Showing posts with label Eliot Schrefer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Eliot Schrefer. Show all posts

Wednesday, September 4, 2024

Waiting on Wednesday #695, September 4th

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

I'll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
From New York Times Bestselling author Kelley Armstrong comes a spellbinding new tale of supernatural horror involving a haunted-house, seances, lost loved ones, and a sinister spirit out for blood...

Nicola Laughton never expected to see adulthood, being diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis as a child. Then medical advances let her live into her thirties and she met Anton, who taught her to dream of a future… together. Months after they married, Anton died in a horrible car, but lived long enough to utter five words to her, “I’ll be waiting for you.”

That final private moment became public when someone from the crash scene took it to the press—the terminally ill woman holding her dying husband as he promised to wait for her on the other side. Worse, that person claimed it wasn’t Anton who said the words but his ghost, hovering over his body.

Since their story went public, Nicola has been hounded by spiritualists promising closure. In the hopes of stopping her downward spiral, friends and family find a reputable medium—a professor of parapsychology. For the séance, they rent the Lake Erie beach house that Anton’s family once owned.

The medium barely has time to begin his work before things start happening. Locked doors mysteriously open. Clouds of insects engulf the house. Nicola hears footsteps and voices and the creak of an old dumbwaiter…in an empty shaft. Throughout it all she’s haunted by nightmares of her past. Because, unbeknownst to the others, this isn’t her first time contacting the dead. And Nicola isn’t her real name.

That’s when she finds the first body....

In this atmospheric, thrilling new ghost story, Kelley Armstrong's full talents are on display to thrill, chill and leave the reader guessing how Nicola escapes with her life--if she can.

Schemes & Scandals by Kelley Armstrong
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
It’s Mallory Atkinson’s first Christmas in Scotland. Victorian Scotland, that is. Also, as the twenty-first-century detective learns, Christmas really isn’t a thing in Victorian Scotland. It’s all about Hogmanay. But her boss, Dr. Duncan Gray, treats her to an early gift of tickets to the event of the season: a Charles Dickens reading. There, they bump into Lady Inglis—the lovely widow who has sent Gray sexy letters trying to entice him back to her bed.

Lady Inglis introduces Mallory to Dickens—the meeting of a lifetime—but in return she wants their help. She’s being blackmailed. Someone stole letters she wrote to another lover and is threatening to publish them.

Mallory isn’t sure what to make of Lady Inglis, but no woman deserves that, so she insists on taking the case with or without Gray’s help. Growing tension between them soon tells Mallory that Gray is hiding a secret of his own. She has until Hogmanay to uncover the blackmailer…and, hopefully, to put things right with Gray so they can enjoy the holiday together.

Vault of Souls by Josephine Angelini
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
Bestselling author Josephine Angelini makes her adult fantasy debut with an epic tale about a world on the brink of destruction, and the Saints, assassins, and warriors who will risk everything to save it. Perfect for fans of Brandon Sanderson and Naomi Novick.

The Peaceful People will suffer bondage no longer…

A former slave spearheads a ruthless rebellion against the kingdom that keeps her people in chains. Where Tabin-Af goes, the ground shakes and the air glows yellow. There are whispers that she is one of the mythical Widows, a harbinger of the end.

Every death adds another soul to the Vault…

Wielding unchecked elemental power, Tabin-Af’s Avenging Army is on a mission to lay waste to anyone who gets in their way, filling the Vault with every life they take. When the Vault can no longer hold, it will trigger a Reaping, a cataclysmic event where the dead are unleashed to reap the living.

The Vault of Souls is full…

Champions are chosen in secret, some to kill the Widow, and others to leverage her power against their enemies. Kings, queens, Saints, and cabals maneuver their pawns, scheming to use the uprising to their advantage, as destinies become intertwined and the line between heroism and villainy blurs, with the fate of an entire world hanging in the balance.

The House at Watch Hill by Karen Marie Moning
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning is back with a gripping, imaginative, and seductive new series in which a young woman moves to Divinity, Louisiana, to inherit a large fortune and a Gothic mansion full of mysteries and ominous secrets...

Zo Grey is reeling from the sudden death of her mother when she receives a surprising call from an attorney in Divinity, Louisiana, with the news she has been left an inheritance by a distant relative, the terms of which he will only discuss in person. Destitute and alone, with nothing left to lose, Zo heads to Divinity and discovers she is the sole beneficiary of a huge fortune and a monstrosity of a house that sits ominously at the peak of Watch Hill—but she must live in it, alone, for three years before the house, or the money, is hers.

Met with this irresistible opportunity to finally build a future for herself, Zo puts aside her misgivings about the foreboding Gothic mansion and the strange circumstances, and moves in, where she is quickly met by a red-eyed Stygian owl and an impossibly sexy Scottish groundskeeper.

