Heaving Bosom's Reading Embrace 2022 Wrap Up

 I had most of the Heaving Bosom's Reading Embrace done by mid-February. I have finally finished up the final prompt (one of two I had remaining in March) and can now officially end my Reading Embrace. If you missed my tbr, check it out. Just to kind of touch base, this is a yearly reading challenge hosted by they Heaving Bosoms podcast. The prompts are based off of jokes and sayings that come up on the podcast and can get a little tricky to make work. Below are the prompts with what I chose to apply!

1) Keep Being a Badass - Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews - Finished 1/9/2022 - Kate is a badass!

2) Lady Love - Reckless Miles by Claire Kingsley - Finished 1/7/2022 - Amelia & Brynn have a great female friendship

3) HB Author - Using Fejo by Victoria Aveline - Finished 7/17/2022

4) Bonkers Romance - Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton - Finished 2/10/2022 - gargoyle hero

5) Scientists in 2022 - Falling Like Stars by Eve Kasey - Finished 1/23/2022 - Hero is an astronaut

6) Chekov's Grandma - Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon - Finished 1/2/2022 - Russian figure skater hero and is set in Russia

7) Catch My Farts - Calling It by Jen Doyle - Finished 1/19/2022 - Hero is a catcher in baseball

8) A Light Kidnap - Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews - Finished 1/13/2022 - Saiman gets kidnapped

9) Jimmi Simpson's Robot Adventure - In the Arms of an Android by Tracy Lauren - Finished 9/17/2022 - Hero is an android

10) Prelude to a Wet Hump - Forbidden Miles by Claire Kingsley - Finished 1/3/2022 - A lot of build up until they "pop" the tension

11) St. Vincent Would Always - West End Earl by Bethany Bennett - Finished 1/29/2022 - I was enthralled like when reading Lisa Kleypas

12) Englandtimes Highlander Vegas - How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins - Finished 5/10/2022 - The highlander hero goes to a gaming hell in englandtimes

13) Stay Golden Horny Girl - Warsworn by Elizabeth Vaughan - Finished 2/3/2022 - Vara gets very horny

14) Doing 1920s Laundry - Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks - Finished 1/30/2022 - heroine does laundry in an old timey way

15) Forest Bed - Taming Hollywood's Baddest Boy by Max Monroe - Finished 1/28/2022 - They go hiking for multiple days in Alaska

16) Murder Robe - Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews - Finished 1/11/2022 - Derek murders a lot of things and then wears the hunter's fur cape he just killed

17) Ancient Egyptian Glory Hole - Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan - Finished 2/2/2022 - ancient egyptian glory holes = murder holes... right?

18) Pool Floaty Fart Sounds - One Hot Italian Summer by Karina Halle - Finished 2/1/2022 - Has a lot of pool shenanigans

19) Jazz Bagpipes - Annie's Song by - Finished 2/6/2022 - Annie at one point goes through playing all the instruments that were bought for her

20) Funny Joke Dancing - Teased by Fire by Molly O'Hare - Finished 2/19/2022 - Olive does some silly celebration dancing

I had a lot of fun once again and there's definitely still time to finish the embrace if you're still working on it. You have until the end of the year, so hopefully this can give some other options if you're still going. Sometimes there's some hard to find prompts, but for me it was more just finding the time and mood to finish those last two prompts. I'm glad it's finally done and I don't have to have it in the back of my mind anymore!

Have you been participating in the 2022 Heaving Bosom's Reading Embrace?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

In the Arms of an Android by Tracy Lauren

⭐⭐⭐⭐

With a little bit of free reign and wanting to try to pick up a lot of paranormal and sci-fi romances throughout the rest of the year (to fill up some bonus prompts for my year end brackets), I decided to finally pick up In the Arms of an Android. This is the first book of Tracy Lauren's Android series. I was able to use this book to cover the Heaving Bosom's Reading Embrace prompt Jimmi Simpson's Robot Adventure, the Fall in Love prompt Photo Cover and Color Me Romantic prompt for Silver (story with travel).

Valens and his friends are out on an exploratory mission after he finds a ping in his scans. Being an android, he is the only one allowed off the ship to explore the new planet and try to find the source of the signal. When he finally finds it, it looks like an old cryo-chamber. When he opens it up, he finds Andrea. She is just starting to wake up. Once he can get her out of the chamber and back to his ship, they learn the truth. Andrea was kidnapped by a crazy billionaire and sent out to make 2nd contact almost 2,000 years ago. She has to struggle to find a new place in this new life and leans on Valens for support. He starts to feel protective over Andrea, especially when fellow androids start realizing he's feeling emotions that have escaped most of the rest of the them.

I've read cyborg romances before, but I think this is my first full android. I wasn't quite sure how "robot" he'd feel going in and thought it was a really done well. I could believe when he was confused by some things, but starting to understand emotions. Now, they are not 100% like we expect from a robot, but also a lot more advanced. There's discussion about how he has a more advanced learning and computing system (even more than the technology he uses) and it grows and adapts as he learns. I thought it was really interesting how it worked so that it felt natural that he was learning to feel emotions and not a "sudden miracle." It also helped that while he wasn't in love beforehand, he did experience some of the more shallower emotions for his friends and himself.

Now, this wasn't quite a full 5-stars for me for a couple of reasons. The biggest was Andrea. It felt like Tracy was torn in how to balance which direction she wanted to take her. At first there was a lot going on with Andrea, as to be expected, with night terrors and being scared around the other alien species and just dealing with her new situation. She definitely like imprinted on Valens, so I wasn't sure how much was actually love and not dependence on him. Now it could be both, but she went from dealing with all these issues to I'm 90% fine. I just wished that either there was more working through those feelings or even a time jump instead of just a flip being switched. I also wanted there to be more to what happens with the other androids. There could've been more pages to really delve into the issues and what the other androids were wanting to learn. It just felt really quick and then was resolved quickly as well.

It was a great start, but I could tell that this was an earlier work of Tracy's. I'm super excited to have finally read one of her sci-fi books and will definitely continue my way through her backlist while I wait for new books. This was great for my first android and I'm excited to see how it'll continue in the series. If you are looking for a sci-fi romance with an android and not necessarily an "alien," this would be a great option; even more so if you're interested in getting into Sci-Fi romance.

