Building the Book Pile #430

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Hi there - I hope you all had a great week! I had family visit for my birthday weekend. We had some fun driving around VT/NH and eating good food. It was a fun time, but I was so tired today. 

I was able to finish a book though and so that was good. My reading has been slow and non-existant recently, and that sucks... what do you do to get out of reading slumps? 

I really need to find a happy medium. I have only just barely been able to keep up with review commitments :(

Stay Well

-S

Coming up on the Blog

Blog Tour: Review - Creatures of Chaos by Ashley Brandt (YA)

Books Received Recently...   

 Trying to help a slump with some GNs and humor.

How to Stay Productive When the World Is Ending: Why Work Is Killing You, and How You Can Do It More Effectively! by Reductress - For Review

Milk & Mocha: Our Little Happiness by Melani Sie - For Review

Lights (Sheets #3) by Brenna Thummler - for Review

Have you missed anything lately?

Blog Tour: Review - Violins and Vampires by Cee Bee (Adult) - 3 stars

If you are interested in supporting my ability to stay awake and read please consider dontating - Coffee  is appreciated ... Ko-fi

Comment or leave me a link and I will see you online again soon.

Happy Reading!

Blog Tour: Review - Violins and Vampires by Cee Bee

Violins and Vampires by CEE BEE 

Series: Vampires of the Daemonverse, #1
Published by: Monster House Books
Publication date: August 25th 2022
Genres: Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

About the Book 

Lexa Kozlov must pay her family’s massive debt to the mob… all while raising even more money to save her little sister. The result? Lexa’s trapped in a never-ending (and incredibly illegal) stakeout for the Bratva. She barely has time for sleep, let alone find love.

Enter Caelin Vass, the handsome Scotsman who runs Empire Investments. Caelin offers Lexa a new job with dollars galore, as well as a hot bod (that would be his own) to contemplate every workday. Even so, Lexa isn’t sure she should take the gig. Freaky things keep happening whenever Lexa and Caelin are together. Simply put, the energy between them is magical, sensual, and way overwhelming. Lexa faces a big question: is she leaving her old prison just to enter a worse one… or is Caelin Vass all he seems and more?

***12,000 word novella, previously published on Kindle Vella as Blood Slave***

Vampires of the Daemonverse Series

1. Violins and Vampires

2. Veils and Vampires

3. Vixens and Vampires

4. Valor and Vampires

  

Purchase

Violins and Vampires follows a group of Vampires in current day. The plot begins hundreds of years ago when Vampires were at their prime but losing females do to a plague. Now they are living in modern times and some of them remember their past, while other ones do not. The story follows Alexa and her sister Shah. Shah is sick and Lexa must work for the mafia in order to make money to repay a debt her father left but also to ensure Shah has meds. 

It was a little hard to keep all the characters straight at first, especially with the shift from past to present time. Eventually it all becomes more clear once we are in the most recent story path. There was a lot going on in this plot for a short book. We have the ancient time at plague start, then Lexa in high school, and then modern Lexa. 

I liked where this book eventually ended, it seemed very abrupt though. Lexa and Caelin are fated to be together, but they don't know it, but they keep crossing each others paths. And while fated they might also be slightly doomed to be apart becuase Lexa is working for the mafia, and Caelin is on the other side of that split to some degree.

I felt that this book had a lot more fleshing out to do, but got the point across well enough. I wanted more explanation especially about why things were happening. I am guessing we felt a lot like Lexa throughout though. 

All in all this was a fun read. It was quick, fast paced, and the supernatural elements were fun. If you like vampires, this could be a fun one for you as well. Elements of mystery, violence, and romance.

About the Author

Author Christina "CEE BEE" Bauer has sold more than 1M copies across her 45+ epic fantasy books for young adults. She's recorded (and narrated) eight of her books into audiobooks, as well as led the translation of her novels into four different languages. USA Today has called her work "must-read paranormal fantasy." Bauer is an autism advocate and quirky loudmouth whose writing style really isn't for everyone. But if you like stories with complex worlds inhabited by chicks who kick ass and take names, then read on!

