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 haven’t done a post like this for a while and I thought it would be fun to do one! I’m also excited to check in at the end of the year (or as soon as I finish these) and see if they lived up to my expectations. I have to say that my slow reading pace leads me to do a lot of research before I pick up a book and this leads me to giving a lot of 5 star reviews. The pandemic has also helped me figure out the type of stories I really enjoy reading, as well as my favourite tropes. I have scoured the universe for the following books and judging from the plot, characters or authors, I think I’m going to give these books five stars!
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!
I was so nervous to start this one because I didn’t enjoy From blood and Ash as much as I wanted to. But let me tell you…this book!! was!! everything!!
Title: A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire (From Blood and Ash #2)
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Synopsis: A Betrayal… Everything Poppy has ever believed in is a lie, including the man she was falling in love with. Thrust among those who see her as a symbol of a monstrous kingdom, she barely knows who she is without the veil of the Maiden. But what she does know is that nothing is as dangerous to her as him. The Dark One. The Prince of Atlantia. He wants her to fight him, and that’s one order she’s more than happy to obey. He may have taken her, but he will never have her.
A Choice… Casteel Da’Neer is known by many names and many faces. His lies are as seductive as his touch. His truths as sensual as his bite. Poppy knows better than to trust him. He needs her alive, healthy, and whole to achieve his goals. But he’s the only way for her to get what she wants—to find her brother Ian and see for herself if he has become a soulless Ascended. Working with Casteel instead of against him presents its own risks. He still tempts her with every breath, offering up all she’s ever wanted. Casteel has plans for her. Ones that could expose her to unimaginable pleasure and unfathomable pain. Plans that will force her to look beyond everything she thought she knew about herself—about him. Plans that could bind their lives together in unexpected ways that neither kingdom is prepared for. And she’s far too reckless, too hungry, to resist the temptation.
A Secret…But unrest has grown in Atlantia as they await the return of their Prince. Whispers of war have become stronger, and Poppy is at the very heart of it all. The King wants to use her to send a message. The Descenters want her dead. The wolven are growing more unpredictable. And as her abilities to feel pain and emotion begin to grow and strengthen, the Atlantians start to fear her. Dark secrets are at play, ones steeped in the blood-drenched sins of two kingdoms that would do anything to keep the truth hidden. But when the earth begins to shake, and the skies start to bleed, it may already be too late.(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.
This book is well worth the hype and more!! I guess because the series is so loved, I went in with too many expectations and I didn’t feel the spark and excitement for From Blood and Ash as much as I would have wanted to (even if I really enjoyed it!!) But this book??? PHENOMENAL .
I think once we went past all the lies and betrayal we had more time to focus on the characters and the way their dynamic evolved. It was nice to see the chemistry between Poppy and Hawke come back full force while also going forward in the story and delving more into their world.
The world building in this one was amazing and we learned so so much. I love how curious Poppy is as it allows the reader to also find more about the customs and rituals of their world. I liked all the descriptions and the little nods to our world. With Atlantia having running water and roads or even having a clock telling the time; it was nice. I’m not usually a fan of description but it think it was beautifully done here; it was just enough to properly set the world and universe and colours which allowed me to draw up vivid images in my head. It was very clear. That is due to the excellent writing style of the author. They take their time with slower moments like when they share a meal or just do mundane stuff but it never feels boring or gratuitous and I found myself to be as captivated and entertained with the slower moments than with the action-packed ones. The storytelling was fluid and seamlessly followed a certain logic that kept me interested. I like how the author distills the tiniest details to keep us wanting more.
I love how much development we had from the beginning to the end in every aspect. Of course as I said, the first book didn’t convince me of their possible romance; I think there were too many obstacles and everything seemed fake. But in this one? I believed every single word exchanged between Poppy and Hawke. It all felt real and that happened because the characters acknowledged everything that was in the past and decided to go forward. Poppy and Hawke’s chemistry is insane and I live for their banter. I laughed out loud several times. You could just see the love and attraction between them and I loved the steamy scenes. They are incredibly well-written and left me hot and bothered. It just made so much sense that they are heartmates. and I can’t wait to explore that aspect in the next books. There was also a lot of development in terms of Atlantia and how much we strayed from the first narrative we were given. So many moments were eye-opening and I soaked up every tiny piece of information. I loved the explanations of the rituals and how things worked in Atlantia. Can I live there?? It seems like such a beautiful place. I like all the history of the place, the gods and the different bloodlines. I hope that in the future we get to encounter more of these bloodlines and learn more about the wolven who I’m fascinated with. That leads me to my last point which is all the other characters. I think all of the characters are well fleshed out and have their own voice. Kieran is my hero and I love him! I live for his sarcasm. I like all the other wolven (except Alastir; there’s something wrong with him) . I think their group dynamic is hilarious and I like how they tease each other. I care so much about them that when they go into battle in makes me scared for them. That’s saying something.