Her new home is full of countless secrets and mystifying riddles, with doors that go nowhere, others that are impossible to open, and a turret into which there is no visible means of ingress. And the townspeople are odd…

What Zo doesn’t yet know is that her own roots lie in this very house and that in order to discover her true identity and awaken her dormant powers, she will have to face off against sinister forces she doesn’t quite comprehend—or risk being consumed by them.

Lore Olympus: Volume Seven by Rachel Smythe
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
Scandalous gossip, wild parties, and forbidden love—the Greek tale of Hades and Persephone gets a romantic modern update in the gorgeously illustrated, Eisner Award-winning Lore Olympus, including a brand new bonus short story!

An ingenious take on the Greek Pantheon, Lore Olympus is a modern update on the story of Hades and Persephone. Follow the propulsive love story of two Greek gods, told with lavish artwork and contemporary sensibilities.

This full-color edition of Smythe’s original Eisner Award-winning webcomic Lore Olympus features exclusive behind-the-scenes content and brings Greek mythology into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

This volume collects episodes 153-179 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus.

The Wild Huntress by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
Dive into a lush, standalone fantasy, set in the same world as The Drowned Woods and The Bone Houses, about a deadly competition—perfect for fans of Holly Black and Erin A. Craig.

Every five years, two kingdoms take part in a Wild Hunt. Joining is a bloody risk and even the most qualified hunters can suffer the deadliest fates. Still, hundreds gamble their lives to participate—all vying for the Hunt’s life-changing prize: a magical wish granted by the Otherking.

BRANWEN possesses a gift no other human has: the ability to see and slay monsters. She’s desperate to cure her mother’s sickness, and the Wild Hunt is her only option.

GWYDION is the least impressive of his magically-talented family, but with his ability to control plants and his sleight of hand, he’ll do whatever it takes to keep his cruel older brother from becoming a tyrant.

PRYDERI is prince-born and monster-raised. Deep down, the royal crown doesn’t interest him—all he wants is to know is where he belongs.

If they band together against the monstrous creatures within the woods, they have a chance to win. But, then again, nothing is guaranteed when all is fair in love and the Hunt.

A Song to Drown Riviers by Ann Liang
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
Inspired by the legend of Xishi, one of the famous Four Beauties of Ancient China, A Song to Drown Rivers is an epic historical fantasy about womanhood, war, sacrifice, and love against all odds.
Her beauty hides a deadly purpose.

Xishi’s beauty is seen as a blessing to the villagers of Yue—convinced that the best fate for a girl is to marry well and support her family. When Xishi draws the attention of the famous young military advisor, Fanli, he presents her with a rare opportunity: to use her beauty as a weapon. One that could topple the rival neighboring kingdom of Wu, improve the lives of her people, and avenge her sister’s murder. All she has to do is infiltrate the enemy palace as a spy, seduce their immoral king, and weaken them from within.

Trained by Fanli in everything from classical instruments to concealing emotion, Xishi hones her beauty into the perfect blade. But she knows Fanli can see through every deception she masters, the attraction between them burning away any falsehoods.

Once inside the enemy palace, Xishi finds herself under the hungry gaze of the king’s advisors while the king himself shows her great affection. Despite his gentleness, a brutality lurks and Xishi knows she can never let her guard down. But the higher Xishi climbs in the Wu court, the farther she and Fanli have to fall—and if she is unmasked as a traitor, she will bring both kingdoms down.

The Dark Becomes Her by Judy I. Lin
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
Perfect for fans of Ryan LaSala and Trang Thanh Tran: a sinister tale of the supernatural, sisterhood, and the shadows that rule our darkest desires, New York Times best-selling author Judy I. Lin takes her first foray into horror with Rick Riordan Presents

Ruby Chen has always played the part of the dutiful eldest daughter: excelling in school; excelling in piano lessons; excelling at keeping her younger sister, Tina, focused on extracurriculars meant to impress college admissions officers.

But when a ghost from the spirit world attacks the sisters in the middle of Vancouver’s Chinatown neighborhood, Ruby’s life is plunged into a darkness that no amount of duty can free her from. Overnight, Ruby’s sister seems to change. There are strange noises coming from her bedroom at all hours; and the once sweet, funny Tina has been replaced by something dark and unnatural.

As Ruby races to save her sister from demonic possession, she is thrown into an ancient battle over the gateway to the underworld. On one side, an evil traveling temple known for making dark wishes come true has returned to Chinatown after many years—intent on breaking down the gateway and unleashing the evil within. On the other side, the guardians who must stop them.

And in order to survive, Ruby must not only face the horror taking over her community, but must also confront the horror within herself.

Chinese and Taiwanese mythology get the Junji Ito treatment in this bone-chilling, propulsive story that takes the horrors of the Asian diaspora experience to a whole new level.

