted in blood magic, able to read what has happened to a person through a mere taste of blood. 

Half-human, half-fae, outsiders from birth, most changelings are second-class children of Faerie spending their lives fighting for the respect of their immortal relations. Toby is the only changeling who has earned knighthood, and she re-earns that position every day, undertaking assignments for her liege, Sylvester, the Duke of the Shadowed Hills.

Now Sylvester has asked her to go to the County of Tamed Lightning — otherwise known as Fremont, CA — to make sure that all is well with his niece, Countess January O'Leary, whom he has not been able to contact. It seems like a simple enough assignment — but when dealing with the realm of Faerie nothing is ever as simple as it seems. January runs a company that produces computer fantasy games, and her domain is a buffer between Sylvester's realm and a rival duchy whose ruler is looking for an opportunity to seize control. And that is the least of January's problems. For Tamed Lightning has somehow been cut off from the other domains, and now someone has begun to murder January's key people. If Toby can't find and stop the killer soon, she may well become the next victim….

From Goodreads:
Experience the thrill of the hunt in the third October Daye urban fantasy novel. 

October "Toby" Daye is a changeling-half human and half fae-and the only one who has earned knighthood. Now she must take on a nightmarish new challenge. Someone is stealing the children of the fae as well as mortal children, and all signs point to Blind Michael. Toby has no choice but to track the villain down-even when there are only three magical roads by which to reach Blind Michael's realm, home of the Wild Hunt-and no road may be taken more than once. If Toby cannot escape with the children, she will fall prey to the Wild Hunt and Blind Michael's inescapable power. 

From Goodreads:
October "Toby" Daye, changeling knight in the service of Duke Sylvester Torquill, finds the delicate balance of her life shattered when she learns that an old friend is in dire trouble. Lily, Lady of the Tea Gardens, has been struck down by a mysterious, seemingly impossible illness, leaving her fiefdom undefended. Struggling to find a way to save Lily and her subjects, Toby must confront her own past as an enemy she thought was gone forever raises her head once more: Oleander de Merelands, one of the two people responsible for her fourteen-year exile.

Time is growing short and the stakes are getting higher, for the Queen of the Mists has her own agenda. With everything on the line, Toby will have to take the ultimate risk to save herself and the people she loves most—because if she can't find the missing pieces of the puzzle in time, Toby will be forced to make the one choice she never thought she'd have to face again...

From Goodreads:
October "Toby" Daye is settling into her new role as Countess of Goldengreen. She's actually dating again, and she's taken on Quentin as her squire. So, of course, it's time for things to take a turn for the worse.

Someone has kidnapped the sons of the regent of the Undersea Duchy of Saltmist. To prevent a war between land and sea, Toby must find the missing boys and prove the Queen of the Mists was not behind their abduction. Toby's search will take her from the streets of San Francisco to the lands beneath the waves, and her deadline is firm: she must find the boys in three days' time, or all of the Mists will pay the price. But someone is determined to stop her-and whoever it is isn't playing by Oberon's Laws...

From Goodreads:
It's been almost a year since October "Toby" Daye averted a war, gave up a county, and suffered personal losses that have left her wishing for a good day's sleep. She's tried to focus on her responsibilities--training Quentin, upholding her position as Sylvester's knight, and paying the bills--but she can't help feeling like her world is crumbling around her, and her increasingly reckless behavior is beginning to worry even her staunchest supporters. 

To make matters worse, Toby's just been asked to find another missing child...only this time it's the changeling daughter of her fellow knight, Etienne, who didn't even know he was a father until the girl went missing. Her name is Chelsea. She's a teleporter, like her father. She's also the kind of changeling the old stories warn about, the ones with all the strength and none of the control. She's opening doors that were never meant to be opened, releasing dangers that were sealed away centuries before--and there's a good chance she could destroy Faerie if she isn't stopped. 

Now Toby must find Chelsea before time runs out, racing against an unknown deadline and through unknown worlds as she and her allies try to avert disaster. But danger is also stirring in the Court of Cats, and Tybalt may need Toby's help with the biggest challenge he's ever faced. 

Toby thought the last year was bad. She has no idea. 

From Goodreads:
Things are starting to look up for October "Toby" Daye. She's training her squire, doing her job, and has finally allowed herself to grow closer to the local King of Cats. It seems like her life may finally be settling down...at least until dead changelings start appearing in the alleys of San Francisco, killed by an overdose of goblin fruit.

Toby's efforts to take the problem to the Queen of the Mists are met with harsh reprisals, leaving her under sentence of exile from her home and everyone she loves. Now Toby must find a way to reverse the Queens decree, get the goblin fruit off the streets--and, oh, yes, save her own life, since more than a few of her problems have once again followed her home. And then there's the question of the Queen herself, who seems increasingly unlikely to have a valid claim to the throne....

