Taylor Fenner's Blog, page 22

Book Blogger Hop: 23-29 February 2024

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, Billy @ Ramblings or a Coffee Addicted Writer relaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

February 23-29, 2024 Question of the Week:

How do you organize your bookshelves?

Answer:

Right now my bookshelves are a little chaotic as I’m putting together a new bookcase and then I’ll reorganize. The only one not unorganized is my indie author bookcase which is organized by author’s last name. On my “favorites” bookcase I keep series together and then go by author last name. The last set have no rhyme or reason to organization.

How do you organize your bookshelves?

Time Travel Thursday: 22 February

Time Travel Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog where readers take a look back at what they were reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what you are reading now.

22 February 2023

One year ago today I started reading Lightlark by Alex Aster. I haven’t read the second book yet but I really loved this one. (And I’m disappointed that The Bookish Box didn’t do a matching edition for the second book).

Currently Reading:

Today I’m about halfway through the audiobook of Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir

Comparison:

Lightlark is a YA fantasy in which the rulers of different kingdoms compete in a completion where the winner will break the curse that has been plaguing their kingdom. Jane Seymour is obviously historical fiction about the 3rd wife of King Henry VIII of England. Both are about royals, but they’re vastly different.

Have you read either one of these?

Can’t Wait Wednesday: Wild Love

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released.

Wild Love (Rose Hill Book 1) by Elsie Silver

Romance

eBook, Paperback, 464 Pages

April 9, 2024 by Bloom Books

Blurb:

She’s been driving him wild for years.

The good kind of wild. The bad kind of wild.

But mostly, the kind of wild that comes with wanting your best friend’s little sister and knowing you can’t have her.

Forbes may have labeled Ford Grant the World’s Hottest Billionaire, but all he cares about is escaping the press and opening a recording studio in gorgeous small town Rose Hill. Something that comes to a screeching halt when he ends up face-to-face with a young girl who claims he’s her biological father. Now, he spends his days balancing business with parenting a sullen twelve-year-old, all while trying desperately to keep his hands the hell off his best friend’s sister, Rosie Belmont.

After living in the city, Rosie came blasting back into town like a storm. Beautiful, messy, and chaotic. And one wide-eyed, desperate plea for a job is all it takes for Ford to hire her. He vows to keep her at arm’s length. Tries to stick to scowls and grumpy one-liners. But with her, verbal sparring is a type of foreplay―friction that soon turns to blistering heat.

Ford knows damn well he shouldn’t cross this line. But shouldn’t and can’t are two very different things.

And the only thing he truly can’t do is resist her.

Why I Want to Read This Book:

I started reading Elsie’s books last year and fell in love with them. I believe Ford is the brother of Willa from the Chestnut Springs series, so maybe we’ll see a cameo in this book? Either way it sounds like it’s going to be a fun contemporary romance read. Not to mention it has a gorgeous cover.

Will you be checking this one out? What books are you looking forward to?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 19 February 2024

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Hey Bookdragons! Happy Monday! How was your reading progress last week? I, at one point, found myself reading 4 books at once!

Last Week I Read:Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession by Alison Weir

This one was pretty good and a fast listen even at 19+ hours. Do I feel sympathy for Anne Boleyn? Still nope. But the end scene in which she was beheaded was particularly chilling.

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

I set this one aside and I don’t know when or if I’ll return to it.

Spellbound by Cate Tiernan

I actually finished this one by the time last week’s post went live.

The Calling by Cate Tiernan

This is where I always lose interest in rereading this series. This book is kind of blah and so are the next two. I might skip over to some of the later books.

Currently Reading:The Madness by Dawn Kurtagich

I’m about 45% into this one and loving it! It’s eerie, it’s mysterious, and I can’t put it down.

Damaged Goods by LJ Shen

This is my first book by this author and was Probably Smut‘s February book. The writing is easy to get into but the author name drops a lot of high end labels which is annoying and the drug addiction the main character has is difficult to read through (beware if that is a trigger for you).

Next Reads:Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen by Alison Weir

I’m excited to start this one this afternoon.

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawsett

I got this one last week and I was going to start it immediately but then I got Damaged Goods.

What are you reading this week? Have you read any of these? How many books do you usually have going at a time?

Stacking the Shelves & The Sunday Post: Book Mail, New Bookcases, and Cold Snaps

The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week on your blog and showcase books and things we have received. Share news about what is coming up on our blog for the week ahead. See rules here: Sunday Post Meme.

Book Mail, New Bookcases, and Cold Snaps

Hey Book Blogger Friends! How was your week?

