Waiting on Wednesday: Rise and Divine by Lana Harper

 

Rise and Divine by Lana Harper

Series: The Witches of Thistle Grove #5
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date:  August 20, 2024

Synopsis:  

To save both her town and the woman who loves her against all odds, a witch haunted by loss must reckon with her turbulent past, in the next magical romance in the Witches of Thistle Grove series by New York Times bestselling author Lana Harper.

Even in a family of chaotic necromancers, Daria “Dasha” Avramov has always been an outlier. An event planner at the Arcane Emporium occult megastore, Dasha is also a devil eater: a rare necromantic witch with a natural affinity for banishing demons and traversing the veil, the filmy boundary between our world and the next.

Still grieving the loss of both beloved parents years ago, and plagued by a dangerous obsession with what lies beyond the other side of the veil, Dasha is both fiery and guarded, an expert at dodging commitment. Her one real regret is a devastating breakup with the wise, empathetic, and deeply sensual Ivy Thorn, her Honeycake Orchards event-planning counterpart and probably the love of Dasha’s life. But Dasha has managed to break Ivy’s heart not once, but twice, so things are more than a little tense between the two of them.

When they are forced to work together to plan the Cavalcade—a month-long festival celebrating Thistle Grove’s ceremonial founding, with dazzling spectacles held by the town’s four magical families—Dasha hopes that the third time might be the charm, while Ivy staunchly refuses to let herself be hurt again. As they confront the fault lines and passion lingering between them, Dasha and Ivy must also stand against an otherworldly threat unlike anything Thistle Grove has faced before.

Why I Am Waiting:

Book 5 in the Witches of Thistle Grove series... and I am just invested now... :)

Merry Christmas!

🎄🎄🎄🎄Merry Christmas 🎄🎄🎄🎄

From Steph (and family) at Cover2CoverBlog 

Hope that your holiday is filled with love, wellness and happiness!

Recent Reads: Zodiac Academy- The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti

The Awakening by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti 

Series: Zodiac Academy #1
Publisher: Dark Ink Publishing
Publication Date: August 2, 2019 

 

Format: Ebook
Source: Kindle Unlimited

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

You have been selected to attend Zodiac Academy, where your star sign defines your destiny.

If you're one of the Fae, elemental magic is in your blood. And apparently it's in ours. As twins born in the month of Gemini, we're a rare breed even in this academy of supernatural a-holes.

Changelings were outlawed hundreds of years ago but I guess our birth parents didn't get the memo. Which means we're totally unprepared for the ruthless world of Fae.

Air. Fire. Water. Earth.

No one has ever harnessed all four of them, until we arrived. And it hasn't made us any friends so far.

As the rarest Elementals ever known, we're already a threat to the four celestial heirs; the popular, vindictive bullies who happen to be some of the hottest guys we've ever seen. It doesn't help that they're the most dangerous beasts in the Academy. And probably on earth too.

Our fates are intertwined, but they want us gone. They've only got until the lunar eclipse to force us out and they'll stop at nothing to succeed.

We never knew we had a birthright to live up to but now that we do, we intend to claim our throne.

We can't expect any help from the faculty when it comes to defending ourselves. So if the dragon shifters want some target practice, the werewolves want someone to hunt or the vampires fancy a snack then we have to be ready. But we've been looking after each other for a long time and fighting back is in our blood.

Today's horoscope: totally screwed.

Review: 

Booktok made me do it... I have Book 2 on my Kindle now but I am not sure... we will see.

This book follows the Vega twins - as they are pulled from the mortal world into the Zodiac Academy. They are the missing heirs of the throne to this world and they had no idea, but life in the real world is rough on them and this come with an inheritance if they can pass the school. That is all they want, they don't care about this place or their throne. There are already back-up heirs in place to take it once they graduate. Turns out they are all a-holes who now have it out for the girls but they are stronger than they realize in a lot of ways. They are pulled into this school knowing nothing but coming in with the ability to wield a lot of power. 

This was so much cringe but I feel somewhat invested now. I hated the power dynamics of the groups. I also hated the heirs, they were all a-holes and I am not sure the emenies to lovers hype and trope will be worth it. I want to know waht happens to the Vegas though. The plot overall was ok, gripping at soome points, the writing was pretty bad but the stroy was enough to keep me going. I wish we sould have gotten more about their real world lives before being thrown into Zodiac. I think that would make me more invested in them overall. 

I found it really hard to tell them apart even with the chapter headers they needed more distinguishable personalities and maybe those will come with time... we will see.  

