It's Monday! What Are You Reading #601, December 12th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #600
Teaser Tuesday #608
WWW Wednesday #608
WOW #604
Will the Time Come #601
Third Sentence Thursday #591
Random Reads #577
First Lines Friday #604
Book Blogger Hop #270
The Reward Challenge Update #586
Wheel of TBR #133
How Well I Stuck to It #438
Wrote that Review Update #435

Week 49 Reviews:
Poster Girl

Gearbreakers

Lore Olympus: Volume 3

Bond of Passion

Ship Wrecked 

A Very Merry Bromance

Seasparrow

Conquer the Kingdom

Graveminder

Guns for the Dead

Cursed by Death

Reindeer Readathon: 

Update 5

Update 6

Merry Bookmas: 

Update 6

Update 7

Update 8

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Update 4

OK, so I got 31 posts in 7 days, and I read a decent week with some really great reads, and while work is ramping up with how busy it is, I have hope that I'll read a number of books this week! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Sweep of the Heart!

From the New York Times #1 bestselling author, Ilona Andrews, comes a fun and action-packed new adventure in the Innkeeper Chronicles! We invite you to relax, enjoy yourself, and above all, remember the one rule all visitors must obey: the humans must never know.

Life is busier than ever for Innkeeper, Dina DeMille and Sean Evans. But it’s about to get even more chaotic when Sean's werewolf mentor is kidnapped. To find him, they must host an intergalactic spouse-search for one of the most powerful rulers in the Galaxy. Dina is never one to back down from a challenge. That is, if she can manage her temperamental Red Cleaver chef; the consequences of her favorite Galactic ex-tyrant's dark history; the tangled politics of an interstellar nation, and oh, yes, keep the wedding candidates from a dozen alien species from killing each other. Not to mention the Costco lady.

They say love is a battlefield; but Dina and Sean are determined to limit the casualties!

Week 49 Review: A Very Merry Bromance

From Goodreads:

'Tis the season for a Bromance Book Club matchmaking mission! This time, they're pulling out the mistletoe for everyone's favorite country music star, Colton, and his second chance at love.

Country music's golden boy Colton Wheeler felt the most perfect harmony when he was with Gretchen Winthrop. But for her, it was a love him and leave him situation. A year later, Colton is struggling to push his music forward in a new direction. If it weren't about to be the most magical time of year and the support of the Bromance Book Club, he'd be wallowing in self-pity.

It's hard for immigration attorney Gretchen not to feel a little Scrooge-ish about the excess of Christmas when her clients are scrambling to afford their rent. So when her estranged, wealthy family reaches out with an offer that will allow her to better serve the community, she's unable to say no. She just needs to convince Colton to be the new face of her family's whiskey brand. No big deal…

Colton agrees to consider Gretchen's offer in exchange for three dates before Christmas. With the help of the Bromance Book Club, Colton throws himself into the task of proving to her there's a spark between them. But Gretchen and Colton will both need to overcome the ghosts of Christmas past to build a future together.

My Review:
I had such a great time reading this book! I don't remember which book Colton was introduced in, but Gretchen played a small role in the 2nd book, being the date that ended things with Mack, after the $1000 cupcate, and what led to him meeting Liv that day. I was pumped for their story! 

She has issues stemming from her childhood, her family owns and runs a famous whiskey company, and has always been more about the public image then actual family. He's famous, but he worked hard to get where he is. Oh, and she doesn't care for Christmas, while he goes all out. I loved them together! 

A favourite part of mine in this series is the big gesture, all that running. I loved how this book twisted that on its head, that Colton knows that Gretchen wouldn't like the attention that would bring, so he did it in a non-conspicuous way. 

One thing that I wish we got was a conclusion to the book within the book. We know it's going to have a happy ending, but how did things work out, given the reasons why it shouldn't? I really would've liked to have gotten a resolution to that! 

Loved reading this book, and I can't wait for whatever is next from Lyssa Kay Adams! 

Author: Lyssa Kay Adams
Series: Bromance Book Club #5
Read: December 5th, 2022
Source: Ebook.bike 
Reason Why: Love her writing and this series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Berkley 
Published: November 1st 2022

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

WWW Wednesday #608, December 7th

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Thanks to MizB of Should Be Writing now A Daily Rhythm for starting this meme! And thanks now to Taking on a World of Words for reviving it! 