Christina lives in Newton, MA with her husband, son, and semi-insane golden retriever, Ruby. She loves to connect with her fans at ChristinaBauerAuthor.com.
Be the first to know about new releases from Christina by signing up for her newsletter: http://tinyurl.com/CBupdates

Stalk Christina On Social Media – She Loves It!

Find the Author 

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | TikTok | LinkedIn

Tour-wide giveaway (INT)

Print copy Violins and Vampires and more!

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Building the Book Pile #429

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Happy Sunday readers - I hope you are all doing well. This week I both read/finished books and posted reviews, so YAY!

I hope you have enjoyed some new YA book content. 

This week, I was away at a conference, luckily not too far from home. I had a fun time and met some wonderful and smart people. I love to nerd out at these things, but feel so burnt out by the end because I have gone non-stor for 4 days. Do you have any professional conferences that you go to? Do you enjoy them?

Stay Well

-S

Coming up on the Blog

Blog Tour: Review - Violins and Vampires by Cee Bee 

Books Received Recently...   

 

The Only Survivors by Megan Miranda -BOTM Pick April

Have you missed anything lately?

Early Reader Review: The Cherished by Patricia Ward (YA) - 2 stars

Early Reader Review: The Other Side of Infinity by Joan F. Smith (YA) - 3.5 stars

If you are interested in supporting my ability to stay awake and read please consider dontating - Coffee  is appreciated ... Ko-fi

Comment or leave me a link and I will see you online again soon.

Happy Reading!

Early Reader Review: The Other Side of Infinity by Joan Smith

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

The Other Side of Infinity by Joan Smith 

Publisher: Feiwel Friends
Publication Date:  April 25, 2023 

 

Format: Ebook


Rating:

Goodreads Synopsis: 

They Both Die at the End meets The Butterfly Effect in this YA novel by Joan F. Smith, where a teen uses her gift of foreknowledge to help a lifeguard save a drowning man—only to discover that her actions have suddenly put his life at risk.

It was supposed to be an ordinary day at the pool, but when lifeguard Nick hesitates during a save,

seventeen-year-old December uses her gift of foreknowledge to rescue the drowning man instead. The action comes at a cost. Not only will Nick and December fall in love, but also, she envisions that his own life is now at risk. The other problem? They’re basically strangers.

December embarks on a mission to save Nick’s life, and to experience what it feels like to fall in love—something she’d formerly known she’d never do. Nick, battling the shame of screwing up the rescue when he’s heralded as a community hero, resolves to make up for his inaction by doing December a major solid and searching for her mother, who went missing nine years ago.

As they grow closer, December’s gift starts playing tricks, and Nick’s family gets closer to an ugly truth about him. They both must learn what it really means to be a hero before time runs out.

Review: 

This book follows December a seventeen year old that can see the past present and future. Most of the time she hides her ability but one day while at the pool she jumps in to help save a man from drowning. Because she intervenes it changed some timelines and she finds herself falling in love with the lifeguard that she helped, a boy named Nick. 

This was a cute love story about December and Nick coming together but the overall story isn’t about the romance but the future of their togetherness, December sees death for Nick and she is wants to do everything she can to save him. 

The overall story was a very interesting concept. The author doesn’t attempt to explain how or why December has these abilities only that she has them and has always had them. Since the plot is really formed around this impending doom and death the pacing is a little odd. I found myself wanting more things to happen, more actions to be taken in both Nicks’s and December’s parts to prevent this future but that kind of fell flat. 

The book uses alternating POV to tell their story and while this works in a number of ways, like the reader understanding both motivations, it was a little confusing at times following whose perspective you were in, even with bold titles. I found myself struggling to alternate between them in my head smoothly which made for even more of a pace problem. Overall the plot was handled well between them. I was very surprised by the ending, I think I missed some key points somewhere, but I was not expecting the outcome and I wanted resolution elsewhere… I won’t go into detail though so as not to spoil it. 

