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erinarkin20
I love Anne Gracie’s books. I came across her books when a friend posted about how much she loved her stories so I immediately grabbed one and couldn’t stop reading. Marry in Secret is the third book in the Marriage of Convenience series, and it focuses on Rose.
Rose is looking for some freedom and has come to a decision that the only way she will get it is if she marries. Just as she is walking down the aisle to wed one of the most eligible bachelors in London, someone she never expected walks back into her life and stops everything…her husband! We find out that Rose secretly married Thomas, a naval officer, just before he headed out to sea and for the last four years has thought he was dead. Of course, his turning up not only stops the wedding but also puts these two in a situation they never thought they would be in. As they determine what is the best course of action for their marriage, they also have to overcome the danger because Thomas was clearly betrayed, and someone is still trying to get rid of him.
I loved Rose. Despite the initial shock of seeing Thomas return, she knew immediately what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to push Thomas to acknowledge they should still be together no matter how much he tried to push her away. I thought Thomas was a great character as well. He has had a rough time since he was thought lost at sea but his motivation to find out why he was betrayed and to get back to Rose are what drove him to find his way back. I loved that once he was back, he never gave up on trying to find the men that survived with him. His desire to bring them home no matter what showed his true character.
If you have read the other two books in this series, you know the typical cast of characters. I loved that we got to see how their relationships were progressing and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series so we can see what happens next for George.
As always, another great historical romance by Anne Gracie. Consider checking her books out if you haven’t already. I love how she develops her characters, builds out the story, and keeps me turning the pages so I can get to the HEA.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rose is looking for some freedom and has come to a decision that the only way she will get it is if she marries. Just as she is walking down the aisle to wed one of the most eligible bachelors in London, someone she never expected walks back into her life and stops everything…her husband! We find out that Rose secretly married Thomas, a naval officer, just before he headed out to sea and for the last four years has thought he was dead. Of course, his turning up not only stops the wedding but also puts these two in a situation they never thought they would be in. As they determine what is the best course of action for their marriage, they also have to overcome the danger because Thomas was clearly betrayed, and someone is still trying to get rid of him.
I loved Rose. Despite the initial shock of seeing Thomas return, she knew immediately what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to push Thomas to acknowledge they should still be together no matter how much he tried to push her away. I thought Thomas was a great character as well. He has had a rough time since he was thought lost at sea but his motivation to find out why he was betrayed and to get back to Rose are what drove him to find his way back. I loved that once he was back, he never gave up on trying to find the men that survived with him. His desire to bring them home no matter what showed his true character.
If you have read the other two books in this series, you know the typical cast of characters. I loved that we got to see how their relationships were progressing and I’m looking forward to the next book in this series so we can see what happens next for George.
As always, another great historical romance by Anne Gracie. Consider checking her books out if you haven’t already. I love how she develops her characters, builds out the story, and keeps me turning the pages so I can get to the HEA.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
Storm and Fury by Jennifer Armentrout is the first book in the new Harbinger series. I will admit, I didn’t read The Dark Elements series so a lot of what I learned and happened in this book was new to me and while the characters from that series do show up in this one, they aren’t the main focus. I don’t know that I needed to have the back story of those characters to get into this one but having gone back to read the summaries, I understood the link better.
The main character in this book is Trinity Marrow. She has been living with Wardens for a long time to hide a secret that could put her in a lot of danger but when other Wardens show up to the compound to share some news about something out there killing Wardens and demons, things start to implode.
As I mentioned, Trinity (and her family) are hiding a secret about her. I’m not going to say a lot about it because I don’t want to give it away, but I will tell you that if the demons found out about it, it would put her in danger. On top of that secret, Trinity can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits which makes her special and gives her the opportunity to dig a bit more into the things she sees. I liked Trinity. She loves her family and friends and as you will find out in the story, will do anything to protect them. I loved that she didn’t let her disability (she’s going blind) hold her back either. It reflected a strength of character that not everyone has and in the world Trinity lives in, she doesn’t have the luxury of just sitting back and feeling sorry for herself.
