Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: All the Time in the World by Cara Bastone

By: Cara Bastone

Narrated by: Emily Bader, Lewis Pullman, Josh Hurley, James Lurie, Merissa Czyz, Marc Vietor, L.J. Ganser

Length: 4 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher: Audible Originals

Contemporary romance/from audible 

This was fun! I read one of hers which has worm holes, and this is actually set in the same universe! It takes place 5 years later and most worm holes have been closed except for 3.

Celeste and Everett is going to an island (separately) to jump into wormholes. A thing you should not do, but they have things they want to see, do.

So they hike this island, meet each other, and yes it is a romance, so friendship and that HEA is promised. Though it is more friendship to be honest, until they realise that they could be great.

I liked it! Short and fun. And omg the sound effects had me freaking when I was walking and heard wolves.

very good narration too

Celeste Varick has a simple find one of the last wormholes on earth and walk right in. The catch? She has no idea where she'll land, or that she's about to fall for the one stranger chasing the same impossible leap.

Everett Ludlow booked the same charter to the same island to find the same wormholes at the same exact moment. A kindhearted skeptic, he doesn't believe in fate but is desperate enough to leap into the future to save someone he loves.

Forced together in the wilderness, two lost souls start tempting fate, and each other. Neither came here looking for a partner; they came to fix the pasts and futures haunting them. But the longer they brave the wild together, the more the present starts to feel like the one timeline worth fighting for. And as the wormholes draw closer, the scariest leap isn't through time at it's taking a chance on happiness together, right here, right now.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday: A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong

Narrated by: Samantha Brentmoor

Series: A Stitch in Time, Book 1

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Release date: 10-13-20

Publisher: K.L.A. Fricke Inc

Categories: Literature & Fiction/

Historical mystery romance /own

I really enjoyed her books so I wanted to try this series too, and, well it was good, just not AS great as her other timetravel or her thriller books. Just like when I read her romance and it was meh.

Bronwyn inherits a house, a house that made her timetravel as a kid, a house that made her see ghosts. And so she goes back in time and this time meets the boy she played as a grown man. William is the owner of the manor house and townspeople find him weird and tell tales...

Something is going on. There is an angry ghost, scared ghosts. And Brownwyn is falling for William.

I did like it, but not as much. I could continue, but eh, I will rather use my credits on new things. As there are new people that time travels in the next one.

Thorne Manor has always been haunted...and it has always haunted Bronwyn Dale. As a young girl, Bronwyn could pass through a time slip in her great-aunt’s house, where she visited William Thorne, a boy her own age, born two centuries earlier. After a family tragedy, the house was shuttered and Bronwyn was convinced that William existed only in her imagination. Now, twenty years later Bronwyn inherits Thorne Manor. And when she returns, William is waiting.

William Thorne is no longer the boy she remembers. He’s a difficult and tempestuous man, his own life marred by tragedy and a scandal that had him retreating to self-imposed exile in his beloved moors. He’s also none too pleased with Bronwyn for abandoning him all those years ago.

As their friendship rekindles and sparks into something more, Bronwyn must also deal with ghosts in the present version of the house. Soon she realizes they are linked to William and the secret scandal that drove him back to Thorne Manor. To build a future, Bronwyn must confront the past.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

Series: Emily Wilde (#3)

Format: 368 pages, Paperback

Published: January 14, 2025 by Hachette Australia

Academic fantasy/own

Emily and Wendell has been through a lot, and now he has found his way back to his fairie kingdom. His step mother is gone and he has to take his throne.

But things are not easy in his kingdom. Disgruntled nobles, a curse upon the land, an angry sibling and more. And Emily is a mere mortal .

Wendell is always cheerful and kind. Emily is more thoughtful, and stubborn. I do like them together.

Still, nothing compares to book 1. I was so blown away with that easy read. But now I am finished. It was a good run

Emily Wilde has spent her life studying faeries. A renowned dryadologist, she has documented hundreds of species of Folk in her Encyclopaedia of Faeries. Now she is about to embark on her most dangerous academic project studying the inner workings of a faerie realm—as its queen.

Along with her former academic rival—now fiancé—the dashing and mercurial Wendell Bambleby, Emily is immediately thrust into the deadly intrigues of Faerie as the two of them seize the throne of Wendell’s long-lost kingdom, which Emily finds a beautiful nightmare filled with scholarly treasures.

