Tome Thursday: Lily & Thorne

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to this week's book of choice.

 

Now if you've been following me for a bit, you might remember that this title seems familiar to some extent.

 

Perhaps you're thinking: have I seen this before?

 

Have you?

 

Well, turns out, you have!

 

Originally published as part of an anthology, this particular novella got expanded upon, rewritten, and re-published!

 

And, because I'm a good soul like that - and also, because Rhi Hargadon is an absolute ANGEL - I'm here to write a quick review about this new version of the tale.

 

Without further ado: Lily & Thorne!

 

Talkie Tuesday: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

 

"The War has started. A Great Stirring is underway."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to the next installment in our Greek mythology adaptation saga which began a few years back with Disney acquiring rights to adapt these books in the first place.

 

Now, I'm not here to talk about what's good or bad or whatever, although I'll definitely touch on some of those things, but I'm mostly just here to give you a rundown of how the second season unfolded, what you can watch happen during it, and what to expect going forward.

 

But to do that, we actually have to dive INTO the story.

 

You can't really do a review without talking about exactly what you've been alluding to now, can you??

 

So without further ado.

 

Sharpen those weapons, demigods, and wake up, because it's time to pick a side. Will you fight for order or for chaos? And no, this isn't Assassin's Creed.

 

This is the second season of Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

 

Tome Thursday: Bloody Black

 

Hello everyone!

 

Or, perhaps I should be saying, ahoy, maties!

 

LOL

 

Either way, whichever greeting you choose, tonight's book is an absolutely DELICIOUS feast of a novel.

 

And I say that as someone who was incredibly, beyond wonderfully lucky to be chosen for the BETA READ of this.

 

Not an ARC, the way you usually see me blabber on about on this blog, but the beta version, which is one step before even an ARC goes out.

 

Listen.

 

I don't really know how it happened. I mean, I do, but I also don't, if you know what I mean? I'm just a voracious reader from one of the smallest countries in the world, practically under the rock for some of the behemoths fighting over air space nowadays. And yet here I am.

 

Which means, you lot get to take this journey with me tonight, so grab your swords, put on your hats, and let's lift the Jolly Roger way up high with Bloody Black!

 

Tome Thursday: Beyond the Veil

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to tonight's book review of choice.

 

It's one that's been a while in the making, in the sense that the author took her time to ensure the book would be written well, consistently, and wrapped up in a neat bow to finish everything off.

 

We love authors like that!

 

Overall though, I just love interacting with THIS author in particular, as she's a total sweetheart. I was lucky enough to be sent an ARC directly from her, but I'd highly, HIGHLY recommend you look into purchasing these books to lend your support.

 

This is a very fun retelling of Sleeping Beauty, in which the "beauty" happens to be reversed, aka it's the prince rather than the girl, and the girl rescues him.

 

Then they go off on a quest together, discover her long-lost lineage, and then decide hey, maybe they'll take on that magical separating border between one realm and the next!

 

That's all (and more!) you get when you pick up the last book in the trilogy, Beyond the Veil.

 

Tome Thursday: Claimed by the Undead

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to the beautiful beginning of a brand new series on this blog.

 

I say this quite confidently, as I'm reasonably sure that the couple whose story we're covering in this particular book WILL return for SEVERAL more books, not just one or two more, which makes me all giddy and excited!

 

C. L. Carhart is an author I've been following since very randomly picking up Gift of Fire over on Booksirens, and I have to say I haven't been disappointed yet.

 

She writes magnificently well, and as I'm currently slowly making my way through His Name Was Augustin series - with gusto and much enjoyment, taking my time - I can definitely say that each new book seems to get better than the last.

 

So without further ado, let's jump right in, shall we?

 

We're headed to the 19th century with a brilliant witch of light and the undead Black Priest who claims her as his consort, which unleashes a whole host of problems ... in Claimed by the Undead.

 

Talkie Tuesday: My Happy Marriage

 

"We should try to find our own shape of happiness."

 

Hello everyone! 

