Stacking the Shelves--The Dreadful, Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day Edition

 

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.

Well, there's no good news folks. Yup. I started my week with the dreadful, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad news: I didn't get the house of my dreams. The owner went with another offer. It was devastating to say the least. I had never felt so positive about anything in the longest of time. I truly, truly felt like I was getting this place. Everything was perfect. Yes, there were a few minor flaws, but they flaws I could live with. The good outweighed the bad, let's just say that. It's definitely no way to start a long work week. It was hard. Not gonna lie. Tears were had for the first day and a little into the next. I got back on Zillow to look some more, but naturally could not find anything that could hold a candle to what I had within my grasp. Seriously, the other places were dumpy looking or needed so much work or were in shady looking areas. I basically needed to get off Zillow for a day or two because it was just making me depressed. I'm just hoping it won't take me another 3 years to find something perfect like that. I've been looking for what feels like forever. Lol. I know 3 years isn't that long, but I was browsing for probably a year or two before that, before I really had anything saved up. So I'm back at square one.

In lighter news, tonight I am at least going to a book signing! Albeit it's in the shady part of town, but what can you do? Tonight I'll be seeing Elise Kova! I just started reading her new Arcana Academy series and liked it and her Dragon Cursed was intriguing as well. So it will hopefully be a fun night. It is sold out, so I'm hoping I am not out too late! Then towards the end of the week, I'll be attending the Forbidden Love event in Nashville! I'm excited to see Stephanie Garber (again!) plus a slew of other authors and lots of new to me ones. Sadly, I can't see Stephanie on tour this year as everywhere is just too far to drive and costs like $500 to fly there and then I have to add in Ubers and hotel stays, plus at least 1 meal, and we're looking closer to $1K+ for a 2-3 day getaway. I just can't manage that...even without having a house to pay for. So hopefully I can order a signed copy or two...$100 or so is more manageable. Not sure if that cost is accurate really, just thinking cost of hardcover or two...plus shipping! Lol. Sadly I likely won't get that special stamp on anything that Stephanie mentioned in her Stories. Sigh...so yeah...lots of bad news this week.

Well, anyway, here's what I got in the mail this week:

Habits of the Sea by Shea Ernshaw--this is my replacement copy since my original went MIA. I sometimes wonder where all my missing books end up. I partially consider that someone in that mailroom likes to read.
The Shattered Mirror by Dana Evyn--I was originally supposed to receive this book on July 9th. Then Amazon said, JK, you'll get July 15-19. It arrived on July 22.
A Forsaken Prophecy by Stacey McEwan--an impulse B&N preorder...all these deluxe first print run editions gives me the biggest FOMO--actual FOMO and not KOMO! Lol. So yeah...I still need to read the first book but I have the pretty second book at the ready!

Then I got my Fairy Loot book, kind of wish I could've gotten it last month but oh well. Still trying not to give spoilers if there are people who avoid them still. Not sure really if anyone does anymore. I know I follow people who guess accurately so I know if I want to skip or not. Of course with FL I'm more like "can I live with it?" This one I could. Cover wise it wasn't bad...I just felt meh about it in some sense. I like it better than the standard US one, so I guess that's something at least. Lol. I might like it better after I read the book...eventually. It's a duology, so it's automatically put somewhere in the possible 2027 queue! Lol.

And then I had a little bit of retail therapy after the dreadful news I got at the start of my week. I was at TJ Maxx and was browsing the Halloween stuff that they were slowly putting out. I then saw the tiny rack of blankets and I was telling myself as I walked by that I was good on blankets. No. More. Blankets.

So Fate clearly said you need one more blanket. Because yes, yes I did need a ghost reading a book blanket!

And that was all I got this week! Of course, I wrote this post a little earlier then usual, so I don't entirely know what was in Saturday's mail just yet. But if anything good shows up, it'll be in next week's post.

What all did you get this week?

Review--The Mirror in the Mountain by Dana Evyn

 

The only way out is through.

With Eva trapped in imminent peril, Bash rushes to save her and take down the False King once and for all. Eva desperately searches for a way out of her predicament, even as circumstances beyond her control bring her back to the secret kingdom that once had been her home.

