Happy October! Have a great month!

“I wish that every day was Saturday and every month was October.”
― Charmaine J. Forde

“In the entire circle of the year there are no days so delightful as those of a fine October.” – Alexander Smith

Title: Yellowface

Series:

Author: RF Kuang

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena’s a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn’t even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks.

So when June witnesses Athena’s death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena’s just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I.

So what if June edits Athena’s novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song–complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn’t this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That’s what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree.

But June can’t get away from Athena’s shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June’s (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

June is acquaintances with hit author, Athena, and after an unfortunate pancake incident, June basically makes off with Athena’s manuscript!

‘So gorgeous I can’t help but give finishing it a try.’

I’ve spent a bit trying to think how I feel about this. I cringed, I raged at the audacity and my stomach was in my throat watching this all unfold and how June describes it all.

I don’t think I liked June, she was so blase about what she did but it was one of those situations where you can’t stop reading because you know it’s going to blow up and blow up spectacularly!

I read the physical book and listened to the audio at the same time and can recommend the audio!

The Audiobook Challenge 2023 – halfway update!

Hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer and That’s What I’m Talking About. #2023AudiobookChallenge


You can see my sign up post here but I changed my goal from 30 to 50 plus (Marathoner) because I had hit my goal mid-year.

Just a quick update to say I’ve listened to 58 audiobooks so far this year!

Here are a few!

Let’s hope I can keep on keeping on!!!

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: Secondary/Minor Characters Who Deserve Their Own Book

* Manon Blackbeak – Throne of Glass
* Tric from Nevernight – what happened….after
* Jameson – Coldest Girl in Coldtown
* Charles, Rathie, Jean, Marguerite – Vespertine

* Silas – Sorcery of Thorns
* Lucien – ACOTAR
*Delano – FBAA
* Nova and Jinx – Rage by Cora Cormack
* Lighthouse Crew – The Extraordinaires

What’s on your list?

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.

Hi everyone, hope you’ve had a good week?

It’s my last but one week at my current job and I’ve had a week full of training people so I’ve been brain tired this week!

My son had his top train track brace fitted this week and I’ve had a checkup at the dentist so it’s been a teeth week! My son also had his flu and covid jabs yesterday and he doesn’t feel too bad today!

My reading has been good and I found a firm 5 star favourite, House of Roots and Ruin!

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New Arrivals

Well I’m waiting for a Waterstones delivery but, from the looks of my tracking, I think Royal Mail have lost it!

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What I’ve Read

The Cursed by Harper L Woods
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Caged Wolf by Caroline Peckham
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

House of Roots and Ruin by Erin A Craig
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Look out for my reviews soon!

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You might have missed…..

Review – Sea of Ruin by Pam Godwin
Review – Unfortunately Yours by Tessa Bailey

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What have you read lately?

Title: Unfortunately Yours

Series: A Vine Mess #2

Author: Tessa Bailey

A down-on-her-luck Napa heiress suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can’t stand… only to discover there’s a fine line between love and hate.

After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she’s sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she’s ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him–and kiss him, in equal measure.

August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn’t know jack about making wine. He’s determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy’s legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around… and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door. Natalie has haunted his dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults.

Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways–assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be? There’s just one thing they didn’t account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.

We met Natalie in Julian’s book. She was shamed and dumped because of a bad deal in New York and is back in Vos winery to get her head back together and get her trust fund  before she goes off to set up her new company. But there are stipulations!

August, who we also met in Secretly Yours, is trying to realise his dream of making wine. But he’s not very good! When he and Natalie first met, sparks flew!

Natalie has a proposition for August which he readily accepts and then it all happens! Gawd I love a marriage of convenience read!

August is probably the hottest, dirtiest mouthed hero I’ve ever read whilst also being one of the sweetest and real guys ever! He speaks his feelings, no exceptions. Their segsual tension was off the charts!

And you know how I hate the 3rd act drama, well this had it but it was small, short and palatable so no hate from me on this!!!!!

‘And at last the world made sense.’

Title: Sea of Ruin

Series: Sea of Ruin #1

Author: Pam Godwin

Bennett Sharp is on the run.
Wanted for piracy, she fears neither God nor death nor man.
Except Priest Farrell.

The unfaithful, stormy-eyed libertine hunts her with terrifying possessiveness. Nothing will stop him from coming for her. Not his unforgivable betrayal. Not when she’s captured by the ice-cold pirate hunter, Lord Ashley Cutler.
She must escape Ashley’s prison and Priest’s deceit. But can she walk away from their twisted desires?

Two gorgeous captains stand on opposite sides of the law. When they collide in a battle to protect her, the lines blur between enemies and lovers.
Passion heats, secrets unravel, and hearts entangle until they break.
Can love prevail in the sea of ruin?

I don’t know what I was expecting but it wasn’t this, so spicy and quite kinky!!

But be warned, it was dark, gruesome with triggers that some might not like and weren’t pleasant to read. 

So we have:

~ Bennett, pirates daughter,
~ Priest, handsome libertine,
~ Ashley, handsome Lord/Kings Navy.

Their stories are intertwined and basically is a story about a womans journey to get treasure with 2 blokes who are borderline obsessed with her!!!!

Ashley and Priest were cruel to Bennett in different ways but they both truly love her. I’d say Priest wasn’t convincing but Ashley was, he was my fave!

Bennett’s life is full of heartbreak but she is such a strong character, maybe what has happened to her has made her that way but she is sick of being treated poorly and used by men….but it works out for her in the end!!!

I did guess about their relationship and thought it was utterly beautiful!

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: Books on My Autumn 2023 To-Read List

I don’t make a tbr each month as I’m a mood reader so find these topics a bit hard!

Here are some books that are either arcs, book club reads or tbr books that I might read in Autumn, but no promises 🤣

Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig
Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood
City of Stardust by Georgia Summers
A Power Unbound by Freya Marske

A Demons Guide to Wooing a Witch by Sarah Hawley
Song of Silver, Flame Like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao
House of Roots Ruin by Erin A Craig

What’s on your list?

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.

Hi everyone, hope you’ve had a good week?

The first full week back to school for my son and we are tired! It’s amazing how quickly you get out of step in the holidays isn’t it, so chilled and relaxing!

Me being tired spilled over into my reading and after I finished Divine Rivals (it was so good), I didn’t feel like reading any physical book so fell back on audio!

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New Arrivals

None again – I’m being so good!

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What I’ve Read

Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

🎧 Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Look out for my reviews soon!

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You might have missed…..

Review – Fall of Ruin and Wrath by JLA
Review – Mindbreaker by Kate Dylan
Feature – October releases

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What have you read lately?