I was waiting for this day… for Lyssa Kay Adams to give Vlad his own book!!

Isn’t It Bromantic? – Lyssa Kay Adams 

Romance, book clubs, comedy, men, fiction.

9/10

Vlad always watches his friends in the Bromance Book Club get their happy endings and yet his own love life is incomplete. He hasn’t told them yet that his marriage with a woman of six years was a marriage of convenience. Something completely straight out of the many books that they have read. When he gets seriously injured they call his wife to come care for him. Elena is shocked beyond belief and rushes over to help. Only to be discouraged and she is torn from staying in America or going to Russia to find her father. This would mean her and Vlad divorcing since she is leaving to go back and she didn’t want to be a burden. Vlad wants to save the marriage despite its rocky beginnings. Elena knows it’s a lost cause but Vlad doesn’t seem to think so when he tells her everything. 

This book made me cry and laugh at the same time. I even underlined three passage selections that were completely and utterly relatable. I won’t spoil it but they were really eye openers that were completely unexpected to be inside a novel that a fictional character says. I binge read this novel and I absolutely love the fact that Lyssa Kay Adams gave the Russian Vlad his own book with his own romance. I was absolutely surprised with how she wrote the plot that made more sense as to the creation of the book club he hosts. There are many plot twists that were unexpected and I absolutely loved every single page of this novel. This was absolutely perfect and I definitely couldn’t have wished for a better moment for Vlad and his wife Elena. This was so sweet that his ending was absolutely perfect. Lyssa Kay Adams did it again with her writing and I would have to say she is my favorite romance novelist. She is absolutely the best and I recommend this author with all her works to give a read.

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…this was fine…

A Heart So Fierce and Broken (The Curse Breaker Series: Book 2) – Brigid Kemmerer

Fairy tales, retellings, fantasy, young adult, fiction.

Ratings 7/10

Grey is on the run with the new information that can get him killed. He is the true heir to Ember Fall. He nearly escaped and murdered the Enchantress who told him the truth of his birth. Karis Luran and her two daughters travel to Ember Fall to try to make a treaty of marriage to solidify the two nations. Lia Mara knows the true intentions of her vicious sister and wants peace between the two-warring kingdoms. Karis Luran meets with Rhen and blackmails him into trying to make a treatise. Rhen doesn’t want any of that. Lia decides into her own hands that led to her to becoming her mother’s pawn. Rhen finds Grey and confronts him about the heir. Grey is the heir but Rhen doesn’t know. The manhunt becomes benevolent. 

I wasn’t fully into the second installment of the trilogy. The writing is amazing, and organization of the different narratives helped build the world in making this world easier to understand. The new characters in this story were interesting and this revealed a lot more than the first book of the magical world. I should say not fully invested as I was with the first book. For those who have read the first book would be into the second book. Someone let me know if the third is good or comment below if I should continue. Convince me in other words without spoiling. I see this series all over TikTok and so many others. For those who are into the first book and are deeply invested in the series then this book is for those who are into it. I just personally am good with having the first book as a standalone because the second book was all over the place for me personally.

bibliophiles will love this manga

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Part 1: Volume 1

Author – Miya Kazuki, Artist – Suzuka, Character Design – You Shinna

Reincarnation, books, librarians, literature, manga 

Rating 10/10

Urano, a young college student, loves books. One day she gets killed by books toppling her during an earthquake. She prays that in the next life, she is able to access literature but fate has different plans for her. She gets reincarnated as a young sickly girl named Myne in a society where books are not accessible at all due to the lower class she was born into. Seeing that books are not accessible, she decides to make books. The first step of making a book is producing paper and she goes to gather necessary materials to make paper.

My boyfriend had watched the anime series and he found the manga books to gift to me and for me to read. I had watched some of the anime but the manga I was interested in reading. This manga is a bibliophile fantasy and really well detailed of how literature came to be plus the process of obtaining a book is never easy. While reading this, I felt that books are so underappreciated today but a hundred or more years ago they were cherished and hard to obtain because only the higher classes such as the noblemen could have these books. The main character is very relatable as we both love literature and definitely book worms. I intend to read more of the series as I come to find them because apparently this is a really hard manga to find. Luckily, as I mentioned, my boyfriend had found the books and gifted them to me. I really recommend all bibliophiles and book worms to venture and find this book. Request your nearest bookstore to bring some copies into the bookstore. 

cat people exist? what?

