I am introducing a new rating system! I have always been obsessed with Greek mythology and I wanted to fit that into my blog. I thought it would be fun to have a new rating system inspired by Greek gods and goddesses! The gods and goddesses will be chosen based on my personal preferences and what they stand for.
Here’s how the new five stars rating system works:
5 stars: Persephone – Queen of the Underworld and Goddess of Spring. Persephone is my favourite goddess because she is full of contradictions – she represents both strength as queen of the underworld and a softness as a floral maiden. She teaches me how it’s okay to be both. If Persephone appears, that means that the book was one of the best books I’ve ever read, that it holds a particular place in my heart and that it is now part of my favourite books ever.
I am briefly back as part of the book tour hosted by TBR and Beyond (check the other tour stops here!). I absolutely devoured the A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder series and jumped on the occasion of being part of this blog tour. Thank you so much for hosting this TBR and Beyond. Five Survive is Holly Jackson at the top of her craft.
Five Survive by Holly Jackson
Synopsis: Eight hours. Six friends. Five survive. A road trip turns deadly in this addictive YA thriller from the bestselling author of the worldwide phenomenon A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER.
Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends: Her best friend –the older brother –his perfect girlfriend –a secret crush –a classmate –and a killer.When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere with no cell service, they soon realize this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead.With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or figure out which of them is the target. But is there a liar among them? Buried secrets will be forced to light and tensions inside the RV will reach deadly levels. Not all of them will survive the night. . . .
Content Warning: guns, death threats, mob violence, death, injury; Genre: Young Adult Thriller; Publishing Date: November 29, 2022
About the Author: Holly Jackson was born in 1992. She grew up in Buckinghamshire and started writing stories from a young age, completing her first (poor) attempt at a book aged fifteen.‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ is a YA Mystery Thriller and her debut novel. She lives in London and aside from reading and writing, she enjoys binge-playing video games and pointing out grammatical errors in street signs.
I am so thrilled to be part of this blog tour hosted by TBR and Beyond for The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes because I fell in love with the series when I read The Inheritance Games in the beginning of the year and The Final Gambit is a wonderful conclusion to the series!! Here’s the link to the tour schedule to support all of the amazing post by fellow bloggers!
Synopsis: Avery’s fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone will be talking about.To inherit billions, all Avery Kylie Grambs has to do is survive a few more weeks living in HawthorneHouse. The paparazzi are dogging her every step. Financial pressures are building. Danger is a fact of life. And the only thing getting Avery through it allis the Hawthorne brothers. Her life is intertwined with theirs. She knows their secrets, and they know her.But as the clock ticks down to the moment when Avery will become the richest teenager on the planet, trouble arrives in the form of a visitor who needs her help—and whose presence inHawthorne House could change everything. It soon becomes clear that there is one last puzzle to solve, and Avery and the Hawthorne brothers are drawn into a dangerous game against an unknown and powerful player.Secrets upon secrets. Riddles upon riddles.In this game, there are hearts and lives at stake—and there is nothing more Hawthorne than winning.
The Final Gambit(The Inheritance Games #3) by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
I can’t believe today is already the last day of Pride month. I went to my first Pride parade ever and had a great time. I was very overwhelmed by the reality of it and I got emotional at how everyone was allowed to be themselves and proud of who they are. I know it was a privilege to be able to go and that there was even a parade and I don’t take it for granted. It made me grateful for the growing visibility of books written by queer others or featuring queer characters, that are as important as ever. So, without further ado, here are some of my favourite books with transgender representation where the characters also happen to be people of color.
I think Cemetery Boys is one of the first books with a trans character and also a trans author that I have ever read. I instantly fell in love with Yadriel and his chaotic ghost, the themes of belonging, loss and family and the healthy dose of culture and tradition present in the book.This was both a love letter to queer teenagers as well as Latinx culture. The story had so many different layers which made it as enjoyable as it was. It was action-packed, had solid plot and tackled important topics. I will always recommend it. This book wonderfully alternated between fun, sad, and emotional moments and it had a healthy dose of everything. I also would like to say that I get spooked very easily and that based on the synopsis I wouldn’t have gravitated towards this story but the author wrote this book wonderfully and I am so happy I gave it a chance. I cannot recommend this enough.
Today I’m reviewing one of my favourite romance books ever!
Title: Everything For You (Bergman Brothers #5)
Synopsis:
Gavin
We’ve been teammates for two years, but it feels like a lifetime that Oliver Bergman’s been on my last nerve. A demanding captain and veteran player, I’m feared and friendless, while he’s the beloved rising star, all sunshine smiles and upbeat team spirit. To make matters worse, he’s obscenely attractive. In short: he’s genetically designed to get under my skin.
Avoiding Oliver has been my survival tactic on and off the field. But when Coach drops the bomb that we’re now co-captains, avoiding him becomes impossible, and keeping the truth from him–let alone my distance–is harder than ever.
Oliver
Life was great until soccer legend Gavin Hayes joined the team and proved he’s nothing like the guy I grew up idolizing. Instead, he’s a giant–albeit gorgeous–grump who lives to rain on my parade. I’ve sworn off pranks since entering the public eye, so rather than settle our differences the Bergman way, I’ve had to settle for killing Gavin with kindness. There’s just one problem: killing him with kindness is killing me.
