That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming

⭐⭐⭐💫

The first book I picked up for the Love in the Night Readathon was That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon. This is the first in Kimberly Lemming's Mead Mishaps series. This was able to cover the prompts Getting Horny, Eat Her Out and New To You Author for the readathon. I was also able to use this for the Fall in Love prompt Outdoor Background on Cover and Color Me Romantic prompt for White (white on the cover). For Bang in the Night applied this to the prompt I'm Horny (main character with horns). For the theme song I chose Come Fly with Me from Frank Sinatra's Reprise Rarities Volume 1.

Cinnamon is a spice farmer in a small village. Every few years heroes are called to help Myva, the witch turned goddess help keep the gate she created to hold back the demon horde in place. Cinnamon was not chosen as a hero and is happy about it since they don't always come back. When heading home from the festival celebrating the heroes, she comes across someone trapped in a landslide. After digging him out she sees that he's not a person, but a demon. Fallon has escapted imprisionment and is on a quest to destroy the sacred chalices of Myva. He explains to Cinnamon that the humans have all been duped and Myva is not a goddess, but a Lich. Fallon makes a deal with Cinnamon to travel to her four temples to destroy the chalices that are actually her phylactories.

Okay, this book is one with contradictions for me. I had fun reading it and enjoyed how things were progressing. I thought the fantasy elements were a basic set up. I like Cinnamon's attitude and how she went about dealing with Fallon and the situation forced upon her (becoming the hero when she was avoiding it the best she could). There were two big detractions for me, but they do kind of blend together. The first is the modern language and demeanor of Cinnamon. It just felt too different from the setting. We start in a stereotypical historical feeling village with fantasy vibes, but then to me her Gen Z way of speaking just took me out of the story constantly.

Paired with that was the way the fantasy world was built and the random modern things that were randomly added. I wanted to learn a lot more about the magic and how it worked. The demons weren't what we would normally consider a demon, but more of a catchall phrase for monsters/creatures. Fallon is a dragon shifter and Cinnamon also meets a minotaur, centaur, werewolf and naga (that's what I can remember off the top of my head). All of them are called demons, which is fine, except I wanted the explanations because since it's a common creature that is used in other fantasies and paranormals. Also, there were a lot of things added to the world that felt like a wink and nod to the reader, but to me just felt completely out of place; and once again took me out of the story. For example, Cinnamon is wandering an open market area and one of the vendors is selling nachos in a bucket. I don't know why, but it just made me frustrated. On top of those two things I also thought that Myva was making some "deus ex machina" choices that helped our "heroes." On top of the fact that she was making odd choices, but I also didn't agree with some of the things that Cinnamon and Fallon were doing. The pacing just felt off and I got a little ranty when talking about this book.

Despite my frustrations with the book, I was still having a fun time reading it. That's why it's a little hard for me to rate, because I did mostly enjoy my time (until I got pulled out of the story). I know that the point maybe to have the more fun and modern take on a fantasy, but it just didn't mesh well to me for the most part. I'm definitely intrigued to read more from the series, but I think I'll have to wait until I'm in the mood for a fantasy that's a little more free and light-hearted. Maybe next FaRoFeb?

Have you read That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon, Kimberly Lemming, 3.5 stars, 2 days, eBook, 182 pages, published in 2021, indie published

The Fool and the Sparrow by Dana Fox

⭐⭐💫

Continuing to pick books to fill my remaining Bang in the Night prompts, I picked up The Fool and Sparrow to cover the It's a Sign prompt. This is the first book in Dana Fox's Arcana of the Tarot series. For Bang in the Night, I used Frank Sinatra's The Game Is Over from Reprise Rarities Volume 3. I also was able to use this for the prompts Cozy Cover for Fall in Love and Olive (sneaky/deceptive character) for Color Me Romantic.

Kit is The Fool, the tarot archetype. When he feels the urges to leave the Arcana realm and head to Earth, he finds himself drawn to Thea. He had saved her as young girl when he found her wandering on the streets and dropped her off at a local police station. Unfortunately, she ended up going to an orphanage and was "adopted" by a shadow government operation. She has spent her life since then becoming on of the top agents. After receiving an assignment she disagrees with, she finds a way out and stumbles across Kit when trying to touch base with a media person to expose the operation. Kit joins her in her journey and tries to help her out in any way he can.

Oh gosh was this a struggle bus for me. I just really wanted to enjoy this fantasy romance set around the tarot, but I wanted a lot more from the fantasy aspects. Usually the way that something is written doesn't bother me too much, but here I was really struggling with the world building and the way that things were introduced to the reader. I'm not sure if Dana has written fantasy before, but to me it felt like someone that first starts writing fantasy and hasn't quite caught the nuances of it. While I can forgive the info-dumpiness, it was juxtaposed with not enough explanations or unnecessary information that felt like the author just trying to show it was a fantasy world. It just felt like you should have all these weird animals with "fantasy names" but it didn't really serve a purpose in the story. Even more so when Kit immediately leaves the fantasy realm for Earth. While they did end up going back to the fantasy realm, I wanted more. I really pushed myself through this and maybe I should've dnf-ed, but I the bare bones and overall idea was intriguing to me so I kept pushing hoping to find that glimmer that sparked my enjoyment.

If you are interested in this, definitely check it out. I can see others that don't read fantasy very often or prefer lighter fantasies. I've just read so much fantasy (both romance and not) so my bar is higher than probably the normal reader. I do feel like I should say that most of the tarot stuff was handled well. While there usually is a little bit more of leeway for what a tarot readers can get from the cards, I did think that Dana hit all the main ideals that are the basics.

Have you read The Fool and the Sparrow?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Fool and the Sparrow, Dana Fox, 2.5 stars, 5 days, eBook, 302 pages, published in 2022, indie published

The Orc From the Office by Kate Prior

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

After reading Love, Laugh, Lich, I immediately had to jump into the 2nd book in the Claws and Cubicles series by Kate Prior, The Orc From the Office. I was able to use this for the prompts Cinnamon Roll Hero for Fall in Love, Indigo (nerdy/geeky/brainy character) for Color Me Romantic and #BeastMode (monster romance) for Bang in the Night. My theme song for Bang in the Night was Frank Sinatra's Moment to Moment from Reprise Rarities Volume 3.

