I’m not a huge reality TV watcher, but something about RuPaul’s Drag Race is so captivating and entertaining. I’ve been a fan since Season 8, and it’s one of the only things keeping me sane during this lockdown and pandemic.
There seems to be a few different RPDR book tags out there, but I decided to go with the one created by Cats and Camera.
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
HADES EDITION
During quarantine, I decided to invest in a Switch. I mean, what else is there to do stuck indoors except invest a lot of time and money in fictional stories and characters? (Wait, I just realized that that sounds very similar to books. Huh… who would’ve thunk it.) It seemed like a good idea at the time. In fact, it was such a genius idea that all of the US decided to join in on the fun. It was virtually impossible to find a Switch, and it took me a few months to get my hands on one.
Now that I’ve got one, I’ve become super obsessed with this little game called Hades. You might’ve heard of it. It won The Game Awards for Best Independent Game and Best Action Game in 2020. While I don’t know much about The Game Awards (or care, to be frank), I can understand why it won. It’s a super fun game, and it has fantastic artwork. If you’re looking to take a break from gaming, but want something Hades related, this is the place for you. If you’re looking for book recommendations in general, this is also the place for you. We welcome gamers and non-gamers alike here.
We know what a TBR is (to be read). A lot of bookworms have TBRs long enough to last a lifetime. But one thing I’ve never heard of in all my years as an online bookworm is an anti-TBR. When I saw this tag (originally created by Nicole @ Nicole & Her Books on YouTube), I was intrigued.
Basically, the questions revolve around books/authors that you wouldn’t put in your TBR (hence the name). I’ve seen other people’s answers to these questions, and some of them are s p i c y.
(Hopefully I won’t get cancelled by the end of this.)
Let’s get into it!
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I saw a TikTok recently of a person arguing that listening to audiobooks counts as reading. While I didn’t think much of it (since I agreed), something was nagging me at the back of my mind. I can only imagine that they made that TikTok because there are people in the book community who don’t consider audiobooks as a form of reading. Suddenly, while I was in the shower (where all the good ideas/thinking take place), I had a thought: reading is like potatoes, and here’s why.
✧ This review is spoiler-free! ✧
“History, huh? Bet we could make some.”
Casey McQuiston, Red, White & Royal Blue
Title: Red, White & Royal Blue
Series: standalone
Author: Casey McQuiston
Published: May 14, 2019
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Category: adult
Genre: contemporary, romance, LGBTQ+
Pages: 421
My Rating: ★★★★☆ (4.5)
Goodreads page
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A big-hearted romantic comedy in which the First Son falls in love with the Prince of Wales after an incident of international proportions forces them to pretend to be best friends…
First Son Alex Claremont-Diaz is the closest thing to a prince this side of the Atlantic. With his intrepid sister and the Veep’s genius granddaughter, they’re the White House Trio, a beautiful millennial marketing strategy for his mother, President Ellen Claremont. International socialite duties do have downsides—namely, when photos of a confrontation with his longtime nemesis Prince Henry at a royal wedding leak to the tabloids and threaten American/British relations.
The plan for damage control: staging a fake friendship between the First Son and the Prince. Alex is busy enough handling his mother’s bloodthirsty opponents and his own political ambitions without an uptight royal slowing him down. But beneath Henry’s Prince Charming veneer, there’s a soft-hearted eccentric with a dry sense of humor and more than one ghost haunting him.
As President Claremont kicks off her reelection bid, Alex finds himself hurtling into a secret relationship with Henry that could derail the campaign and upend two nations. And Henry throws everything into question for Alex, an impulsive, charming guy who thought he knew everything: What is worth the sacrifice? How do you do all the good you can do? And, most importantly, how will history remember you?
[ This synopsis was taken directly from Goodreads. ]
Continue reading“All magic came with a price, some prices were just higher than others.”
A Dance with Fire by Aleera Anaya Ceres
Title: A Dance with Fire
Series: Fae Elementals, #1
Author: Aleera Anaya Ceres
Published: September 21, 2020
Publisher: self-published
Category: new adult
Genres: romance, fantasy, fae
Pages: 502
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Goodreads page
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Shula Azzarh is Fae…
…in a world where it’s illegal to be.
