I saw this meme on It’s All About Booksand thought, I like this!! So, I decided to do it once a month also. Many thanks to Yvonne for initially posting this!!
This post is what it says: Places I travel to in books each month. Books are lovely and take you to places you would never get to. That includes places of fantasy too!!
Bon Voyage!!
Please let me know if you have read these books or traveled to these areas.
Countries I visited the most:United States, England, Italy, France
States I visited the most: California, Louisiana, New York, Hawaii, Arizona, Washington
Cities I visited the most: New Orleans, Los Angeles, London, San Fransisco, Paris, New York City, Maui, Tucson
Middle Earth
The Hill, Bag-End, Under-Hill, Bywater, Lone-lands, Misty Mountains, Rivendell (Last Homely House), Mirkwood, Carrock, Forest River, Long Lake, Lake-Town, Lonely Mountain, Ravenhill, Running River, Esgaroth
United States
Florida (Key West)California (Berkeley, San Francisco, Los Angeles), Louisiana (New Orleans), Arizona (Tucson)Maryland (Baltimore), Vermont (Westridge), Hawaii (Maui), Louisiana (New Orleans), South Carolina (Myrtle Beach), Georgia (Clay Creek, Elijay)Unknown State (Norfolk Falls)Maine (Mistport), California (Los Angeles)Tennessee (Nashville)West Virginia (Jasper Creek, McCray)California (Los Angeles), Iowa (Ames)California (San Fransisco, Los Angeles, Monterey, The Island)Pennsylvania (Pittsburg)Kansas (Witchita), California (Laguna Beach, Los Angeles)Washington D.C.New York (New York City), New Jersey(Camden), Nevada (Las Vegas)New York, PennsylvaniaNew York (New York City), California (Los Angeles)Montana (Helena), Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Washington (Seattle)Vermont, MinnesotaNew YorkHawaii (Oahu, Maui), Arizona (Phoenix, Tucson), Texas (Dallas)Washington (Raven Creek)
Austria
Vienna
England
LondonLondonBristol, Easton, BathRegency London
El Salvador
El Mozote, San Salvador, Antigo Cuscatlan, Chalchuapa
Mexico
Nogales
Ellipsis
Herosi
Greece
unnamed island
Canada
Ontario (Toronto, Milton, Root Island)
Scotland
Byker, Brixton, Tynemouth, Newcastle
Ireland
Dublin, Navan, Bray
Italy
Siena, Bologna, Naples, Rome, TuscanyVenice, Isola di San MicheleLazio region
Switzerland
St. Moritz
The Czech Republic
Prague
Jamaica
Irwin, Montego Bay, Greenwood, Negril
France
ParisParisParis
Australia
Aybourne
Tergonian Empire
Hell’s Labyrinth
Sisly
Taormina, Cefalu, Catania, Palermo, Monreale, Agrigento, Erice, Segusta, Selinunte Island, Ortygia, Vulcano Island, Stromboli
As always, let me know if you have read any of these books and (if you did) what you thought of them.
Books I Read:
Kindle PurchaseARC from Crooked Lane BooksARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine BooksARC from St. Martin’s PressFree Kindle PurchaseFree Kindle PurchaseARC from St. Martin’s PressNon-ARC from authorFree Kindle PurchaseFree Kindle PurchaseNon-ARC from authorFree Kindle PurchaseFree Kindle PurchaseARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur BooksARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur BooksARC from St. Martin’s PressARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, BantamFree Kindle PurchaseNon-ARC from authorKindle PurchaseKindle PurchaseKindle Unlimited PurchaseKindle PurchaseARC from St. Martin’s PressNon-ARC from authorARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur BooksNon-ARC from authorNon-ARC from authorARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, DellNon-ARC from authorKU PurchaseNon-ARC from authorKU PurchaseARC from author
Books I got from NetGalley:
Invite from Atria BooksInvite from St. Martin’s PressARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del ReyWish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, BantamARC from SMP Influencer ProgramInvite from Crooked Lane BooksARC from SMP Influencer Program Wish granted from Soho Press, Soho TeenWish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:
Non ARC from authorNon-ARC from authorARC from AuthorARC from AuthorARC from AuthorNon-ARC from PubVendo
Trust No One by Margaret Watson—review here (4 stars)
May:
Scavenger Hunt (a book turned into a movie/TV show you’ve seen): The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
2023 ABC Challenge (E): Ellipsis by Jacob L. White
Romancepoly 2023! (Read a book where either the cover is blue, black, or silver or it is a winter holiday book): Black Kiss by Dori Lavelle
2023 TBR Prompts (a book that has been turned into a TV series): Lovin’ on You by Fabiola Francisco
June:
Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023 (books with “other” in the title): The Other Side of Goodbye by Ben Follows
2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge 2023 (a book that has the name of a month in the title): Every Day in December by Kitty Wilson
Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (a tree): My Dead World by Jacqueline Druga
The StoryGraph’s Onboarding Read Challenge 2023 (Read a book published in the last three years that fits your reader profile): How to Train Your Viscount by Courtney McCaskill
The StoryGraph Reads with World 2023 (Norway): Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval
The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge 2023 (a popular science book): Factfulness by Hans Rosling
Beat the Backlist 2023 (giving an author a second chance): Spirit of Denial by Kate Danley
Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (What object did you first see on the cover of the last book. Find another book with the same object on the cover): The Bronzed Beasts by Roshani Chokshi
Books I bought*:
*Normally, there won’t be a lot of books on here. But, I am going through my Goodreads shelves and downloading any free books I am coming across from books already shelved. This is an ongoing project, and I should be done by September.