Have you read In the Arms of an Android?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: In the Arms of an Android, Tracy Lauren, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 184 pages, published in 2019, indie published

How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

After the Mafia Romance Readathon, I immediately jumped into the Historical Romance Readathon! The first book I decided to pick up was How to Abduct a Highland Lord by Karen Hawkins. This is the first book in her MacLean Curse series. This covered the prompts second chance romance, in a series, marriage of convenience, rake, highlander and enemies to lovers. This also worked for the prompts one person on the cover and Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince ("heartbreaker" in the story) for Love Has Sprung board 2 and the Taylor Swift Quarterly Challenge respectively. I also finally found a book to cover the prompt Englandtimes Highlander Vegas for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

After Fiona is struggling to keep her brothers from killing people in Clan Kincaid after their younger brother Callum is killed. There hasn't been that type of warring for a while and it's not time to start. To help keep everybody in line Fiona plans to marry her old flame Jack Kincaid. When she finds him on the side of the road she takes him to the pastor and convinces him to marry them. When Jack sobers up, he's surprised to see the one woman he wanted more than as a mistress suddenly his wife and bucks against the marriage.

This was a lot of fun and I loved how zany the plot was at times. Now, this wasn't quite a full 5-stars for me, but mostly because I felt like I was missing a little bit more of the emotional development. It did feel like a lot of that emotional development between Fiona and Jack happened when they were younger, but we didn't see any of that. I would've loved just a couple (not too many) flashbacks or even a prologue or the first couple chapters set in the past before a time jump. I just was left wanting more emotionally between them at the end.

I pretty much loved everything else. I really enjoyed the push and pull between Jack and Fiona; as well as the mutual pining. Fiona's brothers were hilarious and just as expected as angry older brothers. I also found the curse aspect really interesting. Before each chapter there were a couple lines or little blurbs of an older grandmother teaching three girls about the MacLean curse. I'm not sure if it's going to be resolved in this series, but I loved that they can effect the weather. What made it even better was that even though they could cause rain or hail, it couldn't be controlled. There were moments where local villages would be in threat of flooding and the brothers would have to really control their feelings to keep their tenants and locals safe from sudden thunderstorms. It was just a fun extra element added throughout!

I really loved this book and can't wait to read more in the series. I'm super intrigued to see who the brothers get paired with and have a new series to get into! I'm not sure when I'll be able to pick them up, but I can't wait. This was such a good book to start the readathon with and it gave me a bingo single-handedly!

Have you read How to Abduct a Highland Lord?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: How to Abduct a Highland Lord, Karen Hawkins, 4.5-stars, 2 days, Paperback, 313 pages, published in 2007, traditionally published

Teased by Fire by Molly O'Hare

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

After reading Magic Triumphs, I knew I needed to change pace a little bit to avoid a book hangover. I decided to pick up a contemporary that would help cover my remaining prompts for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. I ended up reading Teased by Fire by Molly O'Hare. This is the first book in her Teased by Love series. I used it to cover the Winter's Kiss prompt cursive and print lettering on the cover.

Olive is a romance author that is also an introvert. When her childhood friend and roommate suddenly moves out after getting a job across the country, she sets up Olive with a new roommate. He's her older brother Hank, and the person that has teased Olive relentlessly throughout the years. Hank has been teasing Olive mostly because he has a crush on her and is taking this chance to finally push for more. As Hank and Olive juggle becoming roommates while being attracted to each other, things quickly heat up. When Hank proposes sleeping together for "research" for Olive's books, they both realize that it might just mean more.

I really enjoyed this. Olive was so relatable. I don't mind the teasing trope, but sometimes I do think that the person doing the teasing takes it too far and isn't always made aware of how their teasing is coming across. This is quickly addressed when Hank takes it a step too far. I also really liked that Hank had been pining for Olive since they basically both hit puberty, but didn't know absolutely everything about her. When he realized that she was a writer he immediately bought all of her books and read them right away. He had gotten through their backlist before Olive even knew that Hank knew. I just really liked that it didn't fall into any of the expected tropes or "twists."

There is a big car crash after they have a fight and Olive is very badly hurt. Of course Hank's crew (he's a firefighter) is called to the scene and he ends up going to the hospital with her. It's bad, like really bad. Olive needs to be resuscitated on the way to the hospital and we are told flatlines several times while in surgery. With how much she was injured, I was expecting some sort of amnesia or memory loss on top of her injuries but we didn't go that route. I loved how everything turned out and just really enjoyed the story overall. The only thing is Olive is a little too quirky at times, but I do have to admit that she stays at the same level of quirky all the way through. There's now fading in or out or something silly. The only reason it didn't quite hit the 5-stars for me is I wanted to see more of them falling in love when not in the physical situations. Oh, and I can't believe I forgot to mention one of the best characters, Dog. Dog is a Maine Coon kitty rescued and was the fire house mascot. She was such a fun addition!

I really enjoyed trying another new author and will definitely be looking into Molly's backlist. There are hints here about a future book between Hank's sister and his best friend, so I'm looking forward to that. It hasn't been published yet from what I could tell, but color me intrigued! The comedy hit me well and it was just a sweet and cute contemporary with decent steam. I'm looking forward to more of Molly's works!

Have you read Teased by Fire?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Teased by Fire, Molly O'Hare, 4.5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 214 pages, published in 2018, indie published

Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton

⭐⭐⭐

Wanting a newer fantasy release for FaRoFeb, I picked up Broken Chains by Demelza Carlton. This is the first book in her Heart of Stone series. I used this to cover the prompt new release for both FaRoFeb and the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. I also was able to use this for the prompt bonkers romance for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Catena is struggling to pick a project for the archaeology PhD degree. When she is accosted on the way home one night, she is saved by Tor. He's a gargoyle shifter that has been tasked with Catena's protection. When Tor's missing memories and history starts to come back, things start to get a little darker for Catena. As they struggle to come to terms about their relationship and Tor starts to find himself, the attraction between them sparks.

Oh my gosh, that is the lamest summary. I just, I just couldn't really think of much that happened in the book. Is that weird, yeah a little. I just gotta be honest though, and this book bored me. I kept wanting more development in the plot, the relationship and just everything. It is set in Australia. So I do want to warn that there is more Australian slang used than expected. I have read other Australian authors, and while they don't shy away from using slang, I feel like it was used better or more sparingly. I think that was part of my disconnect. It also felt a little too kitschy for me. Catena, our heroine, is a romance reader. While this leads her to accept things easier about Tor than the typical person, it still felt a little too overboard for me. Would I accept a gargoyle shifter (but is he really a shifter?), probably. Would I completely jump all in physically and trustingly with him? Probably not. I just needed a little bit more skepticism. I do read alien/shifter/monster romances, but something here just didn't click right.

