Last Books of February
I can finally post without having to explain I have been sick. \o/ My whole family has been well for almost two weeks now. I am super pleased by that. Cookie season is in full swing for the Girl Scouts, and we had a couple of booth sales this past weekend. One in front of a pet store and the other in front of a grocery store. They were both fairly busy. Now that GS can take both cash and card (through an app) we get a lot more sales as not everyone carrys cash. We have about a month left and I signed us up for at least a couple of booths every weekend. It is a fun stressful time but usually by the middle of March I am ready to be done. lol I am also on the job hunt again. I had put it aside when my dad got ill as I had to take care of him but now, I am looking around again. The problem is I need either I remote job or one that is local and can work around by schedule. So, I am looking around, but I want to be careful especially with remote jobs as they can be a scam. Other than that, not much has been going on.
This week I read: 1 Historical mystery, 1 Contemporary romance, 1 YA fantasy, and 1 Paranormal mystery.
Poltergeist by Kat Richardson
Harper Blaine was your average small-time PI until she died - for two minutes. Now she's a Greywalker - walking the thin line between the living world and the paranormal realm. And she's discovering that her new abilities are landing her all sorts of "strange" cases.
In the days leading up to Halloween, Harper's been hired by a university research group that is attempting to create an artificial poltergeist. The head researcher suspects someone is faking the phenomena, but Harper's investigation reveals something else entirely - they've succeeded. And when one of the group's members is killed in a brutal and inexplicable fashion, Harper must determine whether the killer is the ghost itself, or someone all too human. ~Goodreads Description
I read the first book in the Greywalker series some time ago, and I remember I had very lukewarm feelings about it overall. I ran across the second book in the series and decided to give it a try. I am glad I did. I greatly enjoyed the second much more. I love a good P.I. mystery story and adding in the paranormal is an intriguing bonus. Plus, Harper is a great pov character. I am still a bit confused about how the otherworldly Grey works but so is Harper so I think the author did that on purpose. I love that Harper is a competent detective and does the best she can for her clients. The mystery in this book was interesting and well thought out. I greatly look forward to the next one.
The Devil's Feast by M. J. Carter
The Devil's Feast is a great addition to the Avery & Blake series. I don't think it is quite as good as the first two, but it is still great. I like how Avery is kind of thrown into the deep end as Blake has been detained. As much as I appreciated the change, thankfully that situation didn't last too long as I like these books best when Avery and Blake work together. The mystery was a good one although I did guess whodunnit early on. I love all the historical details the author puts into these books. (It also cemented for me that I would not like to live in Victorian England.) All in all, a great book and I am bummed the author has never written more in this series.
The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée by Annika Martin
This book. I didn't hate it. TBH I in fact enjoyed parts of it. But overall, it wasn't for me. First of all, Rex, the romantic hero of the book establishes himself as an asshole in the first chapter thanks to a snobbish classist rant at the heroine, Tabitha, where he shows his disdain for hourly workers. (Tabitha is an hourly worker and so he is basically insulting her throughout the rant, which makes her ongoing crush on him incomprehensible.) It turns out he grew up poor, so we are supposed to excuse him, but it wasn't a great way for me to be introduced to the romantic lead. Also, Rex is one of those love interests who can't handle their feelings in an adult manner, so they end up taking it out on other people. (I hate that, like grow up.) Eventually, he does actually get better but by then I am not invested in their relationship. Tabitha is a very happy-go-lucky person, and she uses this as a shield to keep from getting hurt again. Other reviewers found her irritating, but I liked her and all of her over-the-top exuberance. I was happy for them that they figured it out in the end, but having said that I really didn't enjoy this book as a whole.
Damsel by Evelyn Skye
Elodie never dreamed of a lavish palace or a handsome prince. Growing up in the famine-stricken realm of Inophe, her deepest wish was to help her people survive each winter. So when a representative from a rich, reclusive kingdom offers her family enough wealth to save Inophe in exchange for Elodie’s hand in marriage, she accepts without hesitation. Swept away to the glistening kingdom of Aurea, Elodie is quickly taken in by the beauty of the realm-and of her betrothed, Prince Henry.
But as Elodie undertakes the rituals to become an Aurean princess, doubts prick at her mind as cracks in the kingdom’s perfect veneer begin to show: A young woman who appears and vanishes from the castle tower. A parade of torches weaving through the mountains. Markings left behind in a mysterious “V.” Too late, she discovers that Aurea’s prosperity has been purchased at a heavy cost-each harvest season, the kingdom sacrifices its princesses to a hungry dragon. And Elodie is the next sacrifice. ~Goodreads Description
This book had been on my radar for a while and then I saw the trailer for the movie on Netflix and decided to give it a go. There are some pretty harsh reviews of this book on Goodreads, but I have to say I thought it was good. Damsel is tagged as YA, but I do think it is more for the younger end of the YA spectrum as it reads quite young. I thought it was a well-written fantasy that kept my attention till the end. Elodie is a great main character I love how much she cares for her people and her family. She is willing to sacrifice her future in marrying someone she has never met and then she fights to get back to her family through horrific odds. I thought the ending was an odd yet interesting choice, I still liked though as it worked with the story.
