Book Review: Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop (Beacon Bakeshop #1) by Darci Hannah

Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop by Darci Hannah
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is how you do a cozy murder mystery!!

Lindsey Bakewell left NYC after she caught her ex-fiancee with another woman, and she decides to follow her dream: she wants to open a bakery and sell a whole bunch of baked goodies. When she brought a lighthouse and opened up a bakery. While she was doing that, a woman named Fiona started making a rukus all over the place, threatening to shut her bakery down before she could even sell one delicious doughnut. But thanks to her real-estate agent, Betty, along with her staff and a very hot writer next-door neighbor, the Beacon Bakeshop is ready to open!

With her bestie Kennedy Kapoor, the shop was doing well...until Lindsey's ex, Jeffery, and his girlfriend Mia Long came in and started to run everything...until Mia started to choke and had to go to the hospital, thus making the Beacon Bakeshop a crime scene, because, well...Mia died.

Which was very odd, because all Mia did was pretend that the baked goods were so bad to the point that she started to pretend to choke on them.

Lindsay was devastated that her Bakeshop had to close, but at the same time, she wondered why the heck Mia and lazy-arse Jeffery Plank would come to Beacon to destroy the opening of her shop? She wondered and puzzled, to the point that she decided to investigate. From cyanide poisonings to finding out that someone pretended to be Lindsay to try and kill Betty, something wasn't adding up. Also, there was a certain ghost named Captain Willy Riggs trying to help her too....

When it turns out to be her baker, Dylan, who was smuggling drugs from her bakery to the cartels, that's when things got nearly ugly, when Lindsay and Dylan (whom I loved so much to the end) started to fight after Lindsay told her New Fowland, Wellington, to go get Rory Campbell (she also suspected him after he told her of his knowledge about cyanide, but she forgave him). Once the scuffle was over and Rory and the cops placed her under arrest, everything was just fine.

Lindsay had another Opening 2.0; she and Rory, and Kennedy are on good terms, and Lindsay's parents are helping around at the Bakeshop now. Everything is perfect, and Betty and everyone else are very happy that the bakeshop is open again.

This book was so good that I would read the next book in the series. I loved how Lindsay tried to solve the murder, even looking into the murder of Captain Willy Riggs. Wellington was such a good dog, and I hope there is a romance blooming between Lindsay and Rory. I also hope that we see more of Kennedy, because she is the bestest bestie I've ever seen in a book. Love, love, loved this book so much.

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Book Review: Queen of Roses (Blood of a Fae #1) by Briar Boleyn

Queen of Roses by Briar Boleyn
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book took me a minute, and even though it was slow, it was also pretty fun to read. I find that I do like Arthurian retellings, and the retelling of Morgan Pendragon sounds like a fun, hinged time. But as I read it, it felt like I was reading an actual fantasy rather than a romantasy. Also, I should've looked at the triggers, but I kept reading, and yes, it was slow-very slow, to the point that I wanted to find something else to read. But I pushed through it, and even though it was okay, I still enjoyed myself. I don't know if I am gonna pick the second book up (spoiler alert: I will), but either way, I still enjoyed this book.

What I mean by this book being a fantasy with a romance subplot is, I felt like it was an epic fantasy novel with a romance subplot with Morgan and Vesper and Morgan and Draven. I thought that Morgan would get with Draven after traveling together and him saving her from drinking that horrible tea with the iron in it, but the more they are together, the more I feel like they were going to get together.

The reason they were put together was because of Arthur, who wanted Morgan to get Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Even though Morgan wanted to be with her brother Kaye, she decided to go ahead and go with Draven and a man named Whitethorn, who was very terrible and kept making her that godforsaken "medicine" that looked like it was suppressing her fae heritage and almost killed her because Arthur told him to. She also left because of a horrible, disgusting man named Florian, who assaulted her and carved his name into her skin in the most disgusting way possible, and it was a journey to find the sword and bring it to Arthur.

...or so she thought.

Turns out, Pendrath went straight to hell the moment she left. People are dying or starving, Arthur went to war with some kingdom I can't remember, and also Vesper, the half-fae bard, pretty much works for Arthur and helped her get the sword, but then stabbed her and wanted to kill poor Draven after those dead children rose up and tried to kill them. Those dead kids did drag her friend Lancelet away, but we don't know if she's dead or not.

But at the end, which I find that I like, that it turns out...

...ol' Draven is a siabra. I'm guess they're cats?

Cat people?

Cat demons?

Are they like InuYasha?

Will I ever know that answer?

