#Advanced Review Copy

[author-a-holmes]

Over The Dragon's Gate by Juliana Jones & Riley Sanderson

While ‘Over The Dragon’s Gate’ starts off a little slower than I’d usually like, this co-written story gives you enough hints, enough clues, and enough thoughtfully teased out tidbits to keep its readers engaged and invested.

Much like one of our main characters, Treya, there’s an underlying sense that there’s more to this than meets the eye, and the authors cleverly reveal it all to the reader alongside Treya as he discovers the parts of himself that he’s forgotten.

All the while Treya is rediscovering his past, he’s learning about his future and the possibilities that his friendship with Eli opens up for him.

‘Over The Dragon’s Gate’ is a delightful read, full of magic and touching moments of humanity in the face of darkness we can all find ourselves facing. It had me scowling at the villian, and grinning at the clumsy exploration of teenage affection, and by the last lines I found myself smiling at the screen.

It’s a feel good book, that I immediately have a handful of people I want to recommend it too, and future stories from either of these authors will be getting added to my TBR piles.

I received a free copy of this book from the authors and am voluntarily leaving my honest review.

[ezichiny]

Audiobook Review: The Expiration Date by Kimberly Brown

TITLE: The Expiration Date by Kimberly Brown Release Date: February 13, 2024 by Dreamscape Media Genre: Contemporary Romance; Black Romance Format: Audiobook (6 hrs and 18 mins); Kindle Edition (230 pages) Narrated by: Jaime Lincoln Smith, J. Shani Michaels My rating: 4.25 of 5 stars Blurb: Audrey Pilar is a master in the art of breaking up. Her friends have dubbed her ritual of leaving men as…

[theheelerbooklifereads]

Thank you so much, Celadon, for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: ♾️ Stars

Mercury is like a warm hug that you do not know you need. It leaves you feel super connected to these characters to the point that you feel like you are a part of their family.

I could not get enough of Mercury since I needed to know everything about these cbaracters and their lives. Even when I was not reading it, I would constantly think of the characters, and at one point, I dreamed of the town and the characters. I have not had that experience in a while where I need to devour a book and then later find myself dreaming of the book.

All the characters are flawed in one way or another to the point they feel extremely real. Some of the characters focus on these flaws of the other characters to the point that it causes resentment or indifference to one another. But each character has these amazing attributes that they bring to the table that allows each other to lean on one another even when the family feels divided. When hardships and grief strike this family, they all find themselves looking at their life in a different way, which ultimately makes these characters grow in so many way. Honestly, from beginning to end, the character growth is immensely seen and very satisfying.

Mercury is beautifully written to where I was rooting for each other characters. I felt joy in the accomplishments, heartbreak for the hardships and the grief the family goes through, and great love for each of the characters. Then, I found a lot of heartwarming moments in this book and especially in the last few pages.

Once January 2024 rolls around, you all need to run out and grab this amazing book. I feel like I did not put my thoughts into the most coherent way and could not say all the ways I loved this book because for me sometimes I struggle with finding the right words to express how much I love something.

But, I can truly say that I didn't know how much I needed this book in my life. I am so beyond thankful that Celadon surprised me with this book to review. I can say with certainity that this book is one of my top 5 favorite books of 2023. Without a doubt in my mind, I just know this will become a favorite of many in 2024, so like I said go get this book because you will fall in love with the writing and the characters.

[ckatwriter]

SIGNUPS ARE LIVE FOR ARCS OF MY DEBUT NOVEL ♤PURGATERRY♤

Help get the word out by reblogging and maybe sign up for a free copy in exchange for an honest review 🤗

PurgaTerry synopsis:

[jpagaduanauthor]

Savior of the Damned ARC announcement

Savior of the Damned is done. The ARC is mostly ready now too, I’m just waiting on the cover. And let me tell you folks it has been an absolute rush of feelings. It’s not quite done yet, of course. I still have to format the actual book, and I have to send out the ARC copies once the cover is in, and then after that I can put it up for preorder, which is just the most exciting thing ever.  I…

[galina]

Just finished: The Amendments, Niamh Mulvey. I was sent an advance review copy by picador. It took me a while to warm up to this one, but in the end I really enjoyed the way Mulvey delivers complex difficult emotions using straightforward language, not wallowing in grief but also not flinching away from some of the hardest conversations around birth, death and religion. And I do have a soft spot for Irish writers, and multi-generational stories

[duckprintspress]

Become an Advance Reader for Duck Prints Press!

Reviews are essential for showing prospective readers that we’re publishing awesome books that they want to buy and read. We’re looking to recruit an active group of people who post reviews of our work, and to do that we need your help! For the first time, we’re offering Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of one of our projects: Aether Beyond the Binary, our most recent anthology, featuring 17 stories of characters outside the gender binary exploring modern-esque aetherpunk worlds.