The Brightness Between Us by Eliot Schrefer 
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
In this sequel to The Darkness Outside Us, a Stonewall Honor Book, New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer delivers another ambitious, genre-bending novel and epic love story that spans thousands of years and the far reaches of the galaxy.

Seventeen years have gone by since the Coordinated Endeavor crashed on a distant exoplanet. Ambrose Cusk and Kodiak Celius are now the devoted parents of two teenage children, Owl and Yarrow, in a hardscrabble frontier home. Though life on Minerva is full of danger, the family’s bond is enough to make it all worth it—until they learn that the biggest threat to their survival might come from within.

More than thirty thousand years in the past, Ambrose wakes on Earth to find that his mission to save his sister was a ruse. His mother betrayed him, and the cruelty of her true plans sets Ambrose spiraling. When he discovers that another spacefarer is suffering his same fate, he will have to decide whether to risk crossing a world at war to reach him. 

Separated by time and space, a young family and two strangers learn that their lives are intimately intertwined. They race to uncover the unexpected connections that might save them all . . . and perhaps humanity as well.


The City in Glass by Nghi Vo
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
In this new standalone, Hugo Award-winning author Nghi Vo introduces a beguiling fantasy city in the tradition of Calvino, Mieville, and Le Guin.

A demon. An angel. A city that burns at the heart of the world.

The demon Vitrine—immortal, powerful, and capricious—loves the dazzling city of Azril. She has mothered, married, and maddened the city and its people for generations, and built it into a place of joy and desire, revelry and riot.

And then the angels come, and the city falls.

Vitrine is left with nothing but memories and a book containing the names of those she has lost—and an angel, now bound by her mad, grief-stricken curse to haunt the city he burned.

She mourns her dead and rages against the angel she longs to destroy. Made to be each other’s devastation, angel and demon are destined for eternal battle. Instead, they find themselves locked in a devouring fascination that will change them both forever.

Together, they unearth the past of the lost city and begin to shape its future. But when war threatens Azril and everything they have built, Vitrine and her angel must decide whether they will let the city fall again.

The City in Glass is both a brilliantly constructed history and an epic love story, of death and resurrection, memory and transformation, redemption and desire strong enough to burn a world to ashes and build it anew.

Class Act by Kelsey Rodkey
Expected Publication: October 1st, 2024
From Goodreads:
Perfect for fans of Elise Bryant and Katie Cotugno, this fake-dating YA rom-com from Kelsey Rodkey set at a high school election shows that in matters of the heart, you have to elect to be yourself.

Ella knew transferring to a new school wouldn’t be easy. The first day, while defending her sister, Ella makes an enemy out of the student council president and lands in detention. Swearing revenge on him, Ella will stop at nothing to unseat him—even calling for a redo election in which she’s the only one brave enough to run against him.

As a new student, Ella isn’t sure she can secure the votes until she meets unfailingly flirtatious Patrick and hears his wild idea to help her. He’ll pretend to be her boyfriend and show their classmates that she and her ideas for the school aren’t so bad. It’s like something out of her sister’s fan fiction.

But when their fake romance starts feeling too real, and Patrick’s true motives for their arrangement come to light, Ella has to decide what’s more Patrick or the polls.

Wow, October is kicking it off with a bang! There's some excellent books here, and I'm so excited for these books, I've read a few, and they've been so good! They need to be out in the world! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Monday, June 17, 2024

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #680, June 17th

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 #679
Teaser Tuesday #687
WWW Wednesday #687
WOW #683
Will the Time Come #680
Third Sentence Thursday #670
Random Reads #656
First Lines Friday #683
Book Blogger Hop #349
24 Books to Read in 2024 Update 4
22 Books to Read in 2022 Update 18
Monthly ARC's Update 77
The Reward Challenge Update #665
Wheel of TBR #212
How Well I Stuck to It #517
Wrote that Review Update #514

Week 24 Reviews:
Other Words for Smoke
I Was Born to Bake

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 
Update 32

Clear Your S**t:

Camp SeasonAthon:

Random:

OK, so I got 30 posts in 7 days, and the reading was good, the personal life, not so much. Jax, who is 11 years old, has had one thing or another for the past month. It started with a problem with his anal glands, and he was taken to the vet and got care. A few days after the antibiotics were finished, he started pooping blood, which had me scared because it reminded me of Dobby, and the infection in his bladder that caused him to pee blood, and is why he was put down, since he wasn't getting better, and it had been months and he was suffering, but it still hurt. It took a bit, including 2 vet visits because it didn't clear right away. He was getting better, he had more energy. But he's been coughing, and he's fainted twice now, which is scary. The vet has been monitoring him for a heart murmur, which the internet is saying could cause his symptomes. So he's going to the vet for the 4th time in a month's period, to see what treatment he can have. So I've been worrying over him and trying to spend as much time as possible with him. I'm really hoping that the vet can help him, and that it's all the stress of all that he's been going through, and he'll get better, but I don't know yet. But if we lose him now, it's been less than a year since we lost Dobby, which I'm still dealing with. So that's been my week. What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Winter Lost!

