Title: In the Lives of Puppets

Author: TJ Klune

In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robots–fatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.

The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans.

When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.

Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?

‘What do you do if you’ve forgotten all you know?’

So here we have what this author writes superbly….our found family: Gio (Dad), Nurse Ratched (hilarious), Rambo (the vacuum!!) Victor – human and Hap – warrior!

They all live in a house in the woods built high in the trees. All is well until one day bad guys turn up and take Gio away and the rest of the gang go off in search to find him.

They journey through the forest, to a curiosity shop, to the City of Electric Dreams, to the Blue Fairy and to the Benevolent Tower and what they find (and find out) blows their minds!

‘Stick together
Run if we have to
No dallying.
No drilling.
And above all else, be brave.’

This was so sweet! It was heart-achingly beautiful! There were so many quotes I highlighted and I found myself so immersed I could’ve lent in and hugged Victor on many occasions!

Nurse Ratched was my utter favourite though. She is sassy, rude, inappropriate and totally hilarious!

‘Though you seem to be suffering from an intense anxiety disorder . But that is fine. We are all unique. Victor is asexual. Giovanni is old. And I have sociopathic tendencies that manifest themselves in dangerous situations.’

Another hit from this author and I’m finding myself humming ‘heaven, I’m in heaven’ all the time!

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?

Happy St George’s day!!

This week has dragged by for me. It always happens the first week my son goes back to school. I think it’s all the rushing about!

My Mum also came down with covid and she’s been pretty poorly so I’ve been making sure my Dad (and my Mum) eat as he is useless in the kitchen and I mean can’t even work the microwave!

I’ve also started our menu for the King’s Coronation! For now, scones and cheesecake, both homemade!

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What I’ve Read

The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Six Scorched Roses by Carissa Broadbent
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wicked in Me by Suzanne Wright
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

🎧 Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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New arrivals

None! Look how I’m growing 🤣

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You might have missed…..

Review – The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
Review – Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
Review – Liars Crown by Abigail Owen
Review – Violet Made of Thorns by Gina Chen

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What have you read lately?

Title: Violet Made of Thorns

Series: Violet Made of Thorns #1

Author: Gina Chen

Violet is a prophet and a liar, influencing the royal court with her cleverly phrased—and not always true—divinations. Honesty is for suckers, like the oh-so-not charming Prince Cyrus, who plans to strip Violet of her official role once he’s crowned at the end of the summer—unless Violet does something about it.

But when the king asks her to falsely prophesy Cyrus’s love story for an upcoming ball, Violet awakens a dreaded curse, one that will end in either damnation or salvation for the kingdom—all depending on the prince’s choice of future bride. Violet faces her own choice: Seize an opportunity to gain control of her own destiny, no matter the cost, or give in to the ill-fated attraction that’s growing between her and Cyrus.

Violet’s wits may protect her in the cutthroat court, but they can’t change her fate. And as the boundary between hatred and love grows ever thinner with the prince, Violet must untangle a wicked web of deceit in order to save herself and the kingdom—or doom them all.

All the stars!

I absolutely loved this, was totally hooked and gorged it in a day!

Violet is a Seer for the King and deals in half truths and lies. Her childhood friend turned nemesis, Prince Cyrus, sees through these lies and there is tension, a lot of tension!

So when cursed Cyrus announces his engagement to some random, it all goes off and the prophecy comes to pass…..and Violet has to work out what side she is on.

As I said above, this was such a great read! I was so taken with the story and characters that I couldn’t put it down!

One character really stood out for me and that was Cyrus’s twin, Camilla! She is everything!!!

I think this is a series so can’t wait to see what happens next!

Title: The Liars Crown

Series: Dominions #1

Author: Abigail Owen

Everything about my life is a lie. As a hidden twin princess, born second, I have only one purpose—to sacrifice my life for my sister if death comes for her. I’ve been living under the guise of a poor, obscure girl of no standing, slipping into the palace and into the role of the true princess when danger is present.

Now the queen is dead and the ageless King Eidolon has sent my sister a gift—an eerily familiar gift—and a proposal to wed. I don’t trust him, so I do what I was born to do and secretly take her place on the eve of the coronation. Which is why, when a figure made of shadow kidnaps the new queen, he gets me by mistake.

As I try to escape, all the lies start to unravel. And not just my lies. The Shadowraith who took me has secrets of his own. He struggles to contain the shadows he wields—other faces, identities that threaten my very life.

Winter is at the walls. Darkness is looming. And the only way to save my sister and our dominion is to kill Eidolon…and the Shadowraith who has stolen my heart.

Wow I loved this so much!

Meren and Tabra are twin princess and now the Queen is dead. However Meren is basically a hidden stand-in to protect her twin. One day pretending to be her sister, she is taken.

Meren assumes it’s the evil King Eidolan……but
what a guy the kidnapper is! Reven. The Shadow Wraith!

I must admit the magic system was a bit confusing as there was a few types but I got there in the end!

However here’s the stuff I loved:

~ The bond between the twins
~ The world building
~ Reven and Meren’s chemistry
~ The pace and plot were spot on
~ The secondary characters were fleshed out and totally likable.

Bring on book 2!

Title: Love on the Brain

Author: Ali Hazelwood

Bee Königswasser lives by a simple code: What would Marie Curie do? If NASA offered her the lead on a neuroengineering project – a literal dream come true – Marie would accept without hesitation. Duh. But the mother of modern physics never had to co-lead with Levi Ward.

Sure, Levi is attractive in a tall, dark, and piercing-eyes kind of way. But Levi made his feelings toward Bee very clear in grad school – archenemies work best employed in their own galaxies far, far away.