Janice works for Evil, the company, in Human Resources. When she is struggling to open a file cabinet, Khent, an orc that works in IT, is walking by and offers to help. Janice accidentally elbows Khent in the face during their encounter and it's hard enough to draw blood. What she doesn't realize is in drawing blood from Khent, she's initiated a mating bond between them. They have to meet with MR (monster resources) and sign some paperwork that it was accidental. They are pushed to stay away from each other and not complete the bond, but as the mating instinct starts to affect them, Janice starts to do some research. After stumbling across some "videos" of mating between orcs, Janice finds it harder and harder to stay away from Khent.

Oh my gosh, this book was so good. I absolutely loved Khent, the cinnamon roll nerdy orc that works in IT. He was just so freaking sweet but when it came to the bedtime he definitely turned it up. I loved the way that he really just stepped back and let Janice do what she felt she needed even though he was really struggling with wanting her as his mate and feeling the relief that he found someone he could mate with. Honestly, the only thing that made me dock this down from a full 5-stars was the 3rd act conflict. I know that Janice was struggling and had baggage from her previous relationship, but I just felt like there was enough internal conflict between them that was worked through them getting together in the first place that the extra conflict wasn't needed. That and there was a little bit of confusion for me when they get back together and they may or may not be getting physical on the side of a building (the physics just got a me a little).

Even though I had some issues with Love, Laugh, Lich, I'm so happy I continued this series. You definitely don't have to read it first before this one (I just like to read in order). This book was so fun and I cannot express how much I love Khent. This book really outshone the first and I highly recommend this if you enjoy monster and/or office romance. It really helped too that they weren't in a power dynamic because of their employment. Seriously, check this book out!

Have you read The Orc From the Office?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Orc From the Office, Kate Prior, 4.5 stars, 0 days, eBook, 143 pages, published in 2022, indie published

Love, Laugh, Lich by Kate Prior

⭐⭐⭐💫

To start October, I had some time to mood read before the start of the Love in the Night Readathon. I decided to focus on prompts for the Bang in the Night reading challenge and look through my KU list for some monster or spooky romances. Love, Laugh, Lich was in my recommendations. This is the first book in Kate Prior's Claws and Cubicles series. I used this to cover the Bang in the Night prompt for Skull on the Cover, Fall in Love prompt for 2021 Release and Color Me Romantic prompt for Green (Green on the Cover). The theme song I chose from Frank Sinatra's Reprise Rarities was Life's a Trippy Thing from the 5th volume and is a duet with Nancy Sinatra.

After the apocalypse, Evil has won and taken over. Lily works for Evil, the company. The CEO is Soven, the Lich. Lily is his secretary and is finding herself more and more intrigued by the spells he casts and how he looks under his robes. When her office is undergoing renovations after an assassin attempts to take him out, she is working from a cubicle area with other employees. The separation between them causes some things to change between them and Lily starts to get jealous over Soven. When she broaches helping him out with his spells instead of contracting out, things start to shift between them.

This was such an interesting take on a monster romance, but for the most part worked. I really loved the almost tongue-in-cheek style of monster romance and office romance mash-up. I also thought it was really kitschy, in a good way, that Evil won and is a corporation. Now despite the fun-ness of the story, there were some parts that were a little off for me. I thought that this was more lust based than emotion based and wasn't quite 100% into them reaching their HEA. I also felt like there wasn't enough tension between them, even from when they are talking about the past. It felt more like Lily has been lusting after Soven but being sent to work in the cubicle sections of the time and not able to see everyone that enters his office kind of made her a little unhinged in a jealous type of way. There was also talk about her being innocent and a virgin and the way that she was just open to doing all these things with him (and his double peen plus extra appendage) just felt off to me. Not that you can't be lustful and a virgin, but the physicality of it didn't match for me. Plus I didn't really find their physical acts that hot or titillating; part of that could've been that I really couldn't picture what Soven actually looked like.

Despite not quite enjoying 100% of Love, Laugh, Lich, I was intrigued enough to continue on in the series (and spoiler alert, I'm really glad I did). If you are looking for a more fun take on a monster romance, I think this series fit that to a tee. I'm not the biggest fan of office romances, but I definitely enjoy it more with this fantasy/paranormal take on it. I just thought this one just didn't quite hit everything I want from a romance novella. Definitely check it out though, it's certainly worth giving a try if you have Kindle Unlimited.

Have you read Love, Laugh, Lich?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Love, Laugh, Lich, Kate Prior, 3.5 Stars, 0 days, eBook, 87 pages, published in 2021, indie published

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J Maas

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The September book for the SJM-along was A Court of Wings and Ruin. This is the 3rd book in Sarah J Maas's highly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses series. If you haven't heard of the SJM-along, it's a SJM based readalong created by Jenn (The Book Refuge) and we are reading through her entire backlist in publication order! I was able to use this to cover the prompts Popular Booksta Romance for Fall in Love and Beige (a story you want to read while curled up in front of the fire or in bed) for Color Me Romantic. For Bang in the Night Bingo I used this to cover #SquadGoals. The theme song I chose from Frank Sinatra's Reprise Rarities collection was Night and Day from Volume 3.

As the Night Court (aka the Court of Dreams) starts preparing to go to war with the King of Hyburn, they need allies. After Feyre returns from the Spring Court, they go about trying to find help from the other courts and powerful beings throughout Prythian. At the same time Nesta and Elain are stuggling to learn their new powers and adjust to their new lives as fae. Feyre is now also known to not only be married to Rhysand, but has officially been announced as the High Lady of the Night Court. As the fight approaches with the King, many hard choices need to be made for the survival for both the fae and humans on the continent.

Oh my gosh, there was so much that happened in this book. I tried to not go too deep into it for my summary, but it was hard. I don't even know where to start and how to keep this to my customary two paragraph review. I loved seeing how Rhys's and Feyre's relationship strengthened and grew even more. I also loved that despite everything that they've gone through and the healing that they've had, there were still moments of setback or relapse from their experiences. Not that I want them to still be struggling, but it just kept the realism that no matter how long it's been or much healing you've done from trauma experiences, it doesn't take much to have a bad moment or night. It just gave so much hope in a real way. There are times where you can be "triggered" and end up having nightmares or going through a small bout of bad mental health space, but also still know that you've gotten through the worst and can continue to make it through.

This book had me laughing, swooning, crying, hoping and worried for all of our characters. I absolutely loved getting to meet the other High Lords and have so many more characters that I'm getting attached to and/or want to learn more of. There was such great closure for Feyre and Rhysand but in a way that left more stories to be told in the world. I myself am hoping that we get to see heas for some secondary characters and really hope that we get to see more from them in the future (especially Lucien). I cannot wait for the third part (of three) to come out from Graphic Audio in November and do plan on rereading the book when it does. I just know that the wartime scenes are going to be so cinematic and wreck me even more. The Graphic Audio versions are so great and I definitely can't wait to see how they do certain scenes. But back to A Court of Wings and Ruin, this was just so good and a great conclusion to the the first two books. I also loved that while there were characters that we saw die (and it was heart wrenching), most of the characters that we've really grown attached to made it though.