When I read book two I will. Which will be soon. So yes, I did have a good time, and I think I am gonna go ahead and read book two, to see if it gets better.

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Book Review: A Monsoon Rising (The Hurricane Wars #2) by Thea Guanzon

A Monsoon Rising by Thea Guanzon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oh. My. God.

Oh my good giggty good, this book was SO GOOD that the ending nearly made me fall out of my chair (not really, BUT STILL).

Talasyn and Alaric are my favorite characters/couple so far this year, and I enjoyed how they dealt with the marriage while also dealing with the dangers of the Voidfell, and how they dealt with the politics of their countries. I did cackle out loud when Elgabi showed up at the library one time, looking like he was going to straight-up cook our boy Alaric, but somehow kept his calm and talked to him with very sweet whiskey, and the two had an understanding.

The action in this book, though it was less of it than in the first book, was pretty good, but the building of the romance to the spice (even though I don't care about spice in books like this, I really care about how the romance is built between the characters and are they gonna fit) was so well done. I liked how they fit, how they worked together, and how jealous Alaric got at the ball.

BUT THAT ENDING?!

THAT. ENDING.

I need book three in my hands NOW. Because how dare you end it like that, and now I'm thinking that that certain character is a spy for the Night Empire, or is the Regent taking over this girl?! I need more, and I wanna know how Talasyn and Alaric can get out of this one and save the world yet again.

My favorite part of all of this is the dragon-riding part and putting an ancient dragon back to sleep after waking up after all this time. I almost cried reading this part, mostly because I was worried about Talasyn and Alaric and hoped that they didn't fall. I'm glad they didn't and Talasyn put Bakrun back to sleep, but that was the most fun I've read in a book in a long time.

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Book Review: The Hurricane Wars (The Hurricane Wars #1) by Thea Guanzon

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I picked this book up because my other book was about to put me in a reading slump...and I am so glad that I picked this book up, because OH MY GOOD GOD THIS IS MY 2ND FAVORITE BOOK OF THE YEAR. The world-building had me kicking my feet and giggling, and the political intrigue and the way the magic system is...OMG. I loved this book so much that I already have book two ready for me to go ahead and dive into, because this book was so good and the writing was fantastic.

In the beginning, there was a girl named Talasyn who was just there for her friend's wedding, and the next thing you know, they were attacked by the Night Empire, and on a snowy mountain, that's when she meets the Night Emperor's son, Alaric Ossiant, and the two clash. Soon, the two of their magics-light and dark-came together to form a shield for a moment before it dissipated.

Confused more than ever, Talasyn and Alaric left to go to their respective homes, and the Hurricane Wars sadly ended when the Night Empire won, but then Talasyn talked to the Amirante and they told her to go this place in the Nenavar Dominion to consult and train with the Lightwaver temple. But who would have thunk that Talasyn is the daughter of the Dominion Prince (who I immediately casted as Oded Fehr in my head). As soon as she is welcomed back after being caught by the Dominion, that's when everything goes completely political, WHICH I LOVE.

With Talasyn meeting her grandmother and then being forced in an arrainged political marriage to the new Night Emperor, who is Alaric, everything seems hinged and fine...until secrets start to come out of the woodwoork, and oh no I fell for the evil Night Emperor and I have to remember that I hate him, but gosh darn it, we're about to get married now and all that good stuff...that's what's going on in Talasyn's mind each time they have negotionatons and then they get married.

Not that it bothered me a bit, but kept feeling like Talasyn kept retaliating about her marriage and had to remind herself that she didn't wanna marry him in the first place, but she does like it when they spar and work to make a shield and all that good stuff, which is a good thing. Another good thing is that while they were getting married, she had to remind herself that it was fake and that she didn't love him, but that night she did many lovely things to him and told him to get off of her.

I really did enjoy this book, and I cannot wait to jump into book two to find out what happens next in the series, because I'm really enjoying this, and I am in love with Alaric Ossiant. Just sayin'.

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Book Review: The Duchess Deal (Girl Meets Duke #1) by Tessa Dare

The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Perfection.

That is the only word I can come up with after reading this book-Perfection. Not only was it cute, fun, and really funny, it also had its moments of seriousness, and how the Duke of Ashbury was ashamed and terrified of the fact that people would look at him because of the scars that he got when he was in Waterloo fighting Napoleon. I honestly didn't give a flying fig about Ashbury's scars-like Emma's friends, they really didn't care one bit about them. Emma didn't neither-all she saw was a man that she loved and even though it was a marriage of convenience, to me, it was done right-it a good way.