But when her equipment starts to go missing and the staff ignore her, Bee could swear she sees Levi softening into an ally, backing her plays, seconding her ideas… devouring her with those eyes. The possibilities have all her neurons firing.

But when it comes time to actually make a move and put her heart on the line, there’s only one question that matters: What will Bee Königswasser do?

I loved this book so much!

Bee gets a job running a NASA project with her old arch nemesis, Levi. She thinks Levi hates her and starts sabotaging her side of the project…..and her main question is….what would Marie do?

The rest is mis-communication, pining, Bee’s inner monologue and schexy times….and it was utterly delish.

Omg Levi! Levi! I think I love him more than I did Adam!

So this is short and rambling, but read this. You need this!

‘I love you, you are my home.’

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: Non-book Freebie (choose your own topic that’s not related to books! Take this time to let your readers get to know you a little!)

I really didn’t know what to do here so for the aim of getting to know me, here are 10 facts about me!

~ I can’t touch velvet as it makes me shudder!

~ I have celiac disease so can’t eat any wheat, barley or rye.

~ I have a 13 year old son who is the apple of my eye! 🍎

~ I work as a business analyst.

~ If I could go anywhere right now I’d go to Egypt to see the pyramids!

~ My favourite food is chilli con carne and no matter what I do I can’t get it to taste like my Mums!

~ My favorite time of the year is Christmas! 🎅

~ My fave season is winter.❄️

~ If I could win a lifetime supply of anything, it would be gluten free spring rolls!

~ If I could take a celebrity on a date, it would be Charlie Hunnam!

Title: The Serpent and the Wings of Night

Series: Crowns of Nyaxia #1

Author: Carissa Broadbent

Human or vampire, the rules of survival are the same: never trust, never yield, and always – always – guard your heart.

The adopted human daughter of the Nightborn vampire king, Oraya carved her place in a world designed to kill her. Her only chance to become something more than prey is entering the Kejari: a legendary tournament held by the goddess of death herself.

But winning won’t be easy amongst the most vicious warriors from all three vampire houses. To survive, Oraya is forced to make an alliance with a mysterious rival.

Everything about Raihn is dangerous. He is a ruthless vampire, an efficient killer, an enemy to her father’s crown… and her greatest competition. Yet, what terrifies Oraya most of all is that she finds herself oddly drawn to him.

But there’s no room for compassion in the Kejari. War for the House of Night brews, shattering everything that Oraya thought she knew about her home. And Raihn may understand her more than anyone – but their blossoming attraction could be her downfall, in a kingdom where nothing is more deadly than love.

Oh wow. I don’t have the words! The only word I have to describe it is powerful.

Oraya is basically the adopted daughter of the vampire King, Vincent. She enters into a tournament with one goal, to win to gain her wish from the Goddess Nyaxia, Mother of the Ravenous Dark.

There she makes tenuous allies in the form of Mische and Raihn, 2 vampires.

The tournament, the Kejari, is absolutely brutal but in all of this, the light in it for me was Raihn. He is utterly beautiful inside and out.

It was dark, deadly and delish at the same time. There were twists, secrets and half truths everywhere. I was obsessed and can’t wait to see what happens next!

‘Aja saraeta.
Take my truth.’

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 been a good week (which is always nice!)

Back to work for me but my son was still on school holidays so the not rushing around everywhere for me has meant I have read more!

I’ve been on a KU/romantasy binge and I have been flowing through the books! But my KU list only has a couple on it now so know my reading will slow right down!

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What I’ve Read

A Kingdom of Venom and Vows by Holly Renee
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

Ambrosia by CN Crawford
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unbroken Bonds by J Bree
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75

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New arrivals

None – have been so good!

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You might have missed…..

Unboxing – Illumicrate March 2023
Unboxing – Fairyloot YA March 2023
Feature – Books releasing May that I need!
Review – The Roommate by Rosie Danan

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What have you read lately?

Title: The Roommate

Series: The Shameless series #1

Author: Rosie Danan

House Rules:
Do your own dishes.
Knock before entering the bathroom.
Never look up your roommate online.

The Wheatons are infamous among the east coast elite for their lack of impulse control, except for their daughter Clara. She’s the consummate socialite: over-achieving, well-mannered, predictable. But every Wheaton has their weakness. When Clara’s childhood crush invites her to move cross-country, the offer is too much to resist. Unfortunately, it’s also too good to be true.

After a bait-and-switch, Clara finds herself sharing a lease with a charming stranger. Josh might be a bit too perceptive—not to mention handsome—for comfort, but there’s a good chance he and Clara could have survived sharing a summer sublet if she hadn’t looked him up on the Internet…

Once she learns how Josh has made a name for himself, Clara realizes living with him might make her the Wheaton’s most scandalous story yet. His professional prowess inspires her to take tackling the stigma against female desire into her own hands. They may not agree on much, but Josh and Clara both believe women deserve better sex. What they decide to do about it will change both of their lives, and if they’re lucky, they’ll help everyone else get lucky too.

‘Do your own dishes.
Knock before entering the bathroom.
Never look up your roommate online.’

That last one has got Clara in a heap of what she thinks is trouble with her new roommate, Josh!

Josh is defo not an accountant but thinks he can help Clara who, in turn, markets a business idea to Josh!

I must admit, I was dubious as to whether I’d like this but I really did, it was such a fun read!

Although Clara did annoy me at some points, because her decisions were selfish, that was overshadowed by their banter and Josh’s inner monologue!

This was a spicy, sweet read!