I don't really have too much to say outside of I have been absolutely adoring this series and Sarah's work in general. The live show was on October 1st, so if you missed it please check it out. It was a lot of fun once again going through the book and how it connects to other in the series and all of SJM's works as a whole. I'm super excited to pick up the next book for the readalong in October which will be Tower of Dawn. Seriously, if you were like me and held off from joining the SJM bandwagon, it's totally worth jumping into the series. I have enjoyed my time so much!

Have you read A Court of Wings and Ruin?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Court of Wings and Ruin, Sarah J Maas, 5-stars, 3 days, Paperback, 736 pages, published in 2017, traditionally published

Ruby Fever by Ilona Andrews

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The final book, and recent release, for the Hidden Legacy readalong was Ruby Fever. This is the 6th book in Ilona Andrew's very popular series and also wraps up Catalina's trilogy. The readalong was hosted by Stef, Heather, Megan and Izzy. If you missed the live show for Ruby Fever, I have linked it. I was able to use this to cover warm tone color(s) on the cover for Fall in Love!

Catalina has been working as the Deputy Warden of Houston. When the Warden gets attacked and self-enforces a comatose status at the same time a powerful political figure is attacked, she is made the acting Warden. As House Baylor works to solve the different happenings going on around town, a Russian Prince shows up to cause drama. When a lot of the attacks that have been happening around them end up being attached to the machinations of Alessandro's father's murderer, they have to prepare for war. As they work through the House's survival, old threats come into play as alliances, if not more.

This was such a great book and I thought it was so well wrapped up for Catalina's trilogy. There was so much going on that it's really hard to touch base on everything that happened and avoid spoilers. First off, there is a little less romance between Catalina and Alessandro in this book, but we just get to sit with them as a solid couple. Not that they don't get some alone time, but the romance I feel like isn't quite as important to the story line here. We also get some set up for Arabella's possible match (I know we'll probably have to wait a while before we see any books from her). What really blew me away was the more we learned about Catalina's powers. There was still more depth and nuance than I expected and it was really fun really getting to learn not only more about her powers, but some of the lineage behind it. For the "big bad" in this book, it was handled really well and it really did a good job of not only tying up a lot of the loose threads from Catalina's trilogy, but from Nevada's trilogy as well. I don't want to give spoilers, but this was such a great wrap up of the series to this point.

Just as an aside, if you weren't aware, this was officially the final book for their publishing contract. Ilona Andrews is now going to be indie publishing (as per a couple of their announcements). From an interview I saw, they are planning on eventually doing books for Arabella, but there's no timeline as of now. There are a couple hints and very tiny loose threads where her books could pick up, but I wasn't left feeling like there was still a lot left open for her books.

They hosts are planning on starting another Ilona Andrews readalong for the Innkeeper Chronicles series, but I the plan as of now is for it to start early next year in 2023. Stay tuned to all their youtubes and instagrams for the official announcement. While I would love to continue my binge reading of Ilona Andrews, I think I'm going to wait so I can have them all first time reads for the readalong. No matter what, I can't wait to read more from Ilona Andrews, both in their backlist and whatever they choose to write next!

Have you read Ruby Fever?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Ruby Fever, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 0 days, Paperback, 380 pages, published in 2022, traditionally published

Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

 Update: I recently reread Empire of Storms (lest than two weeks after finishing it the first time). I was able to use my reread to apply to Fall in Love prompt September Release and Color Me Romantic prompt for Gray (gray on cover and an older character).

One of the assigned books for the August portion of the SJM-along was Empire of Storms. This is the fifth book in Sarah J Maas's popular Throne of Glass series. I was able to use this to cover the Summer of Swoon prompt author with more than five published books for the second bingo board.

Now that magic has returned to the land of Erilea, Aelin and her court are now tasked to reclaim the throne of Terrasen and start planning to go to war with the Valg King. When Aelin is shut-out from her homeland by the current lords, she sets about finding allies and continuing her plan to fight. She and her court are hoping that seeing her actions will change their minds about her character and that she can make a good queen. At the same time Manon is dealing with reconciling the the truth about her grandmother. Travelling the world we see Elide trying to make her way to Aelin to pass along the wyrdkey she received. Lorcan is also out in the world trying to find the wyrdkeys to save Maeve from herself. Maeve also decides to start becoming a player in this war.

Oh my gosh, this book was the culmination of so many things, but yet there is still so much to do throughout the rest of the books in the series. It's hard to say, but I think this might be my favorite in the series so far. We finally get some steamy times and more romantic moments between Aelin and Rowan, as well as a few other couples. I'm having a lot of fun pairing everyone up and am nervous in case Sarah decides to kill someone off. This is going to be hard to review because I want to keep this as spoiler free as possible, but I loved seeing a lot of the people we met during the prequel anthology come back into play. It was just so much fun. We also get some characters we met before fleshed out even more and I love how everyone is being brought together.

This book had such an epic feel throughout and I was so engrossed in what was going to happen. I'm really trying not to do too much predicting while I read (outside of building ships) and I think that's helping my enjoyment. I'm just along for the ride and trying to stay blind to any spoilers. There are times I've been nervous and happy and sad. Sarah really writes in a way that easily draws me in and really has me emotionally invested in everyone's story. I think the way that she's slowly grown the world and cast of characters has been really well done and I'm not having a hard time at all keeping things straight. Also, I thought it was super fun that we started the book with Elide and not Aelin. It was surprising and I really enjoyed kind of starting a little slow with Elide by herself before jumping back into a lot of the action.

I'm so stoked to continue the series and can't wait to see what's coming next. We are jumping back into the ACOTAR series for September, but I'm excited no matter what to continue the SJM-along. If you missed the live show for Empire of Storms, check it out here! I had a lot of fun, once again, and can't wait to see what new information comes to light during the future discussions.

Have you read Empire of Storms?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Empire of Storms, Sarah J Maas, 5-stars, 1 day, Paperback, 689 pages, published in 2016, traditionally published

STATISTICS: Empire of Storms, Sarah J Maas, 5-stars, 9 days, Paperback, 689 pages, published in 2016, traditionally published

Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With a little bit of time to mood read, I looked at what prompts I had remaining in my summer quarterly challenges. I had one prompt left for the 1st bingo board of Summer of Swoon, 2022 debut author! I decided to pick up Second Star to the Left by Megan Van Dyke. This is not only her debut book (she has a couple more out now), but is also the fist in her Reimagined Fairy Tales series.