Mercy Thompson, car mechanic and shapeshifter, must stop a disaster of world-shattering proportions in this exhilarating entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

In the supernatural realms, there are creatures who belong to winter. I am not one of them. But like the coyote I can become at will, I am adaptable.

My name is Mercy Thompson Hauptman, and my mate, Adam, is the werewolf who leads the Columbia Basin Pack, the pack charged with keeping the people who live and work in the Tri-Cities of Washington State safe. It's a hard job, and it doesn't leave much room for side quests. Which is why when I needed to travel to Montana to help my brother, I intended to go by myself.

But I'm not alone anymore.

Together, Adam and I find ourselves trapped with strangers in a lodge in the heart of the wilderness, in the teeth of a storm of legendary power, only to discover my brother's issues are a tiny part of a problem much bigger than we could have imagined. Arcane and ancient magics are at work that could, unless we are very careful, bring about the end of the world. . . .

Saturday, June 15, 2024

Week 24 Review: The Brightness Between Us

From Goodreads:
In this sequel to The Darkness Outside Us, a Stonewall Honor Book, New York Times bestselling author Eliot Schrefer delivers another ambitious, genre-bending novel and epic love story that spans thousands of years and the far reaches of the galaxy.

Seventeen years have gone by since the Coordinated Endeavor crashed on a distant exoplanet. Ambrose Cusk and Kodiak Celius are now the devoted parents of two teenage children, Owl and Yarrow, in a hardscrabble frontier home. Though life on Minerva is full of danger, the family's bond is enough to make it all worth it—until they learn that the biggest threat to their survival might come from within.

More than thirty thousand years in the past, Ambrose wakes on Earth to find that his mission to save his sister was a ruse. His mother betrayed him, and the truth of her plan—to send twenty clones of him to continue human civilization thousands of light-years away—sets Ambrose spiraling. When he discovers that another spacefarer is suffering his same fate, he will have to decide whether to risk crossing a world at war to reach him.

Separated by time and space, a young family and two strangers learn that their lives are intimately intertwined. They race to uncover the unexpected connections that might save them all . . . and perhaps humanity as well.

My Review:
I loved reading this book! I really enjoyed the first book, and I was fine with it staying a stand alone, but now that it's a series, I had to read it! To know what happened after on Minerva, as they're starting to build a civilization on an alien planet, while also getting the original Ambrose and Kodiak's story on earth? I had to read it! 

It was really interesting, seeing Kodiak and Ambrose as parents. The 4 of them are a family, and probably the only living humans. I really enjoyed seeing their dynamics, when only 2 of the 7 embryos that they had grown have actually survived to this point, making the two kids pretty protected, even if they haven't done much exploring of their world, since they've been focused on survival. 

The way this story is told, in sections, between Owl and Yarrow in the future, and then Ambrose and Kodiak in the past, was wonderful. We were introduced to where these characters where, and get invested, and then we would switch which time we were in, I think all of the switches between parts all switched if it was the past or the future. 

From the ending of the first book, we know that there was a nuclear war pretty soon after the ship took off, so the chances of the original pair's lives having a happy ending was pretty small. But I'm glad that we got to read them, to know that even the originals found each other and love with each other. And how their story, of how they were lied about being sent on the voyage, and how their story plays a part in the future, loved how it came together! 

Loved reading this book and I can't wait to read more by Eliot Schrefer! 

Author: Eliot Schrefer 
Series: The Darkness Outside Us #2
Read: June 13th, 2024 
Source: Edelweiss 
Reason Why: Loved the first book, and it's a 2024 Dystopia Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2024 Book and a WoW Book! 
Publisher: Harper Collins
Expected Publication: October 1st 2024
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Thursday, June 13, 2024

Third Sentence Thursday #670, June 13th

Create your own banner at mybannermaker.com!


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!

"I begin down the hill." -The Brightness Between Us by Eliot Schrefer, page 23.

Well, that is pretty neutral, it could be good or bad or just happening. Must read more now! What are your guy's 3rd lines? Link up below! 

Wednesday, June 12, 2024

WWW Wednesday #687, June 12th

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 Trust Me, I'm Lying, and I'm really enjoying it, and I must read more now!  
I read Queen Charlotte, and I enjoyed it so much, it was so good! 
I'm going to be reading The Brightness Between Us, and I can't wait, I loved the first book! 

