It's Monday! What Are You Reading #674, May 6th

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 #673
Teaser Tuesday #681
WWW Wednesday #681
WOW #677
Will the Time Come #674
Third Sentence Thursday #664
Random Reads #650
First Lines Friday #677
Book Blogger Hop #343

Monthly ARC's June Round Up

Monthly Series May Round Up

Monthly ARC's Update 71
The Reward Challenge Update #659
Wheel of TBR #206
How Well I Stuck to It #511
Wrote that Review Update #508

Week 18 Reviews:
Game of Secrets 

Holiday for Six

Shameless Play

The Dragon's Promise

That's Not My Name

The Hollow Places 

A Door in the Dark

Under the Whispering Door

The Emperor of Evening Stars 

Dark Harmony

The Invisible Library

The Study of Magic

The House That Horror Built

Remedial Magic

Twin Crowns

Nightbane

The Reappearance of Rachel Price

People Like Us

Panic: Ghosts and Legends

Panic

Sheine Lende

Sound the Gong

In Another Life

Blood and Ruin

The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Godly Heathens 

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Update 101

Update 102

Update 103

Update 104

Update 105

Update 106

Update 107

Update 108

Update 109

Update 110

Update 111

Update 13

Update 14

Update 15

Update 16

Update 17

Update 18

Update 19

Update 20

Update 21

Update 22

Update 23

Clean Sweep ARC Challenge:

May 2024 Sign Up

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Update 4

Update 5

Phase Out Your TBR: 

Phase Three May 2024 Sign Up

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Update 4

Update 5

Update 6

Update 7

Random:

Book Battle May 2024 TBR

OK, so I got 75 posts in 7 days, I had a really great time, I read a lot of books, but boy, I'm tired, and I can't wait for 2 weeks, when I have my 2 week vacation! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read whatever I want! 

Week 18 Review: Sheine Lende

From Goodreads:

Shane works with her mother and their ghost dogs, tracking down missing persons even when their families can't afford to pay. Their own family was displaced from their traditional home years ago following a devastating flood – and the loss of Shane's father and her grandparents. They don't think they'll ever get their home back.

Then Shane's mother and a local boy go missing, after a strange interaction with a fairy ring. Shane, her brother, her friends, and her lone, surviving grandparent – who isn't to be trusted – set off on the road to find them. But they may not be anywhere in this world – or this place in time.

Nevertheless, Shane is going to find them.

Darcie Little Badger's Elatsoe launched her career and in the years since has become a beloved favorite. This prequel to Elatsoe, centered on Ellie's grandmother, deepens and expands Darcie's one-of-a-kind world and introduces us to another cast of characters that will wend their way around readers' hearts.

My Review:
This was a fantastic read! I loved Elatsoe, so having her grandmother's story? That was just wonderful! Shane is trained in survival, in search and rescue, and she needed it in this book. And oh, the adventures she went on!  

The fact that their home, and others homes, were basically stolen away after a flood under the pretext that they'd be fixed up, and then the guy tore the houses down, having paid pennies for the land...was infuriating, that should not be legal. So the ending was really satisfying to read! 

We didn't really spend much time on the fairy rings in the first book, because Elatsoe can't use them because she's not descended from fairies. But it's a big part of this book, given that it's why the siblings, and Shane's mother, disappear. So I loved learning more about them, and what things were like as they were expanding and becoming more popular.

Shane really went to a few different places throughout the course of this book. I had such a fantastic time, watching her slowly start to recover those that were lost, finding out where they went and why, and getting them back. 

This was such a great read and I can't wait to read more by Darcie Little Badger!  

Author: Darcie Little Badger
Series: Elatsoe #2 
Read: May 1st, 2024
Source: NetGalley 
Reason Why: Loved the first book in the series, and it's a Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2024 Book! 
Publisher: RB Media 
Published: April 16th 2024

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Phase Out Your TBR Update 1

So I've read my first book for the Phase Out Your TBR, and it was Sheine Lende which is for the prompt Blue 9, and I'll be reading Sound the Gong next! 

