With it being the beginning of the month, I figure that the best way to fill this week’s rambling post is to share what I plan to read this month. I’m realistic to know that I will NOT be reading all of these. I do plan to make as much progress as I can. I do have it as organized as I can.
For Series Summer: The Librarian of Crooked Lane by C.J. Archer For Hispanic Heritage Month: A Killer’s Game by Isabella Maldonado
Category Two: For blog Tours/Review Requests (Not including author names):
Lady of Dragons -8/31
The Vengence of Samuel Val -9/6
The Vacation -9/7
The Goodbye Kids -9/8
Cat Key -9/11
Crackle and Fire -9/13-9/16
Fractured Lives -9/13-9/16
Hot Ash -9/13-916
Blunt Force Rising -9/13-9/16
It’s Always the Husband -9/15
Tides of Sovern -9/19
Mandle of the World -9/19
Shadow Gaze -9/20
His Dark Reflection -9/20
His Blind Reflection -9/20
Take My Hand -9/21
Red Line -9/23-26
12 Months to Live -9/25
Tethered -9/26
I have library books and Netgalley books on the list as well. I have made posts with the entire month’s list on social media if you’d like to see it! I came close to getting all badges for the Spring Kindle Challenge. I am REALLY hoping to get them all this season! We shall see!!!
What books do you have planned to read this month?
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I’ve been chipping away at this book at work. It’s a really good book. I’ve been enjoying it very much. I picked up a shift today and it was really slow. So I took advantage and read as much as I could between calls. I’m about halfway now.
Finlay McDonough wants nothing more than to be a Dragon Knight: a warrior bound with a dragon partner, intent on ridding the kingdom of its dragon-killing monarchy. Well, she might want one thing just a bit more … Evander, her childhood friend, now keeper of the dragon sanctuary. Scouting with Evander one day, Finlay’s attempt to save a dragon goes horribly wrong, and she inadvertently ties her fate to the dragon’s—their souls bind, lending Finlay powers like those of the Mages the Knights are sworn to destroy.
After passing the trial to train as a Knight, Finlay discovers a devastating truth about a beloved dragon. To save them, she’ll need to risk her dream of becoming a true Knight, her chance at a happily-ever-after with Evander . . . and maybe her very identity.
Fantasy romance with a fierce heroine, gentle love interest, sassy dragon companion, and more than a dash of adventure awaits.
Note: Part One ran on Kindle Vella as episodes 1-72. Part Two contains the remainder of the episodes.
What are you reading today?
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I think I made pretty decent progress considering. Especially since it was my first week on calls all day long. I really did way better than I thought I would if I’m being honest. I really feel like this company is a good fit for me. I see to be a good fit for the company as well. Well shall see!
My Activity This Week:
When I look at my hours on the progress chapter, I’m really amazed. Some weeks I basically read a “full-time” shift. Some weeks I’m more part-time. Either way, it’s really informative.
I’d love to hear about your week of reading!
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Title: The Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three Author: Stephen King Release Date: May 1987 Page Count: 529 Format: Audiobook Start Date: May 4th, 2023 Finish Date: August 27th, 2023
Rating: 5 Stars
Review:
I’m going to start this by saying that I gave this book full star rating. I really did enjoy it quite a lot. I don’t know that I have any flaws with the book. However, I do feel like I want to go back and actually read these books. I’ve been listening to them. I love the narrator. I just sometimes wonder if I actually absorbed anything. This isn’t exactly my favorite Stephen King Novel if I’m being honest.
I did listen to this with somebody important to me. They couldn’t believe that I had never read the series before. We had watched the movie for my birthday when it was still out in theatres. At least I think it was my birthday. I’m not sure. Either way. It’s been our thing. So we’ve set it aside for times that we could actually listen together.
That’s the reason I gave it the rating I did. I know that I really enjoyed it. I have been engaged every time I read it. I just had a disconnect as I was listening to it many times. I think that disconnect will be altered once I go back and actually read from a book. I aim to get the series in ebook or paperback when I’m able to. I also plan to listen to the rest of the series with the person I’ve listened to the first two with.
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I pre-ordered this book awhile back from B&N. I had gotten my hands on a major gift card and went to town pre-ordering books I really wanted. This was one of them. I read and loved Belladonna and I got super excited when I saw that this one was on the way. I got an exclusive copy, but my phone has been messing up my picture sizes lately. I digress. I’m not sure when I’ll be able to read this book, but it’s definitely on my list. I’ll even try to reread Belladonna in honor of its release!
