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
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.
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.
I am back with a review for my latest 5-star book. The book had been on my radar, because 1) That cover!!! 2) the synopsis made me go “gimme gimme gimme” and 3) the representation!!!
Title: Tokyo Ever After
Author: Emiko Jean
Synopsis: Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in—it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi—or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”—and her mom against the world. But then Izzy discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity… and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.
In a whirlwind, Izzy travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.
Izzy soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself—back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairytale, happily ever after? (Goodreads)
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.
Athena– Goddess of wisdom, poetry, art, and the strategic side of war. I will feature the goddess whenever there is a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour) because they are a symbol of resilience, strength and wisdom to me. I also want to put forth African folkore, myths and gods and since Athena is the goddess of poetry and art I thought it was fitting.
I had a 24hour readathon on the last sunday of June and I finally picked up One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston which was one of my most ancitipates releases of 2021! I am happy to say that it lived up to my expectations! 🥰
I hope you’re all doing well! As promised, here is my review for the amazing book that is Blood Like Magic by Liselle Sambury! If you missed my author interview, you can find it here!
Title: Blood Like Magic
Author: Liselle Sambury
Summary: A rich, dark urban fantasy debut following a teen witch who is given a horrifying task: sacrificing her first love to save her family’s magic. The problem is, she’s never been in love—she’ll have to find the perfect guy before she can kill him.After years of waiting for her Calling—a trial every witch must pass in order to come into their powers—the one thing Voya Thomas didn’t expect was to fail. When Voya’s ancestor gives her an unprecedented second chance to complete her Calling, she agrees—and then is horrified when her task is to kill her first love. And this time, failure means every Thomas witch will be stripped of their magic. Voya is determined to save her family’s magic no matter the cost. The problem is, Voya has never been in love, so for her to succeed, she’ll first have to find the perfect guy—and fast. Fortunately, a genetic matchmaking program has just hit the market. Her plan is to join the program, fall in love, and complete her task before the deadline. What she doesn’t count on is being paired with the infuriating Luc—how can she fall in love with a guy who seemingly wants nothing to do with her?With mounting pressure from her family, Voya is caught between her morality and her duty to her bloodline. If she wants to save their heritage and Luc, she’ll have to find something her ancestor wants more than blood. And in witchcraft, blood is everything.
Content Warnings: Whipping scene within the context of slavery, gun/police violence, discussion of and character with an eating disorder, blood/gore/violence, death, substance abuse/addiction, mentions of child neglect.
I hope you are all well!! I have read so many amazing queer books this month, and even if the sapphic aspect of this story (sadly) happened off the page, I really enjoyed this one! Here’s my review!
Author: Annabel Fielding
Title: Lying with Lions
Synopsis: Edwardian England. Agnes Ashford knows that her duty is threefold: she needs to work on cataloguing the archive of the titled Bryant family, she needs to keep the wounds of her past tightly under wraps, and she needs to be quietly grateful to her employers for taking her up in her hour of need. However, a dark secret she uncovers due to her work thrusts her into the Bryants’ brilliant orbit – and into the clutch of their ambitions.
They are prepared to take the new century head-on and fight for their preeminent position and political survival tooth and nail – and not just to the first blood. With a mix of loyalty, competence, and well-judged silence Agnes rises to the position of a right-hand woman to the family matriarch – the cunning and glamorous Lady Helen. But Lady Helen’s plans to hold on to power through her son are as bold as they are cynical, and one day Agnes is going to face an impossible choice… (Goodreads)
4 stars: Aphrodite – Goddess of love and beauty. That means that I really liked the book, whether it was the writing style, plot or characters. It means it was an amazing book that I would completely recommend for the beautiful piece of art it is. However the book is not a Persephone because something keeps it from making it one of my favourite book 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.
Thank you to the author for gifting me a copy of this book. All opinions are honest and my own.
I am a huge fan of historical fiction and this one was no exception. The plot was intriguing enough: Agnes Ashford, an archivist is employed by the Bryant family to catalogue their archives but uncovers secrets that changes everything. I loved the mystery aura this book had. We learn through the main character, Agnes, secrets about the mysterious Bryant family and how they each navigate arounf them. The subdued mystery/ crime aspect of the book was thrilling.