After Tinker Bell saves her cousin from being captured by Blackbeard, she breaks one of the few laws pixies has to save her. In committing the act of selling her pixie dust she loses the ability to return home in the pixie realm. She is tasked by Queen Titania, the queen of the mermaids, to steal a necklace to gain their trust. She seduces and drugs (with pixie dust) Captain Hook, the current owner of the necklace. He ends up getting cursed as the most recent owner of the necklace by the mermaids. To remove the curse Captain Hook is under and get the pearl that could fix Tink's bracelet (that gives her access to her home), they are tasked with finding a legendary magical item. They are forced to work together to both get what they need, but struggle to keep from forming emotional entanglements.

Guys, guys, guys... this book was soooooo good. First off, I want to preface that I'm not the biggest Peter Pan fan. I don't dislike it, but the only thing that I've really enjoyed relating to it was the movie Hook and the version of Captain Hook from Once Upon a Time (sexy pirate alert). So with that, I know the basic story of Peter Pan, but not all the little details. I cannot tell you how twisted Megan gets with the little details, but not matter how far she goes, I loved this book! I really enjoyed learning about Tink and just pixies in general and their way of life. I thought the magic they had was simple, but also super unique. You could feel the tension between Hook and Tink from the start and I loved that they just kept getting drawn to each other. Even when Hook was trying to be stern and "mean" with her, he just couldn't stop himself from caring. I just loved them together and how they kept stealing kisses and really opened up to each other in ways that they hadn't to really anyone else.

Now the mystery and friction with Blackbeard was a little predictable, but going into a "fairy tale" trope type of book I was expecting some predictability. It didn't bother me at all and I think just made it that much more of a fun and easy read. There really wasn't much that detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I mean the only thing would be I need to know what happened to Tink's cousin Lily and Peter and the lost boys. I'm sure they'll pop up later in the series or in a book of their own, but I want to know how that loose end gets tied up!

I cannot wait to read more from Megan and I'm still a little astounded that this was her debut. I've read her hints and blurb for the 2nd book in the series, The Ugly Stepsister, and I am so excited to read it. It comes out next month (September 13th). Seriously, if you enjoy fairy tale retellings, especially with a twist, definitely check out this series. I think I might have just found another new favorite fantasy romance author!

Have you read Second Star to the Left?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Second Star to the Left, Megan Van Dyke, 5 stars, 1 day, Paperback, 302 pages, published in 2022, small publisher

Gaslight Hades by Grace Draven

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Wanting a little bit of a change of pace in the Romance Takeover Readathon - Light v. Dark, I decided to pick up Gaslight Hades by Grace Draven next. This is the first book in her Bonekeeper Chronicles series and worked to cover both second change and fantasy. Gaslight Hades also worked perfect to cover the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo prompt steampunk and Summer of Swoon 2nd board prompt indie romance.

Lenore has just lost her father and is waiting to make sure his body in properly interred by the graveyard workers. As she waits, the Guardian of this location shows up to observe the proceedings as well. She is frightened by him, but also intrigued. She approaches him to make sure he will be on the lookout to keep her father's body from being stolen by the ressurectionists. Lenore gets a feeling of familiarity with the Guardian, but writes it off. What she doesn't know is that when her former lover Nathaniel died, his soul was moved into a new body and created to be a Bonekeeper Guardian. As they find themselves drawn together again and again, Nathaniel, going by Colin, joins Lenore on an airship test run to watch over her.

This is the first steampunk fantasy I've read in a while and this was so much fun! I loved really getting into this new world by Grace Draven. It was a little bit info-dumpy at times, but it didn't feel too dry for me. Maybe because I read a lot of historical and have read some steampunk before some of it felt more of a refresher. I can see if you are new to either of those sub-genres that it might be a little much, so I just want to put that little warning out there. Otherwise I thought the magic behind the Bonekeepers was super unique and I'm intrigued to read more set in this world. I hope all of the Bonekeepers end up with books (even though we really only meet one or two others). Honestly, the only reason I didn't give this the full five-stars is I wanted more from the romance department. I just wish we saw more of the little moments between them. This is more long novella length though, so maybe if we got a little closer to the 200 page mark I might've gotten everything that I wanted.

This was super fun and I can't wait to read more in this series. There's already a cover for the second book in the series but it hasn't been posted yet. I will pick up anything that Grace Draven writes, but I loved how unique this felt compared to her other works. I can't recommend her enough! If you are working your way through her backlist as well, don't put Gaslight Hades off. I myself am sad I didn't pick it up earlier this year during FaRoFeb.

Have you read Gaslight Hades?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Gaslight Hades, Grace Draven, 4.5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 144 pages, published in 2015, indie published

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

For the month of July, the assigned book for the SJM-along was A Court of Mist and Fury! This is the second book in Sarah J Maas's highly popular series A Court of Thorns and Roses. If you haven't heard of the readalong, it was created by Jenn (The Book Refuge) and is a readalong going through Sarah's blacklist in publication order. This month the live show was moved to Jenn's channel. I was able to use this for the booksta rec prompt on the 2nd board of Summer of Swoon.

After the events of A Court of Thorns and Roses, Feyre is struggling with what happened. Tamlin and her are trying to get the Spring Court back to normal proceedings, but with both of them still struggling through their trauma their relationship is not the same. After a couple months Tamlin proposes and Feyre sets about learning to be a high lord's consort and planning the wedding with Priestess Ianthe. As Feyre starts wasting away and stops taking care of herself, Rhysand shows up to enact the bargain struck Under the Mountain. He takes her to the Night Court and sets about helping her learn to read and helps her train her new magical powers. As Tamlin gets more and more controlling, Feyre finally breaks and Rhys saves her. He offers her the change to join his court and become part of his Inner Circle as war threatens once again.

I don't know how I'm going to review this book in my layout of two paragraphs and without it just being a ginormous gush fest. First, I have to mention the way that Sarah handled PTSD and the different ways it manifest was really well done. I don't have any direct experience, but it felt real to me and I did hear from others with first or second-hand experience that it was represented well. What blew me away was how it affected Tamlin, Rhysand and Feyre all so deeply, but manifested itself in different ways. Now I know that there is a lot of hate for Tamlin, and I understand it. I do allow him quite a bit of grace though because he is suffering as well. We just don't get to see as much the hows because we don't get his POV. Where I get more frustrated with with the people around Tamlin (outside of Ianthe) not stepping in to help both Tamlin and Feyre. There's servants and guards and friends and I just wish that one of them pushed harder to get them both the help they needed. Not that I wish that Tamlin and Feyre ended up together, because she's fated mates with Rhys, but I did want to see them both be taken care of. They both have changed drastically and it makes sense that they don't necessarily work together as a romantic pairing anymore. It was just sad to see for both of them that they were stuck. 

