Can't Wait Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

A woman invited to her wealthy fiance’s family retreat realizes they are hiding a terrible secret—and that she’s been there before, by the bestselling author of What Lies in the Woods.

A whirlwind romance.
When Theodora Scott met Connor—wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family—she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives.

Stay away from Connor Dalton.
Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.

I’ve been here before.
Theo has almost no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.

I still need to read one of Marshall's other adult novels, but luckily they are all standalones! I did read her newest one from this year when I was sent a review copy and I enjoyed it! Her YA thrillers are always amazing so I do enjoy her spin on the adult version even if they are without the supernatural thrill!

TITLE: A Killing Cold
AUTHOR: Kate Alice Marshall
PUBLISHER: Flatiron Books
GENRE: Thriller
RELEASE DATE: February 4, 2025

Top Ten Tuesday

 

I am skipping the teaser this week as at the time of writing this I have not started my current read. So come back next week when I will hopefully have a teaser up! 

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

This week's topic is: Top Ten Oldest (aka Earliest Published) Books on My TBR Pile (submitted by Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits)

*Leading you up to the oldest book at #1
**according to Goodreads I have several books where the publishing year is unknown, so I just started with the "known" ones.

10. THE DEMON YOU KNOW by Christine Warren--published in 2007, obtained probably in 2013 or 2014. Off the top of my head I remember starting this series right before one of my RT Conferences when I knew she was attending but I can't remember which one it was!
9. PROJECT 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz--published in 2007, don't remember when I bought this one...I did not think to write these dates down of when I added it to Goodreads because even those dates are skewed as I tend to forget to mark them as "to read" when I get them!
8. SHE'S NO FAERIE PRINCESS by Christine Warren--published in 2006, I think I have half of this series to read still!

7. PRINCE OF AIR & DARKNESS by Jenna Black--published in 2006, likely obtained around then? Maybe? I know it's a Kindle book hence why I have not read it yet!
6. OH MY GOTH by Gena Showalter--published in 2006, this one I got at a used book sale a few years back...and yeah, still haven't read it!
5. TOUCH OF EVIL by C.T. Adams & Cathy Clamp--published in 2006. I remember I had to search this one out after I found books 2 & 3 at a used book sale!

4. WOLF AT THE DOOR by Christine Warren--published in 2006, apparently a popular year for my TBR pile!
3. GOOD FAERIES, BAD FAERIES by Brian Froud--published in 1998, supposedly. I question Goodreads on this but since I don't know where in my TBR this is buried we'll go with it. It's possible it is 1998, but Goodreads has it as January 1st, which I think is usually when they don't know the date!
2. DARK VISIONS by L.J. Smith--published in 1991 and yes, it's the real L.J. not the ghostwriter one!

1. THE LAST UNICORN by Peter S. Beagle--published in 1968 and the oldest one in my TBR according to Goodreads. 

BONUS PICK:

FRANKENSTEIN by Marry Shelley--published in 1818, I forgot to add this to my Goodreads I think or it was labeled unknown and and I'm like what?! But I just remembered as I was wrapping up that this is in fact in my TBR pile, so it is the oldest! Pretty sure. Lol.

Let's Discuss: Authors Trying New Genres

 

Okay, it took me awhile to think of something to talk about. It was busy times for a bit then I had time but no thoughts and then the other day I saw something that sparked a rambling thought...so here we go!

Authors Trying New Genres

So the other day I saw a largely contemporary author announce their debut fantasy and I paused. Nothing wrong with authors switching up their genres, not an issue at all. But it does make me pause. When you see that contemporary author decide to take on something that is not at all contemporary, it always makes me wonder...will I like this? It sounds intriguing for sure...but I am wildly hesitant.