The Nine Lives of Chloe King: The Fallen – Liz Braswell

Young adult, fantasy, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Chloe King is an average sixteen-year-old turning seventeen. Her life is alright and considerably normal until she has a near death experience that should’ve killed her. Then she develops some new traits that are alarming as well as someone tried to assassinate her. She learns that there is a group called The Order of the Tenth Blade wants to eradicate her species. She must learn who she is.

I had read this when I was in middle school and liked the novel. I tried to retrieve my copy, but it was unfortunately destroyed due to horrible packing styles. Either way, I hunted down a new copy to read. I went down nostalgia lane and remembered why I loved this book so much. The writing was thorough and was never predictable. That is my opinion though. I was so happy to reread this novel for sure. And I would recommend reading all three books. I only read the first book for now. Might pick up the book once more soon. Or let me know to read and give it a review.

a deadly BITE

Interview with the Vixen: Archie Horror Book 2 – Rebecca Barrow

Archie comics, fiction, horror, young adult.

Rating 6/10

Veronica comes home from cheer practice and wants to inform her parents of her evening plans. She finds them dead in her father’s office and a looming dark figure threatening her. She tries to escape but only escapes with a terrifying bite from the vampire monster. She gets into a car accident with another vehicle and later wakes up completely healed as if nothing happened. Except she sees herself with blood red eyes and sharp fangs. She has somehow become a vampire from the bite. Veronica asks help from Dilton Doiley to find a way to become human again which is finding the sire and properly getting rid of him. In an attempt to do so, Archie is caught in the crossfire and is captured by the vampire’s henchmen, which are her parents. They are under his control. Both have to go back and regroup plans. Meanwhile Reggie Mantle is the other car that Veronica crashed into and he wakes up to find himself changed into a vampire. He goes to try to find Veronica to get answers. When he does, she tells him he will tell her as much as she could but they had to first go get help from Betty to try to figure out what is going on with the vampire who has control of her parents. Veronica successfully rescues Archie from the clutches of the vampires with the aided help of Betty. The trio with Dilton and Cheryl formulate a plan to save Riverdale.

I thought this novel was going to be better than I had expected but it was not that bad. Not entirely good either. I do not have issues with the storyline. I was expecting a lot more but it’s all right. I preferred the other book in the Archie Horror universe. I like werewolves over vampires personally. However, Archie is always no matter what iteration he is in, he is always promiscuous no matter what as well as always indecisive over who he wants to be with either Betty or Veronica.

not everything is as it seems to be..

Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore – Mathew Sullivan

Mystery, thriller, fiction.

Rating 9/10

Lydia as a child survived the Hammerman Massacre and ever since then hasn’t been the same. Every day she lives her life quietly as a bookseller. Joey, one of her Book Frogs, was found hanging in the bookstore. When she attempts to pull him down, she notices a photo of her and her friend Raj and questions how he got ahold of that photo. Later she finds cut up books with mismatched labels. She finds hidden messages within the pages giving clue of his past. She contacts the old detective of the Hammerman Massacre as well as digs up information about Joey. A dark and sinister truth is revealed, and everything was not as it seemed.

This novel was a slow burn mystery which I do like a slow burn occasionally. This one was perfect for what I was looking for. Perfect pacing and intricate plot that slowly unfolded. The character interactions were excellent. I sort of wished this was a longer novel, but a short standalone novel is just as good. I didn’t expect that twist ending but I was theorizing how the story would unfold. What I had learned is to expect nothing other than a possibly good mystery and this one was perfect. I do recommend this mystery if one wants a tame yet thrilling novel. I read this in one sitting honestly and I wished I paced myself, but I could not resist.

the final ending…

The School for Good and Evil: One True King, Book #6 – Soman Chainani

School, good, evil, Camelot, children, fiction.

Rating 10/10

There is an imposter trying to lay claim for Camelot and to proclaimed One True King with his captor, Sophie who is to be the queen. Agatha and Tedros have to figure out the tests that will prove that Tedros is the rightful heir to the throne. Once they both found out the three tests, both of them must face the challenges that lay ahead. The first test and second tests were grueling, revealing to Tedros his father’s life, and the sinister plot to lay claim to the throne through lies and deception. The third and final test reveals the conspiracy as well as the One True King.

