4.5/5

Cleric Chih finds themself in the middle of a story instead of the one telling the stories. This novella had more of an element of horror than the others in the series as monsters reveal themselves and Chih begins to ask questions. It was a really good read, and I continue to love this series.

4/5

I loved this conclusion to the Clocktaur Wars. Many of the twists continued to surprise me. And as always, I love anytime Gnolls show up in T. Kingfisher's White Rat books.

3/5

When Rosie and her sister go for a spa day, the last thing she expects is to be trapped in a float pod and to make a connection with the firefighter who rescues her. This is a very short story that just focuses on these two characters meeting. I found Rosie a little annoying, but I think it's hard to get a lot of personality into such a short story.

It is free if you have amazon prime, but it's so short I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.

4.5/5

This novella picks up where the last left off, with Reid arriving at Howse university, but the question of why Howse is inviting outsiders in still needs to be answered. I loved how this book delved into isolationism and in a climate crisis what societal values are and are not utopian. I enjoyed learning a little more about CAD in this novella, but I hope the series continues because I certainly have more questions about this world.

e-book: We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed
audiobook: The Wonder Engine by T. Kingfisher

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

4/5

I really enjoyed this conclusion to the Bright Falls series. Iris has writer's block, so when there's an opportunity to fake date Stevie and practice some romance for inspiration, she figures nothing can go wrong.

Iris Kelly was desperate.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

4.5/5

The monster Shesheshen is awoken early from her hibernation by monster hunters and forced to into a fight that leads her straight to Homily. Homily is a kind woman who helps Shesheshen recover from her wounds with secrets of her own.

This was is a fantasy horror told from the perspective of the monster, who learns monsters aren't the most monstrous thing in this world. It was full of twists that I really enjoyed.

3.5/5

After 200+ lives, Davi is tired of failing to defeat the Dark Lord on behalf of the Kingdom. She decides it's time for a new strategy. In this life, she's going to become the Dark Lord, since she'll just reset at the beginning again when she dies.

I thought this was a very fun read with a strong narrative voice, but it still created a interesting world that left me full of questions and anxiously anticipating the next book in the series.

#bookspin: Rosie and the Dreamboat by Sally Thorne

#doublebookspin: We Speak Through the Mountain by Premee Mohamed

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

5/5

When Gav wakes up surrounded by fire in a dark wizard's lair, he panics. When Gav realizes that he is the dark wizard, he panics more. Now Gav's got to figure his way through this situation with a castle full of goblins, a princess in his dungeon, and no memories of who he is.

This was an incredibly fun read. Gav is a fantastic character grappling with what it means to be someone who was evil but is now trying to be something a little better

This was a hard one because I had three 5 star reads this month (Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, and Bride by Ali Hazelwood), but Here We Go Again talked about grief so beautifully and made me cry, so it gets the spot for March.

readingbracket2024 #bookbracket2024 @CSeydel

I managed 3 bingos in March!

#bookspin #doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

My theme for April is novellas and audiobooks, since I know once my baby arrives in the next week or two I won't have the time or focus for any other kind of reading.

#bookspin #doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

audiobook: Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
ebook: Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

5/5

Long time rivals Logan and Rosemary are forced to spend a summer together when their dying mentor ask them both to take him on a final road trip across the country. Along the way they find out that maybe they've misunderstood each other and themselves for too long.

This book was wonderful and heartbreaking. I absolutely loved Joe, Rosemary, and Logan and their trip across the country.

Each year when Shesheshen hibernated, she dreamed of her childhood nest.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

4.5/5

The crew of the Ambit find themselves in the middle of galaxy wide conspiracy, and they've got to find a way to stop it before more planets and their inhabitants die.

I love found family on a spaceship. This was a fun sci-fi adventure with a great cast of characters.

4/5

When Athena's left with a broken off engagement and a spite house in-between her ex-fiance and his brother's houses, she's ready to extract some revenge. But the more she learns about her ex's brother, the more difficult revenge becomes.

CW: realistic depiction of depressive episode and historical infant death (I probably should have passed on this one while pregnant, it made me cry way more than I expected)

4.5/5

I thought this was a great conclusion to this duology. Even as the avatars of New York have survived their first battle, the Woman in White is still out there in her terrible otherworldly city hovering above Staten Island. The avatars still have to figure out how to save their city and the world from multidimensional horrors.

print book: The World We Make by N.K. Jemisin
audiobook: Cascade Failure by L.M. Sagas

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

“Call me Neek.
No, I'm not hunting no fucking whale. Giant squid, maybe.“

#firstlinefridays @shybookowl

3.5/5

This is a very interesting look at language used within Black culture. I really appreciated the context that was added to different phrases, and the intersectionality with the language within Black LGBTQIA+ culture. The book also touches on how these phrases have been used within American culture without the underlying cultural context.

audiobook: Running Wild by K. A. Tucker
e-book: Historically Black Phrases by jarrett hill and Tre'vell Anderson

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

5/5

Misery Lark's marriage to the werewolf alpha will cement a treaty between werewolves and vampyres, but she has her own reason for agreeing to risk her life by entering this marriage.

I devoured this book in two days. Hazelwood's first paranormal romance was super fun with a very different plot, but with a lot of the tropes she's known for using in her romcoms.