Welcome back.

 

Tonight, we're taking a look at the acclaimed second season of the series that won my heart over so fast, it's a miracle that no skidmarks were left behind!

 

As I said before in my previous posts, I'm not really an anime person.

 

But this?

 

This one is prime quality entertainment, with beautiful animation, heartfelt story-telling, and a main couple for the ages.

 

So make sure you've got your popcorn, sit back, relax, and let's dive right back into an alternate universe of Imperial Japan, of all places.

 

Then again, the best anime stories seem to happen around that time, and the same goes for My Happy Marriage.

 

Talkie Tuesday: My Happy Marriage

 

"We should try to find our own shape of happiness."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Welcome to tonight's blog post of choice, and I'm pretty sure none of you saw this coming.

 

I've never really been an anime girlie, and I don't really consider myself one at the moment either, HOWEVER, Netflix has suddenly grabbed onto me with some of their select choices that they suggested I watch, and I have to say ... there's something there.

 

Howl's Moving Castle was of course my first foray into this animated world as an adult (I think I watched something else by accident when I was much younger, and I don't clearly remember it), but I've since expanded a little.

 

And I may have ordered all the manga volumes for this particular title because ... well.

 

Listen, if there's one thing that will ALWAYS get me, it's a ridiculously good story. And this is a ridiculously good story.

 

We'll be dividing the topic into two posts, as the show consists of two seasons, so tonight is covering the first. Just get your fans and admire the kimonos, because we're diving into My Happy Marriage.

 

Tome Thursday: Gilded Rose

 

Hello everyone!

 

I'm finally back.

 

Well, it's a relative term, as I'm still working to get rid of the rather persistent cough that's currently trying to keep my life absolutely miserable, but I at least don't feel like I need to sleep all the time and do nothing else anymore.

 

That said, it's time to get right down to business.

 

And what better way than with a book that stole my heart just before the seasonal cold did?

 

I swear I occasionally trip and fall face-first into a book collection from an author that I ought to have known long before this, but only discovered now, and end up loving them to bits.

 

Emma Hamm is an author like that, and I'm DEFINITELY reading just about anything and everything of hers I can get my grubby little hands on ASAP.

 

For tonight, though, I'm focusing on just the one book, which is a re-telling, conveniently enough.

 

Let's looks at Gilded Rose.

 

Talkie Tuesday: The Rings of Power

 

"Three Rings for the Elven-Kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-Lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die ..."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Alright so.

 

Unlike the last time I touched this story, I decided not to metaphorically undo myself every week for two months and figured I'd just do a little end-of dissertation once it was all over and done with.

 

After all, this isn't what a lot of people were expecting, although it LOOKS like there might be a lot of the positive floating around online, which is a bit of a difference from the first season, after which everyone and their mother (for the most part) was all "meh".

Of course I'm talking about Amazon's big fantasy release of the year, and no, it's not Wheel of Time.

If we're lucky we're getting the next season of THAT soon, however.

But for tonight, let's put on our thinking caps to make this all fit together in the second season of The Rings of Power.

Tome Thursday: A Wingless Hope

 

Hello everyone!

 

And if you're tempted to start singing and dancing the conga ... be my guest.

 

There aren't really any toads along for this one BUT, that doesn't mean we can't have fun, eh?

 

In any event, I picked the book off BookSirens, like I do with so many of my other choices, naturally.

 

Why?

 

Well, because it was a Thumbelina re-telling, of course!

 

I'm a sucker for Thumbelina. It's a lovely tale and it's been adapted into probably one of my favourite cartoons of all time, with just the right amount of comedy and romance to make it amazing.

 

So naturally, when I randomly stumbled over the copy of this book on BookSirens, I had to grab it.

 

Make sure to shake off all that fairy dust from your wings, then, as we take flight and learn all about secret heritage and family manipulation in A Wingless Hope!

 

Tome Thursday: Wages of War

 

Hello everyone!

 

And welcome to the conclusion that is the Immortal Realms series!

