Can't Wait Wednesday #188

 

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.

Ready or Not meets Throne of the Fallen in a spicy, enemies-to-lovers fantasy romance, where an Italian getaway turns deadly after a young woman is trapped in her host family's cursed game.

Ready or not, the game has begun.

Genevieve Grimm has felt adrift ever since her sister became the head of the family. So when a mysterious friend of their mother's invites her to Italy, she accepts. She arrives at his grand palace, expecting passion and magic, decadence and luxury... perhaps even a midnight ball.

She doesn't expect the owner's ruthlessly handsome son to slam the door in her face. Rowin Silver is tall, dark, and exceptionally rude, and invitation or not, he demands Genevieve leave and never come back. But Genevieve follows nobody's orders, especially those of arrogant rich boys. She slips inside—and immediately discovers her mistake.

Rowin and his family are caught in an insidious game of hide and seek, where only one can win. The rest will be trapped in Hell... until the competition begins again.

Genevieve must either join the hunt or forfeit any hope of escaping. But to her dismay, her best chance of survival lies with Rowin. Since lovers may play as a pair, Rowin and Genevieve agree to form an alliance under the guise of a fake courtship. However, as they race through the game's elaborate labyrinth, trapped among gleaming gold and shining marble, their loathing gives way to irresistible attraction. Only Rowin is keeping secrets, especially when it comes to his ruthless family, and Genevieve can't help but wonder if she's trapped in two treacherous games: Enchantra and the one Rowin is playing with her heart.

I STILL need to read Phantasma but I've got a good feeling about this series! The covers alone have me with heart eyes! They sound incredible too! So hopefully I can up the first one in my TBR pile soon--unless I did already because I'm writing this post pretty well in advance! Lol.

TITLE: Enchantra
AUTHOR: Kaylie Smith
PUBLISHER: Forever
GENRE: Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: April 8, 2025

Lose yourself in this exhilarating return to the #1 global bestselling Shatter Me universe, the first book in a new series set ten years after the fall of The Reestablishment.

James Anderson had a plan. Or half of one. All that matters is that he managed to do what his older brother, the famous Aaron Warner Anderson, never did: infiltrate Ark Island, the last refuge of The Reestablishment. In the past decade no outsider has breached the stronghold of the authoritarian regime, but James is in. In a prison cell, sure, but as far as James is concerned, a win is a win.

It’s been ten years since the fall of The Reestablishment. Ten years since the notorious duo — Juliette Ferrars and Aaron Warner Anderson — led a worldwide rebellion and established the New Republic of the West. But after a decade of unsettling quiet, The Reestablishment is ready to make a devastating move, and they have the perfect person for the job.

Rosabelle Wolff had a plan. She always has a plan. On Ark Island, where constant surveillance is packaged as security, even emotions must be experienced with caution. A trained assassin, her every movement is monitored by synthetic intelligence—and when she’s given an order to kill, she never hesitates.

Brimming with pulse-pounding action and torturous romance, Watch Me is an explosive journey through a dystopian landscape where enemies-to-lovers has never felt more impossible. Step into a beloved and breathtaking world that demands an answer to a desperate question—

Who are we when no one is watching?

Excited for this new book in the Shatter Me universe! I'm kind of glad it will focus on new characters though as I felt like things ended in a good place for Juliette and her crew. Of course, I've got a fuzzy memory on it all at the moment! Lol. But yes, definitely can't wait to read this one!

TITLE: Watch Me
AUTHOR: Tahereh Mafi
PUBLISHER: Storytide
GENRE: YA Dystopian
RELEASE DATE: April 15, 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.

"'She deserves to know the truth, Jean. I know you want to protect her--we all do--but she needs to know the danger. It's time.'" p 73

TITLE: The Scarlet Veil
AUTHOR: Shelby Mahurin
PUBLISHER: HarperTeen
GENRE: YA Paranormal
RELEASE DATE: September 26, 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 Books on My Spring 2025 To-Read List

*in no particular order

10. THE SHADOW BRIDE by Shelby Mahurin--my next read! 
9. HOLY TERRORS by Margaret Owen--just finished binging the first two books and omg, that ending! I need to know how this will all end!
8. BLOOD MOON by Britney S. Lewis--another review book that I'll more than likely read this spring because it sounds sooo good!

7. MARKED BY MOONLIGHT by Sophie Jordan--another review book I can't wait to read because WEREWOLVES!

6. PHANTASMA by Kaylie Smith--this sounds incredible and the author is coming here next month so I am hoping to get this first one read before then! 

