Book Review: Treasured by Tentacles by Mel Braxton

The artwork caught my eye for this one. The beauty of the colors and the adoring looks on the faces of the characters on the cover. All of it just called to me and honestly? Who can resist a title like that?

First of all, Braxton has a talent for giving more than enough about the characters even with the fact that this is a novella, and the course of the book has to move just a little bit faster than it would need. Within pages we know exactly what kind of characters we are following, a woman with the resolve to do what it takes to survive, and a kraken kind enough to visit the last place he saw his brother year after year. Neo saves Marisol and it goes from there. Every moment spent with these characters showed just who they were and how well they worked together. I loved every moment they spent together, learning about each other.

I especially appreciated how Neo did not try to keep Marisol from her wish to obtain the Wishing Sun. Neo was the perfect example of support and love that Marisol needed, basically proof that she had something to fight for in her future, and his love as motivation was moving. The fact that it was not a problem for them to really come together as a potential couple, showing how Marisol could become a part of Neo's community, was something that made me smile.

Overall, this was such a sweet story. I can see the potential for this to continue on with another specific character, and if it turns out that such a book is potentially in the future, I will be quick to obtain a copy of my own. Read this story if you just love "love" stories with characters that deserve to be happy together.

Rating on my Scale: 9.5 Stars. Why? I wanted more time with these characters. I loved it a lot, highly recommended, I just hope to see more from Braxton with this world in the future. 

Book Review: What Lies Within the Willows by Nicole Kaye

I'll be perfectly honest, sometimes I pick books based on their title alone. Something about the music of the words will stick in my head and just makes me think yes, THIS BOOK I need to read. That's what caught my attention with Nicole Kaye's What Lies Within the Willows. I was keeping my fingers crossed that I'd get an eARC but I made sure to pre-order a copy as well because I knew without a doubt, I wanted to read this book. I'm so grateful for the chance I got to read this one because it was MAGNIFICENT!! I love this book, it was everything I wanted and more, it kept me up all night reading and then lived in my dreams when I finally let myself sleep.

First of all, the writing here is superbly done. The book opens up with one lead character on the run and readers immediately learn so much about this character. With one scene alone, the tension was set, stakes were obvious, and the lead was shown to be extremely resilient and determined and I was convinced in that opening scene alone that I would love this book. Kaye has a knack for giving enough information to keep the reader moving with the story while at the same time, holding enough back so that the reader is able to see the many threads woven into the tale that make the reveals hit that much harder when they come. What I also enjoyed was the fact that while the book was written as a dual narrative, the chapters weren't titled with the character names which I found to be an interesting choice. Instead, symbols were used to show whose perspective we were following, sometimes even changing mid-chapter, and I grew to enjoy seeing the symbol for each of our leads when it was their turn to tell us their story. The back and forth kept things moving naturally while we learned more about each character, and each point-of-view helped with learning more about the various townsfolk, so many incredible people who accepted these new characters into their town, just by showing who each lead interacted with the most.

As for the characters, by the time Cassidy and Beckett brought me to the end of this book, I loved both of them equally. I thought Cassidy was amazing for a lead, the tenacity she had and her determination to learn as much as possible to make herself indispensable to the town felt familiar to me. I wanted this girl to find the peace she was looking for and I was so grateful to the people of Bronn, the village she found refuge in, for recognizing her potential and being willing to help her with everything she wanted to learn. As for Beckett, yes, it took me time to love this guy but Kaye made the journey with his struggles worthwhile. In the beginning I wanted to wring his neck or just bash him in the back of the head but the point of his journey was to recognize his trauma and see the efforts he made to change both the way he perceived the world and his place in it. I was proud of the growth he showed and when he and Cassidy came together, I was giddy with the sweetness of their growing care for each other. Their every move showed how far they'd come to be something more than their families thought they'd be able to be and I wanted to wrap them up and keep them safe. For now, I'll content myself with the fact that we will hopefully see them again in another book.