A tragedy brought them together as teens, and then fate tore them apart. After fifteen years, can the pain and secrets of the past be forgiven to rekindle a once-in-a-lifetime love?
As a teen, Milo Covell’s life was destroyed when his mother was killed and his father was imprisoned for causing her death. His first love, Olivia Dunham, was the only beacon that brought his soul back into the light, promises of forever whispered under the stars creating an unbreakable bond—until the night Milo left Olivia heartbroken and alone.
When an unexpected phone call draws Milo back to New York, he’s forced to face the ghosts of the past he left behind fifteen years ago. Finding his estranged father, Mac, losing his battle with cancer, Milo is overcome with anger and betrayal when he discovers the girl he once loved has befriended the man who destroyed his life.
As Olivia struggles with her grief at the thought of losing Mac, she must also confront the man who abandoned her in her greatest time of need, leaving her life in pieces.
Brought together by fate during this trying time, the two must face hard truths, unshared secrets, and long-forgotten feelings.
Is their teenage love strong enough to span the decades and heal old wounds, or is the pain of the past too powerful to be forgiven and forgotten?
First Line:
Love, Loss, Passion, and Resentment. On the surface, those four little words don’t appear to have much in common.
Forgive or Forget Me by Ann Einerson
As a teenager, Milo’s life was turned inside out when his mother was killed in an accident that his father caused by driving drunk. Going to live with his mother’s best friend and her daughter, Milo spent his teenage years harboring bitterness and hatred towards his father and falling in love with Olivia, the daughter of the woman who took him in. But, when tragedy happens again, Milo leaves Olivia to pick up the pieces of her life. Fast forward fifteen years later, and Milo receives a phone call that shakes him to his core. His father has terminal pancreatic cancer and has been out on patrol for seven years. He is again shaken to his soul when he realizes that Olivia has a close relationship with Mac. Wanting to rekindle his relationship with Olivia but not wanting to have one with Mac, Milo is torn. Will he walk away from his one true love? Or will he swallow his negative feelings towards Mac and stay in Olivia’s life?
I was excited when I read the Forgive or Forget Me blurb. Sometimes I need an angsty, angry, and sad book to read. Forgive or Forget Me delivered on all of that. But, I was bothered by how much unresolved and misplaced anger there was in this book. It made Milo’s parts of the book hard for me to read.
Forgive or Forget Me is split into the timelines of Present Day and Past (which went from 9th to 12th grade). This book was divided between Olivia and Milo in Present Day and Past. In no way was I confused or couldn’t figure out where in time or whose perspective I was reading. The author marked the beginning of each chapter.
There were a few storylines in Forgive or Forget Me, and keeping track of them got confusing. The main storyline centered around Milo and Olivia and their trials and tribulations (past and present). That main storyline was well-written and did keep my attention. But, the secondary storylines carried the book. They added additional depth and added more information to the main storyline.
I liked Olivia but thought she had a terrible choice in men. But, on the other hand, she was the most selfless, giving person I have read in a book to date. I liked how she pulled herself out of that horrible place and achieved her dreams. I also liked how she dropped everything to take care of Mac. But, going back to her terrible choice of men, I didn’t want her with Milo. It made her look weak and diminished whenever they were together, and she had to deal with his toxicity.