5. THE HOUSE THAT HORROR BUILT by Christina Henry--I initially meant to read this last month but then other events were announced and my reading queue was totally shifted!

4. ONE DARK WINDOW by Rachel Gillig--been meaning to read this one for ages now!
3. A PROMISE OF PERIDOT by Kate Golden--really want to finish this trilogy because I LOVED the first book!
2. THE CHAMPIONS by Kara Thomas--the companion sequel I didn't know I needed!

1. FANG FICTION by Kate Stayman-London--another book that keeps begging to be read!

Let's Discuss: Reading & Weather

 

So this past weekend on Friday we had some pretty severe and scary storms roll in that prevented me from doing my usual Friday night reading and then it got me thinking about other weather and our ability or inability to read.

Reading & Weather

What kind of weather prevents you from reading comfortably? Clearly me and storms don't work together. Especially the severe kind. I mean I'm good with reading and it's just a regular rain shower or thunderstorm. As long as it's not the severe-get-to-the-basement kind of storm, I can happily read!

I am not much of an outside reader. In St. Louis summer lasts an insanely looooong time. Like we'll probably start seeing upper 80s by the end of next month and I do not clash with anything above 80 degrees. It's just too hot and too humid with where I live. So any summer reading will be done from the comforts of indoors with the AC blowing gently to keep things comfortable.

If it's a nice day with good temperatures and not a whole lot of sun and heat, I can comfortably read outdoors. It's not that I am against it. It's just rare to get an actual "perfect" day to read outside around here. It's either too cold or too hot and if a day comes in between that's decent...well, we might be having storms again, so there goes my anxiety and inability to read! But there is the occasional nice day that can just be a nice day and if it's a day where I have time to read outdoors I would!

What about you? Do you have ideal weather conditions you can read in? Is there weather where you can't read at all for whatever reason? Is it too nice a day to read and you do something else? Let's discuss!

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:

Painted Devils by Margaret Owen (4 stars)

Currently Reading:

The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin

What I Plan to Read Next:

The Shadow Bride by Shelby Mahurin (ARC)

Other Posts of Interest:

Let's Discuss: My Beef with Romantasy
Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays
Let's Discuss: Faceless Covers
Can't Wait Wednesday #187
Books from the Backlog #126
Book Blogger Hop #349
Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves

 

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.

Another week of the year is done! What a week it was too. All week long the news was preparing us for severe storms and here I am thinking it's STILL WINTER!! Spring has not arrived yet despite it being March and the clocks moving an ungodly hour forward. It's WINTER! I will cling to this season for as long as possible for Spring usually means this mix of storms and a nice day or two and then we move into torrential heat! The storms were pretty bad too. Luckily, we didn't get much damage. I think there are a few roughed up parts of the house and siding mostly, but overall it was minimal damage. Although the power did go out and thankfully we are still in winter and it wasn't 90+ degrees like the last time we had a power outage that lasted DAYS! Also thankfully, this power outage lasted maybe 14 hours. I ended up leaving the house an hour or two before it came back on and it was blissfully on when I returned!

I also had a book signing this past week to see Elle Cosimano again! She came here for the last two books of her series and I continued to go to every one of them! Lol. It's so sweet that she recognizes me too! It also makes me want to cry when an author says I look familiar and can place my name or instagram handle! The signing was really my only bit of excitement! The storm gave me anxiety and was a wretched day overall because I knew it was coming and the wait was dreadful! But we're all safe and there was no crazy damage for any of my local family so it was a blessing to make it to the next day all right.

It was a slow week for books this week, but I did finally get a "surprise" Fairy Loot book since I no longer get emails from them regarding orders. It's weird. I've tried emailing them about it twice but no one really seems to know why this is happening. I guess they can't reach out to their website provider or whatever tech op side that handles what should be automatic emails when it comes to order confirmations or order shipping notifications. I don't get any of those. So when a Fairy Loot box arrives it's a surprise! For it seems they ship out of DE as well as B&N, so I never really quite know what book is arriving as I'm too lazy to double check my B&N trackings and then it's only a possible chance that it's a FL order as I never know if the tracking number could be for someone else in the house!

But anyway, onto this week's haul:

The Wild Dark by Katherine Harbour--this was a preorder sale order I made. It's a sequel to a book I still need to read, but they went with a paperback release instead of a matching hardcover, so I thought I'd better order this one just in case the series is cancelled and done at 2 books.
A Touch of Shadows by Jessica Thorne--a somewhat impulse purchase! I had just added this to my wishlist "for later" and then B&N announced the triple stamps sale for the weekend and I thought, why not?!