Okay, so Rhys and his inner court are absolutely amazing. I love them all so dearly and would love to be a part of the their friend group. The way that they all treated Feyre when they met her was so sweet to see and it really helped that they treated her as a person and not the "savior." I also loved how they all tried to take care of Feyre and Rhys as well and did stand up to them when they needed it (unlike Tamlin's court). Once again there were so many cinematic moments in this book that were elevated even more by Graphic Audio. The final ending scene where they are all around the cauldron was so haunting and I didn't want to pause, even to go to the bathroom. I love the evolution of Rhys's and Feyre's relationship and how they really were able to connect with each other on all levels. I was crying when the big thing happened at the end, but then there were a couple more chapters and I was cheering and so happy for them. 

Honestly, my review probably doesn't do this book justice, but I absolutely adored this book so much and so far it's probably my favorite of Sarah's books I've read so far. We have a little bit before getting to A Court of War and Ruin, but I can't wait. I'm nervous about what's going to happen with the war and if we're going to lose any of my favorite characters because let's be honest, it still guts me that Nehemia died in Crown of Midnight. We'll see what happens. For the meantime though, we are jumping back to Throne of Glass and Empire of Storms for August's reading.

Have you read A Court of Mist and Fury?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Court of Mist and Fury, Sarah J Maas, 5-stars, 1 day, Paperback & Audiobook, 626 pages, published in 2016, traditionally published

Emerald Blaze by Ilona Andrews

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The second main book we had to read in July for the Hidden Legacy Readalong was Emerald Blaze. This is the fifth book in Ilona Andrews's popular series. The readalong is being hosted by Stef, Heather, Megan and Izzy. I was able to use this for the prompts bright colors on the cover for Summer of Swoon and worked to cover the GM (character that pulls off something crazy) prompt for my Hockey Champions Readathon!

As the Deputy Warden of Texas, Catalina is tasked with continuing the search for the other missing vials of the Osiris serum. On top of whatever house problems and cases Baylor Investigations picks up, she has to drop everything and pursue what Warden Linus instructs. When he demands that she takes over the Morton case from Augustine, she has to finally reveal to him that she is the Deputy Warden. Felix Morton was a part of a reclamation project for the Pit and has been murdered. As per the agreement all members of the board signed, they have to allow the investigation or be shut down. When Catalina learns that one of the missing Osiris serums is involved to one of the largest threats faced, things become a lot more dire. When Alessandro comes back as Felix's father's associate and gets thrown back into it with Catalina. Alessandro has returned a changed man and does his best to convince Catalina he's only here to protect her from the man behind the theft.

Alright, let me just preface my thoughts with this, Emerald Blaze is my favorite book of the series so far and probably my favorite of their books that I've read. I became a huge fan of Catalina in Sapphire Flames and the ante has been upped even more. There's a few months between the two books and just seeing her really come into her role as the Deputy Warden was so freaking awesome to see. I also love that while Nevada was doing it for the good of everyone, I feel like what Catalina's taking on has a lot bigger risks. I mean the "big bad" in this book could potentially take down all humanity. That's a pretty big deal. I just absolutely loved and was mesmerized with how she managed to defeat The Abyss. I couldn't believe it, was rooting for her and super nervous at the same time. While I knew she most likely wouldn't die, I also didn't want to see any of the new side characters we've come to adore to be in danger as well. The final battle scene was just so freaking cinematic and such a fun end to the book.

I should also mention that we get more of Nevada and Connor in this book. Nevada is around most of the time and she is 8 months+ pregnant! Near the end of the book her water breaks and by the end we have her son! It was just so cool to really see her and Connor living in their HEA since they were away in the previous book. Also, the way that Alessandro comes back and has really changed. I loved how Catalina didn't trust it 100% and really pushed Alessandro to really open up to her. Their connection grows so much here and honestly, I feel really solid about where they're sitting. I'm hoping we get some good action of them working together as a couple in Ruby Fever, but if there's not too much relationship-wise I don't think I'll feel too sad about it. Back to Emerald Blaze though, another part I really enjoyed was just the family really being brought into what Catalina's actually doing for Linus. We also get some clarification about what happened when Nevada left the house and at the same time really seeing how much planning Catalina has put into action the past few years and really does have a lot of long game plans.

I also read a couple short stories. There is a short story listed as 4.2 in the series called Pay Me, however it takes place during Emerald Blaze. I waited to read it until done with Emerald Blaze and it's also available for free on their website! This was just a fun short story in Catalina's POV where she and Arabella arrive to close a case and receive payment. There was such a cool moment with Catalina that gave Boss-B* energy and I loved it. The other short story I read was The Cool Aunt. This is listed as book 5.1 in the series and also available for free on their website. At the end of Emerald Blaze, when Nevada goes into labor, Catalina sends Arabella with Nevada to protect her. This short story is from Arabella's POV and what happens from the point Catalina runs to get her and goes through the entire birth of her nephew. I loved this and can't wait to read more from Arabella's POV. It just gave me all the fuzzy feels and I gave both of these short stories 5-stars!

The next day when processing my thoughts about Emerald Blaze, I really wanted to reread. I absolutely adored this book and cannot wait to see what happens. I'm happy we don't have to wait too long for Ruby Fever, but the end of August is still farther away then I would like. I almost want to reread this right before it comes out, but we'll see if I have time. I cannot wait to read more from Ilona Andrews and I couldn't impress upon you more, READ THIS SERIES! It's just so freaking good and I don't know why I didn't read these books earlier.

Have you read Emerald Blaze?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Emerald Blaze, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 1 day, Paperback, 392 pages, published in 2020, traditionally published

STATISTICS: Pay Me, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 8 pages, published in 2019, indie published

STATISTICS: The Cool Aunt, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 12 pages, published in 2020, indie published

Sapphire Flames by Ilona Andrews

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

As we reach the final few books of the Hidden Legacy readalong, it was time to start book 4, Sapphire Flames. This is also the start of Catalina's trilogy in the series. The readalong is hosted by Stef, Heather, Megan and Izzy. This was able to cover the Summer of Swoon prompt blue on the cover and the Hockey Champions Readathon prompt for Logan O'Connor (fan favorite author).

