Glimpses Of My Books

It is hard to believe we are saying goodbye to 2021 already. Insane! My Top 10 list for this past year consists of 7 romances (unsurprisingly since that is what I read most), 2 young adults, and 1 fiction (historical fiction to be exact). You will find my Top 10 below, but I would also love to see yours. Send me a message on Instagram  with the link to your list so I can have a look (and I will happily share on my Instagram stories too)!  They are in no particular order and the ones with title only are clickable, that will send you to the review. Have fun and happy reading!  I hope you find something to love in this list and that you end up loving it as much as I did.  1 - Raphael by Tillie Cole  (Dark Romance) 2 - Priest by Sierra Simone  (Taboo Romance) 3 - The Vixen and the Vet by Kat Regnery (Modern Fairytale Retelling Romance) Great modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Savanah was a struggling journalist and Asher a wounded veteran living in hidi...

Two Young Adult reviews in a row? That has not happened in a very very long time. I obviously still read them, but just not as often anymore. Margaret Rogerson is one of those authors I will drop everything to go and read her next title. I absolutely loved her two other books: An Enchantment of Ravens  and Sorcery of Thorns ,  so as you can imagine I was very excited about this one.  Blurb: The dead of Loraille do not rest. Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as spirits with a ravenous hunger for the living. She would rather deal with the dead than the living, who trade whispers about her scarred hands and troubled past. When her convent is attacked by possessed soldiers, Artemisia defends it by awakening an ancient spirit bound to a saint’s relic. It is a revenant, a malevolent being that threatens to possess her the moment she drops her guard. Wielding its ext...

Adrienne Young has written some amazing stories and some really bad ones too. But the amazing ones are so so so good that I can't resist when a new book comes out. The Last Legacy  was the first book by Adrienne Young that I neither loved or disliked. It had a very good story but it was a little slow to start and the end was abrupt.  The Blurb: When a letter from her uncle Henrik arrives on Bryn Roth's eighteenth birthday, summoning her back to Bastian, Bryn is eager to prove herself and finally take her place in her long-lost family. Henrik has plans for Bryn, but she must win everyone’s trust if she wants to hold any power in the delicate architecture of the family. It doesn’t take long for her to see that the Roths are entangled in shadows. Despite their growing influence in upscale Bastian, their hands are still in the kind of dirty business that got Bryn’s parents killed years ago. With a forbidden romance to contend with and dangerous work ahead, the cost of being accept...

I read a good amount of older releases this past two months. I will not write long individual reviews for every single one of them but here are is a little bit about each one of them:  - Visions of Heat by Nalini Singh It's unlikely I will ever dislike something Nalini writes. She is a master of her craft. This is the second book in the Psy-Changeling series and it is just as good as the first. Shy and isolated Faith is plagued by visions of blood and murder. She has questions and needs help but can't ask those around her. She turns to the changelings and the only Psy she knows that has defied her race (first book in the series). Vaughn is more cat than human but has to control his instincts not to scare Faith away. This was a fabulous paranormal romance read but you really must read the first book first! 4 stars from me :)  - Desperate Measures by Katee Robert Desperate Measures is the story of Jafar and Jasmine. But if you read Katee before you know it is not that simple at...

Trader. Fighter. Survivor. With the Marigold ship free of her father, Fable and its crew were set to start over. That freedom is short-lived when she becomes a pawn in a notorious thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination she must help him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is more than she seems. As Fable descends deeper into a world of betrayal and deception she learns that her mother was keeping secrets, and those secrets are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If Fable is going to save them then she must risk everything, including the boy she loves and the home she has finally found. The Review: 4 Stars I enjoyed Namesake  a lot more than I enjoyed the first book in the series, Fable.  Overall the book had a much better pacing. I remember complaining that although I liked Fable  it lagged at times, but that really wasn't an issue here. There was a twist coming or something about to happen at all times, and ...

  In Five Years by Rebecca Serle was easily one of my favorite reads last year and I was very excited to read this book by her. I am not 100% sure what the exactly release date was but I think the print book was released in 2014 and Simon and Schuster picked up in audio format this year. It was released (re-released?) February 2nd. I listened to this beauty on libro.fm pretty much in one sitting.  The Blurb: Sorrow can be seductive—but can hope triumph over heartbreak? A dark and searing novel from the  New York Times  bestselling author of   In Five Years . Caggie never wanted to be a hero, but some things are decided for us. Growing up among Manhattan’s social elite, Caggie always had everything a girl could want, including a storied last name. But after saving a girl from the brink of suicide, Caggie becomes infamous, and now all she wants is to be left alone. After all, she’s still reeling from the recent death of her younger sister, the subsequent destruct...

There was a time where I loved nothing more than a good YA fantasy. I guess that time is passed... either that or the quality of YA books coming out has fallen. This wasn't a bad book, it just was underwhelming . It has a very good concept, a good start, a good climax point, but everything else felt flat. Deka leaves in fear of the Blood Ceremony Day- the day she finds out if her blood runs pure (red) or if she has gold blood, which is met with a death sentence. Needless to say, her blood runs gold. She is killed again and again just to wake, limbs reattaching themselves... It is a gory and interesting start. I was intrigued as to what she was and where this was going.  Someone from the capital comes an offers her a deal: fight for the emperor with other girls like her or stay at the village being killed until someone figures out how to give her her true death. Let's face it, it is an easy choice.  The book celebrates female friendships, sisterhood! Families from circumstance ...