Emily has been obsessed with faerie stories her entire life, but at first she feels as ill-suited to Faerie as she did to the mortal How can an unassuming scholar such as herself pass for a queen? Yet there is little time to settle in, for Wendell’s murderous stepmother has placed a deadly curse upon the land before vanishing without a trace. It will take all of Wendell’s magic—and Emily’s knowledge of stories—to unravel the mystery before they lose everything they hold dear.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: Midlife Christmas Vigliante by Eve Langlais

By: Eve Langlais

Narrated by: Anne Robert

Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins

Release date: 12-11-25 by Tantor Media

Paranormal romance

Christmas and short, yes thank you.

Our heroine is rather sad, lonely, but she loved her cat! And then some ahole tortured it! Yes she is angry, and the legal system did nothing. So she ends up rather almost dead after a confrontation. Luckily a handsome vampire walked by and thought she had some spirit in her.

And suddenly she is a vampire at 47 and does not believe it to be true. It does take some time for her to get her head around it and soon she is getting back into shape. As the book starts with her doing vigilante stuff 2 years later. Taking down bad guys the cops can´t take down themselves.

Oh and she does find some romance too, some hot romance.

A bloody xmas paranormal romance. They are vampires after all. I enjoyed it. It worked well in audio too. The narrator was good and it was fun listening to.

Just before Christmas my life underwent a major change. And I’m not talking about the fact I hit menopause hard—I mean, we're talking night sweats and hormones gone wild. Nope, it was worse than that. I almost died, and would have actually been six feet under if I'd not been transformed into a vampire.

You heard me right. At the ripe age of forty-seven, I became a blood-guzzling, sunlight-hating, fanged menace with an insatiable appetite. Thankfully, criminals taste delicious.

But the wicked aren't the only people I'm nibbling on this holiday season. When I'm not taking a literal bite out of crime, you will find me unwrapping the handsome vampire who gave me the best present of all.

Love.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: The Innocent Sleep by Seanan McGuire

 

Series: October Daye (#18)

Format: 419 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published: August 27, 2024 by DAW

UF/own

Did we really need Tybalt´s view? Eh, maybe not. I would honestly just had a new book and not the same story just from this pov. Sure it brought more to the story, the plight of the Cat Sidhe and everyone else not worthy.

Right, same story as in book 17 but here Tybalt is not under the illusion as the rest of the Fae and he must find his wife and set the world right.

It was still good.

For one bright, shining moment, Tybalt, King of Cats, had everything he had ever wanted. He was soon to set his crown aside; he had married the woman he loved; he was going to be a father. After centuries of searching for a family of his own, he had finally found a way to construct the life of his dreams, and was looking forward to a period of peace—or at least as much peace as is ever in the offing for the husband of a hero.

Alas for Tybalt and his domestic aspirations, fate—and Titania—had other ideas. His perfect world had been complete for only a moment when it was ripped away, to be replaced by hers. Titania, Faerie’s Summer Queen, Mother of Illusions and enemy of so many he holds dear, has seized control of the Kingdom, remaking it in her own image. An image which does not include meddlesome shapeshifters getting in her way. Tybalt quickly finds himself banished from her reality, along with the Undersea and the rest of the Court of Cats.

To protect his people and his future, Tybalt must find the woman he loves in a world designed to keep her from him, convince her that he’s not a stranger trying to ruin her life for no apparent reason, and get her to unmake the illusion she’s been firmly enmeshed in. And he’ll have to do it all while she doesn’t know him, and every unrecognizing look is a knife to his heart.

For Tybalt, King of Cats, the happily ever after was just the beginning.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson

Series: The Stormlight Archive (#5), The Cosmere (#26)

Format: 1344 pages, Hardcover

Published: December 6, 2024 by Tor Books

Fantasy/own

I do not think I can even write a review. The Book was HUGE. And heavy. But read an ebook, no, that would make it even longer.

It really could have been two books, just saying.

Ok...I mean how!? So many people, so much happening. The world is doomed. The dark gathering power.

It is book 5, but every book is a mammoth, so yeah this is not a series to jump blindly into. The epicness is overwhelming.