I think overall this is a well written young adult contemporary book about love, loss, bravery, and guilt but that it tends to be on the slower side so it can be difficult to get through to the good parts. If you are looking for a love story, with an interesting premise, this one might be a good one for you to pick up. If you aren’t a fan of alternating POVs, you might want to steer clear. 

Early Reader Review: The Cherished by Patricia Ward

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

The Cherished by Patricia Ward  

Publisher: HarperCollins US
Publication Date:  April 18, 2023

 

Format: Ebook


Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

For fans of Claire Legrand, Rory Power, and Danielle Vega comes a visceral horror thriller in the vein of Midsommar, as one girl inherits a mysterious house from her estranged grandmother—and a letter with sinister instructions.

Jo never expected to be placed in her absent grandmother’s will—let alone be left her house, her land, and a letter with mysterious demands.

Upon arriving at the inherited property, things are even more strange.

The tenants mentioned in the letter are odd, just slightly…off. Jo feels something dark and decrepit in the old shack behind the house. And the things that her father used to talk about, his delusions… Why is Jo starting to believe they might be real?

But what Jo fears most is the letter from her grandmother. Because if it’s true, then Jo belongs here, in this strange place. And she has no choice but to stay.

With a deadly enemy that cannot be seen, a world that may only be unlocked by a chosen few, and a chilling past that must be unearthed at any cost, The Cherished is an original, hypnotizing contemporary horror—one that will thrill readers of White Smoke, Wilder Girls, and The Hazel Wood.

Review: 

I don't read reviews before I start a book, I never want to sway my opinion before reading, especially for review books. I received an email about The Cherished and thought that the premise sounded interesting and spooky, albeit there were also a lot of comparisons in it so I was a little skeptical. I started the book and was not initially feeling it but knew that I should press on. 

The book follows Jo, a teen who is just trying to get by. Her mother is with a new man, her stepdad, who is controlling and her mom is pregnant and moody. One day she gets a note from her dad's mother that she is leaving her the house in Vermont, and it is her duty to take care of it. The note seemed weird and ominous, but Jo and her mom decide to go look at the house and see what needs to be done to sell it. 

From the start, we hate Jo's mom, she is moody and rages a lot and takes it out on Jo mentally and emotionally, and Jo has been through a lot. Jo was kidnapped by her dad when she was young and he was having what seemed to be a mental break. So there is a lot of this story that is about mental illness and trying to heal, but none of it is done particularly well, and oftentimes even horribly to be honest. I hated the mother, she was not supportive of her daughter at all, in any ways, not even in her healing process... the stepdad was controlling and their relationship was weird too. It all felt forced. Once the plot really got going, I expected more creepiness and horror, and while the ending was a little scary, I didn't find myself too freaked out. I knew what was coming, the creatures were expected, and their reasons didn't feel fully fleshed out. There were a lot of ways the story could have gone, that the village could have been more proactive about to help the situation but they were all so passive and sad.

Overall, I just didn't like the book all that much. It had some ok elements and I finished it versus just putting it aside, but it as only Ok and I am not sure I would recommend it. If you are looking for something odd, and mental health doesn't bother you, i.e. you can put aside how horribly it is discussed, you might enjoy this book. If you are into cute fairies - also not for you.

Building the Book Pile #428

Welcome to Building the Book Pile!

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Hiiii, sorry for lack of posts. I just haven't been in the mood for reading or posting to be honest. I am hoping to jump back in soon though. I need to find a better pacing for all the things I have going on: work, work travel, home/chores, blog, gardening, pets, reading... so much to do (which I love but Im sleepy). 

It is Spring here in New England and so we have been outside a lot. I am prepping the garden beds and starting seeds...and we got chickens, so I guess we are officially a farm.

Stay Well

-S

Coming up on the Blog

Early Reader Review: The Cherished by Patricia Ward (YA)

Early Reader Review: The Other Side of Infinity by Joan F. Smith (YA)

Books Received Recently...   

 

Violins and Vampires by Cee Bee (Adult) - for a Blog Tour/ Review

A Circle of Stars by Craig Montgomery (YA) - For review 

Lovely Bad Things by Trisha Wolfe (Adult) - from Kindle Unlimited

We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix (Adult) - bought on Kindle

Have you missed anything lately?