As sides form in the forthcoming war, not all are eager to believe the False King they thought vanquished is still bent on taking control of the faerie realm. With enemies closing in, and not even sleep safe from the nightmares that are all too real, the fate of the realm will come down to a race against time.

Secrets from the past merge with the present as Eva struggles to unravel the truth that might change her fate. But will she be forced to choose between her kingdom and her future—or was that destiny a lie all along?

Dana Evyn's The Mirror in the Mountain picks up right where The Other Side of the Mirror left off and oh boy was this book a doozie! This book really put my heart through the ringer as there was a certain level of danger that was amped up to the max and my heart was beating at an accelerated rate nearly the entire time! Circumstances felt dire at the best of times and it was a race to read as fast as I could to see how things would turn out!

We pick up where we left off, so it's like no time at all has passed for the characters, even though it was a handful of reads for me! Lol. Eva has given herself over to Aviel in order to save her friends and found family. She is now once again his prisoner and at his mercy...which as we know he has next to none of. Escape is near impossible and every time Eva tries she gets knocked down and out. Seriously the level of danger and hopelessness ran rampant with my feelings in this one! So many times we see the heroine able to duke it out with the villain with only a few scrapes and bruises. I don't want to say this scenario was refreshing, but it felt different, I guess. Failure is a part of life, we don't always get to succeed, so Eva's "setbacks" were unique in a sense.

But naturally, Eva can't and won't remain a prisoner forever and it's not long before she is able to escape Aviel's clutches once again and is reunited with Bash and her friends and her brother, Tobias. She is also reunited with her best friend, Quinn, who we learned is a part of this world Eva now lives in. You almost forget that Eva was from our modern world, I mean she's moved around a bit between worlds as it turns out, but she spent a good chunk of time in the modern world. 

Now Eva and her friends must plan for battle. Dealing with Aviel is about to come to a head. They learned that there is a magical mirror called the Seeing Mirror and basically whoever can get to it first, between Eva and Aviel, will become the High Queen...or King should things take a dastardly turn. They will effectively become the one and only ruler of this world Eva has begun to think of home and she will do anything in her power to stop Aviel from becoming that one and only ruler...whatever the cost.

You want to talk about high stakes, seriously, just read this series! Because omg, this book is the definition high stakes. I don't think my heart ever raced as much with a book as it has with this series so far! The danger is intense! And then let's do a 180 and talk about the romance because that is certainly steamy too! Bash and Eva's anima bond definitely makes things heated between them. There were quite a few romantic interludes between them in this one. They were never overtly graphic but there was definitely an open door to the scenes as well. I feel like it's probably somewhere in between, but then again, I've never read any of the supremely spicy books, lol!

Things wrap up in a neat little bow at the end of this one. So much so I was almost puzzled at how we were calling this a trilogy. Well, it turns out in the next book we will follow two other characters as they go on a quest to help out our main characters. For it does feel like Eva and Bash's story arc has come to a conclusion. Yet the third book seems to entail that something will happen to interrupt their HEA ending and these "new" characters will have to save the day...and likely fall in love because this is romantasy we're reading! Lol.

The Mirror in the Mountain was a heart-racing read that kept me reading late into the night and held me captivated! This world is so easy to get lost in that you forget there is a reality outside the door. I am quite eager to see what will happen next with our new heroine and hero and what kind of unrest will enter this kingdom that just seemed to be on the verge of peace, but luckily I have that next book in hand...on the cusp of a busy weekend, but I'll get a few pages read at least! Lol.

If you're looking for that romantasy read to get your heart pumping and keep you up late at night then be sure to check out Dana Evy's The Mirrored Trilogy as it will completely consume your mind and heart in all the best possible ways!

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

Book Blogger Hop #421

 

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

This week's question is: What’s the fastest or slowest you’ve ever finished a book? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

MY ANSWER: I feel like I am perpetually slow reader these days! Lol. Wayyyy back in the day, I could read some books in the course of a day! I think those particular titles were between 300-400, but definitely on the lower side of under 400! Those were the days! Ahh.

The longest...well, if I planned them right and took vacation days and used weekends, or maybe a road trip where I didn't have to drive, I could get a longer one read in 5 days. I'd say the longer books could take me up to 7 days to read depending on what's going on in my life at the time with work and other things.