As the three-year grace period for emerging houses comes to an end for House Baylor, Catalina is trying to get everyone ready for whatever may come. As the new Head of House, she is also taking point as the lead investigator for their business. When she she is urged to take the case of her friend's Runa, she stumbles upon a larger plot. While trying to figure out who murdered Runa's mother and younger sister, she learns that several vials of the Osiris Serum went missing and are connected with the murder. When she approaches "Uncle" Linus for clarification on some things, she is learns about the theft and is named Deputy Warden for Texas. As the assassin house starts coming for Catalina, Alessandro finds himself back in Texas and unable to stay away from Catalina. As they start to get to know each other, Catalina tries to not fall for him too hard. Alessandro is hiding a lot of things and doesn't plan on sticking around.

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh. This was such a freaking good book and I cannot wait to see what comes next for Catalina and Alessandro. Now, I have to prefece this with saying I loved Nevada. She was such a badass and super cool, but Catalina has stolen my heart. She is a lot more relatable to me and I loved seeing both her "Head of House" persona as well as who she is around her family, and then who is when by herself (and eventually Alessandro). As the reader you really get to see her doubts and struggles with keeping her magic contained. While Nevada was fairly blind to a lot of the workings of magic in the beginning, Catalina has had to study her magic most of her life to keep it contained. With the way her magic works it really broke my heart when she mentioned that she tends to push people away (that aren't family) because when she wants them to like her it's harder to control her magic. She is falling in love with Alessandro and wants him to fall in love with her, but it so worried that it'll be because of her magic (nevermind he's one of the few to be able to negate her magic).

As for the action of this, Ilona Andrews does such a good job. There is about a 3 year time jump from Diamond Fire and Catalina has gotten some training with Connor's mother. It was also nice to see Arabella and Leon also older taking more of larger role in the business. We get to see all most of the same side characters, but there are also some new ones that we really get to see fleshed out. I've said this before about Ilona Andrews, but the way that they create a world just feels so organic and real. Even if you see a character for a few pages, they don't feel one or even two-dimensional. I just love the way that world build and I think that every paragraph, every word, every letter just adds so much to the stories they create. It was also really neat to learn a lot more about Catalina's magic, especially as she's really starting to get comfortable using it.

I also want to mention that there are two short stories available on Ilona Andrews's website for free! 4.1 is A Misunderstanding and is a short scene about where Arabella and Leon are in the beginning of Sapphire Flames. We hear talk about closing out the Yarrow case and that there were some issues. Later on we get to hear more about what went down, but this was fun to really see what happened. This is from Arabella's POV, which is a first for this series. There is another short story listed as 4.2 in the series called Pay Me. It is noted that it takes place during Emerald Blaze though, so I will wait and read it until after I read that. I'll touch base on Pay Me in that review.

I am so excited to start Catalina's trilogy. While I wasn't nervous about the writing going in, I wasn't really sure who Catalina was. The novella Diamond Fire helped, but I have to say that Catalina is a new favorite character for me. The way that she really just holds it all together but isn't 100% bad-ass 100% of the time. She's also a little more bookish and nerdy in her bad-assery and I love that. She just really connected with me and I cannot wait to see what happens in the next book. We had some heartbreak at the end and I need to know what happens! Thankfully Emerald Blaze is already out!

Have you read Sapphire Flames?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Sapphire Flames, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 0 days, Paperback, 393 pages, published in 2019, traditionally published

STATISTICS: A Misunderstanding, Ilona Andrews, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 13 pages, published in 2019, indie published

The Assassin and the Desert by Sarah J Maas

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The 2nd book to read for the first part of May's selections for the SJM-along is The Assassin and the Desert. This is the third prequel novella (listed as 0.3) in Sarah J Maas's Throne of Glass series. This is also included as part of the collection called The Assassin's Blade. The readalong was organized by Jenn (The Book Refuge), but the live show for this book and Heir of Fire was on Tori's (Novel Life) channel on May 15th. As you can probably tell since this review is up a lot later, I did not read it in time.

After the events of the first novella, Aelin has been beaten by Arobynn and sent to train with the Silent Assassins and their leader the Mute Master. Their home-base resides in the Red Desert. It takes a month to get there, and once she does she butts against the new form of training. As Aelin starts to find her place and the new style of training, she also finds new friends and connection deeper than expected.

This was such a great novella. My favorite of them so far! I just loved getting to see Celaena work to develop new skills and really improve her assassin skills. I also loved seeing the differences of how Arobynn trains his assassins versus the Mute Master. It was just so crazy how much more effective the Mute Master manages to train while also keeping a good sense of culture and family between all of his disciples. The way that the whole situation really enforces the feelings that Celaena has started to have towards Arobynn and that was so nice to see as well. We also get her realizing the depth of her feelings for Sam and really start to deal with those.

A quick review for a quick novella, but this really was so much fun. It was fun, once again, to get the full backstory of things that Celaena has mentioned in the full length novels. While they are getting a little bittersweet since we know that at some point Sam dies and Celaena gets captured and sent to the salt mines as a slave, it's just really neat to see the build up of how she really gets to the point that Throne of Glass starts. If you've read the Throne of Glass series but haven't picked up these novellas, I highly recommend them!

Have you read The Assassin and the Desert?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: The Assassin and the Desert, Sarah J Maas, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 103 pages, published in 2012, traditionally published

Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The main book to read for the month of June for the SJM-along was the fourth book in Throne of Glass, Queen of Shadows. The readalong is created by Jenn and we are reading through Sarah J Maas's backlist in publication order. The live show for this book was on June 30th and hosted by Rachel! I was able to use this for the prompt trope or sub-genre outside comfort zone (young adult (ya)) for Summer of Swoon!

Celaena, now officially going by her real name of Aelin, is back in Rifthold. She hopes to save her cousin Aedion, steal back her family's amulet (that also holds one of the three wyrdkeys), save Dorian (via rescue or mercy killing) and connect with the remaining members of her court. Aelin is making plans and working on getting things into place to retake her rightful place as Queen of Terrasen. While Aelin is manipulating things around Rifthold, Rowan shows up to help out. While they work together with the rebels, Manon is over in Morath discovering more about what the Duke of Perrington is doing in his experiments. As she and her Thirteen struggle against what's expected of them by the Blackbeak Matriarch and her machinations to treat all witches as chattel, Manon befriends a servant to learn more.