I'm not a contemporary reader, unless you want to call thrillers a vein of contemporary, which yeah I guess they can be, but a scary contemporary at that! Lol. But yeah, contemporary books and I stopped hanging out...gosh I can't even remember how long ago. There was a time when I was reading both just because the paranormal books were few and far between, so I resorted myself to read contemporary novels. Then I began venturing out to "adult" books which was a lot of trial and error because I found too many books that had a heavy romance plot when I picked said book out of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section, I guess this was before we got better at putting books into the right genre. Romance eventually became more accepting of Paranormal themes when we had enough authors writing Paranormal Romance so it got its own section in the Romance area...but by then I was going back and forth with Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. So yeah, changing times! Lol.

Okay, I got off topic! Earlier this year, I did pick up a largely contemporary author's first paranormal book and it was good. Better than I expected but I wouldn't exactly call myself a fan just yet. It was definitely entertaining though and different. So now here I see another largely contemporary author about to debut a fantasy novel and here I am again wondering...will I like this? I love a good fantasy read but even those can be hit or miss depending on the world-building and explanation of magic systems because the ones I pick up have to have some form of magic in them! Lol.

This one I am eyeing as a possible read, but I'm also like...do I dare preorder it before I can find any reviews? It's a conundrum that's for sure! Plus there's still the "will I like a contemporary author's take on fantasy?" pickle to deal with.

I feel like if the story is right, I am definitely open to giving it a try...but then I look at my never-ending TBR pile and think, is this story really enticing enough for me to add yet another book to this chaos? Needless to say, I still do not know what I will do about this one...in fact, I still need to go back and look up the title to make a note to myself to "keep an eye on this one!"

So I basically just rambled there. My question for you is, how likely are you to try a book in your favorite genre by an author who has largely written in a genre you never--or in some cases, rarely--read?

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

 

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.

Last Week I Read:

The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent (5 stars)

Review That Was Posted:

The Whispering Dark by Susan Dennard (ARC) (4 stars)

Currently Reading:

Chasing Eternity by Alyson Noel (ARC)

What I Plan to Read Next:

The Shadows Rule All by Abigail Owen

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Can't Wait Wednesday
Books from the Backlog #109
Book Blogger Hop #332
Stacking the Shelves--The Spectacular Edition: Part 4

Review--The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King by Carissa Broadbent

 

This new hardcover edition of the bestselling The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King features new case art, a detailed map, and a never-before-seen bonus chapter!

From the New York Times bestselling author Carissa Broadbent, comes The Ashes & the Star-Cursed King, the gutting second installment of the Crowns of Nyaxia series, full of heartbreak, redemption, blood intrigue and heart-pounding action.

Love is a sacrifice at the altar of power.

In the wake of the Kejari, everything Oraya once thought to be true has been destroyed. A prisoner in her own kingdom, grieving the only family she ever had, and reeling from a gutting betrayal, she no longer even knows the truth of her own blood. She’s left only with one certainty: she cannot trust anyone, least of all Raihn.

Raihn’s own nobles are none too eager to accept a Turned king, especially one who was once a slave. And the House of Blood digs their claws into the kingdom, threatening to tear it apart from the inside.

When Raihn offers Oraya a secret alliance, taking the deal is her only chance at reclaiming her kingdom–and gaining her vengeance against the lover who betrayed her. But to do so, she’ll need to harness a devastating ancient power, intertwined with her father’s greatest secrets.

But with enemies closing in on all sides, nothing is as it seems. As she unravels her past and faces her future, Oraya finds herself forced to choose between the bloody reality of seizing power–and the devastating love that could be her downfall.

Carissa Broadbent brings an end to The Nightborn Duet with The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King in her amazing fantasy series! This was an exciting installment and picks up where we left off in the first book--the novella acts as an intermission sort of read as it introduced characters who pop up here, which was fun to see who they were and where they came from and the roles they played in the story. This was a book that started with a bang and ended with one too and never let up on the enthralling storytelling!

Raihn is now the king of the House of Blood and Oraya is his wife and queen, but theirs is not necessarily a happy marriage as Oraya is still mad at Raihn for his lies, deceit, and murdering her father. While their union is meant to protect her as well, Oraya feels like nothing more than a prisoner in her own home. But even Raihn's new rule does not necessarily make things better for the kingdom as a whole as there's still quite a bit of unrest between the neighboring kingdoms. Ones who are not happy seeing a once-slave take up the throne.