Working at Piriguini’s Circus keeps her hidden in plain sight, but when a vicious accident exposes the truth of what she is, her safe game of hiding comes to an end. Taken by the emperor’s soldiers, Shula is forced into the hands of a mysterious Brotherhood, a group of humans hell-bent on eradicating her race completely.
The Fae Resistance needs her. Their healer hates her. And the Emperor of Illyk will stop at nothing to possess her. The secrets of the empire run deeper than she knows, and Shula will have to rely on the magic she’s suppressed for years to save herself from the emperor’s malicious plans.
Because Shula is an Elemental.
And her fire might be the only thing that can make or break their world.
Fans of Sarah J. Maas and Holly Black will love the first installment in this new, action packed, adult fantasy series!
This is a High Fantasy Fae series intended for readers 18 and over as it contains adult M/F romance, sexually explicit scenes, cursing, and dark themes.
[ This synopsis was taken directly from Goodreads. ]
Continue reading✧ This review is spoiler-free! ✧
“Love is the most powerful magic. Above all else, remember that. It will always guide you where you need to go.”
Kerri Maniscalco, Kingdom of the Wicked
Title: Kingdom of the Wicked
Series: Kingdom of the Wicked, #1
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Published: Oct. 27, 2020
Publisher: Jimmy Patterson
Category: YA
Genre: fantasy, magic, witches
Pages: 372
My Rating: ★★★☆☆
Goodreads page
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Two sisters.
One brutal murder.
A quest for vengeance that will unleash Hell itself…
And an intoxicating romance.
Emilia and her twin sister Vittoria are streghe – witches who live secretly among humans, avoiding notice and persecution. One night, Vittoria misses dinner service at the family’s renowned Sicilian restaurant. Emilia soon finds the body of her beloved twin…desecrated beyond belief. Devastated, Emilia sets out to find her sister’s killer and to seek vengeance at any cost-even if it means using dark magic that’s been long forbidden.
Then Emilia meets Wrath, one of the Wicked-princes of Hell she has been warned against in tales since she was a child. Wrath claims to be on Emilia’s side, tasked by his master with solving the series of women’s murders on the island. But when it comes to the Wicked, nothing is as it seems…
[ This synopsis was taken directly from Goodreads. ]
Continue readingI don’t know about you, but it’s been a hot minute since I’ve read the ACOTAR series. In honor of the newest book, A Court of Silver Flame, coming out next week, I thought I’d summarize what has happened in the last three books (and one short story) for anyone who needs a refresher before book 4. I’m going to yada yada a lot of the series, but that being said…
THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS FOR A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES, A COURT OF MIST AND FURY, A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN, AND A COURT OF FROST AND STARLIGHT!
You have been warned.
Continue readingRomance and no romance book recommendations
Valentine’s Day is around the corner, and people usually have one of two reactions. Either you get excited thinking about it or you just rolled your eyes at me. Either way, I have book recommendations for whether you’re a romantic at heart (like myself) or not.
Continue reading“All things have a value. Sometimes the value is paid in coin. Other times, it is paid in time and sweat. And finally, sometimes it is paid in blood. Humanity seems most eager to use this latter currency. And we never note how much of it we’re spending, unless it happens to be our own.
Foundryside, Robert Jackson Bennett
This review is spoiler-free.
Title: Foundryside
Series: The Founders Trilogy, #1
Author: Robert Jackson Bennett
Published: August 21, 2018
Publisher: Crown
Category: adult
Genre: fantasy
Pages: 505
My Rating: ★★★★☆
Goodreads page
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Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle.
But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s been sent to steal an artifact of unimaginable power, an object that could revolutionize the magical technology known as scriving. The Merchant Houses who control this magic–the art of using coded commands to imbue everyday objects with sentience–have already used it to transform Tevanne into a vast, remorseless capitalist machine. But if they can unlock the artifact’s secrets, they will rewrite the world itself to suit their aims.
Now someone in those Houses wants Sancia dead, and the artifact for themselves. And in the city of Tevanne, there’s nobody with the power to stop them.
To have a chance at surviving—and at stopping the deadly transformation that’s under way—Sancia will have to marshal unlikely allies, learn to harness the artifact’s power for herself, and undergo her own transformation, one that will turn her into something she could never have imagined.
[ This synopsis was taken directly from Goodreads. ]
Continue reading
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