It's Monday! What Are You Reading #627, June 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 #626
Teaser Tuesday #634
WWW Wednesday #634
WOW #630
Will the Time Come #627
Third Sentence Thursday #617
Random Reads #603
First Lines Friday #630
Book Blogger Hop #296

21 Books to Read in 2021 Update 34

Monthly ARC's Update 43
The Reward Challenge Update #612
Wheel of TBR #159
How Well I Stuck to It #464
Wrote that Review Update #461

Week 23 Reviews:

Court of the Undying Seasons

Fault Line

All That's Left in the World

Never Ever Getting Back Together 

The Girl From Widow Hills

Firekeeper's Daughter

Day Zero

Arcana Rising

The Dark Calling

From the Grave

Flamefall

Furysong

XOXO

Magical Readathon: Orilium: 

Update 30

Camp SeasonAthon: 

Update 6

Update 7

Update 8

Update 9

48-Hour Mini Star Hop Readathon: 

June 2023 Sign Up

Update 1

Update 2

Update 3

Update 4

Update 5

Update 6

Update 7 and Wrap Up

OK, so I got  posts in 7 days, What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read Magic Claims! 

A new town, new friends, new challenges…. And a new heart-stopping adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author, Ilona Andrews. Kate, Curran, and Conlan may have left Atlanta for Wilmington, but the usual magic mayhem has also hitched a ride!

Kate and Curran have just settled into their new home and their 'low prolife,' when a local businessman approaches them with an offer they can't refuse. A mysterious evil has spawned in the nearby forest and is holding a defenseless town hostage. The ‘due date’ is rapidly approaching.

It's exactly the kind of fight the Lennarts can't resist, not for the prize the town offers, but for the people who will surely die if they ignore it. If they succeed, they'll be rescuing an entire community and can build a strong new base for their family and the Wilmington Pack. If they fail...well, fail is a four-letter word.

Nothing comes without a price. Now Kate must decide if she has what it takes to pay it.

Week 23 Reviews: Flamefall, Furysong

From Goodreads:

Revolutionary flames ignite around Annie, Lee, and a brand new POV character in the second book of the Fireborne trilogy.

After fleeing the revolution and settling into the craggy cliffs of New Pythos, the Dragonlords are eager to punish their usurpers--and reclaim their city. Their first order of business was destroying the Callipolan food supply. Now they're coming for the Dragonriders.

Annie is Callipolis's new Firstrider, and while her goal has always been to protect the people, being the government's enforcer has turned her into public enemy number one.

Lee struggles to find his place after killing kin to prove himself to a leader who betrayed him. He can support Annie and the other Guardians . . . or join the radicals who look to topple the new regime.

Griff, a lowborn dragonrider who serves New Pythos, knows he has no future. And now that Julia, the Firstrider who had protected him, is dead, he is called on to sacrifice everything for the lords that oppress his people--or to forge a new path with the Callipolan Firstrider seeking his help.

With famine tearing Callipolis apart and the Pythians determined to take back what they lost, it will be up to Annie, Lee, and Griff to decide what to fight for--and who to love.

From Goodreads:

In this explosive conclusion to the epic trilogy that began with Fireborne, Annie and Lee are fighting for their lives—and for each other—as invading dragonfire threatens to burn their home to the ground.

A new revolution is underway, and nobody will emerge unscathed.

In New Pythos, Griff is facing an execution by the dragonborn, who are furious at his betrayal. He has allies on both sides seeking to defy his fate, but the price of his freedom might come at a dear cost. And Delo will have to make a choice: follow his family, or finally surrender to his conscience.

Meanwhile, Annie must race home to hatch a plan to save her Guardians and their dragons. With Callipolis on the brink of collapse and the triarchy set to be reinstated, she may be the one person who can save the city—if she can overcome her own doubts about her future.

Lee is a revolutionary at heart, but now he'll have to find a way to fight with diplomacy. Going up against the dragonborn court and a foreign princess, he faces a test of loyalty that sets his head against his heart.

As the fate of Callipolis darkens, Annie and Lee must determine what they are willing to sacrifice in order to save each other, defeat their enemies, and reclaim their home.

My Review:
I loved reading these books! This world is so amazing, and I loved reading about these characters, who have to deal with these difficult situations and make tough choices, it was all so good to read, and I couldn't get enough! I'm glad that we got 3 books to spend in this incredible world with these characters! 

