TBR Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads, where you post a title from your shelf or e-reader and find out what others think about it.

My pick this week is The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

I read Circe and fell in love with the writing so I ran out and bought this book….but haven’t had a chance to read yet…..what did you think?

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper – despite the displeasure of Achilles’ mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear.

Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart.

My love for this author knows no bounds and this book proves she can write anything!

After two years of taking care of her heartbroken father, Evie needs a new start. Leaving the States and following her sister to Australia to work as the personal assistant of rugby star Xavier – The Beast – Stevens seems like the right kind of distraction.
Tall, muscled and devilishly handsome, Xavier is the lov’ em and leav’ em kind of guy. He never forgets a girl’s name because he never bothers to remember it in the first place.
Evie soon realizes that being Xavier’s assistant is a 24/7 job; the man seems unwilling to even set an alarm for himself.
As she watches him move from one woman to the next, Evie is glad that her heart is safe from his attention. After all, she’s a far cry from the size zero models he usually takes to his bed.
But soon being around Xavier doesn’t feel like a job, and seeing him walk around his apartment half naked all the time isn’t helping either. Evie knows that giving in to her attraction will lead to heartbreak, but when Xavier starts treating her as more than just his assistant, resisting his charms seems like an impossible task.

A group of romance authors have got together to write 7 books about men based on the seven deadly sins….The Elite Seven.

Since 1942, The Elite Seven Society has created and guided influential leaders, molding the country into something better. This society was birthed by Malcom Benedict II, who wanted more for Americans. More wealth. More influence. More power. Some leaders have the skills, but not the influence, and that simply wasn’t fair according to Mr. Benedict. He invested his own money and time to construct a society that bred the best of the best, year after year.

But to be the best, you must be ruthless.

Good leaders make sacrifices. Sometimes the sacrifices are hard, but the rewards are plentiful. Mr. Benedict made sure to indulge these leaders with their utmost desires. A devout Catholic himself, he designed a society that rewarded his leaders with the sins that were frowned upon. If they were giving up love and happiness and joy for the betterment of the country, they deserved something in its stead.

Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Greed, Gluttony, and Lust.

Choosing leaders for this society takes intense focus. Only seven are to be selected, and the investment and time are showered upon the new seven chosen every four years. The university’s acting dean behaves as a liaison for the society, bringing the applicants to the predecessors so the selection may begin. The society members going out will bring forth a candidate the society votes on and approves.

After they are chosen, the initiates are given a token and an invitation to initiation. The initiation tests their character and ability to do what’s right for the betterment of the society. Once the initiates pass their test, they are discreetly branded with the mark of the society and groomed through challenges during the course of their elite education to breed them into the influential people they were meant to be.

Once in The Elite Seven, there is no getting out. The money and power are their reward. Should they choose to stray or break the rules, the society strips them of everything. Anything they once had will be removed. Opportunities will never arise. They will no longer have the support of the society. To this day, there have been no known occurrences of anyone from the society having to be banished. Every young man and woman aspires to be a part of the elite group whispered about amongst the privileged. Anyone who is anyone knows of the group and secretly hopes their son or daughter is selected, for good fortune is showered on the family for decades to come.

I was lucky enough to be able to sign up for all of them….And Lust by Ker Dukey is up first…..

Lust is more dangerous than love…..

Here we have the start to The Elite Seven…a society who have it all. And Lust is up first.

With a prologue that will have you reaching for the tissues, it’s the start to a bumpy ride for Rhett.

A college mentor, an invitation, the most gross dad ever and drowning in grief….what roads will this take Rhett down…..

And that ending….I need Pride….

Welcome to The Weekly Epilogue!

Hope you all had a good week? It was a good reading week for me but I still have arcs coming from everywhere so I need to get them read! I’m hoping March can be a read my tbr month!!!! #famouslastwords

Malum by Amo Jones – beta read….And was utterly fantastic!

Lust by Ker Dukey – arc, look out for my review.

Only Work, No Play by Cora Reilly – arc (and my February book for the Ultimate Reading Challenge!) Look out for my review this week.

