June 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted/bought in June.

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 Purchase
ARC from Crooked Lane Books
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
ARC from St. Martin’s Press
Non-ARC from author
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
Non-ARC from author
Free Kindle Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Free Kindle Purchase
Non-ARC from author
Kindle Purchase
Kindle Purchase
Kindle Unlimited Purchase
Kindle Purchase
ARC from St. Martin’s Press
Non-ARC from author
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Non-ARC from author
Non-ARC from author
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
Non-ARC from author
KU Purchase
Non-ARC from author
KU Purchase
ARC from author

Books I got from NetGalley:

Invite from Atria Books
Invite from St. Martin’s Press
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
ARC from SMP Influencer Program
Invite from Crooked Lane Books
ARC from SMP Influencer Program
Wish granted from Soho Press, Soho Teen
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

Non ARC from author
Non-ARC from author
ARC from Author
ARC from Author
ARC from Author
Non-ARC from PubVendo

Giveaway Winners


Books Reviewed:

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer—review here (5 stars)

Kill Your Darlings by L.E. Harper—review here (5 Stars)

Her Latent Charm by Dana C. Brentson—review here (4 stars)

The New Mother by Nora Murphy —review here (3 stars)

Skyseeker’s Princess by Miriam Verbeek—review here (4 stars)

A Clue in the Crumbs by Lucy Burdette—review coming August 8th (4 stars)

The Wind Knows My Name by Isabel Allende—review here (4 stars)

Identity by Nora Roberts—review here (4 stars)

The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop—review here (4 stars)

The Celine Bower Story: Chronicle One by Carly Brown—review here (4 stars)

The Moonshine Messiah: A Mountaineer Mystery by Russell W. Johnson—review here (4 stars)

A Crown of Ivy and Glass by Claire Legrand—review here (4 stars)

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding—review here (3 stars)

A Stolen Child by Sarah Stewart Taylor—review here (4 stars)

Sally Brady’s Italian Adventure by Christina Lynch—review here (4 stars)

You Can Trust Me by Wendy Heard—review here (4 stars)

Jam Run by Russell Brooks—review here (4 stars)

How the Murder Crumbles by Debra Sennefelder—review here (3 stars)

Hotel Laguna by Nicola Harrison—review here (4 stars)

A Dream of Shadows by Peter Eliott—review here (4 stars)

What the Neighbors Saw by Melissa Adelman—review here (3 stars)

Forgive or Forget Me by Ann Einerson—review here (3 stars)

Shadowed Deliverance by Reily Garrett—review here (4 stars)

Will They or Won’t They by Ava Wilder—review here (3 stars)

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.

Let’s Play a Game by Lindsay Murray (free Kindle purchase)

The Girl in the Scarlet Chair by Janice Tremayne (free Kindle purchase)

How to Rope a Wild Cowboy by Anya Summers (free Kindle purchase)

Romancing the Princess by C.K. Brooke (free Kindle purchase)

My Twist of Fortune by Piper Rayne (free Kindle purchase)

Grace on the Horizon by Emma Lombard (free Kindle purchase)

A Girl with A Knife by Alina Rubin (free Kindle purchase)

Stone Heart by Katee Robert (free Kindle purchase)

Dead Draw by Layla Reyne (free Kindle purchase)

A Quest of Heroes by Morgan Rice (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

In Her Defense by Margaret Watson (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Fencing You In by Cheyenne McCray (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Strip Search by Erin McCarthy (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Bad Night Stand by Elise Faber (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Her Morning Star by Violet Cowper (free Kindle purchase via Goodreads newsletter)

Her Venetian Beauty by Violet Cowper (free Kindle purchase via series)

Slashtag by John Cohn (free Kindle purchase via blog post)

White Lines by Tom Fowler (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Tempt Me at Midnight by Lauren Royal (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Okami by Renee Ahdieh (free Kindle purchase via series)

Danger’s Kiss by Glynnis Campbell (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Count Your Blessings by Sharon Sala (free Kindle purchase via series)

The Lightness of Water by Toni Cabell (free Kindle purchase via blog post)

The Final Play by Amie Knight (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Reckoning by Shelby Gunter (free Kindle purchase via series)

Opposites Attract by Camilla Isley (free Kindle purchase via series)

Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic by Meghan Ciana Doidge (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Fireball by Lainey Davis (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

The Art of Stealing a Duke’s Heart by Ellie St. Clair (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

Seven Sisters by M.L. Bullock (free Kindle purchase via Goodreads newsletter)

P.S. Never in a Million Years by J.S. Cooper (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

In Too Deep by Mara Jacobs (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

This is War by Kennedy Fox (free Kindle purchase via BookBub)

June 2023 TBR

Here is what I am planning on reading for June. Please let me know if you have read any of these and what you thought of them!!