Today's average is around 3 days I'd say for books under 500 pages. Again, always depends on what's going on workwise and free time wise and how tired I am or not! And the book's pacing and formatting as well. There really are so many factors to consider!

Books from the Backlog #195

 

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!

There is no action without consequence…

Dani O’Malley was nine years old when the delusional, sadistic Rowena transformed her into a ruthless killer. Years later, she’s tough, hardened, yet achingly vulnerable and fiercely compassionate, living alone by her own exacting code. Despite the scars on her body, driven by deeper ones carved into her soul, no one is more committed to protecting Dublin. By day, she ensures the safety of those she rescues, by night she hunts evil, dispensing justice swiftly and without mercy, determined to give those she cares for the peace she has never known.

There is no power without price…

When the Faerie Queen used the dangerously powerful Song of Making to heal the world from the damage done by the Hoar Frost King, catastrophic magic seeped deep into the earth, giving rise to horrifying, unforeseen consequences–and now deadly enemies plot in the darkness, preparing to enslave the human race and unleash an ancient reign of hell on Earth.

There is no future without sacrifice…

With the lethal, immortal Ryodan at her side, armed with the epic Sword of Light, Dani once again battles to save the world but her past comes back to haunt her with a vengeance, demanding an unspeakable price for the power she needs to save the human race and no one—not even Ryodan who’d move the very stars for her—can save her this time…

Oi! So behind with these books and I ADORED them when I was in the binging phase! Lol. I added Karen Marie Moning's High Voltage to my TBR pile in March of 2018, so when it released. This was Dani's book! That much I remember! I think this was when we upped her age so she wasn't a young teen anymore, but my memory's fuzzy naturally, as this was before my notetaking days! So hopefully things will come back to me as I read when I eventually get back to this one!

Can't Wait Wednesday #258

 

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.

Layered with epic battles, elemental magic and twisty romance, this heart-pounding finale will leave readers racing toward the truth about seventeen-year-old pirate Aster and her destiny.

At the time of writing this post, I still need to start this series, but I am hoping by now I either read at least book 1 or both books to date! It's in my queue! Lol.

TITLE: Cursebreaker
AUTHOR: R.M. Gray
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2026

Respect the Legend. Idolize the Prodigy. Celebrate the Champion. But never underestimate the Rebel in this electrifying graphic novel adaptation of the Legend series's grand finale.

Eden Wing is a brilliant student. He’s about to graduate a year early from Ross University of the Sciences. But most people don’t introduce Eden this way. Instead, they say, “This is Eden, Daniel Wing’s younger brother.”

Ten years ago, Daniel was known as Day, the boy who led a revolution that saved the Republic of America. Day has since spent the past decade piecing together his memory of his time in the Republic, quietly hiding from the world―even if it’s meant giving up June, the love of his life.

When June suddenly steps back into Day’s life, rekindling the flames of their romance, the pair team up to rescue Eden who’s been drawn into Ross City’s dark side. But like the rest of the world, they may have underestimated Eden―what he’s capable of, where his loyalties lie, and how hard he’s willing to fight for what he believes.

Return to the world of Legend in this epic graphic novel adaptation of the pulse-pounding finale to the series, which brings to life the bestselling Rebel with full-color illustrations.

I loved Marie's Legend series and I loved reading them as graphic novels, so I was excited to hear her announce that Rebel would be getting the same treatment!


TITLE: Rebel
AUTHOR: Marie Lu
ADAPTOR: Kyla Vanderklugt
ILLUSTRATOR: Kaari
PUBLISHER: Roaring Brook Press
GENRE: YA Dystopian (Graphic Novel)
RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2026

The dead chose her. Now she has to figure out why.

Thalia Cross has spent eighteen years perfecting invisibility. Homeschooled on a mountain, warned away from town, kept just separate enough from everyone that loneliness became a personality trait. Her grandfather calls it protection. She calls it Thursday.

Then her therapist disappears into the Colorado wilderness, and Thalia follows a dead woman's voice into the dark.