I'm currently reading Conquer the Kingdom, and I'm enjoying it so much! 

I read A Very Merry Bromance, and I had such a great time reading it! 

I'm going to be reading Seasparrow, and I can't wait! 

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Merry Bookmas Update 6

So I read my next book for Merry Bookmas, and it was A Very Merry Bromance which was for the prompt Holiday Pudding, and I'll be reading Seasparrow next! 

My Reading Journey:

Ghosts & Garlands by Kelley Armstrong

Prompt Fulfilled: Yule Log Cake

Started On: December 1st

Finished On: December 1st, 11:50 AM

Pages Read: 98

The Score by Elle Kennedy 

Prompt Fulfilled: Hot Chocolate

Started On: December 1st

Finished On: December 1st, 11:20 PM

Pages Read: 403

The Demon Tide by Laurie Forest

Prompt Fulfilled: Fruitcake

Started On: December 2nd

Finished On: December 2nd, 6:34 PM

Pages Read: 672

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Prompt Fulfilled: Eggnog

Started On: December 3rd

Finished On: December 3rd, 10:31 PM

Pages Read: 432

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade

Prompt Fulfilled: Sugar Cookies

Started On: December 4th

Finished On: December 4th, 8:01 PM

Pages Read: 416

A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Prompt Fulfilled: Holiday Pudding

Started On: December 5th

Finished On: December 5th, 7:01 PM

Pages Read: 368

Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore 

Prompt Fulfilled: Reindeer Chow

Started On: December 6th

Currently On: Page 0 of 624

Prompts Left: Candy Canes, Gingerbread, Sugar Plums, Chestnuts, Popcorn Garland

Read: 6

Pages Read: 2389

Merry Bookmas Update 5

So I read my next book for Merry Bookmas, and it was Ship Wrecked which was for the prompt Sugar Cookies, and I'll be reading A Very Merry Bromance next! 

My Reading Journey:

Ghosts & Garlands by Kelley Armstrong

Prompt Fulfilled: Yule Log Cake

Started On: December 1st

Finished On: December 1st, 11:50 AM

Pages Read: 98

The Score by Elle Kennedy 

Prompt Fulfilled: Hot Chocolate

Started On: December 1st

Finished On: December 1st, 11:20 PM

Pages Read: 403

The Demon Tide by Laurie Forest

Prompt Fulfilled: Fruitcake

Started On: December 2nd

Finished On: December 2nd, 6:34 PM

Pages Read: 672

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

Prompt Fulfilled: Eggnog

Started On: December 3rd

Finished On: December 3rd, 10:31 PM

Pages Read: 432

Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade

Prompt Fulfilled: Sugar Cookies

Started On: December 4th

Finished On: December 4th, 8:01 PM

Pages Read: 416

A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Prompt Fulfilled: Holiday Pudding

Started On: December 5th

Currently On: Page 0 of 368

Prompts Left: Candy Canes, Gingerbread, Sugar Plums, Reindeer Chow, Chestnuts, Popcorn Garland

Read: 5

Pages Read: 2021

Waiting on Wednesday #594, September 28th

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating!
 

Ocean's Echo by Everina Maxwell

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Ocean's Echo is a stand-alone space adventure about a bond that will change the fate of worlds, set in the same universe as Everina Maxwell's hit debut, Winter's Orbit.

Rich socialite, inveterate flirt, and walking disaster Tennalhin Halkana can read minds. Tennal, like all neuromodified “readers,” is a security threat on his own. But when controlled, readers are a rare asset. Not only can they read minds, but they can navigate chaotic space, the maelstroms surrounding the gateway to the wider universe.

Conscripted into the military under dubious circumstances, Tennal is placed into the care of Lieutenant Surit Yeni, a duty-bound soldier, principled leader, and the son of a notorious traitor general. Whereas Tennal can read minds, Surit can influence them. Like all other neuromodified “architects,” he can impose his will onto others, and he’s under orders to control Tennal by merging their minds.

Surit accepted a suspicious promotion-track request out of desperation, but he refuses to go through with his illegal orders to sync and control an unconsenting Tennal. So they lie: They fake a sync bond and plan Tennal's escape.

