Top Ten Tuesday: Feb. 11th, 2020

Hello and Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday,

(Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.)

This week’s topic is a Love Freebie,

Normally, I would share my top 10 favorite ships or favorite romances but I haven’t exactly been in lovey-dovey mode lately. Plus, I’m fairly certain you all already know them by now. So, instead, I’ll talk about some books I’ve read recently that happened to have romance in it or be romances period. And away we go,

The Princess of Chaos. This is the sequel to The Queen of Carnage, Candice Wright’s newest series about Motorcycle Clubs or MCs. It focuses on our main character Megan who aside from being brave af and exceptionally badass also happens to be deaf. Seriously, guys, I love this girl so much. She takes absolutely no shit and is just amazing. Her love interests? They are also great. And of the three, I’m not sure I really have a favorite. Viper is just a dick in the best way, his personality is always clashing with Megan’s. Grim is such a teddybear underneath everything and Zero is hilarious. I just adore them all and their friendship with each other and just the relationship they all have with Megan together and separately as well. If you’re into RH or the idea of RH, I recommend this book to you incredibly highly.

A Redbird Christmas. This is the second Fannie Flagg book I have ever read and it was lovely. So many different kinds of love happen in this book and to a guy who goes to this wonderful place thinking he’s going to be spending the rest of his now numbered days there. First, he falls in love with the town, then the child, and without even realizing it he falls in love with the woman who wasn’t even supposed to be on the market. I just adored how sweet the story was and how everyone was so willing to come together for the little girl, Patsy. But let’s be real here, the romance was a bonus and my heart of hearts belongs to Jack, the redbird.

Shadowshaper. This was another book where the romance isn’t quite at the forefront, but it is there and while I don’t quite trust the male love interest- I’m sure there are others who adore him. In his defense though, Robbie is very interesting with his ancestral tattoos, art skills, and smooth demeanor. I just don’t trust him yet.

 

 

For the Win. I realize that I just talked about this book in an earlier blog post but I still really adore it. Raine is one of the most relatable heroines I’ve come across and the tension she has with the male love interest, Zac Hunter, in this book is off the charts. There are so many amazingly intense moments between the two in this short story that it’s hard to pick a true favorite scene. I just might have to go with the end scene though when they finally, officially got together.

 

Color Outside the Lines. This anthology was all about ships and romance. If I had to pick a favorite though it would be Hlee and Argus in Starlight and Moondust by Lori M. Lee or Hades and Parvani in Death and the Maiden by Tara Sim. I love the mythological elements of both stories and really enjoyed the female Hades.

 

 

Heartless. I did enjoy the romance in Heartless, I just didn’t find myself as invested in the romance being the reason behind the Red Queen becoming evil. I almost wish it had been an alternate reality story where we saw what could’ve happened had she decided to take fate into her own hands. Alas, I know it was an origin story.

 

 

 

November 9. This was my first Colleen Hoover read and it might not be the last. I found the concept intriguing and the relationship between the two main characters, really lovely. Sure, there were parts I found uncalled for but in the end, I did really enjoy it quite a bit. Oh, and before I forget, the plot twist was a bit overdone, at least by the time I’d gotten around to reading but the romance was pretty great.

 

 

It’s only 7 books but 7 is more than 0 so I’m counting it as a win.

Until next time,

Amber

 

 

 

Throwback Thursday: Top Five Wednesday- April 26th, 2017

Authors You Want to Read More From

APRIL 26, 2017 ~ 

Hi guys,

I’d like to welcome you to my first top 5 Wednesday post. Now, Top 5 Wednesday is a tag that I love following on Youtube. It was created by Lainey of GingerReadsLainey and is currently being moderated by Sam from ThoughtsonTomes.

This week’s topic for Top 5 Wednesday is Authors You Want to Read More From, now this can be authors you’ve just read one book from or a few books from. The only rule is that you have to want to read more by them.