But the best part was the author’s voice. As it is mentioned in the Author’s note, so many elements of the story are inspired by historical events and historical figures but the author added their unique and interesting voice. The prose was beautiful and I highlighted so many quotes. I liked the narration which focused on Agnes, who is a social climber with a lot of ambition. How could she not be one in the world she was living in? I didn’t find her to be particularly likable but that didn’t bother me at all. On the contrary, I loved reading about her ambition, the way her beautiful brain worked and how devoted and loyal she was (even if it was sometimes for her own gain). I will forever root for cunning, smart and ruthless young women. Her character development was the best part of the story; she began the story as a naive “little lamb” to becoming a ruthless lion under Helen’s supervision. That’s another element I loved in the story: the romance between Agnes and Helen! I loved the fact that there was a sapphic relationship in this setting and I regret that most of the romance aspect happened off the page even though their closeness could be seen by everyone. I loved how they helped each other in their own way and also how unhealthy it was. It was raw and honest and I couldn’t get enough. And there were the other characters: Henry and Meredith who I couldn’t help rooting for. They were great “supporting” characters and it was nice to read their thoughts when the author shared them.
At some point the characters travel to Italy and the description was excellent because I felt as though I was traveling with them. This voyage was accompanied by talks of history and art which I truly enjoyed and I think the author captured Edwardian England pretty well.
I really recommend this book if you enjoy historical fictions, laced with political scheming, secrets, romance and betrayal.
Hello lovelies! I am back with a review of a book that changed my life. Nothing more, nothing less!
Title: Always Only You(Bergman Brothers #2)
Author: Chloe Lise
Synopsis: Always Only You is an opposites-attract, forbidden love sports romance about a nerdy, late-blooming hockey star, and his tough cookie coworker who keeps both her soft side and her autism diagnosis* to herself. Complete with a meddling secretary, tantric yoga torture, and a scorching slow burn, this standalone is the second 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.
*This is an #OwnVoices story for its portrayal of autism by an autistic author.
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.
You know that feeling when you finish a book and feel broken but whole at the same time? Where you feel like you’ve stepped inside a dream and once it’s over you have to go back into your real life, deal with things and you fell very very sad about it? Well this was me after finishing this gem of a book. I cannot stress how in love with it I am; more accurately, I love this book as much as Frankie and Ren love each other, that means: a lot.
I read the first book in the Bergman Brothers series which was recommended to me by a lovely friend but she especially recommended this one to me. I absolutely adored the first one but this one made me swoon. I felt like I was going to faint because I just had too many mushy, “omg they’re so cute I can’t” feelings.
I absolutely love the grump/ sunshine trope and there’s nothing better than pining in romance (in my humble and completely biased opinion) and this book delivers . I like the fact that Frankie (aka the heroine) was the grump and that Ren (male interest) was the sunshine. It was a nice change! It also helps that Ren loved her grumpy self and didn’t expect her to smile constantly, he really valued when that happened. He loved everything about her, the good and the bad and treated her wonderfully. He worshipped the ground she walked on, which should be the standard. Every cute moment they shared were the death of me and the intimate scenes they had were hot but they didn’t simply have sex (which is you know, pretty cool; good for them!) but they made love and it was beautiful. I wish I could list every moment that made me go *swoon* but the list would be never-ending; I will just say that I loved the not so ironic use of terms of endearment.
But most importantly I loved (and I mean “loved’ as in my “heart hurt”) the representation and how accurate it was. Frankie is on the autism spectrum and she has rheumatoid arthritis which requires her to walk with a cane. And that didn’t take away or make her less than capable. I loved how she embraced it because these things didn’t define her; they just made her who she is. The most beautiful part was seeing her learning to love herself and letting others love her the way she deserved.
There were a lot of talks about disability with other characters which I think were very clever and honest. One moment that brought me to tears is when Frankie talked with another character who is also on the autism spectrum. Seeing autistic women understanding and helping each other was really what did it for me. I’m also on the spectrum and seeing myself represented in such a validating and beautiful way was indescribable. I felt seen and loved. I am on the process of getting diagnosed and this book gave me the extra confidence to actually get things in motion and not anxiously waiting for things to happen. It reminded me that being in the spectrum is a wonderful and special thing and to celebrate everything that I am.
Then there were the little things that raised my expectations in a romantic partner ever higher which are really the bare minimum but which I value I guess? Ren’s patience, love and care were UGH. So good. So good. I want that, please and thank you. He was very honest and loving and soft. He’s also a redhead, an athlete and a Shakespeare nerd??? This is the man of my dreams. Honestly, the quotes about Shakespeare which were used in a brilliant way and at the perfect time took me out and I will never recover. They also briefly mentioned Kierkegaard and Jane Austen. Could this book have gotten any better? (No, it was perfection).
Always Only You is one of the best romance novels ever written. I cannot explain how seeing a woman on the spectrum with a disability being loved for who she is meant to me. Thank you Chloe Liese!
Anotherbookworm 