Friday, July 26, 2024

#BookReview: The Duke and I (Bridgertons #1) by Julia Quinn




ABOUT THIS BOOK:
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Julia Quinn comes the first novel in her beloved Regency-set series featuring the charming, powerful Bridgerton family— Look for BRIDGERTON, coming soon to Netflix.

In the ballrooms and drawing rooms of Regency London, rules abound. From their earliest days, children of aristocrats learn how to address an earl and curtsey before a prince—while other dictates of the ton are unspoken yet universally understood. A proper duke should be imperious and aloof. A young, marriageable lady should be amiable…but not too amiable.

Daphne Bridgerton has always failed at the latter. The fourth of eight siblings in her close-knit family, she has formed friendships with the most eligible young men in London. Everyone likes Daphne for her kindness and wit. But no one truly desires her. She is simply too deuced honest for that, too unwilling to play the romantic games that captivate gentlemen.

Amiability is not a characteristic shared by Simon Basset, Duke of Hastings. Recently returned to England from abroad, he intends to shun both marriage and society—just as his callous father shunned Simon throughout his painful childhood. Yet an encounter with his best friend’s sister offers another option. If Daphne agrees to a fake courtship, Simon can deter the mamas who parade their daughters before him. Daphne, meanwhile, will see her prospects and her reputation soar.

The plan works like a charm—at first. But amid the glittering, gossipy, cut-throat world of London’s elite, there is only one certainty:

Love ignores every rule…

#BookReview: Year Two (Monster Academy #2) by @hollyannehook




ABOUT THIS BOOK:
As I start my second year at the monster academy, my biggest danger lies within…

Navigating my second year at the academy will be complicated, all thanks to the growing darkness inside me. I’ll do anything to avoid going dark, and my best chance of that is to cure monsters of their conditions.

The good news? I just might have the ability, however hard it is to access.

But the bad news? To unlock it, we’ll need the help of one staff member determined to mold me into a force of terror.

And that might not even be the most terrifying part. Our enemies on the outside are preparing for something big, and if I don’t slip into darkness before I face them again, they’ll push me there for sure.

#WeekBlast: Wrinkled Rebels by Laura Katz Olson #Giveaway


 

Literary Novel / Historical Fiction

Date Published: 07-23-2024

Publisher: Vine Leaves Press


 

Now 80 years old, retirement and advanced age have dissipated the spirit of six college radicals of the 1960s, who jointly had participated in civil rights campaigns and anti-war protests. Having engaged in only periodic communication over the decades, they suddenly receive an invitation to reunite for an extended weekend. Struggling with whether to go, each of them has divergent qualms and expectations for the proposed gathering.

During their three days together, they confront their inner demons, each other, and their future. Does Rebecca, the prime mover of the event, find solace after losing her wife and career? Can Malaika regain her sense of self after stepping down from her successful law practice? Mourning the loss of her youthful athletic prowess and attractiveness, what happens when Deanna faces her old friends?

Struggling with two divorces and a failing marriage, can Russell attain peace of mind? How will Max, an expat living in Canada, manage with his incipient dementia? Will the demoralized Keith recover his idealism?

Wrinkled Rebels is a story of how six people achieve meaningful lives through the struggle for social justice. It is also a tale of love, the bonds of friendship, and growing old positively.

#BookReview: Curses by Lish McBride






Synopsis: Merit Cravan refused to fulfill her obligation to marry a prince, leading to a fairy godling's curse. She will be forced to live as a beast forever, unless she agrees to marry a man of her mother's choosing before her eighteenth birthday.

Tevin Dumont has always been a pawn in his family's cons. The prettiest boy in a big family, his job is to tempt naïve rich girls to abandon their engagements, unless their parents agree to pay him off. But after his mother runs afoul of the beast, she decides to trade Tevin for her own freedom.

Now, Tevin and Merit have agreed that he can pay off his mother's debt by using his con-artist skills to help Merit find the best match . . . but what if the best match is Tevin himself?


#NewReleaseBlast: SIN by Beth D. Carter @RABTBookTours #Giveaway




Death Riders MC


MC Romance

Date Published: 07-23-1124

Publisher: Evernight Publishing


 

Adira Dobias thought she had the perfect life along with a perfect fiancé. When she discovers her supposedly pious parents aren’t the God-fearing people she thought them to be, it sends her running. She arrives in Cardinal, at the home of a childhood friend, in order to figure out where to go next.

When she applies for a job at a strip club, owned by the Death Riders, Ares hires her on the spot. He thinks she is the woman he and Hunter have been searching for. The perfect woman to belong to both of them.

It was only supposed to be fun, but somewhere along the way, Adira’s heart got entangled. When a misunderstanding leads to disaster, the two men have to work fast so they don’t lose the woman they’ve fallen for.