I did keep reading because I was intrigued on how her project was going to come into play (if ever) and there were some good elements that kept me intrigued. I liked how Tor was a stone mason and enjoyed some of his flashbacks and learning some historical events about Australia. I have to say though, about 65% in I started skimming. I just didn't want to read it anymore. I kept hoping that something more would happen, but it just felt dragged out. Imagine my surprise when I saw this book was less than 200 pages.

There were some good parts of the book though, so I might try another of Demelza's works. I don't know though. This was one of her more recent releases, so I might wait until there's something that really intrigues me plot wise. Should I have DNFed? I don't know. I hate doing that and I wanted to give Demelza a shot to put it all together. It just missed the mark for me.

Have you read Broken Chains?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Broken Chains, Demelza Carlton, 3-stars, 2 days, eBook, 195 pages, published in 2022, indie published

Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Taking a little break from FaRoFeb, I needed to get in the book for the February meeting of Rake Appreciation Society. The club is hosted by Crystal and Jenn and they chose Annie's Song by Catherine Anderson for this month! I was able to use this to cover the prompts billionaire, CEO or businessman hero for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss and the jazz bagpipes prompt for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Annie became deaf at the young age of 6. Her parents didn't realize that she had become deaf and instead took her disability as becoming mentally disabled. She has been raised as such a person and never really got proper schooling or socialization. After Annie gets raped and becomes pregnant, the agressor's brother Alex steps up and offers to marry Annie to help keep the child. When he takes her into his home, he realizes her true disability and goes about trying to give her the life she always deserved and more.

Now, there is a trigger for rape right off the bat. There's also what we would call insensitive words now used to refer to Annie. Despite that rough start, this really is a beautiful love story between two people. I loved Alex and he was such a great hero. He really made the book for me and saved it from being rated lower. The way that Alex was so willing to do everything to help Annie learn to write and use sign language and just do normal things as she could was so heartwarming. There were also some great moments of humor that really brought some lightheartedness to the situation.

I can see how the way that Annie's character was portrayed would be very off-putting for some. Yes she was deaf and turned mute, but she was also very childlike in her mental state. There were some things she would understand, but others not. For me, I was able to reconcile that with the fact that she never got any schooling past the old timey version of kindergarten. Once she started learning and being spoken too as someone with the capability to learn, you could see her really start to mature. She was still able to keep that spark though. For me the dock in rating was really that I just struggled to connect emotionally. A lot of other readers mention crying and tearing up during this book, but I never felt it. That's weird for me since I am such an emotional reader. I'm still not sure if it was writing style or what it exactly was that didn't speak to me, but it just didn't hit me in "the feels."

I loved chatting with everyone during the live show! There were a lot of good contrasting opinions on the book that were able to lend to some really great conversations. If you've read the book or want to learn more before picking it up, definitely check it out! I am intrigued to read more from Catherine Anderson, but I do have to say she's not at the top of my historical authors backlist list. She is on there though!

Have you read Annie's Song?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Annie's Song, Catherine Anderson, 4-stars, 0 days, eBook, 410 pages, published in 1996, traditionally published

Warsworn by Elizabeth Vaughan

⭐⭐⭐⭐

After finishing Warprize, I immediately picked up the second book in the Chronicles of Warlands series, Warsworn. This series is by Elizabeth Vaughan and was my second read for FaRoFeb. I used it for the prompt love the cover. I was also able to use this for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace prompt stay horny golden girl and Winter's Kiss second board prompt underhyped.

We pick up right after Warprize ends and move forward. Keir, Lara and a portion of the army are headed back to the homelands of Keir and the "barbarians." While traveling, they come across a small town that has been beset by a plague. Lara pushes to stay behind so she can possibly help. When they approach and there is only a couple survivors, a baby the only one not sick, Lara tries to figure out what happened to notify the other cities. When the army gets sick and they are stuck for 40 days to keep from transferring the sickness to anyone else, things start to get political in the group. Since this is the first time the barbarians have dealt with any type of illness, they aren't sure how to handle the "invisible enemy."

So, while I still enjoyed this book, it didn't really improve on the first. With Lara fighting the plague and illness, that was pretty much what most of this book was centered around. Once again we got the abrupt ending, but it didn't bother me as much this time. I think partly because it was the same in the first, but I just didn't see the end coming. It wasn't really wrapped up, even with leaving the overarching storyline open. I liked getting to see Lara and Keir get closer together and to see their relationship strengthen. I read it pretty quickly again, but was once again just left wanting more; and not in a good way.

Warning, there are characters that you have come to love that die in here. I understood why we had to loose someone to help point out that illness doesn't know any bounds, but we lost several people we were close with. It just made the book have such a "downer" type of feeling that didn't go away. I can also see this triggering those that are sensitive with the current pandemic. While this is more plague and not pandemic, I can see how someone might be triggered, especially with the caretaking and high number of deaths due to illness. It didn't really bother me in that way other than just the overall mood of the book being a lot more somber.

I will definitely continue the series. At the very least I want to read the third book since it'll wrap up Lara and Keir's story. I'm not sure how quickly I'll get to it, but I definitely want to get through at least it before the end of the year. I just wish going in I knew that there was going to be sudden endings and that the first three books were a trilogy and not stand-alone. I am having fun with a new fantasy romance author though and hope that the next books will take care of everything that's outstanding. We shall see.

Have you read Warsworn?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Warsworn, Elizabeth Vaughan, 4-stars, 1 day, eBook, 340 pages, published in 2006, traditionally published

Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

The first book I picked up for FaRoFeb was Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan. This is the first book of her Chronicles of the Warlands series. I found this book thanks to a Instagram post for a trope Tuesday post, so was able to use it for the prompt recommendation from booksta for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. It also works for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace prompt Ancient Egyptian glory hole. For FaRoFeb, I used this for the prompt something you love to hate.

Xylara is the half-sister of the current King of Xy, but as the second child was allowed a little more freedom. She has taken it upon herself to learn the art of healing. When Xy ends up in the being able to skirt the rules, she starts offering help after hours to the barbarians that are coming to takeover Xy. When Lara saves one of the generals, the Warlord Keir is drawn to Lara and her care for everyone equally. He decides to broker a deal with the King to leave him in seat (under Keir of course) but also wants Lara as his Warprize.