To make matters worse, Coach gives us an ultimatum: put an end to our enmity or say goodbye to being captains. I’m prepared to be miserable while we meet her demands and make nice, but the last thing I expect is to discover an explosive attraction we can’t help but act on, and worse yet, to realize the man hiding beneath Gavin’s gruff exterior is all I’ve ever wanted.
About: Everything for You is a grumpy-sunshine, enemies-to-lovers, age gap sports romance about an upbeat rising soccer star with anxiety and his curmudgeonly veteran teammate who lives with chronic pain. Complete with nosy senior citizens, nosier siblings, and a meddling coach, this standalone slow burn is the fifth in a series of novels about a Swedish-American family of five brothers, two sisters, and their wild adventures as they each find happily ever after.
5 stars: Persephone – Queen of the Underworld and Goddess of Spring. Persephone is my favourite goddess because she is full of contradictions – she represents both strength as queen of the underworld and a softness as a floral maiden. She teaches me how it’s okay to be both. If Persephone appears, that means that the book was one of the best books I’ve ever read, that it holds a particular place in my heart and that it is now part of my favourite books ever.
Iris– Goddess of rainbows. Nothing new here, we all know that rainbows represent the LGBTQ+ community so this Goddess will be featured whenever a queer relationship or character appears.
Long time no see! I cannot believe how much time has gone by. This post was initially a draft of my “February Wrap-Up!” which I unfortunately never finished writing, so it has turned into a general wrap-up of these past three months. I missed posting and chatting with all of you. Even if I’m on other platforms, there is something special about book blogging.
Without further ado, here is a ranking of the 25 books I have read in the last three months.
Yesterday was my birthday and I had an amazing tag and U thought that for Valentine’s Day I could do a fun romance tag! I came across this tag on the amazing blog that is @Words About Words and knew that I wanted to do it! 🥰 Thank you to the creator if this wonderful tag! I tag whoever wants to do it.
Although this is based around romance tropes, your answers don’t have to be romance books. Whatever fits the prompt!
I begged the reviewer for an ARC because I had loved the previous books in the series but I knew this one would be special. It was the first time I saw myself represented in a romance book with all the tropes I love reading about. Talia Hibbert has such a funny and special writing style that makes me all warm, fuzzy and delirious and Act Your Age, Eve Brown is Talia Hibbert at her best. The banter, the chemistry, the plot, the representation…it was perfect.
Sabriya has her whole summer planned out in color-coded glory, but those plans go out the window after a terrorist attack near her home. When the terrorist is assumed to be Muslim and Islamophobia grows, Sabriya turns to her online journal for comfort. You Truly Assumed was never meant to be anything more than an outlet, but the blog goes viral as fellow Muslim teens around the country flock to it and find solace and a sense of community.
Soon two more teens, Zakat and Farah, join Bri to run You Truly Assumed and the three quickly form a strong friendship. But as the blog’s popularity grows, so do the pushback and hateful comments. When one of them is threatened, the search to find out who is behind it all begins, and their friendship is put to the test when all three must decide whether to shut down the blog and lose what they’ve worked for…or take a stand and risk everything to make their voices heard.
Publication Date: February 8th 2022 by Inkyard Press
February is my birthday month and Black History Month so I feel very happy, content and excited right now! I hope February treats you kindly and that you manage to reach your goals, whatever they may be!
This is my first book review of the year and I wanted it to be for a book I completely, thoroughly and utterly loved. I am not the first one to gush about this book, but if you are hesitant to give it a chance, please consider it, I regret not reading it sooner!
Synopsis: Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why–or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man’s touch–and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes.
Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a con-woman, and he’s determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather’s last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caught in a world of wealth and privilege, with danger around every turn, Avery will have to play the game herself just to survive.
This is my first post of the year and I thought it would be fitting to dedicate it to new releases! I have a fair amount of books piling up on my shelves from last year, but I am always excited about new book releases and 2022 looks very promising in terms of debuts, sequels or simply new books by familiar or new authors. As a queer, neurodivergent Black woman, seeing so many diverse books being released into the world makes me incredibly happy! I am so sorry for the length of this article, I tried making it shorter but I wanted to add the synopses!
January
Publication Date: January 4th 2022
Author: Elise Bryant
Title: One True Loves (Happily Ever Afters #2)
Synopsis: From the author of Happily Ever Afters, comes the highly anticipated companion novel, One True Loves, another irresistible YA romantic comedy full of self-discovery, Black love, and a dreamy European cruise.Lenore Bennett has always been a force. A star artist and style icon at her high school, she’s a master in the subtle art of not giving a . . . well, you know what. But now that graduation is here, she’s a little less sure.She’s heading to NYU in the fall with a scarlet U (for “undeclared”) written across her chest. Her parents always remind her that Black kids don’t have the luxury of figuring it out as they go—they have to be 110 percent prepared. But it’s a lot of pressure to be her ancestors’ wildest dreams when Lenore’s not even sure what her dreams are yet.
Anotherbookworm 