AUGUST book recs (pt 2)
just a smooshy list of some of my favorite reads this year.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca YarrosMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
yeah I’m on the bandwagon. no I don’t regret a thing
I think there was literally one thing I didn’t like about this book which was the occasional drop of a modern phrase in a fantasy setting (tipping of the hat, a mention of a playground (which sent me on a 10 minute tangent of thought about modern colorful play equipment in a fantasy village)). Other than that, I literally inhaled this.
I might be biased because my daughter’s name is Violet, but I adored her as the main. She’s stubborn, strong willed, and knows her mind. I appreciate that. We also get some decent disability rep. Cant say it’s the best, but for a fantasy story of dragon riders, that’s a pretty dang limiting disability for what you’re asked to do. Anyway, she was so enjoyable as a main and really strong and definitely someone to root for. I love intelligent females.
Xander is basically our dark book boyfriend — tatted, mysterious, and wields shadows. Like, find me on the floor in a puddle of my own drool. He can take it just as well as he can dish it and he doesn’t mince words. He treats Violet like she’s the world but also makes sure she can handle what the world throws at her instead of the coddling we get from Dain. Obviously that little love triangle didn’t last long (nor did we worry about that).
I had some suspicion about the ending (which proved to be true). We knew there was going to be something big Xander was hiding, and it was predictable, but some details did surprise me in a good way. Even though I guessed the ending, I wasn’t disappointed with how it was delivered. I actually like when I guess things right and find that the writing can still deliver the action and suspense and drama without making it feel forced.
The friendships and relationships within were wonderfully represented and I was emotionally attached to everything. Deaths tore at me, and I cried for the first time in a long time at a character death (how dare you, but also I saw it coming and totally get it). Overall I was invested from the start and I can’t wait to see where this goes next.
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Bound by Blood by Jessica M. ButlerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
GOOD SOUP.
This was the cozy fantasy of my dreams. It takes some good soup, a precious blood fae with protective instincts, an adorable misshapen winged dog, and a kind soul who knows her way around a skillet. I loved the gradual friendship and the cute ways these two started to show affection. It was sweet and lovely and the emotions were well shown.
My hiccup comes from the seemingly random band of bad guys that just kind of popped up for conflict at the end. There were some vague hints at some magic, portals, staircases, and castles that might be related to another series? I’m unclear, but those things didn’t have time to breathe in this shorter novella so it kind of left me a little flat. As someone unfamiliar with the author’s other work, I needed a little more explanation to understand the world and system.
Overall, this was delightful and cozy. I wish we could have gotten a little more conclusion and a bit of a resolve that was left open ended because I don’t really think this HFN was entirely satisfying in anything but their getting together.
Thank you to the author for this ARC, I am leaving a voluntary review.
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Slaying the Shifter Prince by Clare SagerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Clare has officially blown my mind. She can do it all, and I kind of need her to do some more dark stuff because this was 🔥
First off, I was absolutely FLOORED by the attention to detail in Zita's performances. Like, jaw hanging open, unable to look away type of stunned. It is sexy, it is beautiful, it is a **weapon** and I am here for it.
The tension drags deliciously, and I swear I was on the edge of my seat for all of it. The writing is so perfect, the mystery deep and thrilling, and I was screaming by the end of the book. That twist literally had my heart in its grip and just YANKED the ever-loving heck out of all my emotions. I have loved to see Sager's writing grow across each of her books, but this challenge she took on??? SHE NAILED IT.
Zita was an incredible main to follow. I LOVE a good vicious and savage FMC, but this woman takes it to a whole new level. AND LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT THAT ENDING. There were so many ways it could have gone. The tease was great. BUT THE REAL WINNER is Zita and her final actions. I won't say anything more so I don't spoil it, but choices were made and THEY WERE THE RIGHT ONES. It made me adore this book a million times more (as if I didn't already love it).
Sepher was like an adorable kitty cat, but also the vicious monster of our dreams?? Like, how can I love this beastie so freaking much? Talk about monster enemies to lovers, Sepher is like the prime example of "what the heck is wrong with us because it's so freaking hot". HE. WAS. EVERYTHING. And the steam!!! Our shifter prince comes to play and he does not mess around.
