March 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted in March.

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 Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from author
Kindle Unlimited Purchase
Free Kindle Purchase
ARC from author
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from author
ARC from author
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
Non ARC from Author (KU Purchase)
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperbacks
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Non-ARC from author
ARC from Crooked Lane Books
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books

Books I got from NetGalley:

Read Now from St. Martin’s Press
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Invite from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Invite from Level Best Books, Independent Books Publishers Association, Members Titles
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Wished granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Invite from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
Limited time Read Now from Sourcebook Casablanca
Wish granted from Sourcebooks Casablanca
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

Invite from Novel Cause
Invite from Author
Invite from Author
Invite from Author
Invite from Author
Invite from Novel Cause
Invite from author
Invite from Author
Invite from author
Invite from Novel Cause
Invite from author
Invite from Dancing Lemur Press

Giveaway Winners

Goodreads Giveaway Winner through William Morrow—Hardcover

Books Reviewed:

The Things We Do To Our Friends—review here

Too Wrong to Be Right—review here

The Shadow of Theron—review here

Mad Honey—review here

A Paroxysm of Fear—review here

The Last Lap—review here

Mr. & Mrs. Witch—review here

Missing Clarissa—review here

What Have We Done—review here

Off the Map—review here

Solomon’s Crown—review here

For Our Soul—review here

AI—review here

Not That Kind of Ever After—review here

The Fake—review here

Peril in Paradise—review here

Yours Truly, The Duke—review here

Hotel of Secrets—review here


Reading Challenges

Buzzword Reading Challenge (words in the title like secret, secretive, secrets)—A Dangerous SecretFinished 3-6-2023

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (A book with one of these words in the title: Ice, Snow, Flurry, or Blizzard)—Ice—Finished 3-6-2023

Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023 (Food)—The Obituary Society—Finished 3-10-2023

The StoryGraph’s Onboarding Reading Challenge (read a book from your StoryGraph recommendations)—Beautiful DemonsFinished 3-10-2023

The StoryGraph Reads the World (Cuba)—Of Women and Salt—Finished 3-12-2023

The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge (a sapphic romance)—She Who Became the SunFinished 3-22-2023

Beat the Backlist 2023 (about dragons or robots)—The Glow of the Dragon’s Heart—Finished 3-22-2023

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (what is the most common letter in the title of the last book you read for this challenge. Find a book with a title that starts with that letter)—Even the Moon has Scars—Finished 3-23-2023

Scavenger Hunt (the prettiest book in your TBR)—The Watchmaker’s Daughter—Finished 3-23-2023

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (A book about a vacation)—The SwapFinished 3-24-2023

2023 TBR Toppler (the first book in a series)—The Last Artifact—Finished 3-26-23

2023 Monthly Themes (March of the Memoirs)—In the Dream House—Finished 3-1-23

2023 Reading Challenge (A book in a series you already started)—Catching Fire—Finished 3-27-23

2023 ABC Challenge (C)—Contained—Finished 3-6-2023

Romanceopoly 2023 (Killer crescent: read a mystery or thriller of your choosing)—Malevolent—Finished 3-1-23

2023 TBR Prompts (a book written about women in STEM or a book with a strong female lead)—Vicious DelightsFinished 3-28-2023

The Shadow of Theron by Kathryn Troy

Publisher: City Owl Press

Date of publication: February 28th, 2023

Genre: Fantasy

Publication Links: Kindle | B&N | Kobo

Trigger Warnings: Death, Torture, Rape

Goodreads Synopsis:

The powers of old are fading. A new Age is dawning.

Holy relics are all that remain of Theron’s sacred legend. Now those relics, the enchanted weapons forged by the Three-Faced Goddess to help Theron defeat the wicked Sorcerer Argoss, are disappearing.

Lysandro knows the village magistrate Marek is responsible, and he searches for proof disguised as the masked protector the Shadow of Theron. But when Marek wounds him with an accursed sword that shouldn’t exist, Lysandro must find a way to stop Marek from gaining any more artifacts created by the Goddess or her nemesis. The arrival of the beautiful newcomer Seraphine, with secrets of her own, only escalates their rivalry.

