How’s February been going, Book Crew?
This month I decided to take it a bit easy for the over the top reads and the big plot / story building epics. I dove into the romance and simple, “slice of life” moments with my books. One of them came from the January book finds, it is R.C. Joshua’s Demon World Boba Shop Vol 1.
Joshua’s Demon World series is adorable! I’m going to easily declare it as a hidden gem. It is getting a big recommendation from me to readers looking for a quiet read that is still a fun story. Zero stakes. Little stress or anxiety (or should I say “Anxie-tea”. Arthur would absolutely love that one!). This is just a pure, happy read that makes you feel good the entire time. Our MC, Arthur, is given a chance to start over and chooses a place that is, simply put, nice. That includes everything from the demons and the city he finds himself in to the System herself, everyone in this world is just purely nice! We get to follow along as Arthur not only learns to navigate and build himself up in a skill system world, but to also learn how to just live a happy, nice, life in the exact way he wants to. This is a 5 book series currently that has quickly become my escape world lately. I mean seriously – who doesn’t want to hang out with friends, work at the exact job that they love to do no matter what it contributes to the world, work when they want to for the most part, and make / drink tea with boba in it? I could easily do a majority of that list every day if given the chance.
I’ve also been working my way through Catherine Cowles’s books. Another one of her books made it into my stack and Y’all, I fell for another book man.. Maybe it’s just the way Cowles writes, but her men are just swoon worthy, Shep is no exception! I am so looking forward to the rest of the Sparrow Falls series and working through the rest of the amazing Colson family. Having each of these individual find a perfect match for their personalities and the things they’ve been through just makes me squeal and giddy with happiness for them. This one is a 6 book series with each of the siblings getting the spot light per book. 100% worth it! You can easily stop after each individual one if you start to loose interest in the settings. In this latest one I picked up, Delicate Escape, Shep and Thea find a way to heal not only from the pains and fears they’ve had from their pasts. They also learn how to heal and trust in one another in a way that no one else would understand and connect with. However, even with the romance we get, there is still a bit of a thriller happening that keeps you a bit on edge. It is a steamy, oh-so-sweet romance with a bit of tension slipping in here and there on the pages giving you a perfect balance to the story. You will have a hard time putting it down.
Managed to give Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss a chance and I can’t really tell how I feel after that one. It was, in a superficial glance, about an inn keeper, who is more than just a simple inn keeper. He decides to tell a story about his life to a story-keeper and thus becomes our story-teller. And in his story there are also story-tellers telling stories about what people think of as only stories that could not possibly be real. – And I feel like the characters would both love that little run around with words and cringe at it too. I will be honest, it is not a bland read. Rothfuss has stunning writing and story ideas. He is a beautiful story-teller – pun absolutely intended! But I was left with a ton of questions about the present day circumstances since a majority of the book is the history of our MC. Not sure if I’ll be continuing this one. I am aware that this is a series that the author has never finished. Also, from what I’ve been told, doesn’t seem to have an interest in finishing? That last bit could be completely wrong, rumors are interesting beasts, but it leaves me a bit fearful to try and make it through another long writting when I won’t get any kind of conclusion.
Have a beautiful book filled day!
Book Finds
A Secret In The Garden By Jeneane O’Riley
Some secrets were never meant to be unearthed.
Perched on a windswept cliff, Blackwood Manor looms like a dark monument to a mysterious family. Behind its grand iron gates, one part of the estate has been left to rot since the tragic death of Hester Blackwood: the once-glorious conservatory, now choked by vines and shattered glass. The rest of the family is gone—only her brooding son, Jasper, remains, the heir to a weapons empire.
Desperate to save her job and out of options, botanist Eliza Arnold makes a bold gamble—drive to the manor and beg the elusive millionaire for a donation. Jasper agrees…on one chilling condition: restore the conservatory. Alone. No help. No leaving.
But the manor is not empty.
As Eliza battles thorns and secrets, a magnetic tension builds between her and Jasper—dark, dangerous, and impossible to ignore. And something else stirs among the roots and ruins…whispers in the walls, confusing disturbances, and a presence watching her every move.
The deeper Eliza digs, the more she uncovers a garden of grief, longing…and desire. Because in Blackwood Manor, even buried things can bloom again.
I Ran Away To Evil By Mystic Neptune
Henrietta Doryn has never enjoyed fighting. She’d rather be in the kitchen baking cookies. But it’s her duty as Warrior Princess to face off against the forces of evil. As such, she’s unceremoniously shooed from her kingdom to go eliminate the all-powerful Dark Lord next door.
Keith Monfort has never enjoyed ruling with an iron fist. He’d prefer to be in his workroom tinkering with practical magic. But it’s his duty to lead the Dark Enchanted Forest and the forces of evil. So when Henrietta shows up at his door, he’s only too happy to invite her in for tea to talk it out instead.
Can this unlikely pair prevent war between their two kingdoms? Where do their true loyalties lie? And when will they finally confess their growing feelings for each other?
Dire Bound By Sable Sorensen
Meryn Cooper has never dreamed of being one of the Bonded, the King’s elite warriors who form mental links with massive, vicious direwolves. She’s made peace with her life scraping by in poverty in the shadows of the castle. But then her younger sister Saela is kidnapped, stolen across the border by the immortal monsters her country has spent centuries fighting.
And Meryn’s world falls apart.
Desperate to cross the front and save her sister, Meryn enlists in the army—only to discover that there are Bonding Trials this year, where all soldiers are forced to risk their lives in an attempt to connect with a direwolf. It’s too late to turn back; Meryn is thrown into the deadly competition against her will.
Now, she’ll need to survive the next four months of training at the castle if she wants a chance of finding Saela. Everything here is a test, from the brutal classes where one mistake means death, to the glittering court parties where every smile hides a knife.
To make things worse, Meryn is bound to a feral direwolf who refuses to communicate. The other trainees would love to spill her common blood. And her gorgeous instructor, Stark Therion, is as malicious as the wolves himself.
Everyone is out to get her—everyone but the dangerously handsome crown prince, Killian Valtiere. But if she loses her heart to him, she may also lose her life. And the castle is hiding dark secrets…
Blood Song By Anthony Ryan
Vaelin Al Sorna was only a child of ten when his father left him at the iron gate of the Sixth Order. The Brothers of the Sixth Order are devoted to battle, and Vaelin will be trained and hardened to the austere, celibate, and dangerous life of a Warrior of the Faith. He has no family now save the Order.
Vaelin’s father was Battle Lord to King Janus, ruler of the unified realm. Vaelin’s rage at being deprived of his birthright and dropped at the doorstep of the Sixth Order like a foundling knows no bounds. He cherishes the memory of his mother, and what he will come to learn of her at the Order will confound him. His father, too, has motives that Vaelin will come to understand. But one truth overpowers all the rest: Vaelin Al Sorna is destined for a future he has yet to comprehend. A future that will alter not only the realm, but the world.
Lady of Roses & Ruin By Courtney Shack
A curse.
A wolf lord bound by ancient evil. A witch who sees lies.
A promise.
In a trick of fate, the witch must marry the wolf for a year and a day.
A vow.
To save the ones they love, one of them must die.