I really fell in love with the first book, and I'm glad that I was able to read these two back to back, so I could find out how the whole story went, in one final go. Being back in this world with these characters was utterly fantastic! They face terrible decisions, there's plenty of political maneuvering, and it was fantastic! 

 

All of these characters are put in impossible positions. To do what is right, or to follow orders. That they've put that much effort to get where they are, it's a difficult thing, to decide what is more important to them. Add in all the moving parts and different schemes, and it was all so delicious! With all the different perspectives, people from different walks of life, but I think they were all dragon riders, it was just so good! 

I really enjoyed how it ended. It was really satisfying, and the government that they set up, it solves the problems of what comes before. It might have flaws that they might need to deal with, but the ground rules are set, and I loved it, and where we left these characters, the ones that survived! There were so many moments that raised my emotions, these books really got me going, and they were just so well done, the writing, the plot, the characters, they all came together for a fantastic story! 

These books were so amazing, and I can't wait to read more by Rosaria Munda! 

Author: Rosaria Munda 
Series: The Aurelian Cycle #2, 3
Read: June 9th, 9th, 2023
Source: Library/Bought, Ebook.bike 
Reason Why: Loved the first book, and they're Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Books, and Flamefall is a Sophomore Challenge Book, Furysong is a End of Series 2023 Book! 
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Published: March 23rd 2021, August 9th 2022

Flamefall:

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Furysong:  

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

First Lines Friday #630, June 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!

"Julia's missing, and I'm in a terrible mood. Not improved byt he weather, which is cold and damp, but in New Pathos, it's always cold and dam. I'm gutting fish in a back room off the dragon lairs when Scully comes to find me."-Flamefall by Rosaria Munda

That does not sound good! Must read more now! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Week 16 Review: Fireborne

From Goodreads:

Game of Thrones meets Red Rising in a debut young adult fantasy that's full of rivalry, romance... and dragons.

The brutal revolution that overthrew the Dragonlords may have orphaned Annie and Lee, but it's brought new hope to their city. Now anyone--including the lowborn--can have wealth, an education, and even test into the governing class of dragonriders.

Aristocratic by birth and with his identity concealed, Lee's confidence and air of power have made him a rising star in the very regime that slaughtered his family. Annie, a former serf, is as bold a rider as they come--in the air. On the ground, she struggles with self-doubt.

Now, after seven years of friendship, Annie and Lee are rivals for the top position in the city's fleet. All the riders have been preparing to lead their people into the future, yet no one is ready when survivors from the Dragonlord families resurface with dragons of their own, bent on reclaiming the city.

With war looming and their relationship growing, Annie and Lee will both have to confront wavering loyalties. Lee will be forced to choose between killing the only family he has left, or betraying everything he's come to believe in, while Annie will have to decide whether to protect the boy she loves . . . or step up to be the champion her city needs.

My Review:
This was a really fantastic read! This series has recently been making the rounds on booktube, and it sounded interesting, so I had to check it out (that it turned out that I owned a hardcover of it was something that I learned after I read it but before I made this review.) And oh, I really enjoyed reading this book! 

This world of dragons and their riders, of this city that overthrew the Dragonlords, was so interesting to read! That Annie lost her family to a dragonlord, and Lee is the son of said dragonlord, yeah things are really complicated, and I couldn't get enough! 

Most of this book is the competitions that their class is undergoing to determine who will be the leader. There were some really fantastic action scenes (dragons and flying are so cool) as well as the politics, because there's the whole revolt thing, and some of the lingering prejudices and injustices. The system that was devised, yeah, I'm pretty sure that it's rigged in some capacity which is pretty infuriating. 

I'm really hoping that he didn't kill his cousin. We didn't get to see the end of the fight, just that he had her helmet, so I'm really hoping that he showed mercy, espcailly since he wasn't meant to survive afterwards, even if he'd won. Fingers crossed! 

This was a fantastic read, and I can't wait to continue on in this world! 

Author: Rosaria Munda
Series: The Aurelian Cycle #1
Read: April 19th, 2023
Source: Bought/Library
Reason Why: Sounded really great, and it's a DAC Book, Prequel & Sequel Challenge 2023 Book and a WTC Book!
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Published: October 15th 2019

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Magical Readathon: Orilium Update 42

So I read my next book for Magical Readathon: Orilium, and it was Fireborne which was for the prompt Question Quest, and I'll be reading Frost Bitten next!