I can not even write a review. I need a Cosmere map too. Obviously need to be read in order.

Dalinar Kholin challenged the evil god Odium to a contest of champions with the future of Roshar on the line. The Knights Radiant have only ten days to prepare―and the sudden ascension of the crafty and ruthless Taravangian to take Odium’s place has thrown everything into disarray.

Desperate fighting continues simultaneously worldwide―Adolin in Azimir, Sigzil and Venli at the Shattered Plains, and Jasnah at Thaylen City. The former assassin, Szeth, must cleanse his homeland of Shinovar from the dark influence of the Unmade. He is accompanied by Kaladin, who faces a new battle helping Szeth fight his own demons . . . and who must do the same for the insane Herald of the Almighty, Ishar.

At the same time, Shallan, Renarin, and Rlain work to unravel the mystery behind the Unmade Ba-Ado-Mishram and her involvement in the enslavement of the singer race and in the ancient Knights Radiants killing their spren. And Dalinar and Navani seek an edge against Odium’s champion that can be found only in the Spiritual Realm, where memory and possibility combine in chaos. The fate of the entire Cosmere hangs in the balance.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday: A Kiss for Lady Mary by Ella Quinn

By: Ella Quinn

Narrated by: Sasha Higgins

Series: The Marriage Game, Book 6

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

Release date: 06-24-25 by Tantor Media

Historical romance

Mary is being pursued by her cousin and he is trying everything to force her to marry him. So her grandmother comes up with a crazy idea and sends her to an estate where she pretends to be the wife of the owner. Yes I said it was crazy. But it all makes sense in the end.

She stays there with her aunt and she even makes the place better...until the owner shows up and is appalled that someone is faking being his wife.

But Kit and Mary realise that they are in a bad position and tries to find a way out. And while they do that, they of course fall madly in love.

The aunt gets a sidestory too, which worked. But then a third couple got a sidestory and this threw me because it made no sense. Maybe they have been in previous books? Because it was out of the blue and they really deserved a book of their own.

Happily ever after wins in the end.

The narrator did a good job with everything from voices to accents. It was a pleasant narration

Handsome, charming, and heir to a powerful Viscount, Christopher “Kit” Featherton is everything a woman could want—except interested in marriage. So when he hears that someone on his estate near the Scottish border is claiming to be his wife, Kit sets off to investigate.

Since her parents’ death, Lady Mary Tolliver has been hounded by her cousin, a fortune-hunting fool after her inheritance. Refusing to settle for anything less than love, Mary escapes to the isolated estate of rakish bachelor, Kit Featherton. Knowing he prefers Court to the country, she believes she will be safe. But when Kit unexpectedly returns, her pretend marriage begins to feel seductively real…

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: By a Silver Thread by Rachel Aaron

Series: DFZ Changeling (#1)

Format: 380 pages, Paperback

Published: May 2, 2023 by Aaron Bach LLC

Own/urban fantasy

What can I say, in the end nothing compare to Heartstrikers. I know, I lost my heart and soul to that series.

This is DFC many years after what happened there. Now more beings have come to light, or are still hiding. Among them fairies, and Lola is a changeling. A magical thing brought in to existence. One that should have faded but she is still alive thanks to a bloodmage named Victor that uses her for his own good.

And so Victor goes missing. She needs him to stay alive. She meets new friends and foes and something sinister is growing in the DFC.

There was danger and intrigues. It was good, but alas nothing compares....

In the world’s most magical metropolis where spirits run noodle shops and cash-strapped dragons stage photo-ops for tourists, people still think fairies are nothing but stories, and that’s exactly how the fairies like it. It’s a lot easier to feast on humanity’s dreams when no one believes you exist. But while this arrangement works splendidly for most fair folk, Lola isn’t one of the lucky ones.

She’s a changeling, a fairy monster made just human enough to dupe unsuspecting parents while fairies steal their real child. The magic that sustains her was never meant to last past the initial theft, leaving Lola without a future. But thanks to Victor Conrath, a very powerful--and very illegal--blood mage, she was given the means to cheat death.

For a price.

Now the only changeling ever to make it to adulthood, Lola has served the blood mage faithfully, if reluctantly, for twenty years. Her unique ability to slip through wards and change her shape to look like anyone has helped make Victor a legend in the DFZ’s illegal-magic underground. It’s not a great life, but at least the work is stable… until her master vanishes without a trace.