Kill Switch by Penelope Douglas

(Damon…insert screams!)

Circle Of Shadows by Evelyn Skye

Am joining in the Fairyloot readalong. I really enjoy them and it means I read the book in a timely manner!

How was your reading week?

What books did you read?

Fixie Farr has always lived by her father’s motto: “Family first.” But since her dad passed away, leaving his charming housewares store in the hands of his wife and children, Fixie spends all her time picking up the slack from her siblings instead of striking out on her own. The way Fixie sees it, if she doesn’t take care of her father’s legacy, who will? It’s simply not in her nature to say no to people.

So when a handsome stranger in a coffee shop asks her to watch his laptop for a moment, Fixie not only agrees—she ends up saving it from certain disaster. Turns out the computer’s owner is an investment manager. To thank Fixie for her quick thinking, Sebastian scribbles an IOU on a coffee sleeve and attaches his business card. But Fixie laughs it off—she’d never actually claim an IOU from a stranger. Would she?

Then Fixie’s childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life and his lack of a profession pushes all of Fixie’s buttons. She wants nothing for herself—but she’d love Seb to give Ryan a job. And Seb agrees, until the tables are turned once more and a new series of IOUs between Seb and Fixie—from small favors to life-changing moments—ensues. Soon Fixie, Ms. Fixit for everyone else, is torn between her family and the life she really wants. Does she have the courage to take a stand? Will she finally grab the life, and love, she really wants?

I realised as I was picking this up that I have never read this author? Why? I have absolutely no idea!

Fixie basically is trying to hold it all together….and is getting totally walked over, this irked me! But I will admit she is endearing and will do anything for her family which I loved.

I think I liked Seb, I just didn’t connect with him….or anyone really but these words did resonate with me for my ‘Fixie’ side: ‘You need to start thinking less about what you owe other people and more about what you owe yourself.’

I didn’t love this but it was a fun read. I am defo going to try another book by this author.

Firstly, thanks to Destiny at Howling Libraries for letting me join in!

If you’re not familiar with the Try a Chapter tag, it’s a tag common on booktube (and sometimes blogs) where the participant reads the first chapter of five books and chooses one of those books to read, based on the results!

As I already have a reading list for February, this will be for what I will read first in March. I’m not participating in any themes but I do want to read some off my backlist so I’ll read the first chapter each of these five books:

• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• The Elite by Keira Cass
• King Hall by Scarlett Dawn
• Drago by Sarah Brianne
• Because You’re Mine by Claire Contreras

My thoughts on the first chapters of…

Shadow and Bone

My first thought. Why oh why havent I read this before? Could slap myself……

The Elite

Whilst I enjoyed book 1, I think I glimpsed what was coming and I didn’t know if I was up for all that angsty love triangle stuff, so reading this was the decider whether to carry on with the series or not. And after reading the first chapter I don’t think I will be!

King Hall

I must admit, after the first few pages I was ready to put this to the bottom of the pile….but then at the end of chapter 1 something very intriguing happened….and I want more!!!

Drago

Very poetic for a mafia read! This gives us a glimpse of what the 2 main characters are like….basically dark and evil! I like this…..and I want more! Could have easily carried on reading.

Because You’re Mine

Another mafia read. Not really much here to go on apart from I can already see it’s going to all fall apart for our main girl!

And the winner is…

Shadow and Bone

I was immediately sucked into this one and would carry on reading if I didnt have arc commitments.

Are you joining in this tag?  

Come on, you know you want to!

It’s so fun!

I was so excited to get an arc of this book and was hoping I’d be enchanted (wonder how many times that has been used?!!)

Paris in 1789 is a labyrinth of twisted streets, filled with beggars, thieves, revolutionaries—and magicians…

When smallpox kills her parents, Camille Durbonne must find a way to provide for her frail, naive sister while managing her volatile brother. Relying on petty magic—la magie ordinaire—Camille painstakingly transforms scraps of metal into money to buy the food and medicine they need. But when the coins won’t hold their shape and her brother disappears with the family’s savings, Camille must pursue a richer, more dangerous mark: the glittering court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette.