Oh, Milo, where do I start with you? How about with this? He was one of the worst characters I have read in a book. There was a moment when I pitied him (when he was in a medically induced coma and right after). Then my pity ended, and my dislike began. He was so bitter that I expected my screen to pucker up. His anger issues were palpable. There was a point at the beginning of the book where I expected him to physically strike out at Mac (who was in a hospital bed). He had jealousy issues and continuously accused Olivia of cheating, even though they weren’t together. What he said to Olivia at Mac’s wake sealed my dislike deal for me. It was disgusting and unforgivable. I got that he was super upset over what Olivia had just told him (and I get it, I would be too) but come on. It was beyond disgusting what he said.
I did like the romance angle of Forgive or Forget Me but only during the Past part of the book. Milo and Olivia had an adorable and innocent romance. They knew it was the real deal and were committed to each other. But when Milo jetted, I was so upset. I wouldn’t say I liked the Present Day romance angle, though. Milo was so angry, bitter, and jealous that I couldn’t look past it.
The end of Forgive or Forget Me had me doing a facepalm and shaking my head. I shouldn’t have been surprised by how the book ended or the epilogue. While I was gladish about everything that happened, I couldn’t help but think that a leopard doesn’t change his spots, and Milo wouldn’t change his.
I recommend Forgive or Forget Me to anyone over 21. There are semi-graphic sex scenes, violence, and language.
Many thanks to Ann Einerson for allowing me to read and review Forgive or Forget Me. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
If you enjoyed this review of Forgive or Forget Me, then you will enjoy these books:
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading? What did you recently finish reading? What do you think you’ll read next?
What I am currently reading:
Desperate Housewives meets The Couple Next Door in a chilling story of murder and intrigue set in a well-to-do DC suburb.
Sometimes the darkest acts occur in the most beautiful houses…
When Alexis and her husband Sam buy a neglected Cape Cod house in an exclusive DC suburb, they are ecstatic. Sam is on the cusp of making partner at his law firm, Alexis is pregnant with their second child, and their glamorous neighbors welcome the couple with open arms. Things are looking up, and Alexis believes she can finally leave her troubled past behind.
But the neighborhood’s picture-perfect image is shattered when their neighbor Teddy – a handsome, successful father of three – is found dead on the steep banks of the Potomac River. The community is shaken, and as the police struggle to identify and apprehend the killer, tension in the neighborhood mounts and long-buried secrets start to emerge.
In the midst of the turmoil, Alexis takes comfort in her budding friendship with Teddy’s beautiful and charismatic widow, Blair. But as the women grow closer, the neighborhood only becomes more divided. And when the unthinkable truth behind Teddy’s murder is finally uncovered, both Blair and Alexis must reexamine their friendship and decide how far they are willing to go to preserve the lives they have so carefully constructed.
What I recently finished reading:
“It is not often that a man steps through a doorway knowing that he has just made the best and worst decision of his entire life.” So declares notorious criminal, Vazeer the Lash, at the start of A Dream of Shadows. Raised in Hell’s Labyrinth, the corrupt city where crime and violence are the order of the day, Vazeer has lived on a knife’s edge his entire adult life working as a contract smuggler. Having turned himself into an educated man, Vazeer longs to retire from his nefarious career, which has always been at odds with the more cultured side of his personality.
His chance comes when he is paid a fortune to bring down The Raving Blade, one of Hell’s Labyrinth’s most infamous and sadistic power brokers. Vazeer joins a rogue’s gallery of expert Shadow Bidders, each a master of a unique set of unsavory skills, to complete one last contract. Among them are a brilliant actress who finds herself playing a key role in a criminal world where she doesn’t belong, and a calm, mysterious assassin, who draws events ever forward towards a series of increasingly dire consequences.
With life and death hanging in the balance, a dangerous romance unfolds. Secrets are revealed and violence erupts, irreversibly blurring the line between good and evil.
Perfect for fans of George RR Martin, Joe Abercrombie, and Patrick Rothfuss, A Dream of Shadows marks the start of a thrilling new literary fantasy series from Peter Eliott.
What I think I will read next:
“A stunning display of relationships, suffering under the weight of grief and broken hearts. An emotional journey that Einerson has been able to masterfully achieve through flashbacks and character interactions that are raw. A real portrayal of how love can both heal and hurt you.”
A tragedy brought them together as teens, and then fate tore them apart. After fifteen years, can the pain and secrets of the past be forgiven to rekindle a once-in-a-lifetime love?