As for the plot, Kaye had a fairly straightforward plot, or at least that is what we were led to think. Cassidy and Beckett have both found themselves in a town where their existence depends on trading for the goods they need. They each need to learn how to help in the town and contribute to the care of everyone that calls Bronn home. Beckett's background means that his time in the town comes with an expiration date and Cassidy's means that she is in hiding. Like I said, seems straightforward enough but there are so many different points that Kaye juggles in this story, like Cassidy's true origin, and the threat that comes with Beckett's previous home. There's also the idea of what both find in the town and the significance of the willows that surround it, the way the title is inspired by these trees and what it means to each lead, what they found within the willows. Suffice to say, when those lines hit, I found my heart struggling to beat. There are so many different ways this story can go from here and I have no idea what will come next but after loving this book, I'm confident the next tale will break my heart and mend it again, in that order.

With the way this book ended, I can confidently say that I will be waiting with bated breath to find out what happens next. I can only hope that Kaye will have mercy on us readers and have something for us soon. I am desperate to know what comes next for our two leads.

Read this book if you like books about learning new ways of thinking, finding true families, and becoming better than you realized you could be.

Rating on my Scale: 10 Beautiful Stars! This book kept me up late reading and I didn't even realize how much time was passing. When my copy arrives, it will live on my shelf of favorites for the rest of all time.

Book Review: Kobra

August kicked me in the teeth and i am so behind on reviews but i finally finished this amazing book and i have one thought screaming in my head:

NO!! IT CAN'T END THERE!!

full review to come once i get sleep.

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Technically, I haven't slept yet. I haven't been able to sleep since the second week of August but I figure, hey, if I'm not sleeping, I might as well write. So Kobra was pitched as for fans of "The Mummy" and "Indiana Jones." I grew up watching Indy (thanks Dad), and I was in the theaters when "The Mummy" was released at the dollar theater because yes, I remember that detail. And guess what? Kobra fits in with those titles easily and manages to stand apart with enough pizazz that I'm still reeling over the loss of that ending. I can only hope book 2 is not that far behind because really, my heart can't take any more breaking.

First of all, the world-building here caught my attention and did not let go. The idea about how the people get their powers and the experiments to figure out how to get certain powers, then the struggle between the countries, ALL OF THIS just hooked me from the start. Wells gave enough information to keep readers moving through the story. The world was established and our characters moved in ways that kept readers engaged. The dual narrative really helped with the whole setup of the book, having most of the events being told as a recount of things from one lead's point-of-view. The back and forth in time also kept me from truly figuring out things before Wells gave us that information and I love when a book can keep me on my toes.

Character wise, I'm not sure who I liked more, Davina or Zephyr. Truly, Davina was a force and I wanted to know so much more about her childhood but I can be patient to see what happens in the next book. I'm not usually a fan of characters that strike out on their own so many times in a row but I was actually charmed by Davina's methods. This is a woman who knows how to accomplish what she sets out to do so hey, she wants to sneak out to investigate? By all means, let's follow her to see what she finds next. As for Zephyr, I greatly enjoyed how the book worked to show his viewpoint in questioning Davina. I loved how quick he was to start to protect Davina, not that she needed it but a guy willing to act on good instincts and has honorable intentions is one to respect. I want to say more but I can't for fear of spoilers but I will say that Wells wielded a deft hand with the detail and I did not see that ending coming. Okay, moving on.

As for the plot, the search for the artifact in question was a great driving point for the story. I wanted to see what would happen when Davina and Zephyr found what they were looking for and while some of that was the focus, a lot of this book also delved into the ethics of what these nations would do with what they found and in turn how it affected their citizens. My heart broke for a particular character and even though she had a happy life in the present of the book, I still think about her in my head, wondering at the people who created her gift and everything that came for others like her. I have questions but while I will have to wait for the next book to get those answers, I'm still very happy with how this book came together in the end.

Read this book if you're a fan of adventures and hidden agendas and strong characters. I can't wait to see how Wells picks up things in the next book.