Okay, so first things first. When I found this book I didn't see anything mentioned, but this ends in a cliffhanger and the first three books are about Keir and Lara. I hadn't realized since the covers were different enough, so I don't want anyone else to go in not realizing the same thing. Now, this is also a slow burn and not very steamy. I did really enjoy the world building and the way that things evolved. I did want a bit more romance between them, but now knowing that there's three books about them I wasn't quite as strict with my rating. It is a very abrupt ending though, so just be aware.

Where I did have issue was the misunderstandings that went on so long. I do wish that Keir and his people were more open to having conversations with Lara and actually teaching about their culture and what is actually happening. There were also a few moments where it was pretty obvious that Lara didn't know what was going on or how to act, but they just wrote her off or got frustrated with her. It's like because she quickly learned the language everyone forgot that she was from a different culture.

I did speed through the books and immediately continued the in the series. While not perfect, it sucked me in so quickly and kept me so occupied that I had to give it as close to a 5-star as possible. It just had those few little nitpicks that didn't push it over the hump for me. I'll definitely be reading more in the series; at least finishing the first three books. I'm intrigued to read Elizabeth's other series Epic of Palins since it supposedly intersects.

Have you read Warprize?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Warprize, Elizabeth Vaughan, 4.5-stars, 0-days, eBook, 340 pages, published in 2005, traditionally published

One Hot Italian Summer by Karina Halle

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

With February approaching I really was feeling some Fantasy Romance. I had a little time before the beginning of FaRoFeb, so I went back to contemporary. I decided to pick up the standalone One Hot Italian Summer by Karina Halle. This first came onto my radar when the Smart Women Read Romance podcast did an episode on it. I saw that Shelby also posted about it on her instagram so was able to use it for the Winter's Kiss board 2 prompt Shelby made a post about. I also used it for the prompt pool floaty fart sounds for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Grace is struggling after loosing her best friend and writing partner Robyn to a hit and run accident. They had published a popular cozy mystery series together as a writing due and Grace is struggling moving on with her writing career. She know has a new agent, Jana, and her next book is going to be in women's fiction. When Jana touches base with Grace as she approaches her deadline, Grace hasn't written a word. Going for something different, she offers for Grace to stay at a vacation house in Italy for about a month. Hoping that a change in location and vibe from Edinburgh, she takes Jana up on the offer. Shortly after getting set up, Grace learns that the house isn't Jana's vacation spot, but actually her ex-husband Claudio's. He and their son Vanni have come home from their yearly vacation early and are stunned to find Grace staying in their house. When Grace and Claudio start to connect over their muses and the struggles of an artist, their relationship turns more serious.

This was just what I was wanting, and even more. I loved the talk about art and the different forms it can take, but yet all artists struggle with similar feelings. While for the longest time I didn't consider myself an artist, when I crochet and do my craft projects it is a form of art. While it's not my livelihood, I could still connect with the base of what Grace and Claudio were feeling. Also, this book really made me want to visit Italy even more. I loved that we really got to experience the everyday and small parts of Italy that aren't tourist traps (not that those places are bad). When I studied abroad in Japan, I made it a point to visit the more hometown areas as well as the touristy areas. I feel like it's a better way to really immerse yourself and better understand the culture.

But we are here for the romance and it was very well done. I loved how they just couldn't stay away from each other were constantly staring at each other. They did take a little longer than I expected to crack the seal of tension, but it made sense with the complications of Vanni being around as well as Claudio being Jana's ex-husband. I loved how all in Claudio was from the start and really watched and understood when to push and when to back-off. There was also great conversations about if he was being used as a crutch or replacing Robyn for Grace and how she was writing. Claudio saw it differently and I just loved how he really helped and allowed her to go through her grief in her own time to be able to write again.

I am so glad I finally picked up a Karina Halle and definitely want to read more. I know that she's getting into the more paranormal and fantasy realm recently so I might look at those next, but we'll see what happens. I will be picking up more of her books for sure. This book really lived up to the great reviews I've heard and if you are looking for a summer/holiday escape, this is absolutely perfect!

Have you read One Hot Italian Summer?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

    STATISTICS: One Hot Italian Summer, Karina Halle, 5-stars, 2 days, eBook, 384 pages, published in 2020, indie published

Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Still feeling in the historical mood, I picked up a hyped Maya Banks, Never Seduce a Scot. This is the first in her Montgomerys and Armstrongs series. I was able to use this for the prompts disability/chronic illness rep for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss and doing 1920s laundry for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Evaline is being forced into an arranged marriage with Graeme, the laird of the Montgomerys, by the King of Scotland. The Armstrongs and Montgomerys have been fighting for generations and the King needs his countrymen to stop in-fighting. Evaline is known as being less than whole after her negotiated marriage with Ian, the son of Laird McHugh, is cancelled. Evaline had gone riding, fell off her horse into a ravine and was found several days later. After coming out of her fever induced sleep, Evaline was deaf. She masquerades as being more addled though to keep from marrying Ian. Evaline is excited for the marriage to Graeme because she's looking forward to having an adventure and being able to start fresh without the lies keeping her back. Graeme is frustrated though because with the rumors he sees the marriage as a death sentence for his line; how can he expect to have a child with someone that has significant mental deficiencies. When they both open up and Graeme learns the truth about what's actually wrong with Evaline, they quickly move into being a true couple.

Oh my gosh. This book was absolute magic and lived up to the rave reviews that I've been hearing the past couple years on booktube and bookstagram. I loved the way that Evaline and Graeme connected and how much Evaline really fought to be seen as a full person despite her deafness. When Graeme figures it out and starts "talking" to her by just mouthing the words, he is completely mind-blown. What made it even better though was instead of getting angry for the misunderstanding, he is immediately in awe of Evaline for teaching herself how to read lips. That was one of my favorite parts of the books and the entire scene of them talking about becoming true husband and wife was so heartwarming. I really can't say enough good things about this book.

What I found interesting, was in the author's note at the end Maya Banks said that her husband has a similar issue to Evaline. I guess nobody really realized that he was deaf or partially deaf until he was in school for his Master's degree. I feel like that's what helped pushed this overboard for her books. I liked the other books I've read by her, but I feel like having that extra connection is part of what really pushed this book to a full 5-stars for me. I just really loved how the relationship progressed for Evaline and Graeme throughout and just fell in love with both characters whole-heartedly.