As a teen, Milo Covell’s life was destroyed when his mother was killed and his father was imprisoned for causing her death. His first love, Olivia Dunham, was the only beacon that brought his soul back into the light, promises of forever whispered under the stars creating an unbreakable bond—until the night Milo left Olivia heartbroken and alone.
When an unexpected phone call draws Milo back to New York, he’s forced to face the ghosts of the past he left behind fifteen years ago. Finding his estranged father, Mac, losing his battle with cancer, Milo is overcome with anger and betrayal when he discovers the girl he once loved has befriended the man who destroyed his life.
As Olivia struggles with her grief at the thought of losing Mac, she must also confront the man who abandoned her in her greatest time of need, leaving her life in pieces.
Brought together by fate during this trying time, the two must face hard truths, unshared secrets, and long-forgotten feelings.
Is their teenage love strong enough to span the decades and heal old wounds, or is the pain of the past too powerful to be forgiven and forgotten?
In love they breathed. In destiny they believed. In the end, will divinity be their demise?
After Séverin’s seeming betrayal, the crew is fractured. Armed with only a handful of hints, Enrique, Laila, Hypnos and Zofia must find their way through the snarled, haunted waterways of Venice, Italy to locate Séverin.
Meanwhile, Séverin must balance the deranged whims of the Patriarch of the Fallen House and discover the location of a temple beneath a plague island where the Divine Lyre can be played and all that he desires will come to pass.
With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself… but at a price they may not be willing to pay.
Returning to the dark and glamorous 19th century world of her New York Times instant bestseller, The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi dazzles us with the final riveting tale as full of mystery and danger as ever.
Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why — or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.
To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch — and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
Leticia I know a piece of fine art when I see one. That’s why I’m drawn to Carter. His seductive gaze and stunning physique have been rendered in exquisite detail. The stress of my new job as head curator for a leading museum has me aching for relief. When I lock eyes with Carter on the dance floor, I know he’ll get the job done. I take him back to my apartment for one wild, unforgettable night. But, come Monday morning, Carter’s still under me… working under me as my new assistant.
Carter Life hasn’t been kind to me. I’ve loved and I’ve lost. Now my daughter and my art are the most important things in my life. Until I meet Leticia at my best friend’s bachelor party. She’s a masterpiece of strength, beauty, wit, and grace. She’s also my new boss. I know that I should stay away, but my body betrays me every time I look at her. She thinks she can resist my charms. I’ll show her who’s boss. But is there enough room in her heart for me and my daughter?
This is a full length standalone romance novel with a happily ever after (HEA), no cliffhanger and no cheating.
Family. The Channon legacy entails keeping a well-guarded secret safe until the time arrives to face the psychopath bent on imprisoning psychics, studying genetic mutations for the purpose of creating an army, and dominating the world.
The psychopath is Brianna’s brother, a psychic with a following of murderous spirits and trained mercenaries.
Through the years, Nicholai Semenov has overseen a group of psychics intent on ensuring safety and peace among their kind. After discovering one of his team is a shifter, the group expands to include the entire pack.
Join the warriors in this final chapter as they take on the Order of Assassins and warrior ghosts determined to control the fate of humanity.
On screen, they’re in love. Off screen, they can’t stand each other. Two co-stars with a complex history reunite to film the final season of a beloved paranormal drama in this tension-filled will they won’t they romance from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood.
Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are madly in love— at least, their characters are. As the stars of the hit paranormal TV show Intangible, they spent years pining for each other on-screen… until Lilah ditched the show at the end of season five in hopes of becoming a film star. With no such luck, she’s back to film the much-hyped ninth and final season, in which their characters will get together at last.
But coming back means facing one of the biggest reasons she left: Shane. Ever since their secret behind-the-scenes fling imploded at the end of the first season, the two of them have despised each other.
Now back on set together for the first time in years, with the world’s eyes on them and their post-show careers on the line, they’ll have to grit their teeth and play nice. But under pressure to give Intangible’s fans the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, Lilah and Shane are forced to get closer than ever. And if they’re not careful, they just might get blindsided by one final twist: a real-life happy ending of their own.
Mel and Dev are no longer a couple, but they run Blackhawk Security together. When being around Dev becomes too painful, she buys him out.
Dev knows she’s going after her old CIA boss Kingsley, so Dev makes her a deal – if she accepts his help on this last job, he’ll walk away.
But Kingsley is slippery. After he murders one man and almost kills a young woman, they realize he has a well-planned escape.