Rating on my Scale: Yeah, giving this one the whole 10 Stars because yup, I ended up loving this one. I did not see those reveals coming and I am left on tenterhooks waiting to see what happens next.

My thanks to The Nerd Fam and Cris G. Wells for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: Life Out of Order by Audrey Niffenegger

I liked parts of this but overall, I understand why so many have put this down. I wanted to leave it aside but I finally managed to finish it *sighs*

I'll gather my thoughts for a full-length review tomorrow.

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I took a few days to really gather my thoughts for this review. I can honestly tell you that I still remember the moment I found The Time Traveler's Wife on a table display of new releases at my local bookstore. Something about the colors on the cover appealed to my senses and when I read the synopsis I thought, yes, I'll read this book. I had my first part-time so I had money to buy books that caught my eye so I remember picking this book up. I read it in between taking orders at my job, on my lunch break and when I got home. I LOVED it, so when I tell you that Life Out of Order was one of my most anticipated releases for, well, EVER, you can understand why Which is why it breaks my heart to say that I'm waffling between saying I didn't like this at all and it was just okay.

Heartbreaking.

So I'll start the way I usually do, talking about world-building. So the book starts by following Alba, who we know from the previous book is Henry and Clare's daughter. She's heading towards a party, talking about the curfew she's barely going to make when she gets to the house the party is at and she's talking about some kind of mission. And I'm just a bit confused. It's not that far into the future so how did this end up being the world? I understand that the book was upfront about being set in a dystopian world and most of the time, dystopian books don't have to explain how the world came to be this way. However, we know from the previous book that this is OUR world. Various real life events were seen in The Time Traveler's Wife so this book is continuing from there so how does our society fail? I get it, only so much can definitively be said without getting someone angry about the implications but at the same time, I wonder if it would have helped to make up something to explain the state of the world. Instead, the fact that it seems to still be our timeline, I'm left wondering what was the point of showing the world like this? From the way that time travel works, we know that events are mostly set in stone, Alba and also Henry, were not able to change certain events. So is this book a warning or is it just showing us the inevitable end to our society and the planet we live on?

Which brings me to the story format. As I said before, we start with following Alba. So Alba's story starts with how she meets an important man in her life, Zach, and the various back and forth in that happens in Alba's life as a time traveler, which is apparently a condition that has become more widely known since the previous book. And then it cuts to following Clare and showing readers a lot of what has happened in her life since losing Henry. I will say that the section that follows Clare truly felt like the sequel to the previous book but it was only so much of the story. Eventually, the book moves back to following Alba and her struggle between two men she apparently cares equally for and it comes off a little wonky. I feel like the book was a series of vignettes and as such, felt a little disjointed. Maybe as a result of the format, it should have been pushed more as a series of short stories? Clare's section almost feels out of place in the overall story that follows how Alba has grown up and what she is doing with her life.

Now for the characters. I still love Clare and I love that she found Beck. And that is about it. I was not happy with a decision that Alba made and the ramifications that came from that. I wanted to like Zach but I feel like he was given the short of the stick too many times and I still wonder about the childhood he had and why he left the way he did. There were so many side characters that it was hard to keep track of names that kept coming in and out of the story. The few that spent time on the page the longest seemed to be around as a support system for Alba, showing how many of these people know about her ability and are able to shelter her or rescue her when she needs help. But then there are the characters we knew from the previous book, specifically Gomez, who I remember being a bit of a jerk, so why was he someone with this kind of influence on the city? I feel like this needed more development for me to truly believe that Gomez was the authority figure that so many people looked to in this book. I would have thought Charisse was the more likely character to try to become this person of change. So that was a weird detail that still makes me frown because it still doesn't make sense to me. With the amount of names in the cast, I only truly liked two people and that was not enough to make me root for the people in this book.