How it works: You see this post. You think, oh, I love reading! I love leaving reviews! I want to join the Duck Prints Press Reviewer Program! Then, you go and read the rules for our Reviewer Program. And, if everything there sounds like something you can do, you fill out the form, and – we’ll be in touch! Even better: this program isn’t only for Aether Beyond the Binary, and isn’t only for “advance” titles. Our reviewers are encouraged to claim titles that are currently released, too, to help build up a robust collection of reviews of Duck Prints Press titles!

Requirements:

You must be over 18 years old.

You must be prepared to post reviews on Goodreads and/or Storygraph.

You must also post the review on the appropriate listing on the Duck Prints Press webstore (for advance titles, you’ll have to wait ’til we list them there).

Upon acceptance to the program, you must join the Duck Prints Press Book Lover’s Server.

Reviews must be at least 100 words long must and engage with the actual content of the work being reviewed.

Reviews must be left within 6 months of claiming a title, or you will be removed from the program.

What isn’t Required:

That the reviews be positive. Reviews are for readers. We require that reviews be honest to your own experience of the work, not that they be glowing.

That you post the reviews to social media. Doing so is definitely a bonus, but you don’t have to.

That you associate yourself publicly with the review-leaving (beyond using a valid Goodreads and/or Storygraph account). As in, you don’t have to say, “I, (your name here), reviewed this book” or link your book website accounts with your existing social media presence or anything like that, nor do we request any demographic information beyond confirmation of your age.

That you purchase anything. Absolutely no purchase necessary!

What You Get:

A e-book copy (ePub and/or PDF) of the work you’re reviewing. We do not provide physical ARCs.

After you post your first review, you’ll get a coupon for 10% off a purchase from the Duck Prints Press webstore!

For every ten reviews you post, you can claim a freebie sticker from among our sticker offerings, if you want. (You’ll have to provide a snail mail address to get this, of course.)

A community of fun book-lovers to hang out with! (You can get that even without joining the ARC program, though – our Book Lover’s Discord is open to everyone.)

We’re accepting applicants for claiming Aether Beyond the Binary ARCs through April 10th, 2024. On the 11th, we’ll randomly select 25 of applicants to receive ARC copies of Aether Beyond the Binary. Everyone else will still be entirely welcome in the program and invited to start with a different, back-catalog book or story to review. We’ll make another pool of Aether Beyond the Binary ARCs available in May.

So… those are the basics. Interested? Go read the full rules, then apply to be a Duck Prints Press ARC reader TODAY!

[hangfiretales]

💙 ARCs for Rare Birds are available! 💙

Before the book's print and eBook release in July, I'm giving away some advance copies. Check my pinned post for full info about the book, including the blurb and presale links.

How does it work?

Comment on this post with a blue heart and at the end of the month (April 2024) ten readers will be chosen at random. I'll DM you with the link for Booksirens where you'll be able to safely download your eBook ARC (advance reader copy) and can later leave a review if you want to.

Is the review required?

Nope! For a start, many book review sites discourage paid reviews. But mostly I don't think reviews should be a chore or obligation. If you're in the mood to tell the world how you felt about the book, please do so! Your absolute honesty is highly valued. But otherwise this is just a free copy.

Is an ARC the real actual book?

Yes - it's the final version of Rare Birds. But just in case there's any last-minute typos to tweak, publishers usually reserve the right to make changes in the final *final* copy.

I can't wait to see what you think of it 💙

[merlina87]

Advance Reader Copies for my next book!

Hi lovely writeblr! My next book is to be released this June. How exciting and crazy that it's my 4th already!

It's a mlm romance with both characters in their 50s navigating reconnecting after 20 years and a bad breakup. It deals with things like neurodivergence, sexuality, coming out...

I'm looking for advance readers to get the word out! The ARCs will be ready in April/early May at the latest but if you're interested you can already sign up here: https://forms.gle/N4BkQTPNoUbDmBfV7

Please help me and share this as widely as you can!! All relevant info below the pics.

Blurb:

1973 –  When he signed up for that medical conference in Houston, Bill, hadn’t expected to run into Bobby. Fair to say they didn’t exactly part on good terms last time. Unable to stay away from each other, the two men reconnect, only for Bobby to leave in a hurry at the end of the conference, eager to protect his own heart.

Bill, freshly divorced from his second marriage, knows this is his only chance to get the love of his life back.

After so long, is Bill ready to finally admit his feelings, his sexuality, and to gather his courage to conquer his old lover and friend once more? A second chance romance with flashbacks to young love, addressing the struggles of coming out in an unwelcoming environment and building the life you really want.

