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The Best Witch in Paris by Lauren Crozier -a review

The Best Witch in Paris by Lauren Crozier Luna rides a battered old broom that keeps crashing itself into the school pond. She has a witch’s hat and wand and sometimes she’s quite good at magic, but she isn’t completely sure that she’s a real witch. She doesn’t have a familiar for one thing, and she doesn’t know where she came from—only that she was found by three witches who she now calls her…

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Fatal Intrusion by Jeffery Deaver & Isabella Maldonado -a review

Fatal Intrusion (Sanchez & Heron #1) by Jeffery Deaver &  Isabella Maldonado As a wave of murders grips Southern California, an unlikely pair must untangle the mysterious patterns of an elusive killer. A propulsive new series by New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Isabella Maldonado. Carmen Sanchez is a tough Homeland Security agent who…

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The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho -a review

The Friend Zone Experiment by Zen Cho From the renowned, award-winning author Zen Cho comes a delightfully funny romance about family, class, and love in modern London. From the outside, Renee Goh’s life looks perfect. She’s thirty and beautiful, runs a glamorous—and profitable—women’s clothing company in London, and is dating a hot Taiwanese pop star. But Renee is lonely. Estranged from her…

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The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage -a review

The Sugarcane Kids and the Empty Cage by Charlie Archbold When you least expect it something surprising will spring out and shock you. Like when you study your dead bug shelf and there’s a live huntsman spider sitting on it. Or when your sausage dog turns up on a secret mission…‘It’s Gloria,’ I say. You can feel the shock hover over the fort like a sulphur gas cloud over a volcano. Gloria the…

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A Forgotten Kill by Isabella Maldonado -a review

A Forgotten Kill (Daniela Vega #2) by Isabella Maldonado An FBI agent tracks a brilliant serial killer in New York—right back to her own cold-blooded past in a riveting thriller by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Cipher. FBI Special Agent Daniela “Dani” Vega was seventeen when her mother murdered her father. Ten years after Dani’s own damning eyewitness testimony sealed her…

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Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco -a review

Court of Wanderers (Reaper #2) by Rin Chupeco Remy Pendergast and his royal vampire companions return to face an enemy that is terrifyingly close to home in Rin Chupeco’s queer, bloody Gothic epic fantasy series for fans of Samantha Shannon’s The Priory of the Orange Tree and the adult animated series Castlevania. Remy Pendergast, vampire hunter, and his unexpected companions, royal vampires…

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Outlaw Girls by Emily Gale & Nova Weetman -a review

Outlaw Girls by Emily Gale, Nova Weetman Kate and Ruby live in the High Country in Victoria. They’re both daring, quick-thinking and prepared to break the rules, and they’re both brilliant horse riders—they’d probably be great friends. But they live in different times, more than 140 years apart. While galloping through the mountains, Kate rides headlong into a thrilling experience that…

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Blog tour: Moon Flower by Heather Ewen-Foster - a review + GIVEAWAY INTL

Moonflower: Vampires of Los Angeles Heather Ewen-Foster Publication date: November 7th 2023 Genres: Adult, Urban Fantasy Sonia, a 250-year-old Australian vampire, thought she had found peace in the quiet neighborhood of Whitley Heights, Hollywood. But when a mysterious creature starts slaughtering young vampires, Sonia is thrust into a deadly game of cat and mouse. With her friend Sunny targeted…

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Blog Tour: Veils and Vampires by Cee Bee

Veils and VampiresCEE BEE(Vampires of the Daemonverse, #2)Publication date: October 14th 2023Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance***By popular demand! New launch date of Fall 2023 across all retailers!*** Highlander meets Twilight with a dash of Fifty Shades of Grey in this vampire romantasy… Caelin MacGregor is an ancient king with a new love. Ages ago, I ruled a clan of vampire raiders.…

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Blog Tour: Of Light and Shadow by Tanaz Bhathena

Of Light and ShadowTanaz BhathenaPublication date: May 23rd 2023Genres: Fantasy, Romance, Young AdultWhen they don’t give us our birthright, we steal it. Roshan Chaya is out for justice. Abandoned by her parents at birth and adopted by the kingdom of Jwala’s most notorious bandit before his brutal murder, she is now leader of the Shadow Clan, a gang of farmers-turned-bandits impoverished by the…