What are some books you’ve gotten recently? What are you looking most forward to reading?
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When I met Sonya Phillips, it was love at first sight. We were, quite literally, the things love stories are written about. The firefighter who falls in love with a nurse and lives happily ever after. Loving Sonya made my world spin. Until the day my world slipped off its axis.
Everyone talks about great love stories and all the beautiful things that go along with them. What they don’t tell you is what happens when the great love story comes to an end. I know what happens. I experienced it first-hand. The overwhelming grief and loneliness is enough to bring a grown man to his knees.
This is my story. A story of great love, crushing loss, and how I found purpose, Without Her.
About Michelle Rene
Michelle Rene is author of The Strong Hearts Collection, Blossom Creek Series and several standalone novellas. She is also the co-author of The Winter Haven Series, which she writes with Xana Jordan.
Born and raised in Kentucky, Michelle grew up in Florida where she still lives today. In 2020, Michelle joined millions of women in becoming an ovarian and uterine cancer survivor. A story she is sure to tell in a book someday.
When not spending time with her family and friends, you can find her writing, or cheering on the Florida Gators. Due to her one-click addiction, Michelle spends her downtime reading one of the many books on her Kindle.
Title: Banyan Moon Author: Thao Thai Release Date: June 27th, 2023 Page Count: 334 Format: Audiobook Start Date: August 26th, 2023 Finish Date: August 27th, 2023 Rating: 5 Stars
Review:
This book is just so pact with emotion and culture. I loved the raw and dark undertones. I can’t explain it. I’m really at a loss for words at this moment. I’ll do the best I can. I can say that there are many things that I can’t speak about because they aren’t my struggles to speak out about.
This story is told through three generations of a family. We have the grandmother, the mother, and the granddaughter. I can honestly see why this was picked for a book club pick. The three women had their own struggles in life. They had their own resentments and anger. They had a disconnect that comes from a broken family full of broken hearts.
It just goes to show that there are struggles that we all find ourselves facing. We may have differences with cultural and religious backgrounds, but there are things that a lot of us will always face. There’s self-doubt. There’s anger. I could go on. There’s even bad circumstances we are given in life. I really loved every single page. I basically read it in one sitting.
Now for the critiques. I know it seems like that’s a far stretch being as I’m giving it full stars. There really aren’t many honestly. I just wish that there were certain characters that had more of a part in the story. I feel like they may not have been as important as our main characters, but they were still important. I also feel like there was a flaw in one of the characters that wasn’t really addressed. Other than that, it was amazing!
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Disclaimer: None of the work in Reading With Star belongs to me. The author owns all right to the book. They have given me permission to share a bit of their work with you.
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance
Blurb:
Mason’s life is far from perfect, but it turns out it can get worse. When his mom ends up in prison, he’s shipped off to the middle of nowhere. Apparently he’s got grandparents—parents of the father he knows nothing about. Mason’s not interested in bonding with these newfound grandparents. He just wants to survive until his eighteenth birthday so he can escape this backwater town and finally be free.
Emily is struggling to keep what’s left of her family from falling apart after a horrible accident stole her mom. She has enough on her plate with mothering her younger siblings and protecting a secret that could destroy everything, when she runs into Mason—literally. Her life doesn’t need more complications, and this distractingly attractive, clearly damaged boy promises nothing but trouble. Still, she can’t help but be drawn to him.
Mason and Emily are opposites in nearly every way, but neither can deny the attraction between them. Mason knows he isn’t good enough for her, and Emily knows she should stay away, but that doesn’t stop the pull they feel toward each other. Their tentative relationship is threatened when Mason is put in the crosshairs of the local gang and the town sheriff. Mason and Emily will have to decide what they really want—and if they’re willing to fight for it.