With dark magic forbidden by her mother, Camille transforms herself into the ‘Baroness de la Fontaine’ and is swept up into life at the Palace of Versailles, where aristocrats both fear and hunger for la magie. There, she gambles at cards, desperate to have enough to keep herself and her sister safe. Yet the longer she stays at court, the more difficult it becomes to reconcile her resentment of the nobles with the enchantments of Versailles. And when she returns to Paris, Camille meets a handsome young balloonist—who dares her to hope that love and liberty may both be possible.

But la magie has its costs. And when Camille loses control of her secrets, the game she’s playing turns deadly. Then revolution erupts, and she must choose—love or loyalty, democracy or aristocracy, freedom or magic—before Paris burns…

After Camille and Sophie’s parents die and their brother,Alain ditches them for alcohol and gambling, Camille has to rely on her magic to turn metal into coins.

But that comes with it’s disadvantages…..and it gets messy!

Did I mention it’s Paris in 1789 and the setting of this book was utterly fabulous? The author did a fabulous job of the world building!

But…..I must admit I wasn’t as captivated as I thought I’d be. It was a very slow starter and I just didn’t feel that thrill.

I did love Camille and Sophie, there was nothing they wouldn’t do for each other. Alain on the other hand, I HATED him!

I did love the romance, Lazare was one of the highlights for me and also the balloons!

Would you dare to defy destiny?

Are our destinies written in stone?

Do we become nothing more than the self-fulfilling prophesies of other people’s opinions?

Or can we dare to become who we believe we were born to be?

They say your destiny is carved in stone. But some destinies are meant to be broken.

The only curse Jesse Lachlin believes in is his grandmother’s will: in order to inherit his family farm he must win the approval of his childhood best friend, the girl he froze out his freshman year.

A fortuneteller tells Scarlett she’s psychic, but what is real is Scarlett’s father’s controlling attitude and the dark secrets at home. She may be able to escape, but only if she can rely on the one boy who broke her heart.

Each midnight meeting pushes Jesse and Scarlett to confront their secrets and their feelings, but as love blooms, the curse rears its ugly head…

Omg, the emotion, the feels this book pulls.

‘I loved him once— the way a six-year-old loves with abandon. I loved him how I once loved myself. Jesse was freedom when so much of my life meant confinement. He was laughter during dark nights, he was the warrior who scared the monsters under my bed away . . . he was my friend.’

Until he wasn’t. But now he needs Scarlett (and really she needs him) and we need to know what the heck happened and how this will all pan out.

This was a good read, although was hard to read in some places due to the content.

I loved the spirituality presented in this book, I loved Jesse and my heart belongs to Scarlett.

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Title: Drawn into Love

Series: Fluke My Life #4

Author: Aurora Rose Reynolds

If you love a read of love and second chances then this book is for you! I love this author. I have read every single word she has read….and I plan to keep on doing that!

Courtney Williams wanted forever. She got six years of empty promises, a divorce, and a well-deserved settlement that’s paid her way to Manhattan. She has a new home under renovation, a new job, and a do-over as a happy “single in the city”—until she meets an architect with designs on more than her beams. He’s also a devoted single dad, a great cook, and has dark lashes to die for. Too good to be true. Now all Courtney can do is whisper, Oh no, not again.

Divorced Lucas Fremont isn’t looking to get swept away. But how can he not with a woman this sweet and sexy? She’s making his broken heart beat fast. His sister-in-law, Fawn, says go for it. But as cautious as Courtney is, Lucas has to do more than that. He has to fight for it. Now all he can do is think, Don’t let this one get away.

But Courtney comes with a secret. And Lucas comes with a bitter ex. If love is to stand a chance, they’re going to have to take a chance.

Lucas and Courtney meet after her divorce and him settling into a new-ish place after getting custody of his daughter, Madeline.

I loved it. I loved Courtney. I loved Lucas. I loved Madeline. I loved his family. I loved how this story plucks at the heart strings. I loved their love.

So you can tell I had a lot of love for this book, actually this author in general!

And the ending, the different points of view…loved it!