Can Mel and Dev stop him? Or will Kingsly eliminate them first?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a place to meet up and share what you have been, and are about to be reading over the week. It’s a great post to organize yourself. It’s an opportunity to visit and comment and add to your groaning TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.
Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! a kid-litfocus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle-grade novels, young adult novels, or anything in those genres – join them.
Compared to the previous week, last week was pretty low-key. Like last week, I am going to bullet point the highlights.
The top of my street is still closed, but it hasn’t stopped people from driving around the barriers to get to the main street. I heard a huge bang on Thursday and found out from a neighbor (who was walking in the area) that the car drove around the barriers and hit the curbs still in place. Which in turn wrecked their tires and scraped up the underside of their car. My neighbor said the person driving was screaming about suing the DoT and the city. Sigh….can’t fix stupid.
Miss R is cantering over cross-rails in horseback riding. Her lessons kept getting moved around, but her trainer and I decided that Wednesday at 5 pm is perfect. The sun’s going down (so the horses won’t overheat) and Miss R won’t get sunburnt.
Mr. Z broke the chain on his Herbst device Thursday night and the orthodontist wasn’t open until today. I still don’t know how he broke it.
I made a Creamy Kitchen Garden Pasta on Wednesday and Maggie’s Ranch Chicken on Friday. The kids loved both. Click on the links to be taken to the recipe. FYI: I found a quick, easy way to make honey mustard dip on the chicken recipe. Take the glaze recipe, add cornstarch and water, and bam, dipping sauce.
So, that’s my catch-up. Anything exciting or different happen this week?
Here is what I am planning on reading this week. Please let me know if you have read or are planning to read any of these books.
What I am Reading Now:
“It is not often that a man steps through a doorway knowing that he has just made the best and worst decision of his entire life.” So declares notorious criminal, Vazeer the Lash, at the start of A Dream of Shadows. Raised in Hell’s Labyrinth, the corrupt city where crime and violence are the order of the day, Vazeer has lived on a knife’s edge his entire adult life working as a contract smuggler. Having turned himself into an educated man, Vazeer longs to retire from his nefarious career, which has always been at odds with the more cultured side of his personality.
His chance comes when he is paid a fortune to bring down The Raving Blade, one of Hell’s Labyrinth’s most infamous and sadistic power brokers. Vazeer joins a rogue’s gallery of expert Shadow Bidders, each a master of a unique set of unsavory skills, to complete one last contract. Among them are a brilliant actress who finds herself playing a key role in a criminal world where she doesn’t belong, and a calm, mysterious assassin, who draws events ever forward towards a series of increasingly dire consequences.
With life and death hanging in the balance, a dangerous romance unfolds. Secrets are revealed and violence erupts, irreversibly blurring the line between good and evil.
Perfect for fans of George RR Martin, Joe Abercrombie, and Patrick Rothfuss, A Dream of Shadows marks the start of a thrilling new literary fantasy series from Peter Eliott.
Books I plan on reading later this week:
Desperate Housewives meets The Couple Next Door in a chilling story of murder and intrigue set in a well-to-do DC suburb.
Sometimes the darkest acts occur in the most beautiful houses…
When Alexis and her husband Sam buy a neglected Cape Cod house in an exclusive DC suburb, they are ecstatic. Sam is on the cusp of making partner at his law firm, Alexis is pregnant with their second child, and their glamorous neighbors welcome the couple with open arms. Things are looking up, and Alexis believes she can finally leave her troubled past behind.
But the neighborhood’s picture-perfect image is shattered when their neighbor Teddy – a handsome, successful father of three – is found dead on the steep banks of the Potomac River. The community is shaken, and as the police struggle to identify and apprehend the killer, tension in the neighborhood mounts and long-buried secrets start to emerge.
In the midst of the turmoil, Alexis takes comfort in her budding friendship with Teddy’s beautiful and charismatic widow, Blair. But as the women grow closer, the neighborhood only becomes more divided. And when the unthinkable truth behind Teddy’s murder is finally uncovered, both Blair and Alexis must reexamine their friendship and decide how far they are willing to go to preserve the lives they have so carefully constructed.
“A stunning display of relationships, suffering under the weight of grief and broken hearts. An emotional journey that Einerson has been able to masterfully achieve through flashbacks and character interactions that are raw. A real portrayal of how love can both heal and hurt you.”
A tragedy brought them together as teens, and then fate tore them apart. After fifteen years, can the pain and secrets of the past be forgiven to rekindle a once-in-a-lifetime love?