Recent Reads: The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent (Adult) -5 stars

Recent Reads: Ruthless Villains by Marion Blackwood (Adult) -4 stars

Monthly Re-Cap (March 23) & TBR Pile (April 23)

Recent Reads: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon (Adult) - 4 stars

If you are interested in supporting my ability to stay awake and read please consider dontating - Coffee  is appreciated ... Ko-fi

Comment or leave me a link and I will see you online again soon.

Happy Reading!

Recent Reads: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon 
Series: The Roots of Chaos #1
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication Date:  February 26, 2019

 

Format: Ebook and Audible Audiobook
Source: Bought/ Own

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.

The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction – but assassins are getting closer to her door.

Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.

Across the dark sea, Tané has trained to be a dragonrider since she was a child, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.

Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.

Review: 

There is so much hype surrounding this book... and I bought into it but it also sounded wonderful. I feel like I heard so much about this book and how great it was but also nothing really about it... The plot for a while was a mystery to me. Priory is a fantasy about a world where dragons exist and are gods, where the various cultures are divided by religion and cuture, and there is doom on the horizon for them all. 

The book is told in by alternating between the East and the West, and then within those realms, we get two POVs from each - Tane and Roos from the East, and Ead and Arteloth in the West. I fully expected far more dragons, but they came in waves and sparingly for the most part. However, the intertwining of Eastern Chinese style dragons and the more lizard-esq fantasy dragons was really well done, and it was cool to see them all co-exist. 

Dragons aside, the overall plot was a lot to take in. I wanted either more or less and I wasn't sure which would be ideal. I wanted more descriptions to guide me and possibly less politics... it was a struggle. But what I mean to say is that this book could have either been cut down quite a bit or made into a duology pretty well and it could have been better with some cutting or some expansion. I felt like I wanted so much more from this world-build because I was so amazed by it and wanted more,  and I really enjoyed it. It was epic and fantastical and the adventures/ journeys people were sent out on were wonderful and foreboding. (all of which I loved).

I also loved the representation, there were characters of all colors, there were straight, gay, and lesbian romances. Overall, the characters were really enjoyable. I found myslef loving the sections about the East, then falling more in love with the Western side, and then back again because of the character's stories. (I wanted more of Tane and was sad that it felt like she was written less as the book progressed.) One point that I don't think is brought up a lot is that the praised Sapphic romance, while great rep., was an interesting dynamic as well. Ead is a black character and she is in a position of servant to the Queen... they fall for each other, but in this servant/served capacity it made their romance seem ungenuine in some ways. The characters bring it up briefly, i.e. 'you only act like this because you have to', but it didn't really address the issue. And maybe this is a non-issue for some, but it felt weird to me.

Overall, I felt like race and class throughout were not well developed and I think it could have helped the character development, but the plot was interesting and layered in a wonderful way. The fantasy elements were well done and I had the feels of Lord of the Rings at times, which is good. I really liked the ending, it was very togetherness themeded and it was a really fun read. 

Monthly Re-Cap (March 23) & TBR Pile (April 23)

Hello Readers, Bloggers, and Awesome people! 

Here is the progress from March.

I was very busy in March and Priory is a long one, so not the best progress but some.

~~Books I Read in March 2023~~  

~~Links to Some Reviews~~

   

Ruthless Villains by Marion Blackwood (Adult) - 4 stars
The Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent (Adult) - 5 stars

The Unstoppable Startup: Mastering Israel's Secret Rules of Chutzpah by Uri Adoni (NonFiction) - 3 stars

Your Dream For Me by Alison Schaffir (YA) - 4 stars

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides (Adult) - 5 stars

 TBR for April

1. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
2. The Lost Galumpus by Joseph Helgerson
3.  Julieta and the Romeos by Maria E.Anreu
4. Violins and Vampires by Cee Bee
5. Neon Gods by Katee Robert
6. Creatures of Chaos by Ashley Brandt

How was your March reading? 

Feel free to share it in the comments below! I would love to know what you are reading!