Then I got my Fairy Loot copy of Where the Library Hides! I'll just share the already shown cover (and the sprayed edges!):

Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibanez--Fairy Loot edition

Then for review from the publisher I received:

The Shadow Bride by Shelby Mahurin (ARC)

THANK YOU HarperTeen!!

And finally, on my trip to B&N yesterday, I took a leisurely stroll around the store. It actually took me awhile to find my book from above! Here I went to the "romantasy" section first and it was actually shelved in fantasy! This was after I checked all the tables up front and was about to ask for help but then I suddenly remembered the fantasy section! Lol.

Anyway, I ended up buying this bookmark that had me LOLing! Of course, I'd rather it say "pile" instead of "list." What good is a list going to do me when I need my actual books! Lol.

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

Review--Painted Devils by Margaret Owen

 

Let’s get one thing straight—Vanja Schmidt wasn’t trying to start a cult.

After taking down a corrupt margrave, breaking a deadly curse, and finding romance with the vexingly scrupulous Junior Prefect Emeric Conrad, Vanja had one great mystery left: her long-lost birth family… and if they would welcome a thief. But in her search for an honest trade, she hit trouble and invented a god, the Scarlet Maiden, to scam her way out. Now, that lie is growing out of control—especially when Emeric arrives to investigate, and the Scarlet Maiden manifests to claim him as a virgin sacrifice.

For his final test to become a prefect, Emeric must determine if Vanja is guilty of serious fraud, or if the Scarlet Maiden—and her claim to him—are genuine. Meanwhile, Vanja is chasing an alternative sacrifice that may be their way out. The hunt leads her not only into the lairs of monsters and the paths of gods, but the ties of her past. And with what should be the simplest way to save Emeric hanging over their heads, he and Vanja must face a more dangerous question: Is there a future for a thief and a prefect, and at what price?

I must say that Margaret Owen's Painted Devils was a superb follow-up to Little Thieves! I found this book to be a little more exciting, a little more enticing than the previous one! And that ending, holy cow!

We start this story some months after the events of the first book and Vanja is back on her own in a new city/kingdom/territory--not exactly sure how we define these locations--and has somehow unwittingly called up a Low God who is called the Scarlet Maiden. She was merely trying to collect some of her rubies that she earned from the first book when they spilled into a river and suddenly she has a whole town believing in this Scarlet Maiden.

It's not long before the boy she was trying to distance herself comes along for an investigation and Emeric and Vanja meet again. Although, also in tow, is a retired senior prefect who is helping to finish Emeric's training and to say Kirkling doesn't like Vanja is putting it mildly. There's no love triangle to fear here, as Kirkling is very much Emeric's senior, but she's just a thorn in Vanja's side. It's not long before the Scarlet Maiden, who Vanja has been made prophet of, comes back to Vanja and sees that she has brough her a sacrifice in the form of Emeric. Try as Vanja might, she can't get the Scarlet Maiden to let go of this idea.

With much pleading and outright begging, the Scarlet Maiden relents, only if Vanja brings her the blood of seven brothers before a seemingly impossible deadline, but Vanja has never backed down when she's going after something she wants. And yes, there's still very much heated chemistry between her and Emeric. Vanja soon learns that the farmer she's been staying with is in fact one of 7 brothers and she's off to collect a drop of blood from his brethren before time runs out.

I think because there was a looming deadline for Vanja is what made this plot a little more exciting than the previous book. Yes, there was still 500 pages of words and this did seem like a little too much at times. The pacing was better for sure than the last one, but I still felt like there was a little too much slow moments where things went off course from Vanja's goals and that led to other scenes and moments that just felt a little too drawn out.

I did continue to enjoy the relationship developing between Vanja and Emeric. They are both new to love and it was just so sweet to see them take their time with things, letting their feelings develop further and such. There was still plenty of heated moments between them, but they were not as intense as other fantasy reads. Their romance was a breath of fresh air to be honest!

There was quite a few shocking reveals in this one! Issues that were lightly touched upon in the first book are exploding all over the page in this one! Then the ending had a twist I did not see coming which was mind-blowing! And then that last sentence of the book killed me because omg! I had a string of expletives about this moment that were mostly questions because...seriously...holy cow!! Luckily there's only a few more weeks until the final book releases and I can hopefully read it shortly after it comes out! My reading queue keeps getting other big books thrust into the mix, so I am looking at early April for this one! 