What she finds in that clearing strips away every careful rule she's lived by: her therapist's bones arranged with unnerving precision, bleached white as if from centuries of sun. Before she can run, she slams straight into eighteen-year-old Bram Wilder, the sheriff's son and her longtime crush, two days from his first shift as a deputy, and apparently the universe's preferred instrument of her humiliation. He turned down a full ride to Stanford to stay in this town, and nobody seems to know why.

He arrests her. She almost respects it.

But something far worse than a murder charge is circling Wilder, Colorado, and Thalia can't outrun it alone. Pulled toward two other girls she has no reason to trust, she's starting to understand that her grandfather's rules weren't about keeping her safe. They were about keeping her quiet. About keeping her from discovering exactly what she is.

Because something ancient is sealed in these mountains. It has been waiting a very long time. And the dead, who have always been the only honest voices in Wilder, keep whispering the same thing.

Her name.

The Inheritance Games meets Caraval in this propulsive, gothic, slow-burn thriller that will wreck your sleep schedule completely.

Once I saw that cover, I was a goner. The first line, take my money! Then the comparison match at the bottom and you now know I am so far gone! Lol! I NEED THIS IN MY LIFE ASAP!

TITLE: The Bone Singer
AUTHOR: Abigail Owen
PUBLISHER: Mayhem Books
GENRE: YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE: September 1, 2026

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.

"Hope always has a purpose. It's a life preserver in miles-deep water, a shelter from violent storms." p 155

TITLE: The First Lost Boy
AUTHOR: Casey L. Bond
PUBLISHER: Self
GENRE: Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: May 2, 2025

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 Books That Live in My Head Rent Free (submitted by Emma @damppebbles.com)

*in no particular order

10. BITTEN by Kelley Armstrong--one of the founding "mothers" of my book collection! This was a series I remember feeling hesitant with at first but fast became a favorite!
9. HALFWAY TO THE GRAVE by Jeaniene Frost--same can be said of this one! Especially since it was shelved in romance I thought the romance would overtake the story, but it so didn't!
8. POISON STUDY by Maria V. Snyder--lol, again another that was shelved in romance but was definitely more fantasy with a side romance! Fast became a favorite and Maria fast became a good author friend!

7. OLD MAGIC by Marianne Curley--my first Aussie author book and time-traveling one and you know the "ordinary girl but with magical powers (that she knew she had!)" book! LOVE this one SO much!
6. SHADOWLAND by Jenny Carroll/Meg Cabot--my first ghost book and AHH how I LOVE this series! 
5. BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE by Annette Curtis Klause--one of the first werewolf books I read and still my absolute FAVORITE! Don't judge this one by its movie because that movie was crap as a book adaptation, but okayish as a teen werewolf movie! Lol.

4. DEMON IN MY VIEW by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes--we all have first loves...and this one is mine!
3. ALCHEMY OF SECRETS by Stephanie Garber--obviously...and for the rest of the picks! Lol. Since we're at book 1 with this one, I have yet to really place it in my scale of love for Stephanie's series, so we'll talk again next year! Lol.
2. ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART by Stephanie Garber--this one was definitely awesome! Love it! But I feel like you can't really love it and enjoy it as much without the knowledge from its predecessor. So...

1. CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber--clearly you all knew this would be #1! This series was so fantabulous for me! It brought me magic, it brought danger, romance, a kind of L.J. Smith Forbidden Game vibe but with a twist! I mean Julian (Smith's Julian) was kind of like Jacks in some ways! Lol. 

Review--The First Lost Boy by Casey L. Bond

 

Stars see everything and forget nothing. And sometimes they meddle far too much.

Ava has no idea who she is or how she got on the unfamiliar island Peter Pan keeps insisting is her home, the place she’s safest. But there are shadows in his cunning eyes and something within her screams out a warning that he can’t be trusted.

When Belle learns that her sister is alive, she leaps at the chance to work with Hook, his crew, and their siren ally to free Ava from Pan’s grasp. She thought that with their help, she’d have time to save Ava before her secret was discovered…

She was wrong.

When the sinister truth slithers its way between the tentative truces formed, some friendships and alliances buckle while others break. But if everyone doesn’t work together to accomplish the seemingly impossible, and fast, all those trapped in Neverland’s gravity will be lost to an insidious darkness forever.

