Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC and the publisher for the complimentary hard copy. All opinions provided are my own.A retelling of Beowulf, Shield Maiden by Sharon Emmerichs tells the story of what woke up the dragon. Fryda, a lord’s daughter, is the very resilient heroine of this fantasy. She survives *a lot* physically, so much so that I got some Daughter of the Forest vibes. Throughout Shield Maiden there’s also a sweet friends to lovers romance arc that’s set against a background of a power struggle, revenge, & parental coldness. Be advised that there are references to slavery & indentured servitude in Geatland—in fact, the love interest is called a slave & treated as if he is one by most of the people in positions of power for most of the book. The creativity of this story & the standout heroine make Shield Maiden a striking story. 4⭐️. Out now.CWs: Death; violence; dragon attacks & death. Betrayal. Sexual harassment. Whipping as punishment. Slavery & indentured servitude.
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Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.If the title includes witches I’m down & Ava Morgyn’s The Witches of Bone Hill offers a sometimes darkly engrossing story that’s ultimately hopeful & sister-focused. Cordelia is facing a lot of problems when the book begins, including the end of her marriage to a man who exploited her & cheated on her & the imminent sale of her home so she can try to settle the debts he left her with. But wait, there’s even more trouble waiting for her & she hopes the house & inheritance that the family she never really knew left her will help. She goes to Bone Hill, owned by the aunt she didn’t know IRL, & reconnects with the sister she’s been largely estranged from in recent years. There she meets the groundskeeper Gordon & realizes there are lots of family secrets just waiting to be uncovered. There’s a good creepy factor to this book for those looking for thrills, & family secrets just keep pouring out of the woodwork. Betrayal & history & a house that shows she & her sister are part of a larger family even if their mother wanted to act like they weren’t. This one kept my attention & I liked how everything wrapped up so hopefully. 3.5⭐️. Out 09/26. CWs: Death of mother. Mutilation. Cancer. Mob threat. Reference to oppid addiction.
Hi and welcome to my blog tour stop for Stacey Abrams' writing as Selena Montgomery The Art of Desire! A big thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Summary.Trouble comes in threes... One doomed love affair after another has made lovely Alex Walton swear off men. Now, she's determined to try something that maybe she can succeed at: a writing career. Little does she know that a chance meeting with a strikingly handsome stranger, a mysterious obelisk, and a lost kingdom will change her life forever. As Alex is about to discover, truth can be stranger—and far more dangerous—than fiction. ...but true love comes only once. After three years inside a terrorist organization, Phillip Turman is trying to rebuild his life. His first assignment is to pick up Alex Walton, the maid of honor for his best friend's wedding, at the airport. His second is to deal with his instant attraction to her. But his third may be the toughest: to keep Alex out of danger as his past—and her need to know about it—threaten to destroy their future. [ID: Jess’s white hand holds the ebook in front of a group of multicolored zinnias.] My review.A rereleased romantic suspense, The Art of Desire by Stacey Abrams writing as Selena Montgomery is action-packed & full throttle, with intriguing leads who are forced to spend more time together (yay!) as they attend a wedding, try to stay safe from various attacks, & realize that they’re both embroiled in the monarchic affairs of a country on the brink. The hardest thing about reviewing this book is that it definitely feels like a romantic suspense book that released in 2002, for better or for worse. I mean no shade whatsoever by that comment. But there are aspects of characters & books that I remember enjoying as a reader in 2002 that I wouldn’t appreciate nearly as much now. With that being said, the hero Phillip Turman is not always my fave, he also has a mustache (not my preferred facial hair accoutrement ), the shifts in perspective mid-chapter are a bit confusing, & the romantic suspense plot is kinda bonkers in moments. But there are lots of things to appreciate about this book too. Phillip & Alex are very passionate & while Phillip sometimes frustrates with his temper, his unwillingness to fully appreciate Alex, &/or his strategies in trying to dissuade her from possible harm, I adore how Alex stands up for herself. She doesn’t fade into the background, she knows her worth, & she’s talented in so many different ways. Though aspects of this book don’t always work for me I’d like to try another Selena Montgomery book in the future. Maybe it will work better for me. 3⭐️. Out now! Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs. About the author.Selena Montgomery is the nom de plume of Stacey Abrams—she is the three-time New York Times bestselling author of Our Time Is Now, Lead from the Outside, and While Justice Sleeps; an entrepreneur; and a political leader. As Selena Montgomery, she is an award-winning author of eight romantic suspense novels. Do you like romantic suspense? Do you have any Selena Montgomery books you would recommend? Let me know what you think about this one and thanks for stopping by!