My Reading Journey:

The Darkest Seduction by Gena Showalter

Prompt Fulfilled: Astronomy

Started On: March 29th

Finished On: March 29th, 9:40 PM

Pages Read: 502

The Last Changeling by Chelsea Pitcher

Prompt Fulfilled: Animal Studies

Started On: March 30th

Finished On: March 30th, 4:53 PM

Pages Read: 360

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Prompt Fulfilled: Shapeshifting

Started On: March 31st

Finished On: March 31st, 4:49 PM

Pages Read: 454

The Frugal Wizard’s Guide for Surviving Medieval England by Brandon Sanderson

Prompt Fulfilled: Conjuration

Started On: April 1st

Finished On: April 1st, 5:33 PM

Pages Read: 428

Nightblood by Elly Blake

Prompt Fulfilled: Inscription

Started On: April 1st

Finished On: April 1st 9:37 PM

Pages Read: 448

Falling for the Gravekeeper by Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe

Prompt Fulfilled: Elemental Studies

Started On: April 2nd

Finished On: April 2nd, 1:06 PM 

Pages Read: 187

A Fatal Affair by A.R. Torre

Prompt Fulfilled: Accept It Quest

Started On: April 2nd

Finished On: April 2nd, 4:23 PM

Pages Read: 313

A Magic Steeped in Poison by Judy I. Lin

Prompt Fulfilled: Art of Illusion

Started On: April 2nd

Finished On: April 2nd, 9:09 PM 

Pages Read: 384

A Venom Dark and Sweet by Judy I. Lin

Prompt Fulfilled: Finish Talking to the Professor Quest

Started On: April 3rd

Finished On: April 3rd, 10:15 PM

Pages Read: 352

The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray 

Prompt Fulfilled: Spells & Incantations

Started On: April 4th

Finished On: April 4th, 8:37 PM

Pages Read: 400

Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken

Prompt Fulfilled: Alchemy

Started On: April 5th

Finished On: April 5th, 9:22 PM

Pages Read: 480

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Prompt Fulfilled: Artificery