As for the plot, I don't know what to make of it. I know the first book followed a lot of the love story between Henry and Clare and this book is explicitly stated as NOT being a love story. That being said, it still came across as being focused on the love story. Alba is in love with two men, what is she going to do about this while the world falls apart around her? I'm not sure how this didn't turn out to be a love story with how everything unfolded. Alba has told people several times that she can't change events so readers are just following her around as she falls in love with not one but two men and continues to jump back and forth in time, sometimes seeing her Dad, and mostly talking about the upcoming future, the diseases and the weather and how it continues to culminate in the dystopian world we know is coming. At the same time, I expected more from Alba with the way her situation was handled. The point of a choice is the sacrifice, knowing that the other option exists but you picked one outcome and are content with that. Instead, a lot of this story focuses on how each of her choices is the perfect one for her and we are, I guess, supposed to sympathize with her struggle. Except it didn't feel realistic and the way it resolved just made me think, what was the point?

I did really love Clare's portion of the story. For everyone who knows what she was waiting for, it was really poignant to see that scene on the page. The rest of it, though, continues not to sit well with me. I was honestly, sincerely looking forward to this book but I had to make myself finish it and I really hate to say that. But for those readers who feel the same way, I see you and I hope we can all commiserate together when this book is out.

Rating on my Scale: 3 Stars. I just can't say anything more about what this book was for me. I've been thinking of going back to read The Time Traveler's Wife when I can find the time. I just hope it is everything I remember it to be.

My thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Trade Publishing, Hanover Square Press and Audrey Niffenegger for the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: The Fae Captain's Thief by Elle Thrasher

Something about this title called to me and I'm so glad that it did. What is even better is that once this story ended, I was given more titles to read in the same world with just enough information to catch my attention and leave me feeling gleeful because YAY, more books to read. I wasn't sure what to make of this book at first but by the time the ending arrived, I knew I loved these characters and this world and that is a wonderful feeling to be left with at the end of the day.

The Fae Captain's Thief follows Bryn, a thief who decides to follow the legends she's heard about a necklace and has managed to steal it for herself. On her way back home though, Bryn must find a ship that will help her on her journey. But the only ship available belongs to a fae prince she stayed with once before leaving him behind, his compass now joining her collection of treasures. Bryn has to decide if it's worth sneaking onto his ship and risk getting caught or if she should find some other way of getting back home.

World-building was very interesting here. The idea of the fae and the various kinds there are and their magic was intriguing and I wish there was more in this novella to fill in the blanks. For that reason alone, I will be reading the other related books, just so I can find the answers I'm sure are in the other stories. What is given here was enough to keep the story moving but in the back of my mind, I kept wondering about the rest of this world that Thrasher has created, so yes, I'll be going back and reading more about this world. The story felt accessible, easy to fall into as we follow Bryn on her daring heist and everything that comes from it after. Everything flows easily from moment to moment, giving time to let emotions grow and to have characters come together. Everything asked was answered for this book and Thrasher shows a talent for writing a concise and enthralling story with the pages given.

As for the characters, at the start I wanted to wring Bryn's neck. This woman took a lot of risks for treasure and I wanted to tell her there was a time and a place to think about the next daring theft but she grew on me. Thrasher made Bryn strong but sympathetic and the reveals about the character made me want to bash some heads in so yes, I grew to love her. Which brings me to our fae prince, Henrik, a man of infinite patience who was obviously smitten with Bryn from the start. I felt like this was the perfect character to complement Bryn, compassionate and understanding and fiercely protective to those he loves. Henrik proved to be intelligent as a captain and resourceful enough to find ways to keep his crew safe and to help Bryn at the same time. These two together made way for a poignant storyline about finding someone to care for, to protect and keep safe and I loved when Bryn finally started to believe what Henrik was telling her.

As for the plot itself, I am very intrigued by the development this story took about the necklace that Bryn stole. The focus that it took about the origins of the necklace and precisely what it meant that Bryn stole it made me a little heartbroken. Which is why that ending made me smile. I meant it when I said I wanted to bash some heads in for Bryn so the way everything wrapped up made me cackle a little. The whole idea of thievery and how Bryn could actually use her talents as part of something more made me very happy. There's no other way to explain it. Sure, this was a spicy story and the heat between the leads was definitely there but what I'm left pondering the most was the effect the entire adventure had on Bryn and where she'll go with the knowledge she's gained. I hope to see more of these two in future books, you know, once I've caught up with everything set in this book world.