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Monday, August 23, 2021

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #533, August 23rd

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 #532
Teaser Tuesday #540
WWW Wednesday #540
WOW #536
Will the Time Come #533
Third Sentence Thursday #523
Random Reads #509
First Lines Friday #536
Book Blogger Hop #202
The Reward Challenge Update #518
Wheel of TBR #65
How Well I Stuck to It #370
Wrote that Review Update #368

Week 33 Reviews:
The Duke Goes Down

ARC August: 

Among Us Readathon: 

Path or Pantheon: 

TBR Trail July: 

Random:

OK, so I got 38 posts in 7 days, which I'm really happy with, I read more then I did last week, so that was great, and I read my most anticipated read of the year, Master of Tomes, so that was great, I loved reading it! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read True Dead.

Jane Yellowrock goes back to the city where it all began in the newest installment of this thrilling New York Times bestselling series.

Jane used to hunt vampires, but now she’s their queen. She’s holed up in the mountains with the Yellowrock Clan, enjoying a little peace, when a surprise attack on her people proves that trouble is brewing. Someone is using very old magic to launch a bid for power, and it’s all tied to the place where Jane was first drawn into the world of Leo Pellissier—the city of New Orleans.

Jane is compelled to return to NOLA because someone is trying to destabilize the paranormal world order. And because she now sits near the top of the vampire world, the assault is her problem. She will do what she must to protect what’s hers. Her city. Her people. Her power. Her crown.

Saturday, August 21, 2021

Week 33 Review: The Darkness Outside Us

From Goodreads:
Two boys, alone in space.

After the first settler on Titan trips her distress signal, neither remaining country on Earth can afford to scramble a rescue of its own, and so two sworn enemies are installed in the same spaceship.

Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor, with no memory of a launch. There's more that doesn't add up: Evidence indicates strangers have been on board, the ship's operating system is voiced by his mother, and his handsome, brooding shipmate has barricaded himself away. But nothing will stop Ambrose from making his mission succeed—not when he's rescuing is his own sister.

In order to survive the ship's secrets, Ambrose and Kodiak will need to work together and learn to trust one another… especially once they discover what they are truly up against. Love might be the only way to survive.

My Review:
This book was an excellent read! I loved the mystery, and then once certain events unfolded, how the characters dealt with things! This book was just amazing, and I loved this LGBTIA+ sci fi adventure! It was so fantastic!

This book is split into parts. The first part was probably the longest, and I just wanted to know what was going on, there was a little clue here and there, but mainly things were focused on the mission, on Ambrose and Kodiak. And then the end of that first part hit, and we knew what was going on, now we had to figure out why, and how to deal with it. 

I felt so badly for Ambrose and Kodiak. They're in an impossible situation that they didn't ask for, and it's heartbreaking and mind blowing and insane, and it really sucks that they were put in it. But I loved how they fell for each other, and the dynamic between them!

But I loved how they dealt with things (well, I didn't like some things, but I can understand why the characters did so)  because the whole situation is hard to accept. And in the end, it does have such a very satisfying ending. Boy were there some highly questionable ramifications of what happened, of decisions that where made. It does raise the question of if the ends justify the means, but I do think that they could've achieved the same outcome with a few different choices that were made by others not Ambrose and Kodiak.

I loved reading this book, and I can't wait to read more by Eliot Schrefer!

Author: Eliot Schrefer
Read: August 17th, 2021
Source: Edelweiss 
Reason Why: Sounded really good, and it's a SAC 2021 Book and a WoW Book!
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Published: June 1st 2021
5/5 Hearts
5/5 Books
5/5 Stars

Wednesday, August 18, 2021

WWW Wednesday #540, August 18th

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 Reclaimed, and I'm loving it!
I read The Darkness Outside Us which was so fantastic!
I'm going to be reading As Good As Dead, and I can't wait, I love this series! 

What about you guys? Happy reading!

Tuesday, August 17, 2021

TBR Trail July Update 5

So I read my next book from TBR Trail, The Darkness Outside Us, for the prompt STEM - Read a Book With a Dark Cover Book 1, and I'll be reading Cold Falling White next! 

Reading Journey:

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Prompt Fulfilled: Fiction - Read a Book in a Genre You Do not Usually Read 
Started On: July 15th
Finished On: July 15th, 8:01 PM
Pages Read: 245

Carrie by Stephen King
Prompt Fulfilled: Free Choice - Read a Book from the Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge
Started On: July 18th
Finished On: July 18th, 9:16 PM
Pages Read: 253

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Prompt Fulfilled: STEM - Read a Book With a Dark Cover Book 2
Started On: July 27th
Finished On: July 27th, 10:38 PM
Pages Read: 549

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti
Prompt Fulfilled: 2021 TBR - Random Genre - Contemporary
Started On: July 31st
Finished On: July 31st, 11:03 AM
Pages Read: 400

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Prompt Fulfilled: STEM - Read a Book With a Dark Cover Book 1
Started On: August 17th
Finished On: August 17th, 8:49 PM
Pages Read: 416

Cold Falling White by G. S. Prendergast 
Prompt Fulfilled: STEM - Read a Book With a Dark Cover Book 3
Started On: August 
Currently On: Page 0 of 576

Prompts Left: None!
Read: 5
Pages Read: 1863

ARC August Update 8

So I read my next book for ARC August, and it was The Darkness Outside Us and I'll be reading Reclaimed next! 

