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I don’t know what it is, maybe it’s because I’m listening more to what I WANT to be reading rather than what I feel I SHOULD be reading (new releases, or ARCs, or finishing a series I’m not vibing with at the moment for any reason), or because I am deliberately taking time to myself to actually read the books I’m interested in, but I feel like I am getting a ton of books read this year, and especially having multiple good months in a row. Definitely more than usual. I’m looking at 6 books a month which is more than one a week, which for me, who works full time and has caring responsibilities as well as running this blog, being active on Goodreads, other hobbies, and a side hustle, seems like a HUGE amount to be reading!

I’m celebrating the anniversary of the Moonlight Library in July!

I’ve been blogging for 12 years!

I can’t believe it, it’s such a long time!

It’s longer than I’ve been married.
It’s longer than any job I’ve had.
It’s older than both of my cats!

Reading has always been a constant in my life. I don’t understand adults who suddenly start reading and devour 60 books in 3 months. I’ve always been a reader, ever since I was a small child. The biggest reading break I took was 12 months off after graduating with a Literature degree because I was burned out!

A few weeks ago I happened to finish my ebook, physical book, and audiobook all at the same time and for the first time that I could remember, I wasn’t actively reading a book. It was such an odd experience!

I’ve gone through reading YA books and finally, after 12 years, started to embrace adult fiction.

I feel like this year especially, I’ve had a really good reading year. I’ve been consciously trying to read more physical books, though I’m still not getting as much read as I want. I’ve been enjoying my ebooks, and of course my audiobooks. I’ve been reading what I WANT to read, and I’ve been DNFing a few books, too, without guilt. Reading is not my job, it’s for my pleasure and relaxation, and I should not feel pressured to finish every book!

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

Twelfth Knight by Alexene Farol Follmuth

Viola Reyes is annoyed.

Her painstakingly crafted tabletop game campaign was shot down, her best friend is suggesting she try being more “likable,” and school running back Jack Orsino is the most lackadaisical Student Body President she’s ever seen, which makes her job as VP that much harder. Vi’s favorite escape from the world is the MMORPG Twelfth Knight, but online spaces aren’t exactly kind to girls like her―girls who are extremely competent and have the swagger to prove it. So Vi creates a masculine alter ego, choosing to play as a knight named Cesario to create a safe haven for herself.

But when a football injury leads Jack Orsino to the world of Twelfth Knight, Vi is alarmed to discover their online alter egos―Cesario and Duke Orsino―are surprisingly well-matched.

As the long nights of game-play turn into discussions about life and love, Vi and Jack soon realise they’ve become more than just weapon-wielding characters in an online game. But Vi has been concealing her true identity from Jack, and Jack might just be falling for her offline…

A Shakespeare retelling using online gaming? Count me in!

Now admittedly I could not read this author’s adult book The Atlas Six (under the name Olivie Blake), but YA fiction is different to adult fiction. And that’s why I like it.

Beneath These Cursed Stars by Lexi Ryan

Princess Jasalyn has a secret. Armed with an enchanted ring that gives her death’s kiss, Jas has been sneaking away from the palace at night to assassinate her enemies.

Shape-shifter Felicity needs a miracle. Fated to kill her magical father, she’s been using her unique ability to evade a fatal prophecy.

When rumors of evil king Mordeus’s resurrection spread through the shadow court, Jasalyn decides to end him once and for all. Felicity agrees to take the form of the princess, allowing Jas to covertly hunt Mordeus—and starting Felicity on the path that could finally take her home.

While Jasalyn teams up with the charming and handsome Kendrick, Felicity sets out to get closer to the Wild Fae king, Misha. Kendrick helps Jasalyn feel something other than anger for the first time in three years, and Misha makes Felicity wish for a world where she’s free to be her true self. Soon, the girls’ missions are at risk right alongside their hearts.

The future of the human and fae realms hangs in the balance as fates intertwine. Between perilous tasks, grim secrets, and forbidden romances, Jasalyn and Felicity find that perhaps their stars are the most cursed of all.

I don’t normally include elevator pitches when I post blurbs, but this elevator seriously grabbed me by the throat:

a romantic fantasy in which a human princess armed with death’s kiss and a fae shifter on the run become unlikely allies when a mission to assassinate an evil king collides with a fatal prophecy.

A magical princess
a shapeshifter
an evil king they’re trying to assassinate

That is ALL I needed to hear before I went feral for this book. And I’m not even going to mention the cover art because although it’s gorgeous (looks like another Charlie Bowater but the copyright page doens’t say who the artist is), it did not affect my need for this book at all.