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. A mystery, an obscuring fog, a gay private investigator trying to find a new path in 1950s San Francisco…Lev AC Rosen’s The Bell in the Fog is an engrossing story replete with a noir setting that really satisfies. Andy Mills is a former WWII Navy man & a cop who was fired from the force after being caught in a raid targeting queer people. Now he’s trying to start a new life for himself, a task that’s more difficult with the arrival of an old love who just disappeared one day. In addition to solving a mystery surrounding said old love, Andy also has to reckon with his past as a police officer who is also queer when the police force was and is aggressive about targeting the queer community. If you like flawed characters who are put into difficult situations this is a great book for you. The consideration of queer people just trying to find joy & live their lives as they are & as they please is moving & also ties compellingly to the mystery itself. Add to all of this a budding romance & it’s even better. 4.5⭐️. Out 10/10.CWs: Mention of "whites only" bar. Homophobia. Violence. Murder. Blackmail.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own.Adrienne Young has such a way with words & THE UNMAKING OF JUNE FARROW really sucked me in one night when I flailed around looking for something to read. (The title alone gives me raptures.) This evocative & wistful book has a time slippage premise where the female Farrows have the ability to respond to two different times at once—it’s something that June finds herself struggling with at the beginning of the book as she hears music no one else can hear, sees a strange man lurking & then suddenly disappearing, etc. Then one day she chooses to walk through a door & she finds herself in the past with a ticked off man who says he is/was her husband who was summarily abandoned by her when she presumably went through the door again. So June must confront this man who she doesn’t really remember meeting, during a time she hasn’t been in yet, & meanwhile she has another life in the current time with people she loves. I’m guessing you can see the possible emotional implications of all of this. Despite the fact that I occasionally got confused by some of the time details, this is a moving story that made me wrestle with some of the emotional fallout of the characters’ choices & what it means to go through the door. There’s often a sadness that comes with time slippage / time travel books, I think, something lost for something gained, & this book definitely incorporates that into the story. Ultimately TUOJF is an emotion-driven story that asks the question what if you don’t go through a door: what if that is the risky thing to do. It’s not my personal fave Adrienne Young story but it is compelling & written in a lovely way—she is such a stylist—& I think it will grab many hearts. 4⭐️. Out 10/17.Please see a trusted reviewer’s list of CWs.
Thanks to the publisher & Netgalley for the complimentary e-ARC. All opinions provided are my own. One of my fave *fave* romance things is when a lead finds a home by the end of the book & that journey for Ves in Wrapped With a Beau is so heartwarming. I’ve never actually watched a Hallmark holiday movie but the vibes of this book felt similar to what I imagine with the very welcome addition of steam. From Elisha & Ves’s inauspicious meet-cute when she assumes he’s a burglar & threatens him with a candy cane yard decoration to their fake dating / just for the holidays romance to his big gesture at the end, it’s charming & sweet. Not to mention Elisha’s adorable town which celebrates the holidays in a very big way. This book is just cute & also emotional in some ways, like when Ves contemplates his past & the found family he has now. Other things of note? A book-loving hero who is at times self conscious (very refreshing IMO), a heroine who gets things done , and a welcoming community. There’s at least one spot where it verges on being a bit too cutesy for my taste but overall, this is a lovely book that made me feel those warm & happy sensations. 4.25⭐️. Out 09/26.CWs: loss and grief; references to parental manipulation, parental fighting, parental emotional neglect, parental cheating.
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