Listened to King of Battle and Blood by Scarlett St. Clair

 

Hello Bookies, 

Still recovering from surgery here but i finished another book. We have an enemies to lovers trope. The book starts with our main female character who is named Isolde. She is a princess of a time where mortals live in fear of monsters. She gets in a fight with the commander she was having relations with and storms off back to the castle without him. On the way she runs into a monster, defeats it, and then runs into a vampire who heals her wounds. Isolde returns to the castle and realizes that she was highly attracted to the vampire she encountered. She tries to take care of things but gets interrupted by her lady in waiting. News of the blood king's arrival has been released and so Isolde does the princess thing and stands by her father's side as the blood king joins them in talks of peace. But when the blood king comes in the room, Isolde realizes that it's the vampire from before and he is asking for her to be his wife. Isolde accepts her fate and marries the blood king. She does try to kill him a few times but he still ends up consuming her in a spicy kind of way. Of course Isolde is disgusted with herself for being with the vampire king in such an intimate way. But as she learns more about the vampires, the more she learns they aren't what she was taught. Now this is the part where I struggle telling you about the book without spoiling it. Let's just say Isolde finds out she can't trust who she thought she could. Especially her father. Anyway I did enjoy the book. Can't say that loved it but I do plan on getting the second book to read. If I could, the book would get three and a half out of five, but I can't. I will have to settle with three stars out of five. 

So until next time...

-Lys

Listening to Pucking Around by Emily Rath

 

Hello Bookies,

I am a little disappointed that my library only has the digital audiobook for this book. Sure, it's convenient for me because of my injury, but it would be a pain if I wanted the actual physical book. Also it gets awkward when things get spicy and your mother shows up. Anyway this book is a 'why choose' romance. The main female character is named Rachel and she becomes the team doctor of a new hockey team. There she runs into her former one night stand and things take off from there. When I say take off, I mean this book is spicy. I literally went from mild spice to extra spicy. This book isn't any dark romance, but it does mention some kinks in a subtle way...ish. But if you really like spicy books with some intense steamy scenes, this book is probably for you. I am not much of a sports romance kind of person, but I am enjoying the book. It will probably still get three out of five stars from me. I liked it, but i didn't love it. 

So until next time...

-Lys

Listened to Enemies by Tijan

 Hey Bookies, 

I am loaded up on audiobooks until I recover from my wrist surgery. The first book I listened to was Enemies by Tijan. It's a sports romance with a enemies to lovers trope. But I am thinking that the whole enemies thing was just in the main female character's head. But I can see where she was coming from. Stone's family did kind of ruin things for her family. Anyway our main female character is named Dusty. She was named after her uncle who passed too young. Anyway Dusty is trying to escape something but we don't know what yet. We have an idea due to the prologue but nothing is quite clear yet. But when she arrives to the location she found to rent online, the person who gave her the place ended up lying. Dusty shows up to the house in full party mode and she is dreading it. But she sucks it up and manages for a bit. Her stepmother likes to send her texts to encourage her to contact her childhood friend Stone, but Dusty doesn't want anything to do with him. Eventually Stone and Dusty fight over the phone that results in Dusty calling her stepmother to stop harassing Stone's family. Shortly after, Stone shows up at where Dusty lives with some news and Dusty reacts only to get into an accident. I'd give more details but that would ruin the story. Anyway Dusty is stuck living with Stone for a while because he promised her mom that he would take care of Dusty. Dusty at one point has a panic attack and for some reason that leads to her and Stone doing the dirty deed. They then somehow become enemies with benefits for a while until Dusty starts to get feelings. She breaks it off and works to earn her keep. Eventually her and Stone make amends after her secret gets out. And that is pretty much how it ends. Of course the epilogue has them happily married with a little one just to wrap up everything in s little bow. Now the book has an okay character growth with Dusty. She could have grown a little more, maybe got therapy or something that didn't involve sleeping with her childhood friend. The spicy scenes were pretty good too. Nothing to write home about. More mild than anything. If that is your vibe, this book is for you. This book gets a three out of five from me. It was okay and I did enjoy it, but I feel like there was room for improvement. 

So until next time...

-Lys

Had to return some books

 Hey there Bookies, 

It's still a little hard for me to get back into ready. I am trying. But since it takes me so long to read one book, I decided to return a few with the ones that had to go back. Howl's Moving Castle is one of the books that had to go back. But I do have a copy of the book somewhere, I just need to remember where my copy is. Anyway my injury is still taking a long time to heal, which also makes me want to read anymore. You really lose motivation when you can't really do as much as you used to. Hopefully my wrist will get better, which will hopefully put me in a better mood.

So until next time...

-Lys

Started reading Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

 Hello Bookies,

This is an oldie but a goodie. Since I am trying to get back into reading after everything that has happened in my personal life lately. Injury included. One of my co-workers suggested I read this book, but she did warn me that it is nothing like the movie. As I am a quarter of the way through the book, I have notified differences already. One being how Sophie actually got into Howl's castle. So far the book is okay. It is taking a whole to read because of my focusing issues. I'm also starting to think that maybe I am just not in the right head space to actually enjoy this book. We'll see if I can get halfway. 

So until next time...