I had waited a long time for this to come out and knew that the previous book wasn’t the final one. I’m saddened that this is the final book but glad it is. I was satisfied by the ending of this novel. The whole journey of this series had its ups and downs. I had laughed and cried through all books that are written by Soman Chainani. This series is perfect for all ages, young or old. There are so many messages for the reader to find and learn. There is good news that this book series will be adapted into a motion picture which I am so excited to know about and looking forward to watching when it comes out as well as do a review of whether the motion picture is absolutely faithful to the book or not. I know it will most likely will be faithful but still can’t wait to see these characters come to life besides my imagination. I do recommend this novel series to be read by all.

very interesting…

The Time of Contempt: A Novel of the Witcher, Book 2 – Andrzej Sapkowski

Fantasy, video games, Netflix, fiction.

Rating 8/10

Geralt must protect Ciri until she can gain the control of her powers as well as her destiny for greatness. However, there are trouble at the Wizard’s Guild, someone wants to overthrow the guild and Triss must decide upon her life and her future. She is also enlisted to protect Ciri as well. The relative calm is destroyed by chaos overthrown by an unknown enemy.

I found this novel to be intriguing and interesting. However, the chapters are insanely long and bores me to death on the lengthiness. The chapters can be easily divided into smaller chapters and the story line would still make sense. Why does the chapters have to be so long? I would never understand nor want to understand because that is the author’s purpose. It’s the genre but I’ve read fantasy novels with much shorter chapters. Overall, I did enjoy the book besides the lengthy chapters. I won’t let that get to me much. I can’t get over with the interactions between the Witcher and Triss. Ciri is becoming dangerous kind of scares me since she is only a teenager.

He Fights For Love

The Bromance Book Club – Lyssa Kay Adams

Romance, comedy, women, relationships, fiction.

Rating 8/10

Gavin was making love to his wife and afterwards is horrified that she’s faked the orgasms before, and this was the first real one in a long time. He was caught off guard and had reacted in such a way, Thea, kicked him out. Another blow is that she wants a divorce. His buddies invite him into their book club to not just read romance novels they do read but help him understand women more. As well as they decide to guide him into saving his marriage. Thea doesn’t want to give him another chance, but he begs to attempt on her terms. She outlines terms that he has to agree with. He has until Christmas to win her back. Along the way, he learns and wakes up to the truth that he hadn’t seen before and has epiphanies about their marriage.

I was expecting something else with the title and was questioning the synopsis. I found myself smiling at the end of the novel. This book is told through third perspective but with the focus on the husband rather than the wife as well as some part of the chapters there are samples of the book that Gavin was reading for the Bromance Book Club. This was heartfelt and made my heart swell. This book addresses some issues that married couples may have had or are working on. Marriage isn’t easy and requires dedication as well as devotion with both partners. I would’ve preferred this novel longer to further explain about Thea’s parents as well as Gavin’s parents to help the plot. With or without that the novel is beyond great.

Aftermath = Punishment

Ascenders: Skypunch Book Two – C.L. Gaber

Supernatural, young adult, fiction, death, afterlife, school, teenagers

Rating 10/10

In the next installment comes another adventure for our protagonists, Walker Callagan and Daniel Reid. After rescuing Daniel’s little brother, Walker seeing her mother for the last time, and escaping demons, they return to the afterlife alive. Sadly, what fate was store for them was a fate worse than being distinguished by demons. Being sent to the ITT, a place where criminally disturbed teenagers go to face punishment for eternity. Walker does what ever possible to stay alive and stay sane for Daniel. Hopefully Daniel is doing what he can to stay sane as well. The Godfather gives Walker an assignment, to ghost write, his memoir in exchange of freedoms as well as letting her beloved have freedoms if Daniel does what the GF tells him to do. Play Hockey and bring home the trophy or Walker is sent to the Hole for six months to mentally rot. A clairvoyant by the named of Cass, comes and visits Walker. Also, Cass sort of found Walker’s mother and began assisting her mother just to torment Walker into possibly dating him, Even though he is alive and she isn’t. Anyways Walker and Daniel are given a task that they retrieve an item lost in history or face going back to the ITT. It is a dangerous mission that involves training with not only students from the Academy and ITT but also another school that is called FREAKS that inhabit teenagers with special mental powers.

This second installment of this book series, Ascenders, kept me wanting to read it nonstop. It was hard to put down because I wanted to figure out what is happening and what will happen. I swear this book is worth reading! Again, the author Gaber got me craving for the next page to the point I find myself nearly finishing the book. Can’t wait to read the next one which I will be doing a book review for and will be posted after this one.