That being said, twins being pulled into a magical fae worls that they have been missing from to retake their thrown is pretty epic an idea. Iliked that they are thrown into the school, but the world is all new and they are thrown in without any information about anything. Was this a high school ? I can't tell. At times it felt like too much for me as a reader, so I was able to experience (seemingly) what they were - far too many creature - vampires, werewolves, dragons, pegasus, sirens, fae... like geeez). Aside from all the heir cringe, and writing cringe.. there was also cringe around the teachers... do not like. I wanted them to take more responsibility for these girls to help guide them. 

Recent Reads: Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert

Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert Series: Crimson Sails #1
Publisher: Berkley
Publication Date:  November 7, 2023

 

Format: Paperback
Source: Bought/Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Sail the magical high seas with this first book in a new sexy fantasy romance series from Katee Robert, the New York Times bestselling author of the TikTok smash-hit Neon Gods.

Evelyn is a witch with a perfect storm of impulses: terrible taste in bed partners, sticky fingers, and a lust for danger. After she steals from her vampire ex and falls through a portal to another realm, she’s fished out of the waters by a band of seafarers and their telekinetic captain. She’s immediately given a choice—join their group or die.

Bowen has no memory of his life before he became one of the Cŵn Annwn. He and his pirate crew are bound by vow to patrol through Threshold, the magical sea in between realms, keeping the portals to other worlds safe. When he rescues Evelyn, he doesn’t expect to be attracted to the unflappably brassy pickpocket. The longer he spends in her presence, the more he begins to question if his heart is the next thing she’ll steal.

But as tension heats up between Bowen and Evelyn, danger escalates as well. Because Evelyn has no intention of keeping her vows to the Cŵn Annwn, and if she betrays the crew, both she and Bowen will pay the ultimate price....

Review: 

This book had a little bit of everything, pirates, romance, a witch, a vampire ex... it was dubbed a fantasy romance but was spicier that I expected. 

Evelyn (Evie) is a witch, and at the beginning of the book ends her on again/ off again relationship with Lizzie, a bloodline vampire, by stealing from her and running through a portal. The portal drops her in Threshold an in-between realm of seas, islands and pirates. 

Their rules are - you join a crew or you are killed... no exceptions. So Evie joins Captain Bowen's crew spitefully. The Captain is having issues with his crew already and bringing a witch on, was not in the pro column, so they eventually turn on him leaving both him and Evie stranded - but he and Evie are developing a weird attraction for one another... and all hell breaks loose as they come together. 

I liked this book, i love a good pirate book and add witches... heck yea! I have read a few things by Katee Robert and they are always enjoyable. They are fun and I like the fantasy with romance added in. I like how Lizzie played in but wanted more information about Threshold (I couldn't remember if we got it in the Vampire books?) It also all made me wonder if there would be a full collide with the Vampire Queen group, and maybe Neon Gods - there was an off-handed comment about Aphrodite. Love this idea. It already was a great world/story mash up and I can't wait for more.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I liked Evie and Bowen together. [swoon]

Randome and oddly though, I hated the use of the word paladin so much...

Early Reader Review: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft

Source: From Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft 

Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication Date:  January 2, 2024

 

Format: Ebook


Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

In this romantic fantasy of manners from New York Times bestselling author Allison Saft, a magical dressmaker commissioned for a royal wedding finds herself embroiled in scandal when a gossip columnist draws attention to her undeniable chemistry with the groom.

Niamh Ó Conchobhair has never let herself long for more. The magic in her blood that lets her stitch emotions and memories into fabric is the same magic that will eventually kill her. Determined to spend the little time she has left guaranteeing a better life for her family, Niamh jumps at the chance to design the wardrobe for a royal wedding in the neighboring kingdom of Avaland.

But Avaland is far from the fairytale that she imagined. While young nobles attend candlelit balls and elegant garden parties, unrest brews amid the working class. The groom himself, Kit Carmine, is prickly, abrasive, and begrudgingly being dragged to the altar as a political pawn. But when Niamh and Kit grow closer, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more—until an anonymous columnist starts buzzing about their chemistry, promising to leave them alone only if Niamh helps to uncover the royal family’s secrets. The rot at the heart of Avaland runs deep, but exposing it could risk a future she never let herself dream of, and a love she never thought possible.

Transporting readers to a Regency England-inspired fantasy world, A Fragile Enchantment is a sweeping romance threaded with intrigue, unforgettable characters, and a love story for the ages.

Review: 

This was an interesting concept.  Niamh is a magical clothing maker, hired by the interim king to dress his younger brother for his upcoming wedding and events. Kit, the younger brother, is different but also magical. He has been away from the kingdom for some time and is being forced into a marriage for politics. Niamh is very emotional, clutzy, and always in her own head. Kit is self-loathing and in a way this book read like an ememies to lovers but more. 