5/5

This was a fascinating read about about plants, the natural world, and indigenous culture, from the perspective of a Potawatomi scientist.

4.5/5

In order to inherit her father's estate, Cam has two choices: marry a man or disguise herself as a man so that she can inherit as his son. Cam disguises herself as a man and moves to the capital, but quickly runs into issues keeping a low profile when she enters Princess Brie's inner circle.

This is cute read about love, identity, unjust laws, and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Thanks @peanutnine for putting this on my radar!

physical book: The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich by Deya Muniz
audiobook: Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

4/5

Briar has to make a deal with a demon to save her life and ends up in another realm, married to a literal dragon man.

I needed an audiobook I could get through quickly while I was waiting on a library hold, and I knew I could count on Katee Robert. I thought this was a fun, wild read.

3/5

Three timelines from ancient China to modern LA that tell a love story that plays out across reincarnations.

There are so many motifs that are repeated through the three timelines. I think this is a book that needs multiple reads to catch everything.

I think I might have liked this a little more if it hadn't been marketed as a romance. It's definitely a fantasy love story,. I read the ending as hopeful, but it's open to interpretation.

4/5

Emily's sister Amy is sick, and Emily is desperate to make enough money to provide the care she needs. So desperate, that she pretends to be Amy and takes the governess position her sister was hired for, despite the fact that Emily doesn't know the first thing about educating children. Emily gets pulled in further and further to the lives of the staff, the children, and Captain Edwards.

ebook: The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
audiobook: Trouble by Lex Croucher

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

#bookspin: Trouble by Lex Croucher
##doublebookspin: Running Wild by K.A. Tucker

#bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

February #ISpyBingo didn't quite manage a bingo, but still had fun participating.

@clwojick @thearomaofbooks

I had a great reading month in February and managed to get 4 bingos!

#bookspin #doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

I had the 4.5 star reads in February (What Feasts at Night, Paladin's Faith, and Shark Heart), but I think Shark Heart is the one that will stick with me for the longest. But it didn't quite manage to beat The Heiress.

#readingbracket2024 #bookbracket2024 @CSeydel

March #bookspin list

#doublebookspin #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

3.5/5

This strange, speculative story takes place immediately after a nuclear disaster where a group of wealthy people have pre-paid to stay in safety at a hotel. The narrator and the other guests become increasingly disconnected from the world outside the hotel as they face censorship and their inability to adjust psychologically to what has happened. It's a quick and unsettling read told from the perspective of an unreliable narrator.

4/5

After a necromancer is found dead under mysterious circumstances, Felipe and Oliver are drawn into a new case as they also navigate Felipe's reanimation and their relationship.

I had a little more trouble getting into this one, but I thought the ending was very good, and I think it set up some interesting things for the next book to dig into.

ebook: The Reanimator's Soul by Kara Jorgensen
audiobook: Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

4.5/5

I loved this sequel to What Moves the Dead that moves away from the retelling of The Fall of the House of Usher and into a reimagining of European mythical creatures. Just like the first book, it's very atmospheric and gothic. I thought it took slightly longer to get as unsettling as What Moves the Dead, but when it did it was fantastic. I would happily read about Alex Easton's interactions with mythical creatures again and again.

Salt water and blood taste the same. She'd never thought of that until now, until she was drowning in both, blood gushing from the wound in her temple, the sea rushing into her mouth. Both are warm, tangy. Both threaten to consume her.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

ebook: The Reanimator's Soul Kara Jorgensen
audiobook: What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

Herman Judd awoke in the dark. For a long moment, he lay there, distantly wondering if he was dead and staring into blackness was all the afterlife had to offer

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

4/5

Another wonderful romance from Anita Kelly. Julie has never really known what her identity is within the LGBTQ+ community, but when her childhood crush walks into the gym where she coaches a high school basketball team, she's ready to try to figure out who she is and what she really wants in her life.

4.5/5

This is a book about change and grief and love and family and motherhood. It was both sad and hopeful. While there are many characters, it centers around Wren whose life is transformed when her husband begins to turn into a great white shark. Habeck doesn't shy away from the horrors of a world where humans can transform into other creatures, but it's not about the horror, but about the lives people live through devastating change.

ebook: How You Get the Girl by Anita Kelly
audiobook: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck

#weekendreads @rachelsbrittain

LEWIS: In the early days after I left New York, I would ruminate, doubt all my choices. But when I met you, I began to thank my failure. Maybe failing was a kind of miracle. Maybe everything happened just right.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

4/5

Marguerite is back with a mission the White Rat is interested in, and she could use the help of a paladin, specifically Shane, who struggles with having lost two gods.

I wish this book had more directly tied into the big reveal at the end of Paladin's Hope, but it did continue to give some insight into what happened to the Saint of Steel ,and how gods and paladins work in this universe. I look forward to where this series continues to go.

4/5

A fun audio novella sequel to The Unhoneymooners. This time Ami is in Maui for Ethan and Olive's wedding, which she's planning with the help of the very cute best man, Brody. Now it's Ami's chance for a tropical romance.

It was a fun short read, and I was glad Ami got a chance at love.