I can't wait to read more by Maya Banks, and definitely want to finish this series. I do know that the third book has been on hold for several years at this point and is something that a lot of people are upset over. If I remember correctly, I think I saw something about there being health issues or family issues on top of the 3rd book moving to being published by Avon instead of Ballantine. I definitely need to read the rest of her historical books, but I'm also intrigue by her more romantic suspense series as well.

Have you read Never Seduce a Scot?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Never Seduce a Scot, Maya Banks, 5-stars, 0 days, paperback, 373 pages, published in 2012, traditionally published

West End Earl by Bethany Bennett

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Wanting a little bit of a change of pace before getting to February, I wanted to pick up a historical romance. I had a few historicals on my headboard that I wanted to read soon and knew immediately I wanted to pick up West End Earl by Bethany Bennett. This is the second book in her Misfits of Mayfair series. I applied this to the Winter's Kiss 2nd board prompt starts with the letter W and the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace prompt St. Vincent would always.

Ophelia has been living as her twin brother Adam for the past 11 years. After their parents passed and they were sent to a distant uncle, Ophelia and Adam planned to run away. When they were leaving, Adam falls into a pond on the estate, cracks his head on a rock and passes away. To escape their Uncle, Fi takes her brother's place at school. Now, she is currently working with the Earl of Carlisle, Calvin. Not only does he employ her, but they have become great friends. In several months she will reach majority and have access to her inheritance. When Ophelia is attacked on the way home, Cal finally learns the truth about "Adam." When the attack turns out to be orchestrated by her uncle after taking out an insurance policy on Adam, things quickly escalate. Now that Cal knows Fi is a woman, he can't unsee her and the attraction between them quickly builds.

This was so good! I absolutely loved it, eve more than the first book Any Rogue Will Do. I was nervous how long Cal was going to think that Adam was a man, but even though it's been two years of friendship, we quickly see him figure out that Adam is actually Ophelia. The tension between them and way that Cal just wanted to take care of her in all ways was so great. I mean we've seen in both books that he really takes care of his friends, but when things turn romantic it just intensifies. This book also took some crazy turns that I wasn't expecting and I absolutely loved it. I love getting surprised by where Bethany took us and loved the way it played out.

We meet and see a lot of Emma, Cal's younger sister. While she was frustrating to me a lot of the book, we did get some good growth from her and I loved the way that she connected with Fi. Honestly, that's really the only thing that really bothered me, but seeing where it lead made it worth it. I just really loved the twists and turns. It just really made my reading experience even better and I can't wait for more.

I can't believe that this is only Bethany Bennett's second book and I am so hyped for her future career. The third book in the series is Emma's and comes out this May. I already have it preordered and am so ready to see what happens. I am loving that I have a new historical author to follow and that it's early enough in her career I can stay caught up on her backlist. If you are looking for a newer historical release, I can't recommend Bethany Bennett more. She's definitely a stand out of the new generation for me!

Have you read West End Earl?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: West End Earl, Bethany Bennett, 5-stars, 0 days, paperback, 377 pages, published in 2021, traditionally published

Taming Hollywood's Baddest Boy by Max Monroe

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Continuing with my contemporary binge before February, I wanted something a little more romcom feeling. After reading Max Monroe last year and loving their books, I decided to pick up another one of their series. I went with Taming Hollywood's Baddest Boy, the first in their Hollywood series. I was able to use this for the prompt Shelby gave 5-stars for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. I also used this for the prompt forest bed for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Billie is a PA, producer assistant in Hollywood and is hoping to be chosen as her boss's only mentee moving forward. When she suggests Luca, a actor that has been off the grid for the last 8-years, for the lead role in their new film, Billie overpromises that she can get him to come back. When Billie tracks him down to the middle of Alaska and forces herself to join him on a multi-day hike through the wilderness, they start to connect. When it's time for Billie to go back to Hollywood and bring Luca with her, he's reluctant. Luca stepped away after those that were supposed to be his support system helped keep him in situations that were harmful to him. He doesn't want to go back to Hollywood and be put in the same situation. He does come back though, but mostly to make Billie his girl.

This was fun and a different take on a celebrity romance. I liked that we came into the situation where Luca didn't want to be the "bad boy" and got himself out. He's now been able to process and move on. Now, I know that some people sometimes struggle with Max Monroe's humor style, and I think this book would be one that might bother the same people. It wasn't too much for me, but sometimes Billie did toe the line to being a little too over the top for me at times. I still did really enjoy the story overall, but I have to be honest, the first half of the book when they were in Alaska really made it for me. I loved the way they became close and how Luca kept trying to be antagonistic but really couldn't keep it up. Plus his dog Bailey love Billie too.

Now, there is a really big reason why I gave this 4-stars and not 5. When Billie is getting ready to leave Alaska, she pushes Luca to do the movie and they get into an argument. It quickly escalates and they both end up saying some pretty drastic things. Billie goes back to Hollywood and eventually Luca chases after her. Now, Luca does a lot of groveling and tries to make it up to Billie. He wants so badly for them to make up and for Billie to give him a second chance. My issue comes with that, he is the only one that apologizes. Immediately after the argument Billie thinks to herself that maybe she shouldn't have pushed so hard so quickly, but that's it. There's no acknowledgment to Luca that she was also in the wrong. It just really bothered me that wasn't even discussed.

I will definitely read more of Max Monroe, but I don't think the rest of this series will be what I pick up next. I will read them eventually, but I'm just not quite as intrigued compared to some of their other works. I will get through their backlist at some point though.

Have you read Taming Hollywood's Baddest Boy?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Taming Hollywood's Baddest Boy, Max Monroe, 4-stars, 2 days, eBook, 336 pages, published in 2020, indie published

Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon

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With some time to mood read before the start of FaRoFeb, I was in the mood for contemporary. When I check out the 2nd board prompts for Winter's Kiss that would be harder to meet with fantasy romance. One of the prompts that stuck out to me was atypical sports romance. I knew immediately I wanted to pick up one of the figure skating romances I had on my kindle and chose Pairing Off by Elizabeth Harmon. This is the first in her Red Hot Russians series. I also used this to cover the prompt Chekov's Grandma for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Carrie is a pairs champion for the United States. At a the World Championships her partner is found sleeping with a judge. They both get stripped of their US championship and become outcasts in the figure skating world. Anton is a Russian figure skater and just lost his partner due to her switching for another top skater's final Olympics. When Anton has his coach reach out to Carrie, they become a new pair duo skating for Russia. As Carrie struggles with gaining dual citizenship and fighting against the scandal caused by her former partner, she becomes close with Anton in more than just a skating partner. Anton and Carrie had actually met while they were on the youth figure skating circuit and when they both realize their previous connection, it feels meant to be. Carrie is also still dealing with her mother's suicide and a strained relationship with her politician father and it makes it difficult for her to open up to Anton.

