“Addie is visiting Ireland for her aunt’s over-the-top destination wedding and hoping she can stop thinking about the one thing she did that left her miserable and heartbroken—and threatens her future. But her brother, Ian, isn’t about to let her forget, and his constant needling leads to arguments and even a fistfight between the two once inseparable siblings. Miserable, Addie can’t wait to visit her friend in Italy and leave her brother—and her problems—behind.

So when Addie discovers an unusual guidebook, Ireland for the Heartbroken, hidden in the dusty shelves of the hotel library, she’s able to finally escape her anxious mind and Ian’s criticism.

And then their travel plans change. Suddenly Addie finds herself on a whirlwind tour of the Emerald Isle, trapped in the world’s smallest vehicle with Ian and his admittedly cute, Irish-accented friend Rowan. As the trio journeys over breathtaking green hills, past countless castles, and through a number of fairy-tale forests, Addie hopes her guidebook will heal not only her broken heart, but also her shattered relationship with her brother.

That is if they don’t get completely lost along the way.”

If you are going into this thinking it’s going to be a cute romance, then you’ll be disappointed. I even thought it was going to and kept waiting for it, but there really wasn’t any, which is why I docked it a star. I really loved Love & Gelato, the first book, which was based off of grief and finding love in a foreign country that you are now living in. We do have the main characters from that book as side characters in Love & Luck. This really focuses on family, forgiving one another as well as your self, acceptance, figuring out your own path, and dealing with a fall out. I did really enjoy those themes and loved how much stronger Addie became as well as her relationship with Ian. Totally pick up this series and I say you don’t have to read them in order.

“From holy cup comes holy light;
The faithful hands sets world aright.
And in the Seven Martyrs’ sight,
Mere man shall end this endless night.

It has been twenty-seven long years since the last sunrise. For nearly three decades, vampires have waged war against humanity; building their eternal empire even as they tear down our own. Now, only a few tiny sparks of light endure in a sea of darkness.

Gabriel de León is a silversaint: a member of a holy brotherhood dedicated to defending realm and church from the creatures of the night. But even the Silver Order couldn’t stem the tide once daylight failed us, and now, only Gabriel remains.

Imprisoned by the very monsters he vowed to destroy, the last silversaint is forced to tell his story. A story of legendary battles and forbidden love, of faith lost and friendships won, of the Wars of the Blood and the Forever King and the quest for humanity’s last remaining hope:

The Holy Grail.”

Sighs, this was so freaking good. So, I went to Barnes and Noble not yesterday, but last Sunday and this was laying out and I just had to have it and I got it before they pulled the books later that day. This edition is just beautiful with the end papers and then the artwork in this book is just amazing. Okay, I thought I wouldn’t like this book, but I really wanted to read this because of vampires. However, I freaking loved this book. Gabriel is a great, broody vampire that is glorious. I loved the evil vampires and all the blood and gore in this book. I loved the story telling and the world building. I really want to see more of this world and more of Gabriel. My heart broke at times and then times I would be cheering. This book takes you on a rollercoaster. You all have to read this and you’ll definitely won’t regret it. I do want to warn that it has a slow build, but it is worth it.

“Anna Hart is a seasoned missing persons detective in San Francisco with far too much knowledge of the darkest side of human nature. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns that a local teenage girl has gone missing.

The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna’s childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever. As past and present collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with saving the missing girl, she must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to let others in.

Weaving together actual cases of missing persons, trauma theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, this propulsive and deeply affecting novel tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the worst happens, to reclaim our lives—and our faith in one another.”

I’m just going to admit that I almost dnfed this book so many times. I found myself so bored and my mind wandered so many times as I listened to the audiobook. I do like the tie of Anna’s trauma to the cases. It really made her proactive because of it. For me, this was just a big miss.

“Zachary Ezra Rawlins is a graduate student in Vermont when he discovers a mysterious book hidden in the stacks. As he turns the pages, entranced by tales of lovelorn prisoners, key collectors, and nameless acolytes, he reads something strange: a story from his own childhood. Bewildered by this inexplicable book and desperate to make sense of how his own life came to be recorded, Zachary uncovers a series of clues—a bee, a key, and a sword—that lead him to a masquerade party in New York, to a secret club, and through a doorway to an ancient library hidden far below the surface of the earth. What Zachary finds in this curious place is more than just a buried home for books and their guardians—it is a place of lost cities and seas, lovers who pass notes under doors and across time, and of stories whispered by the dead. Zachary learns of those who have sacrificed much to protect this realm, relinquishing their sight and their tongues to preserve this archive, and also of those who are intent on its destruction. Together with Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired protector of the place, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances, Zachary travels the twisting tunnels, darkened stairwells, crowded ballrooms, and sweetly soaked shores of this magical world, discovering his purpose—in both the mysterious book and in his own life.”
I thought this was an unique story and I loved the multiple point of views. However, I think this book is an acquired taste. For me, it was hard to follow and maybe that’s because I listened to it on audiobook. I did find it hard to get into it and a bit bizarre. I felt this way with The Night Circus, which I never finished and I’m not sure if I will after finishing this book. This author just may not be for me. Plus, I was dragging with this book and didn’t really want to listen to it day to day.