The last chapters of the book were magnificent me and I flew through them! WOW. I am currently reading book 3 and enjoying it just as much!!
This is my latest 5 stars reads and I won’t ever shut up about it!! Please, please, please read this book!
Title: Legendborn (Legendborn #1)
Author: Tracy Deonn
Synopsis: After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus. A flying demon feeding on human energies. A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down. And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight. (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.
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 book is so magnificent I want to cry. I wish there were stories like this when I was growing up and I am so happy that a future generation of Black girls and Black women will have this gem of the book.
I loved everything. From the very first pages. I loved all of the characters with their flaws, I loved how raw and deep the author offered her us a glimpse of her own grief. I loved the conversation about race and micro aggressions , Black motherhood, ancestors and Black History. I’m a Black woman. I know what it feels like to be somewhere where I’m not supposed to be, surrounded by history that isn’t mine. I loved how the author explored that aspect. It was done beautifully.
One thing you need to know about me is that I love retellings. And the Arthurian legend is one of my favourites! It is so incredibly fascinating and rich and I loved seeing elements from the story woven into a modern, feminine, black version. I can die happily. This book is honestly what (my) dreams are made of.
Bree is a force to be reckoned with and I love her to death. I loved seeing her grow and becoming who she was meant to be. I just wanted to hug and tell her everything was going to be okay. She earned it and she deserves everything. I also liked the characters at the Lodge, especially William and Greer (how refreshing it was to read about a non-binary character!); but I also liked the flawed characters, who displayed racism and misogyny. It was realistic and it was also nice to see some of them grow.
The pace of this story was excellent. Never a dull moment, I tell you, never a dull moment. There were so many moments I was excited about and so many twists and turns that I didn’t see coming! This book was fantastic.
Of course I couldn’t write a review without mentioning Nick and Sel. I love these characters with my whole heart. I can’t wait to see how the dynamic between the trio will evolve. I loved every moment they appeared on the page. I’m so sad I finished this book but I take comfort in the fact that this is a series and sometime in the future there’s a version of me that has read the next books in the series and that brings me peace.
There are so many wonderful books out there and some of them just speak to me. I think the following books are going to be 5 stars reads either because of the plot, the characters or based on reviewers I trust.
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
I am Shakespeare trash. I read his work for fun and learn lines to impress my friends. So when I heard that there was going to be a Romeo and Juliet retelling with Asian rep??? I just knew that I would love this. It has also been very popular in the book community and that doesn’t always mean that it’s good but I trust the communtiy for this one.
House of Fire and Blood (Crescent city #1) by Sarah J, Maas
I love every word this woman writes; I would gladly read her groceries’ list at this point. I don’t really know what the plot for Crescent city is to be honest but I read so many raving reviews and seen so much fan art that I know it’s going to be fantastic.
The Poppy War by R.F Kuang
I got a book twitter in the summer and this series has been everywhere – I really mean everywhere. I don’t now why but I just have this feeling that this book is going to destroy me…and I can’t wait.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
A trans person on twitter I’m following (can’t remember their name sorry!) actually said that one of their family members was misgendering them and after reading the book that same member started using their pronouns. Imagine the power this book hasi
Legendbornby Tracy Deonn
RAVING reviews, beautiful cover, POC rep and a retelling?? What more could I need?
Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi
This is my sister’s favourite series and apparently there’s going to be the famous “lift your hips for me love” which I’ve also seen everywhere so there’s that.
Ties that tether by Jane Ighara
First of all I am here for the representation. As a Black woman living in a predominantly white are , I can relate to the challenge between marrying a Black partner and “preserving my culture” or marrying someone from a different skin colour and how it can be perceived. The plot just hits close to home. I’m curious to see how the author handles the subject and I bet it’s going to be amazing.
This is my latest 5 stars read. I have tried to write this review for hours. I started from the minute I put the book down but I don’t know how to convey my feelings. I am overflowing with love. This is the best romance I’ve read in a while. This is coming from a person that only reads books with romance in it.