Can Hook and Ava find one another and manage an escape? Or will they be consumed by the malicious shadow and forget one another forever?

The First Lost Boy is the final book in Casey L. Bond's The Shadows of Neverland duology and it was quite the tale! This book went in a direction I never saw coming! It was strange and discombobulating at times, but the mystery and danger of Neverland and an evil Peter Pan was still clear and the secrets that were revealed were startling!

We pick up where we left off for the most part, but we are treated to new points of view. We get Hudson, Belle, Devin--Ava's friend in the real world, and of course, Ava's point of view. It's largely told from Ava's perspective with the occasional one from Hudson. But things are definitely a little harder to comprehend in this since Ava has seemingly lost her memories. She finds herself spending her days with Peter and his Lost ones. But strange things keep happening and Peter's mood swings are something to be feared as well.

Meanwhile, we see Hudson and Belle trying to find a way to rescue Ava and get her as far from Peter as possible, but nothing is done on Neverland that Peter isn't aware of. He's a force to be reckoned with that even his Lost boys fear him at the best of times.

But then we get an eye-opener. This was such a shocking reveal that I didn't see it coming and yet it makes a sort of sense to the story in some ways. But I'll admit, things still got confusing. There were suddenly these changes in the points of view mid-scene and it was hard to note the actual change. You just suddenly realized someone else was talking and then before you knew it, you were back to the first voice. There was a reason behind it and I knew it at the time and the reader knows it too, but yet, the transition was not an easy one to notice. I felt like it just seamlessly fit into the current perspective that it was very confusing when you could notice the change in tone and not grasp what was happening.

Sadly, with Ava taken by Pan and having her memories erased, this meant little time for romance with Hudson. Hudson is meanwhile fighting tooth and nail to do whatever he can to get her back and then of course we have the larger problem at hand that was revealed about midway through.

Needless to say, this is not your ordinary Peter Pan story! This is Peter Pan turned on its head, upside down, and flipped backwards. It's recognizable in some sense as the traditional fairy tale but it's definitely got a flare of its own too. Which is ideal when it comes to fairy tale retellings in my opinion.

The pacing to this one was pretty decent. I felt like there were some confusing times again with certain aspects. I can't really delve into them without spoilers, but let's just say I was thrown off with some confusing times a bit more than I was in the first book. The story was still intriguing and we are given some answers to the lingering questions presented in the first book as well.

All in all, the story was pretty good! I was kept entertained and delighted with Peter Pan lore. Although Tiger Lily and her tribe were absent entirely. At one point, I think in the first book, an offhand comment was made in regards to the native tribes but it was just a straight up one and done line that had no merits, I felt. But it does make you wonder why she was excluded. Neverland was seemingly uninhabited other than by Peter and his Lost ones and the mermaids and crocs who ruled the water, and the Neverbirds. Can't forget those beasts of terror. 

This is not your mother's Neverland nor is it your Neverland of childhood! This was a very different and more dangerous Neverland and yet the two still have a lot in common. This was an exemplary retelling of a beloved fairy tale! The increased danger and added romance made it worthwhile!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

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 Last Lost Girl by Casey L. Bond (4 stars)

Currently Reading:

The First Lost Boy by Casey L. Bond

What I Plan to (Hopefully) Read Next:

The Mirror in the Mountain by Dana Evyn

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Can't Wait Wednesday #257
Books from the Backlog #194
Book Blogger Hop #420
Stacking the Shelves: The Happy & Sad Report

Stacking the Shelves--The Happy & Sad Report

 

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.