As the feud between Lysandro and Marek throws Lighura into chaos, a pair of priestesses seeks to recover the relics and return them to safekeeping. But the stones warn that Argoss is returning, and they must race to retrieve Theron’s most powerful weapon. But as they risk their lives for a legend, only one thing is certain. The three temples to the Goddess have been keeping secrets: not just from the faithful, but from each other.

Wheel of Time readers and fans of Sarah Maas, Saladin Ahmed, and Trudy Canavan will delight in this fantasy adventure duology infused with romance.


First Line:

It would have been a pleasant day, if not for the hanging.

The Shadow of Theron by Kathryn Troy

Holy relics, given to the hero Theron to defeat the sorcerer Argoss, have been disappearing from temples across the land. Two priestesses, one a warrior and the other a mystic, have embarked on a journey to discover where the relics are going. Meanwhile, in the coastal village of Lighura, a rivalry between a wealthy don and an evil magistrate is reaching its pinnacle. Disguised as the vigilante, the Shadow of Theron, the don will discover something more ancient and evil happening. And at the center lies the truth about Theron, the hero who killed Argoss and formed legends. Will good triumph over evil? Or will evil usher in a new age?

The Shadow of Theron took forever to get going. It was slow; when I mean slow, it tiptoed along for about half the book. Usually, that would be a strike against the book. But in this case, it worked. The author created this vibrantly vivid world (which gave me Italian/Spanish vibes) with a rich culture and complex religious system. I was enthralled by it.

The main storyline focuses on Lysandro, his rivalry with Merek, his drive to prove that Merek was stealing the relics, and his obsession with winning over Sera’s heart. It was an exciting and riveting storyline that captured my attention from the beginning and held it until the end of the book. Under his vigilante persona (which reminded me of Zorro), Lysandro stalked and gathered evidence on Merek. There were some epic battle scenes, including the one at the beginning of the book where Lysandro was almost killed by a sword shard that had only been a legend. This storyline had a neat twist when Elias (Lysandro’s father) dropped a big bombshell on him.

The storyline with the relics being stolen, Sanico, the two priestesses charged with finding them, and their journey were captivating. Of course, the author didn’t hide that Merek was behind everything. The book is told from his point of view, and it is disclosed early on. I didn’t understand why the priestesses were getting their storyline until the middle of the book. Then a lightbulb went on in my head. The author was showing how disconnected the temples were. Instead of working together, there was infighting. How does Sanico fit into this storyline? Later in the book, he witnesses a horrific act of vandalism and murder. His testimony (and his holding off on executing Merek) ushers in the book’s last part.

There is an amusing play that lightens the tone of the book. When I read it, I called it (in my head) the intermission. It was a palate cleanser for the brain and foreshadowed what would come in the book’s last half.

I liked Lysandro in The Shadow of Theron. He was a genuinely good person looking out for the best of his village. As I mentioned above, his alter ego (the Shadow of Theron) foiled Merek’s plans over and over throughout the book. I wasn’t a huge fan of his obsession with Sera, but it didn’t lessen my enjoyment of the book. Once the author brought everything together at the end, Lysandro came out on top. Not going to say what happened, but it was pretty epic!!

I had difficulty getting to know Sera during the book’s first half. The author kept everything about her on lockdown. There were hints that the king (the doge’s brother) didn’t treat her very well, but the author never explained it. As for her romance with Lysandro and her infatuation with the Shadow of Theron, I was waiting for her to put two and two together. And I didn’t blame her for her reaction. If I wasn’t sure about her at the beginning of the book, the last half put my doubts to rest. She was a freaking boss when it came to Merek. I would have been whooping up a storm for her if I wasn’t in bed.

Sanico was a central secondary character until almost the end of the book. I liked him and wanted him to succeed at what he was trying to do. So, it was a massive punch to the gut when what happened to him happened. I cried over him. It was a shame, and I was so mad that it happened.

The other major secondary characters were the two priestesses (the Examiners) tracking down the missing relics. They had an almost impossible job, and they did it well. I want to see where they will end up in book 2.

The fantasy angle of The Shadow of Theron was well written. It wasn’t over the top (not a ton of magic or mystical beasts), and the lore made the nerd in me want more. I want to read more about Theron because what was revealed at the cottage was interesting.