This other group of Wardens that show up at the compound include Zayne. If you read The Dark Elements series, that name will sound familiar to you. He has a back story and as I mentioned, everything was new to me because I hadn’t read the other books. I don’t think it hurt the story for me at all, it just kept me wondering what the heck his story was. It was eventually revealed but you just have to wait for it. I liked Zayne. He’s a little angsty which I don’t mind but he sees something in Trinity and as the story continues, something is revealed that helps to explain the connection these two feel for each other. I loved how their relationship progressed and will be curious to see what happens next for these two.
The secondary characters are great. I loved getting a glimpse into Trinity’s family – Misha, Thierry, Matthew, and of course Jada. As the story progresses, her relationships change with each of these characters and it definitely helped the story along. It was also interesting to see Trinity mix with new people like Nicolai, Dex, Roth, and Layla. Again, I’m interested to see where things go for all of them based on how this book ended. I can’t neglect to mention Peanut here too because he really does help and support Trinity when she needs it.
The world building Armentrout does is always well done. In this case, the structure of the demon world, how Trinity fits in, and of course mixing in the human world helped to build out this story and I’m always amazed at how this is done.
Overall, I thought this was a solid book one for a new series and while there is overlap with the other books, we do get introduced to a different story. If you enjoyed The Dark Elements series, I really think you will want to pick this one up. I’m never disappointed by a Jennifer Armentrout book and this book made me want to go back to pick up the ones I missed. I will definitely be picking up book two when available and encourage you to add this one to your TBR if you enjoy the paranormal genre.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
The main character in this book is Trinity Marrow. She has been living with Wardens for a long time to hide a secret that could put her in a lot of danger but when other Wardens show up to the compound to share some news about something out there killing Wardens and demons, things start to implode.
As I mentioned, Trinity (and her family) are hiding a secret about her. I’m not going to say a lot about it because I don’t want to give it away, but I will tell you that if the demons found out about it, it would put her in danger. On top of that secret, Trinity can see and communicate with ghosts and spirits which makes her special and gives her the opportunity to dig a bit more into the things she sees. I liked Trinity. She loves her family and friends and as you will find out in the story, will do anything to protect them. I loved that she didn’t let her disability (she’s going blind) hold her back either. It reflected a strength of character that not everyone has and in the world Trinity lives in, she doesn’t have the luxury of just sitting back and feeling sorry for herself.
This other group of Wardens that show up at the compound include Zayne. If you read The Dark Elements series, that name will sound familiar to you. He has a back story and as I mentioned, everything was new to me because I hadn’t read the other books. I don’t think it hurt the story for me at all, it just kept me wondering what the heck his story was. It was eventually revealed but you just have to wait for it. I liked Zayne. He’s a little angsty which I don’t mind but he sees something in Trinity and as the story continues, something is revealed that helps to explain the connection these two feel for each other. I loved how their relationship progressed and will be curious to see what happens next for these two.
The secondary characters are great. I loved getting a glimpse into Trinity’s family – Misha, Thierry, Matthew, and of course Jada. As the story progresses, her relationships change with each of these characters and it definitely helped the story along. It was also interesting to see Trinity mix with new people like Nicolai, Dex, Roth, and Layla. Again, I’m interested to see where things go for all of them based on how this book ended. I can’t neglect to mention Peanut here too because he really does help and support Trinity when she needs it.
The world building Armentrout does is always well done. In this case, the structure of the demon world, how Trinity fits in, and of course mixing in the human world helped to build out this story and I’m always amazed at how this is done.
Overall, I thought this was a solid book one for a new series and while there is overlap with the other books, we do get introduced to a different story. If you enjoyed The Dark Elements series, I really think you will want to pick this one up. I’m never disappointed by a Jennifer Armentrout book and this book made me want to go back to pick up the ones I missed. I will definitely be picking up book two when available and encourage you to add this one to your TBR if you enjoy the paranormal genre.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review.