There was a political side to the story between Kit and the King, and the fiance coming in as well. There was racism of the court and essentially this was a class crossing friendship that turns to more. 

There was a lot to break down here - the romance, the politics, the racism, the past of the kingdom that lends to events 'today'. The king is keeping secrets and so are Kit and his Fiance. This book tried to throw it all at the reader - maybe too much, too fast. there was character rep, which I liked, the setting was just OK, I wanted more backstory about past times and the current political view, that said the overall story was good. 

I liked that Niamh's magic is fed by her emotions, I liked how emotional she was and that was not only her, but part of her work. That said, I wanted more about her illness that she brings up a few times but details were lacking. 

Overall, this was a light, romantic, swoony read. The other parts of the story were interesting but not fleshed out enough really. 

Happy Holidays from Cover2CoverBlog

Happy December and Happy Holidays! 

I hope your 2023 has been a great year! Mine has FLOWN by.

However you will be celebrating this month, I would like to say Happy Holidays!!!

I hope you have a love-filled holiday season that is happy and healthy and full of good reads.

Stay well my friends.

xoxo- Steph

Building the Book Pile #436

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Happy Holidays everyone. I hope you are enjoying some time off and family time. I certainly need the rest. After Thanksgiving I went to Japan for 10 days for work - it was so amazing. I can't wait to go back on a personal trip.

But I cam back sick and had to cancel a trip to LA (also for work) becuase I was in rought shape. Starting to feel better now, but I just overworked myself. 

I have some content planned, and need to spend some time just writing and posting reviews for you... I have been reading!

Anywho - miss you, love you!

[I have 14 books left in my GR goal - wish me luck!]

Coming up on the Blog

Happy Holidays Post

Early Reader Review: A Fragile Enchantment by Allison Saft (Adult, Romance)

Recent Reads: Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert (Adult, Spicy)

Recent Reads: Zodiac Academy: The Awakening (#1) by Caroline Peckham and SusanneValenti (New Adult, Fantasy)

Books Received Recently...   

The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen - BOTM pick

Kawaii Café Bubble Tea: Classic, Fun, and Refreshing Boba Drinks to Make at Home by Stacey Kwong, Beyah del Mundo - For review from Netgalley and Publisher

Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley - For review from Netgalley and Publisher

I have also picked up some things from Kindle Unlimited.

Have you missed anything lately?

Recent Reads: The Woman in Me by Britney Spears (Adult, NonFiction) - 4 stars

Recent Reads: Three Little Mittens by Linda Bailey - 5 stars

Recent Reads: Starling House by Alix Harrow -3 stars

Spotlight: Excerpt - A Thousand Flying Things by Kathryn Brown Ramsperger

Donating Caffeine is greatly appreciated ... Donate on Ko-fi

What have you been reading?  Leave a comment for me.

Happy Reading!

Spotlight: Excerpt - A Thousand Flying Things by Kathryn Brown Ramsperger

Hello Book Lovers,

It is a Spotlight Day!! Today I bring you A Thousand Flying Things by Kathryn Brown Ramsperger. This is a lyrical, cross-cultural/ cross-genre historial romance. Below you will find a link to the Amazon link, excerpt, and book details!

💜,

Steph

A THOUSAND FLYING THINGS by Kathryn Brown Ramsperger

Publisher: Touchpoint Press
Publication Date: June 20, 2023

Genre: Cross-Genre:  Literary Multicultural Romance/Social Issues

Pages: 298

 

About the Book:

A love lost. A soul restored. A decade of secrets and separation.

In A THOUSAND FLYING THINGS, an idealistic American humanitarian worker with a decade of field experience arrives in 1991 Southern Sudan hoping to save the world, but it's the love of a child and the return of an old flame from Lebanon that ends up saving and healing her instead. 

Qasim, charming and cosmopolitan, trying to save his homeland, Lebanon, and Dianna, brilliant and beautiful, trying to save children in war-torn 1990s Southern Sudan, bump into one another in Nairobi and fall in love again. In the face of cultural barriers, their commitment to family and career, and ongoing war, can they find the strength to stand up for both love and a lasting peace? Faced with unbearable choices, they must decide. Yet  things are not what they seem, and it takes a child to show them the way and lead them home. 

Culture shaped them. Love transformed them. Will a child unite them?