NetGalley


Indie Authors/Publishers


Reading Challenges:

Bookish Travels—April 2023 Destinations

I saw this meme on It’s All About Books and 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.


Earth 2

Government, Settlement

United States

New York (Crescent Cove), Nevada (Las Vegas)
Maryland (Pikesville)
California (Los Angeles)
Washington (Seattle)
New York (Seneca Springs)
Colorado (Longmont)
Kansas (Liverly)
Indiana (English), California (San Fransisco), Virginia (Perryville), Arizona (Tombstone), New York (New York City)
North Carolina (Neapolis)
New York (Manhattan), California (Newport Beach, Balboa Island, Newport, Menlo Park, Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta)
Louisiana (Unknown city), Rhode Island (Emerald Bay)
Unknown State (Unknown City)
New York (New York City, New Rochelle)
Wyoming (Wallace), Iowa (Fort Madison)
West Virginia (Huntington), Ohio (Crown City)
Pennsylvania
California (Mojave Desert, Aspen Flats, Pasatiempo, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Aptos, Pajaro Dunes)
Southern California, Arizona
Colorado (Denver, Arvada)
Illinois (Chicago, Downers Grove)
Connecticut (Wingate)
New York (New York City, Brooklyn)

Western Foalinaarc

University of Western Foalinaarc

England

Unknown City
Regency London, Kingsclere, Amesbury, Bath
Oxford
Richmond-on-Thames, London, Birmingham, Guildford, Penzance
Oxford
Colchester, London

Hell


Train

Pan Pacifica

The Czech Republic

Prague

Italy

Florence, Rome, Tuscany

France

Paris

Post Apocalyptic Earth

ARC (fall-out shelter), Hope City

Ukraine


The Netherlands

Amsterdam

Canada

Toronto, Niagara Falls

South Korea

Seoul

Malta


Island States

Prospera, Annex, Nursery Isle

Kenya

Nairobi

April 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted in April.

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:

ARC from author
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Non-ARC from Novel Cause
Non-ARC from Novel Cause
ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca
ARC from author, Level Best Books, IBPA, Member’s Titles
Free Kindle Purchase—No review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Non-ARC from author
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Amazon Prime Reads—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press
Non-ARC from Author
Non-ARC from Author
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ARC from Sourcebooks Fire
Non ARC from author
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
ARC from author
ARC from Crooked Lane Books
ARC from Sourcebooks Casablanca
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback

Books I got from NetGalley:

Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Read Now from Tor Publishing Group, Tor Books
Wish Granted from Sourcebooks Casablanca
Wished Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Delacorte Press
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, Random House Trade Paperbacks
SMP Influencer Program pick from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Random House, The Dial Group
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
Request from Meryl Media Group, Rosewind Books

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

Non-Arc from author
ARC from Novel Cause
ARC from author
Non ARC from author
Non-ARC from author
Non-ARC from author
ARC from Author

Giveaway Winners

Goodreads Giveaway—Kindle download
Goodreads Giveaway—Paperback
Goodreads Giveaway—Paperback
Goodreads Giveaway—Paperback

Books Reviewed:

The Witch and the Vampire—review here

Prince of Typgar: Nurjan and the Monks of Meirar—review here

Read to Death at the Lakeside Library—review here

Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose—review here

Body Count by SM Thomas—review here

Prince of Typgar: Nujran and the Corpse in the Quadrangle by Krishna Sudhir—review here