Dev1at3 is book two in the Lifel1k3 series by Jay Kristoff and trust me…if you haven’t started reading these books you definitely need to fix that. They are a mix of sci-fi, dystopian, post-apocalyptic…and I love it! I will do my absolute best to not spoil anything here but be warned that there could be spoilers to the first book if you haven’t yet read.
This book picks up where we left off in Lifel1k3 and Kristoff ends up giving us a view into each character’s storyline by giving us chapters from each perspective and I really appreciated that because very quickly they all find themselves on different paths. Evie, Lemon, Ezekiel, and Cricket are the perspectives we get, and I loved how each chapter pulled all the separate stories along even though the characters weren’t together.
If you’ve read anything by Kristoff, you know he doesn’t take it easy on his characters and that is certainly the case in this book. Each one of these characters is on a journey and whether they end up in a good place (or not) is something you will just have to pick up the books to find out. There are some new characters in this book too and I loved how they added more to the existing stories vs distract. Abraham, Grimm, Diesel, and so many more…I just can’t say enough about how I loved how Kristoff aligned all of these character’s stories with the overarching plot.
I can’t say too much about the actual story without ruining it so I’m not going to. Just know that Evie is determined to destroy the world, Lemon is figuring things out, Ezekiel is making some real difficult choices, and Cricket is finding new ways to survive within the confines of the laws of robotics. I’m really looking forward to the third book in this series. So much happened in the last few chapters of Dev1at3 that all I can say is brace yourself.
If you are looking for a story that is unique, has tons of action and twists, and will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what the characters will have to face next, this is a book for you. I’ll just be over here waiting for the next book so I can see who will make it out of the situations they are in…hopefully as undamaged as possible.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review!
This book picks up where we left off in Lifel1k3 and Kristoff ends up giving us a view into each character’s storyline by giving us chapters from each perspective and I really appreciated that because very quickly they all find themselves on different paths. Evie, Lemon, Ezekiel, and Cricket are the perspectives we get, and I loved how each chapter pulled all the separate stories along even though the characters weren’t together.
If you’ve read anything by Kristoff, you know he doesn’t take it easy on his characters and that is certainly the case in this book. Each one of these characters is on a journey and whether they end up in a good place (or not) is something you will just have to pick up the books to find out. There are some new characters in this book too and I loved how they added more to the existing stories vs distract. Abraham, Grimm, Diesel, and so many more…I just can’t say enough about how I loved how Kristoff aligned all of these character’s stories with the overarching plot.
I can’t say too much about the actual story without ruining it so I’m not going to. Just know that Evie is determined to destroy the world, Lemon is figuring things out, Ezekiel is making some real difficult choices, and Cricket is finding new ways to survive within the confines of the laws of robotics. I’m really looking forward to the third book in this series. So much happened in the last few chapters of Dev1at3 that all I can say is brace yourself.
If you are looking for a story that is unique, has tons of action and twists, and will keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what the characters will have to face next, this is a book for you. I’ll just be over here waiting for the next book so I can see who will make it out of the situations they are in…hopefully as undamaged as possible.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy in exchange for an honest review!
3.5 stars
The Beholder by Anna Bright is a book that as soon as I saw the cover, I put it on my TBR shelf. It is a beautiful cover and mirrors the description of the ship in the book! This is book one in a series and while I told myself I was going to hold on starting new series books until I finished a few, I couldn’t help myself. The summary sounded intriguing!
Selah is the main character and as the only daughter of the leader of her country, Potomac, she needs to find a husband who will help her lead her people when the time comes for her to step in for her father. Unfortunately for Selah, that time may come sooner than she thinks as her father’s health has be steadily failing. Another piece of the puzzle is Selah’s stepmother. She is clearly up to something and I’m willing to bet it is more than Selah really thinks. When Selah’s first choice for a husband falls through, her stepmother sends her away to find a husband across the Atlantic and if she doesn’t find one, she shouldn’t come home.