Reading Challenges 2024:
Mount TBR: The Devil's Feast
Cloak & Dagger: Poltergeist, The Devil's Feast
Let's Tour the United States: The Billionaire's Fiancée
How is your week going so far?
This week I read: 1 Historical mystery, 1 Contemporary romance, 1 YA fantasy, and 1 Paranormal mystery.
Poltergeist by Kat Richardson
Harper Blaine was your average small-time PI until she died - for two minutes. Now she's a Greywalker - walking the thin line between the living world and the paranormal realm. And she's discovering that her new abilities are landing her all sorts of "strange" cases.
In the days leading up to Halloween, Harper's been hired by a university research group that is attempting to create an artificial poltergeist. The head researcher suspects someone is faking the phenomena, but Harper's investigation reveals something else entirely - they've succeeded. And when one of the group's members is killed in a brutal and inexplicable fashion, Harper must determine whether the killer is the ghost itself, or someone all too human. ~Goodreads Description
I read the first book in the Greywalker series some time ago, and I remember I had very lukewarm feelings about it overall. I ran across the second book in the series and decided to give it a try. I am glad I did. I greatly enjoyed the second much more. I love a good P.I. mystery story and adding in the paranormal is an intriguing bonus. Plus, Harper is a great pov character. I am still a bit confused about how the otherworldly Grey works but so is Harper so I think the author did that on purpose. I love that Harper is a competent detective and does the best she can for her clients. The mystery in this book was interesting and well thought out. I greatly look forward to the next one.
The Devil's Feast by M. J. Carter
The Devil's Feast is a great addition to the Avery & Blake series. I don't think it is quite as good as the first two, but it is still great. I like how Avery is kind of thrown into the deep end as Blake has been detained. As much as I appreciated the change, thankfully that situation didn't last too long as I like these books best when Avery and Blake work together. The mystery was a good one although I did guess whodunnit early on. I love all the historical details the author puts into these books. (It also cemented for me that I would not like to live in Victorian England.) All in all, a great book and I am bummed the author has never written more in this series.
The Billionaire's Fake Fiancée by Annika Martin
This book. I didn't hate it. TBH I in fact enjoyed parts of it. But overall, it wasn't for me. First of all, Rex, the romantic hero of the book establishes himself as an asshole in the first chapter thanks to a snobbish classist rant at the heroine, Tabitha, where he shows his disdain for hourly workers. (Tabitha is an hourly worker and so he is basically insulting her throughout the rant, which makes her ongoing crush on him incomprehensible.) It turns out he grew up poor, so we are supposed to excuse him, but it wasn't a great way for me to be introduced to the romantic lead. Also, Rex is one of those love interests who can't handle their feelings in an adult manner, so they end up taking it out on other people. (I hate that, like grow up.) Eventually, he does actually get better but by then I am not invested in their relationship. Tabitha is a very happy-go-lucky person, and she uses this as a shield to keep from getting hurt again. Other reviewers found her irritating, but I liked her and all of her over-the-top exuberance. I was happy for them that they figured it out in the end, but having said that I really didn't enjoy this book as a whole.
Damsel by Evelyn Skye
Elodie never dreamed of a lavish palace or a handsome prince. Growing up in the famine-stricken realm of Inophe, her deepest wish was to help her people survive each winter. So when a representative from a rich, reclusive kingdom offers her family enough wealth to save Inophe in exchange for Elodie’s hand in marriage, she accepts without hesitation. Swept away to the glistening kingdom of Aurea, Elodie is quickly taken in by the beauty of the realm-and of her betrothed, Prince Henry.
But as Elodie undertakes the rituals to become an Aurean princess, doubts prick at her mind as cracks in the kingdom’s perfect veneer begin to show: A young woman who appears and vanishes from the castle tower. A parade of torches weaving through the mountains. Markings left behind in a mysterious “V.” Too late, she discovers that Aurea’s prosperity has been purchased at a heavy cost-each harvest season, the kingdom sacrifices its princesses to a hungry dragon. And Elodie is the next sacrifice. ~Goodreads Description
This book had been on my radar for a while and then I saw the trailer for the movie on Netflix and decided to give it a go. There are some pretty harsh reviews of this book on Goodreads, but I have to say I thought it was good. Damsel is tagged as YA, but I do think it is more for the younger end of the YA spectrum as it reads quite young. I thought it was a well-written fantasy that kept my attention till the end. Elodie is a great main character I love how much she cares for her people and her family. She is willing to sacrifice her future in marrying someone she has never met and then she fights to get back to her family through horrific odds. I thought the ending was an odd yet interesting choice, I still liked though as it worked with the story.
Click to viewReading Challenges 2024:
Mount TBR: The Devil's Feast
Cloak & Dagger: Poltergeist, The Devil's Feast
Let's Tour the United States: The Billionaire's Fiancée
How is your week going so far?