With only a handful left of the pills that keep her human, Lola must find Victor before she turns back into the fairy monster she was always meant to be. But with a whole SWAT team of federal paladins hunting her as a blood-mage accomplice, an Urban Legend on a silent black motorcycle who won’t leave her alone, and a mysterious fairy king with the power to make the entire city dream, Lola’s chances of getting out of this alive are as slender as a silver thread.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: Nettle and Bone by T Kingfisher

325 pages, Paperback

Published: February 28, 2023 by Titan Books

Fantasy/own

So this was my third Kingfisher book. What to read next?

It reads beautifully as a fairytale. Princess Marra´s older sister marries, and dies. Then her other sister marries the same man and something is just wrong. Marra is sent to a convent, handy to have a spare sister.

And years goes by. Then Marra has had enough and sets out on a journey to save her sister and kill a prince. With her on her quest she has a disgraced knight, a witch, a fairy godmother, a demon chicken and a dog made of bones.

This is a fairytale and it does end well. I can at least give you that. But there are hurdles to cross. A good book with some twists and turns.

After years of seeing her sisters suffer at the hands of an abusive prince, Marra—the shy, convent-raised, third-born daughter—has finally realized that no one is coming to their rescue. No one, except for Marra herself.

Seeking help from a powerful gravewitch, Marra is offered the tools to kill a prince—if she can complete three impossible tasks. But, as is the way in tales of princes, witches, and daughters, the impossible is only the beginning.

On her quest, Marra is joined by the gravewitch, a reluctant fairy godmother, a strapping former knight, and a chicken possessed by a demon. Together, the five of them intend to be the hand that closes around the throat of the prince and frees Marra's family and their kingdom from its tyrannous ruler at last.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher

By: T. Kingfisher

Narrated by: Eliza Foss, Jennifer Pickens

Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins

Release date: 08-06-24

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Categories: Fantasy 

Own

Now why didn´t I write this at once?! When I had all those feelings right. But I will try and do it justice.

It says this is a dark re-telling of the goose girl...yeah I do not remember that one at the moment. Is that the princess one? Never mind.

Cordelia lives with her mother and atmosphere is dark. Then her mother goes away and comes back telling her that she has found a man. Also telling the 14 year old that she should get married too and lie about her age. Not the best kind of mother.

And it gets darker. What kind of magic is her mother doing? She has the guy wrapped around her finger, his twin sister does not like her and Cordelia is a little rabbit being pulled too hard.

How can this all be saved? How can everyone have some sort of HEAs? In fairytales good always wins.

I am just not doing it justice. It is a great tale. It gets a bit dark, but not like scary dark, just the feeling of darkness closing in and how it will all end? 

The narration is superb too and the voices are so good for everyone. They really gets it right. And the whole feeling of the book.

Cordelia knows her mother is unusual. Their house doesn’t have any doors between rooms, and her mother doesn't allow Cordelia to have a single friend—unless you count Falada, her mother's beautiful white horse. The only time Cordelia feels truly free is on her daily rides with him. But more than simple eccentricity sets her mother apart. Other mothers don’t force their daughters to be silent and motionless for hours, sometimes days, on end. Other mothers aren’t sorcerers.

After a suspicious death in their small town, Cordelia’s mother insists they leave in the middle of the night, riding away on Falada’s sturdy back, leaving behind all Cordelia has ever known. They arrive at the remote country manor of a wealthy older man, the Squire, and his unwed sister, Hester. Cordelia’s mother intends to lure the Squire into marriage, and Cordelia knows this can only be bad news for the bumbling gentleman and his kind, intelligent sister.

Hester sees the way Cordelia shrinks away from her mother, how the young girl sits eerily still at dinner every night. Hester knows that to save her brother from bewitchment and to rescue the terrified Cordelia, she will have to face down a wicked witch of the worst kind.

B's Tuesday Review: Just a Cowboy and his Baby by Carolyn Brown

396 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Series: Spikes & Spurs (#6)

Format: 396 pages, Kindle Edition

Published: August 6, 2024 by Sourcebooks Casablanca

Contemporary romance/western romance/netgalley

So this was actually by mistake, I saw it on Netgalley (and I am never there), and I went for it. Half way through I realised that I had actually read it 10 years ago. Ooops.

