About the Book:
A mysterious murder. A family torn apart. A hunt for answers.
Arrested for their parents’ murder and on the verge of being found guilty, Gage and Cooper Finn, two high school basketball standouts, are aided in a jailbreak. A shadowy organization known as The Roamers recruits the boys to track and hunt down vampires under deep cover so other humans remain as much in the dark about the existence of supernatural beings. Their orders on a new case lead them to an abandoned warehouse and a clue, a young newly-formed female vampire named Jamie, who opens the door to discovering what happened to their parents. It’s a shaky lead, and they don’t know if they should trust the vampire. Things become more dangerous as Gage catches the attention of Sela Winters, the daughter of the leader of The Roamers. Sela’s connections give them access to files that threaten to divide Gage and Cooper as they split up to solve this mystery – if betrayal doesn’t sink its fangs into them first.
Will the brothers find answers before they turn on each other?
My Thoughts:
The Brothers Finn is the first book in the series that follows Gage and Cooper as they navigate being the main suspects in their parents’ murders. Though the story starts abruptly with a sudden shift in timeline after the first chapter, the rest of the story keeps pace and draws the reader right in.
There are hunters on one side, known as The Roamers, who secretly hunt down vampires, thus keeping their existence a secret from the humans. As Gage and Cooper navigate this world, they also try to find out who was responsible for the murder of their parents.
Readers are drawn into a world where the supernatural live among humans but are not known. The relationship between the brothers is strong despite their clear character differences and this makes it all the more interesting to read about their journey. Each one has their own opinion and approaches things differently. The other characters in the story only add to the main plot and thus we have a fast-paced engaging read, with the main characters being forced to re-think all they have known and perhaps even make friends with a vampire.
I really enjoyed reading this book and meeting all the characters and am definitely looking forward to more of their adventures!
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
About the Book:
All his life, twelve-year-old Ben Grishop has been practically nonexistent. Hardly anyone knows who he is, he’s not good at anything no matter how hard he tries, and he blends into all chairs and benches. But when he and his friends Joe and Dana are abducted by aliens one fateful summer night, they have the chance to become famous for saving the universe. That is, if they can survive a planet full of giant, man-eating, French-speaking crabs, a pair of tuxedoed, gibberish-spouting men with handlebar mustaches, and the mysterious “immensely powerful, evil force from The Realm Beyond.”
Jampacked with action, humor, and heart, How We Became Intergalactic Superheroes will have middle-schoolers and the young at heart alike hopping the closest spaceship to their own next cosmic adventure.
My Thoughts:
How We Became Intergalactic Superheroes is a quick, fun read for middle-schoolers that will keep them on their toes as they try to find out what happens next. Getting abducted by aliens is one thing, but having to interact with them and outsmart them is a whole different experience.
This is what happens to Ben, Joe, and Dana, three friends who are generally considered normal and boring, but who end up on an unexpected adventure. Though a little confusing at times, there are definitely moments of laughter in the story. Through this, readers will learn simple lessons of friendship, leadership, getting over one’s fears and even standing up for oneself.
I enjoyed reading this book and exploring the galaxies with Ben and his friends! I hope you all do too!
About the Book:
‘A lovely mystery evocative of the period from a talented writer.’ Helena Dixon, bestselling author of the Miss Underhay mysteries
Someone’s been read their last rites…
1915, London: Working in the dusty bookshop that her Aunt Violet mysteriously inherited, Hannah Merrill is accustomed to finding twists in every tale. But discovering her beloved best friend Lily-Anne – with a paperknife through her heart – in the middle of the bookshop, is not a plotline she saw coming.
The case is anything but textbook. With the discovery of a coded German message, and Hannah’s instinct that Lily-Anne’s husband is keeping secrets, she determines to get to the bottom of it.
She can’t do it alone though. To crack this case, Hannah will need the enlist the help of her outrageous, opinionated, only-occasionally-objectionable Aunt Violet.
They think they’re making progress until one of their chief suspects is found dead. And Hannah realises that she is herself now in the murderer’s sights. Will the final chapter be the ending of a killer… or just a killer ending?
A totally addictive, WW1-set cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Verity Bright, T.E. Kinsey, and Agatha Christie.