My Reading Journey:

Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger

Prompt Fulfilled: Blue 9

Started On: May 1st 

Finished On: May 1st, 11:35 AM

Pages Read: 396

Sound the Gong by Joan He

Prompt Fulfilled: Red 4

Started On: May 1st

Currently On: Page 0 of 368

Prompts Left: Green 5, Green 6, Blue 7, Red 8, Yellow 9, Red 10, Wild Red (Yellow 3), Green 7, Red 11, Red 12 Yellow 4, Yellow 5, Green 6, Red 7, Green 8, Yellow 10, Yellow 1, Red 8, Yellow 7, Green 2

Books Read: 1

Pages Read: 396

Clean Sweep ARC Challenge Update 1

Ok, so I read my first book for Clean Sweep ARC Challenge, and it was Sheine Lende and I'll be reading Blood and Ruin next! 

My Reading Journey:

Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger

Started On: May 1st 

Finished On: May 1st, 11:35 AM

Pages Read: 396

Blood and Ruin by Rumer Hale

Started On: May 2nd

Currently On: Page 0 of 322

Books Read: 1

Goal: 25 Books

Pages Read: 396

WWW Wednesday #681, May 1st

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 listening to Sheine Lende, and I'm loving it! 

I'm also reading Sound the Gong, and it's so good! 

I read Panic, and I really enjoyed it again! 

And I have no idea what I'm going to be reading next, I haven't really planned out a lot of my May TBR yet, so I don't know what would be the best book to read next. 

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Waiting on Wednesday #671, March 20th

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

The Lady of Rapture by Sarah Raughley

Expected Publication: April 16th, 2024
From Goodreads:

Penny Dreadful meets The Gilded Wolves in this breathtaking finale to young adult historical fantasy Bones of Ruin trilogy!

For years, the elite secret society called the Enlightenment Committee has waited for the apocalyptic force known as Hiva to destroy the world as it has so many times before. What the Committee didn’t know, however, was that Hiva wasn’t an event—it was a person.

Iris Marlow. An African tightrope dancer with no memories of her past. A girl who cannot die.

At least, she couldn’t die. Until her own friends discovered her one weakness and murdered her once and for all. The world-ending threat she posed should be gone too, but there’s one more Hiva out there, and unlike Iris, this one has no love for humanity. In her absence, this Hiva has taken it upon himself to judge if humanity deserves to live.

But when it comes to Hivas, the judgment is always the same. The ending is always total destruction. And while Iris is dead, she’s not gone—and after the betrayal that ended her life as Iris, she is now out for revenge.

The world’s days are numbered. The Cataclysm has begun.

Pretty Furious by E.K. Johnston

Expected Publication: April 16th, 2024
From Goodreads:

#1 NYT Bestseller E. K. Johnston returns to contemporary feminist YA. This story of a small town, fierce friendships, and revenge served cold is a perfect companion to Exit, Pursued by a Bear.

In the small town of Eganston, Ontario, five good girls have had enough. They’ve experienced the best of what their community has to offer, but they’ve seen the darker side too. Together, they’ve decided that it’s time for a reckoning and that justice is their privilege to give.

Merciless Saviors by H.E. Edgmon

Expected Publication: April 16th, 2024
From Goodreads:

That day at the First Church of Gracie changed everything for Gem Echols, and not just because Marian and Poppy betrayed them. Forced to use the Ouroboros knife on Zephyr, who had kidnapped their parents, Gem now has the power of the God of Air.

While for any other god things might work out okay, the Magician—whose role within the pantheon is to keep the balance—having the power of another god has thrown everything into chaos. The Goddess of Death can now reanimate corpses; the God of Art’s powers are now corrupted and twisted, giving life to his macabre creations; and, while the God of Land has always been able to communicate with creatures of the Earth, now everyone can hear their cries.