My Reading Journey:

The Starless Crown by James Rollins
Started On: August 1st
Finished On: August 1st, 10:54 PM
Pages Read: 704

Pride by Ibi Zoboi
Started On: August 3rd
Finished On: August 3rd, 9:52 PM
Pages Read: 304

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska
Started On: August 4th
Finished On: August 4th, 10:00 PM
Pages Read: 384

Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh
Started On: August 5th
Finished On: August 5th, 11:14 PM
Pages Read: 368

Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan
Started On: August 9th
Finished On: August 9th, 11:52 AM
Pages Read: 335

The Duke Goes Down by Sophie Jordan 
Started On: August 14th
Finished On: August 14th, 11:01 PM
Pages Read: 352

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
Started On: August 16th
Finished On: August 16th, 10:01 PM
Pages Read: 496

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Started On: August 17th
Finished On: August 17th, 8:49 PM
Pages Read: 416

Reclaimed by Madeleine Roux
Started On: August 18th
Currently On: Page 0 of 368

Goals: 31
Read: 8
Pages Read: 3359

Teaser Tuesday #540, August 17th

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 The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer, page 12.

"Now Minerva's drowning. Her strong arms chop ocean but bring her nowhere. I try to yell, but my dry throat gapes.

Oh, this does not sound good at all! Must keep reading! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Monday, August 16, 2021

Among Us Readathon Update 8

So I read my next book for Among Us Readathon, and it was Blood Like Magic which was for the prompt Kill Green, and I'll be reading The Darkness Outside Us next! 

My Reading Journey:

The Starless Crown by James Rollins
Prompt Fulfilled: Fake a Task
Started On: August 1st
Finished On: August 1st, 10:54 PM
Pages Read: 704

Pride by Ibi Zoboi
Prompt Fulfilled: Kill Orange
Started On: August 3rd
Finished On: August 3rd, 9:52 PM
Pages Read: 304

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska
Prompt Fulfilled: Vent
Started On: August 4th
Finished On: August 4th, 10:00 PM
Pages Read: 384

Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh
Prompt Fulfilled: Kill Red
Started On: August 5th
Finished On: August 5th, 11:14 PM
Pages Read: 368

Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan
Prompt Fulfilled: Kill Pink
Started On: August 9th
Finished On: August 9th, 11:52 AM
Pages Read: 335

Good Omens by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Prompt Fulfilled: Blame Someone Else
Started On: August 11th
Finished On: August 11th, 11:24 AM
Pages Read: 433

The Duke Goes Down by Sophie Jordan 
Prompt Fulfilled: Kill Lime
Started On: August 14th
Finished On: August 14th, 11:01 PM
Pages Read: 352

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
Prompt Fulfilled: Kill Green
Started On: August 16th
Finished On: August 16th, 10:01 PM
Pages Read: 496

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Prompt Fulfilled: Kill Yellow
Started On: August 17th
Currently On: Page 0 of 416

Prompts Left: Kill White, Kill Purple, Kill Cyan, Kill Brown, Kill Blue, Kill Brown, Kill Black, Kill Extra 1, Kill Extra 2
Read: 8
Pages Read: 3376

ARC August Update 7

So I read my next book for ARC August, and it was Blood Like Magic and I'll be reading The Darkness Outside Us next! 

My Reading Journey:

The Starless Crown by James Rollins
Started On: August 1st
Finished On: August 1st, 10:54 PM
Pages Read: 704

Pride by Ibi Zoboi
Started On: August 3rd
Finished On: August 3rd, 9:52 PM
Pages Read: 304

The Midnight Girls by Alicia Jasinska
Started On: August 4th
Finished On: August 4th, 10:00 PM
Pages Read: 384

Archangel's Light by Nalini Singh
Started On: August 5th
Finished On: August 5th, 11:14 PM
Pages Read: 368

Unpregnant by Jenni Hendriks and Ted Caplan
Started On: August 9th
Finished On: August 9th, 11:52 AM
Pages Read: 335

The Duke Goes Down by Sophie Jordan 
Started On: August 14th
Finished On: August 14th, 11:01 PM
Pages Read: 352

Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury
Started On: August 16th
Finished On: August 16th, 10:01 PM
Pages Read: 496

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Started On: August 17th
Currently On: Page 0 of 416

Goals: 31
Read: 7
Pages Read: 2943

Saturday, July 31, 2021

TBR Trail July Update 4 and Technically Wrap Up

So I read my next book (and technically final) from TBR Trail, The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett, for the prompt 2021 TBR - Random Genre - Contemporary, and I'll be reading The Darkness Outside Us next! I did read a book from all of of the rolls. I still have 2 left though, and it's the end of the month. So while this is technically the end, I will do a post for the last 2 books, because I am moving, and have less time to read, and I'm particular! But yeah! What about you guys? Happy reading!