There is romance in The Shadow of Theron, and it is Instalove. But the way the author stretched it out was alright. Sera made Lysandro work for her heart (it wasn’t Instalove on her end).

I want to give a heads-up about the trigger warnings I included at the top of this post. This book isn’t your typical high fantasy romp. Nope, it is a dark fantasy, and it does contain dark scenes. There are scenes of graphic death (the first chapter is a man being hung), torture (Merek does it to several people throughout the book, some are graphic, some are not), and rape (Sera’s mother is raped in front of her as punishment). If any of these trigger you, I recommend not reading this book.

The end of The Shadow of Theron was insane. While I did expect what happened with Lysandro and Sera, I did not expect what was revealed after their scenes were done. My jaw dropped. It was the mother of all twists and has made me want to read more.

I would recommend The Shadow of Theron to anyone over 21. There is violence and sexual situations but no language. Also, see my trigger warning paragraph.

Many thanks to Kathryn Troy for allowing me to read and review The Shadow of Theron. All opinions stated in this book are mine.


If you enjoyed reading this review of The Shadow of Theron, then you will enjoy reading these books:

March 2023 TBR

February has flown by for me (I don’t know about you guys).


Indie Authors/Publishers

From Author
From Author
From Author

A Paroxysm of Fear by Chad Miller

From Author

NetGalley

From Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
From St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
From St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
From St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
From St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
From Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
From St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
From Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Paperbacks
From St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
From SMP, Wednesday Books

Reading Challenges:

Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023
Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge
Scavenger Hunt
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023
2023 Monthly Themes
2023 TBR Toppler
2023 Reading Challenge
Buzzword Reading Challenge 2023
2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge
The StoryGraph’s OnBoarding Reading Challenge 2023
The StoryGraph Reads the World 2023
The StoryGraph’s Genre Challange
Beat the Backlist 2023
2023 ABC Challenge
2023 TBR Prompts

Bookish Travels—February 2023 Desinations

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.


Oremanta

Tanemba, Millory, Castle

United States

Connecticut (just outside Hartford)
New York (New York City, Long Island)
New York (New York City, Brooklyn), Pennsylvania (the Poconos), Indiana(Terre Haute, Indianapolis), Missouri (St. Louis, Kansas City), Oklahoma (Tulsa, Oklahoma City), Texas (Amarillo), Arizona (Bisbee, Tucson), New Mexico (Socorro, Las Cruces)
New York (New York City)
New York (New York City, Hudson Valley)
Massachusetts (Boston)
Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh)
Pennsylvania (Oak Plains, Pittsburgh), Georgia (Mapleville)
California (Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Santa Monica)
Alaska (Juneau), California (Los Angeles), New York (New York City)
Texas (San Antonio, Fort Hope, Fredericksburg, Austin, Stonewall, Johnson City)
Washington (Whidbey)
Illinois (Chicago), Pacific Northwest (Beckett Island)
Massachusetts (Waltham, Watertown, Boston), Montana
Kansas (Bishop)
Illinois (Chicago)
Massachusetts (Pilgrim Cove)
Unknown State (Ashdale)
Maine (Chapel Green)
Texas (Williamson County, Austin), California (Orange County)
Oregon (Lake Howling)
Texas (Houston)
Illinois (Chicago, Joliet), Ohio (Mercy)
Louisiana (Mandeville)
Massachusetts (Boston), New York (New York City)
New York (Crescent Cove)

Scotland

Friar’s Ridge
Scottish Highlands, Glasgow, Ullapool, Lairg

Afghanistan

Bagram Air Force Base

Mexico


China

Beijing, Qincheng Prison, Wuhan

Zem’

Pristanograd

Rusti


England

Regency London
Unnamed English village
Oxford, London

Aiol

Pergamon, Aeolia, Malea, Aigiriossa

Shantawi

Karsh

Anatole


Russia

Moscow

Uzbekistan

Tashkent

Columbia


Lightlark


Wilding


Valcora


The Netherlands

Amsterdam, Jordaann

Switzerland

Geneva

Andras

Lighura

February 2023 Wrap Up

Here is what I read/posted in February.

