Review: The Princess Knight

The Princess Knight by G.A. Aiken
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

OMG! This was a fabulous book. Since it is the second book in this series (trilogy?) I STRONGLY suggest you read the first book The Blacksmith Queenfirst. Naturally! And if you have Kindle Unlimited, you are in luck since the first two books are there and ready to be read for free!

You also must read, at the very least, Dragon Actuallyto learn a bit about Annwyl the Bloody because, as you will find out in the epilogue (as well as some hints in both of these books), she will become important, and it would be good to get a little backstory. Also, for those with Kindle Unlimited, this book is free also!

This particular book centers around Brother Gemma with just enough about Keely to keep riveted. The story has enough twists, turns, magic, comedy, and bloody fights (and one really good sexy times scene) to keep your blood pressure just high enough that you couldn't possibly go to sleep without finishing it!

And, of course, this book ends on a bit of a cliffhanger since book three is coming out on December 27th--- Merry Christmas to me!
Now please excuse me since I have an ARC to read. Yes, I will be letting you know about The Heretic Royalby the end of the weekend, so keep tuned!

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Review: The Other Side of Night

The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This novel drove me crazy. I can't even tell you what genre this book is because I just couldn't figure it out. It was mostly a mystery/police procedural and SciFi. It was told at different times with different voices and different manners of writing (including court reports, letters, confessions, etc.) m
Sometimes the prose is flowery with bad poetry; sometimes, it is incomprehensible (unless you have a degree in...well, I'm not allowed to tell!

The characters are cardboard, and the portrayal of Harriet Kealty, an ex-cop, is disgraceful. I couldn't connect with any of them and as a matter of fact, I just sort of giggled at what was going on. Give me a break-falling in love after three dates and not even real dates? What a cliched trope.

Why did I give this book 2 stars? Because I did manage to finish it without throwing my Kindle into the wall, and it was a very fast read.

*ARC supplied by the publisher and ATTL/ EDELWEISS.


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OVERVIEW: "The Other Side of Night begins with a man named David Asha writing about his biggest regret: his sudden separation from his son, Elliot. In his grief, David tells a story.

Next, we step into the life of Harriet Kealty, a police officer trying to clear her name after a lapse of judgment. She discovers a curious inscription in a secondhand book—a plea: Help me, he’s trying to kill me. Who wrote this note? Who is “he”?

This note leads Harri to David Asha, who was last seen stepping off a cliff. Police suspect he couldn’t cope after his wife’s sudden death. Still, why would this man jump and leave behind his young son? Quickly, Harri’s attention zeroes in on a person she knows all too well.

Ben Elmys: once the love of her life. A surrogate father to Elliot Asha and trusted friend to the Ashas.

Ben may also be a murderer.​

The Other Side of Night is a thought-provoking, moving “head-spinner of a novel” (John Connolly) with intriguing narratives and plot swerves that will leave you reeling. By the end, you’ll be shaken as each piece slots satisfyingly into place."

Review: The Viper

The Viper by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I stumbled into this off-shoot of the BDB series, and I am happy I did! This was a complicated book with many characters from the first two books. It also had some BDB character's in it too.

In the last book, Kane was horribly burned, helping to save others, and Nadya was helping to heal him (not that it was really possible). We start this book with a prison break and Kane being taken to the wolf's encampment, where the Grey Wolf offers him a choice. He would heal if he became *other*.

The characters are solid, although there was a little too much introspection for my taste; the story was intriguing and violent. There are several relationships to iron out and several heavy sex scenes, (M/M and M/F).

I'm not sure if there will be another book dealing with the Prison Camp or the people who have escaped. This book seems like it will end here, but one can never be sure of what the author will do.

*ARC supplied to me by the publisher Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster, the author JR Ward, and ATTL/Edelweiss.

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OVERVIEW: "In this newest Prison Camp installment, #1 New York Times bestselling author J. R. Ward pens a heart-wrenching tale of love and betrayal in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world…

Framed for the grisly murder of his shellan, Kane is condemned to the notorious prison camp—unaware of the dark truth behind his arranged mating. Centuries later, when he is horribly burned while attempting to save others, he prays he’ll finally be reunited in the Fade with his mate…not knowing what revelations await him.

Nadya is a self-taught nurse who does what she can to ease the suffering of the prisoners. When Kane comes under her care, she cannot help but empathize with his condition for very personal reasons—and as the guards take him away one last time, she fears he is facing a terrible death.

After a daring rescue, Kane is offered a treatment that will change his very nature. Choosing life, for the time being, he goes back for the female who took such good care of him—but his duty to Nadya sets him on a collision course with his own past. When long-buried secrets are exposed, his self-destruction is inevitable…unless true love can save his soul."

