In April I totally kept my self-promise to only buy 3 books and actually only got 2!
So in my head that was a green light to carry over that extra book.
That’s ok right?
Well I think so! So I did carry it over and got 4 books in May!
The Final Empire: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
Embracing Destiny by Amelia Hutchins
🎧 Audio
Gemina by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
What books did you get in May?
Title: Dream Maker
Series: Dream Team #1
Author: Kristen Ashley
Evie is a bonafide nerd and a hyper-intelligent chick who has worked her whole life to get what she wants. Growing up, she had no support from her family and has only ever been able to rely on herself. So when Evie decides she wants to earn her engineering degree, she realizes she needs to take an alternative path to get there. She takes a job dancing at Smithie’s club thinking this would be a quick side gig, where she can make the money she needs. But with her lack of dancing skills and an alpha bad boy who becomes overly protective, Evie realizes this might not be as easy as she thought.
Daniel “Mag” Magnusson knows a thing or two about pain, but the mask he wears is excellent. No one can tell that this good-looking, quick-witted, and roguish guy has deep-seated issues. Mag puts on a funny-guy routine so he can hide his broken heart and PTSD. But when Evie dances her way into Mag’s life, he realizes that he needs to come face-to-face with the demons of his past if he wants a future with her.
The Rock Chicks is a series I’ve read and reread countless times (and Chaos) so I had great expectations over this.
And I wasnt disappointed.
Utterly superb.
This was like climbing back into bed with the Rock Chicks!
Mag is just, oh god, I can’t even explain it. Let this explain it for me ‘How is it, when you act like a dork, the need to bang you strengthens?’ #yesplease
Evan (Evie) is the new member…..but of what Team? Rock Chick or Dream?! I’d happily be a member of both!
Evie is everything I wanted in a girl with problems, issues and a family that is tearing her down. The way she dealt with everything life threw at her, including Mag meant I was in awe of her.
Hold onto your hats ladies cause this will take you on one hell of a ride!
Expect drama, expect laughs, expect girl power, expect swoon, expect everything and this book will deliver.
And I’m with Gert, I like being ‘regular’ too!!!
Top 5 Tuesday is brought to you by Shanah at the Bionic Bookworm, see her original post here.
I was thinking about what this means…..and I deliberated for a while and decided that I wasnt going to pick books with summer type stories but books that are releasing in June, July and August that I want to get my grabby hands on!
I have heard that some book releases are being pushed back but these are from my countdown app and I havent checked lately that the dates are still the same so my apologies if they have changed!
The Damned by Renee Ahdieh
Hood by Jenny Elder Moke
Reign by Cora Carmack
(Can only find audible pre order – is this coming out on audio first???)
What’s on your list for smmer?
Title: Embracing Destiny
Series: The Fae Chronicles #6
Author: Amelia Hutchins
Part one of the finale. Too large of a page count to be one book. Keep in mind at the end of this book, you’re at the middle of the storyline for one book that ended up being 1200 pages in print.
War has finally come to Faery.
Everything I thought I knew was wrong.
Truths have become lies, and they have all begun to unravel around us. I can no longer trust my instincts.
Ryder has changed, but so have I. We’re evolving, but into what? I’m not sure, but I do know that it isn’t what I wanted to become.
I don’t know if I will survive this war.
One of us is holding back, while the other continually moves forward toward the mages who endlessly slaughter the fae.
I think it’s me. I think I have to lose it all, to gain what is missing inside of me. How do you eradicate self, when self is what you’ve been fighting for?
Throw everything you think you know about the fae away. Nothing is sacred, and no one is safe from the monsters we’re about to become.
Ok so it’s safe to say this this author has ripped my heart out!
My thoughts ranged from ‘you think you know a man’, to ‘yes queen, girl power’ to reeling at the revelations and my emotions went from outrage, to hate to sadness, so much death.
And then….utter shock. Like mouth agape!
I love it when a book does that in the world I am currently inhabiting!
Now I need the next book….asap!!! You hear me Amelia, asap!!!!!
Title: Gemina
Series: The Illuminae Files #2
Authors: Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman
Moving to a space station at the edge of the galaxy was always going to be the death of Hanna’s social life. Nobody said it might actually get her killed.
The sci-fi saga that began with the breakout bestseller Illuminae continues on board the Jump Station Heimdall, where two new characters will confront the next wave of the BeiTech assault.
Hanna is the station captain’s pampered daughter; Nik the reluctant member of a notorious crime family. But while the pair are struggling with the realities of life aboard the galaxy’s most boring space station, little do they know that Kady Grant and the Hypatia are headed right toward Heimdall, carrying news of the Kerenza invasion.
When an elite BeiTech strike team invades the station, Hanna and Nik are thrown together to defend their home. But alien predators are picking off the station residents one by one, and a malfunction in the station’s wormhole means the space-time continuum might be ripped in two before dinner. Soon Hanna and Nik aren’t just fighting for their own survival; the fate of everyone on the Hypatia—and possibly the known universe—is in their hands.
But relax. They’ve totally got this. They hope.
BeiTech are back.
And this time it’s Hanna, ship captain’s daughter and Nik, crime family members turn to fight the baddies!
Drug dealer aside, I completely love Nik the bad boy with a soft squidgey heart! (The flowers = be still my beating heart!) Let’s just say I spent a lot of time looking at fan art of him!!!