I loved this book. This was heavier than I expected, so there is triggers for suicide, death of a parent and a strained relationship/neglective parent. First off, the figure skating aspects of this were on point. I've read a couple figure skating romances before, but you could easily find terminologies used wrong. Since I am a figure skating fan, that always bothered me. I had none of that here and I kept thinking that Elizabeth might have been a figure skater herself since it all felt so real. I did see in her author's note or blurb at the end that she did compete as a youth in figure skating. Now I picked this up because it was blurbed as a Russian take of the movie Cutting Edge (which is one of my favorite figure skating movies). While it didn't really give me the same feeling as cutting edge, I still enjoyed it just as much.

I really just can't say enough good things about this book. It completely swept me away. If I were to get a bit nitpicky, it would have to be with Carrie. I did wish that Carrie opened up to Anton earlier. She would start, but then second guess her trust in him and clam up. I loved how patient Anton was with her though and it really made up for it. I also really liked that when it came to the 3rd act conflict, Anton and Carrie both trusted and believed in each other when kept apart. I just loved that it subverted what usually occurs and really ended the book so well.

I definitely want to read more of the series, although it does look the second book does get away from the figure skating setting. The hero is a figure skater though, so I'm still intrigued. I'm happy to find a another new contemporary author, especially since she has a figure skating sports romance series! We need more figure skating romances for sure. I can't wait to continue on and see what else in her backlist.

Have you read Pairing Off?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Pairing Off, Elizabeth Harmon, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 384 pages, published in 2015, small publisher

Falling Like Stars by Eve Kasey

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The first theme for the Smart Women Read Romance exclusive patreon review was whatever you wanted to recommend. Since I always feel nervous recommending a book or author I love, I wanted to find something new. Since I didn't really have a direction, I decided to go through my goodreads tbr and organize via ratings. I started at the highest and went through until I found something that sounded good at the time and that I saw Juliette and Jessen hadn't marked as read. I came across Falling Like Stars by Eve Kasey. This is the first book in her All In series and I added it to my tbr when I saw Shelby post about it on her instagram. This ended up being tied with another book and Jessen said she did a coin flip to decide. I was happy to see that the book I recommended won! I was also able to use this for the Winter's Kiss prompt published in 2021 and for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace prompt Scientists in 2022.

Chen is an aerospace engineer (a.k.a. Astronaut) and is looking for a new job after being dismissed from the Chinese military's service after his last mission. When he's approached to be the pilot for Orbit All, a company set to provide commercial space flights, he jumps at the opportunity. Elle is an experiential planner and also gets poached to help plan and set up the entire experience for Orbit All patrons. Chen and Elle are from two different worlds but find themselves drawn together not only because they're neighbors, but Chen's input is integral in Elle planning the best space travel experience. Chen struggles with the expectations expected of him from both his family and culture back in China, on top of worrying about his disable sister.

Oh my gosh. I absolutely adored this book and there were so many great things. First off I loved the STEM representation and how there was a lot of the science of going to space, but it wasn't so overdone that those that don't know much about it couldn't catch on. There was a lot of great representation here, but what made it better was that it seemed so naturalized. Chen's younger sister had a heart defect and ended up dying for a small chunk of time. When she was resurrected she suffered from brain damage and hasn't the mind of a child. I loved how it was handled here and just a fact of his life. It didn't feel overdone or like it was pandering to there being disability representation. Like I said, it just felt so normal and how it would be in real life. There were a lot of instances like that throughout the book that just made it overall seem so real. Another representation here is that Chen is Chinese and Elle is Caucasian. Not only do we get an interracial relationship, but Elle's father and step-mother are in an interracial marriage as well. I love seeing mixed race couples represented more. I also felt like the way that Chen was portrayed was so well done. I had similar conversations with friends when I studied abroad (mostly from the female perspective) that really hit home for me. I did see in the author's note that she thanked her husband, so I think that her husband must be Asian or even Chinese.

I also loved how they weren't quite enemies, but more like Chen instantly started teasing Elle and she was annoyed and super attracted to him. I loved their banter and they way that their relationship progressed. I just can't say enough good things about this book and I will be picking up the rest of the series for sure. I also am intrigued by her Her Hands series as well. I am so happy to find another new contemporary author. I had a lot of fun gushing about this book with everyone during the live show and can't wait to see what we read next!

Have you read Falling Like Stars?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Falling Like Stars, Eve Kasey, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 264 pages, published in 2021, indie published

Calling It by Jen Doyle

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Having a little bit of time before needing to get to my next book club book, I decided to look for something to fill up one of the remaining prompts from my Winter's Kiss board 1. One of the remaining prompts was starts with the letter C, so I went through my kindle and tbr. I came across Calling It by Jen Doyle. This is the first book in her Calling It series. I also was able to use this for the Heaving Bosoms 2022 Reading Embrace for the prompt catch my farts.

Nate is a star catcher in the MLB and just signed with a new expansion club in Chicago. After he gets in a really bad car accident and breaks up with his fiancé, he heads back to the small town he grew up in, Inspiration, Iowa. When he arrives at his sister's apartment, he is intrigued to find Dorie. She's the new librarian in town and hired to help renovate and reinvigorate the town's library. As lust strikes them both, they don't quite act on it. When Nate is roped into helping out at the library, they spend days together. Dorie has been a fan of Nate's since he was in high school and has followed his career since then. As they spend more time together both alone and with Nate's family, they start a connection that's more than just physical. As Dorie struggles with his fame and if it can work between them long term, Nate is all-in. 1,000%

This book was so good. I loved that I kept thinking that something was going to be the big conflict at the end, but it was solved or at least talked about soon. Nate was so freaking swoony and I loved how he used his works, actions and everything to prove to Dorie that he wanted her for life. It was a little love at first sight for him, but I enjoyed it. He was constantly thinking about her and what she likes and just wanted to spend time with her. Nate has had a rough go of things lately since the accident, but really takes the time to not only go home, but get back in touch with all of his friends and family.

