Title: Assistant to the Villain

Series: Assistant to the Villain #1

Author: Hannah Nicole Maehrer

ASSISTANT WANTED: Notorious, high-ranking villain seeks loyal, levelheaded assistant for unspecified office duties, supporting staff for random mayhem, terror, and other Dark Things In General. Discretion a must. Excellent benefits.

With ailing family to support, Evie Sage’s employment status isn’t just important, it’s vital. So when a mishap with Rennedawn’s most infamous Villain results in a job offer—naturally, she says yes. No job is perfect, of course, but even less so when you develop a teeny crush on your terrifying, temperamental, and undeniably hot boss. Don’t find evil so attractive, Evie.

But just when she’s getting used to severed heads suspended from the ceiling and the odd squish of an errant eyeball beneath her heel, Evie suspects this dungeon has a huge rat…and not just the literal kind. Because something rotten is growing in the kingdom of Rennedawn, and someone wants to take the Villain—and his entire nefarious empire—out.

Now Evie must not only resist drooling over her boss but also figure out exactly who is sabotaging his work…and ensure he makes them pay.

After all, a good job is hard to find.

This book was an utter joy to read!  Darkness and light wrapped up in an utterly cute package that I LOVED!

Evie, totally down on her luck, gets a job as an assistant…..to the fairytale villain!

The Villain’s favourite pastime is thwarting the plans of Rennedawn’s King, Benedict, but there appears to be a traitor in their midst!

I won’t say anything about the plot but I will say I loved both Evie and The Villain just for them and their banter…..and I’ll leave you with these lines whilst I go and purchase book 2!

‘But he was so happy to see her. What an obscene, unnecessary emotion, but there it was. He was happy … How positively vile.’

‘You’re not all bad, are you?
He looked offended.
How dare you.’

‘It was both appallingly horrific and devastatingly wonderful that this small wisp of a woman had undone years of building pillars of protection around himself. That he would take apart any wall that kept him from her.’

Title: Daydream

Series: Maple Hills #3

Author: Hannah Grace

When his procrastination lands him in a difficult class with his least favorite professor, Henry Turner knows he’s going to have to work extra hard to survive his junior year of college. And now with his new title of captain for the hockey team—which he didn’t even want—Henry absolutely cannot fail. Enter Halle Jacobs, a fellow junior who finds herself befriended by Henry when he accidentally crashes her book club.

Halle may not have the romantic pursuits of her favorite fictional leads, but she’s an academic superstar, and as soon as she hears about Henry’s problems with his class reading material, she offers to help. Too bad being a private tutor isn’t exactly ideal given her own studies, job, book club, and the novel she’s trying to write. But new experiences are the key to beating her writer’s block, and Henry’s promising to be the one to give them to her.

They just need to stick to their rule book.

Oh, and not fall in love.

Heeeeeeeenry!!!

Henry and Halle become friends after Halle is dumped by her douche boyfriend, Will. They soon discover they can help each other out, they ‘date’ but only as friends. And we all know how that works out!!!!

Omg I loved them, she gets him and he gets her. It was just so sweet! If you know this series you know that Henry is a beautiful person inside and out!

However, like Icebreaker, I did think this was a smidgen too long and could’ve been condensed down but I can confirm I am completely in love with Henry!

To answer a question from the author at the beginning of the book, it was completely worth the wait!

Title: Variant Lost

Series: Evelyn Maynard Trilogy #1

Author: Kaydence Snow

When Evelyn Maynard receives a scholarship to the exclusive Bradford Hills Institute, she’s determined to make a fresh start. The Institute is world renowned for educating and training Variants – the 18% of the population fortunate enough to have superhuman abilities. As a human, she’s lucky to be admitted.

She’s done with fake identities, running and lying but once again she finds herself surrounded by secrets.

Some she’s been keeping her whole life.

Some have been kept from her.

Some she finds herself dragged into…

Ethan, Josh, Tyler and Alec have some of the rarest Variant abilities Evelyn has ever seen. They fascinate, intrigue and attract her, but is it their abilities, their own secrets or something more that Evelyn can’t seem to stay away from? The secrets they keep could drag Evelyn so deep into their dangerous and exciting world that she’ll never be the same.

And the answers she finds could get them all killed.

OMG I so didn’t want to get sucked into a new series but here I am. Sucked in. Obsessed!

Eve and her Mum are always on the run but Eve has no idea why. An accident means that Eve is now alone but has a place at Bradford Hills Institute, a school for Variants (they have powers!), and that’s where she meets Ethan, Alec, Tyler and Josh.

And then it all goes off!!!!

I really liked Eve, she’s so strong and resilient! Ethan and Josh are my utter faves with Tyler coming in a close 3rd! Alec doesn’t even get a place because he’s a nasty piece of work – I even feel sorry for Eve for having to deal with him!