However, I couldn’t say the same for Hanna at first. Oh here we go I thought, Nik will need to save her spoilt, rich kid self! How wrong I was! I changed my mind and changed it fast! There is no denying she is a bad ass and she was just amazing, full of spirit and full of heart despite her questionable ex-boyfriend decisions!
Nik and Hanna together. I was rooting for them – Highness <—– pet names, so cute! I nearly cried at some parts!
But the star of the show for me though was Ella, Nik’s cousin. She was just so in control, so sweet and funny. She was like a shining light.
I don’t want to say much about the plot but I was like whaaaaaat in some places, fabulous! What a twist! Words taken right out of Ezra’s mouth ‘Something really weird is afoot.’
I can’t seem to get the last book on audio so e-book it is!
Title: The Shadows Between Us
Author: Tricia Levenseller
Alessandra is tired of being overlooked, but she has a plan to gain power:
1) Woo the Shadow King.
2) Marry him.
3) Kill him and take his kingdom for herself.No one knows the extent of the freshly crowned Shadow King’s power. Some say he can command the shadows that swirl around him to do his bidding. Others say they speak to him, whispering the thoughts of his enemies. Regardless, Alessandra knows what she deserves, and she’s going to do everything within her power to get it.
But Alessandra’s not the only one trying to kill the king. As attempts on his life are made, she finds herself trying to keep him alive long enough for him to make her his queen—all while struggling not to lose her heart. After all, who better for a Shadow King than a cunning, villainous queen?
I read the words A Slytherin Romance and a little thrill went through me!
‘Her plan was simple. Woo the king, marry the king and then kill the king.’
Firstly let me start off with saying that Alessandra is a minx, I couldn’t work out whether I loved her or hated her in the first quarter of the book.
But here is where it started to go wrong for me.
There I was, on the edge of my seat, trepidation killing me….and then I felt it sort of lost energy. Then I decided I didn’t like Alessandra as she just changed! Where did the murderous villain go who is going to off the King? And lastly, all the describing of the clothes got on my wick! At first I loved she made her own clothes but the constant describing was too much!
But it wasnt all doom and gloom, this is a standalone, it was still entertaining, it’s a short-ish book and has a fabulous pooch in it.
There was one more thing that I loved, and some might disagree with me here, but I loved the fact that Alessandra was no shy wallflower in the sexy times department! She owned that! Normally its virgins, virgins everywhere……but not here! Refreshing!
20 Books of Summer is on again!
I’ve done this challenge for the last 2 years (or is it 3, I forget!) so wanted to join in again!
Cathy746books is running it and you can see her original post here.
Basically it starts on 1 June and finishes 1 September and all you have to do is read 20 books, easy right?!
So for the books……well……
I’ve chosen to read my backlist books from Helena Hunting, all 11 of them!
All In Series
A Favour for a Favour #2
A Secret for a Secret #3
Shacking Up series
Hooking Up #2
I Flipping Love You #3
Making Up #4
Handle With Care #5
Standalones
Meet Cute 385
The Good Luck Charm 353
For the other 9 books I’m going to do a bit of a cop out and not choose any.
Hear me out!
In the spirit of not making any reading lists for the year I’m going to pick the last 9 books depending what I’m in the mood for. Also I think it takes the pressure off. What I’m in the mood for now, I might not be in July or August so pressure taken off!
Will you be joining in this year?
Series: Born in Blood #7
Author: Cora Reilly
Dante
My life is a tale of betrayal.
I killed so many because they betrayed our cause, because they betrayed the Outfit.
A hypocrite. A liar. A murderer.
That’s what I am.
Five times I betrayed the Outfit. With my blood I made a vow to our cause, swore my life to it, promised to put the Outfit first. Above all else.
Five times I chose a woman over the good of the Outfit. I betrayed my father. My vow. My men.
You reap what you sow.
Would my betrayals destroy everything I swore to protect?Valentina
On our wedding day I made a vow to stand by Dante’s side.
In good and in bad times.
To love him through it all.
Growing up in the mafia, I knew the challenges in our life would be numerous. I never expected them to tear at the very base of our family, of our existence.
I’m going to make a bold statement here. Dante and Val were my favourite original couple!
So, as you can imagine, the thought of the contents of this book had me very eager to read!
‘My love for her hadn’t been born in a single heartbeat but it didn’t burn less fiercely I realized now.’
We get the events we already know but from Dante and Valentina’s point of view. Who knew Mr Cold Fish himself could be so…..human! I just love them and their family. It was delish.
Reading this cemented the fact that D & V are defo my favourite couple.
Top 5 Tuesday is brought to you by Shanah at the Bionic Bookworm, see her original post here.
Rather selfishly I thought I would write the opening lines of the next 5 books I want to read…..and then maybe that will help me choose what to read next (although you can’t really tell much from 1 line!!!)
Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell
‘The Magician stood at the edge of his world and took one last look at the city.’
The First Girl Child by Amy Harmon
‘They shouldn’t have climbed for so long, but they’d been convinced that if they reached the top of Shinway, they would be able to look out over the sea, all the way to Eastlandia.’
How To Love Your Elf by Kerrilyn Sparks
‘In another time on another world called Aerthlan, there are five kingdoms.’
Embracing Destiny by Amelia Hutchins
‘An eerie, deafening silence had fallen over Faery since Ryder and I returned home.‘
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
‘By the time Alex managed to get the blood out of her good wool coat, it was too warm to wear it.’
I must admit, now I’ve seen these I want to read Ninth House first!!!
Have you read any of these?
CJRTB Books 