So without further adieu, let’s get into it:

Author 1: Jennifer L. Armentrout

I know I’ve been talking about her a lot recently but I was only recently introduced to her work. I think it was JBookLover that made me really want to check her out due to her love of the Lux series. It was something that I’d heard mentioned a few times around youtube but it wasn’t until she mentioned it and talked about how much she loved and enjoyed it that I finally decided to give it a chance. Of course, I devoured the first two books within a day and a half and I immediately needed more. I have since gone on to read a portion of book three and all of White Hot Kiss which is the first book in the Dark Elements series and already, I just need more from her. I just need it, kay?

Author 2: Jaye Wells

Jaye Wells is an urban fantasy/paranormal romance author and to my knowledge, she has written three series in total. I read and loved her first series the Sabina Kane series. It centered around a half vampire half witch protagonist, her mage love interest and her demon companion who turns into a hairless cat whenever she tells him to. The book was quite honestly, hilarious and did not manage to get slow at all until around book 5 which was actually the last in the series. I haven’t managed to read any of her other series yet but I really, really want to.

Author 3: Lish McBride

Oh my God you guys, Lish McBride is amazing. Trust me, if you haven’t read a thing by her please go rectify that now because she is the wit queen. I’ve only read 1 1/2 books by her (Firebug and 1/2 of Pyromantic) but words cannot even begin to describe my love for these books. They’re just so darn clever and unique and feature a full cast of amazingly interesting characters. There’s romance, elemental magic, general badassery and so much more. Also, romance while definitely in this book is nowhere near the main theme of it. No, that’d be friendship and guys, do I even need to explain how great that is for me as a reader? Being able to read a book where romance takes a backseat to friendship/familial themes is just such a breath of fresh air. And I just need more of her writing. Honestly, I need it so bad I’m planning on picking up Hold Me Closer Necromancer just as soon as I’m done with Pyromantic.

Author 4: C.J. Redwine

I sort of feel like I’m cheating listing her because I haven’t actually read any of her work yet. I mean sure I’ve read the beautiful excerpts she posts on her facebook page and trust me, they are gorgeously written. I just haven’t managed to read any of her books yet but I need to. God, I need to.

Author 5: Fannie Flagg

I read Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe for the very first time when I was around 18 years old. I have since gone on to read it approximately 10 more times. If I had to pick a favorite book of all time Fried Green Tomatoes would be it. There’s just something about the town and all of its numerous quirky characters that is just soothing to me and while I haven’t read any of her other books I do want to.

Well that’s it guys, my very first top 5 wednesday post. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I liked writing it.

Amber

Jan. Wrap-Up 2020

Hey guys,

It’s Wrap-Up time again and also my birthday. I managed to read 8 books in January which is a number that I’m honestly quite impressed with. One of them is a book I also read in December, so I’m not going into any detail about it as I’d already done that in my previous post, but let’s go ahead and jump into the rest-

Of course, I started the year out reading Cole by Eve L. Mitchell, book 1.5 in the Boulder series. I mean, how could I not? Cole is super suave and I’d always wanted to see his view on things that happened in Indian Summer so this was an immediate must-read for me. Obviously, I loved it which isn’t surprising as Eve is without a doubt, one of my favorite authors of all time but it also answered every single Cole-centric question I had. It is difficult to give a summary to this book as it honestly is Indian Summer but from the male character’s pov. I gave it 5 stars.

This second book shouldn’t be surprising if you’ve been following my Adam Silvera obsession. Not only was I becoming really into anthologies late December but when I remembered Adam had a short story in the collection, Color Outside the Lines earned a top spot in my tbr. And let me tell you, this book was beautiful. It made me laugh, cry- literally experience every possible emotion. Never in my life have I read an anthology and liked every single short story equally but I did this one. Every author did amazing and I think everyone needs to give this book a chance. I also gave this 5 stars.