If you're a fan of fantasy reads with sometimes questionable heroines, than this might be the series for you to give a try! There's magic (of a kind), Low Gods, and all other kind of magic deities that make for an exciting and sometimes challenging read. The pacing goes up and down at the best of times, but it's still a read to draw you in and keep you hooked! I cannot wait for the finale!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars

 

Book Blogger Hop #349

 

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

This week's question is: Do you only feature reviews on your blog? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Review)

MY ANSWER: No. I participate in memes 6 days a week for fun. Things like Monday wrap-ups to showcase what I read, Teaser Tuesday with a teaser from my current read, Top Ten Tuesday which is usually ten picks from a random topic, Can't Wait Wednesday where I feature an upcoming book I am excited about, Books from the Backlog on Thursdays which I feature a book from my TBR pile that I still have not read, and of course Book Blogger Hop in which I answer a random question that is usually book related! Then there's also Sunday where I feature the books and bookish goods I received during the week!

I also post random discussion topics when something occurs to me. Usually some random like thought pops up in my head and I turn it into a discussion, or what I like to call a rambling post! Lol. I like to ramble on about things sometimes! If I can find a fun "tag" post I do those too! There used to be a lot of different kinds back in the day, but since blogging is becoming less of a thing I find it harder to find them these days. For some reason my brain can't compute the idea to create one myself because I feel like it wouldn't mesh right theme wise with counterparts where one could chose a title to fit the topic. I'm even struggling to formulate the words to describe my struggle with this, so you can see why I don't just make a fun tag myself! Lol.

But yes, I post other random things on my blog besides reviews. In the early days I also posted interviews with authors, I participated in blog tours, I posted random cover reveals when I found them early enough or was participating in a cover reveal kind of tour, but those kinds of posts haven't happened in a long time.

Books from the Backlog #126

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 magic burns, the world ignites.

There is no fiercer fae in the Morainian guard than Regan McCrae. Orphaned as a child, she has dedicated her life to the protection of her clan. She eats, sleeps, and breathes her noble duty. Only in her most private thoughts does she admit to be dreaming of romance…and of capturing the heart of her clan’s younger prince. When she learns he has been taken prisoner, her only thoughts are of rescuing him. But her captain and her high prince have a more desperate mission in mind.

Cheerful and cheeky Peter Duncan comes from a long line of human seers who are sworn to guard the unseelie fae when they are vulnerable in animal form. Those in his position are expected to remain neutral, but he’s always been friends with the Moraine. He doesn’t care about stodgy old rules and regulations. But he does care about doing something more valuable with his life than just standing watch. When the high prince calls him to the palace and asks for his help, he jumps at the chance.

As danger and destruction loom at the edges of the fae realm, a faithful warrior with a secret longing and a human who has never taken anything too seriously must attempt an impossible task where failure means unimaginable consequences.

I added When Magic Burns by Tera Lynn Childs to my TBR in May of 2016 as well. I want to say that these last two books of the trilogy were offered up in the same newsletter as I have both marked as "to read" for May of 2016! These appear to be short stories as I think they were all under 100 pages according to Goodreads. I love a good fae story so I thought why not? Hopefully one day soon I can just binge the trilogy!

 

Can't Wait Wednesday #187

 

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 glamorous media darling, a surprise heiress, and the magical competition of a lifetime.

At sixteen, Honora “Nora” Holtzfall is the daughter of the most powerful heiress in all of Walstad. Her family controls all the money–and all the magic–in the entire country. But despite being the center of attention, Nora has always felt like an outsider. When her mother is found dead in an alley, the family throne and fortune are suddenly up for grabs, and Nora will be pitted against her cousins in the Veritaz, the ultimate magical competition for power that determines the one family heir.

But there’s a surprise contestant this time: Lotte, the illegitimate daughter of Nora’s aunt. When Lotte’s absent mother retrieves her from the rural convent she’d abandoned her to, Lotte goes from being an orphan to surrounded by family. Unfortunately, most of them want her dead.

And soon, Nora discovers that her mother’s death wasn’t random–it was murder. And the only person she can trust to uncover the truth of what happened is a rakish young reporter who despises everything Nora and her family stand for.

With everyone against her, Lotte’s last hope is hunting for the identity of her father. But the dangerous competition–and her feelings for Theo, one of the Holtzfalls’ sworn protectors–turns her world upside down.