My Thoughts:
Murder in the Bookshop, as the title suggests is a murder mystery set in a bookstore against the backdrop of WWI. The story follows Hannah, the protagonist who manages her aunt’s bookstore and holds her own against men who try to put her down. What intrigued me about her was her tenacity and inquisitiveness. She also had an eye for detail, perhaps developed through her love for books.
When her best friend is found murdered with a knife in her chest, it is all Hannah can do to stay away from the investigation. As she starts to ask questions, she uncovers a plot that goes beyond just the murder in the bookshop with bigger implications to the on-going war itself.
With help from her Aunt Violet, a little crazy but an absolute delight to read about, she embarks on her own little investigation to find the truth. Though the story seemed to drag on a little in some parts, I enjoyed it on the whole. It is a typical cozy mystery, set to intrigue the readers with strong female main characters and a good plot. The story comes together in the end, providing closure and a satisfying conclusion. I recommend this book for fans of cozy mysteries set against a historical backdrop with layers that the readers slowly peel away!
About the Book:
Christina Lauren, returns with a delicious new romance between the buttoned-up heir of a grocery chain and his free-spirited artist ex as they fake their relationship in order to receive a massive inheritance.
Anna Green thought she was marrying Liam “West” Weston for access to subsidized family housing while at UCLA. She also thought she’d signed divorce papers when the graduation caps were tossed, and they both went on their merry ways.
Three years later, Anna is a starving artist living paycheck to paycheck while West is a Stanford professor. He may be one of four heirs to the Weston Foods conglomerate, but he has little interest in working for the heartless corporation his family built from the ground up. He is interested, however, in his one-hundred-million-dollar inheritance. There’s just one catch.
Due to an antiquated clause in his grandfather’s will, Liam won’t see a penny until he’s been happily married for five years. Just when Liam thinks he’s in the home stretch, pressure mounts from his family to see this mysterious spouse, and he has no choice but to turn to the one person he’s afraid to introduce to his one-percenter parents—his unpolished, not-so-ex-wife.
But in the presence of his family, Liam’s fears quickly shift from whether the feisty, foul-mouthed, paint-splattered Anna can play the part to whether the toxic world of wealth will corrupt someone as pure of heart as his surprisingly grounded and loyal wife. Liam will have to ask himself if the price tag on his flimsy cover story is worth losing true love that sprouted from a lie.
My Thoughts:
I read this book as a part of a buddy read and devoured it in a day!
When Anna finds out that she is still legally married to Liam, his request for help is something that she did not expect. Now complicit in a web of white lies, the two main characters have to find a way to convince Liam’s family that they are in love and happily married all this while.
The two main characters will grow on you, their moments together and of getting to know one another are delightful. I enjoyed reading about all the characters and the family dynamics that are brought out on this little island.
What starts off as a small lie, ends up in each character owning their truth and finding their way and even themselves. Though the story focuses on Anna and Liam, the other characters play important roles in the events that unfold in paradise!
I absolutely enjoyed reading this book. It was fun, filled with crazy moments and banter among the characters that just stayed with the reader until the very end! This is a perfect summer read and the kind of light read that makes one smile always.
About the Book:
Can the power of friendship save the day?
Get ready for a whirlwind adventure like no other in The Chambered Nautilus, the thrilling conclusion to Laura Segal Stegman’s enchanting Summer of L.U.C.K. trilogy. Best friends Darby, Justin, and Naz are facing their biggest challenge yet. After a year apart, they find themselves drifting away from each other at summer camp. But when the ghostly Leroy Usher’s carnival falls under mysterious turmoil, the trio reunites to answer his desperate call for help. The camp’s new attraction, the Chambered Nautilus ride, hides a magical secret that could change everything. As pieces of the Ferris wheel vanish, Darby, Justin, and Naz must rely on their wits and teamwork to locate Leroy Usher before it’s too late. Their unique bond is put to the ultimate test as they encounter one crisis after another. With expulsion from camp and the carnival’s existence on the line, the friends must persevere and unravel the mysteries surrounding Leroy Usher’s plea. Join them in a heart-pounding journey filled with friendship, courage, and the power of never giving up. Will they save the carnival and their cherished memories? Find out in this tale of adventure, discovery, and the true meaning of loyalty.
My Thoughts:
The Summer of L.U.C.K trilogy takes us through various adventures of Darby, Naz and Justin as they navigate summer camp, friendship and growth. Each of them learn more about themselves, learning lessons that help them be better.