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur was a book I hadn’t meant to read, only to sample before putting it away but it ended up being something I immediately had to finish as soon as I got two pages in. And I’ve got to say that I understand the hype. Each poem is beautiful, soul-stirring, and sometimes heartbreaking. Rupi Kaur is definitely a force to be reckoned with. 5 stars.

 

 

Land of Nightmares was another anthology I’d managed to read and my first non-5 star read for the month. It had a couple solid offerings but ultimately fell flat for me, with the two standouts being from Candice Wright and Nikki Bopp- two already favorite authors of mine who did not disappoint.

 

 

For the Win was a re-read for me and it was just as good as the last two times I’d demolished it. A story about romance happening between two people from different sides of a friend rivalry, it ticks all of my romance boxes. It’s quick, it’s angsty, and has just enough steam to get you going. An obvious 5 stars.

 

 

 

This was the month I finally managed to read Matilda, actually I listened to the audiobook at work, and it was such a magical experience. The kids and I recently watched the movie again, since I’d gotten the urge just as soon as I’d finished. It’s honestly, such a magical book about a girl who I will always want to be, even at 29. This was also 5 stars.

 

 

The last book I read this month was Shadowshaper by Daniel Jose Older. Guys, this book, made me cry with happiness. It was just so good. For those who don’t know Shadowshaper is about Sierra Santiago, a teen girl who is just trying to enjoy her summer, when she finds out that there’s a whole other world she’s a part of that she had no idea existed. And it all starts when a summer party she’s attending is crashed by a walking, and yes, somewhat talking dead body. That leads her to be introduced to the world, and art of shadow-shaping and the mystery of the secret brotherhood of shadow shapers her own grandfather was a part of.

Shadow-shaping is just such a pure and artistic form of magick, working with both art and the supernatural. I am in awe- I can’t even begin to say how much I loved this book. Another 5 star read.

And that about wraps it up.

Amber

Top Ten Tuesday: Jan. 28th, 2020

Hello and Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday,

(Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.)

This week is supposed to be a book cover freebie so I’d like to randomly share with no explanation at all some of my favorite book covers.

Until next time,

Amber

December 2019 Wrap-Up

Hello fellow readers,

Long-time, no talk.

It’s been fairly chaotic over here on my end of things lately. First with the holidays, then with everyone in my house getting sick except for the dog. So, that’s why I sort of disappeared for a bit a little over a month ago but I’m back now, hopefully regularly to regale you with my blog posts, or not. Either way, I’m back guys and I plan on staying a bit.

And I bring you my December wrap-up. It’s not that big of a wrap-up since I only managed to finish a total of 3 books that month but it’s a wrap-up nonetheless.

December was the month that I finally finished Heartless by Marissa Meyer. It was one of my book club’s reads of the month quite a few months ago but I’d never gotten around to finishing it until I was knee-deep in slumpland last month. It’s one of I think many Alice in Wonderland retellings and it was ok. I didn’t want to shout my love for it from any rooftops but I also didn’t full-on hate it though it was a potential DNF for a few months there so take that as you will. I did find some aspects of it to be fairly good such as Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater and his wife. Now that was an interesting twist on a story. I also liked the take on the Mad Hatter and Marrisa’s reasoning for his madness. Oh, and the triplets- I adored those triplets. They were fab. I believe I gave it a solid 3 when I finished it but I can definitely give it a 3.5 now that some distance has been put between me and it. Honestly, it really wasn’t that bad but I still prefer the Lunar Chronicles.

 

The second book I managed to finish in December was the Dreadful Spells and Jingle Bells anthology. It’s technically on my Goodreads as being finished in January but that was when I’d turned around and started it over so December still counts. I had originally gotten this as an arc as I’m a member of C.A. Higgin’s arc team but I also had it pre-ordered. I like supporting authors always and arcs don’t necessarily bring about enough support, but anyways, I’m rambling- This book was not bad at all. I honestly enjoyed every short story in this collection which never happens. Some favorites were The Winter Drawing by Evelyn Belle, Ghosts of Christmas by Sarah Louise, A Bit of Christmas Magic by K.A. Morse, and Bar Eve by K.A. Knight and Jenee Robinson. I ended up giving this paranormal Christmas/holiday feast 5 stars.

