Stuck at Home Book Tag

It’s been a while since I’ve done a book tag and I seen this one floating around the blogisphere so I thought why not give it a go! 

  • Thank the person who nominated you
  • Answer all the questions down below
  • Pingback to the creator: Ellyn @ Allonsythornraxx
  • Nominate 5+ bloggers you’d like to know more about, to do this tag 

Picture1

The Night Country by Melissa Albert

43565384

Picture2

Laying in bed playing my switch5kVG00Picture3

Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi

COV&V_JKT_Trade_032819.indd

Picture4

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

36337550

Picture5

5313113743155726._SY475_40516960

Picture6

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

38819868._SY475_

Picture7

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

91DIYtTpRnL

Picture8

Catch up on all the TV series I have missed!

giphy

Picture9

Into the Crooked Place by Alexandra Christo

43550637._SY475_

I tag everyone who would like to give this a go, it was a lot of fun!!

happy-reading

The Shadows Between Us Review

35702241I LOVED this!!!!

The Shadows Between Us is about a girl named Alessandra who is the second daughter of an earl who has a plan to seduce, marry and then kill the elusive king.

I just adored Alessandra’s character. Right from the start when we find out what happened between her and Henrik and then to see how comfortable she has become with her sexuality and not letting the men in her life use her for their own gain. She takes her life into her own hands and emerges from under her father and sisters shadows and forged a life for herself without their help or influence. I love how ruthless she is and how unapologetic she is about her appearance and demeanour.

Kallias really drew me in from the moment we first see him. He is quite enigmatic and seductive in a way with the shadows swirling around him. I’m a sucker for a dark, broody male protagonist and he really ticked all the boxes for me. I would of loved to learn more about him and go a little more in depth in terms of his abilities and why the skipped over his brother. The origins of his family’s reign which was discussed briefly, I just wanted more. I think the fact that he wasn’t intimidated by Alessandra and saw her as an equal was the icing on the cake for me!

There was the perfect amount of political intrigue mixed with those more high action sequences to keep me engaged and entertained. Too much of the court politics and political machinations can be a little dragging for me but I didn’t get that at all in this book. Because Alessandra was so spontaneous and has all of these secrets she is trying to keep on top of there was never a time I wasn’t invested.

I have to admit the investigation aspect regarding Henrik was resolved a little too conveniently; there was quite the build-up of anticipation regarding the murder and it was dismissed by Kallias with really no repercussions of Alessandra’s part. I was able to overlook it and still really enjoy the read but that was something that I noticed.

Overall I loved this, from reading the blurb I knew immediately that this was a book that I would love and I am honestly gratified that I have such a thorough understanding of my reading tastes!

⭐️5/5 stars the Slytherin romance we didn’t know we needed!

Kingsbane Review

*Spoilers below*

40523458._SY475_Kingsbane continues pretty much straight after where Furyborn left off. Eliana is trying to come to terms with her new powers and Rielle is assuaging her guilt over the deaths of her father and the king by locating the legendary castings to fix the Gate containing the angels.

I just straight up don’t really like Rielle’s character. I can appreciate how she is pushing the plot forward but I find her to be incredibly insufferable. First of all having to be talked into saving the capital of Borsvall from the tidal wave by Ludivine and Audric, almost condemning all of those innocent people because she was outraged that they would dare threaten her and had absolutely no remorse doing so. Then slaughtering all of those Obex members because they were rightfully mistrustful of her after she weakened the Gate further. She has no humility and believes that her power gives her the right to just do whatever she wants with no repercussions and that doesn’t sit well with me at all. I’m very much on the Queen’s side about her thoughts for her.

Audric is just so blindly in love with Rielle that one or two little placations from her and he just dismisses all of the problematic things she says and does. Granted he does finally stand up for himself after finding out about what happened with his father but I felt like it was a little too late at that point. I don’t trust Ludivine at all at this point either. She stepped up and played more of a role in this book than the previous and I am curious as to whom she truly is and what her intentions are.

I MUCH preferred Eliana’s storyline compared to her mothers. Seeing her make her castings and tapping into her powers kept me very much engaged in the plot. Even though she was quite closed off and standoffish in the first book she starts to open up more and develops more relationships with those around her. She is still making some questionable decisions but overall I really like how her character is evolving.

Now we come to Simon. Once again he killed me in this book! I was always attached to him the most out of all the characters and he definitely took us on a journey of discovery in this book. We gain a little more insight into what he has doing all these years and the level of devotion he has for Eliana is touching bordering on the side of being a little too possessive. He really opens up to Eliana and they find salvation in each other only for it all to be ripped away and we discover who he truly is. UGH!!!!

I have to say Claire Legrand has masterfully developed each character and have given them all a purpose in the plot. The pacing was too up and down for me, we have large sections of nothing really going on and then all the action seemingly taking place all at once. I am still very much invested and can’t wait to find out what will happen next!

⭐️4/5 stars that ending …. WOW!

Books that make me smile

This weeks Top Ten Tuesday prompt is books that make me smile. One thing I am a sucker for and that makes me smile is a good romance in a novel, so these are 10 romance/contemporary books with a seriously cute romance that had me cheesing!

Get A Life, Chloe Brown & Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

4388887448568247

Love from A to Z by S.K. Ali

40148146._SY475_

Heartstopper Vol 1 by Alice Oseman

42189109._SY475_

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

28458598

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

42201431

The Kiss Quotient & The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

81TaR7kzn7L39338454

Beach Read by Emily Henry

52867387._SY475_

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

514sa3HcecL

🎲Becca’s Bookopoly Readathon🎲

I made the last minute decision about three hours already into the readathon to participate, which is pretty much how I roll. For all the information about the Readathon see Becca’s announcement video HERE. I have been watching her Bookopoly TBR videos pretty much since she started them so I was only too happy to participate in the first round! I knew I wouldn’t be able to complete all 8 of the prompts but I am happy I did end up finishing four books which was pretty much the overall goal.

The first prompt I chose was the Chance card pick from the 2020 board

img_8617-1

The Right Swipe by Alisha Rai

50179542._SX318_SY475_

For the second book I was able to combine both prompts of Culturally Diverse & Reader Recommends

img_8616img_8615

Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

48568247

The third prompt I chose was a Mystery/Thriller from the 2019 board

img_8614

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

1555351547-41bsvxNUSdL

The fourth prompt I chose was also from the 2019 board for a contemporary/romance

img_8613

The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa

43801254