Their best chance arrives with a salvage-retrieval mission into chaotic space—to the very neuromodifcation lab that Surit's traitor mother destroyed twenty years ago. And among the rubble is a treasure both terrible and unimaginably powerful, one that upends a decades-old power struggle, and begins a war.

Tennal and Surit can no longer abandon their unit or their world. The only way to avoid life under full military control is to complete the very sync they've been faking.

Can two unwilling weapons of war bring about peace?

Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

The fifth novel in the bestselling and award winning Graceling Realm series focuses on Hava, Queen Bitterblue's spy, and her harrowing journey back to Monsea after the events of 2021's Winterkeep.

In the immediate aftermath of the events of Winterkeep, Bitterblue and her entourage begin the journey back to Monsea with the only copies of the formulas for the zilphium weapon. Bitterblue must decide what she will do with her world-shaping power. But before they've even made it halfway home, storms drive their ship off course and then wrecking them in the ice far north of the Royal Continent. The survivors must make a harrowing trek across the ice in order to make it back to Monsea.

Seasparrow is told entirely from the point of view of Hava, Bitterblue's personal spy and secret half-sister. And while Bitterblue grapples with how to carry the responsibility of a weapon of mass destruction, Hava must decide what she will do with herself in the new world Bitterblue will make.

Bonds of Passion by Larissa Ione

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

He was an assassin. She was his lover.

And his victim.

Now, years later, she’s back from the dead and looking for vengeance.

Thanks to an unexpected and fortuitous disaster, Tavin’s contract with the underworld’s Assassin Guild was broken decades early. But instead of freedom, he’s suffocated by guilt and regret. In many ways, he’s more trapped than he was before. In an attempt to numb his pain, he works at Underworld General Hospital, saving people instead of killing them. But nothing can diminish the memory of assassinating the female he loved…not even the knowledge that he’d done it to spare her an even worse fate.

Deja remembers all of her dozens of former lives, and she knows that she only found love in one of them…until her lover murdered her. As a soul locked inside the nightmarish boundaries of demon hell, she stewed in hatred until a single, fateful event gave her one more shot at life.

And at revenge.

Now another specter from the past is threatening them both. Can two damaged people overcome their history to save not only themselves, but a second chance at love?

A Very Merry Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

'Tis the season for a Bromance Book Club matchmaking mission! This time, they're pulling out the mistletoe for everyone's favorite country music star, Colton, and his second chance at love.

Country music’s golden boy Colton Wheeler felt the most perfect harmony when he was with Gretchen Winthrop. But for her, it was a love him and leave him situation. A year later, Colton is struggling to push his music forward in a new direction. If it weren’t about to be the most magical time of year and the support of the Bromance Book Club, he’d be wallowing in self-pity.

It’s hard for immigration attorney Gretchen not to feel a little Scrooge-ish about the excess of Christmas when her clients are scrambling to afford their rent. So when her estranged, wealthy family reaches out with an offer that will allow her to better serve the community, she’s unable to say no. She just needs to convince Colton to be the new face of her family’s whiskey brand. No big deal…

Colton agrees to consider Gretchen’s offer in exchange for three dates before Christmas. With the help of the Bromance Book Club, Colton throws himself into the task of proving to her there’s a spark between them. But Gretchen and Colton will both need to overcome the ghosts of Christmas past to build a future together.

The Luminaries by Susan Dennard

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

From Susan Dennard, the New York Times bestselling author of the Witchlands series, comes a haunting and high-octane contemporary fantasy, about the magic it takes to face your fears in a nightmare-filled forest, and the mettle required to face the secrets hiding in the dark corners of your own family.

Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.

Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.

Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.

But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.

Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.

Honor and Shadows by Jessie Mihalik

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Captain Octavia Zarola needs an infusion of credits—fast—if she’s going to keep her close-knit bounty hunting crew paid and fed. Tracking down an escaped embezzler on a backwater planet should be a piece of cake, but bounties are rarely as easy as they seem.

As the crew closes in on their quarry, the hunt becomes entangled with a local criminal overlord, and Tavi will have to decide what’s more important: money or honor, and how much she’s willing to risk for either one.

Silver in the Mist by Emily Victoria

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Eight years ago, everything changed for Devlin: Her country was attacked. Her father was killed. And her mother became the Whisperer of Aris, the head of the spies, retreating into her position away from everyone… even her daughter.