PRAISE for A THOUSAND FLYING THINGS:

“Ramsperger’s portrayal of the ravages of South Sudan is heartbreakingly vivid, resulting in a moving but unsentimental portrait of one nation’s anguish. Dianna is a compelling character as a pragmatic veteran of humanitarian work in Africa who still hopes for the best…. An exceedingly thoughtful reflection,…” — Kirkus Reviews

A carefully crafted and original work of literary excellence and eloquence, A Thousand Flying Things... is an extraordinary and memorable novel from cover to cover. One of those deftly written stories that will linger in the mind and memory of the reader long after the book itself has been finished and set back upon the shelf,  A Thousand Flying Things is especially and unreservedly recommended for community, college, and university library Literary Fiction collections. It should be noted for personal reading lists that  A Thousand Flying Things is also available in a digital book format.” -- Midwest Book Review

Chapter 1

February 14, 1991, Piecewood Displaced Persons Camp, Southern Sudan

Today Dianna’s reading from The Jungle Book, but none of them are listening. The few boys in front of her are  exhausted before the day begins from yesterday‘s hard work and training. They probably have little time in their day for fantasy stories with talking tigers and snakes. Nothing like their lives...

After class, the boys play football with an ancient deflated soccer ball. She brings her old Polaroid camera out. The boys drop their football and race towards this contraption, a camera from her past, but an object these boys have never seen. The resulting yellow, blurred images create quite a stir in this little camp. The children love to see themselves. They delight in making faces for the camera. They even primp, sometimes, hoping she will choose to snap one of them.  It is more than a conversation starter; it is a show stopper, marketing her words with their pictures. 

Yet would words ever mean as much to these boys as they did to Dianna? Would they lay down their rifles to turn the pages of the books she provided? Her mind pushes against the languid heat that presses her into the earth, and her lungs try to take in more air. The smell of overused cooking oil, reminiscent of the many meals fried in it, cuts the air like a scythe. She longs for just one ice cube. That is when she sees a young child’s hand. 

The hand waves at her from behind a large rock. Flat on top, nature's idea of a throne, the stone hides the rest of a child’s body. The hand itself, though, is a work of art. It is a hand a hyena could tear off with one swift chomp. Tiny, ragged fingernails, dirt caked over hidden fingerprints, flies buzzing this way and that. The wrist is another thing altogether, smooth and shiny and strong. She takes up her Polaroid and begins snapping. The shutter clicks, and the photos whirl out until all the film is gone. They fall at her feet, creating a small dust storm. 

"Hello?" She wonders if he understands even that simple greeting. 

"Hey," he answers. 

Her eyes go wide. How does he know that word? Most boys know “”hi or “and “hello, but seldom use them because she greets them in their own language. And this boy looks barely old enough to speak many words at all.

"I teach myself book." The boy smiles. "You help?"

"Do you speak English?" Dianna fumbles in a mixture of English, Arabic and Dinka. 

The little boy smiles again, attempting to mimic her sounds. Then he slaps her hand with his, reaches into her pocket, finds an English tea biscuit, and pops it into his mouth. "Tank."

Dianna laughs at the mispronunciation, wondering how long it took him to learn the sentence he greeted her with.

Her  heart is in her ears. She may have found her student. 

"Name?" she asks.

"Annee," he answers. 

She laughs again, this time a broad, imp-like Dianna laugh, a laugh she barely recollects.

"No, that's my name. I am Di-ann-a." Her fingers point to her chest, correcting him, showing him it's her name. His beautiful muddy palm slips around them. 

"You?" She points to his chest.

"Ka. Leel," he answers, sounding it out just as she has for him. 

About the Author 

Kathryn Brown Ramsperger has led a life full of words, music, adventure, and love. 
As a researcher and writer for National Geographic and later, as a humanitarian journalist, her work took her throughout Eastern and Western Europe, Africa, and the Middle East to help people facing disaster, famine, and war. A Thousand Flying Things, her stand-alone sequel to her debut The Shores of Our Souls, combines the stories she witnessed in her work and travels with an imaginative plot to create a riveting, poignant novel. Kathryn lives in Maryland with her husband and rascaly cat Rhapsicle. She and her husband have two adult children, bound for their own creative adventures. Want more information? https://kathrynbrownramsperger.com

Awards For A Thousand Flying Things Thus Far:: A Pulpwood Queen & Timber Guy International Selection of the Month (Oct. 2023), A 5-Star Readers' FAvorite, Shortlisted (in Nov. 2023) for the Chatelaine Book Award for Romantic Fiction (waiting to hear if I made it to the next level)

Find the Author

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Recent Reads: Starling House by Alix Harrow

Starling House by Alix Harrow

Publisher: Tor Books
Publication Date:  October 3, 2023

 

Format: Hardback
Source: BOTM Pick October

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis:

A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can't stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Review: 

I love this cover so much, sadly the story was just ok for me.