As Gem, Rory, and Enzo search for a way to restore the balance without sacrificing themselves, new horrors make them question how far they're willing to go. In the end, Gem may be forced to fully embrace their merciless nature and kill off their own humanity—if it ever really existed in the first place.

Shiene Lende by Darcie Little Badger

Expected Publication: April 16th, 2024
From Goodreads:

Shane works with her mother and their ghost dogs, tracking down missing persons even when their families can’t afford to pay. Their own family was displaced from their traditional home years ago following a devastating flood – and the loss of Shane’s father and her grandparents. They don’t think they’ll ever get their home back.

Then Shane’s mother and a local boy go missing, after a strange interaction with a fairy ring. Shane, her brother, her friends, and her lone, surviving grandparent – who isn’t to be trusted – set off on the road to find them. But they may not be anywhere in this world – or this place in time.

Nevertheless, Shane is going to find them.

Darcie Little Badger’s Elatsoe launched her career and in the years since has become a beloved favorite. This prequel to Elatsoe , centered on Ellie’s grandmother, deepens and expands Darcie’s one-of-a-kind world and introduces us to another cast of characters that will wend their way around readers’ hearts.

The Succubus's Prize by Katee Robert

Expected Publication: April 17th, 2024
From Goodreads:

Belladonna doesn’t know if a person can die from guilt, but she’s giving it her best shot. All her life, she’s done what she needed to in order to survive, but in recent years, the cost only seems to skyrocket…until someone innocent gets hurt. That’s why she made her deal with the demon. To right the wrong she committed.

But when she’s auctioned off to Rusalka, a powerful and devious succubus, it’s nothing like she expected. She’s…taken care of. And if she’s put to work and expected to fulfill every part of her bargain, Belladonna is only too happy to let someone else shoulder the responsibility and make decisions for her.

Too bad Rusalka isn’t in the market for a servant. She wants a full partner. If Belladonna can’t release her guilt and step into that role… Things may be over even before they begin.

There's some really amazing authors and series coming out, and I'm so excited for these books to come out! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #597, November 14th

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 #596
Teaser Tuesday #604
WWW Wednesday #604
WOW #600
Will the Time Come #597
Third Sentence Thursday #587
Random Reads #573
First Lines Friday #600
Book Blogger Hop #266

Monthly ARC's Update 28
The Reward Challenge Update #582
Wheel of TBR #129
How Well I Stuck to It #434
Wrote that Review Update #431

Week 45 Reviews:
Strike the Zither

Pages to Fill

Legends & Lattes

Trail of Lightning

Mysteries of Thorn Manor

Elatsoe

When Night Breaks

The Cat King of Havana

Light Mage

The Iron Flower

Next to be Published November: 

Update 5

Update 6

Update 7

Update 8

Update 9

Update 10

Clear Your S**t Readathon: 

Update 7

Update 8

Update 9

Update 10
Update 11

Update 12

Update 13

Update 14

OK, so I got 36 posts in 7 days, I had a slower week because I've had a cold, but it's almost gone, so I hopefully will be reading a bit quicker now! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read A Light in the Flame, The Lost Metal, and The Shadow Wand. 

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout comes book two in her Flesh and Fire series…

The only one who can save Sera now is the one she spent her life planning to kill.

The truth about Sera’s plan is out, shattering the fragile trust forged between her and Nyktos. Surrounded by those distrustful of her, all Sera has is her duty. She will do anything to end Kolis, the false King of Gods, and his tyrannical rule of Iliseeum, thus stopping the threat he poses to the mortal realm.

Nyktos has a plan, though, and as they work together, the last thing they need is the undeniable, scorching passion that continues to ignite between them. Sera cannot afford to fall for the tortured Primal, not when a life no longer bound to a destiny she never wanted is more attainable than ever. But memories of their shared pleasure and unrivaled desire are a siren’s call impossible to resist.