 

Review: A Hard Day for a Hangover

A Hard Day for a Hangover by Darynda Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazon-December 6, 2022

Well, everyone finally decided on a date, and I'm happy to say that the wait was worthwhile. Unfortunately, this is not going to be a series as I had hoped. It seems only to be a trilogy. That is unfortunate because there is so much more that this family can do. From the publishers' synopsis: "The blockbuster conclusion to the bestselling Sunshine Vicram trilogy, A Hard Day for a Hangover will have readers laughing and cheering to the very last page."

For those lucky enough to have KindleUnlimited, the first book in this series is available.

This was a great ending to this trilogy (although I do wish that the author would turn this into a series). I see so much more happening in the town of Del Sol, with Auri and the Dangerous Daughters.

This book starts within days of the last books ending. Kind of odd that, since the last book ended on a cliffhanger. But there you have it.

If there is one problem I have is that  Auri is always sticking her nose where it doesn't belong and her mother and grandparents think it is also cute. But that is all on me and has nothing to do with A Hard Day For a Hangover!  I got a few giggles, although not as many as I had gotten from the first book. This book seems more serious, bloody, violent, and explicit than the first two books.

At times this book seemed to 'rush' a bit as far as the plots go, but with this not being a series, I can see why the author did have to rush a bit. There were just too many threads to tie up.

This book was well worth the wait, and I am going to keep my fingers crossed that Ms. Jones publisher understands that this should be a series! Well, at least, in my opinion, it should be!

*ARC was supplied by the publisher St. Martin's Press/Macmillan, the author, and Net

Galley.

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Book Details

A Hard Day for a Hangover is another humorous installment in Darynda Jones's wine mystery series deemed: "Laugh-out-loud funny, intensely suspenseful, page-turning fun." —New York Times bestselling author Allison Brennan

Some people greet the day with open arms. Sheriff Sunshine Vicram would rather give it a hearty shove and get back into bed, because there’s just too much going on right now. There’s a series of women going missing, and Sunny feels powerless to stop it. There’s her persistent and awesomely-rebellious daughter Auri, who’s out to singlehandedly become Del Sol’s youngest and fiercest investigator. And then there’s drama with Levi Ravinder—the guy she’s loved and lusted after for years. The guy who might just be her one and only. The guy who comes from a family of disingenuous vipers looking to oust him—and Sunshine—for good.

Like we said, the new day can take a hike.

The blockbuster conclusion to the bestselling Sunshine Vicram trilogy, A Hard Day for a Hangover will have readers laughing and cheering to the very last page.

Review: When Life Gives You Vampires

When Life Gives You Vampires by Gloria Duke
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars

So, it looks like we MIGHT ( I sort of hope so!) have a new series going on here.

Perfect for Halloween lovers and those who loved the Undead and Twilight series.

This book started a tad rocky for me. It seemed to be a rip-off from MaryJanice Davidson's first Undead novel,  , and, the more I read the more I recognized from the Undead series. When I really got into this book, I felt that this was more of a satire using all of the 1990's popular vampire books as the butt of the joke.

I got a few good chuckles at the beginning of this book (maybe even some guffaws!), but with the over-indulgence of Lily obsessing about her body image, her use of outdated colloquialisms, and her constant foul language, ugh! I mean, how many times can you use the abbreviation 'obvi' and not annoy people? In this book, it's used 25 times! It sort of reminded some of when J.D. Robb used the abbreviation of 'anal' for analyze/analysis!

Then add in her sexual obsession with Tristan, and I found myself rolling my eyes so often that I nearly popped them out of my sockets! The scenes were good but not overdone.

However, I stuck it out, and I'm glad I did. It did have a great ending, Lily learns some valuable self-image lessons, and I do believe that if there is a next book, I will be reading it - IF the author promises to tone down on the "legit' and 'obvi'!

*ARC was supplied by the publisher Sourcebooks/Casablanca, the author, and NetGalley.

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SYNOPSIS: "A paranormal Dumplin' for adults, When Life Gives You Vampires is part a journey of body positivity, part a story about learning how to accept love at face value, and part a hysterical romcom told through a paranormal lens.

Twenty-five year old Lily Baines is used to waking up hungover, overweight, and underemployed. Waking up with fangs? Not so much. But when it turns out a little light necking has more serious consequences than she ever imagined, Lily's determined to get to the bottom of it.

Tristan hadn't meant to turn Lily—it's against vampire law—but now that she's here, they need to team up to save their hides. They strike a truce, fending off other vampires, Lily's work-rival-turned-slayer, and her mother's tone-deaf romance and fitness advice—all while Lily faces down her insecurities about the fact that she lives in a diet-obsessed world with a body that will never age, never die, and never change. Can she learn to love the (plus size) woman she'll be forever more?"