Taking a Break, Back Next Week

Spoiler Alert - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

 

Spoiler Alert (Spoiler Alert #1)

by Olivia Dade 

What is it about:

Marcus Caster-Rupp has a secret. While the world knows him as Aeneas, the star of the biggest show on TV, Gods of the Gates, he's known to fanfiction readers as Book!AeneasWouldNever, an anonymous and popular poster.  Marcus is able to get out his own frustrations with his character through his stories, especially the ones that feature the internet’s favorite couple to ship, Aeneas and Lavinia. But if anyone ever found out about his online persona, he’d be fired. Immediately.

April Whittier has secrets of her own. A hardcore Lavinia fan, she’s hidden her fanfiction and cosplay hobby from her “real life” for years—but not anymore. When she decides to post her latest Lavinia creation on Twitter, her photo goes viral. Trolls and supporters alike are commenting on her plus-size take, but when Marcus, one half of her OTP, sees her pic and asks her out on a date to spite her critics, she realizes life is really stranger than fanfiction.

Even though their first date is a disaster, Marcus quickly realizes that he wants much more from April than a one-time publicity stunt. And when he discovers she’s actually Unapologetic Lavinia Stan, his closest fandom friend, he has one more huge secret to hide from her.

With love and Marcus’s career on the line, can the two of them stop hiding once and for all, or will a match made in fandom end up prematurely cancelled?

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:

When I heard about this book I knew I had to read it. Fan fiction writers? Cosplay? Romance? A 'You've Got Mail' like plot twist? Gimme!

And I loved this book!

I fell hard for Marcus who is already living a kind of double life when he meets April and discovers she's his online friend. His reasons for not telling April who he is, and for his complicated secrets felt understandable even if they're not all smart. I also fell in love with his best friend, and I was more than happy that the next book will be about that friend.

April is such a great character as well. She is done hiding herself and the things she loves. She is ready to take on the world and win. I love how she calls out the people around her when they're hurtful, and how she is standing up for herself after years of conformity. 

The romance is mainly sweet, fluffy, and delightful, with of course a more dramatic twist towards the end of the book, but this being a Romance I was confident I'd get an ending I could be happy about.

All in all a wonderful read, and I will most definitely get my hands on the next book titled All the Feels, which releases in October.

Why should you read it:

It's a delicious Romance

buy from amazon

On McPig's Radar - Pandora's Orphans

 

I love Dana Cameron's Fangborn series and managed to get hold of some of the short stories and novellas, but soon they'll all be available in one awesome collection!

Pandora's Orphans: A Fangborn Collection

The Fangborn are werewolves, vampires, and oracles dedicated to protecting humanity. Known as “Pandora’s Orphans,” the Fangborn Family is the hope that was left behind when evil was released into the world. Through the millennia, they’ve tracked and fought that evil in secret.

Since 2008, and the publication of “The Night Things Changed,” ten award-winning tales of the Fangborn have been published in best-selling anthologies and magazines. They are collected here for the first time, with an all-new, never-before-published adventure. 

Nationally best-selling author Dana Cameron writes across many genres, but especially crime and speculative fiction. Her work, inspired by her career in archaeology, has won multiple Anthony, Agatha, and Macavity Awards, and has been nominated for the Edgar Award. Several of Dana's archaeology mysteries appear as the “Emma Fielding Mysteries” on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

“The Fangborn are unlike any other fictional werewolves and vampires either of us have ever seen, and trust us when we say we’ve seen a lot of werewolf and vampire fiction. Then Dana took that original concept, added historical depth, and extrapolated beautifully to create her world. It’s an amazing achievement.”— Charlaine Harris and Toni L.P. Kelner, from the Foreword

releasing July 13

Buy from Amazon or find other buy links here

Unleashed - Book Review

 

Unleashed (Jinxed #2)

by Amy McCulloch 

What is it about:

When Lacey Chu wakes up in a hospital room with no recollection of how she got there, she knows something is up. But with her customizable smart pet, Jinx, missing in action and Moncha, the company behind the invention of the robot pet, up to something seriously sinister, she’s got a lot of figuring out to do. Lacey must use all her engineering skills if she has a chance of stopping Moncha from carrying out their plans. But can she take on the biggest tech company in North America armed with only a level 1 robot beetle ... ?