 

Joining the spy ranks herself, Dev sees her mother only when receiving assignments. She wants more, but she understands the peril their country, Aris, is in. The malevolent magic force of The Mists is swallowing Aris’s edges, their country is vulnerable to another attack from their wealthier neighbor, and the magic casters who protect them from both are burning out.

Dev has known strength and survival her whole life, but with a dangerous new assignment of infiltrating the royal court of their neighbor country Cerena to steal the magic they need, she learns that not all that glitters is weak. And not all stories are true.

The Ones We Burn by Rebecca Mix

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Love and duty collide in this richly imagined, atmospheric young adult debut about a witch whose dark powers put her at the center of a brewing war between the only family she’s ever known and the enemy who makes her question everything.

Monster. Butcher. Bloodwinn.

Ranka is tired of death. All she wants now is to be left alone, living out her days in Witchik’s wild north with the coven that raised her, attempting to forget the horrors of her past. But when she is named Bloodwinn, the next treaty bride to the human kingdom of Isodal, her coven sends her south with a single directive: kill him. Easy enough, for a blood-witch whose magic compels her to kill.

Except the prince is gentle, kind, and terrified of her. He doesn’t want to marry Ranka; he doesn’t want to be king at all. And it’s his sister—the wickedly smart, infuriatingly beautiful Princess Aramis—who seems to be the real threat.

But when witches start turning up dead, murdered by a mysterious, magical plague, Aramis makes Ranka an offer: help her develop a cure, and in return, she’ll help Ranka learn to contain her deadly magic. As the coup draws nearer and the plague spreads, Ranka is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her power, her past, and who she’s meant to fight for. Soon, she will have to decide between the coven that raised her and the princess who sees beyond the monster they shaped her to be.

But as the bodies pile up, a monster may be exactly what they need.

Cruel Illusions by Margie Fuston

Expected Publication: November 1st, 2022
From Goodreads:

Caraval meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer in this deliciously dark young adult fantasy about a girl who makes a deal with a magical secret society to enter a potentially deadly competition for the chance to avenge her mother’s death.

Ever since a vampire murdered her mother, Ava has been determined to get revenge. This all-encompassing drive has given her the fuel she needed to survive foster home after foster home.

But it’s been ten years since anyone’s seen a vampire, and Ava has lost hope that she’ll ever find one…until she stumbles across a hidden magic show where she witnesses impossible illusions. The magicians may not be the bloodsuckers she’s hunting, but Ava is convinced something supernatural is at play, so she sneaks backstage and catches them in acts they can’t explain.

But they’ve been waiting for her.

The magicians reveal they’re part of an ancient secret society with true magic, and Ava has the same power in her blood that they do. If she joins them, they promise to teach her the skills she needs to hunt vampires and avenge her mother. But there’s a catch: if she wants to keep the power they offer, she needs to prove she’s worthy of it. And to do so, she must put on the performance of her life in a sinister and dangerous competition where illusion and reality blur, and the stakes are deadly.

Yeah, the start of November has some really great books, authors, and series coming out! Can't wait for them! What about you guys? Happy reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #588, September 12th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #587
Teaser Tuesday #595
WWW Wednesday #595
WOW #591
Will the Time Come #588
Third Sentence Thursday #578
Random Reads #564
First Lines Friday #591
Book Blogger Hop #257
The Reward Challenge Update #573
Wheel of TBR #120
How Well I Stuck to It #425
Wrote that Review Update #422

Week 36 Reviews:
The Graveside Bar and Grill

Tomes Apprentice

First of Tomes

Master of Tomes

A Deadly Education

The Last Graduate

Hemmed in Silver 

Captured on Film

Bathed in Moonlight

Flattered by Flowers 

Desperation in Death

Crazy Stupid Bromance

Isn't It Bromantic?

The Time of Contempt

Devouring Darkness

Becca's BookoplAthon: 

Update 7

Update 8

Update 9

SeasonAthon Academy: 

Update 6

Update 7

Update 8

Update 9

OK, so I got 27 posts in 7 days, but plenty of books that were in the same series, which made it easier with fewer reviews! There were some really great books, and I can't wait for this coming week! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read whatever I want! Which is going to be binge reading the Kara Gillian series! 

