Book Review: The Royals Upstairs by Karina Halle

The Royals Upstairs by Karina Halle
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is my first time reading anything by Karina Halle and I'm so glad that I did. This book was SO GOOD and made me want to read more books by her and also read more books that are second-chance romances. I normally don't read contemporary romances because it's not my thing, but reading this one makes me want to read more, and also read second chance romances, especially if they're like this one.

James Hunter is a royal bodyguard who once had a relationship with the royal nanny, Laila Bruset, that they had to keep a secret. When they broke it off because of James's fear of being in a relationship, James thought that they'd never see each other again...until now, when they are working for Prince Magnus and watching over him and the children. James and Laila agree to keep it professional, but when they start catching feelings for one another, that's when things start to turn romantic.

I loved this relationship because James and Laila, along with the relationship of Prince Magnus and Princess Ella and their children, Bjorn and Tor, and Laila's grandmother made the book feel alive in ways that I'd never thought I'd like. It was funny and kept me up a couple of times reading how the two worked together to make sure that the kids were alright and make sure nothing happened to them while they went to Oslo to the museum or when they were with Magnus and Ella. I really enjoyed this book, I'm so glad that I read it, and now I need to read more Karina Halle books please and thank you.

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Book Review: The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Silvia Sivinski

The Crescent Moon Tearoom by Stacy Sivinski
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Crescent Moon Tearoom is a book like a warm hug from a friend. That is the only way I can describe the book and how cozy it was. I wanted to stay there and never ever leave, that's how good it was. I didn't mean to fall in love with the characters and the writing, and how much I found that I needed it. It was also witchy as well, which was something I really liked, along with the Quigley sisters finding their true calling--one becoming a part of the circus, one becoming an author, and the last one becoming a Diviner of the City.

I felt like I wanted to drink all of the tea that was featured in the book, and also wished I could read tea leaves, but eh, I'll be fine without it. I also wished I could live in the tearoom with the sisters as they figured out the tasks the three witches needed so they could do it. I liked how they used different types of seeing magic to see which one it was that they had to go do, while at the same time the Council was pushing them to do their own thing in the background.

I forgot the sisters' names (my bad) but I still enjoyed reading them going their separate ways while the other sister wanted them together because of a curse. But it turns out their mother was haunting them and wanting them to be happy instead of being in that house alone together, running their tea shop. But it does turn out that one of the sisters's powers was growing and they became the Diviner of the City after the other Diviner stepped down, and the other two did their own thing. To me, it means that they're still family, but they're moving on to bigger and better things.

I also like the house in the book too, feeling almost realistic to the sisters and to me as I kept on reading. I wanted to live in the house too.

All in all, a really good cozy book that was very fun indeed.

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Book Review: A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The first time I read this book, I didn't review it because life happened.

I reread it this time, and I still loved it so much.

This is a retelling of Xishi and how she brought a kingdom and a king down using her charms, wit, and bravery, even when she thought she failed to do so. I liked that she fell for both men but tried to stay loyal to her country of Yue. But falling for a king who immediately gets obsessive with her and pretty much does everything she wants without a care in the world? Not listen to his advisors about what the other side is doing and only wants peace, and gets upset when he's either reminded of his father and how his father hated the Yue Kingdom and wanted it to fall.

But as soon as Xishi came in the court, that's when he fell head over heels for her, and he does everything in the beginning to get her to be with him, and she refuses his advances until he finally comes around and finds out why. Xishi does use her wound she got when she was coming to the Wu Kingdom to get him to come to her, and once he finds out that she lived terribly, that's when everything changed for Xishi and wrapping the king around her finger? Easy like Sunday Morning.

This book was really good and very slow in the beginning, but when it picks up in the middle, it picks up. The book goes on to show how war can affect people, and the ending shows the painful reasons to never trust someone. This book felt like a good C-Drama you just wanna watch over and over again until the end, when you see the minister live on without her until the end.

I will reread this book over and over again because it was that good and I enjoyed myself reading this book.

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Book Review: Sweet Sin by Sav R. Miller

Sweet Sin by Sav R. Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finally doing a review for this novella, and I have to say...

I'm sat.

Now, normally, I don't read books like that AT ALL. But ever since I read Hooked, I've had this weird itch to actually try and find some dark romances that are just like Hooked, but I stopped because I felt like no one could grab my attention like Hook did.

Until Kal.

Kal pushed Hook to the side, grabbed my hand, and said, "Hold tight, sweetheart. I know you're scared right now, but it's okay. I got you. Let me walk you through my madness." and boy howdy, did he walk me through it. I sometimes had to go, "Yous dis crazy my boy?" while reading this book, and he looked me DEAD in my eyes and said, "Yup." and once the novella was over, I sat, I was on my little ol' knees, and I wanted MORE of Kal. I fell in LOVE with this man, and I'm glad to read this novella, because now I want to read the book and enjoy him.

Even though I liked Elena as well, I didn't like the fiancé she was with. I really wanted Kal to kill him because he put his hands on her, but for some reason, he left and never dealt with her after their spicy, forbidden encounter, and she now has to deal with it before the book even starts, and now I'm curious now about where Kal was and is he ever gonna show up in Boston again. I need to know this because he just up and left without even telling her.