I glanced at Mason, trying to read his expression. He was staring out the windshield intently, but he didn’t seem angry or upset. I decided to push a little. “What’s your favorite thing about Chicago?” “I don’t know . . .” He smoothed his thumb along the window frame. “I guess it’s nice to be anonymous. There are so many people, no one really notices you.” My eyebrows pulled together. “That sounds kind of sad.” “Maybe.” A moment passed in silence, and I wasn’t sure what else to say. Then he surprised me by saying, “Actually, the best part was Leo.” “Leo?” The corner of his mouth lifted. “He’s been my best friend since we were eleven.” “I feel like there’s a story there.” “There is.” I waited for him to elaborate, and when he didn’t, I peeked over at him. He was watching me with a sly curve of his lips. I laughed. “You know I can’t resist that kind of bait, don’t you?” “Counting on it.” There was a light in his eyes that absolutely thrilled me. I hadn’t known him for long at all, but I had a feeling he didn’t smile very often. The fact I seemed to have a knack for pulling smiles and even laughs from him felt like a big accomplishment. I pursed my lips. “Fine, I’ll bite. I’m guessing ‘it was a dark and stormy night’ . . .” He stretched his legs out in front of him and braced his palms against his dark jeans. “Actually, it was a summer evening around six.” He tossed me a smirk. “It was raining, though.” “I knew it.” A grin stretched his lips, drawing my attention to that little white scar at the corner of his mouth. “I was looking for a place to wait out the storm. I’d tried ducking into some convenience stores, but no one wanted a rain-drenched kid hanging around, scaring their customers away.” “Why didn’t you go home?” As soon as the question was out, I wished I could suck it back in. Instead of shutting down, he just shrugged. “I only went home when I had to.” “Okay,” I said in a small voice, shoving down all the follow-up questions I wanted to ask. “Did you find a place?” “Kind of.” He started drumming his fingers against his thigh, no doubt an echo to the music in his ears. “I snuck into an abandoned warehouse—well, I thought it was abandoned. Turned out a gang had claimed it as their own, and they weren’t accepting visitors.” I couldn’t even imagine how terrifying that would have been to be eleven years old, soaked to the bone, and coming face to face with a ruthless gang. Mason said it like it was nothing—just the setting for his story and no big deal. That alone made me sure he’d had many similar experiences, and that was a whole other level of terrifying. “I tried to talk my way out, but they weren’t going to just let me walk away. Luckily for me, Leo caused a distraction.” “So you were already friends?” “No. I mean, I’d seen him around school, but there were way too many kids to know everyone.” “Why would he cause a distraction, then? That’s bold, even for a Good Samaritan.” Mason laughed. “Leo’s no Good Samaritan. He wasn’t trying to help me out—he was taking advantage of their attention being on me so he could rob them.” I felt my mouth drop open and quickly snapped it shut. “He was robbing them? An eleven-year-old kid against a Chicago gang?” “Leo’s quick and sneaky. It wasn’t his first or last time.” He shrugged. “And they may have been a Chicago gang, but Leo’s a Chicago kid. Anyway, Leo grabbed the goods and would have gotten away if the gang hadn’t noticed me staring at him. When they realized what was happening, they lost it. “My goal was to get out of there alive, but Leo’s goal was to keep his prize. He decided to act like we were a team, and started yelling at me to stick to the plan and get the cash to Alex. I had no idea what he was talking about, obviously, but the gang bought it. They started coming at me, telling me to drop the money if I wanted to live. I ran. “Everything happened so fast, I honestly don’t know how it all went down. I remember running, knocking over everything I could to try to slow them down. They were yelling and shooting. That’s how I got this.” He twisted his arm and tapped a finger against a scar across his triceps. I almost slammed on my brakes. “They shot you?” “Just a graze.” He continued like it wasn’t completely insane. “When I got outside, I knew I didn’t have time to think about which direction to go. I could hear them chasing me, so I turned down an alley and just kept going, making as many turns as I could. I ran until I couldn’t hear them anymore, then I ducked behind a dumpster, just to be sure they weren’t still following me. While I was catching my breath, hoping I’d lost them, a voice from a nearby fire escape almost gave me a heart attack.” He must have seen the question in my eyes, because he sent me a smug little smile. “Leo, with his bag of spoils.” “How did you end up in the same alley?” I asked, feeling out of breath. Mason shrugged. “Coincidence, luck—who knows. All I know is I yelled at him for making it look like we’d been working together. He reminded me I’d been the one to give him away in the first place, and pointed out that we’d made it out alive. That was about the time I realized I was bleeding. I was terrified, thinking I was going to die. I must have really been a wreck, because Leo took pity on me and took me to his house to get patched up.” I shook my head slowly, amazed. “And you’ve been friends ever since?” “More or less. It took a minute to get used to each other, but Leo’s the only person who’s always stood by me.” I couldn’t believe it when I recognized the Peterson’s farmhouse and big red barn out the windshield. What should have been a nice long drive was already over. That just wasn’t fair. Mason’s eyes locked on the farmhouse and his lips pressed into a line, effectively killing our easy conversation. I rolled to a stop near the front porch steps and shifted into park, trying to think of something to say. We sat for a moment in silence, then he reached for the door’s handle. “Thanks for the ride.” “Anytime,” I said quickly, though sincerely. He stepped out of the car, but before he could close the door, I called, “Mason!” He braced his hand on the roof and ducked his head so he could look in at me. I felt a tingle when our eyes met. I cleared my throat so my voice wouldn’t squeak. “Thanks for sharing your story with me.” His deep blue eyes searched mine, spreading that tingle across my skin. “Thanks for listening.” “Anytime,” I said again, though this time the word came out a little breathless. He held my gaze for another long second, then his lips quirked in a half smile. “See you Wednesday, Emily.”
