Two anxious young lovers lost in the woods. A beckoning mansion in a dark clearing. A short modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin.
It’s bad enough that Hazel and Gray have defied the demands of Hazel’s foul stepfather. The Monster has forbidden their romance. Now they’ve awakened in the forest, phones dead, hours past curfew. But not far away is a grand estate in the middle of nowhere. The door is open. In this short story about choosing your own path, the fury of the Monster that awaits them back home may be nothing compared to what lies ahead.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
This one was definitely not what I was expecting when I thought of a Hansel and Gretel retelling. While I did like the twists in the story and the darker elements, I found it to be very predictable and had guessed who the ‘bad guy’ was going to be, and the connections between characters. I was not expecting what the house they found would be and didn’t realize just how far it would go with that, so I’m not sure how I feel about that. That being said the story did fly by and I found Nic Stone’s writing style compelling and easy to read.
He’s going to claim his child and the woman who got away…from USA TODAY bestselling author Naima Simone. Will they ever learn that giving in to desire is playing with fire?
After discovering he has a secret son, oil heir Ross Edmond isn’t letting Charlotte Jarrett walk away again. He proposes they move in together—to share their son…and a bed. But Charlotte has secrets, and Ross doesn’t know the real reason his family’s former chef left town three years ago—and they still have a powerful enemy who could bring them both down…
This story contains a few different tropes, some that I often enjoy and some that don’t always hit right for me. I always enjoy a good second chance romance but the secret baby storyline isn’t always what I reach for. I really enjoyed the Charlotte herself, but the miscommunication between her and Ross was just too much for too long. There were also some instances where side characters didn’t seem to be quite consistent between their words and actions, but most of the characters were enjoyable to read. All in all I did enjoy the story and would read more of Naima Simone’s writing as I thoroughly enjoyed it.
USA Today Bestselling author Naima Simone’s love of romance was first stirred by Johanna Lindsey and Nora Roberts years ago. Well not that many. She is only eighteen…ish. Published since 2009, she spends her days writing sizzling romances with heart, a touch of humor and snark. She is wife to Superman–or his non-Kryptonian equivalent–and mother to the most awesome kids ever. They live in perfect, sometimes domestically-challenged bliss in the southern US.
The Hazards of Love follows the story of a queer teen from Queens who makes some mistakes, gets dragged into a fantastical place, and tries to hustle their way back home.
Amparo’s deal with the talking cat was simple: a drop of blood and Amparo’s name to become a better person. Their mother and abuela would never worry about them again, and they’d finally be worthy of dating straight-A student Iolanthe. But when the cat steals their body, becoming the better person they were promised, Amparo’s spirit is imprisoned in a land of terrifying, flesh-hungry creatures known as Bright World.
With cruel and manipulative masters and a society that feeds on memories, Amparo must use their cleverness to escape, without turning into a monster like the rest. On “the other side,” Iolanthe begins to suspect the new Amparo has a secret, and after the cat in disguise vanishes, she’s left searching for answers with a no-nonsense medium from the lesbian mafia and the only person who might know the truth about Bright World.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
I was really intrigued by the premise of this one so though I would pick it up. The art style was vibrant and punchy and had me instantly enjoying it but I did find the story a little hard to get into. It starts with action off the bat and the introduction of Bright World is like being thrown in head first. This made it a little hard for me to understand at first, but as the story goes on we learn along with the main character as they navigate it and it definitely picks up. The second half was more and more enjoyable as it went along and I was a little bummed when I reached the end. Though the first half definitely was slow for me, I would be eager to read the next volume to see what happens!
An Ember in the Ashes meets Mask of Shadows in Emily Victoria’s #ownvoices debut YA fantasy, This Golden Flame, in which asexual Karis, a servant to the mysterious Scriptorium, accidentally awakens long-dormant automaton Alix, initiating an epic adventure full of magic, rebellion, and finding where you truly belong.
Orphaned and forced to serve her country’s ruling group of scribes, Karis wants nothing more than to find her brother, long ago shipped away. But family bonds don’t matter to the Scriptorium, whose sole focus is unlocking the magic of an ancient automaton army.