Another 5-star read, another great addition to the series. First off, I do want to mention that this book felt a lot more cinematic especially at some of the fight scenes. The confrontation between Manon and Aelin was so well done as well as the big battle that starts off the last 100 pages. I was so tired staying up late to finish this in time and once it got to the last 100 pages I was wide awake and couldn't put it down until I was finished. Everything that was happening was so elaborate and cinematically written and I just had to see what would happen next. We are back in Rifthold for most of this book, and I feel like a lot of the previous plot threads were wrapped up for Rifthold and now we'll be moving back into more of the world. I was surprised by quite a few of the revelations and cannot wait to see what Sarah J Maas does next with the storyline.

I don't want to get into too many spoilers, but I have to say one of my favorite scenes was the rescue of Aedion. It was just so perfectly planned out. A part of me was thinking that something had to go wrong and it wouldn't work out, and while it didn't go exactly 100% to plan, they still got Aedion out fairly quickly. Another favorite scene was the fight between Aelin and Manon. Everything leading up the battle followed by the battle and how it helped Manon deal with what was happening to the witches was such an important part. I also loved seeing Manon and Aelin both be the bad-a** women that they are. The only real detractor for me was I felt there was a regression in Chaol's character growth back to where he was before finally taking a side that wasn't the kings. He was once again frustrating for me and I really hoped that he would be able to move past the actions that Aelin's had to take. He just seemed a little too butt-hurt to me and once again not looking at the whole picture of what's going on. 

I cannot wait to read more from SJM both in this series and in general. I am loving every single addition to this series and have no idea how things are going to go. I'm sure eventually we'll be taking down the "big bad," but seeing that whom we thought was the big bad was taken down this book and we still have three more full length books to go! I'm just really loving that I finally picked up Sarah's work and couldn't be more grateful to Jenn for creating this readalong.

Have you read Queen of Shadows?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Queen of Shadows, Sarah J Maas, 5-stars, 2 days, Paperback, 645 pages, published in 2015, traditionally published

Master of Crows by Grace Draven

⭐⭐⭐⭐

 I decided for June 2022 to start doing a tbr as part of a revamp of my Booktube Channel. I had prompts with multiple options: backlist author, new to me author and continue a series. For backlist author I ended up choosing Grace Draven! A favorite fantasy author of mine, I decided to pick up Master of Crows. This is the first book in her Master of Crows series (and is set in the same world as The Wraith Kings!). I was able to use this for Summer of Swoon to cover the prompt indie romance and the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo to cover the prompt takes place in a made up country.

Silhara is the Master of Crows, a mage with a lot of magic power. He is fighting off becoming the avatar for the god Corruption. As Corruption continues to try to seduce and blackmail Silhara giving in to his power, he starts looking for ways to defeat the god once again. He reaches out to the Conclave for help, specifically an apprentice that can read/translate ancient languages. Martise is brought to be his apprentice, but that's not all. She's also expected to spy on Silhara for the Conclave and report anything they can use to finally be rid of him once and for all. Also asked is for Silhara to try to figure out what Martise's magic gift is and activate it. As Silhara and Martise work together in the library and tending his orange grove, they start to become close. Silhara guessed she was a spy from the beginning, but as he starts to see who she really is, he struggles with falling for the woman sent to spy on him and is worried that if he has to kill her, he won't be able too.

I have to say, this one took a little longer for me to really sink into. I think you can tell it's an earlier book by Grace because it doesn't quite grab you as much as other books I've read from her. I think once we got the setup done and through the first little bit where Silhara and Martise aren't interacting as much, things started to pick up. I loved that they had this push and pull relationship. Silhara is such a grump with Martise, partly because he knows she's a spy and partly because he keeps finding himself drawn to her. Every time they start to get close he gets grumpy and pushes her away, but we see that he is just so torn on wanting her but also trying to protect himself and her from the influence Corruption is trying to enforce. For me, things really starting picking up once they started working together in the orange grove, but really got going once they went to "visit the lich."

I also loved the mystery and delve into what kind of magical gift that Martise had and how it manifests for the first time. I also love how when she finally is able to tap into her magic and Silhara asks her to bond with him so he can learn more about it she completely opens up to him and allows almost too much; she practically drains herself. The way that she pushed back and really forced him to allow her to help, even knowing what could happen was just so awe-inspiring. She was more than happy to make the sacrifice to bring down Corruption. I do have to say though, I do wish there a little more emphasis on the romance and it felt more romantic overall.

I'm so happy to read more of Grace Draven and have another book of her backlist done! She's one of my favorite fantasy romance authors and I always love getting lost in the worlds she creates. While I understand why a lot of people don't like this one as much, especially when compared with Radiance, I think this is a beautiful and special fantasy romance in it's own right. It's just a different vibe and an earlier work. If you've enjoyed a lot of Grace's other books, definitely give this a try. Just try to temper your expectations a little.

Have you read Master of Crows?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Master of Crows, Grace Draven, 4-stars, 4 days, Paperback, 392 pages, published in 2009, indie published

Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The second book assigned for June for the Hidden Legacy readalong is Diamond Fire. This is listed as Ilona Andrews's book 3.5 in the series. The readalong is hosted by Megan, Stef, Heather and Izzy. I was able to apply this to the prompts F in SWIFTIE for the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge, beachy read for Summer of Swoon and graduation for the Ripped Bodice Summer Bingo.

After having issues with previous wedding planners, Catalina and Arabella are now taking over to plan Nevada and Connor's celebration. Catalina is taking point on the planning and is tasked by Connor's mother in finding the stolen tiara all brides wear during their wedding in the family. As she struggles to juggle Connor's extended family, someone else is trying to derail the wedding. Catalina tries to not worry Nevada and take on the investigation herself.

This was the perfect novella to help us move from Nevada's trilogy to Catalina's. Not only do we get to see Nevada and Connor get married, but we also have a couple of the small threads from her books that get tied up. My favorite part was learning more about Catalina's magic. We also get to know her a lot better since we're in her POV. She definitely has a different tone than Nevada and I look forward to see her really start to use and master her magic as well. I also loved seeing how Catalina interacted with Connor and his people (like Bug and Rivera). We also got to meet Connor's mother and his extended family. At the end we see that Connor's mother will help train Catalina, which makes me even more excited.

This was the perfect novella to warp up Nevada's trilogy and move on to Catalina's. It was just great and I love reading anything by Ilona Andrews. I was excited to move on the the next three books in the series, and this was the perfect primer. Seriously, if you haven't tried Ilona Andrews, this is the perfect series to start. Especially since the 6th book comes out in August!