This is my favorite novella of all time and I'm glad that I read it.

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Book Review: That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming

That Time I Got Drunk And Saved a Human by Kimberly Lemming
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Did I read this book in two days? Yes.

Did I enjoy myself reading this book? Yes, yes, I did.

Did I wish that there were book four in this amazing series? Yuup.

What was the only downfall to this book? Nothing...all except that it was longer.

This was the first fantasy romance I read that had kidnapping in it and also a dragon getting drunk on ayahuasca and then actually turning around and kidnapping the girl back. Then the two are trying to figure out the relationship, when one hasn't seen actual people in five years and another one just can't figure out how to talk to people, let alone shake people's hands without breaking them. I truly enjoyed this book for reasons that might surprise you.

One, I really like how Dante and Cherry were taking the time to know each other, even though it was mostly Dante trying to pry it out of her and then get so confused about how to do this that he calls up Fallon and Felix and ask them how the hell do he talk to his wife. I found it very adorable to see a huge dragon like him flustered about trying to figure out how to talk to his wife and trying not to mess it up at the same time. I also liked how he gave Cherry the time it needed to get to know him, and when they did, it was perfect.

The spice in this book might be my favorite written spice in a while. Many times, they try to smash, but they can't because something keeps interrupting them, which was pretty funny. When they had their tryst in the gardens in Kirkwall (and yes, my brain IMMEDIATELY went to Dragon Age,) and they witnessed that funny argument with Rachel and her beau who also had a lovely tryst...in the same place...but different places...with Rachel's sisters.

Ooof.

After Dante gets kidnapped himself and ends up at a gladiator ring, he nearly kills the king because he was searching for Cherry, it turns out that his sister found her, also the taking sword Alexis is back, and she found out that the white kitty Rebekah is a different type of beast, which was shocking because I thought Rebekah was a cute kitty. Apparently, she can turn into a beast and turn people into zombies.

All in all, I truly enjoyed this book and I'm sad that this is the last book in the series because I really enjoyed this one so, so much :)

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Book Reviews: Yona of the Dawn Volume 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi and A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon

Yona of the Dawn, Vol. 1 by Mizuho Kusanagi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

*laughs in walking towards the room where Su-On killed the king* Hey, Su-On, how's your health insurance?

APPARENTLY IT'S GREAT!!!!

(that's it, that's the review, but watch the anime, it's SO GOOD)

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A Magical Girl Retires by Park Seolyeon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Magical Girl Retires was a pretty darn good book, even though it was short and sweet. This book deals with climate change, suicidal ideation a bit, time, and how this book feels magical, but at the same time it also brings up the ever-loving fact about us millennials: we're broke, looking for a job, and want to live our best lives. But when a car pulls up and tells you that you're a magical girl, you don't just sit there and wait for something to happen, oh no: you get your ass up and go with the girl, and train to become a magical girl.

The girl thought she was the Magical Girl of Time, but during training with A Roa, she was not the Magical Girl of Time. Someone else is. But when the Magical Girl of Time started triggering every single climate disaster, the company or people that helped the Magical Girls got them all together to stop the Magical Girl of Time, but they couldn't do it. So who did stop the Magical Girl of Time?

The millennial girl who has a credit card for a weapon and was wearing a badass suit to do so.

The Magical Girl of Time was shocked, but then, being a villain she thought it was lame until the millennial girl wished for her to stop, and she did. In the end, in the chapter titled "A Magical Girl Retires", the magical girl of wishes and consequences retired, saying that if she does use her gift, it would be dangerous for her to go out and fight because she would have to deal with the consequences of her choices while also paying for it.

This was a gem of a book and I'm so glad that I brought it and read it, because it was a fun little book and also very cute and very adorable.

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Book Review: World of Warcraft: Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War by Christie Golden

Jaina Proudmoore: Tides of War by Christie Golden
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

To the people who told me that Jaina was right in this book: y'all were right.

Ya'll were right.

Do I really wanna go to Origrimmar and smack the unholy hell out of Garrosh Hellscream after WHAT HE DID TO THERAMORE??? WHEN THERAMORE DID NOTHING TO HIM??? NOT ONE DAMN THING TO HIM? Yes, yes I do. Because what he did made me so mad. Even when he actually wanted to do it again, cleansing all of Alliance, who did NOTHING to him at all. They were just living their best lives and minding their own business for him to just up and decide that he wanted to take over the world and get rid of the Alliance so the Horde could rule Azeroth.

Baine and Vol'jin know what Garrosh is doing and are trying so hard to tell him that what he's doing is wrong with a capital W, but Garrosh seems to not hear it. He uses a mana bomb to obliterate Theramore and calls it a victory, thinking that Jaina is dead when she isn't. She is so angry at what happened to her home and her people that she steals that Focusing Iris and wants to destroy Origrimmar like Garrosh did to Theramore, but Kalecgos and Thrall stopped her from doing just that, and she turns around and uses it to destroy Horde ships...

...which made one Garrosh Hellscream very upset.

This book was so fast-paced that I sometimes couldn't keep up with everything, but those last couple pages, feeling Jaina's pain when Theramore was destroyed by Garrosh and wanting revenge...it was the most beautiful thing ever. This was a six star read for me and it's becoming a favorite read of 2025.

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