Final book in the series. I am not ready for this series to be over. That’s probably why I have held off reading it even though I bought it when it first came out 2 months ago.
One of the hacks I mentioned in my previous post was to read the first page or so and see what grabs me. I don’t really have a pile of ‘what to read next’, but as I went through my shelves I started pulling one or two from the book cases. I added these to pile near my bed (one of a few). I thought if I narrowed it down to 6-7, that should make it easier to find where I want to head next.
I’ve got one non-fiction in the stack, a memoir of living in the Netherlands. I’ve got some booktok recs, Ice Planet Barbarians and The Queer Principles of Kit Webb. One historical romance (Mine till Midnight), one that’s maybe about demons and evil kings (Carnival of Souls), one about the West and riding horses and doing jobs stealing stuff (The Sisters Brothers) and one that’s maybe about vampires (The Beautiful)? (It is tough to say from the first page, so some of these are guesses. ) Part of me is leaning towards Kit Webb, as it is Pride Month, and part of me is leaning towards the second installment of Ice Planet Barbarians.
I think I’ve had the Sisters Brothers longest, but Mine til Midnight is the oldest. This was supposed to make it easier, having an actual TBR pile, but I don’t think it is.
What would you read next? How do structure your TBR pile? Sound off in the comments!
I did not mean to start another series. But, I reached the top of the waiting list at my local library as I was finishing The Starless Sea and I don’t always remember what something is or why I put myself on the wait-list when it comes time to check things out. So, here we are.
Shiori’anma is a princess, the only princess, in the kingdom of Kiata and she does not want to get married. She wants to hang out with her bros and live her life. But, of course, that isn’t what she gets. Following a disastrous failure of a betrothal ceremony, Shiori ends up without an engagement and having to sew an apology tapestry under the watchful eye of her stepmother, Raikama. This turns out to be extra bad news because Shiori is hiding magic in a kingdom that has forbidden magic and Raikama has a secret; she is a sorceress. When Shiori discovers her stepmother’s secret, Raikama banishes her and transforms her six brothers into cranes. Shiori wakes on the other side of the kingdom unable to use her voice, with no money and no identity. She must find a way to survive, reunite with her brothers and return to the capital before something even more terrible than the King losing his heirs can happen. Shiori, of course, finds help along the way.
This was a fun read. I enjoyed Shiori’s arc and the supporting cast of characters are also very fun. There were some unexpected twists that I really enjoyed. I’m interested in what happens next so I’ve added myself to the wait list of the second book. If you like a mix of fairy tale elements, women coming into their power and kicking ass, and slow burn romance, this is for you.
Oh, my god, this was so good, y’all. Just, so so good. So, this is the story of two families whose lives collide with each other. Set in 1997, the Richardsons have four kids and live in a nice house in the lovely suburb of Cleveland, Shaker Heights. Mia Warren, a single mother and artist, moves to town with her daughter Pearl and rents an apartment from Mrs.Richardson. One of the Richardson children, Moody, rides his bike to the house because he is curious about the new tenants and that starts this story of friendship, growth, self-discovery, betrayal, and love. The main complication of the story comes when the Richardsons attend a party of a family friend celebrating the birthday of their child, whose adoption is about to be finalized. Lexie, the oldest Richardson child, mentions the baby to Mia, who has become the Richardson’s part-time housekeeper and cook. Mia realizes that this baby is the daughter of someone she met at a different part-time job. Bebe, the baby’s mother and a Chinese immigrant, surrendered the child to a fire station in the midst of post-partum depression and hopelessness. Since getting back on her feet, she’s been trying to find the little girl.
The resulting public revelation and custody trial sets fire to the community. Family members disagree, everything is heated, and Mrs. Richardson uncovers Mia’s involvement and takes it personally. She sets out to discover everything she can about Mia. The results are painful, beautiful, and deeply touching.
I was taken in by this novel. The characters felt real; you could see how their choices had led them to where they were and how they gloried and chafed against their results and consequences. I felt for all of them, even when what they did made me angry or deeply uncomfortable. The court case that ran through part of the story made clear how complex family situations can be. Issues of maternal support, child welfare, and race all interconnected in a way that made for no easy answers.
This book was so good and I can’t believe it took me so long to get to it. I know it is now also a TV show, so I might have to watch it and see how it compares. But the book on its own is enough. If you’ve not read it, get out there and give it a try. The audiobook was read by Jennifer Lim and she brought the characters to life. I can’t recommend this book enough.