I liked Selah but I wished she was more willing to challenge those around her. She seemed to just go along with what everyone told her to do without once questioning or digging to see if there was something more to it. With that said, the last few chapters were fantastic in that she finally stood up and forced the people around her to give her answers, so I am hoping that continues on in book two. As for her husband options, we met 3 of them in this book…yes, 3. I’m not sure how I feel about her relationships as she really only has a few weeks before a decision has to be made and she moves on to the next one. I liked Bear and Torden but also think Selah is really just looking for a way to get back to Potomac…not to say she doesn’t have feelings for them, but she did move on really quickly from one to the next and I’m not sure how I really feel about it.
The other characters in this book are well developed and while the crew of The Beholder are keeping secrets from Selah, they still support and protect her when necessary. I loved how they all banded around her as they were leaving Bear and his family as it really showed Selah that while they might not always agree, they will be there when she needs them most. Lang, Captain of The Beholder, is definitely an interesting character and I can’t wait to see where things go with him. Some of his secrets are revealed at the end of this book but I guarantee we haven’t learned everything.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and Bright did a good job of keeping me interested in both the characters and the story. I’m definitely looking forward to book two so I can find out what happens with Selah and the crew of The Beholder as there appears to be a lot more story to tell. If you are looking for a new series to start, consider picking this one up. There’s action, swoony boys, and lots of secrets in the pages of this book…what more could you want!
Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Beholder by Anna Bright is a book that as soon as I saw the cover, I put it on my TBR shelf. It is a beautiful cover and mirrors the description of the ship in the book! This is book one in a series and while I told myself I was going to hold on starting new series books until I finished a few, I couldn’t help myself. The summary sounded intriguing!
Selah is the main character and as the only daughter of the leader of her country, Potomac, she needs to find a husband who will help her lead her people when the time comes for her to step in for her father. Unfortunately for Selah, that time may come sooner than she thinks as her father’s health has be steadily failing. Another piece of the puzzle is Selah’s stepmother. She is clearly up to something and I’m willing to bet it is more than Selah really thinks. When Selah’s first choice for a husband falls through, her stepmother sends her away to find a husband across the Atlantic and if she doesn’t find one, she shouldn’t come home.
I liked Selah but I wished she was more willing to challenge those around her. She seemed to just go along with what everyone told her to do without once questioning or digging to see if there was something more to it. With that said, the last few chapters were fantastic in that she finally stood up and forced the people around her to give her answers, so I am hoping that continues on in book two. As for her husband options, we met 3 of them in this book…yes, 3. I’m not sure how I feel about her relationships as she really only has a few weeks before a decision has to be made and she moves on to the next one. I liked Bear and Torden but also think Selah is really just looking for a way to get back to Potomac…not to say she doesn’t have feelings for them, but she did move on really quickly from one to the next and I’m not sure how I really feel about it.
The other characters in this book are well developed and while the crew of The Beholder are keeping secrets from Selah, they still support and protect her when necessary. I loved how they all banded around her as they were leaving Bear and his family as it really showed Selah that while they might not always agree, they will be there when she needs them most. Lang, Captain of The Beholder, is definitely an interesting character and I can’t wait to see where things go with him. Some of his secrets are revealed at the end of this book but I guarantee we haven’t learned everything.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and Bright did a good job of keeping me interested in both the characters and the story. I’m definitely looking forward to book two so I can find out what happens with Selah and the crew of The Beholder as there appears to be a lot more story to tell. If you are looking for a new series to start, consider picking this one up. There’s action, swoony boys, and lots of secrets in the pages of this book…what more could you want!
Thank you to the publisher for an early copy in exchange for an honest review.