The deal Raihn initially made with Septimus to take the crown and the throne seems to be slowly backfiring as Septimus seems to still be keeping his own secrets and it's not until he and Raihn corner Oraya that she learns why. They are looking for objects of power that Vincent would've hidden somewhere in the castle and they believe Oraya with her burgeoning abilities that have come with her Heir mark can help them find these objects. Essentially, the items that they want Oraya to find can lead the wielder to have untold powers!

Raihn eventually comes to Oraya with another plan, one that involves taking Septimus down as he begins to think Septimus is not really on their side and if Oraya successfully helps him with this task, he'd let her go.

What a complicated web Broadbent has woven for these characters! Oraya and Raihn had such a struggle to form a relationship and then the ending events of the first book pretty much destroyed whatever trust was formed and Oraya is once again wondering where she went wrong with giving Raihn that initial trust. BUT, plot twist, this time Broadbent gives us Raihn's point of view as well as Oraya's! This was a game changer as I felt like there was so much to Raihn we didn't know and this helped immensely! I loved knowing what he was thinking and what his true goals were and all that jazz.

While the book can feel overwhelming with its 500+ page count and small font, it actually moves pretty fast! There's a nice quick pacing going on that does have its moments of levity as well. Things were intense in this one and I really enjoyed the route Broadbent took to get us to the end! Knowing now that we will be having a set of duologies to tell this whole world series, I am anxious to see who else will get a story as I know Mische is in the next one and I am positively DYING to read the next standalone novel that sits somewhere between these, I mean, Goodreads has it before The Songbird & The Heart of Stone, yet the book is not out yet...I mean it was but it's out of print and hard to find, but it's being reprinted...next year...in March. So I find myself in the pickle of when is the "right" time to read this one as it doesn't really have a number like the current books do. The stress of being a reader like me! Lol.

Anyway, back to the story, I truly enjoyed this one! The pacing was superb and I loved the dynamics between Oraya and Raihn! We have a sort of hate to love relationship going on and it was wonderful! Lol. Raihn knows he did wrong and is trying to make up for it, while Oraya is filled with mixed emotions over Raihn and what he did. Needless to say, you pretty know what direction things will go in and I was all for it! I was very happy with how things ended with this one!

The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King was an incredible and thoroughly entertaining read! I curse my need for sleep and busy days with work. I just long to curl up and read the book straight through when the words as addicting as what Broadbent writes! I cannot wait to see what else she will do with this fantastical world she has created! Bring on the next duology!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Stacking the Shelves--The Spectacular Edition: Part 4

 

Stacking the Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual. This means you can include books you buy in physical store or online, books you borrow from friends or the library, review books, gifts, and of course ebooks! The meme is now hosted by Reading Reality.

It was another week, made more stressful because my missing Spectacular book is STILL at that post office! It's driving me insane! What's worse is my local PO gave me a phone number that I can call for this sorting center...the number went straight to a voicemail that was FULL and a message could NOT be left! There was no "welcome to the PO, here's the menu..." spiel, there was NOTHING!! So I looked up the PO that my person indicated and the USPS website had a completely different and INVALID PHONE NUMBER! That one I dialed straight from the link and the number was NOT IN SERVICE! WTF?! I mean SERIOUSLY...WTF?! I tried calling the basic 1-800 number but never even got to an actual freaking person to talk to but I think I filed a claim about a missing package at least but this is f---ing crazy! For a container of packages to sit at a PO for A MONTH is ridiculous! I get being backed up, but when I have other packages go through the EXACT SAME PO that get sent to my local PO there's something seriously wrong going on at this place because OPEN THE FREAKING CONTAINER AND GET THESE PACKAGES SENT TO THEIR DESTINATIONS!! This is NUTS! So I'm using my day off on Friday to go into my dreadful city to this location to see if I can talk to someone there. I am just getting freaking aggravated! This is a first edition UK Stephanie Garber book...you all know me by now to know what that means...there is no simply replacing this item if it's out of print. I don't want a plain copy replacement, I want my first edition that I preordered and paid for. So yeah, that was the stress of my week. Honestly everything else was a blur. Work was stressful mainly because our system we use in nearly everything we do was having an insane amount of issues and wasn't working properly which made doing my job harder because I essentially couldn't do the things I do when the system does not want to work.