In her search for her brother, Karis does the seemingly impossible – she awakens a hidden automaton. Intelligent, with a conscience of his own, Alix has no idea why he was made. Or why his father – their nation’s greatest traitor – once tried to destroy the automatons.
Suddenly, the Scriptorium isn’t just trying to control Karis; it’s hunting her. Together with Alix, Karis must find her brother…and the secret that’s held her country in its power for centuries.
I was not expecting this book to suck me in from the beginning, but it did. The beginning definitely gives a good introduction to Karis and her motivations and it hits the ground running so to speak. I did enjoy the setting and aspects of Ancient Greek that were woven into the world/story. The duel perspectives of Karis and Alix were well played off of each other and it was nice to have a perspective that wasn’t just another human character. I loved the inclusion and diversity of the characters and their orientations without it being a huge thing. Those are my favorite types of inclusive stories, when it’s just normalized within the world. There were definitely aspects where the story could have gone a little farther, but overall I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Even minor characters were given fleshed out identities that were wonderful to read and breathed life to them even as the main characters worked through their adventure. I could see this having a sequel or companion, but I think it’s meant to be a standalone – still, the potential is there.
Emily Victoria lives on the Canadian prairies with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, works at her public library, and has just finished her Masters of Library and Information Studies.
A vain assassin takes an assignment with dire consequences. An aristocratic lady fleeing her past is besieged by pirates. And a manticore princess sets out on a life-changing adventure.
The Manticore’s Vow collects three stories set in the world of Magic of Blood and Sea, all exploring the origins of some of its most memorable characters: Naji, the scarred assassin, Marjani, the pirate queen, and Ongraygeeomryn, the man-eating manticore. Explore a world of dangerous magic and thrilling adventures with this trio of gorgeous, swashbuckling tales.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
This book is a collection of three short stories in Cassandra Rose Clarke’s Magic of Blood and Sea universe. I really enjoyed Clarke’s writing style and the way she’s given voices and personalities to these characters. My favorite of the collection was definitely The Automaton’s Treasure as it really felt like you got to know Marjani without really getting the full story of her past. I feel like this is a great taste of the world and if you’ve read the novels, then it would expand upon it. All three stories were enjoyable and entertaining, so it was a solid read.
Thanks so much to Interstellar Flight Press for sending me a copy of this book!
Hey everyone! If you read my post in January about the series I wanted to complete in 2021 one of them was the Locke and Key graphic novel series. I had already listened to the fully casted audiobook version a couple years ago, but I wanted to read the source material.
Overall I did enjoy the graphic novel series, and having the images added to the story I already knew was really nice. Some of the things described in the audiobook weren’t really easy to envision, so graphic novel was definitely the way to go in some ways. While I didn’t always love the art style, it didn’t detract from the story. There were definitely some things I had forgotten about.
I also recommend picking up Heaven and Earth (which is noted as book 7, but contains a few short comic stories and background information on the places that provided a lot of inspiration for the location. Seeing pictures of the town in Massachusetts that a lot of the locations were modeled after was great insight, as were the short stories featuring different generations of the Locke family.
I do recommend reading the series in its original form, but I also recommend the audiobook. It is fully casted and plays out like a movie, which makes it really enjoyable to listen to.
I’m glad I was able to complete the entire series and hope that this is a sign of finishing the other series that I set a goal for. Fingers crossed!
Wait for Night by Stephen Graham Jones is horror story about a day laborer hired to help clean up a flooded creek outside of Boulder, Colorado, who comes across what could be a very valuable find.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
This one definitely took a turn I didn’t expect. I can’t say much about the story itself since I don’t want to spoil anything but I love the abrupt twist that Stephen Graham Jones wove into this one. He’s definitely an auto buy author for me and his short stories are just as enjoyable as some of his novels. This one sucked me in fast and the writing flowed so well that it was over far too quickly. It definitely satisfied my need for a quick, creepy story.
From breakout stand-up comedian Iliza Shlesinger comes a subversively funny collection of essays and observations on the secret genius of irrational behavior.
Have you ever been pissed because you’re not pretty enough, and then gotten even more pissed that someone didn’t find you as pretty as you think you are? Have you ever obsessed over the size of your thighs while eating dessert, all the while saying you’ll work out extra tomorrow? Or spent endless hours wondering why you have to bear the brunt of other people’s insecurities? I mean, after all, I’m pretty great. Why cope with insecurities I don’t already have?