Started On: April 6th

Finished On: April 6th, 5:30 PM

Pages Read: 389

This Night So Dark by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

Prompt Fulfilled: Accept It Quest

Started On: April 6th

Finished On: April 6th, 7:00 PM

Pages Read: 135

Molly Molloy and the Angel of Death by Maria Vale

Prompt Fulfilled: Finish Talking to the Professor Quest

Started On: April 6th

Finished On: April 6th, 10:28 PM

Pages Read: 268

Wings Once Cursed & Bound by Piper J. Drake

Prompt Fulfilled: Friends Quest

Started On: April 7th

Finished On: April 7th, 12:14 PM 

Pages Read: 306

A Trip With Trouble by Diane Kelly 

Prompt Fulfilled: Accept It Quest

Started On: April 7th

Finished On: April 7th, 6:31 PM

Pages Read: 320

Stars and Smoke by Marie Lu

Prompt Fulfilled: Demonology

Started On: April 7th

Finished On: April 7th, 10:02 PM

Pages Read: 336

The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake

Prompt Fulfilled: Question Quest

Started On: April 8th

Finished On: April 8th, 3:27 PM

Pages Read: 416

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs 

Prompt Fulfilled: Inscription

Started On: April 8th

Finished On: April 8th, 9:41 PM

Pages Read: 317

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

Prompt Fulfilled: Frenzy Quest

Started On: April 9th

Finished On: April 9th, 7:05 PM

Pages Read: 335

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

Prompt Fulfilled: Restoration

Started On: April 9th

Finished On: April 9th, 10:52 PM

Pages Read: 321

Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs 

Prompt Fulfilled: Astronomy

Started On: April 10th

Finished On: April 10th 12:43 PM

Pages Read: 320

Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs

Prompt Fulfilled: Art of Illusion

Started On: April 10th

Finished On: April 10th, 9:19 PM

Pages Read: 364

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Prompt Fulfilled: Astronomy

Started On: April 11th

Finished On: April 11th, 4:09 PM

Pages Read: 337

All the Dead Lie Down by Kyrie McCauley

Prompt Fulfilled: More Drinks Quest

Started On: April 11th

Finished On: April 11th, 10:03 PM

Pages Read: 368

What Unbreakable Looks Like by Kate McLaughlin

Prompt Fulfilled: Animal Studies

Started On: April 12th

Finished On: April 12th, 5:33 PM

Pages Read: 336

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones

Prompt Fulfilled: Aubrin Quest

Started On: April 12th

Finished On: April 12th, 9:46 PM

Pages Read: 352

All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda

Prompt Fulfilled: Inside the Empty Cauldron Quest

Started On: April 13th

Finished On: April 13th, 10:22 PM

Pages Read: 396

Missing Dead Girls by Sara Walters

Prompt Fulfilled: Question Quest

Started On: April 14th

Finished On: April 14th, 8:42 AM

Pages Read: 360

This Side of Murder by Anna Lee Huber

Prompt Fulfilled: Finish Talking to the Professor Quest

Started On: April 14th

Finished On: April 14th, 5:36 PM

Pages Read: 304

Treacherous is the Night by Anna Lee Huber

Prompt Fulfilled: Accept It Quest

Started On: April 14th

Finished On: April 14th, 11:53 PM

Pages Read: 304

First We Were IV by Alexandra Sirowy 

Prompt Fulfilled: Finish Talking to the Professor Quest

Started On: April 15th

Finished On: April 15th, 6:27 PM

Pages Read: 448

The Study of Poisons by Maria V. Snyder

Prompt Fulfilled: Art of Illusion

Started On: April 15th

Finished On: April 15th, 10:29 PM

Pages Read: 378

Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong

Prompt Fulfilled: Question Quest

Started On: April 16th

Finished On: April 16th, 4:43 PM

Pages Read: 304

Golden by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Prompt Fulfilled: Alchemy

Started On: April 16th

Finished On: April 16th, 6:48 PM

Pages Read: 256

Platinum by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 

Prompt Fulfilled: Alchemy

Started On: April 16th

Finished On: April 16th, 9:54 PM

Pages Read: 272

Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi

Prompt Fulfilled: Restoration

Started On: April 17th

Finished On: April 17th, 6:36 PM

Pages Read: 384

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

Prompt Fulfilled: Plants and Pots Quest

Started On: April 17th

Finished On: April 17th, 8:41 PM

Pages Read: 352

Unleashed by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié

Prompt Fulfilled: Accept It Quest

Started On: April 18th

Finished On: April 18th, 3:22 PM

Pages Read: 382

Hot Blooded by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié

Prompt Fulfilled: Psionics & Divination

Started On: April 18th

Finished On: April 18th, 6:14 PM

Pages Read: 432

Savage by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié

Prompt Fulfilled: Psionics & Divination

Started On: April 18th

Finished On: April 18th, 10:50 PM

Pages Read: 364

Fireborne by Rosaria Munda

Prompt Fulfilled: Question Quest

Started On: April 19th

Finished On: April 19th, 10:20 AM

Pages Read: 464

Frost Burned by Patricia Briggs

Prompt Fulfilled: Lore

Started On: April 19th

Currently On: Page 0 of 343

Prompts Left: Spells & Incantations, Conjuration, Restoration, Conjuration, Demonology, Restoration, Spells & Incantations, Psionics & Divination, Conjuration, Lore, Shapeshifting

Read: 42

Pages Read: 14928

Will the Time Come #618, April 6th

Every Thursday I am going to list a book which I really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! Thanks to Jodie from Books for Company for this meme!

Want to Join?

-Pick a book you have been meaning to read

-Do a post telling us about the book    

-Link the post up in the linky  

-Visit the other blogs

From Goodreads:

Game of Thrones meets Red Rising in a debut young adult fantasy that's full of rivalry, romance... and dragons.

The brutal revolution that overthrew the Dragonlords may have orphaned Annie and Lee, but it's brought new hope to their city. Now anyone--including the lowborn--can have wealth, an education, and even test into the governing class of dragonriders.

Aristocratic by birth and with his identity concealed, Lee's confidence and air of power have made him a rising star in the very regime that slaughtered his family. Annie, a former serf, is as bold a rider as they come--in the air. On the ground, she struggles with self-doubt.