I was on a book funk many times this year and as I look back at the books I've read it somewhat makes sense. Although I read some amazing books I did a disservice to myself by not reading as many books from my favorite subgenres as I should have and consequently there were a lot of 'middle of the road' reads. Books that many of you would love but that just aren't my thing, like rom-coms -I like them but I rarely love them.  And so, for the first time ever, I will actually have a Top 10 list. If you guys remember, usually I pick 2 to 3 favorites for every month of the year, this time I just could not do that. Wasn't 2020 just great?  Negativity aside, I read some OUTSTANDING books this last 12 months that I think you should all give a try. And -surprise surprise- they are not all romance at all. Only 4 romance books made my list! How weird is that? 99% of what I read is romance...  Here we go (in order read through the year, they are all 5+ stars): CLICK ON THE TITLE...

I really enjoyed Crushed . More than Crave ? Yup. Definitely! It was a lot more interesting and engaging. Blurb: Everything feels off—especially me. I’ve returned to Katmere Academy, but I’m haunted by fragments of days I have no recollection of living and struggling to understand who, or what, I really am. Just when I start to feel safe again, Hudson is back with a vengeance. He insists there are secrets I don’t know about, threatening to drive a wedge between Jaxon and me forever. But far worse enemies are at our doorstep.   The Circle is caught in a power play and the Vampire Court is trying to drag me out of my world and into theirs. The only thing Hudson and Jaxon agree on is that leaving Katmere would mean my certain death.   And not only am I fighting for my life, but now everyone else’s is at stake—unless we can defeat an unspeakable evil. All I know is that saving the people I love is going to require sacrifice. Maybe more than I’m able to give. The Crav...

 Adrienne Young's book  Sky in the Deep   was no doubt one of my all time favorite young adult fantasy stand alone books. Sadly, the book she wrote immediately after that was one of my biggest disappointments. So I really didn't know what to expect of this one. The premise sounded good. The blurb was promising. And in the end, I would say it delivered. It wasn't as amazing as her first book, but it wasn't bad and I am actually looking forward to the next one.  As the daughter of the most powerful trader in the Narrows, the sea is the only home seventeen-year-old Fable has ever known. It’s been four years since the night she watched her mother drown during an unforgiving storm. The next day her father abandoned her on a legendary island filled with thieves and little food. To survive she must keep to herself, learn to trust no one and rely on the unique skills her mother taught her. The only thing that keeps her going is the goal of getting off the island, finding her...

                                                                 This prequel of the beloved Hunger Games trilogy is absolutely fantastic. This story has the ability to be read as a stand alone, as you do not need previous knowledge of the original three books. However, it does give insight to situations and reactions in the trilogy. This book makes you sympathize with the loathsome antagonist from the main series, President Snow.  The plot follows orphaned Coriolanus Snow as an eighteen year old about to graduate from the capitol's academy. Him and twenty-three other classmates are chosen to participate as the first ever mentors to the tributes in the games. As it is announced who was assigned to what district and what gender. Snow is assigned the district twelve girl-- which he perceives as a personal insult due ...

Crave  was everything you would expect from an young adult paranormal romance with vampires. Remember years ago when that was popular? I guess Renee Ahidieh with  Beautiful  and now Tracy Wolff with Crave are trying to bring it back. I don't know about you, but I am all in for it!

I will forever have a special place in my heart for Nevernight and Godsgrave. Darkdawn ? Not so much... This last book doesn't even compare in quality to its predecessors.  Nevernight ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Godsgrave ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Darkdawn ⭐️⭐️

Do you remember when cheesy vampire books were popular in the Young Adult world? Well, I don't know if Renee Ahdieh will successfully bring that back or not, but that is exactly what this book was!

I don't even know what to say exactly... my biggest disappointment in 2019 so far...

I haven't read an Young Adult Romance in a very long time, and considering how picky I am with it, this one was surprisingly good!

Bound as one to love, honor, or burn The romance was beautiful. The rest needed some work...

“Knowledge always has the potential to be dangerous. It is a more powerful weapon than any sword or spell.” What a delightful read! Margaret Rogerson left me with a smile at the end of   An Enchantment of Ravens   and yet again here. This was a nice sweet read for fans of easy read young adult fantasies. Although very different than  her first book it still carries the same light hearted style of writing. 

I am speechless and lost in a tsunami of emotions.  Kathleen Glasgow surprised me and shocked me with  Girl in Pieces , and it is no different here.  Grief sucks Grief stinks There is no happy ending in grief So needless to say (and true to what I now consider Kathleen Glasgow's style), there is no happy ending here either...

Did I like The Princess and the Fangirl? Yes I did. Did I like it as much as  Geekerella  ? No way...