 

Or at least, the current conclusion, as I'm reasonably sure there MIGHT still be follow-ups, since there's been a bunch of stuff set up for the kids that may or may not happen in future.

 

But for the purposes of this particular blog post, we'll be focusing solely on the concluding novel.

 

Because, it does in fact tie off pretty much ALL the loose ends, more or less.

 

It's also the one that made me wonder what's wrong with me when I usually don't like the heroines LOL, but that aside, it's actually entertaining and if you're a fan of romance, fighting, and a happily ever after, then I'm pretty sure you're going to enjoy this.

 

Throw in some Greek mythology? You've got yourself a winner!

 

Without more babbling for me, here are the Wages of War.

 

Tome Thursday: The Witch of Faymeria Wood

 

Hello everyone!

 

Tonight I bring you something a little different.

 

You know I enjoy a good retelling, don't you? Of course you do, you've seen me gush about it on here plenty of times, and will probably see me do it again in the very near future, not to mention more.

 

Well, it's a retelling tonight.

 

What's better is it's a REVERSE retelling, aka the roles of the fantasy tale were telling are going to be reversed for our reading pleasure.

 

I picked the book up on a whim on BookSirens - you remember, the online service providing free ARCs so you leave reviews on your preferred site of choice for upcoming authors? Yes, that service.

 

Anyway, I picked it up because it sounded intriguing, and I've always wanted a good representation of Sleeping Beauty. I absolutely got it in this one. Hypathia Rae might be an author worth watching now with this debut novel of hers!

 

The Witch of Faymeria Wood, ladies and gentlemen.

 

Tome Thursday: Gift of Light

 

Hello everyone!

 

And welcome back to the land of Teutonica.

 

Yep, we're back with the witches, appropriate, isn't it, given that we're headed towards the end of October?

 

Although speaking of, WHERE has the time gone??? I really wonder.

 

I swear it was just yesterday when we walked into autumn and now we're already halfway through it, marching straight towards winter.

No clue where the time went. None.

BUT back to the actual point of this blog post, which is that we're taking a look at a prequel novella of sorts for the Elemental Bloodlines series, you know, the one by C. L. Carhart?

The books I've been reviewing on here for a while now?

Well, they're getting an addition tonight, and it's called Gift of Light.

Tome Thursday: Tides of Torment

 

Hello everyone!

 

I come bearing gifts.

 

Or at least, a sequel to a book we read a little bit back, and which will conclude with the third part coming in early 2024.

Yep, yep indeed this is a slated trilogy, and I'm here for it, because one of my personal pet peeves is when you think you have it down pat - you've blocked out reading time, you know how and when and why - and then all of a sudden it's not a trilogy but it's ballooned into eight books.

I'm sorry, what now?

I mean OKAY I do get it, sometimes stories happen that way and you don't really see where it's going until you're on book three and you haven't told even half the story yet, but most of the time lately it just feels like expansion for expansion's sake not for plot's sake.

This one will hopefully stay a trilogy, it's definitely sounding like it.

So let's get our goggles and our best Ariel voice, because Tides of Torment are taking us both above and under water!

Tome Thursday: Of Roses and Rituals

 

Hello everyone!

 

We are back in the land of fairy tale retellings.

 

Tonight we have a look at probably my all-time favourite, and it's done very well too on top of everything, which just makes the whole thing better, honestly.

 

BookSirens once again comes in clutch and, yes, at some point I'll probably not review as many ARCs as I do at the moment, but it will not be this day.

 

Yes, I'm quoting Aragorn right now.

 

When all is said and done, BookSirens is an AMAZING online service and I'm honestly so stoked to be a member, it makes things easier for me because I read as much as I do (though to a lesser extent than in previous years, it has to be said).

 

So without further ado, let's jump right into it, shall we?

 

Of Roses and Rituals is calling, and it's a really, really good one!

 

Rings of Power: Alloyed

 

"One will always corrupt, two will divide; with three, there is balance."

 

Hello everyone!