And as Sera begins to realize that she wants to be more than a Consort in name only, the danger surrounding them intensifies. The attacks on the Shadowlands are increasing, and when Kolis summons them to Court, a whole new risk becomes apparent. The Primal power of Life is growing inside her, pushing her closer to the end of her Culling. And without Nyktos’s love—an emotion he’s incapable of feeling—she won’t survive her Ascension. That is if she even makes it to her Ascension and Kolis doesn’t get to her first. Because time is running out. For both her and the realms. 

Return to #1 New York Times bestseller Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn world of Scadrial as its second era, which began with The Alloy of Law, comes to its earth-shattering conclusion in The Lost Metal.

For years, frontier lawman turned big-city senator Waxillium Ladrian has hunted the shadowy organization the Set—with his late uncle and his sister among their leaders—since they started kidnapping people with the power of Allomancy in their bloodlines. When Detective Marasi Colms and her partner Wayne find stockpiled weapons bound for the Outer City of Bilming, this opens a new lead. Conflict between Elendel and the Outer Cities only favors the Set, and their tendrils now reach to the Elendel Senate—whose corruption Wax and Steris have sought to expose—and Bilming is even more entangled.

After Wax discovers a new type of explosive that can unleash unprecedented destruction and realizes that the Set must already have it, an immortal kandra serving Scadrial’s god reveals that Harmony’s power is blocked in Bilming. That means the city has fallen under the influence of another god: Trell, worshipped by the Set. And Trell isn’t the only factor at play from the larger Cosmere—Marasi is recruited by offworlders with strange abilities who claim their goal is to protect Scadrial...at any cost.

Harmony’s vision of future possibilities comes to an abrupt halt tomorrow night, with only blackness after that. It’s a race against time, and Wax must choose whether to set aside his rocky relationship with God and once again become the Sword that Harmony has groomed him to be. If no one steps forward to be the hero Scadrial needs, the planet and its millions of people will come to a sudden and calamitous ruin.

HER WORLD-ALTERING SECRET CAN'T BE HIDDEN MUCH LONGER

Elloren Gardner hides the most powerful secret in all Erthia--she is the Black Witch of Prophecy, and destined to triumph...or be used as the ultimate weapon of destruction.

Separated from everyone she loves, isolated and hunted, Elloren must turn to the last person she should trust--her fastmate, Commander Lukas Grey. Elloren has no choice but to ally with Lukas and combine their power to keep herself out of the hands of the Mage forces of Gardneria and their leader, Marcus Vogel...the holder of the all-consuming Shadow Wand.

With just weeks to train and no control over her magic, Elloren finds unexpected allies among those under orders to kill her. It's time to step up. To fight back. And to forge onward through the most devastating loss yet.

Week 45 Review: Elatsoe

From Goodreads:

Imagine an America very similar to our own. It's got homework, best friends, and pistachio ice cream.

There are some differences. This America has been shaped dramatically by the magic, monsters, knowledge, and legends of its peoples, those Indigenous and those not. Some of these forces are charmingly everyday, like the ability to make an orb of light appear or travel across the world through rings of fungi. But other forces are less charming and should never see the light of day.

Elatsoe lives in this slightly stranger America. She can raise the ghosts of dead animals, a skill passed down through generations of her Lipan Apache family. Her beloved cousin has just been murdered in a town that wants no prying eyes. But she is going to do more than pry. The picture-perfect facade of Willowbee masks gruesome secrets, and she will rely on her wits, skills, and friends to tear off the mask and protect her family.

My Review:
Oh this was such a fantastic read! I loved the fact that it was mostly like our world, but that there was magic, and history, and it was such a great read! If this becomes a series, I would love that, because Elatsoe was such a wonderful character! 

Reading Elatsoe's story was so great! She has the history of her family, the stories of one of her most famous ancestors, who did so much with her ability, and had a pretty big impact on Elatsoe. And boy, is she going to need that! 