Content Warnings

Explicit sexual content

Mentions of homophobia

Mentions of abusive family

Bullying (off page)

Mentions of WWII

This is a standalone novel. It spans out over several decades, from the 1930s to the 1970s and will therefore mention some historical events in those periods, as well as LGBTQ+ rights (or absence thereof).

If you have any questions about specific trigger warnings feel free to message me.

[ninsiana0]

Read WHAT FEASTS AT NIGHT by T. Kingfisher if you love remote villages, disreputable cabins in the woods, mysterious illnesses, nightmares, fungi, strongly spiced sausage, trauma narratives, endless cups of tea, propriety, knives & very good horses.

I received an advance copy of this book for review.

[aeolianblues]

Taylor Swift fans discover what the music industry is, a montage.

[author-a-holmes]

ARC Review: A Rival Most Vial by R. K. Ashwick

I received a free copy of this book from the author (@ashen-crest) and am voluntarily leaving an honest review. However, I now have a paperback copy on order because Holy Sh-- this was so good!!

R. K. Ashwick made herself comfortable on my list of favourite authors after her debut novel, 'The Stray Spirit'. There's a freshness to her authorial voice that makes her books an utter delight to read, and time slips away from me the moment I start the first page.

With 'A Rival Most Vial' she's cemented her spot in my top ten favourite authors. I didn't anticipate buying any paperbacks this year, I've got bills and a holiday to save for, but I simply had to shuffle around some finances to add this one to my shelf.

The rivalry between Ambrose and Eli is perfectly balanced. It doesn't cross into anything groan-worthy, and I didn't get second-hand embarrassment for either of them, which is a common reason romance-rivalry's aren't commonly a favourite trope of mine.

But, as usual, Ashwick had me falling in love with all her characters. Ambrose and Eli, of course, but also all the other members of Rosemond street. Dawn is a delight, Tom's freaking adorable, Sherry's brilliant and Banneker is a laugh, but besides the main characters, Grim's quiet protectiveness might be my favourite.

I don't know what else to tell you without giving away spoilers, because this plot was so perfectly woven together that every element I want to gush about, leads to another that I want you to read and discover on your own.

All in all, I adored this read. It's my first paperback purchase of the year; potentially my only paperback purchase of the year, and another of Ashwick's wonderful stories to add to my collection.

[ezichiny]

Audiobook Review: The Women by Kristin Hannah

TITLE: The Women by Kristin Hannah My rating: 5 of 5 stars Format: Audiobook (14 hrs and 57 mins) by MacMillan Audio; Kindle Edition (480 Pages) Genre: Historical Fiction, Vietnam War Blurb: From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah’s The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided. Women…

[vanessaroades-author]

🌺 Sign up for ARCs here! 🌺

Scroll through the images for the full blurb! Full list of content warnings are on the ARC sign up page.

I expect to send out ARCs via email in the first week of May. Honest reviews are greatly appreciated~

If anyone wants a slow-burn exploration of warring religions & gods told through mortal elves with so...so many issues, I’ve got you covered. (I hope.)

[prose-mortem]

Book Review: Late Bloomer

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Late Bloomer was such a cute book! It satisfied all of my cottagecore, sapphic fantasies from the special interest in flowers to the sprawling farm in Asheville. It was an adorable comfort read straight out of Taylor Swift's folklore music album. One of the characters buys the other character greenhouses… What is more classic than that?

I loved Opal and Pepper's story. I deeply enjoyed the character development alongside the romance. For example, I thought (at first) that Opal was going to be a major pick-me with all the people-pleasing tendencies, but I was completely wrong. As the plot progresses, we see what a strong, smart, and loyal person she is to the people she loves. That was a refreshing arc! Both characters are neurodiverse (though Opal isn't sure what label fits her exactly), which was very relatable to an autistic person like me.

If there is a cozy, comforting (sapphic) version of Gilmore Girls, then this is it. Every detail was spot-on from autistic sensory issues to shoe art to niche special interests. (I loved Opal's fleeting special interest in the Victorian era. I felt seen.) The epilogue was so perfect! I wish I lived in Opal's and Pepper's world! If you like sapphic romance, this will pander directly to your most iconic and cottagecore princess fantasies!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers at St. Martin's Griffin for my e-arc! I hope Mazey Eddings keeps writing sapphic romances, because I will most definitely be reading them all.

