News

I made a real effort this month to finish off some books that I’ve been reading for a long time. I finished and review The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows, which I really enjoyed despite taking quite a long break in the middle of reading.

I also finished a few shorter books and two audiobooks.

I also started playing The Sims 4 again after a very long break, and I’m really enjoying my current save file’s third generation.

Stacking The Shelves is a weekly meme created by Tynga’s Reviews and hosted by Reading Reality.
It’s all about sharing the books we’ve picked up for the week, whether they are bought, borrowed, gifted, galleys, physical or virtual.
Share your shelves and remember to visit Reading Reality to find more great books!

Purchased

In The Ravenous Dark by AM Strickland

POWER NEVER DIES…
AND NEITHER DOES DESIRE.

In Thanopolis, magic is rare – and closely controlled. Those blessed, or cursed, with power are kept under constant guard, assigned to undead spirits who watch their every move.

Ever since her father died to save her from this fate, Rovan has kept her magic a closely guarded secret – until an accident exposes her powers for the world to see, and her tenuous freedom comes crashing to an end.

Brought to the royal place against her will, and thrust into a maelstrom of intrigue and deception, Rovan is drawn to two people she cannot fully trust: Lydea, a beguiling and rebellious princess struggling against her own destiny, and Ivrilos, the handsome, powerful spirit she has been bound to, who ca control Rovan body ad soul.

Together, they uncover a terrible secret that could destroy everyone in Thanopolis – the living and the dead. To save them, Rovan will have to start a rebellion in both the mortal world and the underworld, and find a way to trust the princess and the undead spirit vying for her heart – if she doesn’t betray them first…

I saw this book was about “a pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead” and I was so intrigued I had to order it right away.

Bonesmith by Nicki Pau Preto

Gideon the Ninth meets the Game of Thrones White Walkers in this dark young adult fantasy about a disgraced ghost-fighting warrior who must journey into a haunted wasteland to rescue a kidnapped prince.

Ready your blade. Defeat the undead.

In the Dominions, the dead linger, violent and unpredictable, unless a bonesmith severs the ghost from its earthly remains. For bonesmith Wren, becoming a valkyr—a ghost-fighting warrior—is a chance to solidify her place in the noble House of Bone and impress her frequently absent father. But when sabotage causes Wren to fail her qualifying trial, she is banished to the Border Wall, the last line of defense against a wasteland called the Breach where the vicious dead roam unchecked.

Determined to reclaim her family’s respect, Wren gets her chance when a House of Gold prince is kidnapped and taken beyond the Wall. To prove she has what it takes to be a valkyr, Wren vows to cross the Breach and rescue the prince. But to do so, she’s forced into an uneasy alliance with one of the kidnappers—a fierce ironsmith called Julian from the exiled House of Iron, the very people who caused the Breach in the first place…and the House of Bone’s sworn enemy.

As they travel, Wren and Julian spend as much time fighting each other as they do the undead, but when they discover there’s more behind the kidnapping than either of them knew, they’ll need to work together to combat the real danger: a dark alliance that is brewing between the living and the undead.

The comp tag grabbed my by the shoulders and shook me so hard I swear my fingers clicked ‘add to order’ before I even realised.

No seriously. I believe in second chances. Some of my favourite books have come after an author’s previous lacklustre efforts *cough bone crier’s moon* and I read Preto’s Crown of Feathers and look, I didn’t hate it. I just wasn’t super impressed. But this plot, THIS PLOT. I want to read this so badly my heart is literally aching, but then I think I’m placing way too much pressure on this poor book, and I need to just let it be what it is.

Needless to say, I’m super excited for it.

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

For as long as Signa Farrow has been alive, the people in her life have fallen like stars . . .

Orphaned as a baby, nineteen-year-old Signa has been raised by a string of guardians, each more interested in her wealth than her wellbeing – and each has met an untimely end. Her remaining relatives are the elusive Hawthornes, an eccentric family living at Thorn Grove, an estate both glittering and gloomy.

Its patriarch mourns his late wife through wild parties, while his son grapples for control of the family’s waning reputation and his daughter suffers from a mysterious illness. But when their mother’s restless spirit appears claiming she was poisoned, Signa realizes that the family she depends on could be in grave danger, and enlists the help of a surly stable boy to hunt down the killer.

Signa’s best chance of uncovering the murderer, though, is an alliance with Death himself, a fascinating, dangerous shadow who has never been far from her side. Though he’s made her life a living hell, Death shows Signa that their growing connection may be more powerful – and more irresistible – than she ever dared imagine.

From New York Times bestselling author Adalyn Grace, Belladonna brings to life a highly romantic, gothic-infused world of wealth, desire, and betrayal.

I am so intrigued by this blurb!

The Kinder Poison by Natalie Mae

Perfect for fans of Victoria Aveyard and Holly Black, this enthralling fantasy adventure follows a teenage girl chosen to be the human sacrifice in a deadly game between three heirs who will do anything for the crown.

Zahru has long dreamed of leaving the kingdom of Orkena and having the kinds of adventures she’s only ever heard about in stories. But as a lowly Whisperer, her power to commune with animals means that her place is serving in the royal stables until the day her magic runs dry.

All that changes when the ailing ruler invokes the Crossing. A death-defying race across the desert, in which the first of his heirs to finish–and take the life of a human sacrifice at the journey’s end–will ascend to the throne. With all of the kingdom abuzz, Zahru leaps at the chance to change her fate if just for a night by sneaking into the palace for a taste of the revelry. But the minor indiscretion turns into a deadly mistake when she gets caught up in a feud between the heirs and is forced to become the Crossing’s human sacrifice.

Now Zahru’s only hope for survival hinges on the somehow figuring out how to overcome the most dangerous people in the world.

A heroine who can talk to animals? Three heirs and a possible sacrifice? I’m so into this blurb!

Monthly Wrap Up

Book Stuff

Number of books read:
1. Broken Bonds (The Bonds That Tie #1) by J Bree
2. Legacy (The Four Horsemen #1) by LJ Swallow
3. Renegade Dragon (Dragon Heat #4) by Lolita Lopez
4. The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen #2) by Jodi Meadows
5. Savage Bonds (The Bonds that Tie #2) by J Bree
6. Beyond the Wand: The Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard by Tom Felton
Finished a series: Renegade Dragon and The Mirror King
Started a series: Broken Bonds and Legacy
New to me authors: LJ Swallow and J Bree
Favourite book: The Mirror King by Jodi Meadows