The last book I read in December was a re-read. Christmas After All by Kathyrn Lasky is probably my favorite Dear America book of all time. I may try to read it every Christmas from now on. It’s just that good. I love Minnie and her family the Swifts and I especially love Willie Faye and her stories and how somehow despite everything she helped bring hope to the Swift family. It’s just such a sweet, pure and jolly holiday read. I ended up upping my rating and giving it five stars.

Until next post,

Amber

Throwback Thursday: Lumberjanes Vol. One Mini Review

MAY 11, 2017 ~ 

Can we just talk about how awesome the first volume of Lumberjanes was? Can I please just squeal in delight for a few minutes? Because it was grand, like really, really grand.

God, I loved it so much. 

I’m not even sure I can form enough coherent sentences to tell you why you need to read this comic but I am definitely going to try.

Lumberjanes is something that has been on my radar for quite awhile now, even before I read Nimona but it wasn’t until recently that I was actually able to read it through the prime reading little bonus thing that Amazon does (bless them). You see, every now and then amazon has graphic novels/comics available for amazon prime members to read for free- typically they’re the first volume or first couple of volumes in a series- anyways, that’s how I ended up reading this amazing thing (also, how I ended up reading the first volume of Scott Pilgrim which was golden) but anyways, I’m rambling- on to the review.

Lumberjanes is about girl power. It is full of cute and amazingly epic art and the characters- goodness, the characters are amazing humans who are super diverse and use names of famous people in place of swear words, or any other sort of exclamation (think holy cow batman except replace batman with Bessie Coleman). Did I mention that they also speak in pop culture references which is something I adore? Because they do and it is amazing.

Anyway, my husband wants to watch tv and I’m not sure I gave a really coherent review of this book anyway but guys, please for the love of kitten holy, read this- please.

You won’t even come close to regretting it.

Amber

Throwback Thursday: Top Five Wednesday- May 3rd, 2017

Favorite SFF/Fantasy Covers

MAY 3, 2017 ~ 

Hi, guys!

It’s time for another top 5 Wednesday post. I know, I know- I can’t believe it either.

Bring on the smexy covers, in no particular order of course.

Firebug by Lish McBride

I’m not sure what it is that attracts me to this cover the most. Maybe it’s the fire shooting out of her hands. Maybe it has something to do with how amazing the fire looks or how realistic the hand position is or how it sort of reminds me of fire shooting out of a dragon’s mouth. Whatever it is, I am here for it. Also, that tagline. Doesn’t it just pull you in? It definitely had that effect on me.

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

This cover man. This cover gives me so much nostalgia it isn’t even funny. You see, I used to have these sexy vampire posters on my ceiling and well, to be completely honest with you part of the reason I wanted to read this book in the first place was because the cover reminded me so much of that period during my teenage years. It didn’t hurt that the book ended up being pretty darn great either.

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

Ok so, my love of this book has everything to do with my love of space and just how friggen spacey it looks. I mean come on, it’s got stars all over it and the cloud effect? Gah. Also, I love the whole you shouldn’t be reading this vibe the book throws off. This cover makes me happy, as did the book.

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

This cover just makes me happy okay? I love it so much and literally fangirled so hard when I first saw it and sure, I own the hardcover edition of this book but that’s not going to stop me from buying this paperback version as soon as I get some money. It’s glorious and I need it so very badly.

For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison

There’s just something about a woman stalking towards a creepy how in a sexy dress and fuck me heels that I just cannot get enough of.

So there’s that- 5 of my favorite science fiction and fantasy covers. I’m sure I have more but these were quite honestly the ones that came to my head the fastest so this list may change fairly quickly, especially as I read more books.

Amber