Opal is raising her younger brother after her mother's death, it was a freak accident and she drove off of a bridge. Arthur has taken over a family home in the town of Eden, which has always interested Opal. While Arthur and the house are odd, and there are so many rumors around its weirdness, Opal takes an opportunity to work as a house cleaner there to raise money to help her brother get into a better school. Arthur and Opal kind of become friends and this has a strange almost grumpy/sunshine trope...to some degree. 

Highlights of this book were all around the house, it was strange and kind or alive and it does stuff to its own liking. I also liked the add-in of  The Underworld, a book by the first Starling House owner. I enjoyed these magical things, but the way it all came together in the end just felt odd and kind of rushed. Maybe there was too much romance build up and not enough explaination of the dreamworld magic and the town for my liking. 

Overall it was a creepy and fun read for the end of October/ early November, and think that some will love it. It jsut wasn't for me.

Recent Reads: The Three Little Mittens by Linda Bailey

Source: From LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

The Three Little Mittens by Linda Bailey 

Publisher: Tundra Books
Publication Date:  October 24, 2023

 

Format: Hardback


Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

A single mitten is excluded by a matching pair in this endearing picture book about friendship, belonging and the pressure to "match." For fans of The Day the Crayons Quit .

Dotty and Other Dotty are a matching set of mittens. When another mitten, Stripes, loses her partner and becomes a single mitten, they don't feel the need to include her. She doesn't "match" them, so she is banished to the dark, lonely pocket of the Little Girl who owns them. Before long, however, Dotty loses her partner, and now she doesn't match the reunited pair of Stripes and Other Stripes, who in turn banish her to the pocket. "YOU don't match!" they tell her.

When the Little Girl, who has been listening to their conversations, weighs in with a huge question ("Why do you have to match?"), the mittens are shocked. Then comes their realization that "matching" often means leaving someone out. This prompts the Little Girl to break a fundamental rule of fashion so that individual mittens (and maybe even socks! or shoes!) can be themselves — and everyone can belong.

A warm and fuzzy story with lots of laughs, this latest picture book from Linda Bailey explores what it feels like to be excluded and included and celebrates one-of-a-kindness!

Review: 

This is a picture book about mittens, Dotty and Other Dotty, they are a pair and they get very snarky at Stripes, who is missing their match. Tables turn with Other Dotty is left, and now Dotty has to be worn with Stripes, they become friends along the way. Until Other Stripes is found. When the Stripes start to tell Dotty that she is on her own, the little girl chimes in that they could always be mis-matched and that is fine, and then everyone would get a chance, and pull out a bin of other lost matches. The mittens are all thrilled to be out playing again and teh socks and shoes tag along too. 

This was a fun book about getting creative. I liked the sustainability aspect of it, mismatched mittens are still fine. The illustration was whimsical and 'puffy' which was good for the illustration of the mittens and gloves. I think kids will love it and want to mis-match all their things too. 

Overall, adorable, fun story perfect for the winter season.

Recent Reads: The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

The Woman in Me by Britney Spears

Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date:  October 24, 2023

 

Format: Hardback
Source: Bought

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

The Woman in Me is a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope.

In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.

Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.

Review: 

I bought this book because I kept hearing that she mentions her relationship with Justin, and I grew up with them in the forefront of music and that relationship was everywhere. I heard that what she was saying would cast a new light over Justin and his success and wanted to read it for myself rather than all the news coverage. 

This poor womean. She has been through so much, as a teen and as an adult. Her family were horrible to her all out of greed for money and power. Following the trial, you would have seen that too. 

Britney writes like this is a diary of sorts, in a way it was probably pushed out for publishing pretty quick after she was freed from under her father's thumb. The writing ...well it isn't great, but that said it was still impactful in some ways. There are some attempts at deeper thought and purpose, but really it is very surface level. It adds an element of realness to it though, like it wasn't overthought, just flowing onto a page like thoughts and feelings. 

All that said, it was a good read, insightful. But we don't read books like this for fun, warm fuzzies. It was hard to read about her experiences, it was all shitty, and her family was gross, and Justin ..well, he is officially an ass in my mind. He started teh downward spiral that would allow her parents to really dig in, and if he didn't see that, or ignored it, shame on him. 

There was a lot of talk about mental health and the understanding of it in the 90s-2000s and how the lack of information out there also hurt her for a while. 

Overall, I am glad that I read this book. I think some of the timeline seemed a bit skewed but overall it was a hard but worthwhile read if you are interested in learning more about what she has been doing, or hasn't for that matter.