In the end, this was a very respectable read and I'm looking forward to adding the rest of Thrasher's books to my neverending TBR list.

Rating on my Scale: 8 Stars. I don't read novellas often, I'm always left feeling like I wanted more from everything. The good thing about this one is that there are other books in this world so this story has managed to hook me enough to make me want to read everything else so at least there is that. It's short and sweet, and I'll probably love it more once I know more about the books that came before this one.

My thanks to Behind the Pages and Elle Thrasher for the eARC of this book in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: A Lie So Pretty and Poisonous by Leah Bronwyn

This was such a unique book, something that caught me surprise by the twists and turns it took and the resilient lead of the story. The one thought that keeps going through my mind is that I wish the second book was already available because that last scene is still ringing in my ears. This has so many romantasy elements that will be sure to appeal to a wide range of readers and I'm sure that once this book is released, it will find its way onto so many bookshelves everywhere and I will find people to commiserate to about that ending because seriously, I need book 2.

A Lie So Pretty and Poisonous follows Aurora Alwine, "Rory", a young mother who fled from her mother's home and managed to build a happy life with her young daughter, Cora, in a new town where she works at an apothecary. When one of her mother's lackeys arrives to force Rory and Cora back to her mother's home, Rory's friends devise a way to get the mother and daughter to safety. While on the run though, Rory and Cora end up trapped in a land of demigods where they have been separated from humans on the other side of the continent. Now trapped, Rory has to curb her instincts and play a careful game of keeping up a facade of the delicate noblewoman all while trying to find any information on how to get back home. After forming an alliance with the demigod, Darragh, who has been assigned to protect her, Rory and Darragh's search for a way back home leads them to discoveries that threaten the safety of everyone.

First of all, the world-building is phenomenal. I was so impressed with every aspect of this other world where Rory and Cora ended up trapped. The way that the society was divided and how the religion was woven in made for a delicate situation that Rory found herself navigating. There were so many things that she needed to learn and I was grateful that it allowed the reader to, in turn, learn along with Rory everything that was needed to understand the world as the story progressed. There were a lot of things that kept the tension building for Rory and for Cora and Bronwyn handled each thread with ease, creating a world that glittered but had sharp edges underneath. Every new fact revealed worked in showing exactly what kind of place this really was and by the time everything came to light, I couldn't believe the book was over. Bronwyn has managed to bring readers through every point of this story, investing us in every aspect in a way that only the best romantasy books are able to do and that is an incredible feat.

Next, the characters were everything and more needed for a book like this. I was so happy to see an older FMC who was also a mother as a lead for book like this. The instinct that Cora had to sacrifice herself to keep her daughter safe was something I could identify with and her every thought being how to make sure her daughter would benefit made me love Rory. I thought Cora was an adorable and intelligent little girl, proving herself as the best motivating factor for her mother. Darragh was an interesting character, stoic and unsettling and yet quietly showing in little ways the way he had others interests at heart. I loved the tension between Darragh and Rory and I truly hope to see more development between them in the next book. Bronwyn built this incredible tension between these two characters but also managed to keep this necessary distance between them because of the circumstances of Rory being unable to go home. I also especially loved Anya, Rory's new friend and confidante, who quickly managed to prove herself trustworthy to the Alwines. I loved how she provided observations that Rory didn't have and how she helped Rory through the ups and downs she was going through in her new world. I hope to see much more of her and Rory being friends in the rest of the series.

As for the plot, I thought I had some things figured out but Bronwyn kept all the cards close until the right moments to reveal everything. The idea of trying to find a way home as a driving force was the perfect scenario to have in a story like this. There was enough of a threat hanging over Rory's head as a person in a foreign land to have Rory moving around the kingdom, learning about the world and trying to find a way back. At the same time though, slowly adding in a new threat for Rory to unearth helped with allowing readers become completely invested in figuring out exactly what was going on in this society. Suffice to say, after the way this book ended, I am completely on board for book 2. 