Now, after seven years of friendship, Annie and Lee are rivals for the top position in the city's fleet. All the riders have been preparing to lead their people into the future, yet no one is ready when survivors from the Dragonlord families resurface with dragons of their own, bent on reclaiming the city.

With war looming and their relationship growing, Annie and Lee will both have to confront wavering loyalties. Lee will be forced to choose between killing the only family he has left, or betraying everything he's come to believe in, while Annie will have to decide whether to protect the boy she loves . . . or step up to be the champion her city needs.

Why the time hasn't come yet...

I don't know, it's the start of the series, but there's been a lot of hype around it on booktube that I've seen which has me really interested in reading this book! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Waiting on Wednesday #512, March 3rd

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

The Theft of Sunlight by Intisar Khanani

Expected Publication: March 23rd, 2021
From Goodreads:

I did not choose this fate. But I will not walk away if I can make a difference.

Children have been disappearing from Menaiya for longer than Amraeya ni Ansarim can remember. When her best friend’s sister disappears, Rae knows she can’t stay silent any longer. She finds the chance to make a difference in an invitation to the palace.

But Rae struggles to fit in with the lords and ladies of the court. Instead, she finds unexpected help in a rough-around-the-edges thief named Bren who always seems to have her best interests at heart. Soon even Bren can’t help her, and Rae must risk her life and well-being to face an evil that lurks in the shadows of the darkest hearts. 

The Last One Home by Victoria Helen Stone

Expected Publication: March 23rd, 2021
From Goodreads:
Lauren Abrams wants nothing to do with her damaged mother, whose spurious testimony sent Lauren’s father to prison for murder years ago. After a serial killer’s confession to the crime restored justice, Lauren chose to live with her father and grandmother. Now an adult, Lauren has come home to the Sacramento family estate for good, her mother’s lies be damned…It’s been decades since Donna made her cheating boyfriend pay, but she hasn’t forgotten the past. She knows her estranged daughter has made a terrible mistake by returning to the estate. There’s more to the story of the welcoming old homestead—and her childhood—than Lauren knows. As Lauren settles in, she is haunted by the questions of what really happened with her father, what her mother might be hiding, and what secrets the family ranch holds. It’s getting so dark, Lauren may not be able to see the truth to save her life. 

Danger in Numbers by Heather Graham

Expected Publication: March 23rd, 2021
From Goodreads:

On the edge of the Everglades, an eerie crime scene sets off an investigation that sends two agents deep into a world of corrupted faith, greed and deadly secrets.

A ritualistic murder on the side of a remote road brings in the Florida state police. Special Agent Amy Larson has never seen worse, and there are indications that this killing could be just the beginning. The crime draws the attention of the FBI in the form of Special Agent Hunter Forrest, a man with insider knowledge of how violent cults operate, and a man who might never be able to escape his own past.

The rural community is devastated by the death in their midst, but people know more than they are saying. As Amy and Hunter join forces, every lead takes them further into the twisted beliefs of a dangerous group that will stop at nothing to see their will done.

Doomsday preppers and small-town secrets collide in this sultry, twisty page-turning thriller. 

Flamefall by Rosaria Munda

Expected Publication: March 23rd, 2021
From Goodreads:

Revolutionary flames ignite around Annie, Lee, and a brand new POV character in the second book of the Fireborne trilogy.

After fleeing the revolution and settling into the craggy cliffs of New Pythos, the Dragonlords are eager to punish their usurpers--and reclaim their city. Their first order of business was destroying the Callipolan food supply. Now they're coming for the Dragonriders.

Annie is Callipolis's new Firstrider, and while her goal has always been to protect the people, being the government's enforcer has turned her into public enemy number one.

Lee struggles to find his place after killing kin to prove himself to a leader who betrayed him. He can support Annie and the other Guardians . . . or join the radicals who look to topple the new regime.

Griff, a lowborn dragonrider who serves New Pythos, knows he has no future. And now that Julia, the Firstrider who had protected him, is dead, he is called on to sacrifice everything for the lords that oppress his people--or to forge a new path with the Callipolan Firstrider seeking his help.

With famine tearing Callipolis apart and the Pythians determined to take back what they lost, it will be up to Annie, Lee, and Griff to decide what to fight for--and who to love.

Yeah, there's 4 amazing authors having books coming out, and I can't wait for them to be out! What about you guys? Happy reading!