Week 36 Reviews: Crazy Stupid Bromance, Isn't It Bromantic?

From Goodreads:

A hacktivist and a cat café owner decode the friend zone in this romantic comedy from the author of Undercover Bromance.

Alexis Carlisle and her cat café, ToeBeans, have shot to fame after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef's sexual harassment. When a new customer approaches to confide in her, the last thing Alexis expects is for the woman to claim they're sisters. Unsure what to do, Alexis turns to the only man she trusts—her best friend, Noah Logan.

Computer genius Noah left his rebellious teenage hacker past behind to become a computer security expert. Now he only uses his old skills for the right cause. But Noah’s got a secret: He's madly in love with Alexis. When she asks for his help, he wonders if the timing will ever be right to confess his crush.

Noah's pals in The Bromance Book Club are more than willing to share their beloved "manuals" to help him go from bud to boyfriend. But he must decide if telling the truth is worth risking the best friendship he's ever had.

From Goodreads:

With his passion for romance novels, it was only a matter of time before Vlad took up the pen to write a novel the Bromance Book Club would swoon over.

Elena Konnikova has lived her entire adult life in the shadows. As the daughter of a Russian journalist who mysteriously disappeared after speaking out against government corruption, she escaped danger the only way she knew how. She agreed to marry her childhood friend, Vladimir, and move to the United States, where he is a professional hockey player in Nashville.

Vlad, aka The Russian, thought he could be content with his marriage of convenience. But after four years, it's become too difficult to continue in a one-sided relationship. He joined the Bromance Book Club to learn how to make his wife love him, but all he's learned is that he deserves more. He's ready to create his own sweeping romance--both on and off the page.

The Bros are unwilling to let Vlad forgo true love--and this time they're not operating solo. They join forces with Vlad's senior citizen neighbors, a group of meddling widows who call themselves The Loners. Just when things finally look promising, the danger from Elena's past life intrudes, and the book club will face their first-ever life-or-death grand gesture as they race to a happy ever after.

My Review:
Oh, it was so much fun to read these books! I loved the first two, and I couldn't wait to see how these other two couples could be helped by the guys reading romance books. They were just so great to read! But oh, do they delve into some dark topics, as well as emotional ones! 

Crazy Stupid Bromance deals with some emotional topics. They've both lost parents, and and they've both dealt with that differently. And then the dad that she didn't know who he was, turns out he desperately needs a kidney, and since they're related, she could be a donor. And on top of that, there's the want from both of them to go from friends to lovers, but the fear of losing this relationship. 

The elephant in the room. Isn't it Bromantic? was published in 2021, was written before that, so before Russia attacked Ukraine. So this is a story about Russians, and the war is happening, and those two thing both exist, no matter how horrible the war is. 

Vlad was just a teddy bear cinnamon roll of a guy. He, along with Mack, are the ones who have the least of the toxic masculinity that the book club helps them shed. I'm so glad that he got his story, he wasn't perfect, nobody's perfect, but I loved their story-and they had a lot of great communication! 

Plus, he's writing a book, so that gave them a new way to talk about books, though their tips at times helped and hindered him, to work through his issues. I had a great time reading excerpts from his book-and the parallels between him and Elena, and Tony and Anna.

Loved reading these books, and I can't wait to continue the series! 

Author: Lyssa Kay Adams 
Series: The Bromance Book Club #3, 4
Read: September 8th, 9th, 2022
Source: Ebook.bike, Bought 
Reason Why: Loved the first two books, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Books! 
Publisher: Berkley
Published: October 27th 2020, July 20th 2021

Crazy Stupid Bromance:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Isn't It Bromantic?: 

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

First Lines Friday #591, September 9th

First Lines Friday is a bookish meme hosted by Literary Marie of Precision Reviews. We encourage all of our fellow book bloggers and bookhearts to play along.

-Grab your current read(s)
-Share the first line(s)
-Include the title and author so that other FLF participants can add the book to their TBR Lists!