Gemma and Trace are doing the rodeo circuit and they are head to head. But only one person can win. Sure, I was rooting for Gemma, girl power and all that. Sorry Trace. They are in competition, but slowly something grows there and they start spending time together in private too.

I liked their families and the whole rodeo thing. The drama comes rather late and is quickly resolved because omg they talk about it and are there for each other.

I enjoyed it

Gemma O'Donnell was incensed when she wasn't the first woman to win the PRCA (Professional Rodeo Championship Association) buckle for bronc riding. This year, she heads out on the PRCA ProRodeo Tour burning to be the second.

First stop is Cody, Wyoming where her stiffest competition is Trace Coleman, who already has a jump on her. A tall, dark-haired cowboy with a sexy grin and a swagger, he doesn't really give a damn about the trophy belt buckle—he wants the purse to buy a ranch he has his eye on. He damn sure doesn't have time for a sassy bit of Irish baggage who can evidently ride anything with four legs and make anything with two legs want to take her to bed.

Gemma wins a few; Trace wins a few. In the end they both qualify for the final cut in Las Vegas. But when it comes down to the wire, only one can win the bronc-riding competition and take home one helluva prize. But in this competition, it just might be loser takes all...

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: The Judas Blossom by Stephen Aryan

Series: The Nightingale and the Falcon (#1)

Format:419 pages, Paperback

Published: July 11, 2023 by Angry Robot

Historicalfiction fantasy/own

I cant remember if I thought this would be fantasy or if I knew it was historical fiction. He does take some liberties, and puts in some twists.

It is the story of the the Mongol conquest. When it starts they have destroyed the Persian Empire and moved on to their next target, all while the Mongol empire itself is starting to crumble.

The book follows Hulagu Khan, his son Temujin, Kokochin one of many wives, and Kaivon a Persian slave.

I once read that the Mongols killed so many that the carbon emissions from humans drastically lessened. And everyone is related to Djingis cos he raped his way across the world. They were truly evil invaders. They also do horrible things in this book, it is a bloody conquest.

So I was rooting for them all to die, haha.

The fantasy twist in it was interesting, I do want to know more about that aspect...I can not say more.

A good story, compelling. Bloody too

1260, Persia:

Due to the efforts of the great Genghis Khan, the Mongol Empire covers a vast portion of the known world. In the shadow of his grandfather, Hulagu Khan, ruler of the Ilkhanate, is determined to create a single empire that covers the entire world. His method? Violence.

His youngest son, Temujin Khan, struggles to find his place in his father’s bloody rule. After another failure, Temujin is given one last chance to prove himself to Hulagu, who is sure there is a great warrior buried deep inside. But there’s something else rippling under the surface… something far more powerful and dangerous than they could ever imagine…

Reduced to the position of one of Hulagu’s many wives, the famed Blue Princess Kokochin is the last of her tribe. Alone and forgotten in a foreign land, Kokochin is unwilling to spend her days seeking out trivial pursuits. Seeking purpose, she finds herself wandering down a path that grants her more power than a wife of the Khan may be allowed.

Kaivon, the Persian rebel who despises the Mongols for the massacre of his people, thirsts for revenge. However, he knows alone he cannot destroy the empire. When given the opportunity to train under the tutelage of Hulagu, Kaivon must put aside his feelings and risk his life for a chance to destroy the empire that aims to conquer the world.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: Earl Crazy by Anna Bradley

Games Earls Play, Book 4

Narrated by: Heather Wilds

Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins

Release date: 06-25-24

Historical romance /to review

I seem to have missed two books in the middle. And no it does not matter since this is historical romance. But it seems Mathilda´s sisters fell for two earls before this one. England must be all out of earls soon.

Mathilda is having a London season with her good friend. But there is this annoying earl next door that keeps getting in her way.

Three of her sisters matched with Earls, but Mathilda is not after a husband. Of course the Earl of Prestwick is really intriguing, and he feels the same.

This one was actually rather short, and it worked really well. They met, they annoyed each other, there was some drama, they realised they needed each other and lived happily ever after. What more to ask for.

Good narration. Well spoken different voices and a good pace to things.