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:

Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
KU Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
Bought from Amazon Prime Reading
ARC from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Ballantine Books
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Novel Cause
ARC from Blackstone Publishing
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
ARC from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Giveaway winner—No Review
Arc from author

Books I got from NetGalley:

Invite from SMP
Invite from SMP, Wednesday Books
Invite from SMP, Wednesday Books
Invite from SMP, Minotaur Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Invite from SMP, Wednesday Books
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Bantam
Invite from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Read Now from St. Martin’s Press, St. Martin’s Griffin
Invite from St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Dell
Wished granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Read now from Crooked Lane Books
Limited time Read Now from Sourcebooks Fire
Read now from St. Martin’s Press, Wednesday Books

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

From Novel Cause
From Novel Cause
From BookSirens

Giveaway Winners

Kindle—Won from Tordotcom
Kindle—Won from Goodreads

Books Reviewed:

Murder Up to Bat by Elizabeth McKenna—Review Here

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire—Review Here

The Second You’re Single by Cara Tanamachi—Review Here

Jackal by Erin E. Adams—Review Here

The Drift by C.J. Tudor—Review Here

Not Your Ex’s Hexes by April Asher—Review Here

After the Music by Elena Goudelias—Review Here

Unnatural History by Jonathan Kellerman—Review Here

Take the Lead by Alexis Daria—Review Here

Once a Killer by Margaret Watson—Review Here

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman—Review Here

The Tracks We Leave by Maggie Maxfield—Review Here

Angeline by Anna Quinn—Review Here

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah—Review Here


Reading Challenges

Buzzword Reading Challenge (Life and Death)—Death’s Queen—Finished 2-17-2023

Buzzword Reading Challenge (Verbs)—Deadly Awakening—Finished 2-18-2023

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (book with direction in title)— Southern Rocker Boy—Finished 2-20-2023

2023 Sami Parker Reads Title Challenge (book with a season in title)—Summer’s Deadly Kiss—Finished 2-18-2023

Cover Scavenger Hunt (A Door)—Kurtain Motel—Finished 1-31-2023

The StoryGraph’s Onboarding Reading Challenge 2023 (Read a book you discovered via the community page)—Fine or PunishmentFinished 2-14-2023

The StoryGraph Reads the World 2023 (Columbia)—Lightlark—Finished 2-15-2023

The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge 2023 (a nonfiction book about startups)—Lost and Founder by Rand FishkinFinished 2-2-2023

Beat the Backlist 2023 (cozy read or cover)—Her Long Walk Home—2-16-2023

Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge (What color was on the previous prompt’s book’s cover? Read a book with the complimentary color on the cover)—The Demon Deception—Finished 2-3-2023

Scavenger Hunt (book written by a man using a woman’s perspective)—When They Came—Finished 2-9-2023

Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023 (A book you bought from an independent bookstore)—The Happy ChipFinished 2-3-2023

2023 TBR Toppler (The newest book you own)—A Duke for All Seasons—Finished 2-8-2023

2023 Monthly Themes (Fantastical February)—Nostalgic Rain—Finished 1-30-2023

2023 Reading Challenge (A red book. Can have red on the cover or in the title)—My Sister and IFinished 2-8-2023

2023 ABC Challenge ( B)—The Billionaire Shifter’s Curvy Match–Finished 2-11-2023

Romanceopoly 2023 (Free Choice)—A Guide to Being Just Friends—Finished 1-21-2023

2023 TBR Prompts (A book from an author you love)—Capture Me–Finished 1-14-2023

WWW Wednesday: February 22nd, 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?


Personal:

I hope you all had a wonderful week last week. My week was interesting. Some things made me say, “Well, that will never happen again.

We took our newest kitten to the vet on Wednesday (like I said in last week’s post). It is a boy, still named Kevin, he is very healthy, and his injuries have healed up nicely. He got his first set of kitten shots and is returning in two weeks to get the other half, plus his 1-year rabies. Then we talk about neutering him. He is still pretty shy, but we have been petting him a ton, and he is slowly realizing that we aren’t humans that will hurt him.

In other cat news, Tony (my orange and white cat) has a URI. He started sneezing and coughing on Thursday/Friday, and it got worse over the weekend. I took him to the vet yesterday afternoon, diagnosed him, and put him on antibiotics. If he hasn’t stopped coughing by tomorrow, I need to let her know, and she will give him another type of antibiotic. I was also told that his shelter background will make him more susceptible to URIs.