"Its all fun and games until someone shits their pants. For once Vlad Konnikov wasn't the culprit. Luckily, however, he knew what to do. Because Vlad-a.k.a. the Russian, as his friends called him, since he was, in fact, Russian0had an unfortunate history of gastrointestinal catastrophes for which he'd only recently gotten a diagnosis. Now the man with an official gluten allergy and occasional irritable bowel symptoms never left the house without an emergency kit. And this was definitely an emergency." - Isn't It Bromantic? by Lyssa Kay Adams

That sounds like a mixed bag, that he has that diagnosis, but that there's an emergency? Must read more now! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Third Sentence Thursday #578, September 8th

Third Sentence Thursday is a weekly meme which likes to watch fireworks especially while eating a cookie!

1) Take the book you are currently reading and open it to a random page. Share the third full sentence on that page. (If there isn't a third one – like at the end of a chapter or a blank page – you can share the third sentence of the book or just choose another random page.) Feel free to share more than one sentence, if you feel the need to do so.

2) Review this sentence anyway you want (funny and silly reviews encouraged)

3) Post a link to your sentence at Words I Write Crazy (This Blog)

4) Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentences!

"You know you can't hold me indefinitely, right?" -Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams, page 72.

That doesn't sound good for the narrator, and also it sounds intriguing! Must read more now! What are your guy's 3rd lines? Link up below!

WWW Wednesday #595, September 7th

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you'll read next?

Thanks to MizB of Should Be Writing now A Daily Rhythm for starting this meme! And thanks now to Taking on a World of Words for reviving it! 

I'm currently reading Desperation in Death, and I'm really enjoying this latest installment! 

I read Flattered by Flowers, and it as such a great read! 

I'm going to be reading Crazy Stupid Bromance, and I can't wait to continue this series! 

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Lyssa Kay Adams Author Page

The Story: I saw so many people reading the Bromance Book Club series, and it looked really great, so I picked up the 2nd book physically, and then had to read the first book, and then quickly I had to read the 2nd! Can't wait to continue the series! 

Website

Series: Bromance Book Club.

Bromance Book Club: The Bromance Book Club and her site, my review, Undercover Bromance and her site, my review, Crazy Stupid Romance and her site, my review, Isn't It Bromantic and her site, my review, A Very Merry Bromance and her site, my review, Courting the Countess and her site.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #583, August 8th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Date where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #582
Teaser Tuesday #590
WWW Wednesday #590
WOW #586
Will the Time Come #583
Third Sentence Thursday #573
Random Reads #559
First Lines Friday #586
Book Blogger Hop #252

Monthly ARC's September Round Up

21 Books to Read in 2021 Update 26
The Reward Challenge Update #568
Wheel of TBR #115
How Well I Stuck to It #420
Wrote that Review Update #417

Week 31 Reviews:
The Library of Lost Things

My Plain Jane

The Basilisk of Star Manor

The Company of Fiends

A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor

The Camelot Betrayal

The Excalibur Curse

The Steel Prince

Saga #59

Saga #60

Court of the Vampire Court

Breaking Time

The Bromance Book Club

Undercover Bromance

ARC August: 

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Update 4

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Update 4

Update 5

Update 6

Update 7

Update 8

Pick-Pong-A-Thon:

Update 1

Update 2

Random:

We Have the Cover of Kara Gillian #9!!!!

We Have the Cover of The Roots of Chaos #0!!!!

OK, so I got 40 posts in 7 days, and yeah, it was a pretty great reading week, I read a bunch, and I can't wait for next week! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read whatever I want! 

Week 31 Reviews: The Bromance Book Club, Undercover Bromance

From Goodreads:

The first rule of book club: You don't talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. He's recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, it's the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes he's let his pride and fear get the better of him.

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville's top alpha men. With the help of their current read, a steamy Regency titled Courting the Countess, the guys coach Gavin on saving his marriage. But it'll take a lot more than flowery words and grand gestures for this hapless Romeo to find his inner hero and win back the trust of his wife.

From Goodreads:

Braden Mack thinks reading romance novels makes him an expert in love, but he’ll soon discover that real life is better than fiction. 

Liv Papandreas has a dream job as a pastry chef at Nashville's hottest restaurant. Too bad the celebrity chef owner is less than charming behind kitchen doors. After she catches him harassing a young hostess, she confronts him and gets fired. Liv vows revenge, but she'll need assistance to take on the powerful chef.