What did I think of it:

I very much enjoyed the first book of this duology, so I bought the second one when I saw it at my local bookstore. It still took me over a year to pick it up.

And this one is enjoyable, but not as much as the first. There was one pet peeve that even soured the book for me: The overused 'poor bully is only a bully because he *insert sad explanation that is meant to exonerate the bully*' News Flash: There is no excuse for bullying! How ever sad your backstory is!

I did finish the book, because I was curious how things would end for Lacey and Jinx, but the book left me lukewarm. I know this is probably very personal, so most people who enjoyed the first bok will probably have a better time with this book than I had.

All in all a nice enough read, but I probably won't be rereading this duology.

Why should you read it:

It's an enjoyable Futuristic read for middle grade and up.

buy from Amazon

Teaser Tuesdays - The Angel of the Crows

I spent a restless night, but no worse than that. I had not yet finished dressing when there was a tap on my door

(page 79, The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison)

buy from amazon

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The Goblin Emperor - Book Review (repost)

 

I've reread this book to refresh my memory for when the sequel releases on the 22nd this month.

The Goblin Emperor
by Katherine Addison

What is it about:
The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir.

Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.

Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend... and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.

What did I think of it:
I have a weakness for goblins, I will confess. So yes: the mention of a half-goblin hero made me want to read this book, even though I feared the story might be a bit too dry for my usual tastes.

This turned out to be a beautiful read though!

Maia (the lead character) turns out to be half goblin and half elf. The goblins in this book are another kind of goblin than I hoped for, but that was about the only disappointment I encountered, and there was lots of good stuff to counter that disappointment.

Maia has been living secluded - with a mentor who despises him - for most of his life, when at nineteen he is suddenly pushed in the role of emperor, because his father and older brothers all die in a terrible accident. I liked Maia from the start. He's young, unworldly, and has no clue how to be an emperor. He does know he doesn't want to be like his father, so he tries hard to find his own way to be what people expect him to be.

I will confess I hadn't expected to love this book as much as I did. I've read my share of court intrigues, and they can be boring if the author isn't careful. The Goblin Emperor didn't bore me for one second though. I was totally gripped by Maia's struggles to learn how to rule, figure out who to trust, and keep holding on to his ideals in the process.

I was surprised by how much emotion there was in this story. I must admit I shed more than one tear while reading this book. Of course there's lots of politics and back-stabbing going on, but at the heart this story is about Maia, his search for who he is, and where he belongs. After a lonely childhood, Maia longs for friends, and his attempts at reaching out are heart-breaking at times. I rooted for him to find people he could rely on, and to succeed in becoming the emperor he wants to be.

All in all this is a wonderful read that moved me and drew me in. I was sad when I finished it, because I didn't want to say goodbye. I will most certainly reread this pearl in the future.

Why should you read it:
It's a beautiful Fantasy read.

Crooked Kingdom - Book Review

 

Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2)

by Leigh Bardugo

What is it about:

Welcome to the world of the Grisha.

Kaz Brekker and his crew of deadly outcasts have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn't think they'd survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they're right back to fighting for their lives.

Double-crossed and badly weakened, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz's cunning and test the team's fragile loyalties.

A war will be waged on the city's dark and twisting streets - a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of the Grisha world.

What did I think of it:

This was a nice enough read, but I had expected more from it.

Maybe it's because I read the first book back in 2017 and didn't reread it before picking up this book, maybe it's just my current mood, but I didn't connect with Kaz and his crew in this book.

The story was very decent and with some clever plots, but it all left me feeling Meh...

There wasn't a moment I felt myself rooting for anyone. I enjoyed the cleverness and the overall plot, but I missed the emotional component needed to actually care about it all.

I might at one time or other decide to reread Six of Crows and see if I then will try this book again, but it won't be anytime soon I'm afraid. 

Why should you read it:

It's a very clever Fantasy read.

buy from amazon