Christopher Egan, heir to the notorious Prestwick Earldom, is one of London’s most scandalous rakes. He’s never credited the gossips’ claim that fate cast an ancient curse on every successive Earl of Prestwick as punishment for their wickedness, but once he inherits the earldom after his infamous uncle’s untimely demise, it looks as if he may be the next to lose his head. Determined to cheat the curse and avoid his ancestors’ grisly fate, Kit abandons his life of merry debauchery and embarks on a London season to wed the lady he’s long been promised to.

Mathilda Templeton has a knack for causing scandal. Wherever she goes, it follows on her heels. London is the last place such a provocative lady should dare set foot, but when her shy friend Harriett is sent to London for a season, Tilly is determined to protect Harriett from all the scoundrels salivating over her impressive dowry. All she has to do is find her friend a proper match without falling prey to another scandal.

When the scandalous Earl of Prestwick makes a play for Harriett’s hand, Tilly vows to do whatever she must to stop him. But when the battle of wills between them leads to a stolen kiss, Tilly fears she may have fallen in love with London’s most charming scoundrel.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday: There's Something About Sweetie by Sandhya Menon

By: Sandhya Menon

Narrated by: Vikas Adam, Soneela Nankani

Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins

May 14, 2019 by Simon & Schuster Audio

Series; Dimple and Rishi (#2)

YA romance/bookbeat.fi

Oh you know, I looked for books by my favorite narrator and came across this one. I listened to Dimple years ago and really liked it. And now they had this one so I gave it a go.

Sweetie weighs too much in other people´s eyes. Her mother is always on her case and even if she is one of the fastest runners in the state then people always get stuck on her weight.

Ashish is always compared to his older brother. He had a bad breakup and now he is drifting.

His parents set him up with Sweetie. After some drama they go on parent ordered dates and fall in love. But there is some drama to get over first.

Sweet story. Family, culture and seeing past what others think.

Two narrators. I do love Vikas Adam because he is just so pleasant listening too. And I always like Soneela´s narrating too.

Ashish Patel didn't know love could be so...sucky. After being dumped by his ex-girlfriend, his mojo goes AWOL. Even worse, his parents are annoyingly, smugly confident they could find him a better match. So, in a moment of weakness, Ash challenges them to set him up. The Patels insist that Ashish date an Indian-American girl--under contract. Per subclause 1(a), he'll be taking his date on "fun" excursions like visiting the Hindu temple and his eccentric Gita Auntie. Kill him now. How is this ever going to work? Sweetie Nair is many things: a formidable track athlete who can outrun most people in California, a loyal friend, a shower-singing champion. Oh, and she's also fat. To Sweetie's traditional parents, this last detail is the kiss of death. Sweetie loves her parents, but she's so tired of being told she's lacking because she's fat. She decides it's time to kick off the Sassy Sweetie Project, where she'll show the world (and herself) what she's really made of. Ashish and Sweetie both have something to prove. But with each date they realize there's an unexpected magic growing between them. Can they find their true selves without losing each other?

B's Tuesday Review: Happier Than We Deserve by Melissa Halcomb

By: Melissa Halcomb

Narrated by: Danielle Cohen

Series: A Pride & Prejudice Variation [Melissa Halcomb]

Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins

Release date: 03-19-24

Publisher: Tantor Audio

PP variation / to review

I do love my Pride and prejudice variations. I can´t get enough of them. Because they are all different.

Here Mr Bennet inherited some money, and kept it hidden until he died. Yes, not cool. We all know they were scared of what would happen if he died, as a certain Collins would inherit. And now they suddenly have money, all daughters still unmarried, and what happens? Well Jane takes charge. I really liked her here. She got the responsibility and she took it, and she took control. This is not the way to run a household. Everyone must change!

Some things change, some things never change. We always need a Mr Darcy, and he does make some mistakes before seeing the error of his ways.

I liked it. I especially liked Jane. I even grew to like Mrs Bennet. It all worked out so well.

Good narration. She does well with different voices for everyone. And she has the right feel for the book.

That terrible event Elizabeth and her family has ever dreaded has come to pass and brought with it changes which none of them could have anticipated. Faced with navigating a whole new world with whole new advantages, are they up to the task? Collecting marriage proposals like handkerchiefs, Elizabeth wonders if she might have spurned her one chance at lasting happiness when she learns that Mr Darcy is not at all who she believed him to be.