Emma is a seamstress and the daughter of a vicar who one day stumbles into Ash's home to get money for her rent. Ash took one good look at her, and offered her hand in marriage, since his ex-fiancee didn't want to marry him. But Ash has some rules for her:

1. They will be husband and wife by night only.
2. No lights and no kissing.
3. No questions about his horrible scars.
4. Last, and most importantly-once she's pregnant with his heir, they need never to share a bed again.

....hold on, let me laugh for a minute. Okay, I'm done laughing. Because even though I understand the rules, I really think these rules are very stupid and why in the nine hells would you make that rule, my dude? But the more I read and the more you see Emma try to abide by those rules, she's throwing them out the window and tries to help him come ouf of his shell, even though in the papers he became The Monster of Mayfair, which was pretty funny and the way he got the moniker was by walking around and taking care of bad people, as if he was Bruce Wayne. He even scared Emma's vicar father into apologizing to Emma, which was very sweet to do.

Emma turned out to be my favorite character because she didn't let her husband's problems get in her way of living her life. She made friends, tried to help Ash out by getting him out the house and stuff, and also getting into fights with him, in which they come back to each other. The spice in the book was really good and I am going to read more of this series because this is a really good book and my first book by Tessa Dare.

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Book Review: Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It took me a while to pick this up, and I have to say...I'm glad that I read it, but it was too weird for me. I thought when I saw the word "monster," they're gonna turn into monsters, and the monster hunters are going to hunt them down and kill them. Instead, the "monsters" in the book are people who steal time, and then they time travel, and the monster hunters go after them and put them down so they won't go and take more time from humans. Which is fine, I don't mind that, because it sounds very interesting.

But Joan, the main character, took me out of the book completely. When she first started stealing time from people, she got scared and worried and started acting like she was a problem. When she meets the Oliver family with Nick, and watches Nick kill them and give her a warning to not steal time from humans or he'll put her down, she gets scared and tries to save her family from them, trying to see reason. All throughout the book, she keeps trying to save people, trying to stop them from killing other monsters and coming up with ways to do it. When we have the sensible people, Ruth and Aaron, the monsters who steal time while Joan is half-human, are telling her no.

She constantly keeps telling them no, this is another way, blah, blah, blah. It started to irritate me the more I read it because she wants to save her family from the pain and the hate that her family is going through, but it just doesn't work at all, and she's failing or falling flat on her face each time. Some of her ideas do work, but other than that they don't, and it's nice to see her try, but it reality it really doesn't work.

I did enjoy the time traveling and how they travel through time, and I wanted to know more about that. It sounds like fun. But Joan kept ruining everything, which is annoying and it kind of took me out of the book. I don't think I'll pick up the rest of the books in this series because of how Joan is trying to be a superhero when, in reality, the things she wants to do, she can't do because of what's going on around her. I liked this book, but not enough to keep reading more of the series.

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Book Review: Ace in the Hole (Black Badge #3) by Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle

Ace in the Hole by Rhett C. Bruno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One: I didn't know that this was the last book of the series. I thought they were going to do another book, and that would be it. But to be the last book and for it to end the way it did? Perfect. I loved every bit of it.

Two: I'm going to miss Crowley and Rosa SO, SO MUCH. These two were so much fun to read about, seeing them go around the West, trying to stop Ace, Heaven and Hell, and also trying to figure out what Rosa is and find someone who can train her with her ever-growing powers. I also liked how she kept trying to stop Crowley from doing the wrong things and wants him to do things her way, even though sometimes it doesn't work at all, which cracks me up sometimes because he gets frustrated and wants to do things his way instead of hers.

Three: The interesting characters that came up here-we got Ace, Chekoketh, Judas Iscariot, and also George Washington, but as a vampire. Dracula does show up at the end, but the one thing I'm stuck on is GEORGE WASHINGTON AS A VAMPIRE. WHO NEEDS VAMPIRIC DENTURES. I honestly crackled the moment I read that, picturing him as a vampire who needs vampiric dentures just so he can drink blood. And he lives in his tower-perfect. Now I can't stop thinking about it each time I look at a picture of the Washington Tower. I think.

But to me, this felt like if Geralt and Yennefer were dropped in the West to find out what Yen is, while also fighting monsters, and this was very fun to read. I didn't care about Ace one bit, even though he got on my nerves. I just enjoyed one last right with Crowley, and the ENDING shocked me. The ENDING. But I did enjoy it nonetheless and I'm sad it's over :(

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