I got a little book mail this week, including my first book box from Probably Smut (excuse the name ).

Just in time I got my two new bookcases, although I’ve only put one together so far. They’re a bit smaller than I was expecting but they seem sturdy.

It’s been really cold the past few days and I’m looking forward to the 50s in this coming week’s forecast. The cold weather does nothing good for me.

Last Week on the Blog:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 12 February 2024

ARC Review: Until the Stars Fall by Vanessa Rasanen

Can’t Wait Wednesday: Bad Like Us

Time Travel Thursday: 15 February

Book Blogger Hop 16-22 February, 2024

Stacking the Shelves (below in combined post)

This Week on the Blog:

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 19 February 2024

Can’t Wait Wednesday: Wild Love

Time Travel Thursday: 22 February

Book Blogger Hop: How do you organize your bookshelves?

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Reading Reality. Stacking The Shelves is all about sharing the books you are adding to your shelves, may it be physical or virtual.

Books Added to My Shelves This Week:Physical:eBooks:Around the Book Blogging World:

Nothing this week! I need to catch up on posts and comments!

Book Blogger Hop: 16-22 February 2024

The Book Blogger Hop was originally created by Jennifer @ Crazy-For-Books in March 2010 and ended on December 31, 2012. With Jennifer’s permission, Billy @ Ramblings or a Coffee Addicted Writer relaunched the hop on February 15, 2013. Each week the hop will start on a Friday and end the following Thursday. There will be a weekly prompt featuring a book related question. The hop’s purpose is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

February 16-22, 2024 Question of the Week:

Do you keep an active list of favorite authors—that you would spend your milk money on—to have it when they publish a book?

Answer:

I have a few auto-buy authors: Riley Sager, Rachel Hawkins, Alice Feeney, and Dawn Kurtagich are my top 4 I usually have on preorder ahead of their upcoming release. Bonus if I can get them signed from an indie bookstore.

What about you? Who are your auto-buy authors?

Time Travel Thursday: 15 February

Time Travel Thursday is a weekly meme hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog where readers take a look back at what they were reading this time last year (or the year before or the year before that…) and compare it to what you are reading now.

15 February 2022

Two years ago today I was just finishing the audiobook of Once Upon A Broken Heart. I still need to read books 2 and 3 but I loved this one.

Currently Reading:

I’m on book 7 of the Sweep Series. I’m thinking of taking a break and reading something else since this series is getting a little stale.

Comparison:

Once Upon A Broken Heart is a fantasy novel set in the Caraval world. It’s full of legends and mythology and if a book can be described as colorful, it would be a Stephanie Garber novel as her stories are so vibrant. The Calling is a… paranormal romance? It’s about Wicca and a girl discovering her truth. This one finds the main character learning a heartbreaking secret. This book gives heavy late-1990s-early-2000s vibes.

Have you read either of these books?

Can’t Wait Wednesday: Bad Like Us

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings, to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they’re books that have yet to be released.

Bad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore

Young Adult, Thriller

ebook, Hardcover

March 5, 2024 from Inkyard Press

Blurb:

Spring break is a vibe—until someone gets murdered

Partying with popular classmates they barely know is not what Eva and her BFFs had in mind for their spring break. But things have been off ever since Miles’ academic career took a turn for the worse (they don’t talk about it), so a trip to a private beach lodge might be exactly what they need. And Eva won’t admit it, but the chance to reconnect with Colton is worth putting up with Piper’s constant livestreams to her thousands of “besties.”

At first, it’s all sand and waves, but tensions run high when an anonymous letter shakes up an already-flailing love triangle.

When someone turns up dead, Eva can’t even trust her closest friends—but she thinks she can trust Colton. As they get closer to the truth, they uncover secrets that upend everything they thought they knew about their fellow spring breakers.

Why I Want to Read This Book:

Last summer I read a thriller/horror novel about a group of friends who go away to a beach house for July 4th and get trapped in the path of a hurricane getting picked off one by one (the book is Summer Rental by Rektok Ross). This book gives me those same vibes. Tense friend dynamics, destination setting, secrets, and murder. I’m all in for this one!

Will you be checking this one out? What upcoming releases are you looking forward to?

ARC Review: Until the Stars Fall by Vanessa Rasanen

Until the Stars Fall (Immortal Reveries #1) by Vanessa Rasanen

Release day: February 13, 2024
Genre: Fantasy Romance, Fae Romance
Tropes: Fated mates, fake engagement, fae shifter, slow burn, shared dreams
Cover artist: Fran @coverdungeonrabbit
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62916249-until-the-stars-fall
Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/4XEZn9

Blurb:

The last time a fae king took a human bride it started a war.