Have you read Diamond Fire?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Diamond Fire, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 0 days, Paperback, 145 pages, published in 2018, traditionally published

Wildfire by Ilona Andrews

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The June assigned books for the Hidden Legacy readalong starts with Wildfire. This is the third book in Ilona Andrews's very popular series. If you didn't see in my previous reviews, the Hidden Legacy readalong is hosted by Stef, Megan, Heather and Izzy. I used this read to cover the prompts Me! (one word title) for the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge and the prompt cover model with long hair for Summer of Swoon.

Nevada is getting hounded by her paternal grandmother to join her house, things are getting more serious with Connor "Mad" Rogan, and she has taken the case of his ex-fiancé's missing husband. A lot is happening at once for Nevada and her family and more of the houses are starting to pay attention. When the Caesar and the conspiracy group end up behind the husband's disappearance, things start to become more deadly. With all this going on, Rogan and Nevada come to the conclusion that the best way to protect her family from Victoria is to establish themselves as their own house, House Baylor. Connor is concerned that when they become a house Nevada and her family with join the houses and adopt the same mindset and won't want to be with him any more since their genetics probably won't help bring forth magically powerful children. Nevada didn't grow up in those games though and fights for her right to choose her man because she loves him and will love any kids they have regardless of magical ability.

Oh my gosh. Oh my freaking goodness. This was such a fun wrap up to the trilogy and to see how much Nevada is starting to master her powers was so good. We also get to see more of her family's magic. I've mentioned this before, but Ilona Andrews does such a good job fleshing out their worlds/universes and here it is just the same. I love the full cast of secondary characters and you really get attached to them as well. We get so much more about magic and the houses here with Nevada petitioning to become a house and I cannot wait to see the future books when they are officially established. If you haven't read this series before, there are a lot of threads tied up in this book, but we do still have the identity of Caesar unknown and he's not taken down. The next trilogy will be focused on Catalina and will be in her POV. If you aren't interested in reading more, I think this does a good job of leaving some small threads to continue on, but tying it up enough that you could stop here if you so choose (buy why would you choose that?). 

Let's focus on Nevada though for a moment. I loved her even more in this book and I loved that with Connor's ex around, while she wasn't fond of her trying to finagle her way into his life more, she trusted Connor. She understood why Connor was helping his ex in this touch situation, but also was over the way she was acting. She didn't get all jealous or butthurt though and I just loved how she put her foot down. She made it known that she understood why Connor wanted to help her (since they were childhood friends as well), but she wasn't going to be 2nd in priority. She also didn't let Connor distance himself and she got closer and closer to finalizing her house's formation. She was so staunch in that who she wanted as a husband was Connor. Did she go on a date with someone who approached to make a  match, yes. She made it clear though that it was because she wanted to learn more about her abilities and talk with another truthseeker, as well as try to get more information from him. I just loved how level-headed she was and just was so open about her feelings with Connor; never mind the fact that as much as Connor "tried" to distance himself, he never really could stay away from Nevada.

I cannot wait to see what happens in the future books and how House Baylor is going to grow. I'm so intrigued to learn more about Catalina's, and Arabella's, magic. Ilona Andrews just does such a good job getting you so invested in so many side characters, but it also doesn't feel like it's too much. I'll pick up any of their books and am so excited that we'll be catching up in time for the release of book 6, Ruby Fever, in August!

Have you read Wildfire?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Wildfire, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 1 day, Paperback, 391 pages, published in 2017, traditionally published

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

And now, the time has come... for A Court of Thorns and Roses. This is the first book in highly popular A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas (hereby referred to as ACOTAR). I have been reading Sarah J Maas's backlist as apart of the SJM-along organized by Jenn (The Book Refuge). The 2nd half of May's assigned reading is this book. I was able to use it for my reading challenges to cover Love Has Sprung board 2's prompt author you think is a nice person and the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge's prompt August (character you want to spend some "hot" time with).

Feyre is out hunting to bring home food to her two sisters and father. They are in severe poverty and rely on what Feyre can catch to live. When hunting a doe, Feyre's hunt is interfered by a giant wolf. She has an inkling at the time, but the wolf is actually Fae and she then owes her life to the Fae after killing him. The High Lord Tamlin shows up to claim her life and forces her to live with him in his Spring Court. As Feyre spends time across the border and living in the land of Fae, she grows close with Tamlin and his people. They have all been cursed by a "blight" and are secretly hoping that Feyre is the key to remove the curse. All that needs to happen is for Feyre to fall in love with Tamlin and express her love to him out loud within 49 days.

Okay, I was understanding the hype with the earlier books I read by SJM, but I see why people are obsessed with ACOTAR and I'm not even to the big books yet. The world SJM has created here is so much more vast feeling compared to Throne of Glass and I feel like she even pushes the mythos for her Fae creatures. Now, I'm not 100% sure if the Fae here are related to the Fae in Throne of Glass, but I'm intrigued to see what the other readers think as we discuss in the readalong. But back to ACOTAR itself. I really enjoyed Feyre and being inside her mind. What's a different aspect compared to Aelin is that she's a painter. A lot of things are referred to with an artist's eye. It led to a different type of description of Feyre's experiences than I expected and really enjoyed it.

Now, I did ask Jenn during a member live show if there was anything I needed to keep in mind before reading ACOTAR for the first time. She said to expect something similar to Throne of Glass where the character we get our HEA is not who you expect and to not get attached. Now, despite not knowing too much about this series outside of people are a huge fan of Rhysand (show me a bookish merch shop that doesn't reference him). I think that helped me temper my expectations a little and I'm hoping that it's Rhysand that's actually endgame for Feyre. Also, I should mention that I read this along in paperback while listening to the Graphic Audio audiobook. Now what's different about this is that Graphic Audio does it more cinematically with different actors/voices for everyone, sound effects and the whole shebang. It was pretty awesome, although I don't recommend doing both at the same time unless you're loosely following along in paperback. I was able to listen to it via my library using the Hoopla service.

I am so excited to continue this series as well! I almost wish we were going series by series instead of publication order because I have a couple books to read before getting the the next in this series. I am understanding the hype and almost kick myself for waiting so long to finally pick up SJM. Although it's super fun to read these books as a first timer and be able to blindly discuss things during the live show. It also helps I'm not the only one reading her for the first time!

Have you read A Court of Thorns and Roses?

(Let's be honest, most of you probably already have!)

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: A Court of Thorns and Roses, Sarah J Maas, 5-stars, 1 day, Paperback & Audio Book, 448 pages, published in 2015, traditionally published