There is a little bit of the trope where Dorie pretends she doesn't know who Nate is, but she actually doesn't recognize him at first because she's in the bath when he comes into the apartment (thinking his sister still lives there) and isn't wearing her glasses. When he tells her his name is DB, they both stay quiet on talking about who he really is. I also loved how much thought that Nate put into every moment with Dorie. There were times when they were upset with each other, but for most of it they would separate for a moment to calm down and then talk it out.

Why 4.5 instead of 5-stars? Honestly, it was Dorie. The big conflict was Dorie stuggling with believing that Nate was really in love with her and wanted to make it work. Yes it was fast, but Nate did everything he possibly could to get her to believe him. It really bothered me that Nate did more grovelling than Dorie in the end, especially because she was the one that pushed him away. I know that he said he wasn't going to go anywhere, but when she's spend 3+ weeks constantly telling him it's a fling and won't even let him talk to her about it being more, he ends up leaving her; like she asked. I get he said he wouldn't leave her, but how in the world is it okay for her to constantly push him away and hurt him emotionally? Is it not okay that after being constantly turned down that he decides to give her what she wants and step back? Yes it hurts him because he loves her, but it also hurts that when he's with her he can't even tell her he loves her because she shuts him down every single time. Maybe I should rate this 4-stars instead of 4.5 for how much it bothered me now that I'm writing this, but I really enjoyed most everything else in the story. My boy Nate though, he deserved better. I think if there was some sort of trauma or past relationship issue that caused Dorie to hold back so much, I would've been more understanding, but there wasn't. I just was left slightly disappointed by how she treated him and how quickly he forgave her for it. I just would've liked there to be a discussion about the hurt that she caused him by constantly shutting him out.

I am definitely interested in reading more of the series, but am a little disappointed who the books end up being. Nate has 3 or 4 friends from his high school basketball and baseball team but only one of them gets a book (and another gets a novella). The third book is with Nate's ex-friend that slept with his ex-fiance. I didn't see that Was gets a book and that make me a little bit upset. Former baseball player turned rancher in a small town? How can that not be a book? I guess I'll just live Wash's love story in my head. We'll see when I pick up them up.

Have you read Calling It?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Calling It, Jen Doyle, 4.5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 384 pages, published in 2016, small publisher

Using Fejo by Victoria Aveline

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The second book I read for the Romance Takeover Readathon was Using Fejo by Victoria Aveline. This is her newest release and the 5th book in the Clecanian series. This covered the prompts new release and 5-star prediction. I also used this to cover the prompt new release for the first board of Winter's Kiss and HB author for the Heaving Bosom's 2022 Reading Embrace.

Fejo is a traveler and a Cleclanian from the planet Huvuita. He's been under the thumb of Klinara and has been doing some smuggling and more gray area services for her. Since he has become a citizen of Tremanta, he's been working as a double agent to help the Queen of Tremanta build a case against Klinara. When the human Vanessa chooses Fejo in the marriage trials, he is beyond ecstatic to finally have a wife. Vanessa however is planning on using Fejo and his clearance to leave the planet to find a way back to Earth and her sick sister. When they start to get close and feelings develop, Fejo and Vanessa struggle to open up to each other and still be able to get everything they both want.

I absolutely loved Fejo and Vanessa. This felt a little bit on the angstier side, but I loved how I kept expecting something to be drawn out or be the 3rd act conflict, but she kept resolving the issues between Fejo and Vanessa. I absolutely loved it, even more so since the real 3rd act conflict was external. Ugh, Fejo was so sweet and tried to hard to get Vanessa to like him. He was so tired of getting used by those around him and just wanted someone to want him and want to be with him. It really gutted me and my heart really went out to Fejo. I loved that he had his space pirate captain alpha vibes at times, but then was also such a freaking cinnamon roll towards Vanessa.

There were a couple times where I struggled with Vanessa, but once she started opening up to Fejo about why she was depressed, guilty and had to get home was also heart-wrenching in it's own way. I just loved so much about this book. I also enjoyed seeing more of Victoria's expanded universe. While a lot of time was spent on the ship, it was still really cool to learn about the different ports and other worlds out there. We've been pretty much exploring Trementa and the other cities on the planet they women all ended up, and it was really interesting to learn not only about other places, but some other races of aliens. 

I love Victoria Aveline's books and can't wait for more. We get a little scene with Rhaego and I really want to see his book. I'm also intrigued because I feel like we might get Julie (Vanessa's sister) in a book in the future as well. They also ended up rescuing 12 more women, so there's hopefully a lot more couples in our future. If you enjoy Sci-Fi romance, please check out Victoria Aveline. She has one of my favorite Sci-Fi series ever.

Have you read Using Fejo?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Using Fejo, Victoria Aveline, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 312 pages, published in 2022, indie published

Magic Binds by Ilona Andrews

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The last book assigned for January for the Kate Daniels readalong hosted by Stef, Heather and Megan is Magic Binds. This is book nine in the long running series by Ilona Andrews. I was able to use this for the prompt white on the cover for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss and for the prompt a light kidnap for the Heaving Bosoms 2022 Reading Embrace!

We pick up shortly after Magic Shifts. Kate and Curran are on the brink of war with her father Roland. When he starts doing more to antagonize Kate and Curran as well as the other groups in Atlanta, Kate realizes she needs help. While Curran and crew plan to rescue the kidnapped Saiman, Kate returns to her father's prison Mishmar to ask for help from her own blood. As the first major battle approaches, will Kate and company be able to not only withstand Roland, but possibly defeat him?

Oh my gosh. This book has so much. The first 20% just has so much going on and you jump right in. There's so much I could talk about, but I don't want to get too spoilery. I just was blown away by so many pieces that were put into place (some that we didn't even realize were pieces to play). One thing that I really enjoyed (as well as with Magic Shifts) was that we get Curran and Kate together for most of the book. Now that Curran has resigned as Beast Lord of the Pack I love getting to really see Kate and Curran be equal partners and really be able to put themselves and their family first without politics getting in the way. A big plot line throughout this story is the planning of Kate and Curran's wedding. Kate is very much not a wedding person so Roman ends up basically planning everything and officiating. I loved seeing Roman again. He's become one of my favorite characters of the world.