While there, I picked her brain about something that happened on Saturday.

My son had gone into our backyard to play/hang out when he came running back in. A raccoon was in the middle of our side yard, lying face down with its butt in the air. Seeing that this was the middle of the day and it looked like it was still breathing, I made him go in, advised my other kids NOT to go outside, and called the police. When the police officer arrived, he tried to get it to move. All it did was move its butt from side to side and try to lunge at him. I was told it would be Monday before Animal Control would be out (they have weekends off), and while I wasn’t thrilled, I understood. The cop’s supervisor’s boss wasn’t as understanding and lit a fire under AC’s butt (because numerous kids are in the neighborhood). They were out within the hour to get it. The AC officer told me it was either rabies or distemper, but we would never know because they were putting the raccoon down as soon as they got back to the shelter and wouldn’t test it because it didn’t bite anyone.

So, I asked my vet about distemper and how it was spread. She was intrigued (she did wildlife management before becoming a regular vet) and will get back to me. We feed two community cats (a big gray one-eyed tom cat and a small black tom cat), and I am worried about them getting it.

My kids had a four-day weekend last week, which I enjoyed. I liked catching up on sleep.

Monday (and I know I am all over the place with this post), I got an automated phone call from the school. Some dipshit emailed a threat to the main email account of our school system. The superintendent immediately put all nine schools on a code yellow lockdown (kids were not allowed to leave their classrooms/visitors were not allowed in or out of the school/police escorted all children out of the school to vehicles if dismissed). The lockdown was lifted around 2 pm except for the high schools. My older kids said there were police escorting the kids to and from the shuttles and, when school ended, onto the bus. They also did a staggered release, with parents being notified when the kids in that group were sent home (or needed to be picked up). I am curious to see if they find out who did it. And I am also beyond pissed off at that person.

Shows I watched this week: The Last of Us and OnPatrol Live.

What I Cooked/Baked: Nothing special this week.


Reading/Blog:

I am still ahead with my reading (yay me). But I am behind with writing reviews. Because my kids had two days off of school, I couldn’t write reviews those days. But I hope to catch up on writing them between Tuesday, today, and Thursday. Right now, I have five reviews that need to be written. Wish me luck on getting caught up.

I am also debating putting a hold on new review requests from indie authors until the summer. That way, I can catch up on all of my NetGalley reviews. I hate to do it because reviewing indie books was what I started off doing. But I do need to catch up with NetGalley. Uggh, I hate making decisions!!

I went ahead and premade my March posts on Monday. Am I the only one that is still in awe over the fact that February went by super fast?

The longest book I read this week: Was a tie between Her Long Walk Home and Death’s Queen. Both because they were tedious reads for me.

The shortest book I read this week: Summer’s Dealy Kiss. It was short, sweet, and to the point. What I like in a book.

Other Interesting Bookish News: Other than still working on my Goodreads shelves, nothing.


What I Recently Finished Reading:

Free Kindle Purchase—No Review

Reclusive. Grumpy. Irresistible.

Dr Jake McBride loves two things in life. His people, and chicken cheesy-crust pies. Returning from Iraq, he’s done with medicine and strangers… in fact life. He knows all about trauma, and plans on dealing with his, his own way. His needs are simple, solitude and working on his new career as the town recluse. The only problem with that… well two actually, are the interfering towns folk of Lake Howling, and Branna O’Donnell. He’s damn sure that her return means nothing to him… until it does!

His first mistake was kissing her. His second was doing it again.

Branna O’Donnell is burnt out and needs a place to stop running. Strange how that place is back where she’d once been happy. Settling in to small town life again comes with complications and the biggest has a serious attitude. Once the town golden boy, Jake McBride now wears a permanent snarl, not that anyone but her seems to notice the sexy doctor has changed.

Sharing a bed complicates things but no way is Jake leaving Branna alone until they find who is threatening her, and even then he’s not sure he’ll be able to walk away. He can feel himself changing, and it’s all on her, but when her past comes calling with it comes the realization that more than lust is involved. He’s not sure he can be her hero but he knows he wants to try.