This story was so evocative, and it was really great to learn a bit about Lipan Apache, as well as to explore this strange and interesting world! And the fact aht Elatsoe is ace, or at least on the spectrum, that was another great representation in this book! 

When her cousin dies, and she sees him, and then the details of his death don't line up, she's smart, resourceful-and she involves her parents. I loved watching her investigate, and it was heartbreaking and awful what it turned out to happen-but it was good that it finally came to light! 

I loved reading this book, and I would love to read more by Darcie Little Badger! 

Author: Darcie Little Badger
Read: November 8th, 2022
Source: Bought 
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a SAC 2022 Book!
Publisher: Levine Querido
Published: August 25th 2020

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

WWW Wednesday #604, November 9th

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 When Night Breaks, and I'm really enjoying this sequel! 

I read Elatsoe, and oh, it was a fantastic read! 

I'm going to be reading The Cat King of Havana, and it sounds really great so I can't wait! 

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Clear Your S**t Readathon Update 9

So I've read my next book for the Clear Your S**t Readathon, and it was Elatsoe which is for the prompt A book with a journey, and I'll be reading When Night Breaks next! 

My Reading Journey:

Backpacking Through Bedlam by Seanan McGuire

Prompt Fulfilled: A book with red or pink on the cover

Started On: November 1st

Finished On: November 1st, 8:43 PM

Pages Read: 352

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon

Prompt Fulfilled: A book with the "secret world" trope

Started On: November 2nd

Finished On: November 2nd, 8:19 PM

Pages Read: 432

Twelve Graves of Christmas by Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe

Prompt Fulfilled: A book you could read in one night (a short book)

Started On: November 4th

Finished On: November 4th, 4:55 PM

Pages Read: 144

From Dust, a Flame by Rebecca Podos 

Prompt Fulfilled: A book with a supposed twist

Started On: November 4th

Finished On: November 4th, 9:34 PM

Pages Read: 416

Strike the Zither by Joan He

Prompt Fulfilled: A book with an epic battle

Started On: November 5th

Finished On: November 5th, 10:30 PM

Pages Read: 368

Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

Prompt Fulfilled: A feel good book

Started On: November 6th

Finished On: November 6th, 8:06 PM

Pages Read: 318

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

Prompt Fulfilled: A book with a quest for lost person/item

Started On: November 7th

Finished On: November 7th, 10:23 PM

Pages Read: 305

Mysteries of Thorn Manor by Margaret Rogerson

Prompt Fulfilled: A fast-paced or short book

Started On: November 8th

Finished On: November 8th, 6:05 PM

Pages Read: 192

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger

Prompt Fulfilled: A book with a journey

Started On: November 8th

Finished On: November 8th, 9:43 PM

Pages Read: 368

When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles

Prompt Fulfilled: A book with a dark cover

Started On: November 9th

Currently On: Page 0 of 480

Prompts Left: A book with romance plot or subplot, A book that's sexy under the covers (aka, that's pretty under dust cover), Top Secret Mini Boss Battles, A book with a group cast, Side Quest Book, Free book space, Your longest or physically largest book, A sequel that you have low hopes for but still own, A book with a trope you hate, A green book cover or a book with plants as a theme, Top Secret Mini Boss Battle, Free book space, A book that keeps getting forgotten on your TBRs, A book featuring tech or robots, A book set on another planet, A book that was expensive/looks expensive, Continue a series, A book with found family, Free book space, Final Boss Battle, Read a book from another one of the strengths/weakness prompts, Don't worry about this one xoxo

Books Read: 9

Pages Read: 2895

Teaser Tuesday #604, November 8th

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by Ambrosia of The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Today's teaser comes from Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger, page 4.

"It was possible-likely, even-that those who climbed bridges at night were more resilient than mere humans. If so, Ellie didn't want to meet them."

Yeah, that seems like a good call! What about you guys? Happy reading!