Well, I write this in sort of a down mood...even though nothing has been confirmed, I just have a bad feeling. The week was the usual, a little mundane but we are ramping into our busy season at work so things will be hectic for awhile. But anyway, Friday I went to view another house, another condo. It was PERFECT! Absolutely perfect for me! It was small, but still sizeable. It had a basement, a garage...it basically had the 4 items that made my MUST HAVES! Bonus: BUILT IN BOOKSHELVES!! Granted, it was only two but still a HUGE PLUS! It was in a good area, close to my parents so they could still help me if I needed it. Not much further for my sister and her family for when they visit my parents, lol. Really, I was closer! The price was at my high end, but I figure, I could swing it. It's freaking perfect! I put in my offer that day but the owner has 48 hours to review before accepting...but then last evening I was informed they were out of town, so they've been given an extra 24 hours. There's a lot of interest in this condo. And I could only offer list price as it was already almost too expensive for me. So I'm worried. Very, very worried. I just know someone is going to offer more and I can't match that. I told myself Friday not to get too excited...but I did. I was already dreaming of setups and layouts. When my realtor told me the owner was getting an extra day, I just had this immediate gut feeling that I was already out. Which put me in a very bad spiral last night. Let's just say cookie dough was involved. Lol. So yeah, I'll be spiraling again all day today and pretty much all day tomorrow until I get the news. I was trying to be positive and optimistic but after my realtor texted me the update, I was just hit with this gut feeling...I was already outbid. But if anyone cares to throw some good vibes and good luck, crossed fingers, spare 4-leaf clovers my way, I'd appreciate it!

To further add to my feelings of impending doom, my missing book is still missing. A replacement was ordered but that's going to take another week to get to me...on the very same route the missing book went, so yeah.

Here's what I got this week:

Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber--The Bookish Box edition! Sadly, I am not subscribed to this book box, but people are always reselling and I managed to snag a good one! Less than the cost TBB sells them for in their shop AND it was still sealed!! It's positively beautiful!! And what's bonkers is that I got this one BEFORE my replacement of last week's book and it shipped AFTER that one did!

Then the slap in the face was this week I received my preorder gift for Habits of the Sea...the very book that went missing and is being reshipped on the same doomed flight path.

These are short little journal entries from the FMC and they give you a place to put them in the book to read them. So whenever that book comes and I get a chance to read it, this will be a fun activity! Eventually...someday! 

THANK YOU Simon & Schuster!

And then prior to my going to look at this dream house of mine, I saw this Vera Bradley tote on sale online and even though I already have the "other" Belle and books pattern...I couldn't resist this deal!

I mean...if it wasn't a light purple (that's insanely hard to see on this screen I feel like) I could've talked myself out of it...but it was purple and it was Belle...reading a book! A purple book!

And that was it for me this week. What all did you get?

Book Blogger Hop #420

 

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

This week's question is: Do you read one book at a time, or juggle a few at once? (submitted by Billy @ Coffee-Addicted Writer)

MY ANSWER: I'm now a one-book at a time kind of girl! Way back in the day, I thought I could juggle more than one...and sometimes I had to for school. In school I was reading anywhere from 3-4 books for classes and one for my sanity! Yes, I had to throw my own in book in to read to keep myself sane. I might not have paid as good attention to those other 2-3 books when I was reading, but hey, I made it through! Lol! But these days, my memory is scattered. I wouldn't want to crosswires with one book's plot with another's characters and what not. So I strictly read one at a time and am totally and completely happy with this method!

Review--The Last Lost Girl by Casey L. Bond

 

Welcome to Neverland. Where shadows consume and magic is frighteningly real.

Ava is struggling to provide for herself and her sister, who slips further into insanity with each passing day. Raving about Neverland. Obsessed with a Second Star that Ava can’t see in the black, velvety sky. Until the night Belle succumbs to the terrifying shadows plaguing her and sweeps Ava away to a land that is only supposed to exist in storybooks.

Neverland is real. And so is Peter Pan.

He's grown from boy to man, wielding a terrible power he uses to rule the island. When he senses Ava’s presence and sends his Lost Boys to collect her, a dashing captain with a silver hook for a hand comes to her defense. He offers her protection aboard his ship, and the help of his crew to find Belle before Peter and his Lost Boys do. But what he asks for in return might be more than she or her sister can possibly pay.

Belle once stole something invaluable from Peter Pan, something Hook and his crew need if they’re ever to escape the cursed island’s thrall. And despite their undeniable attraction, Hook will do anything to claim it before Pan can.

I've always loved the story of Peter Pan, both in its magical side and its dark side. The Last Lost Girl by Casey L. Bond definitely falls on the darker stream of things but it's not quite what I would call horror, but it's not Disneified either! This is a new adult tale featuring older characters but still set in the magical and dangerous world known as Neverland!