If you enjoy your small town romance sizzling with a side of crazy, then Lake Howling is for you. Meet the real authority in town – the local book club – and Jake’s interfering hot friends. Swim (or skinny dip!) in the ice cold lake, then warm up with coffee and a mystery muffin at The Hoot Café. Plenty of feels and LOLS, all wrapped up in a town that will have you packing your bags to head there, from the very first page.


What I am currently reading:

Free Kindle Purchase—No Review

What would you do if you discovered your adored child wasn’t your child at all? That a mistake had been made in the hospital, and someone else took your child home, and you took theirs? This is the heartbreaking dilemma facing Abbie Bernard and Logan O’Connell — an impossible situation with no acceptable answer. Or is there? Both Abbie and Logan are desperate to protect their children and to keep their families intact. Can they find a way to keep both of their daughters? THE WRONG CHILD is a compelling, emotional and romantic story of the bonds that are stronger than blood and the choices that can only be made with the heart. Ripped from the headlines, it gained Ms. Kay thousands of new fans around the world, and was honored by The Romance Writers of America with a nomination for a RITA, its most prestigious award.


What books I think I’ll read next:

ARC from author—-review coming the week of 2-27

The powers of old are fading. A new Age is dawning.

Holy relics are all that remain of Theron’s sacred legend. Now those relics, the enchanted weapons forged by the Three-Faced Goddess to help Theron defeat the wicked Sorcerer Argoss, are disappearing.

Lysandro knows the village magistrate Marek is responsible, and he searches for proof disguised as the masked protector the Shadow of Theron. But when Marek wounds him with an accursed sword that shouldn’t exist, Lysandro must find a way to stop Marek from gaining any more artifacts created by the Goddess or her nemesis. The arrival of the beautiful newcomer Seraphine, with secrets of her own, only escalates their rivalry.

As the feud between Lysandro and Marek throws Lighura into chaos, a pair of priestesses seeks to recover the relics and return them to safekeeping. But the stones warn that Argoss is returning, and they must race to retrieve Theron’s most powerful weapon. But as they risk their lives for a legend, only one thing is certain. The three temples to the Goddess have been keeping secrets: not just from the faithful, but from each other.

ARC from Ballantine Books, review coming week of 2-27

A soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past, and what we choose to leave behind.

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising a beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, and taking over her father’s beekeeping business.

Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.

And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can’t help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can she trust him completely . . .

Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in him, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.

Mad Honey is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.

KU Purchase—Read for 2023 Monthly Themes reading challenge

For years Carmen Maria Machado has struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this extraordinarily candid and radically inventive memoir, Machado tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, as she uses a series of narrative tropes—including classic horror themes—to create an entirely unique piece of work which is destined to become an instant classic.

Free Kindle Purchase—Read for Romanceopoly 2023

From New York Times bestselling author Jana DeLeon, the first in a new thriller series.

Everyone wondered about Shaye Archer’s past. Including Shaye.

Shaye Archer’s life effectively began the night police found her in an alley, beaten and abused and with no memory of the previous fifteen years, not even her name. Nine years later, she’s a licensed private investigator, with a single goal—to get answers for her clients when there aren’t supposed to be any.

And maybe someday, answers for herself.

Emma Frederick thought her nightmare was over when she killed her abusive husband, but someone is stalking her and tormenting her with mementos from her past. With no evidence to support her claims, the police dismiss her claims as post-traumatic stress, but Shaye is convinced that someone is deliberately terrorizing Emma…playing a cat and mouse game with only one goal in mind.

To kill Emma.

February 2023 TBR

January has flown by for me (I don’t know about you guys).


Indie Authors/Publishers

From Author
From Author
From Novel Cause
From Novel Cause
From Author

NetGalley


Reading Challenges:

January 2023 Wrap Up

January was a busy reading month for me. Because of that, I could complete all my reading challenges for the month!! Woot!!

It was also a busy month, personally, for me. The highlights of this month are:

  • Miss B left her dual high school and college credits program.
  • Snickers going to the emergency vet with a bloody eye. She came home with a torn tear duct and a torn lower lid.
  • BK going back to traveling each week
  • And my not-so-great, horrible week last week.

BK and I have been watching Game of Thrones (we’re on season 7), and we started watching The Last of Us.