This is trio’s last adventure together and they are against the clock to save Mr. Usher and the carnival, while learning the importance of friendship and trust in one another. Our main characters are almost teenagers, their interests have started to diversify, their priorities are changing and, while making new friends, they are on the verge of moving away from those that were there.
This book focuses on the thoughts that permeate the minds of each of our main characters and finally the bonds of friendship that remain in the end, no matter how different they all grow to be. They learn to accept each other as they are and also to allow more people into their group. Things can only be more fun with more people, and it is okay to share! I think Mr. Usher has some good messages for us in this book and the journey of discovering them, learning what a chambered nautilus is and finding out the secrets of the ride are what makes this story more exciting!
I loved the entire trilogy and watching the trio grow into who they are today. It’s a wonderful journey and with each finding their own space, either at camp or outside, it’s easy to trust that they will always be friends!
Synopsis:
Detectives of Autumn House is a novella by Manjima Misra. The novella features LGBTQIA+ detectives who solve a case related to intellectual property rights, fake job offer letters, and mysterious disappearances. The book is situated at the unique intersection of detective fiction and queer fiction.
My Thoughts:
This is generally not a genre I read very often, but I’ve enjoyed reading the author’s books in the past. This is a novella, a rather short and quick read revolving around the lives of 5 women who own a detective agency, thus working and living together. This novella focuses on the plot at hand, the mystery while also giving us insights into these characters, who they were, how they came to be where they are.
The changing timelines are not very clearly marked and this made me get confused each time. I was not sure whether the current plot is developing, or something from the past is being told. However, if this is put aside, the actual storyline was intriguing and unique.
This novella is written in the author’s unique style, one which I have come to enjoy. Do give Detectives of Autumn House a read!
Actually Yours (All Yours series Book 1)
Publication Date: 28 June 2024
BLURB:
When Amelia Anderson’s best friend gets married and she finds herself the last single girl left in a room filled with couples, she wonders if it’s time to start dating again.
Enter the Dating Plan. Her helpful friends devise a plan to get her back out there and really, what could go wrong? They have a colour-coded binder to guide them, after all!
What ensues, however, is a string of dates so disastrous, it’s enough to have Amelia vowing to remain single forever.
The only bright side in this dismal dating experiment? Jake Johnson, her ex-boyfriend’s older brother, who keeps coming to her rescue. Making her feel safe, protected…special.
Jake has always been that guy for her. The one who represented everything she was scared to want, so she settled for what she thought she deserved. And now he’s back in her life and is stirring up all these feelings that she’s struggling to ignore. Amelia can’t forget that he’s off-limits for her.
But if that is true, why does it feel that in a sea of all these Mr Wrongs, he may actually be her Mr Right?
About the Book:
The fourth and final book in the bestselling Blood of a Fae series…
“I see forever with you by my side. Because long after these scars have faded away to nothing, I’ll still be standing beside you. You and I? We’re eternal.”
Beware the dread curse of Three…
In the aftermath of the war between Pendrath and its neighbors, peace has finally come to Camelot. But for Morgan Le Fay and her friends, the calm is short-lived. A storm grows on the horizon. As a terrible evil that has been waiting hundreds of years begins to sweep through the land, Morgan and Draven must race to the aid of their allies, leaving their youngest and most vulnerable new family member in the care of trusted friends.
The sword, the spear, the grail’s mystery…
As the tide of war takes them across kingdoms and into greater peril, Morgan and Draven embark on a quest to destroy the three objects of untold power–the grail, the sword, and the spear. Together, the pair will find answers to questions lost in the mists of time. Answers to questions so terrible, they never even thought to ask.
Blood calls to blood, the dark shall rise,
Forged by the gods under sacred skies.
For the love between these bonded mates is not just an everlasting one forged in blood.
You might even call it divine.
My Thoughts:
This is the final book in the series and honestly, I did not want the story to end. I couldn’t imagine a world without Morgan, Draven, the Exmoors and everyone else in their circle.
“There is darkness in all of our souls. But there is also light. Just because the darkness threatens doesn’t mean the light won’t win out in the end.”
The author makes realistic, though heart-breaking, decisions when it comes to character deaths which play important roles in the plot advancement as well as development of the central characters. Their grief, trauma, heart-break, love for one another all drive their actions as well as the need to save the people of Camelot and it’s neighboring places.