Title: Beach Read
Author: Emily Henry
Synopsis (Goodreads):
Augustus Everett is an acclaimed author of literary fiction. January Andrews writes bestselling romance. When she pens a happily ever after, he kills off his entire cast.They’re polar opposites.In fact, the only thing they have in common is that for the next three months, they’re living in neighboring beach houses, broke, and bogged down with writer’s block.Until, one hazy evening, one thing leads to another and they strike a deal designed to force them out of their creative ruts: Augustus will spend the summer writing something happy, and January will pen the next Great American Novel. She’ll take him on field trips worthy of any rom-com montage, and he’ll take her to interview surviving members of a backwoods death cult (obviously). Everyone will finish a book and no one will fall in love. Really
Persephone: 5 stars. One of the best books I’ve ever read; it holds a particular place in my heart and it is now part of my favourite books ever.
Pheme: Hyped book.
The best thing about this book was THE CHEMISTRY. It was out of this world. From their very *first* encounter, I was hooked. I really really liked their banter and I found myself smiling from ear to ear at times.
The steamy scenes were incredibly well-written; I could feel the sexual tension and lust rippling off of the two and I adored that. I also liked how romantic their interactions were when they were trying to hide their feelings. The fact that they went on “not dates” was really clever because they were behaving as a couple without knowing it. I swooned whenever they were doing “research” (and no that’s not a code for sex.). I also like all the little details which made the romance believable like passing notes and hugging. That melted my already soft heart.
What is great about this book is that it not only focused on the romance. It deals with heavy subjects such as grief and child abuse. These themes were really important in terms of character development and I really liked the dialogue around it. I loved how the character found themselves with the other’s help . They each had their own demons and it was so nice to see them both being so honest and open with each other which was very healthy. I really dislike the miscommunication trope and it was SO NICE to see them talk about their traumas and feelings. I loved how patient and supportive they both were! Man, I really cannot get over how healthy and respectful their relationship was.
All of the characters were all very well fleshed out and I liked the friendship and family dynamics. This is a book about what it means to love someone be it your aunt, your wife or your father.
I also liked the “writing a book” aspect. The author tackled the subject of writer’s block and the writing process and, as a reader, it was a nice experience.
One of my favorite parts was when the author validated the romance genre. I’m sick of gender-based categories and how anything preceded with “women” is frowned down upon. That’s why I liked the bet because it allowed the reader to delve deeper into literary fiction as well as romance and the elements and research that go into writing these genres. I hate that “Happy endings” are a factor that deter some people from reading those. The world is really glum and scary and I think it is very comforting to have those beautiful stories in our lives. That’s what the book is about. I love books that make me want to live my life and fall in love.
Woohooo I did it! *Happy dance*. I managed to read 10 books in three weeks! The first two weeks were off to a rocky start but I managed to catch up this week since I read 5 books. FIVE BOOKS. IN A WEEK. I usually manage to read five books in a month so I’m very proud of myself.
I really liked challenging myself and I think I might do this project again in the future. I want to hank you for taking this journey with me. Here’s a list of all the books I read with ratings and small reviews :
5 STARS ★★★★★
Beach Read: I love romance with my whole heart. I scarcely read books that do not contain a romantic relationship in it. It can be the worst plot ever, if the romance works, then I’m sold. This book was the best romance I have read in a long time. The chemistry between the characters was wonderful and the banter was just so well-written I couldn’t spot grinning. The plot was complex and exceeded my expectations and the writing style made it an enjoyable and swift read. I want to put this book into everyone’s hands. Full review to come.
Bérénice: This is a French classic. I love everything the playwright Racine writes and this play was no exception.
4 STARS ★★★★
Shatter Me: It’s my sister’s favorite series and what got her into reading. I cannot believe it took me so much time to read it. The beginning was too slow for me but once the plot picked up I couldn’t put it down. I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.
Party of Two: It’s as though the author looked inside my head, saw the kind of book I craved for and wrote it. It was perfect.
Get A Life, Chloe Brown: This was so cute. It was a healthy, sexy and funny romance and I couldn’t get enough. I also want to get a life…and a Redford Morgan please.
The Hunter and the Mage: this is the second book in The Raven and the Dove series. This was an ARC and I will release a review closer to publication date. I was so afraid it wouldn’t live up to my expectations but it did and that makes me so happy.
Clap When You Land: This was heartbreaking in a beautiful way and reconciled me with books written in verse. A true masterpiece. See my full review here.
3 STARS ★★★
The Wicker King: This has highly been recommended to me and I ordered it immediately. I initially gave it four stars but it was very different from what I expected and I think I was trying to convince myself that I loved it but I didn’t.
Her Royal Highness: This story was really cute and had all the elements I like: a sapphic relationship, a school in Scotland, great friendships and royals. What’s not to love?
2 STARS ★★
The Siren: this was a big disappointment especially since I love The Selection series. This was a lot darker than I expected and the romance was lukewarm. I couldn’t wait to get it over with.
That’s all folks. Spot any favorites? Let me know in the comments!
Anotherbookworm 