Hey all! The month seemed to fly by, and yet I read twice as many books as normal. How does that work? 🤷🏻♀️ Keep scrolling for the list of books I read this month, with ratings and blurbs (and most of them are linked to reviews!)
Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen (YA Fantasy)
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“There are as many paths as there are travelers… you must find the right one.”
East must not meet West.
All her life, Teriana has been told this. All her life, she has held the secrets of her sea-faring people close. East must not meet West. West must not meet East. Take no passengers. Tell no one.
The Maarin are the only people who know that there is a way to cross the Endless Sea, to get past the doldrums that have stranded thousands of men to their deaths, and reach the other side of Reath. They sail shore to shore, selling goods and making gambles, but never once telling the secrets that another land exists across the sea. And yet, as political unease settles over the Empire of Celendor and Teriana finds her best friend, Lydia, in the middle of a dangerous arranged marriage, Teriana finally slips.
The Empire never keeps secrets for long, and Teriana finds her crew at the mercy of the ruthless Thirty-Seventh Legion, given no choice but to sail them across the sea in their aspiration to conquer the Dark Shores.
A story filled with vile conquerors, beautiful friendships, meddling Gods and emotional strife, Dark Shores is an epic tale with a tribute to the bloodshed of humankind.
Until Friday Night by Abbi Glines (YA/NA Contemporary Romance)
Part of my Favorite YA/NA Contemporary Romance list
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“She had become my lifeline. I wanted to be hers. I wanted her to feel this way about me, too.”
A tragedy in Maggie’s past has left her mute and distant, too scared to talk about the night that ruined her life. Forced to move in with her Aunt and Uncle, and their star-quarterback son Brady, Maggie’s life is turned around once more. Lawton is a small town with small minded people, and her choice to be silent doesn’t take well with everyone.
But one night, in the shadows of a field party, golden boy West can’t help but spill his secrets to the girl he know won’t say a word. Except Maggie understands his pain, and she can’t keep quiet when her voice is what holds him together.
Boys of Brayshaw High by Meagan Brandy (New Adult Romance)
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“Careful big man… that sounds a lot like a king falling. The ground isn’t soft at my feet.”
Raven is a girl who learned fast how to survive the dark, twisted ways of the world. As the daughter of a prostitute, Raven had to defend herself from her mother’s manipulations and her client’s wandering hands. When she gets taken from her home and put into an all-girls group home, you’d think life would get better.
Enter the Brayshaw boys, a gang of sorts consisting of three brothers: “Big Man” Maddoc, flirty and funny Royce, and strong and silent Captain. Raven has entered their town, their world, their school, their domain, and she’s ready to start trouble for the Brayshaw Boys; after all, she isn’t one to scare easy. But while the boys are trying to tame her and force her to stand down, no one expects to start having real feelings.
The Oranyn by Xavi Lang (YA Fantasy/Sci-fi)
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“They are now one with the stars, where their spirits will forever shine and guide us through the most trying times of our lives.”
Elia Egerton has been hiding on Earth since her home world was overthrown by rebels bent on keeping her from using her powers- Elia is the last surviving Oranyn, and she is the only one who can save her world. Elia had hoped she could make her own life with her new family that she loves more than anything, but her fate isn’t to stay on Earth. When Elia gets attacked by a creature from Astrofyr, her home world, she is left for dead. But three men from her past have been watching- and waiting- for Elia to return and decide to take matters into their own hands.
Once being brought back to Astrofyr, Elia is seen as both a savior and a traitor. Forced to face the truth of her existence and her future, Elia is pushed to her limits in her attempts to help her people and return home to her family on Earth. But as war looms over Astrofyr and Elia unravels the mystery that she has been thrown into, Elia finds that surviving and finding her way home could be harder than she thought.
I Spy the Boy Next Door by Samantha Armstrong (YA/NA Contemporary Romance)
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“That’s what a crush is, right? Someone you madly fall for but have no chance of getting.”
Mallory has been home schooled all her life, due to her near-kidnapping as a child that freaked her parents into practically locking her up. Okay, maybe not totally locking her up, but it sure feels that way. The only highlight of her day is seeing her super-hot next door neighbor, Troy, run by her window, and talking to her bestie online. So when Mallory finally convinces her parents to let her go to high school and finish off her senior year, she’s left to wonder if Troy is really the boy she dreamed he’d be- or if his mysterious, bad boy image is too much to handle.
A Pack of Vows and Tears by Olivia Wildenstein (NA Fantasy/Romance)
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“You’re like a fairy godmother. Except instead of little wings and a gray bun, you have sharp claws that can shred a man’s throat, and a sharper attitude that can shred his ego.”
*Spoilers is you haven’t read book 1, A Pack of Blood and Lies! *
Picking up right after the events of A Pack of Blood and Lies, Ness finds herself torn when the mating link clicks into place between her and August. Liam has just been sworn in as Alpha, and him and Ness have gone through hell to end up together. But August has been by Ness’s side since she was a child, and hasn’t been able to stop thinking of her since she came back to Boulder, even when stationed overseas. With the love triangle hard at work pulling at our heartstrings, the three wolves have to face the actions and feelings that have lead them to where they are today.
Even though her mating link is high up on her list of issues, Ness’s family has been torn apart after Everest’s betrayal. Left to pick up the pieces her cousin left behind, Ness can’t help but wonder what caused him to stray from the pack. The secrets we thought we had answers to continue to unravel, and Ness finds herself digging deeper into the investigation herself with unforgivable consequences.
Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson (YA Fantasy)
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“I grew up in a Great Library. You may scoff at books, but you have never seen a real book in your entire life, and you should count yourself lucky, because you wouldn’t survive a moment alone with one.”
Elisabeth is an orphan who was raised between the magical shelves of Summershall’s Great Library, living each day surrounded by talking books and fatal Wardens sworn to keep the high-class grimoires secured in their iron chains. Elisabeth knows all there is to know about becoming a Warden- it’s all she’s wanted for as long as she can remember. Rule #1: Never provoke a grimoire unless you feel like battling their monstrous forms. Rule #2: Don’t listen to everything you hear in the Great Library; grimoires are manipulative beings. And most importantly: Sorcerers, and their magical influence, are evil and not to be associated with.
Nathaniel Thorn is a powerful sorcerer from a family filled with old magic and tragedies. When he walks into the Great Library of Summershall one day, the last thing he expects is an apprentice trying to flatten him with a bookshelf. But he’s become irrevocably interested in Elisabeth, and his interest is piqued when he finds her standing trial as a prime suspect in a sabotaging her Library.
Elisabeth is innocent, but even the powerful Thorn name cannot protect her from the powerful sorcerers who believe she is guilty. No one will believe there is a conspiracy older than the Libraries itself at play, sucking Elizabeth and Nathaniel spiraling into a circle of untold mysteries and deadly lies.
Bookish Bex 