Darcy is tired of fighting his feelings. His heart knows what it wants, and that is Elizabeth Bennet. When he learns that Mr. Bennet has passed away, he imagines riding in as the white knight, a savior come to rescue his beloved from a life of poverty. But when he reaches Hertfordshire, something is amiss and he finds that Elizabeth needs no rescuing, thank you very much.

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: Reaping Demons by Eve Langlais

By: Eve Langlais

Narrated by: Tieran Wilder

Series: Scythe and Souls, Book 1

Length: 5 hrs and 28 mins

Release date: 02-22-24

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Urban fantasy/to review

Yes I listened to yet another Eve Langlais book. They are always fun, and different from each other.

Sadie is 40+. Yes, an older heroine! She doesn´t have any friends anymore, just her work. No man. And then suddenly she sees freaky demons, and what the heck. What is going on?! I liked that she hid, I mean who wouldn´t! She says she is a coward, she says she can´t fight, and she is right. She is real. It will not be easy.

So Sadie can see demons. They are real. There is a weird guy with a scythe killing demons. She seems to have magic, and she needs to learn to handle it.

People are really dying left and right in this one. These are some freaky demons. Creepy and small, and deadly.

It ends sort of well. I mean all hell is about to break loose, but that is for another day.

Actionfilled, and maybe maybe some romance lurking...or at least passion? Who knows about the future.

Good narration. She kept a good pace and did action and other parts well. She also got the feel of Sadie and I felt i was there with them

Turns out there are monsters in the world. Why couldn't my midlife crisis involve a new hairstyle? I went from ordinary working gal to demon killer. Sounds exciting? Not really, seeing as how I got fired from my job, my apartment was trashed, and the cops think I'm involved in something shady.

Especially that cute detective who keeps questioning me . . .

Pity there's no time to flirt, what with all the demons that keep emerging from sewer grates and subway tunnels. Something has to be done before they overrun the city. If only that something didn't involve me!

I never asked to be a heroine, but apparently, I've been chosen and now I must reap what fate has bestowed before chaos is sown. 

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: Violeta by Isabel Allende

336 pages, Paperback

Published; January 25, 2022 by Bloomsbury Publishing

Historical fiction/library

This took me a while to finish. It was good, and at the same time it was dry.

Violeta is the narrator, but I never truly knew Violeta. She is just telling her story in a very not passionate way. There is sadness, revolutions, and more. But yes it is just her telling her story. I never felt that passion she spoke of. It was dry.

100 years of her life. Failed marriage. Kids. Lovers. Bad choices. South America changing before her eyes.

Eh, honestly I have not much more to say. I changed my mind, it was ok only.

Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first girl in a family of five boisterous sons. From the start, her life will be marked by extraordinary events, for the ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth.

Through her father's prescience, the family will come through that crisis unscathed, only to face a new one as the Great Depression transforms the genteel city life she has known. Her family loses all and is forced to retreat to a wild and beautiful but remote part of the country. There, she will come of age, and her first suitor will come calling. . . .

She tells her story in the form of a letter to someone she loves above all others, recounting devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, times of both poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy. Her life will be shaped by some of the most important events of history: the fight for women's rights, the rise and fall of tyrants, and, ultimately, not one but two pandemics.

Told through the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination, and sense of humor will carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.

B's Tuesday Review: Be the Serpent by Seanan McGuire

Series: October Daye (#16)

Format: 400 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published; August 1, 2023 by DAW

UF/own

I...I love Toby, but omg this is book 16, please let it end and let Toby have her peace. I took a look at the next two books and everything turns to hell for her.

And what can I say after 16 books?! An enemy shows up, one too big. Toby just got married! It has taken ages! And now blood will flow and, sigh, poor Toby.

I liked it, but at the same time I am getting tired of them

October Daye is finally something she never expected to married. All the trials and turmoils and terrors of a hero’s life have done very little to prepare her for the expectation that she will actually share her life with someone else, the good parts and the bad ones alike, not just allow them to dabble around the edges in the things she wants to share. But with an official break from hero duties from the Queen in the Mists, and her family wholly on board with this new version of “normal,” she’s doing her best to adjust.