Read this if you like:
~ Why choose romance
~ College setting
~ Supernatural powers
~ Magical bonds
~ Off the charts chemistry
~ Action packed chapters
~ Fab secondary characters
~ Easy read!

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer  It’s a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received.

Hope you’ve had a good week!

It’s been a week! I was so glad to see the weekend!

My Dad spent most of the week in hospital but he’s home now and work is crazy so I am tired!

My reading mood has been weird! I gorged a huge book (see below!) and now I’m not in the mood for anything!!!!! It’s like I’m grieving the ToG world!

It’s my son’s birthday today so we’re celebrating with cake!!!

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What I’ve Read

Kingdom of Ash by SJM (reread)
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Look out for my review soon!

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You might have missed…..

Review – Nettle by Bex Hogan
Review – A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher

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What have you read lately?

Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts and of course ebooks! And audiobooks. Don’t forget audiobooks!

In other words, if you can read it or if it can be read to you – no matter how you got it – it belongs in Stacking the Shelves.

The Stacking the Shelves meme was originally hosted at Team Tynga’s Reviews. It is currently hosted by Reading Reality.

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I’ve been so bad this week!

The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle
Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

🎧 Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher
🎧 Fall Boys by Penelope Douglas

Advanced Reader Copies
A Tribute of Fire by Sariah Wilson
The Baby Dragon Cafe by Aamna Qureshi
Chasing Eternity by Alyson Noel

Did you get any of these?

 

Title: A Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking

Author: T Kingfisher

Fourteen-year-old Mona isn’t like the wizards charged with defending the city. She can’t control lightning or speak to water. Her familiar is a sourdough starter and her magic only works on bread. She has a comfortable life in her aunt’s bakery making gingerbread men dance.

But Mona’s life is turned upside down when she finds a dead body on the bakery floor. An assassin is stalking the streets of Mona’s city, preying on magic folk, and it appears that Mona is his next target. And in an embattled city suddenly bereft of wizards, the assassin may be the least of Mona’s worries…

Loved, loved, loved! This author is now one of my firm favourites!

Mona, a wizard, who can work wonders with baked goods, lives with her Aunt and Uncle in a bakery in a place where magical folk are being murdered…..and Mona seems to be next!

With her new sidekick, Spindle, she is on the run and meets a surprising ally to try and beat the bad guys!

I really enjoyed this read, my highlights were:

~ Bob the sourdough starter
~ The baked goods battle!
~ Spindle, ready for anything!

Fabulous!

Title: Nettle

Author: Bex Hogan

A wild misfit in the human world, Nettle is enthralled by the glamour of the faery realm, with its two moons and scarlet stars. She grows close to Conor, a human stolen centuries before, and she also falls under the spell of mysterious Ellion, a Shadow Faery. To try to help her beloved grandmother who is fading in her world, Nettle makes a pact with the faery king. He’ll heal her grandmother in exchange for Nettle completing three tasks. She agrees, not realising that deception lurks in this enchanted place, and that she has been tricked…

In this dangerous fantasy kingdom Nettle discovers, too late, her part in an age-old love story and the price she will pay.

Nettle falls into the Faery world and makes a deal with the King to help her dying Grandmother.

There she meets Conor (human) and Ellion (Shadow Faery) who helps Nettle with her 3 tasks.

But what Nettle finds is so much more!

It was dark, there was treachery at every corner and it read like an old time fairytale – loved it!

‘Wild. Untamed. Feral. Prickly. Strong. Powerful. Beautiful. Mine.’

Top Ten Tuesday is featured by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Topic: Bookish Brags (or Confessions!)

Mine are confessions…..and I don’t have 10!!! (that’s a confession!!!!)

~ I need to know how many pages are in a book or I cannot read it!

~ I keep a list on Goodreads of my tbr but also have a written list and I must keep both up to date!

~ I read lots of books in Winter and Spring but in Autumn and Summer, my reading really suffers!

~ I never cry at books (well 1, a Tillie Cole book!)

~ I don’t like being asked what my favourite book is….there are many, I can’t choose and it changes on a day to day basis!

~ I have an unhealthy obsession with Will Herondale from the Shadowhunters!

~ I review every book I read!

What are yours?

The Sunday Post is a blog news meme hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer  It’s a chance to share news, a post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received.

Hope you’ve had a good week!

Spooky month has begun!

This week was a mixture of things, work, a nice coffee in a coffee shop reading, the worst sicky migraine ever and my Dad had quite a serious operation and had to spend some time in intensive care so have done a couple of hospital visits too! I also had my flu and covid jab yesterday and feel really tired and pathetic today!!!!

Because of all this, I only managed to read a novella, but I have started another book and an audiobook!

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What I’ve Read

Balls of Destiny by Caroline Peckham
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Look out for my review soon!

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You might have missed…..

Challenge – Tackle That TBR
Feature – Books from Backlog

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What have you read lately?