This book sets the stage for Morgan’s final quest to destroy the grail, the sword and the spear through which she discovers truths not only about herself, but her family and her origins. As she moves to confront this truth, it’s a race against time to save the people she loves. The finale though slightly predictable, is very well executed and provides the much needed closure to this beautiful series!
We all need the kind of love Morgan and Draven have. This can be felt from this one quote: “Be everything you truly are. That’s all I’ll ever ask of you, my silver one.”
With this concludes my journey through Blood of a Fae, a series that I highly recommend for fans of retellings of legends with magic, romance and adventure all wrapped up in one!
About the Book:
Divided by Oceans but Eternally Bonded
Morgan Pendragon has another name now: Morgan Le Fay. As her true heritage slowly emerges from the mists of the past, Morgan renounces one possible future as the new ruler of the fierce Siabra fae and the wife of the Prince of Claws and vanishes through a portal–returning to Camelot and the Rose Court where her friends and younger brother lie in mortal peril from Arthur’s cruel wiles.
But back in the Court of Claws, Kairos Draven won’t allow his beloved to disappear from his life so easily. His bond with Morgan goes beyond blood, love, life, and even time itself and neither one of them can relinquish its power or its pull.
Yet Morgan is no ordinary woman. Not only is she beginning to manifest remarkable abilities, but the powers of the gods themselves run through her veins, bestowing her with an unimaginable power and an unthinkable claim over all of Aercanum and beyond…
A claim which some will stop at nothing to put a halt to.
My Thoughts:
This series had me hooked, rendering me wholly unable to stop reading.
Empress of Fae is the third installment in the Blood of a Fae series and this book really kicked up several notches in the heart hammering department. We follow Morgan as she rushes to save one brother and confront the other. Faced with the decision to claim her right as the Queen of the Siabra kingdom, Morgan flees, showing her need to be there for people but not to rule them.
She leaves Draven behind as she returns to Camelot, trying to find ways to get back into Arthur’s good graces, long enough to defeat him. She finds unexpected friends and allies among the people as well as a number of foes. As Draven, determined as ever, struggles to find his way to her, with a number of his trusted people who also now believe in Morgan, the reader is in for a bumpy ride.
The author packs no punches and ensures that the reader is pulled right into the middle of the story, perhaps even imagining themselves to be one among the characters as the events unfold. This book is much more heart-breaking and fast paced, with a lot of things happening all at once, thus setting the stage for the grand finale in the next book!
Once again, I must reiterate that I loved this series and each book in the series as well as each character. They are dear to me and I cannot imagine not having met them through these books!
About the Book:
Justin has a curse, and thanks to a Reddit thread, it’s now all over the internet. Every woman he dates goes on to find their soul mate the second they break up. When a woman slides into his DMs with the same problem, they come up with a plan: They’ll date each other and break up. Their curses will cancel each other’s out, and they’ll both go on to find the love of their lives. It’s a bonkers idea… and it just might work.
Emma hadn’t planned that her next assignment as a traveling nurse would be in Minnesota, but she and her best friend agree that dating Justin is too good of an opportunity to pass up, especially when they get to rent an adorable cottage on a private island on Lake Minnetonka.
It’s supposed to be a quick fling, just for the summer. But when Emma’s toxic mother shows up and Justin has to assume guardianship of his three siblings, they’re suddenly navigating a lot more than they expected–including catching real feelings for each other. What if this time Fate has actually brought the perfect pair together?
My Thoughts:
I read this book as part of the April BOTM read with obssessedbuddyreads!
I absolutely loved reading this book. It was fun and just the perfect summer read! The story follows Emma and Justin as they navigate their respective love lives which exist but do not exist. Somehow, the both of them always end up with people who after breaking up with them, find their soulmate in the next person they meet or date. Determined to turn this around, Emma, with encouragement from her best friend, reaches out to Justin through his reddit threads and together they hatch a plan to defeat the curse.
I love how this story had it’s ups and downs, but the characters were deep with issues lying under the surface. The author did not just gloss over them, but actually took time out to address some of the issues. Emma has abandonment issues and a fear of never being enough thanks to her mother and Justin is dealing with the after effects of his mother’s decisions as well as taking care of three younger siblings.
Of course the story is cliched and predictable in some ways, but this is sometimes just what is needed. A book mixed with both seriousness and fun and an all’s well that ends well vibe until the very end. I quite enjoyed this book and am glad to have read it along with some wonderful people in the community.