It isn’t always easy, but she’s a hero, right? She’s done harder.

Until an old friend and ally turns out to have been an enemy in disguise for this entire time, and October’s brief respite turns into a battle for her life, her community, and everything she has ever believed to be true.

The debts of the Broken Ride are coming due, and whether she incurred them or not, she’s going to be the one who has to pay.

B's Tuesday Review: The Empire's Ruin by Brian Staveley

960 pages, Paperback

published July 6, 2021 by Tor

Series; Ashes of the Unhewn Throne (#1), Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne (#5)

Format: 960 pages, Paperback

Fantasy / Own

Damn, I have forgotten a lot from the previous series. Like what happened to Kaden? Ack. But yes it still worked great to jump back in into this new series.

We follow Gwenna, sent to find more Kettral in a hostile land. The first part of the trip was not the most interesting, but when they got there. Oh so good.

Then there was Ruc, I liked him at once. But when Gwenna´s story started getting really good, Ruc´s waned as he was stuck in one place. Oh and totally need more info about his foster parents. It kept me reading like crazy

Then there was Akiil. He just was. Sorry man, but Gwenna´s and Ruc´s stories was too good. I needed to binge through those.

Such a good book and I can´t wait to read more. I need more now!

The Kettral were the glory and despair of the Annurian Empire – elite soldiers who rode war hawks into battle. Now the Kettral’s numbers have dwindled and the great empire is dying. Its grip is further weakened by the failure of the kenta gates, which granted instantaneous access to its vast lands.

To restore the Kettral, one of its soldiers is given a mission. Gwenna Sharpe must voyage beyond the edge of the known world, to the mythical nesting grounds of the giant war hawks. The journey will take her through a land that warps and poisons all living things. Yet if she succeeds, she could return a champion, rebuild the Kettral to their former numbers – and help save the empire. The gates are also essential to the empire’s survival, and a monk turned con-artist may hold the key to unlocking them.

What they discover will change them and the Annurian Empire forever – if they survive. For deep within the southern reaches of the land, a malevolent force is stirring . . .

Blodeuedd's Tuesday Review: Grey Magic by Jeffe Kennedy

By: Jeffe Kennedy

Narrated by: Deborah Balm

Series: Bonds of Magic, Book 3

Length: 11 hrs and 49 mins

Release date: 05-11-22

Publisher: Brightlynx Publishing

Fantasy romance /nextory

This world is so evil. I just want to shake some sense into everyone. Like omg Familiars should be cherished and not slaves!

Gabriel and Veronica are together and happy. But the world around still sucks and there are so many dangers. Their bond is not real. He treats her too well, like wtf people, she is still his wife and carries his child! Ugh this world. It is very dark and someone needs to shake it up. Viva la revolution!

Then it got intense. So very intense. I wanted to bring the speed up on my audio, but for some reson 2x was the highest. I just could not sit still and listen because it was so suspenseful.

It was a good conclusion to this trilogy. But their story is not over, I already started on a new series as there is still a lot of things that needs to get done for everyone to be safe.

Good narration. she sure kept me on my seat.

Lord Gabriel Phel at last holds his dream in his grasp—and faces losing everything. He’s finally won the love of his wife, familiar, and mother of his child, and she offers him a heartfelt commitment he can truly believe in. Together they’re building a true house, one with a growing family of friends and allies that can help them stand against their enemies. And he’s learning to master his magic, to use it as the powerful tool and weapon it should be. But old and new enemies array themselves to take it all away.

Lady Veronica, now fully of House Phel, is doing her best to embrace happiness. After all, she has her hands full managing her mercurial and powerful wizard as he navigates taking his place as the head of their house, and with learning her own extraordinary ability. But she fears whatever peace they win won’t last long. When their enemies inevitably strike—including, perhaps, her own father—they must be ready to defend all they hold precious. It doesn’t help that her idealistic husband insists on making foolishly noble decisions that put them at even greater risk, nor that she loves him all the more for it.

As Nic and Gabriel struggle to put their household in order, giving ill-advised safe harbor to Nic’s runaway sister and risking their lives to save Gabriel’s sister’s sanity, their enemies draw the noose tighter on their well laid plans. When the unthinkable occurs, it’s up to both of them to trust in the nascent, unknown magic they’ve woven together.