This time it could prevent one.

One of the few humans at the palace, Lieke has served the royal family her whole life, enjoying their protection from the fae who hate her kind. Unfortunately, nothing could protect her heart from falling in love with her best friend–the prince. Even if he returned her love, he could never marry a human, let alone a servant.

But holding onto her mother’s words that love can conquer all, she refuses to give up, no matter the costs.

As the crown prince, Connor is preparing to be king and doing his best to rebuild the king’s armies and neutralize a rebel threat. Tasked with also ensuring his younger brother ends his licentious ways and marries a neighboring princess, he thinks things can’t get any worse. Until a human servant–a woman he saved years ago–catches his brother’s eye and threatens to ruin everything.

When Lieke finds herself sentenced to death for murdering a fae noble, she’s shocked to see it’s the older brother—Connor—who steps in to save her. And not in the way she expected.

In a world jaded by war, where love is weakness, a fae prince finds himself torn between his desire to save his country and his growing love for a human. He can’t save both, but how can he choose between his duty and his heart?

Until the Stars Fall is the first in a new fantasy romance collection of interconnected stand-alones, sweeping you to a magical war-torn world. This fated mates tale with a fake engagement brings you a noble fae prince who falls first–and hard. Loosely inspired by the movie, Sabrina, this slow-burn romance will have you swooning.

My Review:

Have you ever seen a book on social media and known that you were going to love it even though you didn’t know anything about it? Maybe it was the author’s aesthetic post, maybe it was a character post, or even a few excerpts. That was Until the Stars Fall for me. I didn’t know anything really about it when I saw it on Vanessa Rasanen’s Instagram but I immediately knew I had to read it.

The beginning of this book covers the years leading up to the main story, building the groundwork and world building later. I’m impatient and wanted to dive right into the here and now, but it was definitely important to read the sections where Lieke has her unrequited crush on Brennan and getting sent away after Connor saves her the first time as well as her training while she is away. We also see Connor’s role in the kingdom and the issues they are facing get more tense until the current time.

Once the story gets moving, it is such an addictive read. I loved Connor and Lieke together, they have so much chemistry! I don’t read fantasy much anymore – it really has to be a book that grabs me from the start – and this one definitely succeeded in that!

I also loved the set up for coming books, which can be read as standalones but are set in this same world. There is no real cliffhanger end, the characters’ storylines are wrapped up nicely, but it gives you a taste of what is to come.

Overall, this was one of only several fantasy novels I read in 2023 (I was an arc reader) but this was probably my favorite! My only complaint (and it is a small one) is that the author gave the male characters, Brennan and Connor, as well as Lieke’s cousin, Raven, normal names and then we saddle the female main character with an unpronounceable name like Lieke – which kind of reminded me of those big onion things (leeks).

My Rating:

5 of 5 Knives!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 12 February 2024

#IMWAYR is a weekly meme started on J Kaye’s blog and then was hosted by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at The Book Date.

Hey Book Blogger Friends! How was your reading week last week? Will you be reading romance this week for Valentine’s Day (or horror for Valoween )

Last Week I Read:Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen by Alison Weir

I finished it! I enjoyed this one and I’m chomping at the bit to continue the series, even if Anne Boleyn is next

Dark Magick (Sweep Series # 4) by Cate Tiernan

This one gets a little more tense than the first 3 books and Morgan is finally starting to see the real side of her boyfriend.

Awakening (Sweep Series #5) by Cate Tiernan

I read this one in one sitting. Sometimes I forget this series was published roughly 23 years ago and how many things have changed since.

Currently ReadingIron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Okay everyone, do not hate me. I’m 3 chapters into Iron Flame and I’m so bored. Picking up the audiobook is a chore and I don’t remember Violet being this whiny in book one. Xaden omitted a few things… get over it. There was a reason for it with her being who she is, but let’s act like a preteen. Ugh. This could also be because I really am not interested in the fantasy genre anymore. Might set it aside.

Spellbound (Sweep Series #6) by Cate Tiernan

I’m about halfway through book 6! There will still be 9 left after this one.

Next Reads:Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession by Alison Weir

As I mentioned, I’m eager to continue this series and might start this one instead of finishing the Iron Flame audiobook.

The Calling (Sweep Series #7) by Cate Tiernan

Halfway through the series! I can’t remember what happens in this book so I’m looking forward to reacquainting myself with it.

What will you be reading this week?