My depression has kicked my butt lately and I have struggled staying focused on any book. But, Skyward did the opposite for me. It actually made me enjoy reading and devour a book! Yay!
The battle scenes were epic and heart racing with you feeling like your on the edge of your seat wanting to know what happens next. The characters were great-especially M-Bot due to his comedic reliefs.
I was very hesitant to pick up the first and second book to this series since I wasn’t fond of Mistborn, but I’m glad I gave it a chance.

“Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own ideas of what Happily Ever After should look like.”

Okay, it took me forever to finish this book, but I blame that on me being sick and so fatigued that when I was coming home from work I didn’t want anything to do with listening to a book and just wanted to sleep. Then, now being home from work sick, I am not walking Riot, so I am not listening to audiobooks. Anyway, my audiobook had someone on a hold with it, so I had to make myself listen to it. I’m glad I did and thought this book was cute and charming. It gets bonus points for quoting my favorite movie: 27 dresses and then referencing Taylor Swift songs. I enjoyed the friendships, the will they won’t they trope, and the grief. Definitely pick this book up.

This is the highly anticipated sequel to the Inheritance Games. This follows up right after the first book and I really don’t want to get into the summary because I really don’t want to spoil the book. All I’m going to say is that this is about Avery and she is given a huge inheritance and doesn’t understand why and she ends up in a game to figure out why Toby Hawthorne gave her this inheritance and not his family.
I was really looking forward to this book since I loved The Inheritance Games, which reminded me of a teenage version of Knives Out. Anyway, this book disappointed me. I felt like it was a fast read and it only took me two days to read it. However, I spent most of the time waiting for something truly to happen. Like a huge twist or something, but that never happened. There were twists, don’t get me wrong and they were done well, but they weren’t the oh my gosh twists that keep you the edge of your seat. I’m not sure how I feel about the slow burn romance in this book and kind of felt like it was out of place. It was just okay and I will read the final book.

“In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet—her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there.

Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother.

Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?”

First, I want to say this is a fast read and it took me less than 48 hours to devour it. I loved the found family with the witches and the friendships that they make. Now, my gripes. I want to know more about their magic and what they can do. It is not really explored in this book. I found the book to be very predictable on who the bad guy was and when there was supposed to be action at the end for the resolution, it was very anti-climatic and rushed. I do wish Frances had more character development and had more remorse or feelings about the death of Mr. Hues. When thinking about this book, I don’t really see what the goal of the plot was. I mean it is to find who the murderer is, but what then? It was still a fast read and if you want a witchy read, then read this and the ending sets up for a sequel, which I may read.

“Emily is having the time of her life—she’s in the mountains of Chile with her best friend, Kristen, on their annual reunion trip, and the women are feeling closer than ever. But on the last night of the trip, Emily enters their hotel suite to find blood and broken glass on the floor. Kristen says the cute backpacker she brought back to their room attacked her, and she had no choice but to kill him in self-defense. Even more shocking: The scene is horrifyingly similar to last year’s trip, when another backpacker wound up dead. Emily can’t believe it’s happened again—can lightning really strike twice?

Back home in Wisconsin, Emily struggles to bury her trauma, diving headfirst into a new relationship and throwing herself into work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to confront their violent past. The more Kristen tries to keep Emily close, the more Emily questions her motives. As Emily feels the walls closing in on their cover-ups, she must reckon with the truth about her closest friend. Can Emily outrun the secrets she shares with Kristen, or will they destroy her relationship, her freedom—even her life?”

Hello, I’m Kayla and I tend to be disappointed in thrillers lately. However, and I mean, however-this actually didn’t disappoint me. I found this to be very gripping and I couldn’t stop listening to this book. I had to know how it ended and I found the ending to be very satisfying. Is Kristen actually bad or is she not? Tis the question. I liked how this book made you think uhhh, yes and then, possibly no? It was just a fun thriller and I totally enjoyed this with its twists. Pick this up.