I just... this whole book I was thinking I finally had something figured out, and then a lovely twist comes and makes me lose my mind. Seriously, there are some scenes and happenings and endings that will live rent free in my head for the rest of time. I would like an epilogue or bonus scene (book?) of literally just Zita doing her performances (and Sepher watching *wink wink*).
Once again, Clare reinforces her place at the top of my auto-buy author list because she absolutely deserves the title of QUEEN.
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Pucking Around by Emily RathMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
ilmari kinnunen is my new book boyfriend/husband
I’m gonna have to come back and add to this because I know this will not cover everything and I literally can’t keep my thoughts together because this was SO GOOD.
Okay, from the little prequel novella, I knew I was gonna love Jake and Rachel. I already felt for them. The whole “knowing someone on a soul level” right away is commonly used in romances, but this was done on a whole other level. It deserves its own gold medal. These two were red hot from the start and I was just destroyed by their adoration for each other. The puppy dog boy and the wild girl (now that I think about it, I kind of wish we got more of Rachel with the tats and the septum piercing. That was like a big deal at first and then went away). But seriously, Jake was a softy and I loved him from the start. It’s not often you see men in fiction that are the fuzzy, cuddly type unless you’re dealing with dog-shifters and to see him in this role while also being a boss on the ice was pretty awesome.
Caleb was our precious, temperamental cat who was just perfection. Don’t get me started on all his bedroom prowess because holy hell I was melted on the floor literally any time he came to play. But outside the sexy times, he was beautiful and so cute in his antics that I was giggling and smiling and just so in love with his interactions. Also, we need more Sy because DUHHHHH
Then my new book boyfriend/husband Ilmari. Hockey Viking god might not be my type (unpopular opinion?), but dayummmmm if the private, quiet, superstitious, protective athlete isn’t gonna make me hop on that train. I think he was the one I was rooting for the most from the moment we met him, and maybe it was my shared bond over hip labral tears (it wasn’t), but I felt an immediate bond with his personality. His life challenges were so real, and his emotional journey and conflict with the polyam exploration was perfect and done very very well.
That actually was one of my favorite things about this romance. It’s an exploration of polyam that I personally haven’t seen yet (hey, I read a lot, but not as much as others). I think what always hits me harder is the late discoveries and journey to learning the self. A lot of books gloss over the “I’m already out” or “I’ve known I was gay/bi/explored before”, but this one really focused on that feeling of growth. Of that fear of learning something and not knowing what it means. Of being afraid of what comes after or how it might change things. But we get to see so many angles of this relationship. It’s more than just Rachel and the three boys. It gets deeper and doesn’t shy away from tough angles.
Also, 5/5🌶️. I’m sure that’s what everyone is reaaaaally curious about. And, like, I very rarely give out the 5🌶️. It just didn’t stop, and at the same time, never felt too gratuitous or overdone. It was steamy, it was tasteful, it was kinky, and it was exciting. I was never bored, because it felt like something new every time rather than the same scene over and over again.
Then you get the story plot, which is definitely secondary to the romance main plot, that didn’t quiiiiite live up to my full appreciation, but it still felt incredibly satisfying. I think I would have loved to see more of how Rachel’s work evolved, even in just a throwaway capacity. We got to see how Ilmari’s plot line finished, but not as much about Caleb, Jake, and Rachel. Maybe Rachel got some PT going for Caleb and his pain level dropped. Maybe Jake got to be captain, or flattened that buzzard who hurt Caleb (or maybe the guy got kicked out of the league for fighting or doing something bad so they didn’t have to worry about him anymore). Yeah, I guess that’s all getting into fanfiction territory… whatever, I want some more stories to add to this HEA. (After writing this paragraph, I have learned there is a novella 1.5 to give us an extended story so obviously I will be reading that)
Overall, my first read of May and it’s on my list for best book of the year.
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Next on the TBR:
Wither Thorn by Joy Lewis
Caia never wanted the gift of death. Too bad the king plans to make her his leashed torturer. When her capable older sister sacrifices her freedom so that Caia may escape this fate, she must choose.
Abandon her sister and her choice to be a tool of violence or become the king’s dark commander to spill the blood of those she loves.
But something is happening to Caia. The same something that killed her mother. If she can’t control the darkness inside her, someone—or something—soon will...