Unfortunately, that means turning to Braden Mack. When Liv's blackballed from the restaurant scene, the charismatic nightclub entrepreneur offers to help expose her ex-boss, but she is suspicious of his motives. He'll need to call in reinforcements: the Bromance Book Club.

Inspired by the romantic suspense novel they're reading, the book club assists Liv in setting up a sting operation to take down the chef. But they're just as eager to help Mack figure out the way to Liv's heart... even though she's determined to squelch the sparks between them before she gets burned.

My Review:
Oh man, I had such a great time reading these books! I wasn't really expecting to, but once I started reading them, I couldn't stop, I loved the premise of guys reading romance books to know what women want, it sounds like a thing that should happen in real life!

Both of these couples were really great to read about, Gavin and Thea have been married for a few years, but things have recently taken a downswing. And Liv and Mack just met, but problems arose because of their meeting. So they have different dynamics, and I loved both of their stories! 

For Bromance Book Club, we did get excerpts of what book they're reading-and it looks like that book will be published, so that's really great. And it was great to see how Gavin was calling the hero names, but taking advice from him. He did learn to open up and be vulnerable,, which is something that all 3 of them, at least, needed to work on! 

Undercover Bromance, it was just fantastic to read, and I loved the two of them together, and their story, destroying this bad guy, because he was just plain awful! There were some missteps along the way, but oh, was it satisfying watching him being taken down! 

These were really cute and funny romances, and I can't wait to continue the series! 

Author: Lyssa Kay Adams 
Series: Bromance Book Club #1, 2 
Read: August 4th, 4th, 2022
Source: Ebook.bike, Bought
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2022 Books!
Publisher: Berkley 
Published: November 5th 2019, March 10th 2020

The Bromance Book Club:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Undercover Bromance:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Magical Readathon: Orilium Update 5

So I read my next book for Magical Readathon: Orilium, and it was Undercover Bromance which was for the prompt Elemental Studies O, and I'll be reading Dead Man's Hand next!

My Reading Journey:

A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon

Prompt Fulfilled: Inscription O

Started On: August 1st

Finished On: August 1st, 5:20 PM

Pages Read: 405

Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert

Prompt Fulfilled: The AWW Needs You Quest

Started On: August 1st

Finished On: August 1st, 9:40 PM

Pages Read: 496

Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg

Prompt Fulfilled: Psionics & Divination O

Started On: August 3rd

Finished On: August 3rd, 9:50 PM

Pages Read: 352

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

Prompt Fulfilled: Alchemy O

Started On: August 4th

Finished On: August 4th, 7:04 PM

Pages Read: 352

Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Prompt Fulfilled: Elemental Studies O

Started On: August 4th

Finished On: August 4th, 9:29 PM

Pages Read: 348

Dead Man's Hand by James J. Butcher

Prompt Fulfilled: Art of Illusion O

Started On: August 5th

Currently On: Page 0 of 384

Prompts Left: Alchemy O, Alchemy Q, Alchemy D, Inscription Q, Artificery O, Spells & Incantations O, Spells & Incantations Q, Elemental Studies Q, Elemental Studies D, Shapeshifting O, Animal Studies O, Astronomy O, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Inscription O, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Conjuration O, Conjuration Q, Demonology O, Lore O, Lore Q, Lore D, Animal Studies O, Animal Studies Q, Demonology O, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Spells & Incantations O, Alchemy O, Art of Illusion Q, Spells & Incantations O, Psionics & Divination Q, Psionics & Divination D, Lore O, Alchemy Q, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Shapeshifting O, Art of Illusion O, Art of Illusion Q, Art of Illusion D, Psionics & Divination O

Read: 5

Pages Read: 1953

Pick-Pong-A-Thon Update 1

So I read my first book for Pick-Pong-A-Thon, and it was The Bromance Book Club which was for the prompt First in a Series 1, and I'll be reading Dead Man's Hand next!

My Reading Journey:

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

Prompt Fulfilled: First in a Series 1

Started On: August 4th

Finished On: August 4th, 7:04 PM

Pages Read: 352

Dead Man's Hand by James J. Butcher

Prompt Fulfilled: First in a Series 2

Started On: August 5th

Currently On: Page 0 of 384

Prompts Left: Intimidating, Retelling, Gifted, Treat Your Shelf

Read: 1

Pages Read: 352

Magical Readathon: Orilium Update 4

So I read my next book for Magical Readathon: Orilium, and it was The Bromance Book Club which was for the prompt Alchemy O, and I'll be reading Undercover Bromance next!