 

Well, we finally made it.

 

The season finale is behind us, and with it, the mostly lackluster first season as a whole.

 

You may find this a harsh sort of criticism but, considering the incredibly high budget that Amazon threw at what I think they wanted to consider their flagship fantasy series purely because of the name attached to it - Tolkien - it really didn't deliver as much as it could have.

 

I've seen shows with a five time lesser budget do SO much better!

 

It felt as if, BECAUSE of the budget, the show creators thought they could do anything and people would love it precisely because of the money.

 

Newsflash, we don't watch shows for the money. We don't watch them for politics, either. We watch them for good, quality storytelling. 

The Rings of Power didn't achieve most of its goals, so let's look at the finale, Alloyed, to wrap it all up.

Rings of Power: The Eye

 

"Every war is fought both without and within." 

Hello everyone!

Well, only one more episode to go, and, dare we say a lot of us are feeling relieved?

Yes, yes, I'm sure you're wondering, but why are you still reviewing this if it's obviously a bit of a slog?

I'm a perfectionist and dislike not finishing what I start. So there.

I'll be seeing this through right to the end, though you will definitely also be getting some House of the Dragon thoughts from me when the time comes and THAT series comes to a close.

Not to mention possibly a few others.

But I'm certainly getting ahead of myself, as I first need to finish this one.

If you're wondering what you need to survive a volcanic explosion, I have to disappoint you by saying: you probably won't.

A lot of characters in Rings of Power did, though, as The Eye shows us.

Tome Thursday: The Ocean Between Us

 

Hello everyone!

 

More books to be had, all around, especially if you're a member of BookSirens.

 

Which is where, naturally, I picked up tonight's choice.

 

Okay, I'll admit, it was initially the cover that got me, making me stick long enough to read the premise for the story, and once I did - and got some technical issues out of the way - there was nothing stopping me from devouring this book in two sittings.

 

Two sittings, one day, give or take. That's pretty good, right?

 

ANYWAY, this one is for Greek mythology lovers. So brush up on those skillz and polish that knowledge, because there's definitely going to be stuff in here that will tickle your fancy.

 

Plus on top of that, it's a bit of a mix-and-match with The Little Mermaid, so I mean, what's not to like?!?

 

Mermaids, princes, curses, Greek gods ... sounds like a regular ole Thursday.

 

Cate Rowan's The Ocean Between Us makes a splash!

 

Tome Thursday: The Last Daughter

 

Hello everyone!

 

Back at it again with some more BookSirens ARC suggestions, because why wouldn't I be?

 

I think the site is one of the best sites out there for people to be able to read books prior to release or even after release without needing to spend so much money on an actual edition right off the bat, what if you don't like it?

 

This way, if you love the ARCs you're reading, you'll probably buy the book anyway and support the author like that!

 

Plus I mean ... Norse mythology.

 

Come ON we all love the Norse sagas, and with Santa Monica's God of War Ragnarok release almost right around the corner, this is getting a bit of an added boost if you ask me.

 

It's a great time to do anything Norse mythos related! 

So make sure to bring warm clothes, because it's going to get cold before it gets hot.

The Last Daughter by Alexis L. Menard is up.

Tome Thursday: Seeds of Sorrow

 

Hello everyone!

 

This week's story is something a little different that I haven't picked up in a while, which is, it's a re-telling.

 

Now if you know me, you'll know I will sometimes read re-tellings of my favourite stories, like Beauty and the Beast etc., which makes this one fairly obvious as well.

 

It's definitely one of those things that sort of sneaks up on you without you realizing!

 

It took me a second to sit down and read the book - even though I had it as an ARC, thanks to BookSirens, a platform I can't compliment and praise more than I already have thus far - but once I did, I think I read it through in one single sitting.

 

Yeah, it's THAT good.

 

Or at least, it's definitely good enough to warrant it!

 

So do you want to explore the realms of the Fae and some immortal love stories?

 

Then come with me into the magical world of Seeds of Sorrow.