K.F. Breene's A Ruin of Roses

A Ruin of Roses is a delicious and very sexy retelling of the story of Beauty and the Beast. I was worried stepping into the story that it would be boring or mundane as the base plot was already well known. I am a big fan of Disney movies- real & animated. Belle is the Disney princess I would want to be or try and be friends with. BUT! Back to the main topic- A Ruin of Roses - I really enjoyed this book and version of the story! It’s an enemies to lovers, forbidden love, emotional scars and redemption, injury, different worlds, riddled with magic and curses kinda book/series! The characters are, underneath the crass language and layers of curses, as lovely as Disney gave us. The beast is watching out for his people as much as he can to keep them safe as their defender against demons, he’s strong, selfless, a man of his word, intelligent and scarred. Finley, our Belle, is an outsider/nerd, intelligent, creative, loves books, a healer, beautiful, she’s strong, defends the people she loves and kick ass. Hadriel, one of the castle’s sidekicks, is a wonderful, grudgingly helpful, and funny character. As the series progresses, I think we will meet more of the castle characters to love and laugh with as the fight against the demon lord continues.

    This book is not for the faint of heart or someone who wants to clutch their pearls upon hearing very creative sexual kinks and actions. It is spicy, juicy, all levels of action I haven’t read very often (let alone even tried) and will leave you feeling faint, satisfied, or looking for your battery powered friend hidden in the nightstand drawer. Beyond that, as another heads up, the language is very crass. It’s consistent though, so you can get used to it rather than continually be pulled out of the story as sometimes happens.

    I didn’t realize this was a longer series so it ends with a rather huge cliffhanger that makes you want to yell at the characters “go! Get “them” go save them! Don’t just stay there!” Like a favorite show’s season finale is really the best way to explain it. Now I’m off to add to my book checkout A Throne of Ruin and see what happens next with Nyfain and Finley.

    

Legacy is a thrilling, motivational, romantic story. This is a reread for me and I chose Legacy to try and help motivate me to start moving as the winter is melting away into spring. I would like my extra weight and sad muscles to melt away and tone up. Help me Adrian and Lina! I really enjoy the layering in this story between the characters. It’s not just a current day forced proximity or meet cute. Raylan and Adrian meet as young kids, we get snippets of them growing up, entwining here and there, reconnecting later, but still with important windows into their individual lives and how they are where they are when the story truly begins and love blooms. Raylan has an entire life before really settling into the current day while Adrian has a giant career and life long stalker. The layering of relationships, especially with the grandparents, the many kinds of love shown throughout the novel, the family and friendships, the killers, the way to cute and funny dogs and the positive messaging to find joy in life just sucks me into this story. I wish I lived in town near everyone. I wanna be a friend and neighbor, come over for food, wine, workouts, and girl time!

 
    Nora Roberts might be a bit formulaic, but I love her formula. It rarely gets old 9it's a comfort really) and I have almost everything she writes as Nora Roberts. Her mysteries are believable, and you can almost see yourself as the heroine in the story. There are just enough twists and turns to keep you on the edge of your seat and wanting to know how everything will unfold and play out. She reminds you to be happy you aren’t the one being chased and stalked by evil! Roberts is always good for a dive into the darkness surrounding the killers but then she bobs out into the sun again so you can bask in the love blooming in the pages. Another thing I love about Nora Roberts is she tries to pick different professions to write the story around and in Legacy we get that spark of fun with the heroes, Adrian and Raylan. Adrian is a fitness guru and Raylan is a comic book illustrator and creator. So fun! I just want to go grab my sketch pad and draw, maybe paint, then later do some yoga to stretch out.

Sarah J. Maas' House of Flame and Shadow

Bryce Quinlan: Better than Expected.  (Once you read this amazing book, you will laugh.) 

House of Flame and Shadow is freaking pulse pounding, thrilling, had me constantly on the edge of my seat, gifts us with a full (!!!!) cast ensemble, mates and romance are around most corners, keeps you thinking and wondering what the heck is going to happen next and how are they going to end the book and this series?! How are we, oops they, going to live through this!? “Through love, all is possible.” And Maas definitely loves us. I also really enjoyed all the crossovers to her other series…. Maas is so talented. No spoilers here but if you love Sarah J Maas and you have loved or enjoyed the Crescent City series- just read this beautiful monster of a novel. It is 100% worth it. Light it up! 

Now I need some bookish friends who have read and finished this book to go gush and spill the tea about ALL THE THINGS!!!!! THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS I need to talk about! Like, I got CHILLS when Hunt screams.... and what about Tharion Ketos?! And what seems to be a set up for ---- nope, stopping myself now.... 

Books and Sharing- the Unpleasant Side

 

Today is another cold, ice slicked day, but at least the sun is shining. The ice is glittering as you try not to fall while penguin walking from your car to school and work. This had me thinking of bookstagram, and book reviews in general. I don't know why, it just did. I recently saw a bookstagram account I follow share their DNF (Did Not Finish) for 2023 and I remember thinking, “Wow! That is so bold to put that out there! How brave to share the unpleasant side of books.” As readers, we don’t love or even like some books and at times even detest or can’t finish a book for a multitude of reasons. Do you want to know if I didn’t like, didn’t finish a book, or had some other unpleasant feelings towards a book? It’s such an individual thing and the author and their team have put so much work into getting published and out into the world. Should I cushion my review and feelings of a book I didn’t enjoy with some positivity or just let it fly where I stand, when I share with you? I feel like I tend to do a sandwiching with bad or negative things, okay, confession, I literally do this with everything in my life… something positive, something negative or corrective, something positive. In taking up a position as a book blogger though- is that ok or is that enough? Is it a turnoff to read someone’s dislike or just if it happens periodically, as we know happens with inevitable book slumps?

For people who visit my blog and Insta often (thank you friends!), can you tell my tone and choice of words as to what my enthusiasm or position of a book might be, even if it’s not explicitly said? I do have shelves on Goodreads (happy to friend you there) that I will shelve books so I remember in the future how a book landed. Examples of the more unpleasant shelves are “can get annoying frustrating,” “never going to finish,” “once was enough,” “plan never to read,” and “started stopped might try again.”

What is the etiquette bloggers are wanting to set as their standard? What do you want to hear or know? I can share with you, that if I posted on a book and you wanted to know more or you read it and wanted to rant or rave, I would be so happy to dive in and gush or purge beyond my short opinion I posted! Talk books with me! LOL!