Ava and her found sister, Belle, have been living on their own for years taking care of each other. In recent days, Belle's mental health has not been at its best and one night during one of her "episodes" she and Ava are transported to another land, you guessed it, Neverland! Like all other retellings, this isn't your typical Neverland either, things are different, darker, more dangerous.

What tends to baffle me about these retellings is when Peter is not a boy. He is far from childlike in this tale. And in a sense, I understand why he has to be older, it's just disorienting when you read about the boy who didn't want to grow up, actually does grow up for some reason or another! I feel like the explanation behind his and the Lost Boys growing older wasn't really explained well. It was sort of an offhand comment that it is what it is. So naturally, I just rolled with it.

Upon landing in Neverland, Ava is found by a Lost Boy and then "rescued" by Hook in a grisly way. She is then taken with him to treat a wound and we have our forced proximity trope happening straight away. Hook is about Ava's age, naturally, and as we already know, good looking too! Lol. I don't mean for these things to come off as negative either! I know very much what I am reading and expect the characters to fit into those roles and that means a good lookin Hook. I mean after Once Upon a Time, I expect all Hooks to be hot, so there's that too!

Hook needs Ava's help in trying to find Tinkerbell who has something that he and his men desperately need. He believes that Ava is the only one who can help him get close to Tinkerbell without there being other issues popping up, and he has to find her before Peter does, because Peter wants Tinkerbell for the same reason too.

This book holds all the magic and darkness one expects from Neverland and I positively loved it! I've read dozens of Peter Pan retellings over the years, some where Peter is still our hero and other times, not so much! They have all been different and unique and The Last Lost Girl is no different in that sense! This book was incredible and I loved the unique take on the Peter Pan story.

In this universe, the Peter Pan story does in fact exist and plays a role in the mix as well, which I found interesting. Sometimes you get a retelling where the source material does not exist. So that we have it here is very intriguing indeed and I like how Bond wove it into the story.

Romance, yup, there's that too! Lol. Naturally, we can see that things will start brewing between Ava and Hook, but I will tell you now that it is no spice. There's heat between them, but I feel like it was mostly closed-door. We get some kissing and tension, but when the "deed" happens, it was very much behind a closed door. So if you're looking for high spicy moments, you won't find them here.

The ending was a doozie! I suspected some kind of cliffhanger since this is a duology but this one was a whopper! So glad I can dive into the next one asap because a wait after that ending would have been disastrous! Lol. With the fate of many characters hanging in the balance, you can bet I will be diving into The First Lost Boy asap!

If you're looking for that Peter Pan retelling that puts a different spin on the classic tale and has a darker edge to it with just a little bit of romance, then you should definitely check this series out! This was such a fun take on a beloved tale that I can't wait for the next installment and likely more of Bond's books as well!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

Books from the Backlog #194

 

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!

From bestselling author Marianne Curley comes the highly anticipated return to the Guardians of Time Series…

The battle is over. The war is won. The prophecy complete.

But life can’t just pick up where it left off for Ethan. Struggling to cope with the death of his soul-mate, at odds with his friends in the Guard, he finds himself adrift, jumping at shadows and sensing someone who can’t possibly be there.

Blaming herself for Lathenia’s death, Jesilla swears to avenge her mother and fulfil her vision for world domination. But she hadn’t planned to fall in love. And that leaves her with an unbearable choice – should she follow her heart or the parental strings of a Goddess, short on praise but high on expectation, who continues to pull on her from the grave?

As the Guard and the Order battle through the past and into an impossible future, darkness lurks around every corner. The fight for the world’s survival will rest with just one.

Is it friend or foe that stands in The Shadow?

It saddens me that I still need to read Marianne Curley's The Shadow! I added this to my TBR pile in March of 2018...although Goodreads says it was in April of of 2018 from one source, another says April 2019! So I possibly added it early as I sometimes did...? This was a loooong waited addition--that was a surprise to get--to a series I looooved as a teen! I obviously needed a re-read of the original books before I could dive into this one! I did re-read these wayyyy back in the day, maybe not as much as her first book, Old Magic, but I re-read them at least once or twice! But yes, this is one I am aching to read but just haven't gotten worked into my reading queue as of yet. Hopefully someday soon!