Wings Once Cursed and Bound by Piper J. Drake—review here

No Time to Breathe by Lori Duffy Foster—review here

Another Chance at Happiness by Dani Phoenix—review here

Tales from the Box, Volume 1 by Weston Kincaide—review here

Pieces of Me by Kate McLaughlin—review here

Where Coyotes Howl by Sandra Dallas—review here

Bait by D.I. Jolly—review here

Missing by Amy Kulp—review here

How to Best a Marquess—review here

This Delicious Death—review here


Reading Challenges:

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 LoveFinished 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

WWW Wednesday: April 5th, 2023

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 Recently Finished Reading:

This is the second in the Prince of Typgar series, the much-anticipated sequel to Nujran and the Monks of Meirar. At the end of the first book, we left Nujran as a teenager who has learned much through his journeys alongside his teacher Amsibh. He experienced romance, conflict, friendship, betrayal, and loss. He grew up along the way.
We begin the second book on the sprawling campus of the prestigious University of Western Foalinaarc, where a body has just been discovered. Who is this girl, and why is she dead? Could it be linked to the mysterious illness sweeping the campus and plaguing the teaching community? Why does Amsibh come to the school, and what does he need to protect Nujran from? Through what twist of fate is Nujran reunited with his old friends, the Monks of Meirar? And why does Nujran end up being a captive again?
The stakes are higher than ever before, with fugitives on the run, turbulence on the university campus, a new romance, a bizarre kidnapping, a perilous escape from prison, and a rescue mission where things don’t quite go as planned. Corpse in the Quadrangle is another fast-paced adventure that will hold young readers spellbound!


What I am currently reading:

For fans of Sarah J. Maas and Jennifer Armentrout comes a bold and captivating fantasy by bestselling author Piper J. Drake.

My wings unbound, I am the Thai bird princess
The kinnaree
And no matter the cost,
I will be free.

Bennet Andrews represents a secret organization of supernatural beings dedicated to locating and acquiring mythical objects, tucking them safely away where they cannot harm the human race. When he meets Peeraphan Rahttana, it’s too late—she has already stepped into The Red Shoes, trapped by their curse to dance to her death.

But Bennet isn’t the only supernatural looking for deadly artifacts. And when the shoes don’t seem to harm Peeraphan, he realizes that he’ll have to save her from the likes of creatures she never knew existed. Bennett sweeps Peeraphan into a world of myth and power far beyond anything she ever imagined. There, she finds that magic exists in places she never dreamed—including deep within herself.


What books I think I’ll read next:

Journalist Lisa Jamison wants to blow off some steam after an argument with her boyfriend, so she heads to her friend Ricky’s kickboxing studio for an early morning workout. She expects to find Ricky alone, setting up for his first class of the day, but someone was there before Lisa, uninvited. Ricky is dead, shot only moments before she arrived, and now Lisa is a suspect in his murder. Lisa wants two things: to clear her name and seek justice for Ricky. But the deeper she digs, the more the danger mounts. Can she find Ricky’s killer before the killer eliminates the last obstacle, silencing Lisa for good?

Amber thought her life was perfect.

She was in love with her boyfriend Frankie, had a nice summer job at Taylor’s Book and was enrolled at Marshall University to become a teacher.

Everything was on track for the perfect life.

And then Bastian walked in. Not only was he the most handsome man Amber had ever seen, but she felt a pull that she’d never felt before.

From the very first moment she saw him he filled her every thought and made her body want things it had never had before.

After the death of his father, David Drigan wonders if he’s strong enough to lead his werewolf pack.

Then he meets Kelsey.

Blonde. Curvy. Attitude.

She makes David’s beast surface like never before. Even when she argues with him.

When Kelsey learns about David’s beast, she has to decide if she wants to live in his shadow.

Can they find the light, lost in the dark?

A grieving widow. A house with secrets. And an invitation to a seance…

When Clara O’Hare’s husband passed away, she felt her life was over. But when she moves into a new home to escape the memories, she discovers that the veil between life and death is very thin indeed.

Desperate to find answers, she attends a seance in a remote country home surrounded by a colorful cast of strangers. But something sinister has decided to make itself known. It will be up to her and the dashing young medium, Wesley Lowenherz, to find out what the spirits of the manor are dying to tell them.

Laced with gothic romance and paranormal mystery, A Spirited Manor is book one in the O’Hare House Mystery penny dreadful series.