Author Bio:
K.M. Frost was brought up surrounded by books, and has loved stories of all kinds her whole life. Romance, comedy, and fantasy are some of her favorite genres to write, read, and watch. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, traveling, and graphic design.
K.M. Frost lives in Northern Utah, and is the author of the YA sweet contemporary romance, No Matter What, and the YA dystopian trilogy, Reality Dreamers.
I hope you enjoyed the excerpt of No Matter What by K.M. Frost! Please make sure to check out the links above for more information and to get your copy! Happy reading!
Have an excerpt you want to share? Contact me at nikkiereads@starsbooksandtea.com so we can discuss it!
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From USA TODAY Bestselling author Xavier Neal comes an all-new, best friends to lovers, forced proximity, bodyguard romance…
The assignment is simple.
Don’t let the client get kidnapped.
Don’t let someone kill her.
Don’t confess that I’ve secretly been in love with her since we first met.
It’s the last part that complicates what would otherwise be a fairly routine operation.
Well, that along with having to move said client aka my best friend into my penthouse because pretending to be a couple is now part of our cover.
All of these things make my mission significantly harder.
As does her ex-boyfriend who just so happens to be our boss.
As does my partner who gets a kick out of making things uncomfortable for me.
As does my best friend herself when she has us crossing a line we can’t uncross.
To the company I work for, my main objective is to stop an unidentified threat from eliminating one of their most valuable assets.
But to me?
My only job is to protect the love of my life – or die trying.
(This is book 1 of a duet. The story will conclude in book 2, Shockproof)
About Xavier Neal
Xavier Neal is a best-selling romance author who enjoys hopping from sub-genre to sub-genre like a game of Hopscotch she can’t resist.
In between writing, she loves to read (everything from romance to self-improvement books), watch movies (old and new), eat too much Tex-Mex (her Chuy’s t-shirt collection is out of control), and watch AHL hockey games LIVE (preferably against the glass whenever possible).
She currently resides happily in Texas with her bearded husband “Lumberjack”.
We’re celebrating the release of Lady of Dragons by Shelby Elizabeth this week! Get your copy on August 29th!
Lady of Dragons (Book One) Publication Date: August 29, 2023 Genre: YA Fantasy Romance
Finlay McDonough wants nothing more than to be a Dragon Knight: a warrior bound with a dragon partner, intent on ridding the kingdom of its dragon-killing monarchy. Well, she might want one thing just a bit more … Evander, her childhood friend, now keeper of the dragon sanctuary. Scouting with Evander one day, Finlay’s attempt to save a dragon goes horribly wrong, and she inadvertently ties her fate to the dragon’s–their souls bind, lending Finlay powers like those of the Mages the Knights are sworn to destroy. After passing the trial to train as a Knight, Finlay discovers a devastating truth about a beloved dragon. To save them, she’ll need to risk her dream of becoming a true Knight, her chance at a happily-ever-after with Evander … and maybe her very identity. Fantasy romance with a strong heroine, sweet love interest, sassy dragon companion, and more than a dash of adventure awaits.
Shelby Elizabeth is an English teacher in Upstate New York, with a B.A. in Writing from SUNY Potsdam (2019) and an M.A.T. in Secondary English from SUNY Empire (2021). I have self-published a young adult fantasy trilogy about Shifters and Elementals in the modern world (Celestials), and a young adult contemporary m/m romance (Don’t Hate the Player). When I am not writing in my free time, I am spending time with my family and my cats, reading, or watching just a little too much television. Shelby Elizabeth
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