I have been experimenting with new cooking recipes. I made a Greek Lemon Chicken Orzo soup with Miss R last week.

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:

KU Purchase—No Review
From Author
Kindle PurchaseNo Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Publisher—Review coming February 17th
From Publisher
From Publisher
From Publisher
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
KU Purchase—No Review
From Publisher
From Author
From Publisher
From Publisher
From PublisherReview coming July 11th, 2023
KU Purchase—No Review
Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Publisher
From Publisher
From Publisher
KU purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author
From Publisher
Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Publisher—Review Coming February 2nd
From Publisher—Review coming February 3rd
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
Free Kindle Purchase—No Review
From Author—Review coming February 3rd

Books I got from NetGalley:

Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Bantam
Limited Time Read Now from SMP
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from John Hunt Publishing
Invite from SMP
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Read Now from Crooked Lane Books
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine
From SMPG
Invite from SMP
Read now from Crooked Lane Books
Wish Granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine, Del Rey
Wish granted from Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine/Del Rey
Limited Time Read Now from St. Martin’s Press/St. Martin’s Griffin
Invite from Saint Martin’s Press

Books I got from Authors/Indie Publishers:

From Author
From Author
From Novel Cause
From Author
From Author
From Author

A Paroxysm of Fear by Chad Miller

From Author

Giveaway Winners

Paperback—Won from a giveaway. Not sure which one….lol
Kindle—Won from Goodreads Giveaway
Kindle—Won from Goodreads Giveaway

Books Reviewed:

Fatal Intent by Tammy Euliano (review here)

Misfire by Tammy Euliano (review here)

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff (review here)

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman (review coming February 17th)

All the Dangerous Things by Stacy Willingham (review here)

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert (review here)

The Rom-Com Agenda by Jayne Denker (review here)

Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry (review here)

Emily Wilde’s Encylopedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett (review here)

The House in the Pines by Ana Reyes (review here)

Shadowed Visions by Reily Garrett (review here)

The Things We do to Our Friends by Heather Darwent (review coming February 27th)

The Devil You Know by P.J. Tracy (review here)

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (review coming July 11th)

A Body Washes Ashore by Bradley Pay (review here)

All Hallows by Christopher Golden (review here)

A Guide to Being Just Friends by Sophie Sullivan (review here)

One Duke Down by Anna Bennett (review here)

Murder Up to Bat by Elizabeth McKenna (review here)

Dead and Gondola by Ann Claire (review here)


Reading Challenges

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (for Cover Scavenger Hunt 2023—a bird)Finished 1-1-2023

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth (for The StoryGraph Onboarding Challenge—-Read a book with more pages than the longest book you read in 2022)—Finished 1-17-2023

Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica (for The StoryGraph Read the World—Argentina)—Finished 1-17-2023

The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O’Neill (for The StoryGraph’s Genre Challenge—a contemporary or literary fiction novel with disability rep)—Finished 1-24-2023

The Reader by M.K. Harkins (for Beat the Backlist 2023—a backlist book)—Finished 1-24-2023

The Shape of Thunder by Jasmine Warga (for Scavenger Hunt TBR Book Challenge—Read the most recently added book to your TBR)—Finished 1-3-2023

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (for Scavenger Hunt—a book written by a woman using a male perspective)—Finished 1-19-2023

The Nightmare Man by J.H. Markert (for Popsugar Reading Challenge 2023—a book you meant to read in 2022)—Finished 1-5-2023

Lost Soul by Adam J. Wright (for 2023 TBR Toppler—a TBR vet)—Finished 1-3-2023

In Our Blood by William J. Goyette (for 2023 Monthly Themes—books that make you feel cold)—Finished 1-10-2023

Before the Coffee Get Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (for 2023 Reading challenge—a translated work)Finished 1-11-2023

All Hallows by Christopher Golden (for 2023 ABC Challenge—A)—Finished 1-19-2023

The Family Game by Catherine Steadman (for Romanceopoly 2023!—read a thriller or mystery where one of the main characters are a detective or private investigator)—Finished 1-3-2023

Hello Stranger by Katherine Center (for 2023 TBR Prompts—a 5-star prediction)—Finished 1-16-23