I nearly gave up hope on this book! My original preorder is of course long gone canceled by B&N or whoever I ordered it from. I did read Alwyn's story of what happened to this book and it was just tragic! So glad it is finally coming out now, but I must say I did think it was an April Fool's gag! Lol.

TITLE: The Notorious Virtues
AUTHOR: Alwyn Hamilton
PUBLISHER: Viking Books for Young Readers
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: April 1, 2025

Let's Discuss: Faceless Covers

 

Okay so I had another topic to discuss! This one was one I always thought about when I saw it but never thought to make it into a discussion until now! Lol.

Faceless Covers

Okay, so I couldn't find a lot of examples but it was when I saw someone's post on Instagram of Elle Kennedy's books that resparked this idea. Covers that have characters on them, but with no face...just really freak me out. Lol.

I don't know why, but it just disturbs me for some reason. Lol. I get it's just an artsy thing or maybe trying to let the reader imagine the rest of the face themselves without a cover model be it real or cartoony.

But yeah. There's just something freaky about it. Luckily, when it came to The Mediator series I have all the ORIGINAL covers, so my only faceless cover was book 6! Lol. But oddly reading Owen's Little Thieves trilogy, those don't freak me out as they're just missing eyes. Apparently having most of the facial features doesn't trigger this fear in me! Lol.

It's quite possible I saw some horror movie as a kid because of an irresponsible adult that involved something of this kind that perhaps has embedded itself in my psyche. I mean, I do recall an episode of Scooby Doo with a No Face Zombie villain...but that ended up being a robot, so wasn't super scary. I knew with Scooby that there'd be something to this faceless villain! So it wasn't that one that started this somewhat fear I have. I really don't know where the link is or what it was.

But yeah, when I see these covers now, I shudder and just hope that none of my authors get a cover to go in this direction. I might need to buy a hide-a-cover to permanently keep on the book then! Lol. I can deal with half faces or part of face on a cover. But to see the WHOLE head, with the WHOLE face and see nothing but maybe a pair of lips or nose outline...it's just freaky!

Is it just me or does this kind of disturb anyone else? It's probably just me. It's okay. I can take it. I mean I won't completely avoid a book if it has this on the cover. Especially if it's by a favorite author. But I can definitely say there will be no multiple copies if they go in this trend! Lol.

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.

"So she did what any rational person would do, having cut herself off from her loved ones, failed to find gainful employ after two straight weeks of searching, and then drunkenly ejected most of her personal wealth into a river in the wee hours of what could generously be called the butthole of the river.

She gave up." p 7

TITLE: Painted Devils
AUTHOR: Margaret Owen
PUBLISHER: Henry Holt, and Co. (BYR)
GENRE: YA Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: May 16, 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 Books That Include Maps

*in no particular order

10. A PROMISE OF PERIDOT by Kate Golden--I pretty much went to my TBR shelf in my room and pulled up most of these!
9. KINGDOM OF THE WICKED by Kerri Maniscalco--I had actually just taken a picture of this one for my Instagram posts, so I was like oh yeah!
8. KISS OF THE SELKIE by Tessonja Odette--all of Tessonja's books have a cute little map in it! This was the last book of hers that I read, so I went with this one instead of a TBR one!

7. BENEATH THESE CURSED STARS by Lexi Ryan--Fairy Loot version...even though this is not the FL cover! GR didn't have that one up for some reason. I am not sure if the standard US has a map or not, hence the FL note.
6. THESE DEATHLESS SHORES by P.H. Low--who doesn't love a map of Neverland?!
5. MIDNIGHT STRIKES by Zeba Shahnaz--Owl Crate version...pretty sure that's this one! The one I have at least has a map in it!

4. THE TEMPTATION OF MAGIC by Megan Scott--Fairy Loot version! Now I know the US version didn't have a map! As I feel like I bought that one before I realized it was going to be in the FL box. So whoops!
3. THE UNDERMINING OF TWYLA AND FRANK by Megan Bannen--another fun little map!
2. SPECTACULAR by Stephanie Garber--so many maps to choose from with Stephanie! I think the Spectacular one might be a fave though as I LOVED all the Christmasy locations and names!

1. ONCE UPON A BROKEN HEART by Stephanie Garber--threw you one there, didn't I? Lol. Since it's two different series, albeit in the same world, I am allowing myself to "cheat." But seriously, 7 books with 7 gorgeous maps you're lucky this wasn't 7 maps of Stephanie in my picks! Lol. Truly LOVED the one in OUABH though and might be my fave of the trilogy!