In the end, Bronwyn has created one incredible lead and a world I can't wait to visit again. I desperately need to know some more about the reveals given and I really hope for a happy outcome for Rory and for Cora once the next books are released.

Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars. I want more, end of story. I'm still not over that last chapter. The next book is too far away but I will be patient, not because I want to be but because I have to be patient. So there.

My thanks to Rattle the Stars PR and Leah Bronwyn for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.

Book Review: Until the Sand Claims Us by Israh Azizi

After the month I've had, I was looking forward to reading a new fantasy novel and Until the Sand Claims Us was everything I wanted and more from a book right now. The world was beautiful, the characters claimed my heart and the twists kept me turning pages until almost dawn. I truly loved the way this story unfolded and I will follow Israh Azizi to every book they write from here on out.

Until the Sand Claims Us follows two leads, Yildiz, a bodyguard for the princess of the south, her cousin, and Dayyan, the prince of the north, also known as the prince of death. The pair cross paths when Yildiz is offered up in her cousin's place for marriage to a northern prince in the hopes of stopping the war that has been raging for years. Yildiz has been given a task by the sultan, kill the princes or face certain death. But her betrothed, Dayyan, is not the villain she thinks he is and he has been forced to follow the shah's every order so that he can keep his family safe. As the two come together, Dayyan starts to realize that he has feelings for his new wife, making her a new target to be used against him and to control him while Yildiz has to wonder if killing the prince would even be the revenge it was meant to be. Their marriage was supposed to be the start of a new peace but various factors are working against them and the pair will have to choose between what they are meant to do or their newfound love in an effort at changing their destinies and the furure of their homelands.

First of all, the world-building here is exquisitely done. There are so many interesting aspects to the world itself, from the the reason for why the North wants to conquer the South and how the people live to how that in turn affects everything that lives in the Khatatian Desert. Azizi provided so many answers to questions I had about the people and stories about how and why the war started. There was also an interesting addition to the start of every chapter and the discovery of what these lines turned out to be just left me feeling a little awed at how Azizi provided this interesting bit to fill in the world just that much more. I loved the development and the way Azizi gave each part of the story the information as it was needed. Enemies to lovers as a trope usually doesn't work for me but it was done to perfection in this novel because I believed everything about the developing relationship between the leads. Their story as a driving force for the novel kept my attention riveted because believe me when I say that I had to finish this book in a day, I couldn't put it down.

The characters in this book were perfection. Yildiz was a girl after my own heart with her fiery spirit and her fighting ability. I knew that Dayyan would be tragic somehow but the way Azizi developed his character into something so strong while sympathetic at the same time made me eager to see how this newly married couple would finally be on the same page together. Thanks to Azizi's writing, I was just as invested in the rest of the cast of charactets, including Dayyan's closest friend Zeki, and Bazmara, Omid and Delara, the siblings Dayyan would do anything for. Every character gets their chance to make an impact on the story and I loved them all by the end of the book.

As for the plot, I found the struggle of choosing between duty and love to be a particularly good driving force for this story. Trying to find a way for two people who have grown up being used as tools by the family that was supposed to protect them to finally accept a true and everlasting love made this just a beautiful story in the end. I wanted these two to grow together and find an understanding and their journey to find a way to be together and help their people made for such a fun adventure to go on. All in all, a very satisfying novel about taking chances and finding somewhere to belong for who you truly are.

In the end, this book was the perfect story that I was looking to read and I'm so grateful to have gotten the chance to meet Yildiz and Dayyan and have a chance to spend some time in this world.

Rating on my Scale: 10 Stars. I might have shed or two at a particular reveal so bear that in mind because it's good to know when an author has the talent to make you care that much about the people they have created.

My thanks to Behind the Pages and Israh Szizi for the eARC of this book in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own.