My Reading Journey:

A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon

Prompt Fulfilled: Inscription O

Started On: August 1st

Finished On: August 1st, 5:20 PM

Pages Read: 405

Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert

Prompt Fulfilled: The AWW Needs You Quest

Started On: August 1st

Finished On: August 1st, 9:40 PM

Pages Read: 496

Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg

Prompt Fulfilled: Psionics & Divination O

Started On: August 3rd

Finished On: August 3rd, 9:50 PM

Pages Read: 352

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

Prompt Fulfilled: Alchemy O

Started On: August 4th

Finished On: August 4th, 7:04 PM

Pages Read: 352

Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams

Prompt Fulfilled: Elemental Studies O

Started On: August 4th

Currently On: Page 0 of 348

Prompts Left: Alchemy O, Alchemy Q, Alchemy D, Inscription Q, Artificery O, Spells & Incantations O, Spells & Incantations Q, Elemental Studies Q, Elemental Studies D, Shapeshifting O, Animal Studies O, Astronomy O, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Inscription O, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Conjuration O, Conjuration Q, Demonology O, Lore O, Lore Q, Lore D, Animal Studies O, Animal Studies Q, Demonology O, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Spells & Incantations O, Alchemy O, Art of Illusion O, Art of Illusion Q, Spells & Incantations O, Psionics & Divination Q, Psionics & Divination D, Lore O, Alchemy Q, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Shapeshifting O, Art of Illusion O, Art of Illusion Q, Art of Illusion D, Psionics & Divination O

Read: 4

Pages Read: 1605

Third Sentence Thursday #573, August 4th

Third Sentence Thursday is a weekly meme which likes to watch fireworks especially while eating a cookie!

1) Take the book you are currently reading and open it to a random page. Share the third full sentence on that page. (If there isn't a third one – like at the end of a chapter or a blank page – you can share the third sentence of the book or just choose another random page.) Feel free to share more than one sentence, if you feel the need to do so.

2) Review this sentence anyway you want (funny and silly reviews encouraged)

3) Post a link to your sentence at Words I Write Crazy (This Blog)

4) Visit one or two of the other blogs to check out their third sentences!

"Preschoolers had to be picked up inside, rather than by the bus loop like older kids." -The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams, page 66.

That sounds like a smart and safe policy! Must read more now! What are your guy's 3rd lines? Link up below!

Magical Readathon: Orilium Update 3

So I read my next book for Magical Readathon: Orilium, and it was Breaking Time which was for the prompt Psionics & Divination O, and I'll be reading The Bromance Book Club next!

My Reading Journey:

A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon

Prompt Fulfilled: Inscription O

Started On: August 1st

Finished On: August 1st, 5:20 PM

Pages Read: 405

Court of the Vampire Queen by Katee Robert

Prompt Fulfilled: The AWW Needs You Quest

Started On: August 1st

Finished On: August 1st, 9:40 PM

Pages Read: 496

Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg

Prompt Fulfilled: Psionics & Divination O

Started On: August 3rd

Finished On: August 3rd, 9:50 PM

Pages Read: 352

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

Prompt Fulfilled: Alchemy O

Started On: August 4th

Currently On: Page 0 of 352

Prompts Left: Alchemy O, Alchemy Q, Alchemy D, Inscription Q, Artificery O, Spells & Incantations O, Spells & Incantations Q, Elemental Studies O, Elemental Studies Q, Elemental Studies D, Shapeshifting O, Animal Studies O, Astronomy O, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Inscription O, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Conjuration O, Conjuration Q, Demonology O, Lore O, Lore Q, Lore D, Animal Studies O, Animal Studies Q, Demonology O, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Spells & Incantations O, Alchemy O, Art of Illusion O, Art of Illusion Q, Spells & Incantations O, Psionics & Divination Q, Psionics & Divination D, Lore O, Alchemy Q, Restoration O, Restoration Q, Shapeshifting O, Art of Illusion O, Art of Illusion Q, Art of Illusion D, Psionics & Divination O

Read: 3

Pages Read: 1253