[elliepassmore]

The Tainted Cup review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: fantasy, sci-fi, greenpunk, murder mysteries, powers, disability rep

Big thanks to Netgalley, Del Rey, and the author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

To start, I'll say I'm not sure whether to classify this book as fantasy or sci-fi since I feel it has elements of both. The world the book is set in is 'greenpunk,' with buildings grown from plants and things like AC from mushrooms, and the characters have powers augmented through some kind of medical procedure. At the same time though, there are leviathans that rise from the ocean depths and threaten the empire. The genre isn't really important, but I will say it isn't super clear-cut and think it could fit easily into both sci-fi and fantasy.

The world in the book is super interesting. As mentioned, the buildings are largely grown from plants, with some more plant-like than others. A lot of the buildings have fernpaper walls, which serve well to keep out the humidity and don't mold, while also being sturdy enough to stand and not too heavy in the case of an earthquake. A couple of buildings are made from a different plant that can be grown in any shape, allowing for a more personalized architecture. Plants are pretty central to life in the book, and are used for additional things like AC, vaccination, medical treatments, and human augmentation. I love all the plant stuff and think the focus on 'green' things is a really interesting worldbuilding piece that isn't used nearly often enough. We get a good background on how the greenery works without going too in-depth, though I honestly could read an encyclopedia on this world and be happy.

In terms of the augmentation, there's a breakdown of the different augments people can have, with grafts being temporary and more for things like increased immunity in humans or faster growing in plants, while suffusions are permanent and change a lot more about a person/plant. If someone is employed by the empire and has a suffusion they're called a Sublime, with Sublimes categorized into how their suffusion works (axioms are good w/ numbers, linguas are good w/ languages, spatiasts are good w/ spatial relations, engravers who memorize everything, cracklers who are superhumanly strong, etc.). It was really interesting to read about the suffusions and the different Sublimes, and I really enjoyed the background info we get on the augmentations. I also thought it was pretty cool how the augmentations seem to be everywhere, including to help plants do different things and to help medications and vaccines be produced against the wide range of issues people might come across.

While this is a SFF story, the bulk of it is the murder mystery. It's twisty and deliberate, but at the same time has moments when it's very fun. Ana reminds me at times of Benoit Blanc from Knives Out and I really enjoyed her method to solving mysteries. There's a good mix of humor and seriousness here, and I think Bennett struck a good balance between the two.

Din is a Sublime engraver recently assigned to be Ana's investigative assistant. He's a rule follower and so his and Ana's approaches clash at times, though never majorly. Din is very clearly dyslexic, which gave him trouble in training, and at times he runs up against needing to read things during the investigation, but he's figured out a work around using his engraving skills which I found to be a really smart way of going about it. He's clever and a good observer, and is able to put the pieces of things together quickly even though he's new to investigating. I liked seeing things through his eyes and and way he would meticulously go through a scene to find evidence. It was particularly interesting how he interviewed people because Din seems to have a knack for knowing how to circle a conversation around to what he really wants to know without being too obvious about it, thus putting the interviewee at ease and getting them to open up. It was wonderfully subtle the way he got people to open up.

Ana is the main investigator on the case and is not the sort of investigator you'd expect. She prefers to stay in her house (or later on, in her borrowed rooms) rather than going outside to investigate on her own, and when she does leave the comfort of her accommodations, it's with a blindfold on. I suspected she was autistic throughout the book, and then toward the end she basically comes out and says it (without saying it since...you know...this is a SFF novel not set in our world with our terminology). She's quick to make deductive leaps and is often several steps ahead of everyone else involved. It was fun to read as she snapped through deduction after deduction, using the evidence Din collected, and coming to a conclusion that made sense but you didn't always see coming. Ana is also pretty funny and I enjoyed the humor she brought to the book.

There are a bunch of side characters who come in and out of the story as needed, and I found them to be pretty well fleshed out. It definitely felt like each character had their own lives and concerns and didn't just cease to exist once they left Din's presence. Miljin is the side character who's probably around the most, he's one of the investigators working the case with Ana and Din. At first his demeanor was pretty gruff and unwelcoming, so I didn't think I'd like him much, but over the course of the book his character grew on me and I actually ended up liking him a lot. He's just the kind of person that doesn't immediately warm up to people, but once he does he's got quite the quick brain and lots of humor and advice to go around.

As mentioned, the main point of this book is the mystery. At the beginning, Ana was making all sorts of leaps that I just took her word for, but as the story continued, I began being able to make guesses of my own. Some of the stuff I was able to guess correctly, sometimes in a surprising way, but other times I was still puzzling it out when Ana and the others came to their conclusions. There are so many moving pieces and different elements to the mystery going on in this book, I enjoyed trying to figure out the solution myself as well as seeing what the actual solution was.

Overall I greatly enjoyed this book and I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series. This is the kind of book that makes me want more SFF backgrounds for mystery books, it added a really interesting layer to things that I enjoyed.