Reading Journey:

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Prompt Fulfilled: Fiction - Read a Book in a Genre You Do not Usually Read 
Started On: July 15th
Finished On: July 15th, 8:01 PM
Pages Read: 245

Carrie by Stephen King
Prompt Fulfilled: Free Choice - Read a Book from the Gilmore Girls Reading Challenge
Started On: July 18th
Finished On: July 18th, 9:16 PM
Pages Read: 253

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Prompt Fulfilled: STEM - Read a Book With a Dark Cover Book 2
Started On: July 27th
Finished On: July 27th, 10:38 PM
Pages Read: 549

The Hundred Lies of Lizzie Lovett by Chelsea Sedoti
Prompt Fulfilled: 2021 TBR - Random Genre - Contemporary
Started On: July 31st
Finished On: July 31st, 11:03 AM
Pages Read: 400

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Prompt Fulfilled: STEM - Read a Book With a Dark Cover Book 1
Started On: August
Currently On: Page 0 of 416

Prompts Left: STEM - Read a Book With a Dark Cover Book 3
Read: 4
Pages Read: 1447



Wednesday, May 12, 2021

Waiting on Wednesday #522, May 12th

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

The City of Zirdai by Maria V. Snyder
Expected Publication: June 1st, 2021
From Goodreads:
With her indomitable style, New York Times bestselling author Maria V. Snyder returns with an electric new fantasy series that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Through her courage and tenacity, Shyla Sun-Kissed has awoken the power of The Eyes of Tamburah. But this feat only marks the beginning of the challenges that the magical order, the Invisible Sword, faces to free the underground city of Zirdai.

Though they have allies among the monks and splinter cells inside the city, Shyla knows the Invisible Sword doesn't have the strength to win. With the group fracturing due to the strain of losses from their latest ordeal, thinly veiled suspicions and endless disagreements, it's up to Shyla to forge a new united order.

When both the draconian Water Prince and brutal Heliacal Priestess learn of Shyla's new powers, life becomes even more complicated as they will stop at nothing to capture Shyla and take the magic of The Eyes for themselves. Hunted at every turn and unable to hide, Shyla and the Invisible Sword must use every resource at their command - and unearth new ones - in their race to save the city from destruction. But their enemies always seem to be one step ahead. And the cost to win the battle may be more than Shyla would ever be willing to pay...

Grace and Glory by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Expected Publication: June 1st, 2021
From Goodreads:
Danger, betrayal, and enticing forbidden love clash in book three of #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s Harbinger trilogy!

When Angels Fall

Trinity Marrow has lost the battle and her beloved Protector. Even with both demons and Wardens on her side, Trin may not win the war against the Harbinger.

Bringing Lucifer back to the world to fight the Harbinger is probably a really, really bad idea, but they’re out of options—and the world’s ultimate fallen angel is the only being powerful enough to impact the outcome.

As Trin and Zayne form a new and more dangerous bond and Lucifer unleashes Hell on earth, the apocalypse looms and the world teeters on the end of forever. Win or lose, one thing is certain—nothing will ever be the same. 

Freed by E.L. James
Expected Publication: June 1st, 2021
From Goodreads:
Relive the sensuality, the romance, and the drama of Fifty Shades Freed - the love story that enthralled millions of readers around the world - through the thoughts, reflections, and dreams of Christian Grey.

E.L. James revisits the world of Fifty Shades with a deeper and darker take on the love story that has enthralled millions of readers around the globe.

You are cordially invited to the wedding of the decade, when Christian Grey will make Anastasia Steele his wife. But is he really husband material? His dad is unsure, his brother wants to organise one helluva bachelor party, and his fiancée won't vow to obey . . .

And marriage brings its own challenges. Their passion for each other burns hotter and deeper than ever, but Ana's defiant spirit continues to stir Christian's darkest fears and tests his need for control. As old rivalries and resentments endanger them both, one misjudgement threatens to tear them apart.

Can Christian overcome the nightmares of his childhood and the torments of his youth, and save himself? And once he's discovered the truth of his origins, can he find forgiveness and accept Ana's unconditional love?

Can Christian finally be freed? 

Better Together by Christine Riccio
Expected Publication: June 1st, 2021
From Goodreads:
Freaky Friday meets The Parent Trap in this sparkling and heartfelt story about sisters, second chances, finding romance, and finding yourself.