As a teen, Milo Covell’s life was destroyed when his mother was killed and his father was imprisoned for causing her death. His first love, Olivia Dunham, was the only beacon that brought his soul back into the light, promises of forever whispered under the stars creating an unbreakable bond—until the night Milo left Olivia heartbroken and alone.
When an unexpected phone call draws Milo back to New York, he’s forced to face the ghosts of the past he left behind fifteen years ago. Finding his estranged father, Mac, losing his battle with cancer, Milo is overcome with anger and betrayal when he discovers the girl he once loved has befriended the man who destroyed his life.
As Olivia struggles with her grief at the thought of losing Mac, she must also confront the man who abandoned her in her greatest time of need, leaving her life in pieces.
Brought together by fate during this trying time, the two must face hard truths, unshared secrets, and long-forgotten feelings.
Is their teenage love strong enough to span the decades and heal old wounds, or is the pain of the past too powerful to be forgiven and forgotten?
In love they breathed. In destiny they believed. In the end, will divinity be their demise?
After Séverin’s seeming betrayal, the crew is fractured. Armed with only a handful of hints, Enrique, Laila, Hypnos and Zofia must find their way through the snarled, haunted waterways of Venice, Italy to locate Séverin.
Meanwhile, Séverin must balance the deranged whims of the Patriarch of the Fallen House and discover the location of a temple beneath a plague island where the Divine Lyre can be played and all that he desires will come to pass.
With only ten days until Laila expires, the crew will face plague pits and deadly masquerades, unearthly songs and the shining steps of a temple whose powers might offer divinity itself… but at a price they may not be willing to pay.
Returning to the dark and glamorous 19th century world of her New York Times instant bestseller, The Gilded Wolves, Roshani Chokshi dazzles us with the final riveting tale as full of mystery and danger as ever.
Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why — or even who Tobias Hawthorne is.
To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch — and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
Leticia I know a piece of fine art when I see one. That’s why I’m drawn to Carter. His seductive gaze and stunning physique have been rendered in exquisite detail. The stress of my new job as head curator for a leading museum has me aching for relief. When I lock eyes with Carter on the dance floor, I know he’ll get the job done. I take him back to my apartment for one wild, unforgettable night. But, come Monday morning, Carter’s still under me… working under me as my new assistant.
Carter Life hasn’t been kind to me. I’ve loved and I’ve lost. Now my daughter and my art are the most important things in my life. Until I meet Leticia at my best friend’s bachelor party. She’s a masterpiece of strength, beauty, wit, and grace. She’s also my new boss. I know that I should stay away, but my body betrays me every time I look at her. She thinks she can resist my charms. I’ll show her who’s boss. But is there enough room in her heart for me and my daughter?
This is a full length standalone romance novel with a happily ever after (HEA), no cliffhanger and no cheating.
2023 Monthly Themes (Continue a series or reread an author already read this year): Claim My Baby—Finished 3-31-23
Romanceopoly 2023! (Read a book where the main character works at or owns a bar)-About Love—Finished 4-1-23
Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023 (words in the title related to emotions, from happy to sad, smile to frown, pride to rage)—P.S. I Hate You—Finished 4-3-23
2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (a book with one of these words in the title: Sunny, Bright, Cloud or Rain): Brightest Shadow—Finished 4-6-2023
Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (a flower): A Spirited Manor—Finished 4-7-2023
The StoryGraph’s OnBoarding Reading Challenge 2023 (read one of the first 10 books you added to your to-read pile): The Night Swim—Finished 4-8-2023
The StoryGraph Reads the World 2023 (Italy): Find Me—Finished 4-10-2023
The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge (a biography about someone you don’t know much about): Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot—Finished 4-11-2023
Beat the Backlist 2023 (take place primarily in winter or a cold region): Tainted—Finished 4-19-2023
Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (go to the acknowledgments of the last book you read for this prompt. What name did you first see? Find a book written by an author with that name): Frost Burn—Finished 4-20-2023
Scavenger Hunt (Book I found that day): Delicate Ink—Finished 4-20-2023
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (a book by a first time author): The Fifth Floor—Finished 4-21-23
2023 TBR Toppler (continue a series): Ten Thousand Lies—Finished 4-22-23
2023 Reading Challenge (book that has been on my TBR for the longest time): Purple Death—Finished 4-23-23
2023 ABC Challenge (D): Descendants—Carrying over to May
2023 TBR Prompts (A BookTok Favorite): The Song of Achilles—Carrying over to May