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📘 Monuments 🖋️ Will Kostakis ➡️ Synopsis 🧡💚💜1/2 I found this novel to be a strange but intriguing premise. I mean it is set in Australia and when I look at the cover, it has somewhat Greek overtone (the statues and Greek pillars etc). I guess it was just a bit jarring however I note author's Greek descents and his tendency to write in with his culture background. As I have seen him at events and have also followed him on social media, I feel strongly that he was writing himself into this story. That this is one of those "book-I-wished-I-had-when-I-was-a-teen" for him; the protagonist called himself "super gay" and another character also regrets that he didn't come out earlier. An easily likeable protagonist despite the slightly sad start for him but it is a novel full of adventure and growth. The prose is very lighthearted and quite humourous at parts however I'm just not a fan. It made an easy and fast read but it just didn't really "call" to me. I did like the plot & twists at the end though as with time travel in play, things get a little mind bending. PS: I wanted to say thanks for the buddy read @Seventyeight.Sundays but you haven't even finished reading!! Hurry it up, yo 😅😆😜 🏷 #monuments #willkostakis #ya #youngadult #fantasy #humour #booksandbreakfast #booksandfood #booksandtea #aussieauthor #lgbtqia #dymocksreadingchallenge #bookstalife #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #ausbookstagrammer #booklover #booksta #igreads #lovetoread #eclecticreader #bookishfeatures #aussiebookstagrammers #readersofinstagram #bookreview #bookphoto #bookish #booklife #booksofinstagram #eclecticreader https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp3fWI3yzcy/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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📙 The Matchmaker 🖋️ Saman Shad ➡️ Synopsis 💗💗💗💗💗 A wonderful heartwarming love story set in my own backyard! I love this to bits from the very easy read, all the recognisable settings, to the guaranteed HEA. There were many things that are discussions-worthy too, especially as this story is totally immersed in culture. I don't read very many romcoms but I found this very enjoyable and actually unputdownable. I enjoyed that characters are of mature age (in their 30s) who have their own issues but had real good friends who helped them AND even seek professional help! They seem like sensible people most of the time but we all have our ups and downs so they also have their silly moments. Yet, these flaws are what made them and their love story even more vibrantly alive. A fabulous debut and I'm looking forward to her next book. There are 2 things I'm wishing for at the end of this book (from the author): 1. A playlist 2. 'The Matchmaker - Gastronomical Tour' - I'm totally IN for this!!!! My thanks to @penguinbooksaus for gifting me a copy of this book. Thoughts are mine own. 🏷 #thematchmaker #samanshad #romance #romcom #contemporary #chicklit #booksandflowers #flowersandbooks #booksandwine #aussieauthor #australianwomenwriters #pocauthor #poc #bookstalife #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #ausbookstagrammer #booklover #booksta #igreads #lovetoread #eclecticreader #bookishfeatures #aussiebookstagrammers #readersofinstagram #bookreview #bookphoto #bookish #booklife #booksofinstagram #eclecticreader https://www.instagram.com/p/CpOYez4Shuz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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Blog Tour: Tattoo of Crimson by Sarah Chislon

Tattoo of Crimson Sarah Chislon (Blood of the Fae, #1) Publication date: January 17th 2023 Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Mystery Society, suitors, and…serial murders? As much as she desires to please her family, gently-bred herbalist Jessa Caldwell has no intention of making a suitable match—not when she’s seeking the truth about the taint of the fae that lies within her. If she’s to escape the madness…

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📓 Babel, Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution 🖋️ R.F. Kuang 🎓🎓🎓🎓✒️ "Professor Lovell liked plain scones the least, though, so sultana scones were the staple of their afternoon teas ... [Robin] knew he didn't like sultanas in his scones; when Professor Lovell wasn't looking, he picked out his sultanas, slathered the denuded scone in clotted cream, and popped it in his mouth." Ok so the above quote doesn't really have anything to do with the plot in the book but seriously, all the mention of scones made me crave for some so what does one do but bake some! I'd suggest some fresh scones ready for reading the first part of the book but after that, I really needed wine. A. Lot. of. Wine. Honestly, I was wary of this book after The Poppy War trilogy. I mean that trilogy was violently brutal! And seriously, R.F. Kuang does not hold back her punches. Babel is excruciatingly brutal. I find that with The Poppy War trilogy, there is that veil of fantasy but in Babel, while there is still that fantasy veil, it is ever so sheer. Babel is a very dense reading. The amount of research must have been astounding. There was so much in this book from general history to linguistic ones. As the author has noted, however, certain things were fudged a little bit to fit because, after all, this is a work of fiction. I can't tell you what's been fudged but I'm still so very impressed with the meticulous details presented in this novel. The read will take a lot of focus and time but hoowee, it's absolutely worth IT! "'...And we're asking you now to finally, please, hear what we're trying to tell you. Please believe us.'" 🏷 #babel #rfkuang #speculativefiction #sff #booksandteas #bookandtea #sconesandteas #fantasy #bookstalife #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #ausbookstagrammer #booklover #booksta #igreads #lovetoread #eclecticreader #bookishfeatures #aussiebookstagrammers #readersofinstagram #bookreview #fantasybooks #bookphoto #bookish #booklife #booksofinstagram #eclecticreader https://www.instagram.com/p/CnOWsDLLzan/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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📘 Shadow Rose 📚 Daughters of Moon and Sun 🖋️ Elsie Quail ➡️ Synopsis 🌞🌞🌞🌙 Firstly, I fell completely in love with this cover. It is just absolutely gorgeous! The premise of the story was also rather compelling and I do love a well-spun fantasy world. The world setting itself is really quite wonderful, especially the contrast between the human world vs. the Afterlife. The details of magic and different creatures to the compellingly dark dungeons where the Lady of Darkness was being kept prisoner kept me riveted. I also love a good quest for which these 3 friends set off to right a wrong. Unfortunately, I wasn't too keen on these characters. Maybe, it was my expectations... I somehow wanted Maeva to be just like Mia from The Nevernight Chronicles. Okay, not exactly but bad ass because, at the start of the book, that's what she kind of sounds like. However, she wasn't, exactly... She and her friends cried quite a lot in the book. I don't know why I mind so much when my tears are pretty much on tap but it bothered me. Her interaction with her bff & love interest was also really awkward which is in one way understandable BUT I kind of found the first time they actually got it together so very truly awkward or just really weird (in terms of setting than sexual content). But then again, it could just be me. This book is obviously not for children and these characters are also not children but yet, they also stamped their feet a number of times! I honestly can't remember the last time I stamped my feet because I'm upset, can you? Overall, lovely setting, really promising story arc but I was just unable to empathise with these characters. Thanks to the author for gifting me with an eARC copy of the book. All thoughts are my own. ⚠️ implied rape, implied domestic violence, death of a child. 🏷 #ShadowRose #ElsieQuail #DaughtersOfMoonAndSun #fantasy #lgbtqia #ff #indieauthor #independentauthor #bookstalife #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #ausbookstagrammer #booklover #booksta #igreads #lovetoread #eclecticreader #bookishfeatures #aussiebookstagrammers #readersofinstagram #bookreview #fantasybooks #bookphoto #bookish #booklife #booksofinstagram #eclecticreader https://www.instagram.com/p/CmKXXXmyPkO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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➡️ Come unbox December Classic Parcel with me 😁 ➡️ Swipe through 🤗 ➡️ 2023 calendar + sticky notes (I can see that I'm gonna need lots of these for this book!) ➡️ Christmas tea sampler + a mysterious leetle parcel ➡️ A wrapped Book + related (quote) bookmark ➡️ all unwrapped: Mother Tounge by Bill Bryson plus a very cutesy Christmas bauble which I've immediately placed on our tree 😍 I've been loving all parcels and the announced January theme is a terrific one to start the year with (I've read that one so...). Subscribe for yourself or your loved ones (great Christmas present!) using my rep code TIEN10 #NovelTeaBookclub #bookstalife #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #ausbookstagrammer #booklover #booksta #igreads #lovetoread #eclecticreader #bookishfeatures #aussiebookstagrammers #readersofinstagram #classicbookbox #classicbook #popularpenguins #penguinpopularclassics #classicbooks #ireadclassics #classiclover #MotherTongue #BillBryson #nonfiction https://www.instagram.com/p/Clx7l7MrdTo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker -a review

The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker -a review

The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker They had come here expecting to find a runaway orphan, but I would show them a goddess. Half British Reaper, half Japanese Shinigami Ren Scarborough is no longer the girl who was chased out of England – she is the Goddess of Death ruling Japan’s underworld. But her problems have never been greater. Her Shinigami see her as a foreigner on the throne. Her…