I also loved the Kate didn't really get or need a "power up." I've been wanting one for her, but I love that there was more emphasis in that she actually does have the power, just doesn't know how to effectively use it. So while she is technically getting stronger, it's not the gaining of more power. I character that I really enjoyed earlier on in the series is back to help train her and I loved learning more about the history of Kate's family. So many characters come back in this book and I loved getting to see a lot of them again. We also get to learn more about some that have been around for a few books that have been more mysterious.

I'm so excited to see how things wrap up in the series, but am also sad it's almost over. The books we read this month really amped up the overall storyline. Next month books 9.50 and 10. I believe the readalong group will then be moving on to the Aurelia Ryder spin-off and I'm so excited to see Julie as our new hero. I've really enjoyed my time reading Kate Daniels and if you are looking for an expansive universe in an Urban Fantasy, definitely check it out!

Have you read Magic Binds?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STASTICS: Magic Binds, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 1 day, eBook, 352 pages, published in 2016, traditionally published

Magic Stars by Ilona Andrews

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The next book in the Kate Daniels readalong is Magic Stars. This is listed as book 8.5 in the series by Ilona Andrews. I'm reading the Kate Daniels series as a part of a readalong hosted by Stef, Megan and Heather! I used this to cover the prompt gray on the cover for the 2nd board of Winter's Kiss. I also applied this to the prompt Murder Robe for the Heaving Bosoms' 2022 Reading Embrace.

Julie receives a case at Cutting Edge to track down a rock that's emitting magic. Derek has been tasked by Curran to look into the murder of a smithy and their family. When their cases intersect, Derek and Julie team up to take down the Warlock Adam. As they fight through various magic traps and try to figure out what the stone is, they become even closer.

Oh my gosh, if this is what we can look forward to in Aurelia Ryder, I'm all in. I loved the banter between Derek and Julie. I don't know if Derek is in the spin-off series, but I absolutely loved it. It's not said outright, but it's mentioned that Derek "belongs to someone else." I'm thinking it's Julie and I really hope so. I love them paired together. There is a slight age gap between them with Derek being 4-years older, but it's not that much and they both are definitely more mature beyond their years.

I loved seeing Derek do his thing and how he deals with the almost loupism he experienced as a child. It was really neat seeing how much Julie has learned and grown since Magic Tests. Although I'm not too sure what to think about her training with Roland behind Kate and Curran's backs. Although I'm happy that at least someone knows. I loved seeing Julie use her power and how her magic has changed since Kate saved her life and transferred her blood to her. We also learn that Julie knows more about the situation than Kate thinks, but isn't going to pressure Kate about it.

I loved this novella and it was so fun to get Derek's POV. I can't wait to see how Julie and Derek grow and evolve over the remaining books. It'll be fun to see the kind of person that Julie grows into when she becomes our main POV. I love every entry into this universe and just get more and more sucked into these characters and their lives with every word. I can't wait to read more from Ilona Andrews!

Have you read Magic Stars?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Magic Stars, Ilona Andrews, 5-stars, 0 days, eBook, 77 pages, published in 2015, Indie published

Magic Shifts by Ilona Andrews

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Before the Romance Takeover Readathon started, I needed to get through my Kate Daniels books for January! This month's assigned reads starts with book 8, Magic Shifts. We are almost at the end of this popular series by Ilona Andrews. The readalong is hosted by Stef, Heather and Megan! I was able to use this for the prompt borrowed from a friend or the library for the first board of Winter's Kiss. I also applied it to the Heaving Bosoms' 2022 Reading Embrace prompt Keep Being a Badass.

Kate and Curran are officially on their own and working on making more business for Cutting Edge. Now that Curran doesn't have the Pack to run, he's missing the challenge of making it all work. When Jim, the new Beast Lord, offers Curran the Pack's shares in the Mercenary Guild in exchange for flat out money in buying out some of his investments, Curran and Kate are not excited. The Guild isn't doing well and starting to fall apart. When one of the council members is rude to Curran, he changes his mind and the Guild will be his new project. When fellow shifter and guild member Eduardo goes missing, Kate and Curran start investigating. A lot of little cases start popping up and eventually they all connect to one big threat.

Oh my gosh, we got Kate and Curran working together for pretty much the whole book. I was so excited to see them grow and adapt to their new life and loved just seeing them work together on cases. Also, this book absolutely wrecked me in the middle. This is a little bit of a spoiler, but Kate has a worse battle then usual and ends up having a bunch of mini strokes. She almost dies. I repeat, she almost dies. I was so scared. I know that there are two more books, and the series name is Kate Daniels, but this isn't a romance. There's not guaranteed HEA, although I do think the series does have one. I was so wrecked and upset and couldn't put it down because I just had to get to the next magic wave so Doolittle could try to heal Kate. I don't quite know if this will come into play in the next couple books, but I do think that we've been slowly seeing Kate get injured more and more lately. I know that's partly due to her gaining more power and taking on stronger creatures/villains, but at the same time the power she's gaining isn't making her less human.

When Kate was in the hospital we got to see a lot of emotion from Curran and this was a more romantic scene between them. Seeing the connection between them was so beautiful and heart-wrenching. I also loved seeing Curran step up and be firm with Julie that no matter what happened to Kate, she's his daughter too. To get away from the more depressing part of the story, we got new mythos! This time was middle-east mythos and dealing with djinns. I love seeing more of the world and how Ilona Andrews seems to incorporate so many different religions and mythologies so seamlessly. I just can't believe how good they are at world building and making everything fit so naturally. I don't really have any nitpicks with this one except for the sudden emotional turmoil, but that just goes to show how emotionally invested I can get with books, especially when I'm with them for more than 8 books.

I'm super intrigued to see what happens as we wrap up the series. I'm trying to stay away from blurbs, but I do know that outside of books 9 and 10, we do have two .5 books. The 8.5 is a Julie and Derek book and I believe at the last live show they said that the 9.5 is Hugh's POV. I'm certainly intrigued there, especially since I really enjoyed his character until he went psycho crazy and tried to kill everyone. We'll see what happens. I'm excited to get to the end and see how this all ends up, but at the same time I'm also sad it's almost ending. At least we have the Aurelia Ryder spin-off that's set around Julie!

Have you read Magic Shifts?

Bookishly Yours,

Stasi🍎

STATISTICS: Magic Shifts, Ilona Andrews, 5-star, 1 day, eBook, 375 pages, published in 2016, traditionally published