-Lys

Read Home is Where the Bodies Are by Jeneva Rose

Hey there Bookies,

We are on to the next book I read. Well listened to because I'm still injured. I seemed to have forgotten to write down when I actually stared this book, but I know it took me a few days to get through. The story is different points of view through four different characters. Beth, who is the oldest child. Nicole, who is the middle child. Michael, who is the youngest child. Then there is Laura, the mom. We start the book off with Laura on her deathbed while Beth is trying to get ahold of her two youngest siblings. She wants them to be able to say goodbye to their mom before she passed but it doesn't look like they will make it. Laura eventually passes but not before she whispers to Beth, 'Your father didn't disappear. Don't trust.' Beth is confused and decides to not tell her siblings, which makes you question why. The siblings then get reunited, meet with a lawyer they didn't know their mother had. They learn she also had a will and two bank accounts. This makes the siblings question things but figure their mom had her reasons. The siblings then goes through things in the attic and find a VHS that held a very deep secret. The video involved a little neighbor girl that went missing when they were all kids. The book then drags on as the siblings either dig into more about the neighbor girl's disappearance and arguing if they should tell anyone. The only thing, in my opinion, that kept the book going were the few chapters in the mother's point of view. It showed how much she was beginning to distrust her family. Eventually towards the end the siblings get into a big fight and go their separate ways. Beth goes into the nearby woods to look for bodies, Nicole goes to the bank to steal whatever was in the safety deposit box, and Michael go we s home. Of course, the two sisters learn the truth and the book picks up again as the truth of what really happened with the neighbor girl when they were little. The book was okay in my opinion. Not a whole lot happens and I probably expected more than what I got. The book ended up getting two out of five stars from me. I liked it but it just wasn't for me. I wished I gave the book a higher rating but the fact that it dragged on throughout the middle of the book, hurt it. The ending was good though, it had a twist you don't really expect because you are so focused on the red herring in the book.

So until next time...

-Lys

Read Little Stranger by Leigh Rivers

                                                   

Hey there Bookies,

I know it's been a while. A lot of personal things have happened. Also recently I was clumsy and tore a ligament in my right wrist. So I've been adjusting to an injury that might take longer to heal than planned. Anyway, let's get talking about the books I've read during my injury started. Starting with Little Stranger.

I started reading Little Stranger by Leigh Rivers on May 9th and it only took me about 24 hours to finish it. Before I start talking about the book, I will have to say an unpopular opinion. I did not like the dynamic of the two main characters. It's not because they are adopted siblings, but due to their similar history, I felt like they were just trauma bonding. I said what I said and I am sure that once I read the second book, my feelings will be confirmed. Anyway the book starts with our two main characters, Olivia and Malichai, meeting when they were kids. I think 8 and 9.  Olivia is excited to get an older brother but Malichai isn't what she expected. Especially when he drags her away from their adopted parents and was already calling her 'his.' Early on we learn that Olivia is also adopted after being found abandoned in her home holding her younger sibling's deceased body. Their parents, who we will call Mom and Dad, are actually pretty well off as well. Mom is a judge and Dad is a well known defense attorney. Olivia is very open about her love for her parents, while Malichai is not. But early on, you can tell that Olivia and Malichia have created a co-dependent relationship with each other. Even when they get separated after Malichai kissed Olivia on the lips, they still find a way to be together to sleep at night. By the time they are 18 and 19, we learn that Malichai and Olivia have some expectations made for them that they don't want to live up to. Malichai is supposed to take over Dad's law firm while Olivia is expected to marry a rich young man that her parents have picked for her. Olivia ends up with two suitors. One suitor is named Parker and the second suitor is named Adam. Parker is the son of one of Dad's business partners. Adam became a suitor after talking to Olivia and getting attacked by Malichai for it. So in order for Malichai to not be charged, Olivia is arranged to date Adam instead. The whole book is basically Olivia denying her feelings for Malichai while their mom is being the worst. Worst being that she even paid someone to take her virginity. Eventually the book progresses to Olivia agreeing to give Malichai 'lessons' on certain topics. Or should I say actions? Either way, things are good for a while until Olivia overhears one of her cheer squad mates talking about sleeping with Malichai. Olivia gets bad, confronts Malichai, tries to leave, then gets assaulted by Malichai because pleasure will surely make her stay...Not. Father catches them, a fight takes place where the father ends up dying on the floor and Malichai pretty much takes advantage of Olivia in the chaos. Then the book skips eight years later and you find out that Malichai has been in prison for attempted murder. Olivia has been living her life, but is secretly keeping tabs on Malichai in hopes that he will save her from her planned out life. Of course, what she doesn't know is that Malichai has been spying on her with hidden cameras he installed while she was at work. Also he may have drugged all of her drinks in the house with sedatives where after she is out, he continues to take advantage of her. Yes, I know that this is a certain kink but this isn't in my opinion consensual in anyway. All because he is secretly drugging her without her knowledge. Trust me when I say that the kink could have been played out a little bit differently in this book. Just seeing how the kink is portrayed in the book makes me feel like the author didn't quite understand the kink they were going for. But that is just my opinion. Anyways, eventually Malichai kidnaps Olivia and then tortures for a weeks. Now here is an unrealistic play on when he reveals himself to Olivia...She gets mad not because he had her tied up and was torturing her. No, she was mad because he didn't come to her sooner. So sadly the book got three out of five stars from me. I didn't hate it but I also didn't love it. Will I reading the second book? I have no idea yet.

 So until next time....

-Lys