I thought at the end of The Final Gambit that this series wrapped up nicely. I didn’t know what else needed to be said. True, Avery’s journey was wrapped up nicely. She made it a year, inherited the Hawthorne fortune and figured out what she was going to do with that vast wealth. However, Grayson and Jameson’s stories has some work to do. True their relationship with each other have improved. They both still have some major daddy and granddaddy issues to work out. Both of them get intertwined with their father’s families. Jameson’s father shows up out of the blue and wants him to infiltrate a secret club to play a game to reclaim his ancestor’s home. Grayson, who’s father kidnapped Avery and died in the last book has been keeping tabs on his half sisters. He jumps into action when his sister Gigi gets arrested. At first, I wasn’t really all that interested in Grayson and Jameson’s troubles and wondered why that it was necessary but as it went along I started to go with it. Grayson’s sisters Gigi and Savannah are a welcome addition to the story and it’s good to see Grayson have a family that he always wanted whether he admits it or not. Jameson, to be honest, my least favorite of the Hawthorne’s and was a bit bummed that he ended up in Avery but there were moments, I really felt for him. The emotional abuse inflicted on all his brothers by their grandfather is tragic. I do think that Jameson ended in a better place at the end then Grayson did but guess what there is going to be more books. The journey of the Hawthorne brothers continue as Avery is creating a new game for anyone can play and change their fortunes. I do hope that Xander plays more of role in the next book.
I kinda thought it ended well last book but this is the actual final book in the series. Let’s see how these games play out.
I loved the Hunger Games series but I didn’t rush to read the prequel because I could have cared less about Snow. Before it came out, there were all these rumors about which Hunger Games it would be about and what a disappointment when it turned out to be Snow. There was a time, not so long ago, there was this moment of trying to humanize villains and I didn’t really care to find out what terrible things happen to Snow to turn him evil. An for most of the book, that’s kind of what it was. We met teenage Snow who has been picked to be a Mentor in the 10th Hunger Games. The Capital is still recovering from the war and the Hunger Games hasn’t really caught on with the people. This year, having students be mentor is just one way, they are trying to get people more engaged and make it into what we say 65 years later with Katniss. The Snow family were once a powerful family but lost all of their money when District 13 was destroyed. They only have their name but that might not be enough anymore. His one chance to change their fortunes is to mentor his tribute to win. He is partnered with Lucy Gray Baird from District 12. Lucy Gray is a charismatic singer and makes quite an entrance and soon the people of the Capital are rooting for her and Snow is in love. More appropriately obsessed. Long story short, he cheats to help her win and for punishment he’s forced to join the Peacekeepers and sent to the District 12 to be with Lucy Gray. Seeing how things are in the districts should have open his eyes to the injustice but instead it only makes him more Capital. I guess that is the point of the book. It’s not to humanize him but to explain why and how the Hunger Games became to be and how they came more vicious over time. Snow was truly traumatized by the war but instead of working on his own trauma but puts it onto others. LIke Lucy Gray. He doesn’t truly love her. He is jealous anytime someone else talks to her or about her. He becomes angry at the thought of past lovers. He wants to control her like he ends up wanted to control all of Panem. He is a prime example of the worst of Humanity. He comes off looking normal and reasonable but it only covers up their true nature. This wasn’t as compelling as the original series but wasn’t as disappointing as I originally thought it would be.
I’m so ready for this one.
I figured with the movie coming out it’s about time to read it. I’m not thrilled that Snow got his own book but I’ll give it a try.
This was a fun book. Winter is the biggest pop star in the world. He also happens to be the favorite singer of the daughter of one of the most dangerous men in the world. So when Winter gets invited to play her birthday party it is the opening that Sydney, a covert operative for an agency that does what the CIA won’t. Which if you know the CIA’s history that’s some real shit. Sydney poses as Winter’s bodyguard as they try to infiltrate the bad guys inter-circle to get the evidence needed to finally take him down. One problem. Sydney and Winter don’t really like each other. Well mostly Sydney doesn’t like Winter. She just thinks he’s just another spoiled rich, famous person and she doesn’t like being saddled with him on this mission. Of course the more time they spend with each the more they start to find they like each other. Maybe even love each other. The mission gets complicated and the must work together to survive. Everything you need in a spy romance novel. I loved it and I can’t wait for when they make the movie and cast a real C-Pop star. I could also see them trying to tap the Hallyu wave and change Winter to Korean and cast a K-Pop or Korean actor because why not. I don’t even know if there is a movie or TV show in the works but this would make a great one and with sequels on the way. It will have more material to work with.
2 Women, So Many Books 