Anyway here are the books I did get once that same PO sent them to my local PO but can't bother to do the same with the container that they've had in their possession since October 21st:

The Shadow Rules All by Abigail Owen
The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson

Spectacular by Stephanie Garber--Goldsboro edition! I forgot to take a picture of the cover I got, it was the toy store which I now have so many of! Lol.

I also got my UK collectors' set box! this way I have all of the new hidden covers in the pretty box too! I love the designs of it which you can see above! The updated symbol of Caraval is also beautiful! The box itself held up pretty well considering it came from an overseas Amazon! there are a few dents on the corners but it's far better than I expected it to be coming from overseas and an Amazon at that!

Then I also got my newest addition to the Caraval shelves...the new Slovakian edition! I have the original version of this one as well, but this new cover was too pretty to pass up! And look at those sprayed edges too!!

And that was it for me this week! Honestly, if I could just get my last Spectacular copy I am waiting on, the stress I've been holding onto since October 21 would be gone! I've been living with that dreadful stress for practically a month now and it will be a month by the time I get to that PO. I just hope they can actually be helpful and DO something. This is not just a book...this is an out of print, IRREPLACEABLE, NON-REFUNDABLE book! Arrgh! I mean seriously, point me at the container and I will spend my day off emptying it and putting the packages in whatever bins or trucks or whatever they need to be in. Give me the scanner and I will scan, just let me take my book home and we will call it even! No pay necessary or anything like that! And I am dead serious! Lol.

So anyway....what did you all get?

Book Blogger Hop #332

This meme is hosted by Billy at Ramblings of a Coffee Addict!

This week's question is: Do you like to annotate your books or leave them untouched? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee Addicted Writer)

MY ANSWER: No, I am not an annotating type. The first part was that even the idea of writing in books made me shudder! I guess all the time in school where they told you NEVER WRITE IN YOUR TEXTBOOKS got to me. Then in college when I bought my textbooks, I STILL couldn't bring myself to write in them. Like for extra notes or whatever. I just couldn't do it.

I do enjoy reading author's annotations to chapters and such when they include them as bonus material I find them fun. So I can see the appeal to them as well. Highlighting favorite lines, making emojis or whatnot.

But then see, here's the other part; I kind of find them distracting too. Like here I am reading the story and boom! Annotations. I want to read them because they are on the page, but then it takes me out of the story too, you know? Then there's that odd drift or something that it takes to get back into the story before the next annotation comes along.

So they're a gift and a curse in my eyes. I particularly love it when an author does it, since it's their own work, but yeah, I can't bring myself to do it either. One, the whole writing in a book and 2, the whole taking me out of the story for a bit.

 

Books from the Backlog #109

 

Books from the Backlog is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your bookshelf unread.  If you are anything like me, you might be surprised by some of the unread books hiding in your stacks. This is a fun meme hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books!

When Sarah Merson receives the opportunity of a lifetime to attend the most elite prep school in the country-Sanctuary Bay Academy-it seems almost too good to be true. But, after years of bouncing from foster home to foster home, escaping to its tranquil setting, nestled deep in Swans Island, couldn't sound more appealing. Swiftly thrown into a world of privilege and secrets, Sarah quickly realizes finding herself noticed by class charmer, Nate, as well as her roommate's dangerously attentive boyfriend, Ethan, are the least of her worries. When her roommate suddenly goes missing, she finds herself in a race against time, not only to find her, but to save herself and discover the dark truth behind Sanctuary Bay's glossy reputation.

Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burn and Melinda Metz was added to my TBR pile in January of 2016. I had read a duology by this author duo previously and I LOOOOOOOVED it! Like seriously, deeply loved it! So when I saw they had another book out together I was ecstatic to get it and I got it...and then I don't know what happened or occurred but it kept falling further and further down the TBR hole and there it remains unread. I hope to read it at some point because again I LOOOOVED that duology the authors wrote together before!

Can't Wait Wednesday

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Dangerous magic. Fateful choices. Broken promises. The spellbinding series by New York Times bestselling author Brigid Kemmerer continues.

The King's Courier Tycho has made a treacherous bargain. Now beholden to the magical scraver who saved King Gray's life, one false move could end everything.

Jax escaped his life in Briarlock and traveled with Tycho to Emberfall. But life outside his small village brings unexpected challenges--and unlikely adversaries.

After years of hating the royal family and their magic, Callyn never expected to be at the Queen's side, with magic on her fingertips. But at the royal court, she can't trust anyone--including the man she thought she loved.

Cast apart, Tycho, Jax, and Callyn must learn to wield the magic that is dividing their kingdom. As the magical scravers attack from the north and the king's rivals gain strength, time is running out.

War is looming. Love is tested. And magic could be the only answer. . .

Super happy that this one is still coming! There's always that bit of fear when an author has two ongoing series simultaneously and then one pulls ahead and you start to wonder about the other series. Same thing with Susan Dennard, but luckily that one's still coming too! Whew!

TITLE: Carving Shadows Into Gold
AUTHOR: Brigid Kemmerer
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: January 28, 2025

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

 

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by Purple Princess of The Purple Booker. 

Here are the rules:

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.

"'I am trying to keep you alive, Oraya,' he said, voice low. 'And it's hard f***ing work, alright? I know none of it's ideal. But I'm trying.'" p 47

TITLE: The Ashes & The Star-Cursed King
AUTHOR: Carissa Broadbent
PUBLISHER: Bramble
GENRE: Fantasy NA
RELEASE DATE: April 14, 2023

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and The Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. 

This week's topic is: Top Ten Destination Titles of Places I Mostly Don't Want to Visit (Lol)

*in no particular order

10. IN NIGHTFALL by Suzanne Young--so you will see that I have a mix of places that would be fun to visit and others...maybe not so much! Lol. Nightfall is probably one you might want to drive on past!

9. NIL by Lynne Matson--so I still need to read this one but the idea of a sentient island kind of freaks me out, so I might pass on visiting this place but I'll give an affirmative once I've read it! Lol.

8. DOON by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon--definitely would not mind visiting this alternate fantasy kingdom that you access through Scotland! It's a 2 for 1 deal!

7. THE END OF OZ by Danielle Paige--Oz definitely isn't the place we think it is...but I'd still visit...possibly. I guess it depends on who's running the joint! Lol.
6. KITTY GOES TO WASHINGTON by Carrie Vaughn--old school pick! I'd love to visit DC one day. I've been trying to go to Apollycon for years now but every year I get kicked out of the ticket buying area and get sent in a waiting room and I am not released until all tickets are sold out. So who knows if I'll ever get to go.
5. GREYTHORNE by Crystal Smith--technically a manor within the fantasy kingdom, but finding titles with places in them was harder than I thought! Lol.

4. SANCTUARY BAY by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz--another book I still need to read, but I can say I definitely wouldn't want to attend Sanctuary Bay Academy as it does seem like shady things are happening here! 
3. THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN by Holly Black--not entirely sure I'd want to visit or live in Coldtown, I mean I love my supernatural peeps, but I wouldn't want to be the prey to their predator. So...yeah...
2. HEMLOCK ISLAND by Kelley Armstrong--a remote quiet island away from society and technology...but there's a catch...and I might not want to actually visit this place. Lol.

1. CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber--I know, I know! It's a stretch! Lol. Caraval is a game that moves around from place to place, so I'd pretty much be happy to be wherever the game is being played at! It's like the Super Bowl, a place that's not a set place!