That last one’s just me? All right, then.
But if the rest sounds familiar, you are experiencing Girl Logic: a characteristically female way of thinking that appears contradictory and circuitous but is actually a complicated and highly evolved way of looking at the world. You end up considering every repercussion of every choice (about dating, career, clothes, lunch) before making a move toward what you really want. And why do we attempt these mental hurdles? Well, that’s what this book is all about.
The fact is, whether you’re obsessing over his last text or the most important meeting of your career, your Girl Logic serves a purpose: It helps push you, question what you want, and clarify what will make you a happier, better person. Girl Logic can be every confident woman’s secret weapon, and this book shows you how to wield it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Since I really enjoy Iliza Shlesinger’s comedy I was eager to pick this up as soon as I knew about it. If you do not enjoy her comedy style or jokes, then you will likely not enjoy this book. It’s like an extended comedy show with anecdotes and stories to illustrate her points. I do recommend picking up the audiobook for this one since Iliza narrates it herself and this makes it even more like one of her shows. I did enjoy the background she gave through her childhood and up and could definitely relate with what she said about how your 20s definitely differ from your 30s.
If you enjoy Shlesinger’s comedy style, then you will likely enjoy this book, but if you don’t like it then you may not enjoy this book. It is infused with her specific style, especially in the audiobook.
Hey everyone! I know I haven’t done wrap ups in a while but they are definitely back. There are going to be some changes though. I’m not going to be going super in depth on what I read or my specific ratings and do something more like bullet point updates. This may evolve and change over time, but I’m going to do what feels right to me.
If you want to see all the books I read and my ratings on books that I read that I don’t necessarily cover on the blog – you are more than welcome to add me as a friend or follow me over on Goodreads. There are some books that I don’t always write up full reviews for, but I always rate them over there.
While today is still technically the 31st, I don’t anticipate finishing any more books by the end of the day, so I’m fairly confident this post will be accurate. In the month of January I’ve completed a total of 32 books, which does include a good mix of poetry, manga, graphic novels and short stories/novellas in addition to full length novels.
For my TBR game I ended up completing four of the six books I had selected, which I’m pretty happy with. Yes, I probably could have taken care of at least one of them this weekend, but it ended up being more of a self care weekend where I did other things. I will be carrying Shutter and Bed of Roses over until I finish them.
For my Nancy Drew reread “challenge” I ended up completing three books, which were 12-14 – The Message in the Hollow Oak, The Mystery of the Ivory Charm and The Whispering Statue.
For my Series I want to complete in 2021 goal I made progress on both Fruits Basket and Locke and Key.
Now for something completely new, I decided that when I can clearly define what my favorite book of the month was I would include it in my wrap up. This month I definitely had a favorite, which ended up being Amari and the Night Brothersby B.B. Alston. I cannot praise this book enough and encourage everyone to read it, if you want to find out more you can always check out my review of it for more info.
That’s going to cover it for this month! As I said I will likely make changes to what information I include in wrap ups, but for now this is the type of format I’m going to work with.
Long, long ago, sprites were the caretakers of gardens. Every flower was grown by their hand. But when humans appeared and began growing their own gardens, the sprites’ magical talents soon became a thing of the past. When Wisteria, an ambitious, kind-hearted sprite, starts to ask questions about the way things used to be, she’ll begin to unearth her long-lost talent of gardening. But her newly honed skills might not be the welcome surprise she intends them to be.
The Sprite and the Gardener, the debut graphic novel by Joe Whitt and Rii Abrego, is bursting with whimsical art and vibrant characters. Join our neighborhood of sprites in this beautiful, gentle fantasy where both gardens and friendships begin to blossom.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 5 out of 5.
If you’re looking for a heartwarming story about finding friendship and doing what makes you happy, this is a wonderful, whimsical graphic novel that will fit the bill. Though we don’t get a ton of insight into the other sprites as much as we do into Wisteria, they still come across as individuals. Wisteria’s need to do something and to have a purpose was very sweet and her creating bonds with others as the story went on was a great plot point. The story itself is very sweet and the art style matches that. Overall it was a great pick me up read that will leave a smile on your face.
The Wandering Wordsmith 