Jamie’s an aspiring standup comic in Los Angeles with a growing case of stage anxiety.

Siri’s a stunning ballerina from New Jersey nursing a career-changing injury.

They’ve both signed up for the same session at an off the grid Re-Discover Yourself Retreat in Colorado. When they run into each other, their worlds turn upside down.

Jamie and Siri are sisters, torn apart at a young age by their parent's volatile divorce. They’ve grown up living completely separate lives: Jamie with their Dad and Siri with their Mom. Now, reunited after over a decade apart, they hatch a plot to switch places. It’s time they get to know and confront each of their estranged parents.

With an accidental assist from some fortuitous magic, Jamie arrives in New Jersey, looking to all the world like Siri, and Siri steps off her flight sporting a Jamie glamour.

The sisters unexpectedly find themselves stuck living in each other's shoes. Soon Siri's crushing on Jamie's best friend Dawn. Jamie's falling for the handsome New Yorker she keeps running into, Zarar. Alongside a parade of hijinks and budding romance, both girls work to navigate their broken family life and the stresses of impending adulthood. 

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Expected Publication: June 1st, 2021
From Goodreads:
Two boys, alone in space.

After the first settler on Titan trips her distress signal, neither remaining country on Earth can afford to scramble a rescue of its own, and so two sworn enemies are installed in the same spaceship.

Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor, with no memory of a launch. There’s more that doesn’t add up: Evidence indicates strangers have been on board, the ship’s operating system is voiced by his mother, and his handsome, brooding shipmate has barricaded himself away. But nothing will stop Ambrose from making his mission succeed—not when he’s rescuing is his own sister.

In order to survive the ship’s secrets, Ambrose and Kodiak will need to work together and learn to trust one another… especially once they discover what they are truly up against. Love might be the only way to survive.

The Witch King by H.E. Edgmon
Expected Publication: June 1st, 2021
From Goodreads:
To save a fae kingdom, a trans witch must face his traumatic past and the royal fiancé he left behind. This debut YA fantasy will leave you spellbound.

Wyatt would give anything to forget where he came from—but a kingdom demands its king.

In Asalin, fae rule and witches like Wyatt Croft…don’t. Wyatt’s betrothal to his best friend, fae prince Emyr North, was supposed to change that. But when Wyatt lost control of his magic one devastating night, he fled to the human world.

Now a coldly distant Emyr has hunted him down. Despite transgender Wyatt’s newfound identity and troubling past, Emyr has no intention of dissolving their engagement. In fact, he claims they must marry now or risk losing the throne. Jaded, Wyatt strikes a deal with the enemy, hoping to escape Asalin forever. But as he gets to know Emyr, Wyatt realizes the boy he once loved may still exist. And as the witches face worsening conditions, he must decide once and for all what’s more important—his people or his freedom.

Strange Creatures by Phoebe North
Expected Publication: June 1st, 2021
From Goodreads:
A riveting, unexpected, and beautiful contemporary novel about a girl whose brother mysteriously disappears, the family and friends he leaves behind, and the stories—real and imagined—that they tell themselves to fill the empty space.

From the moment that Annie was born, she and her older brother, Jamie, were inseparable. Alike in almost every way, they promised to always take care of each other while facing the challenges of growing up different in suburban America. And when life became too much for them, they created their own space in the woods behind their house: a fantasy world of their own making, where no one else could find them. And it was enough, for a while. But then came middle school when Jamie grew dark and distant. He found new friends, a girlfriend, and a life away from Annie and their shared world. By the time Annie was in eighth grade, it was as if she hardly knew the brother who was her other half.

And then, one day, he disappears.

Annie, her family, and the entire community are devastated. And as the days turn into months turn into years, everyone begins to accept that Jamie is gone for good. Everyone, that is, except Annie, who believes that Jamie, somehow, has entered the world they created, and who believes that she's the only one who can bring him back. But as Annie searches for answers and finds a new relationship with a girl she did not expect, she makes startling discoveries about her brother's disappearance—and has to decide how much of herself she’s willing to give up in order to keep hope alive.

As they follow the lives of Annie, Jamie, and the friends and family around them, acclaimed author Phoebe North weaves an unflinching, unforgettable story of the empty spaces inside all of us, and the devastating sacrifices we make in order to become whole. 

Yes, there's some really fantastic books kicking off the month of June! And I've been waiting so desperately for The City of Zirdai, which got its publication date pushed back a year. I'm just so exited to read it, I think rereading book one, and then reading that book, will be my first reads of June! And there's some other really great books coming out as well, and I'm so excited to read them (Though I do have one or two as ARCs, and going to be reading Grace and Glory today! I'm so thankful for ARCs and being approved to read them!) And I can't wait What about you guys? Happy reading!