Fate Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

Change your fate—or kneel to it.

The Companions are scattered and hopeless, torn from each other. After Corayne barely escapes with her life, she must forge on alone, leaving her blade broken and her allies behind her. Her only consolation—Corayne now has Taristan’s sword, the only Spindleblade left in existence. Without it, he can’t rip open any more Spindles. Without it, he can’t end the world.

But Taristan and Queen Erida will not be defeated so easily. Both will burn the world to bring down Corayne—and bring forth their demon god, What Waits, ready to claim the realm of Allward for his own.

In a final clash between kingdoms and gods, all must rise to fight—or be destroyed.

Everything has come to this. Prepare for a larger-than-life, unforgettable finale to the Realm Breaker series, where a shattered alliance must rise from the ashes to make their final stand against a ruthless enemy… and the demon god who looks to shroud the entire world in darkness.

If there’s one author whose books I seem to buy all the time but haven’t actually read, it’s Victoria Aveyard.

God, I REALLY hope I love her writing style because at this point, I’m too invested not to.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

She’s got his back. He’s got her heart. They’ve got a secret. What could possibly go wrong?
Hannah Brooks looks more like a kindergarten teacher than somebody who could kill you with her bare hands. But the truth is, she’s an elite bodyguard and she’s just been hired to protect a superstar actor from his stalker.

Jack Stapleton’s a Hollywood heartthrob – captured by paparazzi on beaches the world over, rising out of the waves in clingy board shorts and glistening like a Roman deity.

When Jack’s mom gets sick, he comes home to the family’s Texas ranch to help out. Only one catch: He doesn’t want his family to know about his stalker. Or the bodyguard thing. And so Hannah – against her will and her better judgment – finds herself pretending to be Jack’s girlfriend as a cover.

Protecting Jack should be easy. But protecting her own heart? That’s the hardest thing she’s ever done…

I was instantly drawn to this title because I love a bodyguard romance, and the cover says cutesy romcom, but what sold me was the blurb: the female main character is the bodyguard and the main male character is a movie star being stalked! SOLD. I don’t know, I think I have a thing for movie star romances? Love From Scratch pretty much confirmed that for me.

Leather and Lark by Brynne Weaver

Contract killer Lachlan Kane wants a quiet life working in his leather studio and forgetting all about his traumatic past. But when he botches a job for his boss’s biggest client, Lachlan knows he’ll never claw his way out of the underworld. At least, not until songbird Lark Montague offers him a deal: use his skills to hunt down a killer and she’ll find a way to secure his freedom. The catch? He has to marry her first.

And they can’t stand each other.

Indie singer-songwriter Lark is the sunshine and glitter that burns through every cloud and clings to every crevice that Lachlan Kane tries to hide inside. The surly older brother of her best friend’s soulmate, Lachlan thinks she’s just a privileged princess, but Lark has plenty of secrets hiding in the shadows of her bright light. With her formidable family in a tailspin and her best friend’s happiness on the line, she’s willing to make a vow to the man she’s determined to hate, no matter how tempting the broody assassin might be.

As Lachlan and Lark navigate the dark world that binds them together, it becomes impossible to discern their fake marriage from a real one. But it’s not just familiar dangers that haunt them.
There’s another phantom lurking on their doorstep.

And this one has come for blood.

Yes, I am aware this is the second book in the series, and I absolutely do plan on getting the first one at some point. I got this one mainly because after reading Navessa Allen’s Lights Out earlier this year and declaring it my favourite book of all time, I saw it being comped to Butcher and Blackbird (Book 1). I also feel that I just need more unhinged dark romcoms about morally grey leads? I feel like so many morally grey/black lead books take themselves way too seriously, or there’s bullying, which I’m not really drawn to. I really hope this book is as funny as I want it to be!

Monthly Wrap Up

Book Stuff

Number of books read: 6
- One Dark Window (The Shepherd King #1) by Rachel Gillig (review below)
- Chasing Katana (Not Your Prey #1) by J Kearston
- Firestarter (Timekeeper #3) by Tara Sim (review below)
- The Kings of Kearny by Navessa Allen
- Rafe: A Buff Male Nanny by Rebekah Wetherspoon
- Knot Again by Lucy Scott Byran (DNF)
Finished a series: Yes (Timekeeper series by Tara Sim)
Started a series: The Shepherd King by Rachel Gillig, Not Your Prey by J Kearston
New to me authors: Rachel Gillig, J Kearston.
Favourite book: The Kings of Kearny by Navessa Allen