To find the answers, October and her friends will have to travel from the legendary Library of Stars into the hidden depths of the Kingdom of the Mists--and they'll have to do it fast, because time is running out. In faerie, some fates are worse than death.

October Daye is about to find out what they are. 

From Goodreads:
Meet Quentin Sollys. Squire. Hockey fan. Canadian. And Crown Prince to the entire continent of North America, known as "the Westlands" to the fae, currently ruled by his parents, High King Aethlin and High Queen Maida. Not that most people know that, since he's a blind foster squired to a changeling—not exactly something that screams "hidden royalty."

But with a new Queen on the throne in the Mists, his parents have finally come to town to see how he's doing…and to take him home with them. That's going to be a problem, since Quentin doesn't particularly want to leave, and his knight, Sir October Daye, doesn’t particularly want to let him go.

From Goodreads:
Toby thought she understood her own past; she thought she knew the score.

She was wrong.

It's time to learn the truth.

For once, it seems like the Kingdom of the Mists has reached a point of, if not perfection, at least relative peace. Queen Arden Windermere is getting settled on her family's throne; no one's going to war with anyone else; it's almost like everything is going to be okay. Even October "Toby" Daye is starting to relax her constant vigilance, allowing herself to think about the future, and what it might entail.

And then Simon Torquill comes back, and everything begins to fall apart. In Faerie, nothing stays buried forever. No matter how much you might want it to.

From Goodreads:
The twelfth installment of the Hugo-nominated, New York Times-bestselling Toby Daye urban fantasy series!

Things are not okay.

In the aftermath of Amandine's latest betrayal, October "Toby" Daye's fragile self-made family is on the verge of coming apart at the seams. Jazz can't sleep, Sylvester doesn't want to see her, and worst of all, Tybalt has withdrawn from her entirely, retreating into the Court of Cats as he tries to recover from his abduction. Toby is floundering, unable to help the people she loves most heal. She needs a distraction. She needs a quest.

What she doesn't need is the abduction of her estranged human daughter, Gillian. What she doesn't need is to be accused of kidnapping her own child by her ex-boyfriend and his new wife, who seems to be harboring secrets of her own. There's no question of whether she'll take the case. The only question is whether she's emotionally prepared to survive it.

Signs of Faerie's involvement are everywhere, and it's going to take all Toby's nerve and all her allies to get her through this web of old secrets, older hatreds, and new deceits. If she can't find Gillian before time runs out, her own child will pay the price. One question remains:

Who in Faerie remembered Gillian existed? And what do they stand to gain? No matter how this ends, Toby's life will never be the same. 

From Goodreads:
Follows Gillian's POV through some of the events of Night and Silence, and afterwards.

My first review of Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses, One Salt Sea,  Ashes of Honor, Chimes at Midnight, Full of Briars, The Winter Long, Night and Silence, Suffer a Sea-Change
My Review:
Yeah, it was really fantastic to reread this series! I planned to because Night and Silence had that big reveal, and I wanted to go back through the series to see what we knew before then, and yeah, I picked up on things that make a lot more sense with this new knowledge!

Mostly I wanted to know what about Tam Lin and Janet. And yeah, we're told a good deal of the story in An Artificial Night. So then reading Night and Silence, I think I have a pretty complete picture of what happened. Now there's just fixing it and bringing back Oberon and his ladies.

There is also the whole thing about her mom being a Firstborn, and yeah, I also saw the little bits and pieces that lead to that conclusion, but didn't outright state it. Tricky, tricky, and yeah, it's those little details that help make books excellent to read!

I honestly pretty much forgot everything that happened in Late Eclipses. Like, I remembered that Lily died, but that's about it. So that was another good reason for me to reread this series. But man, it was kinda hard to see how much Toby and Luna's relationship has changed since then, since the first book. And Toby takes a lot of the blame, I think, when really, Luna's at fault. I really dislike her, a lot, for what she's said and done to Toby throughout this series!

Loved reading this series again, and yeah, can't wait for The Unkindest Tide!

Author: Seanan McGuire
Series: October Daye #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7.1, 8, 12, 12.1
First Read: September 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2016, 3rd, 3rd, 4th, 4th, 4th, 5th, 2016, September 5th, 5th, 2018
Read: April 13th, 14th, 14th, 15th, 15th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 16th, 16th, 2019
Source: Own, Ebook.bike
Reason Why: Rereading! And they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2019 Books!
Publisher: Daw
Published: September 1st 2009, March 2nd 2010, September 7th 2010, March 1st 2011, September 6th 2011, September 4th 2012, September 3rd 2013, September 6th 2016, September 2nd 2014, September 4th 2018, September 4th 2018

Rosemary and Rue:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

A Local Habitation:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

An Artificial Night:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Late Eclipses:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

One Salt Sea:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Ashes of Honor:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Chimes at Midnight:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Full of Briars:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

The Winter Long:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Night and Silence:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Suffer a Sea-Change:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars