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The Stardust Thief- Book Review

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea AbdullahMy rating: 4 of 5 stars Stardust Thief was another one of my “by-the-cover” buys. Absolutely beautiful cover. I couldn’t resist. It went on my never-ending, taller than the Eiffel Tower TBR and that’s where it stayed for over a year. In the meantime I was one of the authors participating in a signing that Ms. Abdullah was also part of, so of course I had to…

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The Library of the Unwritten - Book Review

The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a hard review to write because I have very mixed feelings about this book. Let’s see if I can explain.Overall I loved it. It had almost all the elements I like in a book: mystery, fantasy, humor, wacky references to mythology, and good writing. With tropes like found family, redemption, second chances, and appearances…

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Earth 2100 - Blog Tour

Other Worlds Ink has a new near-future sci-fi anthology out: Earth 2100. Earth on the Cusp of the Twenty-Second Century How the world has changed in the last seventy-six years. In 1948, scientists ran the first computer program, and “the Ultimate Car of the Future,” the futuristic, three wheeled Davis Divan, debuted. Since then, a succession of inventions—the personal computer, the internet, the…

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Bonfire of Calamities - Book Review

Bonfire of the Calamities by Kim M. Watt My rating: 5 of 5 stars As a long time fan of the ladies and dragons of Toot Hansell, I am yet again a happy customer–well, reader.Just like all the other installments of the Beaufort Scales series, Bonfire of Calamities is a slightly insane but oh-so thrilling romp. The hilarious situations these ladies get themselves into to solve a mystery are just as…

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Pride and Premeditation - Book Review

Pride and Premeditation by Tirzah Price My rating: 4 of 5 stars I loved this reimaging of Pride and Prejudice as crime fiction.I totally could see Elizabeth Bennet as this determined, feminist young gumshoe-wannabe.The writing was good, the character twists awesome and in some cases unexpected, and Price managed to keep the period feeling much alive.My only gripe is that the romance was too…

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Earthquake Ethan - Blog Tour

R.L. Merrill has a new contemporary MM romance out, Forces of Nature book 3: Earthquake Ethan. The Earth shook the morning actor Ethan Bradley arrived in Los Angeles looking for a second chance. He hoped his former producers Reese Matheson and Toby Griffiths meant it when they said to look them up if he were ever in LA because he had no other options. The pictures the paparazzi took at the wrap…

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Love, Theoretically - Book Review

Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood My rating: 5 of 5 stars I love Ali’s books. There I said it!They’re funny, smart, and oh-so romantic.First the flaws(ish).I really wish Hazelwood would not mention how big the male protagonist is as often as she does. But it’s not a deal BIG enough to make me dislike her delightful prose (see what I did there?). I am also not a fan of very detailed sex scenes,…

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Wicked Fox -Book Review

Wicked Fox by Kat Cho My rating: 5 of 5 stars I picked up this book at a book signing (and yes, I have a signed copy) because I love foxes and I am fascinated by the myth of the Asian nine-tailed fox (in fact I have written about it myself). It took me a while to get to it (I’m such a terrible mood reader) but I finally picked it up and I’m very glad I did.I loved it.Well-written, wonderful…

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The Burnout - Book Review

The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella My rating: 5 of 5 stars Full disclosure: I love Kinsella’s books. I love her sense of humor, the quirkiness she gives her characters, and her relatable plots.This one was no different. I found myself totally laughing my head off (the scene with the nuns and the wall was brilliant) while also identifying 100% with the poor overwhelmed, totally burnt-out Sasha. Geez,…

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The Scarlet Veil - Book Review

The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin My rating: 4 of 5 stars I’m not a fan of vampire stories (which seem to be making a comeback) so I went into this book hoping I’d love it (because I did like Mahurin’s first series) but prepared to hate it. Well, I did like it a lot. I found myself reading “just one more page” on nights I was exhausted and really needed sleep.Not all was perfect. Célie annoyed…

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Beside the Darker Shore-Blog Tour

Patricia J. Esposito has a new MM paranormal romance out: Beside the Darker Shore. And there’s a giveaway. What might the ethical Governor David Gedden give up for one man’s exquisite beauty? It’s terrifying to consider when the man is a destructive blood prostitute and David is responsible for the state’s peaceful vampire community. Blood sales in Boston are up, blood taxes support a thriving…

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Divine Rivals - Book Review

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross My rating: 5 of 5 stars I honestly didn’t know what to expect when I decided to read this book other that it involved some letter writing (which possibly was what got me since I have always written letters), but oh boy, am I glad I read it. I love the originality of its plot. Yes, it is the usual love wins all, good against evil, enemy to lover romance, but I just…

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Can Positivity Be Negative?

I’ve been a yogi for many years now. Thanks to yoga I am more flexible now than I have ever been, not to mention that the practice brings me much needed peace even if for only for a few minutes a day. That said, for the past few years something yoga teachers are known for saying has really been bothering me because I know it not to be true. Or at least, not necessarily a good thing or the way to…

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Guardian of Talons & Snares - Review

Guardian of Talons and Snares by Anastasis Blythe My rating: 4 of 5 stars I confess. I bought this book for the cover, lol. The C-drama/fantasy lover in me couldn’t resist the beautiful art of the cover. But I’m so glad I did. For once it was ok to judge the book by its cover.This was a fun romp with the usual elements of C-fantasy and wuxia: magic, shifters, a complicated societal hierarchy,…

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Lost You Forever- Review

I have been meaning to write this review since I finished season 1 of this amazing C-drama a couple weeks back. I don’t review all the shows I watch but when faced with something this spectacular, I feel I have to share my thoughts. In this show we follow the lives and troubles of four main characters: Princess Xiao Yao and the three men who love her: her cousin prince Xyian (who she sees and…

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The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches-Review

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book made me so very happy. At the end I was just smiling like a fool. The characters were well developed and both perfect and flawed, The story was beautifully human, celebrating the best of humankind and full of hope. Like Mika says at the end, she might not be the witch that changed the world but she…

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Sword Catcher - Book Review

Sword Catcher by Cassandra Clare My rating: 5 of 5 stars I can’t say enough good things about this book. Cassandra Clare did it again and in a very different style than what she got us all used to. But her talent to develop amazing yet flawed characters who you can’t help but care about is still one of the many things that makes Clare one of my favorite writers.The world she created is truly a…